dope-sheet

Noun

dope sheet (plural dope sheets)

1. (idiomatic) A summary, ordinarily in the form of a document, containing important facts and background information concerning a person, activity, or other subject matter.
   • "He went to Alaska and made a fortune. Then he squandered it, drinking, fighting, gambling, and frittering it away on women. . . ."
     "Hold up! Your dope sheet is way to the bad. . . . Who told you all that?"
     "Never mind. I have proof."1904, Rex Ellingwood Beach, Pardners
2. (idiomatic) A publication, updated very frequently and used by people who make horse racing wagers, which summarizes information about the horses running in specific races; a publication which provides background information and/or predictions used by people wagering on any sort of competition.
   • The Bruins, seeking their third straight NCAA title, are picked on The Times dope sheet with 59 points.1973 June 7, Harely Tinkham, “Trojan Stock Soars as Bruins Come Up Hobbling for NCAA”, in Los Angeles Times, page P1
3. (idiomatic) A summary of the content and technical information for a set of photographs.
   • The "field number" of the film is indexed into a reference file, along with the cameraman's "dope" sheet.1967 August 4, “Stored at Quantico: Fifty Years of Filmed History”, in Free Lance-Star, USA, retrieved 07 Aug 2011, page 5
4. (idiomatic) A set of detailed instructions which the designer of an animated film provides to the photographers and editors.
   • From a workflow point of view, the access to these tools seems to have been guided by artists with experience with exposure sheets (a dope sheet for lip synch is included) and traditional animation.2002 May 1, S. D. Katz, “Animation: Master 2002”, in digitalcontentproducer.com, retrieved 07 Aug 2011

   Synonyms:

   exposure sheet