See Time Tracking.
Make an actual mini plot about randomly misplaced paper notes.
A Scene is a unit of story telling time, which can be composed of multiple Shots displayed from a variety of Camera Angles. It is possible to intercut between two Scenes or to show one “recorded” Scene upon a video monitor or projection screen within another Scene.
Characters may be placed in a specific Location and Mark within a Scene, and then the Camera can switch between Angles, without having to re-position the Characters.
In other words, within a Scene each Character has its current Location and Mark within that Location, and even their placement/ordering within that Mark is tracked, entirely independent of the particular Camera Angle being shown.
Example, like in a Screenplay:
INT. Girls Cabin #1 - NIGHT, Lights Dimmed, Angle 1.
This breaks down to:
TYPE. Name of Location - TIME OF DAY, Lighting Options, Specific Camera Angle.
Name of Location: (Same name can be re-used for Interior and Exterior of the same building.)
These may apply to only certain Positions in the scene.
Presence of Overhead Lighting (i.e., from an overhead lamp)
Presence of Soft Lighting (i.e., wooded or covered area)
Campfire Lit vs. No Campfire (or Campfire not Lit)
Internal Building Lights On vs. Internal Building Lights Off
Doors Open vs. Doors Closed
Presence of Lantern on a Table.
Backdrop = Covers the Entire Screen
Overlay Layer = Has Transparency, can be a partial area of screen
Every location needs a Backdrop.
There can be multiple Overlay Layers per location.
If a table (for example) needs to go in front of the legs of a seated character, the table needs to be an Overlay Layer.
If shrubbery needs to go over the feet or ankles of characters, the shrubbery needs to be an Overlay Layer.
See also: Scene Compositing