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Rehearsals: Giving line notes - a real novice question

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SMeustace:
Thanks, good note. I'll try emailing their individual notes instead of sending out a single document.

bex:

--- Quote from: SMeustace on Jul 28, 2014, 06:44 am ---If you type up line notes then distribute them to the actors- do you email all the line notes on a single document to the cast, or do you email each actor individually with only their own notes?

--- End quote ---

I have an excel file that I use for line notes- the 1st column is the actor's name, then page #, "Error," then the line itself.

I type the lines in order as I go through the script, then sort by actor's name to group all of the notes for each actor in their own section. Then I hide the notes for all the actors but one, and either pdf it or copy/paste into the body of an email to the specific actor.
I start a new sheet of the document for each day's rehearsal that I'm giving line notes for, that way it's easy to go back over the previous rehearsals and see what they have been consistently missing.

Thespi620:
I've used a form before as an ASM, but that just confused me.

I tend to use a combination of shorthand in my script and post-it notes. I'll jot down the page # and line on an actor-specific post-it when the line is flubbed. If it's a line that is consistently forgotten/flubbed, I'll mark it in my script using my shorthand, and put that day's date--in addition to noting it on the post-it with a star next to it.

In really dialogue-heavy scenes where transcription isn't possible onto the post it notes, I'll mark it in my book during the run, and place a blank post-it on the side of my script page as a reminder to go back and transcribe onto individual notes before distribution. Then, typically the note reads something like: "p 76 MAN: How dare you.... THRU WOMAN:....again! pls run with [scenemate's name]"

I also make sure to give every actor in the company at least one post-it at the end of every rehearsal. For those with no line notes, I'll put a smiley face or another encouraging doodle. For those with especially tricky passages or just trouble learning lines in general, this takes away from the embarrassment. However, the whole room notices when one actor gets a stack of notes. That warrants a bit of shame, typically.

PSMKay:
The coder in me is screaming internally here.

So one of the current trends in web development is to separate the different pieces of code into 3 different layers.
Lowest layer - Provides all the information. (In this case, the script)
Middle layer - Interacts with the Lowest layer, and outputs results to the top layer (In this case, you.)
Top layer - Receives input from visitors, formats output into a readable version.

(For those of you other coders out there you'll know this as MVC.)

What I'm seeing here is a conflation of the Middle & Top layers. I'm thinking ideally that you'd set up a fast method that allows you to easily flag line notes (Middle Layer) and then output them in any format desired by the talent, be it flash cards, page-per-actor, or everybody on one page. (Top Layer)

Matthew, if you wanted to try a database, this would be your chance. ;)

MatthewShiner:
Oh - PSMKay - Projection Scorpion - the code name for my current Data Base project is killing me already.

Ultimately, this is a tricky thing about line notes and who is on book and who is giving lines notes - and the team dynamics - ideally you have one sm on book and one sm taking line notes - but some staff sizes would limit that - even on my luxuriously large teams, I don't think that is the best use of resources, except for perhaps during a run.

I am worry about putting this all on to a computer - and here's my on my well worn soap box - a computer, by nature, and how we interact with it - is a multi-task machine - and putting someone with an open computer, you really have to fight staying focused on the task at hand (prompting / being on book / line notes). 

I think the easiest high tech way of taking line notes is open the script, highlight missed parts, and then cut and past into email.  Saving that script with a date.  I never want my assistants to put the WRONG thing they said, so, sending a note

HAMLET
To be or not to be

Should be enough to give the actor note where he messed up (And yes, I had an a Hamlet call for line after that . . . he really just screwed up his blocking, but being off in blocking made him screw up his lines)

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