SceneItAllDocs

Scripts

What a script import brings in

When you upload a Final Draft (.fdx), Fade In (.fadein), or Fountain (.fountain) script, SceneItAll reads each scene heading, the scene’s text, and every character who speaks. This reference lists what a script import creates, how SceneItAll reads scene headings, and how imported cast is named, numbered, and tagged.

Like Movie Magic Scheduling, SceneItAll imports the scene headings and the talking characters of a script. Props, wardrobe, vehicles, and other elements are not read from the file; add them by hand or with AI element detection.

What each scene gets

Field Where it comes from
Scene number The number written in the script. A scene without one gets a number that fits its place, for example 27A between 27 and 28.
INT/EXT The start of the heading: INT, EXT, or INT/EXT. INT./EXT., EXT./INT., and I/E all become INT/EXT.
Set The place named in the heading. SceneItAll creates the Set, or reuses one with the same name.
Time of day The part of the heading that is a time of day, for example DAY, NIGHT, or RYTAS.
Special note Anything after the time of day, for example 1945 in EXT. TOKYO BAY - DAY - 1945.
Page and length Final Draft’s own page and length for the scene. Fade In and Fountain scenes, and Final Draft scenes without a length, get an estimated length.
Script text The full scene as written, with dialogue, action, and transitions.
Characters Every character who speaks in the scene. See Imported cast.

How scene headings are read

  • INT and EXT are whole words. A heading that starts with INTERCUT, INTERMISSION, or EXTRA has no INT/EXT; the whole heading becomes the Set.
  • Parts are separated by a dash with a space, or by an en or em dash (–, —). A hyphen inside a word, as in PRE-DAWN, SEVEN-ELEVEN, or WARM-UP AREA, stays part of the word.
  • The time of day must be a real time of day. SceneItAll knows DAY, NIGHT, DAWN, DUSK, MORNING, AFTERNOON, EVENING, SUNRISE, SUNSET, MAGIC HOUR, CONTINUOUS, LATER, and SAME, plus every time of day listed in the Final Draft file. Parts before the time of day stay in the Set, so DIRTY CITY - TOWN SQUARE - DAY imports with the Set DIRTY CITY - TOWN SQUARE and the time of day DAY.
  • Final Draft’s own lists help with other languages. When a Final Draft file lists the writer’s locations, a heading such as KOSTO KAMBARYS - RYTAS imports with the Set KOSTO KAMBARYS and the time of day RYTAS, even though RYTAS is not an English word.
  • Unclear headings keep their text. If SceneItAll cannot find a time of day, the upload still succeeds and keeps the heading. You can set the time of day from the scene header.

Imported cast

Every character cue in the script becomes a Character on the Characters tab and is tagged to its scene.

  • Names leave out anything in brackets. JANE, JANE (V.O.), JANE (CONT'D), and Jane (on the radio) all become one Character, JANE. Names are saved in capital letters.
  • Every speaker counts. This includes voice-over and off-screen speakers, both speakers in dual dialogue, and a character name with no dialogue after it.
  • Existing Characters are reused. If the project already has a Character with the same name, or with that character name, SceneItAll tags that Character instead of creating a new one. A second episode reuses the cast of the first.
  • New Characters are numbered. Each new Character gets the lowest free #, in the order the characters first appear in the script. You can renumber them on the Characters tab.
  • A speaker before the first scene heading, such as an opening narrator, becomes a Character that is not tagged to any scene.
  • Omitted scenes and sub-scenes get no cast. A character who speaks inside an INSERT, MONTAGE, or INTERCUT block is tagged to the scene that contains the block, not to the sub-scene.

Imported cast in a new revision

  • SceneItAll tags a revision’s cast after you review its scene matches and select Accept mappings. Until then, Breakdown keeps using the previous revision.
  • A revision only adds tags. A character who no longer speaks in a scene stays tagged until you remove the tag.
  • If you remove an imported tag, accepting the same scene matches again does not add it back.