Category: Formatting Fridays

No. Whenever you write a new scene with a new slugline, it’s self-evident that a cut has been made; in most cases, “Cut To” is redundant.  So when would a direction like that be relevant? As per Dave Trottier’s indispensible The Screenwriter’s Bible (p. 286), Here’s my rule of thumb:…

Okay, so now we’re getting granular AF. Luckily, the difference between the two is super easy.  What’s an em dash and when can it be used? The double dash (–) is also called the em dash (as opposed to an en dash, which is one line). You can use them…

This week, we’re covering montages.  But before we do, let’s first indulge ourselves with a little South Park, shall we? (After all, if you gotta get good at something fast, there’s only one way to do it…; )) So, yeah, the purpose of a montage is to condense a lot…

This one is going to be super quick because, while the terminology can be confusing, the differences among these the three are pretty clear.  Loglines Loglines are simply a 1-2 sentence summary that encapsulates the set-up of the movie and makes the script reader (usually a member of the industry)…

If there’s background music, how do I include it? When a character sings, how on Earth do you format that? What about formatting lyrics? Great questions. In general, it’s best to not indicate specific songs unless it’s absolutely integral to the story (i.e., you’re writing a movie about the Beatles,…

Last week, we covered the basics of how to cover texting.  This week, we’ll cover phone conversations, and there are several different ways you can do it.  For this post, I’m sharing an excerpt from Dave Trottier’s The Screenwriter’s Bible (pages 301-303), an excellent resource. (Please note that the below…

As film has evolved, so has tech and the world around us; thirty years ago, we didn’t have the issue of formatting text/email conversations. So, as you watch films and see little graphics come up that show what characters are texting or emailing to each other, you may wonder, how…

Describing a scene doesn’t need to be hard.  All you have to do is to put enough to set the scene and highlight what is integral because… White space is key.  Not only does white space on the page give the reader’s eye space to rest, but it also allows…

As this is the first in this series addressing formatting issues, I thought it would be appropriate to address how to introduce a character for the first time. Here are some do’s and don’ts. Do’s: Don’ts: But if we’re not supposed to name actors, how does Barbie get away with it?…