Drehbuch with pencil marks indicating which dialogue was filmed in which shot — continuity log during principal photography. Script Supervisor marks live.
The script supervisor sits next to the camera and marks with a pencil during each take – which dialogue lines, which movements, which glances land in this particular shot. The lined script thus becomes a living production chronology. Each line marks the exact cutting point of a take, each note documents what is in the can. This is not pedantry, it is a necessity for survival in the edit.
On set, it works like this: While you are setting up, the script supervisor has your original script in front of them – usually spiral-bound, robust, well-worn. As soon as the camera rolls, they draw a clean line with a pencil next to the dialogue line or the action that is currently happening in the frame. If the take breaks, the line stops. Next take, new line. At the end of the shooting day, each page has a network of lines, crosses, numbers – a pattern that only this one person can truly read, but that's precisely the point. The editor later needs exactly this information: Which line works in take 3, camera A? Where does the action end in the wide shot? This saves hours in sync.
The notations go beyond simple lines. Arrows indicate camera movements. "OOF" (out of frame) marks when actors leave the frame. Short symbols for errors – a crossed-out A for flub, small notes for continuity problems (actress held glass in right hand, now left). The editor will be grateful if they see that you have documented on page 7 exactly where the transition between camera positions sits.
The quality of the lined script correlates directly with editing efficiency. A clean lined script means no wild goose chases for the right take, no 20 minutes of spooling through footage to find the spot where the dialogue actually happens. It is the equivalent of labeled cables on set – professional basic hygiene. Without this document, editing becomes a guessing game.
The annotated script goes into the archive, becomes part of the production documentation. Sometimes, months later – in reshoots, in new versions – your editor needs exactly this information. "Where was the camera in the fourth take of the dialogue scene?" Answer: Look in the lined script.