Script Supervisor Notes and Continuity — take logs, the lined script and continuity checks

• Script timing — time each scene to estimate the finished running time. It’s the basis for adjusting the schedule and the script’s length.
• Story days — work out which day of the story each scene falls on. This tells wardrobe and makeup when looks change.
• Continuity flags — mark things that must carry across scenes, like props, wounds and weather, on the script in advance.

Because you don’t shoot in script order, the shot right before today’s may be filmed weeks later. That makes the script supervisor’s notes a record for whoever picks up next. Set your abbreviations and symbols so anyone can read them, and list them on the first page.

Even a short note on why a take was NG helps a lot in the edit. Many takes are usable in part, like a take with a great performance but soft focus, or one with a flubbed line but a great expression.

A lined script shows at a glance which setups cover any given line. On set, it’s also how you spot stretches no setup has covered yet and flag missing coverage. Line styles and symbols vary a little from person to person, so hand over a legend with it.

• Eyelines and screen direction — whether the direction a character looks matches the shots before and after
• Props — whether the position, amount (like water in a glass) and the hand holding them match
• Actions — which line the actor sits or stands on, which hand opens the door
• Wardrobe and makeup — buttons, sleeves, hair, and the stage of sweat or wounds
• Dialogue — if the line as spoken differs from the script, write it down as said

Continuity checks are shared with art, wardrobe and makeup. The script supervisor records what changed and when, and each department photographs the items it’s responsible for. Prop continuity is covered in more detail in the art department lessons.

• Lined script — the script pages shot that day, with lines drawn
• Take log — takes per setup with verdicts and notes
• Progress report — scenes completed, scenes partly shot and what remains
• Continuity photos — named by scene and shot number

The progress report also goes to the ADs. Scenes completed today, what remains and the missing lines from partly shot scenes are the basis for revising the schedule. The editing room reads these notes side by side with the footage. If the roll numbers in the footage and the notes don’t match, finding things takes much longer, so check your numbers against the camera and sound reports before the day ends.