08 Feb Understanding Combined Dialogue and Action Continuity Scripts
Combined Dialogue and Action Continuity Scripts (also called Combined Continuity and Spotting Lists or CCSLs) are the most difficult and expensive scripts to prepare.
It’s often a hassle to order CCSLs near the end of a project and dedicate a large chunk of your budget on them, but they’re important for copyright, content editing, and foreign release.
Understanding Combined Dialogue and Action Continuity Scripts — what they include, why they’re important and how to accurately complete one — will allow you to better schedule your production time and budget.
What is a Combined Dialogue and Action Continuity Script?
A Combined Dialogue and Action Continuity Script — or CCSL — is a breakdown of all the dialogue and action in your production.
The dialogue and action are broken down shot by shot, word by word, according to either timecode or foot and frame timing (or both, depending on your needs). A CCSL needs to be extremely precise and includes the following:
- Shots are numbered and given a time reference
- Description of camera shots and the movement within each shot
- Full list of word-accurate dialogue is broken down, per shot
- All non-verbal utterances
- IDs, as well as notations about whom each character is speaking to
- Voiceovers, off-screen, and face obscured are indicated
- Foreign dialogue is included and translated
- Main titles and supers are numbered in
- Dialogue is broken into titles, with a timed reference in and out with duration, in accordance to subtitling standards
- Titles are edited, if necessary, to meet timing of subtitling standards
- Titles include annotations to assist translators, where necessary
- If appropriate, all titles are numbered and broken by reels
- Full list of end credits is included
These are the elements included in a comprehensive CCSL. Not all delivery requirements are the same, so it may be worth having a less involved version if your budget is tight and your requirements allow it.
Sample of a Simple CCSL
Download a sample of a Simple Combined Continuity and Spotting List (PDF)
Sample of a Comprehensive (or Complex) CCSL
Download a sample of a Comprehensive Combined Continuity and Spotting List (PDF)
Get more transcription samples, including Dialogue Lists and As-Produced Scripts.
What is a CCSL Used For? Why is it Part of My Requirements?
CCSLs are a delivery requirement between production companies and studios. They serve as a legal description of the film or television project for copyright purposes. The continuity is used for pan and scan and content editing, while the dialogue and subtitles are used for foreign release. CCSLs are also used as the outline for dubbing and subtitling.
How Do I Get a CCSL Completed?
Completing a Combined Continuity and Spotting List is a very labour intensive job. CCSLs need to be done by people (not machines), and they take a lot of hours to accurately finish. Due to the hours involved, it’s best to have your script into your transcription provider 4 weeks in advance of when you need it.
Note: To get an accurate script, only send final media. Sending initial media is a waste of time because your transcription provider will have to go back and change things. For example, one small edit throws all the timecodes after it off, making your transcription provider start from scratch.
When ordering a CCSL, your transcription provider will need:
- Media with a t/c or foot and frame burn, or both
- Shooting script, preferably a later version
- List of the tail credit crawl in a text format (Word, Excel, or other text document)
- Foreign language translations, if applicable
- Song lyrics, if applicable
Have more questions about CCSLs or other transcription formats?
Get in touch with us.
April Recipe: Spring Pea Shoot Salad
If you ever go to Legendary Noodle on Main at 26th (and you should, if you are able to eat and enjoy wheat), a definite must-order is the pea shoots. They are sautéed in garlic and so delicious! So in honour of spring and Legendary Noodle, here’s a pea shoot salad. This recipe was inspired by this Sesame Pea-Shoot Salad recipe.
Varying the quantities of the greens is totally okay.
Ingredients
1 cup sugar snap peas
½ cup snow peas
1 cup shelled peas or shelled edamame
6 cups pea shoots
Wash greens and pat dry. Optional: blanch the greens (except the pea shoots) until just brightly coloured. Or lightly sauté or steam them. Or leave them raw!
Toss greens together in a bowl.
Dressing
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp sesame seeds, may be toasted or soaked and sprouted
½ tbsp brown sugar if desired
2 tsp soy sauce or Bragg’s aminos
Whisk dressing together or whiz it in the blender, and drizzle over the greens.
