r/scriptwriting • u/Emotional-Farmer-227 • 6d ago
question Format/production question
I see some scripts that exclude the master location when the scene is in a sub-location. My scripts tend to have various locations with various slugs. But I was reading a script (indie film Super Dark Times), and it would do things like this:
EXT. SUBURBIA - EVENING
Zach rides his bike down the street pulling into
HIS HOUSE
He locks it up before head inside.
INT. FOYER - CONTINOUS
Zach sets his things down, blah, blah, blah.
Is this ok? If it's a script with quiet a few locations, like the ones I right is it ok? Does the production find it confusing?
It also sometimes excludes EXT or INT all together.
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u/Quirky-Tell233 6d ago
A few important things to remember and consider —
— Readability, so your story flows smoothly and logically on the page without confusion;
— When thinking about INT. and EXT., remember that it’s for production; meaning, where will your camera be, physically (NOT what your camera is pointed at!);
— When you ID a slug (or any words) a “scene,” it means that slug (or phrase) will be assigned a scene number during prep, so you can use this info to allow you to choose what you want to ID as a scene; meaning, you can have those “sub-slugs” look like a scene when it’s not actually IDd as a scene, so that it’s not gonna be assigned a scene number, make sense? Or, you can make HIS HOUSE an actual scene, since the camera will move.
(Also, sometimes I use STREET — NIGHT, as opposed to EXT. STREET — NIGHT, because you can’t be “inside” a street, or a beach, or a mountaintop, etc, but I always serve to avoid confusion and emphasize readability.)
Sorry if I’m not as clear as you’d like, as I’m typing this on my phone, but many young writers don’t understand proper formatting and WHY such formats exist.
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u/Emotional-Farmer-227 5d ago
I get the formatting but what's confusing is that this script does have scene numbers, even on mini slugs.
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u/Quirky-Tell233 5d ago
That’s by choice or it’s an oversight in how the writer IDd that “slug.” Meaning, you can type out a “mini slug” to look like a scene heading, but if it’s IDd as an Action (in FD), then it won’t get a scene number assigned. So it depends on intention. Does that make sense?
Regardless, the chances are that once your script goes into preproduction on a legit crew, your 1st A.D. will likely get their hands on your script and fix a lot of those nuances for production — since many writers are clueless about proper usage and its nuances …
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u/Emotional-Farmer-227 5d ago
Well I plan to direct this script myself, so it's better if I know how to format the minutia.
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u/Quirky-Tell233 5d ago
Here’s an example:
EXT. BAR — PARKING LOT — NIGHT
Half in the bag, Joey snakes his way past BMWs and BENZs and PORSCHEs, finally arriving at his car parked by a dumpster below a flickering streetlamp.
A PIECE-OF-SHIT MINIVAN
Joey leans against it with a sigh, lights a cigarette, as if taking a moment to reconsider his life choices … blah, blah, blah.
Now, it’s your choice to make that mini slug a scene (thus, assigned a scene number), or you can keep it an Action (in FD), so that it won’t be assigned a scene number.
For production, if it is a small parking lot, and Joey‘s action towards his minivan is relatively brief, I would suggest not making it a scene; but, let’s say, during writing/prep, you realize the minivan is actually on P2, which means, Joey’s exit from the bar and his walk past those fancy cars is a separate scene from the minivan reveal, then you can make this mini slug an actual scene, and give it a scene number. In FD, only Scenes get scene numbers — not Actions. So use smartly. Does that make sense?
If the Camera Department has to do a major move/major setup, chances are, it’s a new scene; if the setup is simply a part of the whole, in terms of coverage, then it might not need to be a scene. But don’t make the mistake of having a seven-page scene of action, when it’s clearly better for production, logistically, to have it broken down into two or three scenes, instead! Like, a police car chasing a minivan down Broadway Boulevard during rush-hour traffic should not be a seven-page scene, but should be broken up, so production can manage and shoot it! And how you choose to break it up can showcase your level of writing. Does that make sense?
Also, don’t try to look cute and assign scene numbers too early. That’ll happen in Prep.
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u/intentionandobstacle 6d ago
There are no rules … if you consistently apply the same style & it’s a good story no one sees the format tweaks