3
Preparing for Production
Script Breakdown
The very first step the production manager must take to evaluate a project's overall size and scope is completing a thorough breakdown of the finished screenplay. With an initial “first-glance” reading of a screenplay, an experienced producer or PM can get a good estimate of the size of a production— that is, how long the shooting period, how many necessary cast members, how much required travel, how expensive the props and sets, and much more. However, a reliable budget estimate only can be calculated after the screenplay has been broken down professionally.
In the screenplay breakdown process, all elements of the screenplay are defined and listed for later reference. Because of this, all screenplays ...
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