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AI Breakdown & Synopses

Two whole-script jobs the AI can do for you: a breakdown report, which finds what each scene needs and tags it, and Write synopses, which fills in the scene synopses you haven't written. Both need AI (Pro or the 14-day trial) and use the model set for Analysis under Settings → AI → Which model does what.

Generating a breakdown report

The AI reads every scene for props, wardrobe, vehicles, effects, extras and the rest of the breakdown departments. You choose what to add before anything is written.

Open it any of these ways:

  • Edit → Generate breakdown report…
  • ⌘J / Ctrl+J, then the Generate breakdown report command (see AI Commands).
  • The Library's ⋯ menu → Generate → Breakdown report (see Generating Media).

Then:

  1. Press Generate. The dialog shows "Reading scene 4 of 38…". Stop, or ⌘. / Ctrl+., ends it and shows what was read so far.
  2. Review. Each scene lists what was found, each element with a tick and where it stands: New note, In Library (an existing note will be tagged) or Already tagged. Use Select all or Select none, untick what is wrong, then press Create and tag, or Discard to write nothing.
  3. Report. Each ticked element becomes a note (or reuses the Library note of that name) tagged in every scene it was found in. An element in three scenes is one note tagged three times. The report lists, scene by scene, what was created, reused or already there.

In the report:

  • Undo takes the tags off again and deletes the notes the run made.
  • Open … next to an element opens its note.
  • Save report as a note page saves the report as a note page called "Breakdown report — " and today's date, and opens it.
  • Done closes it.

The tags are the same ones Add to breakdown makes by hand, so the breakdown sheets and each note's scene list read them. See Reports & Issues for the breakdown sheets.

Writing synopses

A synopsis (a line starting with =, ⌘Y / Ctrl+Y) is a one-line brief for the scene under it. It never prints, and the AI reads it as what the scene is for. See Notes and AI Setup.

With the screenplay open, choose Edit → Write synopses:

  • This scene — the scene the cursor is in.
  • Whole script — every scene that has no synopsis yet, and a summary at the top of the script.

Each synopsis is written directly under its scene heading. A synopsis you wrote yourself is never touched. The whole run is one step of ⌘Z. The same choice is in the Generate wizard as Scene synopses.

Who wrote it, and is it still true

Under a synopsis, a quiet line says who wrote it and when: AI · and the model, or Written by hand. Once the scene has changed since, it adds May be out of date. It also carries the action that fits:

  • Regenerate, on a synopsis the AI wrote, writes it again from the scene as it is now.
  • Mark up to date, on your own, records that it still matches the scene.

Page synopses

Settings → AI → Basics → Default AI → Write page synopses automatically keeps a one-line synopsis on each Library page that has none. It is written in the background, and written again once the page has changed. The AI then reads the synopsis instead of the whole page, which keeps long projects within a small model's reach. A synopsis you typed is never replaced.

It is on by default when this device has a small on-device text model, which writes them. Without one it stays off until you turn it on, because each page would go to your configured provider.