A vertical drama script looks small. Each episode might be a page or two, and a producer who reads episode 1 can picture shooting it in an afternoon. The trouble shows up when you have 60 of them: dozens of sets, the same penthouse used in 20 episodes, a lead in almost every scene, and wardrobe changes that follow the story rather than the shoot order. The planning method is the one used for features. It needs more discipline in numbering and continuity, because there are more pieces.
This guide plans ASHFORD HEIR, a fictional 60-episode vertical series, from locked scripts to a day-by-day shoot plan. The numbers are made up but they add up, so you can follow the arithmetic with your own series. For the hour-by-hour build of a single day, see vertical series production schedule.
Step 1: lock the scripts and number for production
Don't break down a series while episodes 40 to 60 are still being written. Changes late in the season ripple back: a character introduced in episode 52 may need to be seeded in a scene you already scheduled for episode 12. Lock the whole season, or at least lock it by location, before building the schedule.
Then number every scene by episode. Scene 3 of episode 14 becomes 14.03. A two-digit scene number keeps the list sortable (14.03 comes before 14.10). With 60 episodes, a plain running scene count would be clearer to a computer and far worse for people. When a 2nd AD says "we're on 14.03," the script supervisor, the editor, and the social team all know which episode that is. Added scenes take A numbers (14.03A), and cut scenes are marked omitted with the number kept. Scene numbering rules covers the conventions.
Step 2: count the pages
Measure every scene in eighths of a page, the same way as a feature. Then total by episode and by season.
| Episodes | Count | Total eighths | Pages | Average per episode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 10 (setup) | 10 | 150 | 18 6/8 | 1 7/8 |
| 11 to 50 | 40 | 480 | 60 | 1 4/8 |
| 51 to 60 (finale arc) | 10 | 150 | 18 6/8 | 1 7/8 |
| Season | 60 | 780 | 97 4/8 | 1 5/8 |
780 eighths divided by 8 is 97 with 4 left over, so 97 4/8 pages. The opening and closing arcs run longer per episode, which is common when the first episodes have to set up the world and the last ones pay it off.
Page counts in a vertical script can mislead in one direction: a quarter page of "they kiss, she slaps him, he smiles" can take as long to shoot as a page of dialogue. Mark stunts, intimacy, crowds, and effects on the breakdown so they're visible when you build days. The page count calculator helps if your scripts aren't in standard format.
Step 3: break down by story day
In a feature, a costume change usually happens between scenes that are near each other in the script. In a vertical series, episode 3 and episode 41 can shoot back to back in the same penthouse, weeks apart in story time. Wardrobe, hair, and makeup need to know which look each scene is in.
Give every scene a story day during breakdown (D1, N1, D2 and so on across the season) and let the script supervisor track the timeline. Then note the look for each principal per story day. On ASHFORD HEIR, the lead, Clara, has 14 story days and 11 wardrobe looks. Those looks go on the breakdown and later on each call sheet line. The story day glossary entry shows how the chart is built.
Step 4: group scenes by set
Now ignore episode order. Sort all 190 scenes by set, and total pages per set.
The sets for ASHFORD HEIR cluster into five practical locations: a penthouse apartment, an office tower, a clinic, a restaurant with the street outside, and an estate. Every scene in each location shoots on the same day or consecutive days, so the company moves as little as possible. If a set appears in only one or two short scenes, look for a way to rewrite it into a set you already have. On a series this size, cutting one location can save a day.
Step 5: choose a daily page rate
There's no correct number of pages per day. It depends on how many setups each scene needs, how many cast are in each scene, how much wardrobe changes between scenes, and how far the company walks between sets. How many script pages can you shoot in a day walks through the factors.
Test two rates against the season total:
| Target rate | Arithmetic | Shoot days |
|---|---|---|
| 12 pages a day | 97 4/8 / 12 = 8.1 | 8 days, with a little over 12 pages on some |
| 10 pages a day | 97 4/8 / 10 = 9.75 | 10 days |
The difference is two shoot days of crew, cast, locations, and equipment. The producers of ASHFORD HEIR chose the 12-page plan after a tech scout showed each location could hold several sets within a short walk, and they kept the option to add a ninth day if Day 1 came in under 10 pages. The shoot days estimator runs this comparison for any rate.
Step 6: build the days
Assign each set to a day, keep each day to one location where possible, and total the pages. Heavier days go where the set is simplest.
| Day | Location and sets | Scenes | Eighths | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PENTHOUSE: living room, kitchen | 24 | 106 | 13 2/8 |
| 2 | PENTHOUSE: bedroom, hallway; EXT. balcony (night) | 22 | 94 | 11 6/8 |
| 3 | VANCE TOWER: CEO office, conference room | 26 | 108 | 13 4/8 |
| 4 | VANCE TOWER: lobby, elevator, parking garage | 25 | 96 | 12 |
| 5 | ST. JUDE CLINIC: patient room, corridor | 23 | 102 | 12 6/8 |
| 6 | MARCO'S BISTRO; EXT. city street (day) | 24 | 92 | 11 4/8 |
| 7 | ASHFORD ESTATE: study, dining room, bedroom | 27 | 104 | 13 |
| 8 | ASHFORD ESTATE: garden wedding, EXT. driveway | 19 | 78 | 9 6/8 |
| Total | 190 | 780 | 97 4/8 |
Check the total by adding the eighths column: 106 + 94 + 108 + 96 + 102 + 92 + 104 + 78 = 780. That matches the page count from Step 2, so no scene was dropped or counted twice.
A few decisions sit behind the table. Day 2 includes the balcony night scenes, so it has a later call and fewer pages. Day 4's parking garage scenes need the garage owner's off-hours, so they're last in the day. Day 8 is the lightest because the wedding has 30 background and a stunt fall into the fountain, and pages don't measure either. Day 1 is heavy but it's the simplest set, with the lead and one other actor in most scenes.
Every day also touches many episodes. Day 1 alone includes scenes from 14 different episodes. That's normal, and it's why the numbering in Step 1 matters.
Step 7: schedule the cast
Build a day out of days once the days are set. Clara and her love interest, Julian, work all 8 days. Supporting roles cluster by location: the doctor works Day 5 only (SWF), the CEO's assistant works Days 3 and 4, and the grandmother works Days 7 and 8. Grouping by location keeps most supporting cast to one or two consecutive days, which matters when you're paying them by the day.
Check for the actor who appears in one scene on Day 1 and one on Day 7. You either pay them for the days between (as holds, depending on the deal) or drop and pick them up. Moving one scene to a different set is often cheaper.
Step 8: decide how you'll shoot vertical
Decide during prep whether the camera shoots native 9:16 or shoots a wider frame and crops. It affects which camera and lens package you rent, how monitors are mounted, what frame lines the DP and director watch, and whether the same footage can later be cut for a horizontal platform. Whatever you choose, make sure video village, the script supervisor, and the editor all see the same frame lines. A shot that works on a horizontal monitor with a guide can still cut off an actor's hands in the delivered frame.
Step 9: union coverage
If you're hiring union performers, sort this out before casting. SAG-AFTRA's FAQ on the 2026 TV/Theatrical Agreement says work on verticals for AMPTP member companies continues under the Made for New Media Sideletter, which allows negotiable rates and includes protections for minors, nudity and simulated sex, and artificial intelligence. It also notes a separate verticals contract for independent producers. For the union's independent New Media Agreement, a production has to be submitted at least three weeks before principal photography and have at least one SAG-AFTRA member cast in a role essential to the story. The New Media Agreement entry has more detail.
Doing this in Storiara
Storiara imports scripts as PDF, Word, or Final Draft files, splits them into scenes, and shows each scene's page count in eighths, measured from the PDF layout. You can tag breakdown elements from the script and build days by dragging scenes on the stripboard, which flags a day that runs past its maximum length. The Day Out of Days is generated for cast from that schedule. It doesn't choose the days for you, so the set grouping and page rate decisions above are still yours. The vertical dramas page describes how the modules fit a series.