If checklists are good enough for surgeons, they're good enough for script coordinators.
Checklists are important tools in every industry: finance, technology, surgery. They establish a set of procedures for professionals to follow every time so that, if something goes wrong, that specific part of the workflow can be corrected and updated. And if you've ever published a script only to realize you forgot to check some crucial element you'd promised yourself earlier you'd definitely remember, then you already know how important a checklist can be.
Publishing Checklist
This checklist comes courtesy of from Shawn Waugh's seminal work on script coordinating, "Everything Sucks And I Hate Everyone - The Complete Guide to Script Coordinating".
Every Draft
▢ Correct Template
▢ Spelling (⌘,)
▢ Format Assistant
▢ Confirm Mores and Continueds are on (Document > Mores and Continueds)
▢ Names and Locations
▢ Cast Report (Tools > Report > Cast Report)
▢ Location Report (Tools > Report > Location Report)
▢ Style Guide
▢ Spaces after periods
▢ Pluralizing
▢ Ellipses
▢ Clearance check
▢ Other issues found after the last publish
▢ Confirm corrections with showrunner
Writer’s Draft
▢ Save starred/clean versions to Dropbox
▢ Publish!
▢ Send WIP to writer
Studio/Network Drafts
▢ Confirm changes were made in the correct file
▢ Confirm distro with S/N
▢ Create title page with current distro and date
▢ Confirm title page with showrunner
▢ Create starred/clean version to send to various parties
▢ Save starred/clean versions to Dropbox (and Scenechronize)
▢ Publish!
▢ Advance revision set
▢ Send WIP to writer
Production
▢ Confirm changes were made in the correct file
▢ Confirm distro with showrunner and production
▢ Add header
▢ Confirm current revision is “PRODUCTION DRAFT”
▢ Add scene numbers
▢ Create Revision History, Cast List, Set List, and Day/Night Breakdown
▢ Update Title Page to current distro and date
▢ Add TCSL to script
▢ Save starred/clean versions to Dropbox (and Scenechronize)
▢ Publish!
▢ Lock pages (Production > Lock Pages)
▢ Advance revision set
▢ Send WIP to writer
Revisions
▢ Confirm changes were made in the correct file
▢ Check for number of revised pages
▢ If over 50%, update revision set to COLOR DRAFT
▢ Denote that this revision is a FULL DRAFT (FD 10 and 11: Production > Revision Mode > Full Draft, FD 12: Production > Revisions > (Double Click) Active Revision > Page Color > Show On> Full Draft)[1]
▢ Check for added/deleted scenes and number/omit accordingly
▢ Check for D/N consistency (especially across new or deleted scenes)
▢ Check page numbers for unusual activity (eg. 10-10AA)
▢ Update TCSL to current distro and date
If publishing a full draft:
▢ Print full draft (Print > Entire script > PDF > Save as PDF)
If publishing pages:
▢ Print revision packet (Print > Revision (Current Revision Name) > PDF > Save as PDF)
▢ Print collated script
▢ Production > Revisions > Show collated Script
▢ Print > Entire script > PDF > Save as PDF
▢ Add TCSL to revision packet
▢ Add TCSL to script
▢ Save starred/clean versions to Dropbox (and Scenechronize)
▢ Publish!
▢ Advance revision set
▢ Send WIP to writer
[1] In FD 12, even though it looks like you’re just instructing FD to change the colors of all pages, this option sets the global variable “COLLATED REVISIONS” in your header.