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Tagging elements in a script breakdown

Who can do this: Free plan on your first project, Supporter on all projects. Tagging, renaming, and removing need breakdown edit access (owners, admins, and members with Edit breakdown). Anyone with project access can read a scene’s elements.
The import found your scenes, characters, and locations. Everything a department has to bring, the coffee tin, the ferry, the rain shell, is still sitting in the action lines. Tagging is reading the script with a highlighter, except the highlights turn into lists. Find it under Breakdown → Breakdown, then click a scene’s heading.

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Read the scene page

  • Scene Elements, on the left, lists what is in this scene, grouped by category.
  • The Script is in the middle, with every tagged word highlighted in its category’s color. Characters are highlighted from the start.
  • Add Element, on the right, is where a tag gets its name and category.
A scene's breakdown page: Scene Elements on the left, the script with characters highlighted, and the Add Element panel

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Tag a word in the script

  1. Select the words in the script.
  2. In Create Element, correct the name or the quantity if you need to.
  3. Click a category under Select Category.
  4. Click Add to breakdown.
The element joins the sidebar under its category, and its words light up in the script. Selecting coffee tin, choosing Props, and adding it: the prop appears in Scene Elements and is highlighted in the script The categories are Cast Members, Vehicles, Extras, Set Dressing, Props, Costumes, Stunts, Special Effects, Visual Effects, Sound Effects & Music, Makeup & Hair, Special Equipment, Animals, and Other. Cast Members adds a character the script never gave a line.

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Tag every mention at once

  1. Select the words and click a category.
  2. Tick Tag all mentions in the script.
  3. Click Add to breakdown.
The element is added to this scene, and the panel lists every other scene that mentions it, already ticked.
  1. Untick any scene you want to leave out.
  2. Click Tag selected.
Skip leaves the other scenes untagged. The Tag all mentions step: Also in 2 other scenes, both ticked, with Tag selected and Skip

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Add an element the script does not name

  1. Click Add Element.
  2. Type a name, set the quantity, and click a category.
  3. Click Add to breakdown.
It joins the scene’s list with nothing highlighted, which is right for something the page only implies, like a fog machine.

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Rename, retype, or remove an element

Work from the element’s row in Scene Elements.
  • Hover the row and click the pencil to rename it. The script keeps its own words. See How to rename an element.
  • Click the three dots, then Change type, to move it to another category in every scene it is tagged in. See How to change element type.
  • Click the three dots, then Remove from scene. If the element has a board with cards, the confirmation warns that they go with it.
An element's row menu: Change type and Remove from scene Click the element’s name to open its board, where its quantity, source, cost, and notes live. See Boards and cards. The coffee tin's board: element details with quantity, on screen, source, and its scene

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Show only some highlights

Click Filters and untick the categories you do not want to see in the script. Hide Highlights clears them all; click it again to bring them back. The Filters panel: a tick box for each highlight category

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Tag extras with a headcount

For Extras, the quantity is the headcount. Tag fishermen with a quantity of 3 and the sidebar shows x3. Casting those slots happens on the extras board; see Managing extras.

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Keep notes on the scene

The Production Notes box under the script saves to the scene’s board and prints on its breakdown sheet. All scene notes opens the board. See Managing scene boards. The Production notes box below the script, with the All scene notes link and Save Notes