Bold slugs or not? Was just curious why some people use bold slugs and their reasoning for it. Do you think it helps peeps keep better track of where they are in your script?

Steve

Personally, I think people use it to differentiate, especially when you have people who, now, use nouns as slugs (a person's name or an object we're looking at), so someone who may be skimming the script would know that there's been a location change.

I use blog slugs because, as Blonde identified, I feel that they reduce the likelihood of a 'skim-reader' missing a location change.

I tend to use mini-slugs quite a lot in my writing as well, which are easily missed unless the reader is paying full attention. So I just feel they prevent this happening.

But, at the end of the day, I am still in the (cool) minority in regards to bolded slugs  8) 8) 8)

When I'm going back over a piece to proof, correct, and update changed story elements it GREATLY helps the (rapid) scanning process.

All I gotta do is look for what I'm looking for, not scour the whole blinkin' page trying to differentiate between slugs and action lines.

I got better things to do than waste my time.

Think of them as visual tabs.

Quoted from RayW When I'm going back over a piece to proof, correct, and update changed story elements it GREATLY helps the (rapid) scanning process. All I gotta do is look for what I'm looking for, not scour the whole blinkin' page trying to differentiate between slugs and action lines. I got better things to do than waste my time. Think of them as visual tabs.

Amen.

I'm now on the bold slug bandwagon myself.  I used to resist them as non-standard, but I've find all the positives listed above to be true.  It's easier to move through a script - both for you and a reader.  And it even breaks up the monotony of the page a little. Granted, it's your writing that has to do that primarily.  But every little edge helps.

I have ADD. Bold slugs help me BIG TIME.

I haven't yet...but I will

It just makes sense to me.

At the first writing course I went to I mentioned that a script I had just read, Animal Kingdom - amazing script by the way - had bold slugs. This was frowned upon. Why? The advice seems old fashioned now.

Clarity is king with scripts, this helps.

BUT do you on final draft have to bold each one, or is there a quick and easy way. Like those.

I don't feel the need to bold slugs because they're formatted with extra space and capped. But I also see that Marnie made the adjustment in her script, and got rid of the space between slugs. Maybe to compensate or save space, not too sure.

But like Bill says, if bold assists with overall clarity and referencing, then it's a no-brainer.

Quoted from oJOHNNYoNUTSo But I also see that Marnie made the adjustment in her script, and got rid of the space between slugs. Maybe to compensate or save space, not too sure.

Not to save space. I just think it looks better.  I think the bold headings with the extra "scene heading" space is too distracting. IMO it flows better this way. Losing that extra space doesn't gain much room anyway, especially in a short. In a feature you might chop off one page.  :)

Quoted from mmmarnie Not to save space. I just think it looks better.  I think the bold headings with the extra "scene heading" space is too distracting. IMO it flows better this way. Losing that extra space doesn't gain much room anyway, especially in a short. In a feature you might chop off one page.  :)

That's exactly what I thought you were doing. It's an interesting way to compensate for the possibility of overpowering format. I guess the only thing it affects is if you auto numbered your scenes.(wait for it..)  ;)

I used to have a problem with bold slugs. They were all over my washing up.

And the cooker.

Sometimes they would bring their friends - brave snails. They would party all night all over my kitchen.

And they hid the salt, thus leaving me powerless.

Eventually I left. But the memories still haunt.

R

Quoted from rendevous Sometimes they would bring their friends - brave snails. They would party all night all over my kitchen. R

;D Cracking me up with the 'brave snails.'

On topic - you can get away with almost anything as long as your screenplay story is one in a million. Trends come and go. This is just one of the latest.

Quoted from LC On topic - you can get away with almost anything as long as your screenplay story is one in a million. Trends come and go. This is just one of the latest.

I'll drink to that!

Thanks peeps.

Ren, I heard margarine works to ward off slugs as well. Talk to Johnny. He might still have some left over.

Steve

Quoted from SAC Ren, I heard margarine works to ward off slugs as well. Talk to Johnny. He might still have some left over.

If margarine is so wrong, why does it feel so right?

As Led once said, or words to that effect 'You can write your script with red crayon. If it's really good no-one will give a fig.'

I think he meant fuck, not fig.

I moved abode and left said slugs behind. My latest problem - regulars will only too well be aware of many afflictions and failings - concerns wasps. Or as I call them - wankers.

Buzzing little stripy barstards. They're following me, I tell you. Even when I run they manage to keep up - always just mere inches behind me.

Or it might be tinnitus.

I can never tell them two apart.

R

i have just started using bold slugs. It just looks nicer...

if it were my choice i'd have the character cues bold as well.

They are helpful.  I have used them once or twice and whenever I have my scripts have looked more defined for some reason.  

I also use italicised slugs sometimes, for example, in a snap-flash segment.  This helps save a tremendous amount of space, as an example:

EXT. OUTSIDE THIS RANDOM HOUSE THINGY - NIGHT

That saves me the whole "DUDE'S FLASHBACK" or "MONTAGE" segment, therefore saving script space.

In fact!  I think more people should do this.  Bold slugs for natural scenes, itacilised slugs for flashbacks.  Helps the reader define what is what, so whatever's in bold is present and whatever's in italics is a flashback/flashforward type deal.

I've been re-formatting with scripts as of late.  You'll see it in an upcoming script of mine where I put a NOTE on the title page saying:

NOTE - All Italicised slugs are flashbacks.

-Lee

I simply triple-space my slugs.

Lee... I wouldn't like to read swathes of italics in a script.

Italics are something I've started using only in dialogue to show a person is yelling, or saying something in a pointed manner.

Regarding bold slugs, I've never been one to follow a trend, but if it improves clarity then I'm all in. At the end of the day I guess it all comes down to personal preference.

Steve

Script trivia:

In the olden days, italics and bold font were always frowned upon.

This is because as copies were made -- then passed around -- and more copies made -- italic and bold font eventually became muddy and unreadable.

That is why underlining is pretty much the only "fancy" thing you see in older scripts -- and the only thing writers were advised to use.  It was the only thing that endured multiple rounds through the copy machine.

In the modern age of PDF and such, this has become a non-issue, and this is why the "standard" is changing and evolving.  Another example of a "rule" finding its way into the ash-can.

I use bold slugs now.  Love 'em.

Thanks Bert! I didn't know that, but it makes perfect sense. I use them too since a couple of years back. The producers I'm working with also like them. It makes it easier to flip through a script for a particular scene. When you're flipping through, only the bold slugs stand out and the scene they're looking for is easy to find. It's a little bit like using the "scene list" function in FD.  :)

This is all very well. But what about the wasps, eh?

Not to mention the snails. I would talk about the margarine. But that might confuse matters. And yes. It does feel soo right.

R

Or clarinets.
I hear those also work well.

Ah yes. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier.

Strangely there is a lack of corpses. Usually Fat Frank takes care of that kind of thing. He was none too pleased. Said something about drunks and kebab houses. The blabby whiner.

Strange smell round here now. How am I supposed to write when there's an obese man on my sofa?

I did discuss slugs. He said something about nine millemetres. I told him I don't care what he's packing. And neither do the ladies.

For those newer to the game I suggest going easy on boldness. And italics. Concentrate on story.

And putting your scripts in a readable format that contains the minimum of typos.

It's hard enough to get decent reads. Don't get too worried about about bells and whistles.

Or else you too might end up with a smelly room and a fat man who wants paying and refuses to leave.

R

Hi. I actually think about such small things as bold slugs or not, followed the discussion here, and finally took some time to check out the scripts on my PC.

Result: From about 15 specs and shooting drafts (finally produced), no single script has bold slugs.

I didn't count exactly but it looked like almost half used triple spacing before the new scene starts.

Another interesting point is that lots of scripts have double dashes before the time orientation

EXT . PARKING LOT -- DAY

Most scripts have some tiny differences, idiosyncrasies in case of the format.
Concerning this point, the only group of scripts which haven't got those tiny differences are the "old school ones", with double spacing before every scene. They don't differ further in case of individual formatting at all. I guess it could be called conservative formatting.

My personal argument for not writing bold slugs is: I don't want that readers know when a scene stops by just turning around the page, look over the layout. I don't want that she/he knows there are many short scenes coming now. Yeah, the usual capitalized slug does this too, but there's still a bigger difference of the type face with bold slugs.  I like it when they are hidden. Yes, it's all so marginal.

My standpoint here could be somewhat compared with another "small thing".
I found out that in many scripts the slug gives too much information and personalize what's not even seen by now. There's an office; but the slug already tells me (depicted exaggerated)

INT. OFFICE - PHILIP MORRIS TOBACCO COMPANY - DAY

Is that how we experience the circumstances in a movie? I don't think so. The author completely gives away the point when I really know that the office is part of a tobacco company. In my eyes, it's wrong to do so.  

Just some input from my side. As I said before, I always have discussed all those little things concerning screenwriting with myself. I guess it's my philosophy to build a connection from those thousands small things. In the end, that's what I tell to strangers when they ask me how I do what I do and what's that odd screenwriting thing is about – the true work. I answer it's about proved habits, detailed handling, experiences. And I mean those points same way concerning characters, stories, titles, everything.

Prussian..check out some pro scripts... You'll find a lot of bold slugs there. ;)

I like bold slugs.

I use bold slugs in all my scripts nowadays - I personally think they look cool and make it harder for the reader to subconsciously skip the various scene headings - some of which may be particularly important to the story.

That said, the benefit of using bold slugs is minuscule. What really matters is writing a great script and that's something I'm still working on! :)

I nominate bold slugs for industry standard.

Yay or nay?  

Noooooooo.

Curse the lot of you, I'm going down with the SS Standard Slugs.

Sorry, I'm givin' the nod to bold slugs, as well.  I resisted their call for awhile - but dammit, they look good. And make the read FAR easier....

I find them very distracting.  "Look at me!  Look at meeeeee!"  I don't want to look at you, mini-slug; I'm halfway down the page trying to read dialogue.

I use bold slugs and I'll never go back. They make scenes MUCH easier to identify and they look good...and more modern...

Quoted from Grandma Bear I use bold slugs and I'll never go back. They make scenes MUCH easier to identify and they look good...and more modern...

Have to agree Pia.

I have been doing this for a loooooong time and find it really easy to follow when I'm reading a screenplay.

I'm not changing for anyone !!!!!

If you're giong to use bold Slugs, please...please, write good, solid Slugs, because if you don't, and you bold them, they are going to stand out and it will be extremely obvious that you don't know how to write good, solid Slugs.

...and...you know who you are, piss poor Slug writers!   ;D ;D ;D

Yeah they seemed to be getting more popular these days. I don't do it myself but I see why they are becoming favorable, I've no problem with them.

I think Jeff makes a good point though, since they are in bold and stand out, it's even more important to ensure they are written properly.

Writing for myself, the bold slug lines help you flip through the script.
If I see too many or too few, there may be some scene issues worth looking into.
Anyone flipping pages should see around 30+ bold scene slugs for a three act story.

Also, I think format should be adjusted depending on what you're writing.
For instance, I'm currently writing a high tech action/thriller.
There's scenes where the modern science flies as much as the bullets.

Strong and clear -Bold & Underlined- slugs stand out from the action/tech heavy prose.
Without them, those kinds of scenes would look like a MARATHON to read through.
Which is the last thing I want when I'm spinning a set piece to entertain the reader.

Bottom Line:
I'll use any slug format that helps my spec stay out of a prodco's trash barrel.
They can be used to make a read more appealing, depending on the story.

If you've got a script with long meditative scenes, I wouldn't bold a thing.
Since there's a lot of white on the page already, keep it simple.

Cheers,
E.D.

I don't need to flip pages as I read my scripts over and over again until I get sick of them. I know every scene and instinctively know if a scene is too long, because they generally go over 5 pages.

Personally, I don't care about bold slugs. If someone paying a lot of money asked me to do it, then I'd do it. I'd probably ask why, but if they're paying, whatever. Otherwise, I do whatever I want... in fact, now everyone else is doing it I'm even less likely to do so.

Quoted Text Strong and clear -Bold & Underlined- slugs stand out from the action/tech heavy prose. Without them, those kinds of scenes would look like a MARATHON to read through. Which is the last thing I want when I'm spinning a set piece to entertain the reader.

How would bold slugs make action-heavy prose seem like any less of a marathon to get through? Twaddle is a good word for that.

To add,  Celtx,  when in edit mode,  has its slugs in a nice grayish highlight which I think looks sharp. Easy on the eye.

Tony.