Writing about a shipwreck. The boat had a Hurricane deck. Open air, surrounded the entire boat. Would a scene on it be Ext. or Int. ??

Also several people drown. I want to convey scenes UNDERWATER. Is that ext. or int.??

Last one, if I may. If you're going to have a (V.O.) from a chracter the audience has not met yet do you do it WOMAN"S VOICE(V.O.) then change her dialogue once she arrives, or would you actually use the character's name eventhough we've not met her yet??

James

If you're inside the boat, I would use INT.. If you're outside, on deck, then go with EXT.

Regarding the (V.O.), unless you're trying to hide the identity of the voice over, I would use the speaker's name.


Phil

Quoted from jwent6688 Also several people drown. I want to convey scenes UNDERWATER. Is that ext. or int.??

Underwater is still outdoor, so I would say it would be something like:

EXT. UNDERWATER

People drown.

Or you could simply put:

UNDERWATER

People drown.

It's really up to you.  

Generally, I always went with the rule that, if there's no roof over your head, then it's EXT.


Phil

Thanks guys. It's an intense scene, IMO,  going from Int. ext. Underwater. Was trying to figure where i could use mini slugs.

I will stick with the roof rule. I like that.

James

We've had this discussion before, and it's always a good one.

If you're "inside" a roofless football stadium, are you in an INT or EXT scene?  And then, what about before the game, when you're "outside" that same roofless football stadium, tailgating, or just walking next to the structure?

I honestly feel that these sorts of questions need to be addressed by being very careful with your actual SLUG headings.

For instance...

IMO, if you're "inside" a structure, like an open aired stadium, you are definitely in an INT scene.

When you're "outside" that same stadium, if you use something like "EXT STADIUM PARKING LOT", you're cool.

But then again, in many people's minds, it comes down to exactly why "INT" and "EXT" are being used, and that's for actual filming and lighting necessary...as in, is it natural light, or man made light, and do we need to worry about ext sources when filming?

IMO, as long as whatever you decide to use, is clear to your readers, you're cool.  The exact details will be taken care of in a shooting script when and if it comes time for that to worry about.

Underwater, IMO, is an EXT scene for sure, but I actually like using a mini SLUG here like Matt suggested, simply "UNDERWATER".  You'd most likely have an EXT OCEAN" SLUG first, and then go "UNDERWATER".

Finally, for the V.O., I ALWAYS suggest using the character's actual name at all times, unless you are trying to conceal his identity for some reason...that way, your character list in your software won't have any "extra" generic characters showing up.  Also, keep in mind, that when you purposely conceal a character's identity by not coming right out and naming who it is that's either shown or speaking, any fairly astute reader will be clued in that something most likely isn't right.

Hope this helps, Cleveland!

Thanks Jeff,

This one's a bit tricky. I do have some scenes going directly from inside the boat to UNDERWATER. So I'm thinking EXT. UNDERWATER for that transition.

I completely agree about the (V.O.). I've just seen it done both ways in pro scripts.

The hurricane deck is that of an 1850's paddle steamer. it does have a roof and pillars, but is open air all the way around. That one confused me too.

Just gonna go with underwater and deck EXT. and steerage and such INT.  I think if just be consistent, its hard to fault at this point.

James

INT and EXT actually have NOTHING to do with inside and outside. They are relational references as to where the audience is in relation to the subject of the slug. It's where you get to say where "we" are.

If you're action is occurring inside a house, and the audience is viewing this action from inside the house, then it's easy: INT. HOUSE. If you are in the yard, then you could be EXT. HOUSE or EXT. YARD, since it isn't physically possible to be inside a yard. You can, however, be INT. YARD BOUNDARIES if you have to get really granular.

This would be better illustrated in terms of a school. Schools have classrooms and hallways, and action occurs in both places and sometimes simultaneously. So, if "we" are inside the classroom watching the teacher, you would be INT. CLASSROOM or INT. SCHOOL - MRS. KNICKERBOCKERS CLASS. However, where it gets hairy is if we're in the hall watching Mrs. Knickerbocker teach, because you could validly state two ways. You are in the hallway, so INT. HALL is easy. However, you are also outside the classroom, so you can write EXT. CLASSROOM since the action is occurring inside the class and you're watching it from the outside. The subsequent description would indicate the elements of the hall.

So don't get caught up on inside and outside because these terms don't refer to those prepositions. They refer to where we are in relation to what's going on. A final example there is writing an entire scene inside the room of a house, but using the slug of EXT. HOUSE to indicate that the camera is watching it all through a window.

As for UNDERWATER, that works better as a slug independent of the EXT./INT. since its a place without an INT or EXT, kind of like SPACE. You don't write EXT. SPACE, since SPACE has no INT or EXT. You can write INT. WATER, if you want, but just UNDERWATER is sufficient.

As for the boat, I would use EXT. DECK if you're on the deck since you can be below deck as well. Technically, you're outside the structure of the boat since you're on deck.  Unless, of course, you're stuffing the camera below deck to watch the action above... Sometimes, it's all a matte rof opinion, and you have to do what's right for your script, but there aren't really any wrong answers as long as it works.

And I'm in agreement on the character's name on VOICEOVERS, even if we haven't met her. The voiceover serves to introduce her to us, if nothing else. Remember that the script is a blueprint for the movie, so the moviemakers need to know whose voice it is.