“Was he holding the backpack in his right or left hand or both?”
I was the script supervisor on Bokeh, the role also known as “scripty”. It was my job to preserve the illusion for my audience that the entirety of our storyline was shot in a chronological sequence. My goal was to ensure that no Bokeh viewer would ever be able to say, “Wait a minute, wasn't he wearing the plaid shirt a second ago?” or “When did those storm clouds roll in?” This required making sure props were correctly set, actors were in the right costumes and that makeup matched the previous scenes. My responsibilities extended further into memorizing actor movements within a scene, timing each take, creating daily progress reports, and noting any changes in dialogue. Scripty required constant multitasking and attention to every detail.
These duties landed me on the front line, side by side with the co-directors. The directors could be both my greatest supporters and my strongest challengers. Their aesthetic vision often had them requesting to change the actors’ wardrobe midstream. I was the one who had to review previously shot scenes and approve changes, or remind them why we had to stick to our plan. At times this led to heated debate, but typically ended in witty banter and comic relief. Whether being called Kat Attack, Katniss or one of my many other new nicknames, I could always be found on set watching the monitor, listening to dialogue through a headset with clipboard in hand while taking notes on my script. I was thrilled to take on the challenging role of scripty, especially with the help from everyone on the team. Filmmaking requires collaboration, and Bokeh was no exception.
Scripty Essentials
- Coffee
- Canon T3
- Clipboard
- Pencils (many)
- Printed Script
- Hat & Scarf
- iPhone w/ Music
- A Sense of Humor!
Biggest Challenge
“If you don’t like the weather, just wait 15 minutes and you’ll get something different.”
Rain. Wind. Sun. Hail. More rain. The unpredictable weather proved to be my biggest challenge as scripty. Unlike wardrobe or prop changes, I had no control over the environmental elements. My rain jacket and hiking boots became my best friends as I embraced the unpredictable. I had to deal with discontinuous takes within the same scene, for example in take one it was sunny but then in take five it was raining heavily. In many situations the Bokeh crew had to fight hard against the weather to get the shot. However, there was rarely a fight that was not won.
That’s A Wrap
It is pretty incredible what can be accomplished in five weeks. Bokeh has been successfully filmed and is now in post-production. I am honored to have been script supervisor on such an intense and creative journey. But most of all I cannot wait for everyone to see Bokeh. We will be launching a Kickstarter campaign soon that will enable us to share the film with a larger audience. Get ready because this is just the beginning.
By Kat Gatti