What is a Tick?

A Tick is that vertical line that you create on a script, signifying the start and end of a particular shot.

Some call it lining, or marking a script. Others may call it lining a shot, or marking shots. There’s all kinds of ways to say it but in Filmatick, they are called Ticks.

 

A Tick has a starting point and ending point. The bigger square at the start of the Tick, has the shot numberand the type of shot that it is. The end, thinner square, signifies the end of the shot. Ticks can be moved anywhere around the script and can be edited even after initially creating one.

In Filmatick, a Tick also represents time. When a user first creates a Tick, Filmatick uses the “Eighths” system in screenwriting to roughly estimate how long that tick is in time. A page is divided into 8 - Eighths, or about 7.5 seconds. This Tick will create a shot that is the same time as the length of the Tick.

This time is used as an initial approximation and can be edited after creation.

Workflows to Create a Tick

There are many different ways to create a tick. A user can start right away and draw ticks on the script. This is useful if the Director wants to quickly get their ideas for shots on the script and worry about what the shots look like later.

There is no need to create a set or do scene blocking to create a Tick.

However, it is recommended that the user follow the Filmatick Workflow to make full use of the software.

Either way, the guide to creating a Tick is the same.