# Lined script

Source: https://storiara.com/glossary/lined-script
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Nick Harty, Storiara

> A lined script is a copy of the shooting script on which the script supervisor draws a vertical line for each setup, running through the dialogue and action that setup covered. Lines are labeled with the slate number, and a squiggle marks where a character is off camera. With the facing-page notes, it tells the editor exactly what coverage exists for every line.

## How the lines work

Picture page 23 of the script, scene 14. The script supervisor draws one vertical line per setup, top to bottom, through the part of the scene that setup covered.

```
                                   14    14A   14B   14C
MAYA                                |     |     ~
  You kept it?                      |     |     ~
                                    |     |     |
JOE                                 |     ~     |
  I kept everything.                |     ~     |
                                    |     |     |     |
Joe folds the napkin, slowly.       |     |     |     |
                                    |     |     |     v
MAYA                                |     |     ~
  That's not an answer.             |     |     ~
                                    v     v     v
```

Reading across: the master (14) covers the whole passage with both actors on screen. 14A is Maya's single, so it's straight on her lines and squiggly (off camera) on Joe's. 14B is Joe's single, the reverse. 14C is the insert of Joe's hands, which only covers the napkin moment. An arrow or bar at the bottom shows where the setup ended; a line that stops halfway down the page means that setup only covered part of the scene.

At the top of each line the script supervisor writes the slate and the circled takes ("14A: 2, 4").

## The facing page

The page opposite each script page carries the notes: setup, lens, description, takes, timings, and what went wrong in each take. That's the [continuity report](https://storiara.com/glossary/continuity-report) material, laid out next to the lines it refers to.

## Why editors care

When the director asks in the cutting room for "a different read on 'I kept everything,'" the assistant editor looks at page 23, sees that line is covered in 14 and 14B with Joe on camera (and 14A with Joe off camera, which might still be usable audio), and pulls those takes. Without the lined script, someone scrubs through every clip of the scene.

## Lining errors editors find later

A line drawn through the whole scene when the setup only picked up from the middle hides a gap in [coverage](https://storiara.com/glossary/coverage). Forgetting to switch from straight to squiggle misleads the editor about who's on screen. And lining on the wrong revision of the script (white pages when the set is using blue) puts page and line references out of step with the [shooting script](https://storiara.com/glossary/shooting-script).

The [script supervisor](https://storiara.com/roles/script-supervisor) keeps the lined script along with the daily [script supervisor report](https://storiara.com/glossary/script-supervisor-report). Slate letters follow the production's convention; see [scene numbering rules](https://storiara.com/blog/scene-numbering-rules).

## Frequently asked questions

### What does a squiggly line mean on a lined script?

The character speaking or acting at that point is not on camera in that setup. A straight line means they're on screen. So a single on Maya shows straight through her lines and squiggly through Joe's.

### Who uses the lined script?

Mostly the editor and assistant editor, who use it to find every setup covering a particular line. The director and script supervisor also use it on set to check that a scene has full coverage before moving on.

### Is script lining done digitally now?

Often, yes. Script supervisors commonly line PDFs on a tablet in dedicated apps. The conventions are the same as on paper.