Tag elements in your script for an automatic breakdown
A script breakdown is the backbone of pre-production: every prop, costume, cast member and location your shoot needs, scene by scene. In Curtyn you don't build it as a separate document. You tag elements right inside the script, and the breakdown, and every list that depends on it, builds itself as you write.
You'll need a project with a script open in the Scriptwriter tool. If you haven't created one yet, follow “Set up your first production in Curtyn” first.
In this guide
Open your script in the editor
From your project, open the Scripttool in the left sidebar. Curtyn's editor handles industry-standard screenplay formatting for you, so scene headings, action and dialogue are already styled correctly.
Tagging works on any scene, whether the script is a first draft or locked. You can tag as you write, or come back and break down a finished draft in one pass.
Select the text you want to tag
Highlight the words that name an element. That might be a character (Maya), a prop (storm lantern), a piece of wardrobe, a vehicle, or the location in a scene heading.
A small tag menu appears as soon as you make a selection. You can also press T with text selected to open it straight from the keyboard.
Choose a category for the element
Pick the category the element belongs to: Cast, Props, Wardrobe, Location, Vehicles, Sound, and more. Each category has its own colour, so a tagged script stays easy to read at a glance.
If an element is new, just type its name in the tag menu and Curtyn creates it. If it already exists in the project, start typing and pick it from the list so you don't end up with duplicates.
See it land in the scene breakdown
The moment you tag an element, it appears in the breakdown panel for that scene, grouped by category. There is no separate step to “generate” a breakdown. It is always a live reflection of what you have tagged.
Reuse an element across scenes
Most elements show up more than once. When Maya appears in Scene 22, tag her again and pick the existing Maya from the list. Curtyn treats it as the same element, so her scene count, and every list she belongs to, stays accurate.
This is what makes the breakdown trustworthy: one element, tagged everywhere it appears, counted correctly everywhere it matters.
Send the breakdown to your lists or a PDF
Your tagged elements already feed the project's Lists, so a props list or a cast list is ready without any extra work. From the breakdown panel you can also export a clean, branded PDF, scene by scene or for the whole script, to hand to a department or pin up on set.
Because the breakdown is connected, a change in the script updates the lists and the next PDF you export. Tag once, and the rest of the production stays current.