Overview

Asset events represent important changes to objects, evidence, documents, vehicles, weapons, keys, letters, phones, maps or other story items. If an object matters to the plot or continuity, it should have a visible trail.

Tracking assets helps answer questions such as: Who has the letter? Where is the weapon? Has the key been found yet? Could this character know about the document?

Why It Matters

Objects often create continuity problems because they move quietly. A scene may hand a clue to one character, hide it in a room, destroy it or change its meaning. Asset events make those changes explicit.

Custody and location links help Continuity Explorer and warnings reason about whether the story state makes sense.

Examples

A letter is discovered in chapter two, stolen in chapter four and read aloud in chapter eight.

A weapon moves from a locked cabinet to a suspect's car.

A key is copied, lost, found and finally used.

A document is forged, signed, hidden and exposed.

A vehicle changes hands and later becomes an alibi problem.

Related Guides

• Story Assets
• Asset Custody
• Continuity Explorer