You might have noticed that I often start scenes with close‑ups on objects or specific details in the scene. What I really want to do with my scripts is take people through the experience of watching the movie. The first thing you should aim for is to provide a fun and enjoyable reading experience for the reader. You probably noticed for example that I don’t use conventional sluglines in my script.Īndy: I think it’s an act of folly to write a screenplay as though you’re going into production tomorrow. How aware are you of that and how much of that is just instinctive?Īndy: That’s something that’s developed over time. It’s a very strong visual sensibility and lots of specific and vivid images. Scott: Speaking of a visual medium, that’s one thing that’s very striking about the script, is your embrace of that in seeing the scripts. Storming into the lake, heading directly for Matt -Ĭaveat: If you read, say, 20 screenplays by working, contemporary screenwriters - and you should be reading scripts anyhow! - you will note different approaches to the use of slug lines as well as most other screenplay style elements.įor example, here is a script page from a draft of A Quiet Place written by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods: Matt’s bride-to-be Brenna sits alone in a pew, her gown wet with tears. (2) If you need to shift the action away from the primary scene location, you can use a primary slug line. You do not use a primary slug line to indicate the lake - remember use them primarily to signify the beginning of a new scene - but rather use a secondary slug line to shift the action. Matt races through the woods, bloodied… gasping for breath. (1) If the action is within the context of the primary location, then indicate the shift by using a shot / secondary slug line. Once you are in that scene and need to shift the action around, two guidelines: Hope you can help with this as it makes me “stutter” while writing to decide when to start a new scene.Īs a rule of thumb, you should use scene headings / primary slug lines to indicate when you are starting a new scene. How would you format it? Is a format set in stone or more of a personal preference? SHED - DAY? So many questions but really just one. LAKE - DAY? Or is it still the same scene as WOODS? The going further he runs along the shore and up to a shed, and he enters. WOODS - DAY correct? Then after some running he emerges onto a lake. To explain, let’s say I have a guy running through the woods alright? So it starts as EXT. So one of my biggest problems, and maybe just more of an annoyance, is when to determine a new scene. Hey Scott,I have another question for you. “If you read, say, 20 screenplays by working, contemporary screenwriters - and you should be reading scripts anyhow! - you will note different approaches to the use of slug lines as well as most other screenplay style elements.” Reader Question: What guidelines are there for using scene headings / primary slug lines?
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