Finding stunts in plain language
Writers rarely write "STUNT." They write verbs. Here is a passage and what a breakdown pulls out of it:
64 EXT. PARKING GARAGE - LEVEL 3 - NIGHT
Ana shoves Cole into a pillar. He swings, misses,
and she sweeps his legs. Cole hits the concrete.
Headlights. A sedan screeches around the ramp and
Ana rolls across its hood as it brakes.
| Action | Tag | Who is involved |
|---|---|---|
| Shove into pillar | Stunt (fight) | Actors with coordinator, pads on pillar |
| Leg sweep, fall to concrete | Stunt | Stunt double for Cole, pads/mat |
| Car brakes near performer | Stunt driving | Stunt driver, picture vehicle |
| Roll across hood | Stunt | Stunt double for Ana, hood padding |
Four stunt items in five lines, 3/8 of a page. On the stripboard that scene looks tiny, which is exactly why the breakdown has to flag it. A car hit might need a half day of rehearsal and several resets, and garages often restrict hours.
What the stunt coordinator adds
Once scenes are tagged orange, the stunt coordinator reads every one and turns them into a stunt breakdown: which performers, how many doubles, rigging (pads, air rams, wires, ratchets), rehearsal time, and a per-scene cost estimate. That list goes into the budget and changes the schedule, since stunt days get lighter page counts and rehearsal time in prep.
The coordinator also decides what's a stunt and what isn't. An actor running down stairs might be fine for three takes and a safety problem for fifteen. Tag it and ask.
Safety and paperwork
Stunt scenes bring a safety meeting on the day, usually right before the rehearsal, and the relevant safety bulletins from the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee get attached to the call sheet. Scenes with gunfire, cars, or fire combine stunts with special effects and need both departments at the table in prep.
On union shows, stunt performers and coordinators work under SAG-AFTRA contract terms of their own, and a background actor who does an identifiable stunt is upgraded. That's another reason to put stunts in the breakdown, where the producer sees the cost before the shoot day.
Common mistakes
Missing implied stunts is the big one: "he's thrown out of the bar" gets tagged as background because the bouncers are extras. Another is breaking down only the stunt and forgetting the knock-on elements: duplicate wardrobe for the double, matching wigs, pads under costume, hair and makeup for cuts and bruises after the fight. Our post on breaking down stunts, SFX, and VFX goes through a full action sequence.