Film & TV Production Glossary

Plain-language definitions of the production terms you will meet across screenwriting, breakdowns, scheduling, budgeting, and the shoot itself. Where a term maps to an InteScene feature, we note how the platform handles it.

Script breakdown

The process of reading a screenplay and tagging every production element in each scene, including cast, props, wardrobe, vehicles, special effects, visual effects, and extras, so departments can plan, schedule, and budget. InteScene generates breakdowns automatically with AI.

Call sheet

A daily document sent to cast and crew listing the shoot date, location, call times, scenes to be filmed, weather, nearest hospital, and key contacts. InteScene auto-generates call sheets from the schedule.

Stripboard

A scheduling tool that represents each scene as a coloured strip. Strips are reordered to plan the most efficient shooting order based on location, cast, and logistics.

Day Out of Days (DOOD)

A report showing which cast members and resources are required on each shooting day, used to plan availability, manage costs, and minimise idle days.

Daily Production Report (DPR)

An end-of-day summary recording the scenes shot, page counts, hours worked, and any issues encountered on set. InteScene generates DPRs automatically.

Top sheet

The summary first page of a production budget that totals each account category, giving financiers and producers a quick overview of estimated and actual spend.

Shot list

An ordered list of every camera setup planned for a scene, including shot size, angle, movement, and equipment. InteScene can generate shot lists from scene text with AI.

Storyboard

A sequence of drawings or images that visualises shots before filming begins. InteScene can generate storyboard frames with AI, guided by reference images for character likeness and style.

A/V script (audio-visual script)

The two-column script format used for commercials, promos and branded content. The video column describes what is on screen shot by shot, the audio column carries voiceover, music and sound effect cues, and running timecode keeps the read matched to the runtime. InteScene writes A/V scripts on a board that cuts straight to an animatic. See A/V script software

Animatic

A timed edit of storyboard frames with voiceover, music and sound effects, used to test pacing and prove a spot fits its runtime before anyone books a crew. InteScene cuts animatics from the same boards on a timeline with separate voice and music lanes. See animatics in InteScene

Cutdown

A shorter edit of a commercial made from the same material as the master, such as a 30 or a 15 cut from a 60. In InteScene each cutdown is its own spot, keeping its own timings, review history and approval state. See how spots and cutdowns work

Pre-production meeting (PPM)

The meeting where the agency, client and production company walk through a commercial before the shoot, covering boards, cast, locations, wardrobe and schedule. The deck presented there is the PPM book, which InteScene assembles from live project data. See PPM books

Chart of Accounts

The standard categorised structure used to organise a film or TV budget into accounts and line items, making estimates comparable to actual spend.

Fountain

A plain-text markup format for writing screenplays in standard format. InteScene imports and exports Fountain (.fountain) files so work is never locked in.

Final Draft (FDX)

A widely used screenwriting application and its .fdx file format. InteScene imports and exports .fdx files for interoperability with existing scripts.

Index cards

A visual outlining method where each scene or story beat is written on a card and arranged to map narrative structure. In InteScene, index cards auto-sync with the script and carry AI scene summaries.

Continuity

The practice of keeping details consistent between takes and scenes, such as wardrobe, props, hair, and action, so edited footage matches seamlessly.

Turnaround

The minimum rest period between a cast or crew member wrapping one shooting day and being called for the next. InteScene can flag turnaround violations from check-in times.

Sides

The small printed pages containing only the scenes being shot on a given day, handed to cast and crew for quick reference on set.

Pre-production

The planning phase before filming, covering scripting, breakdowns, scheduling, casting, budgeting, and locations. InteScene is designed to run the whole pre-production pipeline in one workspace.

Location scout (recce)

Visiting and assessing a potential filming location for suitability, logistics, and permits. InteScene stores recce photos, maps, and permits in a location dossier.

Above-the-line and below-the-line

Budget categories used in film and TV. Above-the-line covers creative leads such as the writer, director, producers, and principal cast; below-the-line covers the technical crew and physical production costs.