What a finished breakdown gives you
A breakdown turns a screenplay into lists a production can act on. When it's done you have three things.
A breakdown sheet for every scene. Each one records the scene number, INT or EXT, set, day or night, page count, a one-line synopsis, and every element in the scene sorted into categories. The breakdown sheet template shows the layout.
Element lists across the whole script. Every prop, costume, vehicle, and actor, with the scenes they appear in. Props gets its list, wardrobe gets its list, and casting gets the list of speaking roles with scene counts.
Numbers the schedule and budget can use. How many scenes each actor is in, how many pages happen at each location, how many night exteriors there are, how many background days. The 1st AD builds the shooting schedule from the sheets, and the line producer uses the totals to budget.
Before the breakdown: number the scenes and count the pages
Two jobs come first, because everything in the breakdown is tied to them.
Scene numbers. Every scene heading gets a number so that everyone can refer to the same piece of the script. Page numbers aren't precise enough, since a page can hold three short scenes. Part of numbering is making judgment calls: if the action moves from the kitchen into the hallway without a new heading, does that need its own scene number? If lighting or the set changes, usually yes. Once the script is numbered and locked, new scenes get letters (42A) instead of renumbering. How to number a film script goes through the pass.
Page counts. Each scene is measured in eighths of a page. A scene that takes up a bit less than a quarter of the page is 2/8. A scene shorter than an eighth still counts as 1/8. These counts are what the 1st AD uses to balance the work across days. How to calculate script page counts covers the method.
The breakdown categories
Most breakdowns use some version of these categories. A script with no animals doesn't need an animal column, and a VFX-heavy script might split visual effects into several.
| Category | What goes in it | Example | Main users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cast | Speaking roles and named characters with featured action | 1. DELL, 3. HOLLIS | Casting, ADs, accounting |
| Background | Non-speaking people, with a count | 12 diner customers, 1 waitress | 2nd AD, extras casting |
| Stunts | Any action with physical risk | Hollis falls down the stairs | Stunt coordinator |
| Special effects | Practical effects on set | Rain on the window, breakaway bottle | SFX supervisor |
| Visual effects | Work added or fixed in post | Monitor screen replacement | VFX supervisor |
| Props | Objects an actor handles or the story depends on | Ledger, revolver, car keys | Prop master |
| Set dressing | Objects in the set nobody handles | Framed photos, shelves of paint cans | Set decorator |
| Wardrobe | What each character wears, plus changes and damage | Dell: bloodied work shirt | Costume department |
| Makeup and hair | Anything beyond a standard look | Cut on Dell's left hand | Makeup and hair |
| Vehicles | Picture cars and anything driven on camera | Dell's 1994 pickup | Transportation |
| Animals | Any animal on screen | June's dog | Animal wrangler |
| Special equipment | Gear beyond the standard package | Crane, drone, underwater housing | Camera, grip |
| Music and sound | Playback, on-camera instruments, sound needs | Jukebox song, character sings | Sound, music supervisor |
| Greenery | Plants and landscaping to be added or dressed | Dead lawn replaced with grass | Greens |
| Notes | Anything that affects the scene as a whole | Intercut with sc. 44 | Everyone |
The glossary has entries for breakdown elements, props, set dressing, and the rest if you need a definition.
The lines people argue about
Some calls are easy to get wrong and cause problems between departments.
Prop or set dressing. The usual test is whether an actor handles it. A mug on the table is dressing. The same mug when a character picks it up and drinks is a prop. If the story depends on an object, like a letter in the background that the camera pushes in on, treat it as a prop so the prop master makes sure it looks right.
Cast or background. A person with a line is cast. A person with no line but a specific action the story needs, like a waitress who drops a tray on cue, may be a featured extra or may be upgraded to a speaking part depending on the union agreement. Flag it in the notes so casting and the ADs decide.
Special effects or visual effects. If it happens in front of the camera, it's special effects. If it's added or fixed in post, it's visual effects. Many scenes have both: a practical muzzle flash on set and a digital one added in post. List both.
Stunt or not. A character tripping on a rug can be a stunt if the actor actually falls. If there's any doubt, list it so the stunt coordinator reads it.
How to break down a script
Most people make three passes.
Read it through without marking anything
Read the whole script once for story. You'll catch things you'd miss scene by scene: the dog that appears in act three was established on page 4, or a character's black eye from scene 30 is still visible in scene 61.
Mark the elements
Go scene by scene and mark every element. On paper, people use a different color highlighter or pencil for each category. The script breakdown color codes post covers the usual scheme. In software, you tag text instead. Either way, mark the scene number beside the heading, draw a line across the page where the scene ends, and note the page count.
Fill in the breakdown sheets
Transfer the marks to one sheet per scene. This is where you write background counts, wardrobe changes, and continuity notes that aren't literally in the text. How to fill out a script breakdown sheet goes field by field.
A worked example
Here's a scene from a fictional script:
38 INT. HALE HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT
Rain against the window. DELL (40s) wraps his bleeding hand
in a dish towel. JUNE (40s) sets a bottle of whiskey on the
table, hard.
JUNE
You went back there.
He doesn't answer. The DOG whines at the back door.
Headlights sweep the room. A truck idles outside.
It's short, maybe 4/8 of a page, and here's what comes out of it:
| Category | Elements |
|---|---|
| Scene | 38, INT, HALE HOUSE - KITCHEN, NIGHT, 4/8 |
| Cast | 1. DELL, 2. JUNE |
| Props | Dish towel, whiskey bottle |
| Set dressing | Kitchen table, back door |
| Wardrobe | Dell: same as sc. 36, shirt now has blood |
| Makeup | Dell: cut on left hand, bleeding (new injury, carries to later scenes) |
| Animals | June's dog |
| Vehicles | Truck (seen as headlights only, may not need a picture car) |
| Special effects | Rain on window, headlight sweep (lighting gag) |
| Notes | Blood continuity. Is the truck Hollis's? Check sc. 39 |
Notice how much isn't written as a list in the script. Nobody wrote "makeup: wound." The line "bleeding hand" means makeup needs a wound, wardrobe needs a clean shirt and a bloodied one for this scene and maybe multiples if there are several takes, and props needs a towel it can ruin. The headlights raise a question for the director: do we need the actual truck, or just a light on a stand outside the window?
Reading between the lines
Much of a breakdown is implied. A scene set in an ER doesn't say "gurney, IV stand, monitors, scrubs, eight background nurses and patients," but the scene can't be shot without them. Experienced ADs add these as they go and mark them so department heads can agree or cut.
Common implied items to look for:
- Weather mentioned in the action (rain, snow, wind) usually means special effects if you can't count on nature.
- Time jumps ("THREE WEEKS LATER") often mean wardrobe, hair, and makeup changes.
- Injuries carry forward. Mark the scene where they happen and every scene after until they heal.
- Screens, phones, and TVs showing content need playback or VFX and often a clearance.
- Food that's eaten on camera needs multiples for every take.
- Children on screen bring work-hour limits and, depending on the state, a studio teacher.
Who does the breakdown
On most features, the 1st AD does the production breakdown, often with the UPM, since the 1st AD builds the schedule from it. Once it's done, department heads do their own, more detailed breakdowns. The costume designer's breakdown tracks every change for every character across script days. The prop master's lists every prop and how many of each.
On a small independent film, the producer or director often does the first breakdown before an AD is hired, so the budget can be built for financing. That's fine, as long as the AD reviews it later rather than inheriting it unchecked.
Department heads should always see the breakdown before the schedule locks. They find things: the costume designer knows that the period dress needs 90 minutes to get into, and the stunt coordinator knows that the "fall down the stairs" will need a rehearsal day.
Breakdown versus coverage
These two get confused by people new to production. Script coverage is a development document. A reader summarizes the story, comments on the writing, and recommends pass, consider, or recommend. It's used to decide whether to buy or develop a script.
A breakdown has nothing to do with whether the script is good. It's the list of what it takes to shoot it. A script gets broken down after someone has already decided to make it.
From breakdown to schedule and budget
The breakdown sheets become strips on the stripboard. Each strip carries the scene number, set, day or night, pages, and cast, which is exactly what's on the top of the sheet. The 1st AD groups the strips by location and cast into shoot days.
The element totals go to the line producer. If there are 14 scenes with background, averaging 15 people, spread across 6 shoot days, that's the start of the background budget. If the picture car appears in 9 scenes across 4 days, transportation can price it. If the breakdown misses the car, nobody budgets it and nobody books it.
When the script changes, the breakdown changes first, then the schedule, then the budget. Revised pages come out in revision colors, and each revision means updating the affected breakdown sheets before anything else.
Mistakes that show up on the day
Missing props hidden in action lines. Dialogue is easy to read; "She pockets the keys" in the middle of a paragraph is easy to skip.
Not tracking wardrobe continuity. A character in the same outfit in scenes 12, 45, and 78, shot on three different days, needs the costume and continuity photos every time. If the costume gets damaged in 45, you need duplicates.
Treating all background the same. Twelve people at a diner and twelve people who have to run from an explosion are different days.
Counting on nature. EXT. SNOWY FIELD - DAY is a special effects line unless you're certain of the snow.
Leaving VFX out because "we'll fix it in post." Screen replacements, removals, and sky replacements all cost money and some need someone on set. List them.
Breaking down an unlocked script and never updating. The breakdown only works if it matches the current draft.
For a full sample, see the script breakdown example.
Checking an AI breakdown
Software can now read a script file and pull out scenes, characters, and named objects in minutes. That handles the tedious first pass, but it doesn't remove the need for someone to read the script. Software is good at what's written and weaker at what's implied, like the wound makeup in scene 38 or the fact that an ER needs background. It can't decide a background count or tell you whether the truck needs to be a picture car. Treat an automated breakdown as a draft and review it scene by scene before it goes to department heads. The AI script breakdown post goes into what to check.
In Storiara, you upload a PDF, Word, or Final Draft script. Scenes are split from the headings, and AI extracts characters, locations, props, wardrobe, and music and effects, with each item checked against a quote from the script. In the Script & Breakdown View you can read the script beside your lists, highlight text to add something the extraction missed as a prop, wardrobe item, vehicle, stunt, or other category, and print one breakdown sheet or all of them.