Skip to content
Modern Screenplay Logo Modern Screenplay

The Art & Craft of Great Screenwriting

Modern Screenplay Logo
Modern Screenplay

The Art & Craft of Great Screenwriting

Steve Martin Little Shop of Horrors

Q. Does every scene change need a ‘Cut To’ or ‘Dissolve’?

Charlotte, March 8, 2024April 12, 2024

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: Use an editing direction when it is absolutely necessary to understand the story, or when its use helps link two scenes in a way that creates humor or drama, or improves continuity. 

Let’s Look at Little Shop of Horrors:

In this scene, the maniacal dentist Orin demands that his patient spits out water, followed by a visual of a gallon of water and pieces of gravel landing in the gutter. 

In this scene, the maniacal dentist Orin demands that his patient spits out water; the closeup of the gallon of water and pieces of gravel landing in the gutter presents a funny juxtaposition; without the “Cut To,” the reader may fail to make the clever visual connection.

Let’s Look at Saving Private Ryan:

They say filmmaking is war, but writing scene transitions doesn’t have to be.

Here, the “Dissolve To” bridges the gap between violence of the guns firing to the mundanity of the typewriters clattering.

In sum, a “Cut To,” “Dissolve To,” “Match Cut” are not crucial for screenwriters to integrate into their scripts.

Formatting Fridays

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Related Posts

Formatting Fridays

Q. Do I Always Need to Use ‘Day/Night’ in a Slug?

April 5, 2024April 12, 2024

It’s good form to put either “Day” or “Night” in a slug. Some people may say “Avoid descriptors like ‘Morning,’ Dusk’ or ‘Three Strokes After Midnight’” but the Formatting Police won’t come after you if you do.  But what about “Continuous” vs. “Later”?  Let’s Look at Election: “Continuous” should be used when…

Read More
Formatting Fridays

Q. How to Format Music in a Screenplay?

February 9, 2024April 12, 2024

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,…

Read More
Formatting Fridays

Q. How to Introduce a Character for the First Time?

January 12, 2024March 26, 2024

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?…

Read More

About Me

Charlotte Winters

Hi, I’m Charlotte Winters. As an award-winning screenwriter with an MFA from UCLA who associate produced a show on behalf of The History Channel, lectured at UCLA, and freelanced at WB and FX, I am a lifelong student of the screenplay. I founded this blog because I love reading and analyzing great movies.

Search this Site

      ©2025 Modern Screenplay | WordPress Theme by SuperbThemes