That's what I do. If it's a different location but on the same day, I don't put - DAY


I usually make it as:


INT. SCHOOL - DAY

Students rush through the hallways to get to class.

EXT. CITY

Like the students, adults rush through the streets to get to their work.

Sean

Quoted from Combichrist You do not under any circumstances place in the slug line, MORNING - NOON - MIDNIGHT and so on, only DAY or NIGHT and don't use a CONTINUOUS...

Using MORNING - NOON - MIDNIGHT seem to have very limited to no purpose in screenwriting because the time of day is used to say whether it is dark or light outside, however other "subforms" of the time of day such as TWILIGHT or DUSK are not entirely taboo. They should only be used if absolutely clarity of the time of day is necessary. In most cases DAY or NIGHT is enough, but in rare instances, it is important to know about TWILIGHT or DUSK, which are an entirely different lighting scheme and signal the transition to either DAY or NIGHT. Their need is rare, but you are allowed to use them if you NEED to.

The only place I uses them is in my Fempiror work because of the need to know if we're closing in on day or night in some stories. I will sometimes have pivotal moments occur as the sun is rising or setting, a time of day that is neither day or night.

Just like everything else in a screenplay, clarity is the key, and everything you do should be to that end. If you don't need it, don't use it.

And if your action is continuous, the time signifier is optional, but preferred. One might wonder whether it is still day, or the screenwriter forgot the time part of the slug. About the only time I leave it out is between the rooms of a location when I can't really justify a secondary slug.

Quoted from Alex J. Cooper Oh okay, so if i want it to be continuous I... do nothing: Is that what your saying?

If you want it to be a continuous, the scene runs on. It can be used, sparingly... Other terms such as DUSK and so on, can be used if absolutely necessary. Remember you should never use to much but never to little.

But use of Continuous is not good. If the scene continues, and in a new location you don't add

INT. SCHOOL - DAY

chanage below.

INT. SCHOOL - GYM - CONTINUOUS (this is not how it is)

And yes Alex, you do nothing... As I posted above, that is how you write it. Sean you have it nailed mate. Not like a lot of these people. But as I stated you can feel free to use a CONTINUOUS sparingly, but I am telling you now... How Sean is doing it is how I do and how it is in SPEC FORMAT...

In a production script however you will see a CONTINUOUS why? because it is just that A production script, not a Spec script.

I wrote only 2 pages of my script then posted is on the"My Work So Far" forum, and it got ripped apart , i didnt know about spec format so my writing was stuffed with detail. Im actually glad that the replier was honest becuase this made me realize how crapy it looked but anyways i re-wrote a part of it, please tell me if this is right or if theirs anything i need to touch up on

thanks, Andrew

FADE IN:

EXT. FRANCE -DAY

The shore is crowded with soldiers, horses, and wagons.   Anchored ships line the edge of the beach, unloading their supplies.

A manmade dirt path runs parallel with the shore.  At the end of it lies a tarp, providing shade for a SLEEPING SOLDIER

He lies comfortably on a supply crate with a sandy helmet covering his face.  

Just listing the country is not enough.  When you said France, I immediately thought Paris with the the Eiffel Tower in the back.  Try this:

EXT.  LONGERE BEACH.  FRANCE -DAY.

or, better yet:

EXT.  LONGERE PORT.  FRANCE  AY.

If this is a period piece (ie:  World War II), you would include the year:

EXT.  LONGERE PORT.  FRANCE.  1942  AY


You description could be a little more tightened and active.  Try something like this:

Supply ships envelope the port, hastefully load cargo from endless lines of wagons.  Soldiesr and civilians make their way along dirt trails between the wagons.

A sleeping SOLDIERS lays on an unattended crate, his head covered by his sandy helmet.


Phil

Quoted from dogglebe If this is a period piece (ie:  World War II), you would include the year: EXT.  LONGERE PORT.  FRANCE.  1942  AY You description could be a little more tightened and active.  Try something like this: Supply ships envelope the port, hastefully load cargo from endless lines of wagons.  Soldiesr and civilians make their way along dirt trails between the wagons. A sleeping SOLDIERS lays on an unattended crate, his head covered by his sandy helmet.Phil

, I was going to put "April 1,1917 8 days before that battle of..." as a superimposition buti wasn't quite sure how to do it.

thanks

I'm somewhat confused.  What do you mean by writing vertically?  Because all the stuff I write is horizontal left to right with new lines for sluglines, action, dialog and so forth but it's still horizontal.

As for yours silent saint, you would probably want a subtitle to show you want it inserted onto the screen, or you could superimpose it.

SUBTITLE: D-Day 1942

or

SUPER: D-Day 1942

Whatever you wanted.  Subtitles go at the bottom, superimpose goes across whatever picture you have.

There should be plenty of white place on the page.  Short descriptions split up by short dialogue.  You should be able to skim a script (reading vertically).  Heavy paragraphs slow down the reading.  


Phil

Ah, I understand you Phil.   I was picturing a script printed out in portrait style and couldn't quite wrap my head around why that would be a good thing lol.

Basically writing vertically means,

Writing down the page, say a new line for every new shot you see in your description.

EXAMPLE FOLLOWS:

Joe brings a cup of coffee to the table.

He sits down, flips open his paper and leers at some articles.

Closes the paper and sips his coffee...

Vertical writing means the reader can skim it more quickly, it is a lot more easy than trying to read paragraphs of 5 or so lines all jumbled together.

A quick question, looking for some advise.

I'm writing a scene where a man is trapped between two rooms (both INT. shots). His upper body is in room1 and his lower body is in room2. I'm cutting back and forth between the rooms.

I've been contemplating on how the scene heading should look. Could it be done like this?

INT. ROOM1 / ROOM2.

Or is there another way to do it?

Cheers
Rob

I would write the scene as in one room, this is a spec script so the shift changes in camera angles would be apparent to the reader.

The general rule would be to use diferrent scene headings ("INT. ROOM 1 - DAY" and "INT. ROOM 2 - DAY") to describe what happens in each of these locations.

However, if you need to cut back and forth between them, multiple scene headings could disrupt the natural flow of the scene; to avoid this problem use: "INTERCUT - ROOM 1 AND ROOM 2"

Under the INTERCUT heading you can describe actions happening in both rooms without need to include a new slugline, which contributes to a faster read.

I was wondering about how to do this myself. thanks for that information.

I don't know, this is confusing for me. Is INT only for inside buildings, homes, etc? Or can it be for inside a vehicle? Does it depend on the view? Like, use EXT if we're seeing it from outside but if the view is INSIDE then we can use INT? Wha?  

Also, is it okay to go from INT to EXT rapidly?

Dumb Example:

INT - TACO STAND.

Bob goes near the door. He steps out.

EXT - TACO STAND FRONT.

He stands. Then goes back in.

INT - TACO STAND.

He explodes.

Can INT/EXT ever be too excessive? Does it matter? Does it look tacky and unprofessional?