Sides: Overview
In film and television production, “sides” are miniature reproductions of the day’s shooting pages, formatted to fit an actor’s pocket yet detailed enough to include slug-lines, dialogue, and simple scene descriptors. While the full script is the master blueprint, sides function as the tactical playbook, ensuring that everyone—from lead actors to boom operators—knows exactly which scenes are being tackled on a given day.
Physical Format & Digital Evolution
Traditional sides are printed on 5.5 × 8.5-inch paper (half-letter), double-sided, and usually colour-coded to reflect script-revision colours (white, blue, pink, yellow, green, etc.). In the 2010s, eco-aware sets began adopting password-protected PDF sides distributed via secure apps like Scenechronize or Yamdu, sometimes watermarked with each recipient’s name to deter leaks.
Sides: Assembly Workflow
- Pull Pages — The 2nd AD extracts scene numbers slated on the call sheet.
- Strip Metadata — Cut extraneous synopsis and cast lists to keep page-count minimal.
- Annotate — Highlight stunt notes, dialect tips, or prop continuities that apply only to that shoot day.
- Distribute — Print before crew call; place in cast trailers, camera carts, and department folders.
Sides: Practical Usage
Actors rely on sides for last-minute line refreshers between takes, eliminating the need to carry the entire 120-page screenplay. Camera assistants mark focus pulls directly on sides, while script supervisors jot down corrections that later migrate into continuity reports. On complex action units, trimmed sides often include thumbnail storyboards or overhead blocking diagrams.
Sides: Confidentiality Concerns
Studios treating plot secrecy as marketing gold (e.g., Marvel, Lucasfilm) frequently redact spoiler-heavy dialogue or release dummy sides. Productions have experimented with self-erasing thermal ink and QR-code-locked PDFs, though these measures sometimes slow rehearsal.
Comparison With Related Documents
| Feature | Full Script | Sides | Call Sheet | | — | — | — | — | | Purpose | Master narrative | Daily dialogue reference | Logistics & timing | | Page Size | Letter/Legal/A4 | Half-letter | A4/Letter | | Intended Users | All departments | Cast & set crew | Entire crew | | Revision Colours | Yes | Mirrors script | Separate colour logic |
Trivia & Folklore
- The origin of the term may trace back to “side sides”—double-column dialogue sheets used in 19th-century stage plays.
- Actor Sir Laurence Olivier notoriously doodled caricatures of his co-stars on his sides to help memorize blocking.
- Losing one’s sides on a confidentiality-heavy franchise can incur fines up to US $500 under certain NDAs.