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CBS/Paramount sues to stop Axanar

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Yeah that was the claim they made to the court that a locked script really wasn't a locked script because they were still working on it and the new version of the locked script might not violate copyright.

Trust me, I have worked on a few productions and a script is never truly locked! I have never seen a production where alterations were not made in some way or another, up to, and even, sometimes thru filming. I never really cared for the term 'locked script'.
 
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I think a lot of amateurs misapprehend what "locked" means, because it doesn't mean the script isn't going to change. Locking is merely a production necessity whereby the scene numbers and page numbers et al get locked down so the production doesn't have moving targets.

Once locked, Scene 16 henceforth is always Scene 16, even if you delete or add scenes in front of it. It you delete scene 15 you do so by flagging it as OMITTED but the number doesn't change. If you insert a new scene after it, it becomes 15A not 16. EDIT: This because it would be confusing to the production. Imagine Scene 16 has certain props, costumes, actors, etc., et al, required. Now imagine if Scene 16 suddenly becomes Scene 17, and imagine trying to ensure that everything planned for 16 gets shifted to 17 amongst multiple departments and half-a-hundred production documents. It would be a recipe for disaster. Easier to lock the scene #s.

Same is true of the page numbers. If Scene 12 ran from page 37 and ended halfway down page 39 after which Scene 13 starts, if you make Scene 12 longer by a page the numbering goes 37, 38, 38A, and 39, so that Scene 13 still starts in the same place. This is necessary because you only print the pages that change and to renumber the pages would force you to reprint a lot more pages just for a few changes.

Unlocking the script generally means you had some sort of collapse in preproduction where the script has been revised so heavily it's easier to do a "new white" script and renumber everything.
 
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You don't move the page number where scenes start. If I move scene 13's start from Page 39 to 40 then it potentially changes every subsequent page break. That's what the system is designed to avoid.
 
That's a waste of paper, and producers are legendary for cutting costs wherever possible.
That's their job: spend the money where it matters.

Also, scripts are broken down based on 8ths of a page increments. If the initial locked draft starts each scene on a new page you'd have no way to estimate the runtime of the script without going page by page and noting how many 8ths of a page are left blank on the ending page of each scene.
 
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I added the following to a post above for clarity, but am placing it here for those who read past that section already.

As to why Scene #s don't change once the script is Locked:

This because it would be confusing to the production. Imagine Scene 16 has certain props, costumes, actors, etc., et al, required. Now imagine if Scene 16 suddenly becomes Scene 17, and imagine trying to ensure that everything planned for 16 gets shifted to 17 amongst multiple departments and half-a-hundred production documents. It would be a recipe for disaster. Easier to lock the scene #s.​
 
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:shrug:
 
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