The SHORT! Guide to Producing

Chapter 4Breakdown Sheets

Creating Breakdown Sheets

Once you have marked up the script carefully and completely using the code in Chapter 3, you’ll find it easy to compile your breakdown sheets. Breakdown sheets are forms that list the materials and personnel required for a scene or group of scenes. Since your marked-up script now identifies these elements, this information can be swiftly transferred to the sheets.

How Many Sheets?

In most cases, follow this simple rule for breakdown sheets: one scene, one sheet. The only exceptions are instances where two or more scenes contain the exact same elements. One example would be a scene (such as a traumatic flash-back) that appears repeatedly in a screenplay. Each time the scene appears, it should ...