Scripting!

Scripting

·         Starting point (edit): Is the introduction, such as ‘fade in/dissolve in’ It’s always on the left hand side of the page.

·         Scene heading: Is a one line description of the location and time of the day of the scene. It’s always in block capitals, it’s occasionally called a s ‘slug line’. Here is an example; EXT. New York City skyline – Night. This shows that it’s outside (Ext being an abbreviation for exterior) and that it nigh time.

·         Action: The narrative description of the events in a scene, it’s written in the present tense. Here is an example ‘Cold, rainy night in New York City, a commercial airline flies low over the skyline’

·         Character: When a character is introduced, usually with a brief example of the character. Here is an example of how a character is introduced, a character’s name should always be in capitals: ‘Looking over at the skyline JAMES, a 40 odd year old balding businessman going through a midlife crisis takes the last puff of his cigarette before throwing it down aggressively’ Minor characters may not be named, depending on the importance of the character.

·        Dialogue: Lines of speech for each character, the dialogue format is basically used when any character is heard speaking. This applies for off-screen roles and voice overs. Here is an example for you, notice how everything is centred:

JAMES

(Heavy smokers cough)

‘Im going to do it, I have too’

·         Transition: Transitions are basically film editing instructions. They usually only appear in shooting scripts. They are always on the left hand side. Here are a few examples of different transitions. ‘Fade in, Dissolve in and fade to’.

·        Shot: A shot tells the reader of the script the focal point when a scene changes.