The final draft is now completed and you are about to work on the shooting script. What is a shooting script you ask? A shooting script is when your script is arranged from start to finish in the shooting order by scene. There are production notes and specific details made by the producer to determine the schedule and budget.

There isn't a correct template, as long as the director and D.P know what's up and can translate well to the crew, the options are open. You could print off each scene and make notes to a structured spreadsheet with titles. What goes on this shooting script are all the technical details when it comes to production. Of course all this isn't possible without the script breakdown. These are little nuggets of one page info sheets for each scene. When the break down is down, it's more easy to see where the money is going, e.g. stunts, spfx and elaborate camera rigs.

If you didn't write your script with a budget in mind, this is where you can begin to determine the production value. If you are self directing, you can go ahead and rewrite the scenes to make them budget friendly. If not, either the director has you on speed dial, or they would take care of the rewrites themself.

On these script breakdown sheets, it'll be self explanatory, so depending on the genre of the script some sections will cost more than others. Getting this done is one of the many steps to pre-production.

Still stumped on the details? Email me right now at glue@tovoice.ca