The Screenwriter's Manual

Contents PREFACE = ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS = xi INTRODUCTION = xiii PART ONE: Basic Format and Style = 1 Guides to the Appearance of the Screenplay = 2 Sample Screenplay Pages = 2 GETTING STARTED = 23 The Format Box = 23 The Header = 23 Margin Setting = 23 THE ELEMENTS OF A SCREENPLAY = 24 How Screenplays Begin and End = 24 1. SCENE LINES = 25 General Rules = 25 The Staging = 25 The Location = 25 The Time = 29 Adding Specifics to the Scene Line = 30 2. INSTRUCTIONS = 31 General Rules = 31 Introducing Characters = 34 Identifying Character Names to the Audience = 38 Linitations and Liberties on Introducing Characters = 39 Words That Get Capped = 40 Using a Note = 44 Refining the Writing of Instructions = 45 3. THE DIALOGUE-BLOCK = 49 General Rules = 50 Character-Names = 50 Dialogue = 51 Parentheicals = 60 4. TRANSTIONS = 64 General Rules = 64 Scene, Sequences, and Transitions = 66 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER = 69 Page Breaks = 70 Unacceptable Page Breaks = 71 Scene Numbers = 72 The Title Page = 72 Final Touches = 75 Protection of Screenplays = 75 PART TWO: Advenced Format and Style = 77 ENHANCING THE NARRATIVE = 78 ALL ABOUT SLUG LINES = 79 The Master Shot = 79 Slug lines = 79 THREE TYPES OF SLUG LINES = 82 What Utility Slug Lines Do = 82 What Visual Slug Lines Do = 82 What Non-Visual Slug Lines Do = 83 UTILITY SLUG LINES = 84 Return to Scene = 84 Extablishing = 85 Intercut as Needed = 86 Superimposed Words = 88 VISUAL SLUG LINES = 89 Isolating Characters and Objects = 89 Point of View (P.O.V.) = 91 Cutaway = 97 Series of Shots = 100 Inserts = 104 Subdividing a Scene into Two or More Activities = 106 Subdividing a Multi-Room Strucure into Specific Rooms = 108 NON-VISUAL SLUG LINES = 110 Indentifying a Critical Sound = 110 Emphasizing Something Cramatic = 112 Indicating a Lapse of Time = 113 PART THREE: Special Format Situtations = 115 PARALLEL ACTION = 116 TELEPHONE CONVERSATIONS = 120 First Situation: Only One Side of the Conversation Is Seen and Heard = 120 Second Situation: Only One Side of the Conversation Is Seen but Both Sides Are Heard = 121 CAR SCENES = 128 First Situation: Both the Car and Location Are Important = 130 Second Situation: Two or More Cars Are Engaged in a Chase = 132 Third Situation: Activity Occurs Both Inside and Outside a Car = 134 Fourth Situation: A Car Passes by a Fixed Position = 136 TELEVISED AND PROJECTED IMAGES = 136 First Situation: Televised Images = 137 Second Situation: Projected Images = 139 TIME-SHIFTS AND FLASHBACKS = 141 First Situation: Time-Shifts = 141 Second Situation: Flashbacks = 143 Unusual SCENE BEGINNINGS = 148 First Situation: A Scene That Begins with Sound before the Image Appears = 148 Second Situation: A Scene That Begins with Text before the Image Appears = 149 Third Situations: A Scene That Begins with a Visual Slug Line before the Master Shot = 149 UNUSUAL EFFECTS = 150 First Situation: An Environment Is Described before the Character Is Introduced = 154 Second Situation: A Character Enters the Story before Being Named = 154 Third Situation: An Imaginary Character Appears = 156 Fourth Situation: A Character Is Introduced by a Still Image = 157 Fifth Situation: A Character Is Introduced by a Voice = 159 A CHARACTER'S APPEARANCE OR DEMEANOR CHANGES = 160 First Situation: A Character Appears at Different Ages = 160 Second Situation: The Audience Is Aware the Character Is Disguised = 163 Fourth Situation: A Character HasMultiple Identities or Personalities = 165 DREAMS AND FANTASIES = 166 First Situation: A Dream or Fantasy That Is Clearly Identified = 167 Second Situation: The Content of a Letter Is Heard Through the Mind of the Reader = 170 Third Situation: The Content of a Letter Is Displayed On-Screen = 170 AN EMBLEM OR A SIGN = 171 STOCK FOOTAGE = 171 FOREIGN LANGUAGES (WITH OR WITHOUT SUB-TITLES) = 172 TITLE CARDS = 173 PART FOUR: Common Format Mistakes = 175 GENERAL MISTAKES = 176 Using Incorrect Line Spacing = 176 Using an Incorrect Typeface = 177 Confusing Real Time and Screen Time = 178 SCENE LINE/SLUG LINE MISTAKES = 180 Writing Inaccurate Scene Lines = 180 Confusing Scene Lines with Slug Lines = 182 Confusing Locations = 184 Improper Intercutting of Visuals = 185 Confusing Slug Lines = 188 Creating Unclear Cutaways = 189 Using the Incorrect Format for a Series of Shots = 191 INSTRUCTION MISTAKES = 192 Writing Instructions in the Past Tense = 192 Using Illogical Wording = 194 Using Illogical Actions = 194 Capping Words Excessively = 196 Providing Unknowable Information = 197 Providing Premature Description = 202 Introducing Too Many Characters Too Quickly = 204 Introducing a Character Incorrectly = 205 Not Clarifying Who Is in a Scene = 207 Neglecting Character Exits = 209 DIALOGUE-BLOCK MISTAKES = 210 Improperly Formatting a Song or Poem = 210 Creating Unwieldy Parentheticals = 212 Summarizing Dialogue = 213 Splitting Words with Hyphens = 215 APPENDIX A: Sample Log Line and Treatment = 217 APPENDIX B: Sample Step Outline = 223 INDEX = 233

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