Production board
A traditional production board, stripboard, or production strip is a filmmaking term for a cardboard or wooden chart displaying color-coded strips of paper, each containing information about a scene in the film's shooting script. The strips can then be rearranged and laid out sequentially to represent the order one wants to film in, providing a schedule that can be used to plan the production. This is done because most films are shot "out of sequence," meaning that they do not necessarily begin with the first scene and end with the last. For logistical purposes, scenes are often grouped by talent or location and are arranged to accommodate the schedules of cast and crew. A production board is not to be confused with a Stripboard used for electronics prototyping.
A modern version of a strip board will commonly be printed using dedicated computer software, such as MovieMagic Scheduling, Celtx, or Scenechronize, or by customizing general purpose software such as OpenOffice.org Calc or Microsoft Excel.
Common Contents
Information on the strips can include
- The scene number
- The day (Sunrise/Morning/Noon/Afternoon/Evening/Sunset/Night)
- The number of pages in that scene
- This is commonly counted in eighths of a page.[1]
- The set that is described in the script
- The actual location that will be filmed
- The characters in that scene
- Miscellaneous notes on the production
Color Conventions
Production strip boards are often color-coded according to the following convention:[2]
Description | Strip Color |
---|---|
Day Interior | White |
Day Exterior | Yellow |
Night Interior | Blue |
Night Exterior | Green |
Day Separator | Black |
Week Separator | Orange |
Free Day | Grey |
Holiday | Red |
Scenechronize uses a sightly modified convention:[3]
Description | Strip Color |
---|---|
Day Interior | White |
Day Exterior | Yellow |
Night Interior | Green |
Night Exterior | Blue |
Sunrise Exterior | Pink |
Sunset Exterior | Orange |
Day Separator | Black |
Disabled Scene | Grey |
Finally, MovieMagic Scheduling has its own standard:[4]
Description | Strip Color |
---|---|
Day Interior | White |
Day Exterior | Yellow |
Night Interior | Blue |
Night Exterior | Green |
Evening | Orange |
Day Separator | Grey |
References
- http://goingforpicture.tumblr.com/post/16526489708/8ths
- Singleton, Ralph (1991). "4". Film Scheduling (2nd ed.).
- Scenechronize Help Page (click the "Pearls" button to see the legend)
- MovieMagic Scheduling 6 Tutorial Video
- Clevé, Bastian (2000). Film Production Management (2nd ed.).
- The Complete Film Production Handbook (3rd ed.). 2001.