Table of Contents

Adding and Removing Background

Michelle Salatto Updated by Michelle Salatto

Background (BG) Characters can be created and added to a Scene. Background Characters only need to be created one time in your production. Afterwards, they can be added as existing Background Characters.

Creating Background

Create a Background Character once and it can be reused across multiple Scenes or episodes within your production. 

New Background Characters can be created on the Character Index or on a Scene View page.

Creating on the Character Index
  1. Click Characters in the top navigation bar.
  2. Scroll down to the Background card (below the Principals card).
  3. Click Add in the Background card.
  4. Make sure Type is set to “Background”.
  5. Type in the name and select the episode(s) this BG group is in (other fields can be completed anytime).
  6. To save, click:
  • Save to create that one BG group. 
  • (+) to create and add another BG group.

After creating Background from the Character Index, you are ready to start adding them to Scenes. 

Pro Tip: You can use the same Background Character across multiple Scenes and change the count per scene. For example, you can have 5 POLICE OFFICERS in Scene 1 and 15 POLICE OFFICERS in Scene 2. Just change the count when adding existing Background to a Scene.
Creating on a Scene View page
  1. Click on a Scene or use the Universal Search bar to access a Scene View page.
  2. Scroll down to the Background card (below the Principals card).
  3. Click Add in the Background card.
  4. Select Create New. 
  5. Make sure Type is set to “Background”.
  6. Type in the name (other fields can be completed anytime).
  7. To save, click:
  • Save to create that one BG group. 
  • (+) to create and add another BG group.

Adding Background to Episodes

If you are working on a traditional episodic production, you can manually add existing Background Characters to episodes from the Character Index or a Character View page.

Add on the Character Index
  1. Toggle the Character Index view to Full Season by clicking the blue hyperlink to the selected episode(s) above the Principals table.
  2. Click the Ellipsis in line with the Background Character you want to add to an episode.
  3. Click Edit.
  4. Use the dropdown under the Episode(s) column to select or type the episode.
  5. Click Save.
Add on a Character View page
  1. Click the Sidebar Ellipsis.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Use the dropdown next to Episode(s) to select or type the episode.
  4. Click Save.

Adding Background to a Scene

Search for the Scene or the Background Character in the Universal Search bar to get directly to the Scene View or the Character View pages, respectively.

Add on a Scene View page
  1. Click Add in the Background card.
  2. Select Add Existing.
  3. Start typing the name of the Character in the search bar to quickly find your desired BG.
  4. Enter the Count for that Scene (if desired).
  5. Click Done.

Note: Background cannot be added to Scenes on the Scene Index but are available to view.
Add on a Character View page
  1. Click Add in the Scenes card.
  2. Select the Scenes you wish to add the BG Character to.
  3. Click Save.
Note: If you are adding Background to Scenes from the Character View page, you cannot adjust the Count per Scene from this view. Adjust the Background Count on the Scene View page.

Upgrading Background to Principal

Only users with Edit Scenes and Characters permissions enabled can update the Character Type. If you need to upgrade your Background Character to Principal, you can do that on the Character View page.

  1. Click the Sidebar Ellipsis.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Click the dropdown next to Type and toggle it from Background to Principal.
    1. Assign a Character Number, Actor, and Description, if desired.
  4. Click Save.

If you had budgeted this Character, it will now appear on the Principal Characters tab of the budget with the budget value retained.

Removing Background from an Episode

Only users with Edit Scenes and Characters permissions enabled can remove Characters. Removing a Character means that you are removing them completely from an episode. Any photos tagged to the Character or its Changes or Looks will have those tags removed, but the photos will remain.

Warning: Removing a Character from an episode permanently removes them from all Scenes in that episode. All of their Changes and Looks for the episode will also be deleted.

The fastest way to remove Background from an episode is on the Character View page. Quickly access the Character View page by typing the Background name into the Universal Search bar and selecting it from the search results. 

Remove on a Character View
  1. Click the Horizontal Ellipsis in the Sidebar.
  2. Select Edit.
  3. Click X next to the episodes you are removing the Character from.
  4. Click Save.
  5. Review the pop-up message and click Confirm.
Remove on the Character Index
  1. Click Characters in the top navigation bar.
  2. Click the Ellipsis in line with the Character you wish to remove.
  3. Select Edit.
  4. Click X next to the episode you wish to remove them from.
  5. Click Save.
  6. Review the pop-up message and click Confirm.

Removing Background from a Scene

The fastest way to remove Background from an episode is on the Character View page. Quickly access the Character View page by typing the Character name into the Universal Search bar and selecting it from the search results. 

Remove on a Character View
  1. Click the Ellipsis in line with the Scene you wish to remove it from.
  2. Select Edit.
  3. Click Remove.
  4. Review the pop-up message and click Remove to confirm.
Note: If you have access to multiple departments, make sure you only have one department selected when trying to remove BG from a Scene on the Character View page.
Remove on a Scene View
  1. Find the Scene by typing it into the Universal Search bar and selecting it from the search results.
  2. Click the Ellipsis in line with the Character you with to remove.
  3. Select Remove.
  4. Review the pop-up message and click Remove to confirm.

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Principal Characters with Multiple Numbers

Adding and Removing Principal Characters

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