1. Best Script Breakdown Software

Begin Breaking Down Your Script into 8ths (Don’t forget Scene Breakdowns)Divide every page into eight, 1 inch parts. This measurement is used to estimate the screen time and shooting time for a scene.

Just make sure that you and your script supervisor are on the same page. Sounds funny, but, it’s important that both of you measure scenes in exactly the same way. On a typical dialogue-heavy indie production, you can expect to shoot roughly 5 pages per day where one page equals one minute of screen time. Use Colored Highlighters and Pens to Mark Your ScriptThe purpose of marking is to identify select elements in every scene so they can be included in the script breakdown sheet and shooting schedule.

The best method to achieve this is to use highlighters and pens. It could be a time consuming process, but it’s extremely important. Script breakdowns have a specific set of colors which you can follow, however, it’s not essential. If you’re using custom colors, be sure to create a legend on the script and breakdown.Depending on the project type and genre, there’s a chance you’d want to create more tailored element categories and colors. For example, if you are shooting a horror film, you may want to define all the elements related to prosthetics. If you are shooting a western, you may need to add categories for horses and weapons. Just make sure to define the custom category and color in a legend.

Best Script Breakdown Software

Script Breakdown ExamplesOften, it makes sense to check out some examples of others before starting to create a script breakdown. You can have a look at the following script breakdown example to learn more about creating the perfect script breakdown:Guest Post Author Bio:Darya Danesh is the Cofounder and Content Director at, a leading film production software company that helps production companies manage their crew, schedules and call sheets. With over 10 years of experience as a Producer, LP & UPM, Darya has worked on large projects including PBS, Direct TV, Syfy, Animal Planet, Fox, YouTube, Sony, Atlantic, Island Def Jam, Gaiam & BMW.