Ascript breakdown is an intermediate step in the production of aplay,film,comic book, or any other work that is originally planned using a script.
Infilm andtelevision, a script breakdown is an analysis of ascreenplay in which all of theproduction elements are reduced into lists. Within these lists are, in essence, the foundation of creating aproduction board, which is fundamental in creating aproduction schedule andproduction budget of an entire production of any film or television program inpre-production.[1] This process is a very tedious and complex task, and is usually the responsibility of theAssistant Director or first or 1AD within the production staff of any given production company. However, manyfilm directors andfilm producers have knowledge of breaking down a script.[citation needed]
In particular, literally breaking down the script is a very thorough and detailed creative analysis of dramatic action infilmmaking, highlighting the reciprocal struggle, theme, and design elements of a screenplay. Which is to code the entirecast,extras,props,special effects,stunts,wranglers, picture cars,[2]wardrobe,make-up andhair stylists, special equipment and orcameras,ADR,Foley,film scores andsoundtracks etc., which are all broken-down with different coloredmarker highlights within ashooting script.[1]
After which, these highlights are then organized and broken-down into strips to organize the production schedule within the actual physical production board. This process is more easily done nowadays utilizing acomputer than done manually, with features insideFinal Draft called tagger, or utilizing tagging mode insideMovie Magic Screenwriter, another effectivecomputer program.[3] This information can easily be imported over to Movie Magic Scheduling to create a digital production board, and then easily imported over to Movie Magic Budgeting to create the entire production budget. Most of the script and production computer software out there comes in bothMicrosoft andMacOS versions, and even though there is competingsoftware on the market, these which are listed are considered to be an entertainment industry standard. This whole process of the script breakdown[4] however is not to be confused withcharacter breakdowns utilized withcasting calls, this is an entire different process with similar names, however administered by two entirely separate departments.[5]
To ease future production, an assistant director marks the elements found in each scene. This process repeats for each new scene. By the end, the producer will be able to see which scenes need which elements, and can begin to schedule accordingly. The film industry has a standard forcolor-coding:[6]
| Element | Shape or color | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cast | Red | Any speaking actor | |
| Stunts | Orange | Any stunt that may require astunt double, or stunt coordinator. | |
| Extra (silent) | Yellow | Any extra needed to perform specifically, but has no lines. | |
| Extra (atmosphere) | Green | Anyextra or group of extras needed for the background. | |
| Special effects | Blue | Anyspecial effect required. | |
| Props | Purple | All objects important to the script, or used by an actor. | |
| Vehicles and animals | Pink | Any vehicles, and all animals, especially if it requires ananimal trainer. | |
| Sound effects or music | Brown | Sounds or music requiring specific use on set. Not sounds added in duringpost. | |
| Wardrobe | ⭘ | Circle | Specific costumes needed for production, and also for continuity if a costume gets ripped up, or dirtied throughout the production. |
| Make-up and hair | ⁎ | Asterisk | Any make-up or hair attention needed. Common for scars and blood. |
| Special equipment | ◻ | Box | If a scene requires the use of more uncommon equipment, (e.g. crane, underwater camera). |
| Production notes | _ | Underline | For all other questions about how a scene will go, or confusion about how something happens. |
Incomic books, it is the process of determining how each action, character, and piece of dialogue described in thescript will be placed visually on a page. In the studio system that dominated mass-market comic-book production from the 1940s through the 1970s, breakdowns were done by thepenciller or by a separate breakdown artist, rarely by the scriptwriter; in some cases, breakdowns were done from a rough story outline before the dialogue was written (the "Marvel method"). Later comics writers such asAlan Moore andNeil Gaiman, influenced by cinematic technique, began to include more layout details within their scripts. Cartoonists who both write and draw their own work sometimes begin with a script and do their own breakdowns, and sometimes work through drawings without a separate script.[citation needed]
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