Leah Flagg
Script Supervisor, Production Manager : Creating order out of chaos on a set near you.

Posts Tagged with scripty

It’s All About The Stories

My first love is storytelling.

I was that weird kid who spent summer vacation researching topics that interested me, then writing creative stories for my friends and me to perform for our families.

I’ve become that weird adult who pretty much does the same thing, except that now I help other writers and directors tell their stories the way they envision.

I grew up in a small northern BC town and although I didn’t think of it much at the time, I grew up in relative poverty, not white and not native.

My grandfather left the reservation when he fought in the Second World War, but he handed down the few stories and teachings he could remember. And taught me to love the stories of many cultures.

This love of people and their stories brings me to my work today.

2019 will see me focusing more on screenwriting and producing films, and I’m excited to be participating in the screenwriting program Tricksters & Writers!

Screenwriting

Development & Production

Producers’ Panel

Development & Production

Springboard Producers’ Panel

Tricksters-and-Writers-logo-1
WIFTVV

Why you need a Script Supervisor!

Why do you need a script supervisor for your production?

From script breakdowns and pre-production meetings to the last day of shooting, a script supervisor is the extra eyes and ears of the director and the safety net for continuity.

We know the script inside out and backward because we have broken it down scene by scene, line by line, to make sure we know where all the moving parts of a storyline fit together.

    1. We help the director to make certain no coverage is missed during shooting and our notes inform the editor of how the director wants the story to come together.
    2. We are the official timekeepers on set, recording the times of first and last shot of the day so the crew can be paid.
    3. We determine the slate numbers of each scene, setup, and take.
    4. We track scenes, shots, and takes, with notes about what is good and bad about each take.
    5. We are intensely focused, attentive to the details so that we can draw the director’s attention to a potential problem.
    6. We monitor the integrity of axis and eyelines.
    7. We track the daily progress of the production to keep it on time and on budget.
    8. We track every detail of the shoot as it unfolds on film so that the director and editor can find exactly what they need when they need it during the editing process.

Your Script Supervisor has the answers!

The script supervision role is technical rather than creative; our skills ensure the magic of storytelling happens with the best possible efficiency and integrity.

We are the secret Ninjas of film production! 

Digital Scripty

Since I began training for this role, I have experimented with several different digital tools and spoken with a good number of script supervisors who are currently using the various apps and hardware. I have also created my own templates using various spreadsheets and word processing programs.

The general consensus is: Shooting digital has made our work more demanding and the digital products available aren’t as helpful as I had thought they would be. Ultimately, we need something which will help us organize our notes and tracking information efficiently because the more we write down, the less we have to remember!

The most common software currently used seems to be ScriptE. 

It is available for both Microsoft machines and Apple iPad; however, the iPad app has many more options and functionalities, which really forces one to purchase an iPad and Apple pencil in order to fully benefit from using ScriptE. I resist this, because I don’t like being forced to buy anything and would honestly prefer to continue using my laptop.

On that note, there are productions which will not even hire you, if you do not use ScriptE.

Right now, I prefer using my own paper forms and report templates, using my clipboard and binder to keep everything organized with me on set. I can send my photos from camera or smart phone to my laptop using bluetooth tech and from there email whatever the office needs.

When you have ScriptE on an iPad Pro with Apple pencil and use a PDF editor, you’re essentially using pen and paper on a much more expensive digital set up. But if you don’t have these digital tools, you could lose your job. Apparently, it’s the producers who are asking for the technology; true to our modern times, they think that access to these programs make a good script supervisor.

I maintain that if you can’t do the job ‘old school,’ you don’t know what you’re doing, you don’t understand what to put into the software to begin with. And if tech fails you (as it is wont to do), you’re screwed.

Conclusion: I know how to use ScriptE, but I prefer using the tools I have: paper, pen, smart phone, and laptop.

Here is a list of some other useful digital tools.

Jurassic Scripty

Kelly Krieg – Assistant Script Supervisor for the most recent installment of Jurassic Park (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom). With over 34 credits as Assistant Script Supervisor or Script Supervisor,  she is clearly as professional as she is personable.