Breaking down a scene

Where elements come from

Importing a script adds every prop, vehicle and animal it finds, already tagged to its scenes. You add the rest by hand: stunts, effects, makeup, and anything the script doesn’t spell out.

Every element also gets a To find item on the Scouting tab. The card says where that stands, like Scouting: To find or Scouting: Rented.

Add an element

1. Open the form

   On the Breakdown tab, press New Element.

2. Fill it in

   Give it a Name and pick a Category. Status starts at Todo. Add a Description the department can shop from: “Nickel-plated 1911, non-firing” beats “gun”. Notes is for anything else.

3. Save

   Press Create Element. A card appears in the grid.

Tag it to scenes

Each card shows a scene count, like 0 scenes ▸. Click it to open a list of every scene in the project, then tick each scene the element appears in. Click the count again to close the list.

Tagging is what puts the element on the schedule and the call sheet. The schedule puts scenes on shoot days, so each strip shows its elements, and each day’s call sheet lists the elements tagged to that day’s scenes. Nobody types them in twice.

Change or remove an element

Edit reopens the form. Change the Status there as prep moves along. A rename carries over to Scouting.

Delete asks first. Its Scouting item goes too, unless someone has already added a vendor, photos or a rental to it.

Clear out what isn’t an element

An import can list things that aren’t props at all. Press Select, tick the cards, or press Select all, then press Not an element. Each one goes with its scene tags, its Scouting item and its card on the Props tab. The words are added to the project’s ignore list, so the next draft doesn’t bring them back.

Filter by category

Once you have elements, a row of buttons appears above the grid: All, plus one for each category in use. Click one to show only that category.

Give it a look

Props, set dressing and vehicles from an import are already on the Props tab. For one you added by hand, press Add to Design. It copies the element into the Props tab with its name, description, notes and scene tags, so you can make reference pictures of it. The button then reads In Design ✓. The two copies don’t stay in sync after that.

If a prop with the same name already exists, the element is linked to that prop instead of making a second one.