In my script, which is a fantasy script, I have many creatures and monsters which are, shall we say, not quite human. At first, I simply gave a full description of them in the script, but this made the script more bulky and it seemed to me it might not be necessary.

Any thoughts?

Well, yeah...if you have a weird creature you do need to describe it, albeit as briefly and efficiently as possible.  Imagine a photograph or drawing of this beast, then give us a sentence or two.  There shouldn't be a lot of "bulk" associated with that.

Again, look at some scripts that have "creatures" and see how they have done it.

If it's a creature found in literature/mythology, and has a name, you can simply name it (ie:  A TEN FOOT TALL MINOTAUR).  If it's an original creature, describe it in only a few sentences.  Enough to give us a general idea.

In 'The Burnout,' I describe aliens as:

"Two UNEARTHLY CREATURES step from the woods.  They're three-legged with stout bodies, and transparent skin.  Their muscles ripple with their every move.  They carry weapons of alien technology."

I left a lot out of this description, like skin texture, body hair, even what the alien's head looked like, because it was unnecessary.  And I barely described the weapons they carry.  Leave the small details to the reader's imagination.


Phil