OK, I know all characters, at leats your important characters, should be named. That is not the issue I am having. What I am trying to figure out is, if one of my main characters appears only as a dark, hooded figure in majority of the movie and revealed only at the end, how is this handled? Should the character still be named and their cues formatted with thair character name? Or is it OK to cue them in as DARK SHADOWY FIGURE and reveal their name later on?

For instance, Ann only appears in the shadows, wearing dark clothing and masks. She robs a few stores and whatnot. However, no one knows it is Ann doing these things. Only at the end of the story is the person revealed to be Ann. The whole reveal is meant to be suspenceful to the audience. In fact, Ann doesn't have any speaking parts as Ann, only as the shadowy figure.

Any suggestions?

If the character Ann is already in the film before this big reveal, it shouldn't be too hard.

"The shadowy figure peels back its hood.
IT'S ANN."

Quoted from Gage If the character Ann is already in the film before this big reveal, it shouldn't be too hard. "The shadowy figure peels back its hood. IT'S ANN."

Yea, I figured at the reveal one would or could write what you posted. I'm talking befofre the reveal. The shadow figure is only revealed to be Ann at the end. But during the rest of the movie, no one knows it is Ann. So should the character cues read ANN or SHADOWY DARK FIGURE?

Maybe I am not explaining it right.

It would read as Shadowy Figure, or Shadow.

For example:
"The Shadow runs through the night."

Then, later, at the big reveal...
"The Shadow pulls back its hood, to reveal Ann's face nestled in the darkness."

Quoted from Gage It would read as Shadowy Figure, or Shadow. For example: "The Shadow runs through the night." Then, later, at the big reveal... "The Shadow pulls back its hood, to reveal Ann's face nestled in the darkness."

And as far as the character cue? Should I format it like this?

        SHADOWY FIGURE
And now your time has come?

OR

           ANN
And now your time has come?

Obviously this is before the reveal.

Hey dxer, if "Ann" is never properly intro'd, how does anyone know it's "Ann"  Or, more to the point, how does the audience even know who the fuck Ann is?  Know what I'm saying?

On a general note, IMO, the only time you don't properly intro a character (as you're saying) is when you're purposely trying to conceal that character's identity - it happens often in horror/slasher flicks, where the killer's identity is always concealed.

So, I'd have to imagine that this "Ann" has some presence in the script, otherwise, revealing this "Shadow" is Ann doesn't mean jack shit, right?

Hope this helps and makes some semblance of sense.

Might just be me here, but you got bigger things to worry about right now if that is an actual dialogue snipet from the script.   And it should be SHADOWY FIGURE not ANN... Why?  Because ANN has yet to be introduced as the SHADOWY FIGURE.  The SHADOWY FIGURE must be treated as another character until the duality of ANN comes into play... Hope this helps.  

You can have DARK HOODED FIGURE, or something similar. Maybe Anne has been talked about in the dialogue of other characters, so we know of Anne, though we have not met her.

And then when you reveal, you can intro her as ANNE.

The main thing is just make sure it's clear to the reader; and you want the reader to experience the script like an audience would the film, which is why you don't want to use her name until the reveal.

It's the story you're selling, not so much the script, if you know what I mean. So don't obsess the "rules".

Quoted from dxer07002         SHADOWY FIGURE And now your time has come? OR            ANN And now your time has come?

You can do either of these two -- like so.


        SHADOWY FIGURE
And now your time has come?

The Shadowy Figure steps forward into the light.  It's ANN (her description goes here).

                 ANN
I'm going to say my first line after my reveal.


OR


ANN (her intro) stands in the shadows, her face a dark blur.  

           ANN
And now your time has come?


To me the second way is preferable - especially in a short - because if anyone is ever going to shoot the script it is important that they always know exactly who is speaking.  In other words, Shadowy Figure is almost certainly going to be replaced in the shooting script.  

Quoted from Dreamscale Hey dxer, if "Ann" is never properly intro'd, how does anyone know it's "Ann"  Or, more to the point, how does the audience even know who the fuck Ann is?  Know what I'm saying? On a general note, IMO, the only time you don't properly intro a character (as you're saying) is when you're purposely trying to conceal that character's identity - it happens often in horror/slasher flicks, where the killer's identity is always concealed. So, I'd have to imagine that this "Ann" has some presence in the script, otherwise, revealing this "Shadow" is Ann doesn't mean jack shit, right? Hope this helps and makes some semblance of sense.

Kind of. See, I am purposely trying to conceal Ann's identity until the reveal at the end. Providing that is the direction I decide to go. I am just outlining ideas at the moment.

Quoted from Baltis. Might just be me here, but you got bigger things to worry about right now if that is an actual dialogue snipet from the script.   And it should be SHADOWY FIGURE not ANN... Why?  Because ANN has yet to be introduced as the SHADOWY FIGURE.  The SHADOWY FIGURE must be treated as another character until the duality of ANN comes into play... Hope this helps.

Well that was an example, NOT actual dialogue. I'm not close to dialogue yet.

And yes, that does help and what I figured but wasn't sure. I wanted to come here and ask.

Quoted from leitskev You can have DARK HOODED FIGURE, or something similar. Maybe Anne has been talked about in the dialogue of other characters, so we know of Anne, though we have not met her. And then when you reveal, you can intro her as ANNE. The main thing is just make sure it's clear to the reader; and you want the reader to experience the script like an audience would the film, which is why you don't want to use her name until the reveal. It's the story you're selling, not so much the script, if you know what I mean. So don't obsess the "rules".

Thank you! I'm still debating if Ann will have dialogue as Ann through the story as well as have dialogue as the Shadowy Figure. But, I don't want to confuse myself as I write. And I for sure don't want to confuse the reader, if anyone ever does read the finished product.

Quoted from mcornetto You can do either of these two -- like so.         SHADOWY FIGURE And now your time has come? The Shadowy Figure steps forward into the light.  It's ANN (her description goes here).                  ANN I'm going to say my first line after my reveal. OR ANN (her intro) stands in the shadows, her face a dark blur.              ANN And now your time has come? To me the second way is preferable - especially in a short - because if anyone is ever going to shoot the script it is important that they always know exactly who is speaking.  In other words, Shadowy Figure is almost certainly going to be replaced in the shooting script.

I like the second way, especially if it is for the reveal. Thank you!

OK, so you haven't written anything, nor have you really conceived exactly what's going to happen, correct?

So, I have to assume that Ann is indeed a main character, and her alter ego, as Shadowy Figure, is the Antag?  If that's indeed the case, then, yeah, don't reveal who this shadowy g=figure is until you're ready for the shocking reveal.

Hopefully, we'll forget this when you post your script, otherwise, it won't be a very shocking reveal.    ;D ;D ;D

best of luck - make sure you have some big character arcs, a deep story, and some themes floating around...right Kevin?   8) 8) 8)

Ahh, I remember my 'Dark-Hooded-Shadowy-Figure-Script'.  It's kind of like what Stephen King said about hitch-hiker stories:  "Every writer should have at least one."

Quoted from mcornetto You can do either of these two -- like so.         SHADOWY FIGURE And now your time has come? The Shadowy Figure steps forward into the light.  It's ANN (her description goes here).                  ANN I'm going to say my first line after my reveal.

To me this one is very helpful, so thanks for asking this question!

I wonder what it would be if the character is just a "Male Voice" (I have it at Male Voice (filtered) ) at the beginning. Then another character calls him "Commander". Do I change my "Male Voice" to a "Commander" then?

Sorry to highjack your thread, but the questions are so alike, that I thought it would be helpful to both of us:)

Quoted from Dreamscale OK, so you haven't written anything, nor have you really conceived exactly what's going to happen, correct? So, I have to assume that Ann is indeed a main character, and her alter ego, as Shadowy Figure, is the Antag?  If that's indeed the case, then, yeah, don't reveal who this shadowy g=figure is until you're ready for the shocking reveal. Hopefully, we'll forget this when you post your script, otherwise, it won't be a very shocking reveal.    ;D ;D ;D best of luck - make sure you have some big character arcs, a deep story, and some themes floating around...right Kevin?   8) 8) 8)

Right, I am still in the concept/planning/outlining mode. I may even drop the whole dark shadowy figure idea. Still trying to figure out what works best to move the story along.

And thanks for the good luck.

OK, here is a question that does go with what I asked before. Is it acceptable to, when writing your action/description, to do something like this (and remember this is just an example, not something from an actual script or one I am writing):

A dark alley. Trash cans line the walkway, overflowing with garbage. Piles of trash build up along the walls. A cat jumps off a fire escape . A SHADOWY FIGURE (later known as ANN) appears from behind a carbdoard box.

Would adding (later known as ANN) be a good move or bad move?

A bad move, IMO.

If you want to conceal a character's identity, just do it, but understand you cannot have them talk or be seen (in a filmed version) clearly.

Why would you have 'later known as Ann'? The whole reason for using 'shadowy figure' is that you want the reader to experience the same sense of mystery as the audience in the film would. And nothing wrong with that. If you go that route, just make sure things are clear.

But if you don't want the mystery, just introduce Ann and describe how she is dressed.

There are 2 issues: clarity, and having the reader experience the story the way you want them too. Just use whatever helps you achieve what you want in regard to those issues. Don't worry about rules. Rules are there to help. If rules hinder your ability to be clear, or have the reader experience the story the way you want, then don't follow them. Make up your own.

Thanks for your opinions. The only reason I ask was, on another fan site I am on, one of the members was discussion a script he wrote. No, it isn't another script writing site like this. He asked if anyone wanted to read it so I said yes. I enjoy reading other scripts to see different styles and try to pick up things to learn. Anyway, he had a character that wasn't revealed until the end. However, the character's name was used throughout the story and he even apeared, but called something else, sort of like how I describe the Shadowy Figure. The first time the character was introduced as the "disguise" the writer of the script used (LATER KNOWN AS _______). Since I have never seen this before, I figured I come here and ask.