I rarely type up my mix scripts during a tech, and only digitize them once the script has solidified. I also never have my script in a
book format with two pages of text facing me. I use the backs of the previous pages for notes. This also helps my focus, as I tend to have all band moves and Q triggers on the right margin of my script and all
fader moves on the left margin of my script and I visually don't want those notes next to each other.
I have a whole rule set that I write my mix scripts by, and having these rules helps keep the script orderly and lets me have confidence in throwing faders without having to flip pages in precision with the action on
stage.
For text issues I do one of two things --
1. I write my upcoming
fader moves in the bottom right corner of my script on every
page, so I can take a mental note before the
page turn, or get the next
line up and then turn the
page. I write an arrow with the direction I need to move the
fader, and then the DCA number of the
fader I need to
throw. I write an X if a person who has dialogue before the flip ceases to talk at all on the next
page.
If it's an urgent
fader move that needs to happen on the flip I write it in red pencil. If it's a move that happens while dialogue continues from one
page to another, it gets written in regular pencil.
The bottom margin of every
page can look a little messy, especially if you have an urgent flip with several people speaking a few words in quick succession (IE X 2, UP 3/4, 7, 1) I know that 2 won't be speaking at all, I'm throwing 3 and 4 together, who say something, then 7, then 1.
If I find that the
fader order is too wonky with a
page flip, I'll trigger a DCA change scene over a lot of dialogue in a
page prior, keeping the dialogue up on one stick, and ordering quick succession dialogue into a logical DCA order, that way I don't need to flip the
page but know I can just bring up DCA 3/4, 5, 6 in that order and memorize the dialogue.
2. For pages where I NEED to have the
page flipped (i.e. where a
page flip kicks off a ton of dialogue among more than a handful of people) I simply find a place on a
page where I can flip the script truncate the rest of the
page, type up the portions of text on new pages, write in the actual
page number on the bottom (so I can flip to it in tech when the SM asks us to visit that section), and black out the portions of the pages I am truncating and
fitting on the new inserted pages.
