What a cross-boarded day looks like
Day 4 of block 2 on a fictional series, all at the precinct set:
| Ep-Sc | I/E | Set | D/N | Pgs | Cast | Story day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 103-14 | INT | PRECINCT BULLPEN | D | 1 6/8 | 1, 2, 5 | 3D2 |
| 104-02 | INT | PRECINCT BULLPEN | D | 2 1/8 | 1, 5 | 4D1 |
| 103-27 | INT | PRECINCT BULLPEN | N | 1 1/8 | 1, 2 | 3D3 |
| 104-19 | INT | PRECINCT, INTERVIEW RM | D | 7/8 | 1, 8 | 4D2 |
| END OF DAY 4 | 5 7/8 |
Total: whole pages 1 + 2 + 1 = 4, eighths 6 + 1 + 1 + 7 = 15/8, which is 1 7/8. So 5 7/8 pages. The story day column matters more than usual: Maya changes clothes four times in one shoot day.
Why productions do it
A series that shoots episode by episode visits its main sets again and again. Cross-boarding lets the AD plan each visit once for all the episodes in a block, which cuts set moves and location days. It also packs guest cast. If a guest actor appears in episodes 103 and 104, their scenes can be grouped into a short run so the day out of days shows two days instead of a work day in each episode's schedule with holds in between.
Setting up the board
Add an episode field to every strip and prefix scene numbers with the episode. Keep a consistent cast ID list across episodes: if Maya is 1 in 103 she's 1 in 104. Banner strips for episode start and end help department heads read the one-liner. The stripboard template can take an extra episode column.
Where it breaks
Rewrites are the weak spot. If 104 gets pink pages that cut scene 02, day 4 drops to 3 6/8 pages and the AD may pull something forward from another episode, which in turn affects that episode's cast.
Directors are another. If episodes 103 and 104 have different directors, cross-boarding forces them to share days. Most series avoid that by cross-boarding only within a block that has one director. Vertical and short-form shows that shoot a whole season at once cross-board every episode, and the vertical dramas page covers that workflow.