When getting started working in TV writing, or in TV production, you'll come across a ridiculous number of job titles.
And many of those titles have shortened versions of them, making it even more complicated. For example...
Transportation becomes Transpo.
Editors become Post.
The Assistant Production Coordinator becomes APOC.
And on and on...
But if you're working your way into the world of TV writing, there are a few jobs that are more important than others.
And the two that get conflated the most often are the two that I'm focusing on today: script supervisors and script coordinators.
Sounds like they could almost mean exactly the same thing, right?
Unfortunately, they don't. (And even some seasoned writers aren't aware of that.) But you want to be better than them and understand the world of TV writing, right?
So, let's get into the differences. And we'll start with...
Script Coordinators
This is a position I held a couple times. It is based in the writers' room, or at least reports to the writers' room/showrunner.
The script coordinator is in charge of the script. When changes are made to the script, the script coordinator is the one that physically makes changes to the script.
They are responsible for staying in touch with all departments, emailing out new drafts of the script, and making sure production stays aware of any changes.
They also may be responsible for keeping a bible for the show, which contains the stories and mythology over past seasons.
The script coordinator is an expert in using Final Draft, and basically, anything script related goes through them.
And that is very different from the...
Script Supervisor
This is a job that takes place on set. While down on set, the script supervisor is tracking every take of every scene, and marking notes on their script.
They are technically in charge of the continuity of a shoot, and are often coordinating between the cameras, actors, director, and sound.
They time out each take, and they even make note of any shots the director likes and wants to make sure are included in the director's cut in post.
Script supervisors will often have a relationship with the script coordinator because certain script sups (another abbreviation) have very particular ways that they'd like the script to be formatted. And the only one who can change the formatting is the script coordinator.
So, while both positions communicate with each other here and there, there is not really any overlap in the duties of the two roles.
Should I become a Script Supervisor if I want to be a writer?
No. The script supervisor job does not have anything to do with the writers' room. If you want to be in the writers' room, then the script coordinator job is what you should be looking for.
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