Avoiding AD mistakes
How do you avoid the possibility of a line producer or AD misinterpreting what you wrote?
Do you get to meet with them and say, “These two characters are the same guy, I just wanted to make him a mystery in the beginning. So don’t schedule two actors for this.” Or, “This location is just a different name for INT. JIMMY’S HOUSE on page 10.”
Josh
Philadelphia, PA
Since many readers may not be familiar with the process, one of the first steps in pre-production is to break down the script scene-by-scene, making a list of characters, locations, vehicles and other production concerns. Usually, this task falls on the assistant director (AD), with a lot of input from the director and line producer, along with other department heads. The goal with a good breakdown is to have all the information nicely structured, so the AD can build a good shooting schedule.
The first rule of breaking down a script is to read through the whole thing first, so you really understand what’s going on. And most AD’s are pretty sharp, so they’ll catch these simple mistakes themselves.
But yeah, it happens.
I can’t think of a good example from features I’ve written, but on my first television show (D.C.), we ran into a couple of situations where the breakdown didn’t reflect reality.
A common mistake is not including a character who should be in a scene. It’s easy to overlook a character who doesn’t have any dialogue, and therefore has no words on the page to acknowledge his presence. (Note: If you have a character who doesn’t do or say anything in a scene, your first question should be, why is he here at all?)
From the screenwriter’s perspective, the best advice is pretty simple: introduce yourself to the AD.
This is unfortunately rare.
Since the AD spends most of her time on the set, and the writer spends almost none of his time on the set, their paths don’t otherwise cross that often. The AD’s primary relationship is with the director. She won’t think to pick up the phone and call you with a question, unless you already have some kind of rapport. So introduce yourself, and make it clear you’re on call to answer any questions, 24/7.
Once you have a relationship with the AD, she’ll ask, “Could this scene be day rather than night?” And if it doesn’t really matter, say you’ll be happy to change it. Consult with the AD about how she likes her scene numbers; there are several philosophies about how you add a scene between 94 and 95, and it’s important to be consistent.
And as soon as the first one-line schedule is published, read it. Go through the script page-by-page and make sure nothing’s been left behind.
Articles
October 5th, 2005 at 11:38 pm
” So introduce yourself, and make it clear you’re on call to answer any questions, 24/7,” is the pinnacle of practicality.
As always, John, great offerings.
October 6th, 2005 at 10:41 am
Mr. August,
Thank you for answering my question.
-Josh
October 6th, 2005 at 6:28 pm
There was a great post on wordplayer.com (in the “classics” or “legends” section) about a writer turning up on the set when they were shooting a scene from page 70 and quite politely asking the director why the actress playing a character who died on page 30 was on camera.
The director freaks and flips through the script in a panic then eventually tunrs on the writer and asks why the script doesn’t make it clearer. The writer asks should he have written Clara is still dead at the top of each page, maybe?
Then when the director tells the actress, she returns to her trailer and throws the writer a dirty look, like he’s conspiring to get her screen time down or something.
Who’d be a writer…
Sorry couldn’t track it down for a link, but trawling through their archives is worth it anyway.
October 7th, 2005 at 10:00 am
That’s one of my favorite articles on Wordplayer. And, in case anyone’s interested: Link.
October 8th, 2005 at 5:01 pm
Thanks a lot to both Mark and logster.
October 11th, 2005 at 2:47 am
All AD’s are female by the way. Just in case anyone was wondering.