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Elements

Elements are your breakdown items by type: characters (cast), locations, props, wardrobe, vehicles, set dressing, and more. They are extracted from your script (scenes, characters, locations) or added by you when you tag the script or add elements manually. The Elements view is where you see all categories in one place and jump to a specific category or an item’s board.

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Where to find Elements

In the project nav, click Breakdown to open the dropdown. Then click Elements. You will see an overview of categories (Cast Members, Props, Locations, Set Dressing, Costumes, etc.) and how many items are in each. Click a category to open its page: a list or table of items and which scenes they appear in. From a scene’s breakdown page you also work with elements: the left sidebar shows “Scene Elements” (cast, props, and other items in that scene), and you add or edit elements by tagging script text or using the Add Element panel. So you can reach elements either by category (Elements) or by scene (Breakdown → open a scene).

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How Elements connect to the rest of the breakdown

  • Getting started: When you import a script, Spell Slate extracts scenes, characters, and locations automatically. See How to start a script breakdown for what gets extracted and how to review it.
  • Adding and tagging: To add props, wardrobe, vehicles, and other items, you tag script text or add elements from a scene’s breakdown page. See Tagging elements in a script breakdown for the full flow.
  • Boards: Each element (and each scene, and each production day) has a board for notes, links, images, todos, cast, and contacts. See Boards in this section for a short overview, or Boards and cards in the Breakdown section for full detail on card types, comments, and call sheet sync.
  • Main breakdown table: The scene-by-scene table (Breakdown dropdown → Breakdown) is the main hub for working scene by scene. Use Breakdown for the full reference.
  • Merging duplicates: If the same character or location appears under different names, use Merge from the Characters or Locations category. See Merging duplicate characters or locations for step-by-step instructions.
  • Wrong category: If you tagged an element as the wrong type (e.g. Prop instead of Set Dressing), use Change type from the scene breakdown or the element’s board. See How to change element type.

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Categories you will see

Cast Members, Locations, Props, Set Dressing, Costumes, Makeup, Vehicles, Animals, Stunts, Special Effects, Visual Effects, Special Equipment, Extras, and any custom categories your project uses. Each category page shows which scenes use those elements so you can edit, merge, or open an item’s board. For detailed guides on working with each category, see:
  • Managing characters — Cast IDs, character boards, assigning cast, downloading sides
  • Managing locations — Location boards, scout locations, promoting candidates, release PDFs
  • Managing extras — Extra cards, contact sync, call sheet background talent
  • Managing props — Prop boards, Specifications cards, cost tracking (also applies to Set Dressing, Animals, Stunts, SFX, VFX, Special Equipment)
  • Managing costumes — Wardrobe boards, Wardrobe Specifications, character sizing
  • Managing makeup and hair — Makeup/hair boards, character linking, Day Bible continuity
  • Managing vehicles — Vehicle boards, Vehicle Specifications card (Make, Model, Year, Plate)