Breakdown
Navigate the breakdown overview
The breakdown overview is an episode-scoped view of the latest production-ready scenes, characters, elements, Sets, and Locations. Use it to scan breakdown progress, search and filter scenes, run AI element detection, edit scenes in bulk, and open any scene for detailed work. Breakdown state is shared across script revisions.
Before you start
- You have a dated script with parsed scenes. The overview follows the episode’s latest production-ready revision automatically; selecting an older revision in Scripts does not change Breakdown.
- To run AI detection, edit scenes, or use bulk actions, you need edit access. Project Owners and Admins must first turn on Edit mode with the View/Edit toggle in the toolbar.
The five tabs
A tab row sits at the top of the breakdown overview. The tabs, in order, are:
| Tab | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Breakdowns | One row per scene in a stripboard-style table. This is the default tab. |
| Characters | Every named character in the script. |
| Elements | Every element in the project, grouped by type. |
| Sets | Every production Set in the project, with its filming Location and latest-revision scene usage. |
| Locations | Every Location entity used across the script. |
[SCREENSHOT: The breakdown overview tab row with Breakdowns, Characters, Elements, and Locations, and the toolbar beneath it]
On the desktop table layout, drag the vertical line at the right edge of a column heading to make that column narrower or wider. Column widths are saved on the current device and restored when you return. This works in all five tabs; fixed utility columns such as selection checkboxes, row expand controls, and action menus do not resize. If the resized columns become wider than the available list area, scroll the table horizontally.
The Breakdowns tab
What each scene row shows
Each row’s columns are configurable in breakdown settings, but a row can show the select checkbox, scene number, INT/EXT, Set, time of day, Review Status, Shoot Status, page count, cast, element and crew indicators, and a Notes count. Review Status is visible by default immediately before Shoot Status and can be sorted or filtered like the other data columns.
The Sets tab
Use Sets as the project-wide directory for in-story production spaces. Admins and Owners can create or edit a Set directly on this tab without arming the scene-level Edit mode. You can create a Set before choosing a filming Location, move it later, or leave it unassigned. Moving or unassigning a Set’s Location updates every scene using that Set. One Location can contain several Sets, but the same Set record cannot span two Locations; create a separate, clearly named Set such as SPA — HOTEL A and SPA — STUDIO B. Each Set has one Description field for free-form details. When script import creates or reuses a Set with no Type, SceneItAll defaults it from the detected scene headings: Interior for INT, Exterior for EXT, and Interior / Exterior for combined or mixed use. A Type selected manually is never replaced by an import. The Add/Edit Set form uses the shared project dialog styling: a standard dialog heading and 12 px labels and field values. Scene references use only the latest completed, non-archived revision of each active episode.
To consolidate duplicates, select the discarded Set to open its read-only detail panel, then select Merge into another Set…. Search for and select the Set to keep, then review the latest-revision, earlier-revision, and historical scene counts before confirming. The surviving Set keeps its name, filming Location, type, description, and notes; those fields are not combined with the discarded Set. Every linked scene moves to the survivor and inherits its filming Location. Existing schedule strips and report snapshots are historical snapshots: they keep the Set name they already captured instead of being rewritten by the merge. A merge permanently deletes the discarded Set and cannot be undone.
In the Locations tab, expand a Location and select Link Sets to attach one or several existing Sets in the same action. Linking a Set that currently belongs to another Location moves the Set and all its scenes. New Sets are created only from the Sets tab, which avoids accidentally creating duplicates while organizing Locations.
Search for a scene
Type in the Search field above the table to filter scenes by scene number, INT/EXT, Set, or time of day. Results update as you type.
Select scenes for batch operations
Select the checkbox on any row to pick a scene, or use the header checkbox to select every scene that matches the current filters. A selection enables the AI element detection action and the per-selection items in the Bulk actions menu.
Open a scene
Select a scene row to open the scene detail view, where you tag elements and edit the scene.
Switch scene order
Use the order toggle (the list icon) in the toolbar to switch between Scene order (script order) and Shooting order (sorted by shoot day, with unscheduled scenes falling to the bottom). The icon turns the accent color when Shooting order is active.
Refresh the list
Select the refresh icon in the toolbar to reload scenes.
The AI tools menu
Select AI tools in the toolbar to open a menu. The first three actions each require at least one selected scene and edit access:
- Element Breakdown — run AI element detection on the selected scenes. When scenes are selected, the item shows the count, for example Element Breakdown (3). See Detect elements with AI.
- Generate Synopses — generate AI synopses for the selected scenes. See Write a scene synopsis.
- Estimate Timings — estimate screen and shooting time for the selected scenes from their page lengths.
While an AI job runs, the AI tools menu is replaced by a status strip and a Cancel button so you can stop the job; you can keep working elsewhere in the app while it runs.
Daytime colors for non-English scripts
Each scene’s strip color and its day/night (sun/moon) icon come from the scene’s daytime word — the time of day in the slugline. SceneItAll knows the standard English words (DAY, NIGHT, DAWN, DUSK, MORNING, AFTERNOON, EVENING, MAGIC HOUR), but scripts written in other languages use their own — for example Lithuanian RYTAS (morning), DIENA (day), NAKTIS (night), VAKARAS (evening).
The time-of-day chip itself reads day vs night at a glance: a DAY scene shows as a white chip with black text, and a NIGHT scene as a black chip with white text. Other times of day (dawn, dusk, morning, and so on) keep the neutral chip. This colouring is on the chip only — the full-row strip tint is unchanged.
When you import a script, SceneItAll automatically sorts any unfamiliar daytime words into one of the eight standard categories so your strips color correctly — RYTAS is treated as Morning, NAKTIS as Night, and so on. The original word still shows in the table; only the color and the sun/moon icon follow the category.
To review or fix a mapping, open the global settings and go to Breakdowns → Visual configurations, then scroll to the Daytime colors section. Each custom word is listed with a category dropdown (each option shows its color swatch). Pick the matching category and the strips recolor immediately; choose Unset to leave a word uncolored (it shows a neutral gray bar). If automatic classification wasn’t available at import time, words start out unset here and you can assign them by hand.
Read the strip color key
A compact Strip color key card sits in the page footer below the Breakdowns table on the desktop app, at the same vertical position used by the Schedule strip board’s color keys. It explains every INT/EXT and time-of-day row color. The key is display-only: selecting a swatch or label never filters or changes the breakdown.
Use the eye icon directly above the settings cog in the left sidebar to hide or show color-key cards. This is a global, device-local display preference, so the same choice also controls the key on the Schedule strip board and is remembered when you return. Hiding the card gives its space back to the table.
The Bulk actions menu
Select Bulk actions in the toolbar to open the bulk menu. Most items act on the selected scenes:
- Bulk edit (N) — edit shared fields across the selected scenes at once.
- Import timings (CSV) — import scene durations from a spreadsheet (Owners and Admins only); the CSV carries its own scene mapping, so no selection is required.
- Delete — delete the selected scenes after a confirmation dialog.
There is no cross-revision Copy Breakdowns action: matching revisions share the same stable production-scene breakdown automatically. Bulk scene renumbering is also kept out of Breakdown because screenplay revision numbering belongs upstream.
Scene visibility is managed by structural workflows such as Split and Merge. The breakdown no longer has a Show hidden scenes setting or manual Hide selected / Unhide selected actions. Hidden source scenes remain available in Script Management and in their dedicated reversal workflows.
Banners above the table
Two banners can appear below the toolbar:
- A proposal banner when an AI element-detection or synopsis run is ready for review. Select Review to open it. See Detect elements with AI.
The Characters tab
The Characters tab lists every named character. Use the Search field to filter by name. Select Add Character to create one, or Autonumber to assign character numbers in order. Select a character to open its read-only detail panel. The panel shows the description and operational Character information; Owners and Admins use the panel’s actions to edit, assign Cast, or delete the Character. The directory row itself has no action menu.
The # column shows each character’s number. By industry convention this matches the actor’s cast number — character #1 is played by Cast #1 — so the same number flows onto call sheets, sides, one-liners, and other reports. Assigning a cast member to a character sets the character’s # to that cast member’s number automatically.
The Elements tab
The Elements tab shows every element in the project.
- A category sidebar on the left lists every element type with a count badge. Select a type to filter the table, or select All Types to see everything.
- The table lists each element with its name, department, and the scenes it appears in. Filter chips above the table narrow the list by element state (All, Active, Merged) and by scene number.
- Select an element to open its read-only detail panel. Owners and Admins choose Edit or Delete from that panel.
- Select Add Element to create a new element. Owners and Admins see Add Category immediately to its right and an Export action that downloads the element list. See Export breakdown data.
- Owners and Admins can edit a built-in or custom category by right-clicking its sidebar row and selecting Edit from the context menu. Category rows have no visible edit icon. Only the display name and color change; the category’s stable key remains unchanged so existing elements and report filters keep working.
See Work with breakdown elements.
The Locations tab
The Locations tab shows every Location entity used across the script. Use the Search field to filter by name, select Add Location to create one, and select a location to open its detail panel and automatically expand its linked Sets and scenes beneath the row. New and existing Locations use the same Status choices: Scouting, Pending, Confirmed, Wrapped, and Cancelled.
When an address is filled in, Find coordinates from address searches only when you select it; typing does not send searches. Choose one provider match before anything changes. Coordinates are applied by default, while Use matched address too is an optional choice. Cancelling, receiving no matches, or encountering a provider error leaves your manually entered values unchanged. Provider attribution is shown with the matches.
Location scene counts, expanded scene references, and the Set cards shown under each Location follow the latest production-ready revision of the selected episode. Changing the revision in Scripts does not change this directory. Sets unused by the latest production-ready revision are hidden. Linked Set cards use the standard surface color — white in light mode — like the rest of the directory. Use the row’s chevron to fold that inline section closed or open again. A Location is a real-world filming address — distinct from a scene’s Set (the in-story space named in the slugline).
Configure breakdown settings
Breakdown settings are project-wide and live under Global Settings → Breakdown (Owners and Admins only). The settings cover which columns appear on the Breakdowns tab, which element categories show on scene sheets, linking rules, the timing estimate, and per-device display preferences. See the tab list in Break down a scene in the detail view for what each settings tab controls.
On the Linking Manager tab, rules attach an existing breakdown element when a trigger matches. When you add or edit a rule, choose the target from the element picker rather than typing a loose name. A rule whose previously selected target was deleted appears as Unresolved and stays disabled until an Owner or Admin opens it and selects an exact replacement. During the one-time upgrade from name-based rules, rules with genuinely ambiguous targets are removed; their breakdown elements are never deleted.