A Lined Script is an important document that is shared with the post-production team from the production team. This document is typically created by the Script Supervisor while on set. Learn more about the role of the Script Supervisor here.

A lined script is made up of two types of pages: Lined Pages and Facing Pages

The Lined Pages look like the script except that is has a bunch of squiggly lines drawn through the text. Using the shooting script, vertical lines and notes are written directly on the script to indicate each camera setup recorded, who is shown on camera during specific moments, and how long the shot lasts for every scene. There are two specific types of lines to look for on a lined script:

The lined script can give insight into a shot before even watching the footage. For example in the image above, shot 3A is a shot of Mary, since there are squiggly lines every time Dr. Clayton speaks. We can also tell where a shot starts and stops. shot 3A begins on Mary gathering her items. And if you look at the bottom of Mary's line, "You could say that" you'll see a line indicating that this is where shot 3A ends. However, shots 4B, 4C, and 4D continue on to the next page because they have an arrow pointing down.

The Facing Pages goes hand and hand with the Lined Pages. It shares the important information the Script Supervisor took notes about on set for each scene, such as the camera setups, number of takes shot for a scene, if the Director prefers a take, the runtime of the shot, and any other important notes. The Facing Pages are the pages that are placed on the left side of the editors binder.

The Facing Pages typically include many abbreviations. Production crews use shorthand abbreviations on their paperwork as save space on their document and be more efficient when writing their notes. Find a full list of common standard production paperwork abbreviations here.

The Facing Page is like a cheat sheet of what coverage was shot for that scene. For example in the image above, shot 3A has three takes, but only takes 2 and 3 are circled. These "Circle Takes" are the ones the Director likes the most. That doesn't mean the Editor doesn't look at take 1. We just know that the Director prefers the other takes more.

Every day when production "wraps" someone from production will bring the days lined pages over to the post-production department. The assistant editors will then put those pages away into the Lined Script binder.

The post-production team uses the paperwork to:

It's important to note that reality shows, documentaries, and broadcast news do not get lined scripts. Only projects that start with a script get a lined script.