# Locked script > A shooting draft whose page and scene numbers are frozen so every department shares one numbering scheme. After lock, changes become marked revisions instead of silently reshuffling the whole script. Also known as page lock, locked pages ## In practice Locking is a production decision, not a creative flex. You lock when sides, schedules, and call sheets already depend on "page 27" meaning the same thing for everyone. Before that, prefer clean continuous drafts so you are not inventing revision logistics while Act Two is still moving under notes. After lock, rewrites still happen — they publish as marked revisions, colored pages, and A-pages instead of silently reshuffling every later number. That is how the crew swaps paper overnight without reprinting an entire new continuum for a two-page dialogue fix on a locked book. Writers entering prep should ask who owns the lock and the revision run. Issuing your own "locked" draft with unofficial numbers can collide with the production office's scheme. Align early; then use revision discipline so every department cites one shared map of the shooting script. ## See it formatted - [How to number screenplay scenes for production](https://www.inkwell.software/resources/screenplay-formatting/scene-numbers-production-drafts): When to add scene numbers, how locked pages and A/B scenes work, and why spec scripts usually omit them. Includes screenplay examples and revision guidance. [See production workflows](https://www.inkwell.software/plot) ## Common questions ### When should I lock a script? When production numbering must stay stable — typically as you enter prep or shoot, not while you are still heavily rewriting Act Two for a buyer or room notes. ### Does locking prevent me from rewriting? No — it changes how rewrites are published. New material becomes colored revisions and A-pages so the crew can swap pages without reprinting an entire new continuum every night. ### Who decides that a script is locked? Usually production leadership with the writer or showrunner — not a solitary formatting toggle. Lock when boards and sides need a frozen numbering scheme. ### Can I unlock later if the story changes a lot? Sometimes production reissues a new continuum, but that is expensive in paper and confusion. Prefer revision mechanisms first; full renumber is a deliberate reset, not a casual undo. ## Related terms - [Revision colors](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/revision-colours): The industry color sequence (white, blue, pink, yellow, and onward) used to mark each revision pass on a locked shooting script so the set knows which pages are current. - [A-pages](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/a-pages): Inserted pages on a locked script that avoid renumbering everything after them — material between 27 and 28 becomes 27A, 27B, and so on. - [White pages](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/white-pages): The first locked generation of a shooting script — white paper (or the unmarked digital baseline) before colored revision rounds begin. - [Shooting script](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/shooting-script): The production draft: scene numbers, locks, and revision marks — the document departments schedule and shoot from, not the clean selling draft. --- Canonical page: