Script supervisor

Script supervisor

A script supervisor (also called continuity supervisor) is a member of a film crew responsible for maintaining the motion picture's internal continuity and for recording the production unit's daily progress in shooting the film's screenplay. The script supervisor credit typically appears in the closing credits of a motion picture.

Up until the late thirties and early forties, the script supervisor in the American film and television industry was typically called the continuity clerk, script reader or script girl. Individuals performing such duties were either credited with these titles or, more often, not credited at all. During this span of time, many script supervisors were indeed women, a fact that originally spawned the title "script girl." However, over the years, script supervisor positions throughout the American motion picture industry became more thoroughly integrated and formed a better balance among men and women. This fact, coupled with producers' desire to promote gender neutrality in a position that was increasingly taken up by men, produced the gradual change in nomenclature. By the fifties, the gender-specific term had virtually disappeared from film and television credits, but sometimes appeared in everyday speech.

In the most basic description, the script supervisor is the editor's and writer's representative on set, as well as being the right hand aide to the director and the director of photography. It is the script supervisor's job to make sure that at the end of the day the film can be cut together. In that sense, they back up every department, monitor the script during shooting and make sure that errors in continuity do not occur that would prevent the film from being able to be compiled in the editing room.

In pre-production, the script supervisor creates a number of reports based on the script, including a one-line continuity synopsis providing basic information on each scene such as the time of day, day in story order, and a one line synopsis of the scene. These reports are used by various departments in order to determine the most advantageous shot order and ensure that all departments, including production, wardrobe, hair and makeup, are in sync in regards to the progression of time within the story.

During production, the script supervisor acts as a central point for all production information on a film shoot, and has several responsibilities.

  • Continuity – The script supervisor takes notes on all the details required to recreate the continuity of a particular scene, location, or action. The supervisor is responsible for making sure that continuity errors do not happen. For every take, the script supervisor will note the duration of the take (usually with a stopwatch) and meticulously log information into a daily editor log about the action of the take, including position of the main actor(s), screen direction of their movement, important actions performed during the shot, type of lens used, and additional information which may vary from case to case. When multiple cameras are in use, the script supervisor keeps separate notes on each. These logs also notate a director's comments on any particular take as to whether it is no good, a hold take (ok, but not perfect), or a print take (a good take). All of these notes are crucial not just for continuity – they provide the editor information on what the director prefers, any problems with any of the takes and other notes to assist the editing process.
  • Slating – The script supervisor interacts with the clapper loader (second camera assistant) and the production sound mixer to make sure that each take of exposed film has a consistent and meaningful slate, that the sound and picture slates match. The script supervisor also notes the sound roll of each sync take, and the state of all MOS takes. This ensures that there is proper identification on the film footage in the editing room so the editor can find and use the correct takes.
  • Script – The script supervisor is responsible for keeping the most current version of the shooting script. During shooting, the script supervisor notates any changes from the screenplay that are made by the actors, director or others during the actual filming process. If significant changes are made to the script that affect a future day's shooting, the script supervisor is responsible for providing those changes to the assistant director's team who then will distribute those changes to the rest of the crew. The script supervisor's script is also referred to as their lined script because during shooting, a script supervisor draws a vertical line down the page for each different camera setup. Each line designates the start and stop of that setup, a quick note of what the shot description was and whether or not the dialogue was on camera for that setup. This allows the editor to quickly reference which camera setups cover which portion of the dialogue or action.
  • Production Reports – At the end of each shooting day, the script supervisor prepares daily reports for the production team. These reports vary in form depending on the studio or production company; however, they generally include a log of the actual times that shooting and breaks started and stopped, and a breakdown of the pages, scenes and minutes that were shot that day, as well as the same information for the previous day, the total script and the amounts remaining to be done. Also included are the number of scenes covered (completely shot), the number of retakes (when a scene has to be reshot), and the number of wild tracks. The script supervisor is the official timekeeper on any set.
  • Editor's Notes – In addition to the production reports, each shooting day the script supervisor also compiles the continuity logs for the day's shooting as well as the relevant lined script pages for the scenes shot that day. Those notes are sent off to the editorial staff to assist them in the editing process.

The script supervisor is the primary liaison between the director (who decides what scenes are to be shot) and the editor (who is usually not present during actual filming but needs to have exact records of the filming in order to do the job of cutting the film together.) The script supervisor is a technical rather than artistic position and is generally considered as part of the producer's or studio's staff. There is usually only one script supervisor on a given film production.

References

  • Miller, Pat P. Script Supervising and Film Continuity. 3rd Ed. Focal Press, 1998.
  • Ulmer, Shirley and C. R. Sevilla. The Role of Script Supervision in Film and Television: A Career Guide. Communication Arts Books 1987.

See also


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Script Supervisor — (engl. für Skript Überwachung bzw. Leitung) ist eine Bezeichnung, die bei US amerikanischen Spielfilmen und Fernsehserien Verwendung findet. Der Script Supervisor ist während der Dreharbeiten am Filmset und hat dafür Sorge zu tragen, dass jede… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • script supervisor — noun a member of a film crew responsible for maintaining the films internal continuity and for marking the production units daily progress in shooting the films screenplay …   Wiktionary

  • Script coordinator — is a role in the production of a film or television series. The script coordinator is responsible for producing each draft of the script and annotating it for ease of use for the production team.On a television series the script coordinator is… …   Wikipedia

  • Script Girl — Script Supervisor (engl. für Skript Überwachung bzw. Leitung) ist eine Bezeichnung, die bei US amerikanischen Spielfilmen und Fernsehserien Verwendung findet. Der Script Supervisor ist während der Dreharbeiten am Filmset und hat dafür Sorge zu… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • script — 1. Voz inglesa que significa ‘texto en que se expone, con los detalles necesarios para su realización, el contenido de una película o de un programa de radio o televisión’. Es anglicismo innecesario, que debe sustituirse por el equivalente… …   Diccionario panhispánico de dudas

  • script — {{#}}{{LM S35154}}{{〓}} {{[}}script{{]}} {{■}}(ing.){{□}} {{《}}▍ s.{{》}} {{♂}}En un rodaje cinematográfico,{{♀}} persona que trabaja como ayudante del director anotando los detalles y pormenores de las escenas filmadas.… …   Diccionario de uso del español actual con sinónimos y antónimos

  • Music supervisor — A music supervisor is an individual who combines music and visual media. In the musical theatre industry, a music supervisor is often responsible for managing a team of music directors working on any number of musical productions. Contents 1… …   Wikipedia

  • Nathalie Perrey — Born February 28, 1929 (1929 02 28) (age 82) France Other names Natalie Perrey Occupation Actress Editor Writer Production Manager Script Superviso …   Wikipedia

  • Film crew — For the comedic team, see The Film Crew. A film crew is a group of people hired by a production company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast , the actors who appear in front of the camera or… …   Wikipedia

  • Doris Grau — Born October 12, 1924(1924 10 12) Brooklyn, New York, United States Died December 30, 1995(1995 12 30) (aged 71) Los Angeles, California, United States Occupation …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”