2
What is a script supervisor?
Answer: Besides being the source of all dialogue and stage direction, the script is the final arbiter of what results in the finished, edited product. And the person keeping track of everything recorded, to make the editors’ jobs a bit easier, is… (continued in David’s answer below)
This solution has been deemed correct by the post author
Answer: Besides being the source of all dialogue and stage direction, the script is the final arbiter of what results in the finished, edited product. And the person keeping track of everything recorded, to make the editors’ jobs a bit easier, is the script supervisor. Here’s what she does.
Visit the video village of any network television set or feature film location, and you’ll see someone sitting in a comfortable chair, with a table or desk in front of her, using a pencil, a ruler and a set of earphones, listening and watching intently as each and every scene of the production is shot.
Her job as script supervisor is to be the mistress of details, noting everything she can about the scene as each take is filmed. The script supervisor not only notes when an actor says a line differently than it’s written, but also backs up the continuity director, watching what hand props are held in, which way a head is turned, even what side of a piece of paper is held up (printed or not).
All of this attention to detail is meticulously recorded, by hand, in a thick, three-ring bound copy of the script, with cryptic markings and notes, telling whoever should read it next (the editors and directors, usually) exactly what to expect from the raw footage they’re about to piece together, what scenes have been shot, and what scenes may be owed to the next shooting day. There are also several editions of software that a script supervisor can use.
The script supervisor is essentially responsible for keeping track of what happens in each take. She watches the screen as the filming takes place, sometimes responsible for watching both an A and B (and sometimes, on complicated shoots, a C) cameras for what happens as planned, and, in some cases, what happens that wasn’t planned.
Should an actor forget their lines, the script supervisor often is the person tossing those lines to the actor. She will also go to the actor and remind them of their lines in between takes, especially of the actual wording of the line is important to future or past dialog, or is noted by the writer or the director.
Script supervisors also note regular or tail slates, time code, size and lighting of shots, MOS shots, points of camera movements, lens choices and other aspects of the camera’s technical operation, again with an eye towards speeding up the sometimes grueling drudgery of selecting takes and piecing together the final product in post production. They use both the script itself to keep this notes, using vertical lines on the script to note different takes and how deep into the scene they went.
When you hear a director say “Cut! Print!” it’s the script supervisor that notes which takes get printed and which don’t. She has the ear of the director, the cinematographer and the writers and producers resident on the set. She’s a great person to get to know and be friends with, and one of the people on set that you can ask questions of regarding technical aspects of the shoot. Get to know her (or him – I say her because almost all of my script supervisors have been women) and be your usual friendly, generous self, bot don’t be a pest – she’s one of the busiest people on the set, even when others aren’t.
One final thing: you may hear others on the crew call the script supervisor “Scripty.” Don’t follow suit. Almost every script supervisor I’ve worked with, and I’ve asked every single one of them, doesn’t like that term. My usual script supervisor on Heroes was a perfect example. When asked, she agreed that “Scripty” wasn’t respectful. She preferred “Val,” her first name.
One actually took me aside and kindly pointed out that, although she realized that I was just following others, that as a member of the executive production team that puts together the principal photography, she’d rather not be called by a casual slang name like that. So don’t do it – find out their first name, and become friends.
What’s your answer to this acting question? Let me know in the comments below.
Was this answer helpful?
LikeDislikeThanks for your insights. It is appreciated.
Was this answer helpful?
LikeDislike