Action Sequences -

Finding oneself starting each action sequence with the same pronoun "he", "she", or a proper name.  

I've only done a few shorts, but I can only imagine how to deal with this over he course of a feature.  

How does one deal with this?  Ignore it, as a necessary evil, or strive to come up with something new each time?

CR

I like to alternate between he/she and the character's name so the reader remembers the name. Lol.

I was told to stick to just he/she, but I can't, out of habit.

I switch between he/she , the name of the character and many times i use something very specific f.e if in one scene i have 3 guys and a little girl i will use : she, her name, the little girl.

I dont know if this is proper , but if its clear i think i can use it...............

Note that a screenplay is a blueprint for a movie. While alternating between he/she and the character's name is useful, you don't really need to do it deliberately. If you write it naturally so that you understand who the pronoun is referring to, then it doesn't really matter. And really, there's no need to be creative with it unless you feel the need to. Clarity is far more important than clever prose. In fact, screenwriting is such a bare bones art form that clever prose is routinely discouraged. The creativity in your screenplay should be the story and visuals. The audience will never read your script.

Hard to be redundant in something no one will read in its final form.

Fair Point GL. Careful where you point that thing now.

Personally I'd be reading a lot of scripts.

No one will read in its final form? Are ya sure bout that now?

R

Quoted from rendevous No one will read in its final form? Are ya sure bout that now?

If you're talking about the people who make the movie, that's like having this conversation:
You: "What's up?"
Me: "Nothing."
You: "Not nothing."
Me: "I guess I'm talking to you."
You: "No, the ceiling, the sky..."

It's a generalization. Of the millions who watched Lord of the Rings, how many read the screenplays (who were not involved in the production)? Maybe 1%? A screenplay is not a movie, and when you deal with any product, you always have to look to what the point is. You want your piece of the puzzle to be as good as possible, to be sure, but you also have to know what you're doing it for. So a screenplay needs to be well-written, but it also has to be very, very simple. Again with the clarity. Yes, a lot of people will read it during the production process, but once the movie is in the can, the script will only be read by people like us. The other 99% will just watch the movie.

Quoted from rendevous Fair Point GL. Careful where you point that thing now. Personally I'd be reading a lot of scripts. No one will read in its final form? Are ya sure bout that now? R

He means the final form is a film...so all the writing disappears without trace. As long as the action is clear..what difference do these little things actually make?

Jeff complained once about one of my scripts having too many lines that started with he or she. Clearly it bothered him at least so who knows, maybe it will bother other readers as well even if it does'nt show in its final form. I had never thought about it before, but now I think about it every time I write.

Quoted from Grandma Bear Jeff complained once about one of my scripts having too many lines that started with he or she. Clearly it bothered him at least so who knows, maybe it will bother other readers as well even if it does show in its final form. I had never thought about it before, but now I think about it every time I write.

Yeah, this is something that I always pick up on when reading other people's stuff.  I don't think that its a huge deal, but it is something that is noticeable to me and that's why I was wondering about it.

I understand that most people aren't going to end up reading the script, but my worry is that if you are overly redundant with this type of stuff, then no one is going to end up reading it, and that's not good for anyone, well, it's really only not good for me, but you get the point.

An easy way to make sure you're not falling into the redundancy trap is to read it aloud to yourself. If it sounds all right to you, it probably is. If you think you're overusing he/she, then change it up. You had the skill to write it to begin with; you also have the skill to decide whether it sounds right or not; you also also have the power to change it.

Bookshops. I like bookshops. I'd prefer them to Headshops. I don't really go near them. I like me head as it is.

But in the bookshop there's a section. And it's named "Film". There's no DVDs or actual films in there. Books. Thousands of them. "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes." If they'd have kept their eyes shat, sorry, Shut, then they'd have been alright. Or maybe not.

Where am I? Oh. I'm here. Now. Also a large proportion of screenplays.

I know what he means. But this talk of "do this" "don't do this" "you can't be saying that" is academic. Stacks of books and threads. And yes. Some folk need some help. Nothing wrong with that or helping.

But. Here's the thing. Write a good read. If you manage that and others agree then you can go round in circles saying whatever. But a good script is like a good song. People will like it. And dat's dat like.

And yeah maybe it don't matter how you phrased summat as far as filming goes. But I'd say those big writers who get read aren't just slapping it down then leaving it. I doubt that a lot.

So. I've found me keys. Time for a runaround. Where's me dog? Chasing cats. Typical. Either them or birds. Hmmm.

R