SCREENPLAY BASICS A Scripped Compendium by Johnathan Carr WRITING IN THE NOW Traditional storytelling recounts past events, whereas screenwriting is locked in the present - thus you may not deviate from PRESENT TENSE. You may also be tempted to describe every inch of the world youre creating - dont! Take comfort in the idea that a screenplay is not meant to have any literary value. As youre writing, be mindful to preserve only the most important details: information that will advance the story. FADE IN At the beginning of a feature film script, often but not always, the first line will be: FADE IN. Scripped defaults the first line to a SCENE HEADING, but you can always change the element if youd like to add FADE IN or something else. BREAK UP ACTION While you can write a longer ACTION paragraph, think about keeping it under five lines at a time. Break up the paragraph at the start of a new beat to make for an easier read. CAPITALIZATION IN ACTION In the ACTION line, be sure to capitalize SOUND EFFECTS, CAMERA DIRECTION and the first appearance of a speaking CHARACTER. PARENTHETICALS Use a PARENTHETICAL to note an action the speaker is performing while speaking or if you want to indicate whom the speaker is addressing such as addressing a new character in mid-DIALOGUE. You can also use a PARENTHETICAL to describe the speakers demeanor if that information is important to the story. Limit PARENTHETICALS to no more than four lines. Also, you would never add a PARENTHETICAL at the end of a line of dialogue. OFF-CAMERA DIALOGUE Off camera (O.C.) and off screen (O.S.) are identical, which one you use is really a personal preference. They indicate that a speaking character does not appear in the frame, but is physically present in the scene. VOICE OVER The voice over abbreviation (V.O.) is used when a speaking character has no physical presence in the scene (voice on phone, TV, narration, etc.) or for the characters inner monologue. CAMERA DIRECTION Describe specific SHOTS only when necessary, not every little bit of CAMERA DIRECTION need be mentioned. Remember that a script is not meant to be a shot list. One technique to get around explicit CAMERA DIRECTION is to hint at particular camera angles by careful arrangement of ACTION. See how this ACTION line implies a two-shot: Whereas here the action is broken to suggest a new camera angle on Tymon: SHOW, DONT TELL Think subtext. Film DIALOGUE is typically sounds more natural than what you would hear in a theatrical performance. The real thoughts and emotions are just under the surface. You cannot write in a script what the audience cant see or hear. That is, you cant write, He thinks about his wife... in an ACTION line or (thinking of wife) in a PARENTHETICAL because we cant see or hear that. These would be examples of a note from the director, or perhaps an actors note to himself, which he would write into his own personal printed copy of the script. However you are allowed to use non-visual commentary and even colloquialism if it provides practical cues for performance and direction (can be communicated through body language) and can substitute for pervasive description. Read any script by Quentin Tarantino, he makes excellent use of cool, non-visual commentary. KEEP IT TIGHT Tighten ACTION by careful use of verbs in place of adverbs and simile. Instead of writing: Johnson quickly runs out of the room like a puppy dog, you could write: He scampers away. ABBREVIATED SCENE HEADING An abbreviated SCENE HEADING can be used when the new location is just another part of the previous one. In this case, JOHNSONS CUBICLE is just another corner of INT. CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS. IN AND OUT For scenes taking place at locations that exist both inside and outside (like an automobile on a highway) you would choose the SCENE HEADING abbreviation I/E. indicating INTERIOR/EXTERIOR. PHONE CONVERSATION There are a few ways to handle telephone conversations and this is one example. If you want to cut back and forth between the locations where your two characters are speaking over the phone, you could write, INTERCUT telephone conversation. Use this in place of rewriting the SCENE HEADING every time you cut back to one or the other location. DREAM SEQUENCE A DREAM SEQUENCE or FLASHBACK can be written like a SCENE HEADING but is underlined. Afterwards you must somehow indicate the sequence is over. MONTAGE One way to format a SERIES OF SHOTS or a MONTAGE is to write MONTAGE in a SCENE HEADING and then write each shot as a new paragraph. Unless you specify otherwise, the MONTAGE will end before the next SCENE HEADING. UNDERLINE FOR EMPHASIS You should use UNDERLINE when you wish to emphasize DIALOGUE and ACTION. BOLD and ITALICS can get lost in poor print jobs as when photocopies are re-copied. But if youre only making digital copies, Scripped provides the other font options. INTERUPPTED DIALOGUE If a speaking character is interrupted by ACTION, but continues to speak after the ACTION line, you could add (CONTD) after the character name. However, modern screenwriting standards have eliminated this practice except in writing for half-hour television sitcoms. A NEW CAMERA ANGLE If you need a new camera angle but arent sure what the specific type shot should be, just write NEW ANGLE and the director will think of something later. SCREEN DIRECTION In addition to CAMERA DIRECTION you should also note in capital letters the SCREEN DIRECTION when a character enters or leaves the frame, but not when they emerge from within the frame. SUPERIMPOSE You can add SUPERIMPOSED text when needed by writing SUPERIMPOSE: as a SHOT line followed by the text in quotations on another line. Optionally, you may integrate the text into a line of ACTION and abbreviate as SUPER: [Your Text]. THE END At the end of a feature film script, you will often see: FADE OUT. Just like FADE IN, this isnt necessary. You may choose to write any TRANSITION. After that write THE END centered and underlined which, for now, you will have to cheat by making THE END a CHARACTER element.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 00:22:53 +0000
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