Script Supervisors: Unsung Heroes of Film & TV

Connecting the shots: Continuity matters

Continuity is so much more than matching cups and hands. You’ll begin to see that in this topic where we take a deep dive into what it means to manage continuity on set. But first, we have an interview with absolute ICON, and hands down the perfect person for this episode, Mary Cybulski.

Mary Cybulski’s impressive credits include multiple Academy Award-winning films Life of Pi, Michael Clayton, Syriana, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Oscar-nominated Kinsey, and The Tempest, as well as cult favorites Eat Pray Love, and To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar. She also wrote one of the most important and oft referred to books on script supervising, “Beyond Continuity: Script Supervision for the Modern Filmmaker.” While she’s no longer actively script supervising, Mary shares her talents on set as a still photographer and is currently working on an update to her widely recognized book.

Buy her book here! And look for the updated version to be released soon!

Hosted, Created & Produced by Caryn Ruby
Produced and Edited by Eden Woolworth
Sound Mixer Adam Carl
Original Music by Edith Mudge
Logo design by Sharon Watt
Episode artwork by Ana Ziegler Loes

Script this, supervise that...what it’s really like being the Script Supervisor
(All of the responsibilities, none of the glory)

In this episode, we take a closer look at what it feels like to be a script supervisor, and how our work on set also helps out in post. Plus, master script supervisor Mary Cybulski shares a revealing BTS story from the film “Life of Pi.” But first, we have an informative interview with the incomparable Dawn Gilliam.

Dawn’s multi-decade Script Supervising career began with Boyz n The Hood and includes groundbreaking and Academy Award-Winning and nominated films such as Black Panther, Fences, Star Wars: Episode IX and literally dozens of films and TV shows you’ve no doubt seen. She has served as President of ITASE Local 871 union for script supervisors, is responsible for getting IMDB to create a new category for Script Supervisors, and has taught the craft of script supervising through her popular online course: The Art of Continuity since 1995.

https://www.theartofcontinuity.com
check out her new business venture https://www.datemymakeup.com

Hosted, Created & Produced by Caryn Ruby
Produced and Edited by Eden Woolworth
Sound Mixer Adam Carl
Original Music by Edith Mudge

Logo design by Sharon Watt
Episode artwork by Ana Ziegler Loes

At our best, script supervisors are filmmakers and key members of the crew – yet the belittling nickname “scripty” remains incredibly pervasive. We discuss where it came from, and why we all should stop using it.

But first, we talk to Robert Goodwin. He is an incredibly supportive and super helpful member of our community as well as one of the Administrators of LASSN (Los Angeles Script Supervisor’s Network). His credits include the Emmy Award-winning Dark/Web , Disney’sEarth to Ned , and Love Is Not Love which won awards at more than 100 film festivals. We have an enlightening conversation about continuity mismatches on screen and gender roles as related to film crew positions.
Hosted, Created & Produced by Caryn Ruby
Produced and Edited by Eden Woolworth
Sound Mixer Adam Carl
Original Music by Edith Mudge

Logo design by Sharon Watt
Episode artwork by Ana Ziegler Loes

This episode we hear some fun and fascinating anecdotes about the history of our craft and some ideas about how we can make the future better for the next generation of script supervisors.

But first, we talk to HANNAH DRISCOLL in another in-person interview from before the pandemic. Hannah has been a full time Los Angeles based Script Supervisor since 2015 and has worked on everything from the Emmy-Award Nominated series Pen 15 and Adam Ruins Everything to big-budget commercials for well-known national brands. She has an online course, Script Supervising 101, for beginning script supervisors, and for fun she hosts a podcast called John Wick Deep Dives where she overanalyzes John Wick scenes with film industry professionals.

In the final episode of this series, we discuss all the ways the coffee cup could have ended up on screen, why it most definitely is NOT the fault of the script supervisor, and then learn what really happened.

But first, we talk to SHARON WATT. In addition to being one of the Administrators of NYSSN - the New York Script Supervisors Network, Sharon has worked on many Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning films and TV shows such as Boardwalk Empire, The Night Of, Mr. Robot and The Time Traveler’s Wife. Fun fact, Sharon also created our podcast logo!

Hosted, Created & Produced by Caryn Ruby
Produced and Edited by Eden Woolworth
Sound Mixer Adam Carl
Original Music by Edith Mudge

Logo design by Sharon Watt
Episode artwork by Tia Marissa