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Intro to characters, places, and items

You can keep every character, place, and item in your story in one shared catalog. Because catalog entries are linked to the text of the screenplay, the catalog stays true to the script as it changes.

Maren Voss's character page, open on the Edit tab.
Maren Voss's character page, open on the Edit tab.

The catalog

The catalog has three lists, under Imagine in the sidebar of a project:

  • Characters: The people in your story. Each character has a description, alternate names, a character bible, casting details, and look references. See Build characters and the character bible.
  • Places: The settings your scenes take place in, such as a lighthouse or a jetty. See Manage places.
  • Items: The props, costumes, vehicles, effects, and other things your scenes need, grouped by breakdown type. See Track items and props.

Every entry has its own page with a name, a description, and an optional icon. Everyone working on the project sees the same catalog, and changes appear for everyone as they're made.

A catalog entry becomes part of a scene when text in that scene is linked to it — a character cue, the setting in a scene heading, or a prop mentioned in the action. FilmKit creates most of these links as you write: when you type a character cue or a scene heading, it suggests matching entries and can create new ones. You can also link any other text yourself. See Link script text to the catalog.

These links are what the rest of FilmKit reads:

  • The breakdown lists, scene by scene, the characters, items, and places each scene needs.
  • A character's References and Dialog tabs list every passage where the character appears and every line they speak.
  • AI-generated storyboard frames use the characters and the place in the scene. See Generate storyboard frames with AI.

Story and real world

The catalog describes the story. The real-world things you use to film it live elsewhere and link back to the catalog:

  • A place can be linked to one or more shooting locations — the real buildings and streets where you film it.
  • An item can be linked to one or more production resources — the actual props, vehicles, or animals that stand in for it.
  • A character can be linked to the contacts you've cast in the role, and its casting requirements can drive a search of the talent directory.

See also