During Write A Screenplay

FORMAT OF THE SCENARIO. AUTHOR: CLAUDIO Dedola. WEB SITE: CINEUROPA.
ORG "He who

thinks he can write for the cinema without knowing the technique of writing for
film, is mistaken." (Age)
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FIRST LESSON: FORMAT OF SCENARIO In this first lesson, we will review all rules
regarding the formatting scenarios. Having to look straight on this issue we wil
l write, today, a few scenes. We talk about the cover page, typography, characte
rs used to write the text, formatting standards dialogues, scenes of titles, etc
.. In this part, we would not give that light illumination on the background, li
ghting designed to understand what enables a text to be a good scenario. The nex
t lesson will be of such depth, for highlighting features that transform a text
written correctly, the point of view of form, a quality scenario (a scenario tha
t is enjoyable to read , with adequate descriptions, dialogue and effective visu
al notes can influence the development stage). These two aspects are however not
independent of one another. As you see, a correct formatting is the first step
towards a precise narrative style and adapted. These formal characteristics are
essential to any scenario.
WRITE WHAT YOU SEE
During the writing of a film he must first follow a basic rule. I pound at once,
so that the result is easier to understand.
Write what you see.
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FORMAT OF THE SCENARIO. AUTHOR: CLAUDIO Dedola. WEB SITE: CINEUROPA.ORG
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While writing a screenplay is like the movie ended already parading in your head
. You must close your eyes and describe the images you see (and the sounds you h
ear) in your heart of hearts while creating / mind watching this film. Write wha
t you see. This rule has two consequences fundamental
1)
The scenario is always written in the present. "Write what you see" can also be
interpreted as "write what the audience sees on the screen. You must therefore c
omply with the constraints of the tool
Film: the movies only time this is. "If we enter a room while spraying has begun
, we are, in fact, impossible to understand if the pictures are marching on the
screen is a flashback or not: it is always actions that take place before our ey
es and not in our memory "(L. Aimeri). The reader of the script "sees" in real t
ime what the camera sees: "A masked man entered a bank, he takes a gun from the
right pocket of his trousers, pointing a gun at the cashier and indicates with h
is left hand tickets placed on his right. No higher-than-perfect, as you see, ju
st this. 2) The script should contain only information that is "filmable. If you
r goal is to describe what will appear on screen, you should always ask if what
you write can be translated into images. You must constantly ask, after each sen
tence that flows from your keyboard, what do I see on the screen at that moment?
This would be a mistake to start your script by saying "Rocky is a boxer failed
" because the term "failure" is not filmable, it does not provide an adequate re
sponse 2
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the question "what do I see on the screen?". It is much better than writing "Roc
ky, a boxer around thirty steps into the ring of a gym shabby suburban gloves wr
ists in a pitiful state. Now we have an action that can be filmed and that evoke
s the concept of "failure". Because of this we can not, in a scenario, we expand
on the inner life of our characters. If we write "Mario Lucia approached the he
art heart-pounding" on the screen can not see the heart beating wildly ... If in
stead we write "Mario approached Lucia of a slow and timid, his eyes fixed on hi
s shoes ... "then there of course that we are writing a movie and not a account1
. You grasped the concept? "Mario is a doctor" it does not. Mario wears a stetho
scope "is already better. "Mario is a bully, this sentence is incomprehensible.
Mario stubs out his cigarette on the front of Luca "captures the idea. Note: "Ca
rla is the mother of Andrea" it does not work. "Andrea turned to Carla and said:
Hi Mom" this is allowed and passed the message. Because, of course,Âin modern
cinema is the soundtrack.
NON-TECHNICAL LANGUAGE
The script must be written in a language that is not technical. We ask you is to
avoid technical terms such as "widescreen", "Dolly," "traveling," "American Pla
n", etc. By not complying with this rule, first you will make the director angry
( he wants to decide these things himself), and secondly you weigh down the tex
t and render it difficult to read (and a script must first be read). This constr
aint does not absolutely limit
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Example of Ugo Pirro borrowed "during scenario" of Battistrada - Felisatti
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insurmountable. The scenario is a text of words that should evoke images. The fa
ct that these images should be suggested by a language that does not detract fro
m the technical nature of your film work. We'll see how, in reality it is quite
possible to influence the reading of the script made by the director, in each of
frames by suggesting the means at our disposal.
FORMAT
How does one write a script for a technical standpoint? Already the "title page"
(the page) gives us important information. Watch it to the next page.
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Title of the script of My Name
My name My address City. Zip code number such. email
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SOME CONSIDERATIONS ON THE STORAGE OF PAGE What you see is the correct layout of
a page of script.
Let's talk straight about something that will apply to all rules that are expose
d in this lesson: I do not care that you have seen elsewhere in different format
s! The layout rules have changed profoundly over the years and some scenarios in
circulation following older models, perhaps because the writer is still attache
d to the techniques that were used at the beginning. It often happens to fall on
the transcripts prepared by non-professionals, on manuscripts "reformatted" for
sale at a lay audience or even on "shooting scenarios." Sometimes you read scri
pts written by the person who will also the director and it may therefore have d
ecided to ignore some of the standards. The following rules are strongly recomme
nded to any writer who wishes to submit his work to a contest, agent, producer.
First, note the type of character used:
Courier 12.
Not only the first page but the whole scenario will be written using this font.
The reason is that the Courier is an irreducible character: each letter occupies
the same space on the page and therefore each line will have the same number of
"signs". This seemingly unimportant appears useful when considering the ultimat
e goal of all rules of layout. Cellesci, taken together, make a page of script e
quals on average one minute of shooting.
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To return to the first page, note that the title should be written in uppercase.
No date should appear (if today I was reading a script dated 2001 I would leave
the principle that it is an idea that has grown old and, more importantly, if th
e copy has not yet found a buyer c is that there must be a good reason ...).
Similarly, do not insert details of the type "first" (there are there other? Why
then should I read the oldest?)
Even less obviously, "seventh version" (if it was necessary to rework the text m
any times, this means that the author is poor and that the idea does not work).
It is nevertheless admitted to indicate the date of filing with the SACD (or any
other agency of copyright). This is considered a sign of professionalism.
And, of course, you should not include the script a list of characters, the subj
ect of the work (unless it is explicitly asked you), or decorate or put color on
the front page (all this you would pass for an amateur).
FADE IN: After the cover page, turn now to the script itself. The first line of
any scenario is always the same. Two words in capital letters flush left:
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FORMAT OF THE SCENARIO. AUTHOR: CLAUDIO Dedola. WEB SITE: CINEUROPA.ORG FADE IN:
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This means that an image, a scene arose (in a magical way ...) in the dark. Ulti
mately,Âthis means that the film begins.
NB The "grammar" of screenwriting has developed in large part to U.S. business,
the terms were invented there and stayed the same a little for everyone and ever
ywhere. In cases where a French translation which is good and is recognized, we
will post you. For other cases, no need to ask too many questions. This is like
asking a violinist from Boston why he wrote "Allegro" on the score instead of "h
appy".
FADE IN:
The film begins, we said. It is time to write the first scene.
Yes, but what a scene?
Answer No. 1 (unintelligible) is a dramatic unity characterized by the position
of the camera, place and time.
Answer No. 2: The best way to understand concretely what a scene is to read une2
:
EXT3. CENTRAL PARK - DAY Ike and Mary are walking on a road when a storm begins.
We see lightning and hear thunder.
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From Manhattan by Woody Allen. In the examples, for reasons of space, we will us
e Courier 10 instead of 12 Translator's Note: All extracts of present scenario i
n this lesson are not translated from the original text but from the translation
made in Italian lessons by the author.
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They run to shelter. IKE Course is an electrical storm. You want to end in an as
htray? MARY was a beautiful day! IKE is true, wonderful. THE THUNDER increases.
IKE (continuing) My God, I think I heard an explosion in the skyscraper Chrysler
. They continue to run, run OTHERS also, it starts to rain.
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EXT. CENTRAL PARK - DAY is the TITLE OF THE SCENE.
The sentences are full page DESCRIPTION (images that the viewer will see and the
sounds he hears). The center stack, closer, contains DIALOGUES. Now that we hav
e presented these three elements, the explanations that follow will be very simp
le to understand.
TITLE OF SCENE (SCENE HEADING, or SLUGLINE)
Each scene is preceded by a scene such as those that follow:
INT. BATES MOTEL
-
NIGHT
EXT. CHAMPS ELYSEES
-
DAY
The title tells us if the scene is set for indoor or outdoor (important indicati
on for the timing of shots), he indicates the
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decor (BATES MOTEL, that is to say the place will be constructed for filming and
will be presented on the screen) and lighting conditions (day / night).
Whenever one of these elements is changed, it must move to a new scene. While th
e three remain unchanged (int / ext, location, lighting), the scene remains the
same ..
Here, now, a definition of scene more clear than that we gave earlier: the scene
is a dramatic unity characterized by the position of the camera, place and time
.
Note what comes next: the scenes of a spec script4 are usually not numbered, the
numbering becomes necessary only in the phase of shooting. Say, however, that w
hen the dials (it is always possible that this is required), the number may be p
laced both right and left of the title. Example:
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4.
INT. SCOTTIE'S HOUSE-DAY
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INT and EXT refer to the position of the camera, and not where the action takes
place. It is obvious that in general, if the action takes place in
The category "scenario" can be divided into two subgroups: SPEC SCRIPT and SHOOT
ING SCRIPT. The first is divided into scenes. And it is this type of scenario th
at we study in this course. The second is still divided into scenes but these ar
e further divided into frames. Spec script comes from the word "speculation". Th
is is a text that should be sold and therefore that must first be read. It there
fore needs to be fluid and easily readable. Therefore it is not explicitly fragm
ented frames (but as we have said the frames can and sometimes should be suggest
ed otherwise). In the shooting script, however the scenes are divided by the num
ber of plans required. It is written in a second time and it has more function t
o be read and evaluated, but its role is to provide a work plan for the shooting
. In summary, the producer acquires a spec script that will be transformed into
shooting script for the implementation phase of the film.ÂThe reason being in s
creenwriting we study only the first type of scenario is: the shooting script is
not prepared by the writer but the director
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Inland, the camera also be placed indoors. But these details "int" or "ext" are
actually a means by which to influence the stage without recourse to technical t
erms (forbidden). Think about the end of "Annie Hall. Alvy and Annie say hello i
n the street (outside). But the scene is filmed from inside the bar, instead of
their last meeting. It is a very good end. In this case the action takes place o
utside but the title of the scene will, however: INT. BAR - DAY
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Regarding the place, I beseech you: if you're referring to a place that has a na
me every time he reappears ... Give him the same name! That do not come to mind
to write once "INT. JEAN'S STORE - DAY "and five pages later," INT. EMPORIO - NI
GHT "if it is the same place.
- We must, moreover, about the special case of these scenes that take place on h
orseback between two places (such as entering a building with characters moving
from indoors to outdoors or vice- versa). In a case such as this, assuming that
the action is filmed in a continuum, then we accept a title such as INT. / EXT.
BAR-DAY.
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We said that when the location changes, we move to a new scene. But there are ca
ses where it makes a real change of venue, but it is more travel between the dif
ferent environments that are sub-categories of the primary environment (eg. The
various spaces, which are not clearly separated, a very large restaurant). In th
is case it uses the so-called sub-titles scene, also written in capital letters
and aligned left. 11
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INT. THEATRE - NIGHT A small provincial theater. It plays "The Merchant of Venic
e". ON THE SCENE Two characters, Shylock and Antonio, face to face. SHYLOCK I wi
ll buy with you, I will sell with you, I speak with you, I will walk with you, a
nd so on. But I do not eat with you, not drink with you, nor pray with you. IN T
HE PUBLIC (AT LAST RANK) MARIA, a 50 year old woman sleeps with his mouth open.
We return at greater length on the use of subtitles in the following lessons.
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Regarding the lighting conditions, there are two main options DAY and NIGHT. The
use of different annotations (eg. Dawn, dusk) shall be limited to strictly nece
ssary. In other words, do not give up if it has real significance for the histor
y, otherwise do not complicate unnecessarily the lives of those who must make th
e catch (as we all know that dawn and sunset lasts only a few minutes a day!).
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Before and after the title (or subtitle) of the scene, a double line break is ne
eded is to say a separation line with the other elements of the scene.
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DESCRIPTION (of action or description)
EXT. THE PUBLIC GARDEN - DAY The main square of Hill Valley, a small town in nor
thern California. The buildings are a bit spoiled. The old court has a clock sho
wing 10:02. A modern clock above a bank discloses alternating temperature and ti
me. It indicates 15:43. Marty in the middle lane of traffic on his skateboard. I
t just avoids being run over by a car ...
The description is written in full page (60 characters), without justified margi
ns. Its role is to describe the places and actions that take place. The time use
d is always present. Sometimes you can use the present progressive, when in the
early stage of the characters are already immersed in an activity.
INT. ROOM NIGHT HARRY blankets, is watching
Harry, nestled beneath Casablanca on TV.
The action, as in the example taken from Hill Valley "Back to the Future" can be
divided into several paragraphs. Each new line should reflect a change of frami
ng. The pace of the narrative depends on your writing style and may even, theref
ore, achieve affect the fitting.
NB It is advisable to limit the descriptive paragraphs to a length of four lines
maximum. If you find yourself with a "block" too long on your page, say a dozen
lines, shorten it or divide it into three blocks,
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because a paragraph is too long lazy to take the reader to skip it and concentra
te on the dialogues. We discuss this problem in the next lesson to you other sug
gestions.
NOTE WELL THAT:
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descriptions in the character's name is written in capital letters in his first
appearance. This helps the reader to count the characters and understand right a
way how many players he will need for the film. If a character does not have an
important role, it is not necessary to assign a name, but it should still be in
uppercase. Eg "The pump attendant fills up on self Chiara. Use capital letters t
o indicate the presence of any character on stage: "The Crowd awaits the arrival
of the Queen". This is to report the need to recruit extras.
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Discussions are often held to determine if the very name of the characters must
be immediately revealed in the script or just when the public learns. Eg. : In C
asablanca we do not know that the pianist is called Sat until someone else (Rick
, if I'm not mistaken) called by name. And yet Sam was on screen for quite a few
minutes (or pages in the script). In the scenes that precede this time how to t
ell this person? As "Sam"? "The Pianist"? "Man of color on the quarantine? The r
ule would it be designated by SAM only when his name is revealed to the viewer.
The reader should know the scenario character's identity at the same time as the
film spectator. However this rule is often
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criticized and it is almost never enforced. While the spectator who does not kno
w the name of the character may actually be helped by his appearance, distractin
g the reader could himself easily getting lost (and not understand that "The Pia
nist" and "Sam" are the same person ). Better then in that case the name of the
character from the outset. Unless, of course, that the author does not wish to r
eveal the identity of the viewer for a specific reason, perhaps because the reve
lation of the character's name would destroy the surprise ending (the police and
the criminal have the same name : they are brothers!). But if we are not bound
by such requirements, we will write in the first scene "MARIO ROSSI, 40, big as
a basketball player and as lean as a marathon runner, lights his computer."
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Even the sound effects cited in the description must be written in capital lette
rs. "RADIO is on," a bomb EXPLODES "
"Driver blows the HORN", "after THREE RINGS Mario wins. Obviously it is not nece
ssary to report the sounds that are heard in the film if they are implicit in th
e location. If we write "EXT. TERMINI STATION - DAY "we must certainly not make
the list of all the different sounds of trains or the roar of the crowd. Unless
attributed to these sounds any narrative function. Eg. if the whistle from the s
tation master is used to understand that the train is about to leave and that th
e protagonist must make haste to greet his bride, we will insert it in caps in o
ur scenario. Similarly, the sound of the character who walks back and forth in h
is room can be ignored in the description (because implicit in the "long
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forth), while not the thief who wake up every householder will be shown and so o
n. This speech sounds is of course also refers to the music but just music "dieg
etic", which belongs to histoire5 the world. "Sam begins to play AS TIME GOES BY
." The band music is however ruled out the scenario. I know that this speech is
difficult to accept for some. "My scene is designed to be accompanied by Heroes
David Bowie, it is necessary that I mention it! "is what I am told often. This i
s not an option. You do not write anything! First, because the choice of band mu
sic does not belong to your work. Second, because the rights to use songs cost m
oney and it is not that the production succeeds in obtaining them (this also app
lies to intra-diegetic music, if possible, limit yourself to indicate the genre,
without specifying a title.).ÂThird ... if to convey a concept or emotion you
are forced to resort to musical commentary that means that you are worthless as
a writer! All the arts aspire to be like music, it seems. But if you want your f
ilm has the lightness of a song by Burt Bacharach, the melancholy of a classic E
lton John or the energy of a song by the Rolling Stones, you must run all this b
y the tools available.
Although the difference: The music that comes out of the jukebox Arnold in Happy
Days, and Marilyn singing Running Wild in the train of Some Like It Hot are exa
mples of diegetic music. When we hear Marvin Gaye The guys in first or Gershwin
in Manhattan we are facing the extra-diegetic music, that is to say in response
to what is called the soundtrack.
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FORMAT OF THE SCENARIO. AUTHOR: CLAUDIO Dedola. WEB SITE: CINEUROPA.ORG -
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In describing all texts to appear on the screen are shown in uppercase. It is be
lieved by all the headlines, posters on the walls of rooms, the shop signs, to l
ove letters and letters that explain suicide, to the address on an envelope, and
so on. All that is essential to show the viewer that can read, must be written
in capital letters in the script. Keep in mind the No Trespassing that ends Citi
zen Kane or the letter of Ilsa in Casablanca, Rick gets to the station in Paris.
Or, to take an example more specific, the tattoos that cover the chest of Max C
ady in Cape Fear (the nerves). In all these cases you should write something lik
e: "on the wall of the inn is written in red paint VIVE VERDI. The same rule app
lies to the stage directions and overlays all types. Eg "OVERPRINT: 2 JUIN 1946.
And it also applies to the introduction in the style of those found in "Star Wa
rs" that summarize the baseline, or the few lines that end occasionally a film (
eg MARIO ROSSI IS CURRENTLY HELD IN PRISON FOR ...).
THE DIALOGUES
Let us start with an example:
EXT. PART OF WEST BROADWAY - NIGHT Harry and his friend Jess walk on the sidewal
k. JESS I do not know, this thing does not convince me ... You know, I got to a
point in my life when I accepted the idea that there's only me and my work.
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They continue to walk.
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JESS (continuing) Excuse me, but if it is so exceptional, why you do not go out
with her? HARRY How many times must I tell you, we're just friends. JESS So you'
re telling me it is not attractive ... HARRY No, I've already said that she is a
ttractive ... JESS But you also said she has a lot of personality ... HARRY Inde
ed, it has a great personality. Jess stops walking and shows his friend the fing
er as if to say "I've been good!". HARRY (continuing)-What's wrong? JESS When a
person is not attractive it is described all the time saying she has a lot of pe
rsonality. HARRY Listen ... If you asked me what it looks like and that I'd said
she has a strong personality so it would have meant she is not attractive ... B
ut since it was I who said she has great personality, two hypotheses are possibl
e. Not very attractive or very attractive personality with lots of personality.
JESS And she like? HARRY Seductive. JESS But she is not beautiful, is not it?
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Harry sets his friend for a moment, then shook tÃªte6.
In the dialogues the name of the person who decides the lines are always written
in capitals. The replicas are placed on the next line (no spaces) and are held
nearly centered in relation to the "description". The column occupies thirty dia
logues replicas. No margins justified. The rules for dialogues apply whenever so
meone talks to Screen: Conversations between characters, when a character is spo
ken aloud, when the character is off screen (it is not physically present in the
scene) and we only hear his voice. Between the lines, dialogue, and also betwee
n a replica of dialogue and description line must leave a space. A dialogue writ
ten in capital letters means that the replica is called "shouting"
AGENT BACK THE HANDS!
When a replica is suddenly interrupted (by another replica of dialogue or an une
xpected noise you must use the "double dash (-):
MARIO Sorry for the delay butÂyou know, they have started work in the street, F
RANCESCO A. For all the saints ... spare me at least your con-A DETONATION terri
fying. MARIO (alarmed) What was that?
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Taken from When Harry Met Sally ..., N. scenario Ephron
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FORMAT OF THE SCENARIO. AUTHOR: CLAUDIO Dedola. WEB SITE: THE PARENTHESES CINEUR
OPA.ORG / stage directions
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When this is useful it can be cited parenthetically, the tone of the reply, the
presence of breaks, rapid references to actions taken by the character while he
utters his lines or other types of "directions" for the actors. You've already s
een in part in the previous examples.
Other examples of possible use:
MARIO (quietly) Where are you? ANNA (taking his backpack) I am shooting. MARIO (
puzzled) Really? ANNA (laughing) What is the problem?
Be careful now aftershocks following:
MARIO (indicating a friend) Luca, we leave here? ANNA (rising) Tell him yourself
. MARIO (Luca, murmuring) Luca! Mario is struggling to be noticed by his friend.
MARIO (continuing) We, we're going.
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The stage directions (Parenthetical) are at most suggest an intonation or a gest
ure that accompanies the reply. It can not substitute for the description ... th
e indication "Mario is struggling to get noticed by his friend" is indeed too so
phisticated to be used as a "statement of direction" and we have therefore place
d in a line description which cuts the dialogue. In these cases, if after the co
urse of action the character who delivered the last line speaks again, we indica
te between parentheses "(continuing)" or "(he continues)". Another classic use o
f parentheses indicate pauses in the dialogue. Depending on the pace we want to
print the story, especially if we want to give the impression of a longer break,
we can then use the "description". For more breaks short, however, no need to u
se the stage directions, mere dots may suffice.
MARIO And so, in fact, I was wondering ... I was wondering if you would agree to
marry me ANNA My god .. (Pause) ... gosh Silence. MARIO is a way to say yes? Lo
ng pause. Anna takes a sip of Pepsi she holds in her hand. Mario has a forced sm
ile. ANNA What, I seem desperate?
The stage directions are well suited to situations where there are several chara
cters and their replicas are intended, in part, to one of them and, for the rest
to others.
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COACH (to Gentile) You think you're Maradona. (At Cabrini) You, you'm Bertoni.
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What is very important to understand is the next thing: the same way as the info
rmation technology represent an unwarranted intrusion on the territory of the di
rector, those notes should be regarded as an encroachment on the field of player
s. They should therefore be limited to strictly necessary. Beyond this reason, t
hey must be also considered redundant when the tone of the reply is implicit in
its content.
SGUERCIO (threatening) If you do not do what I tell you I'll break your arm.
As you could understand the phrase "(threat)" adds to nothing ...
If, however, a similar sentence was imposed for a Christmas dinner and that he w
ho uttered preferred not to be noticed we could have a proper use of stage direc
tions:
ANNA You see this band? (Smiling) if you do not stop I will plant in the eye ...
The final scope for cases in which the sound quality is influenced by the emissi
on source, such as when we hear the words that come from television.
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COSTANZO (on TV) Because it is good for me, a good shirt for all.
When words come from other media (such as telephone, intercom, the megaphone or
loudspeaker from the stadium) which heavily distorts the timbre of the voice, th
e more correct term for inclusion in the script is "filtered "the English" filte
red ".
WIZARD OF FLIGHT (filtered) Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard flight 451 boun
d for TBE International Airport Montevideo.
NB The stage directions are a wonderful tool to customize and make more effectiv
e style of writing itself. Beyond the cases presented here it is indeed possible
to make creative use,Âusing them to solve situations that if they were confron
ted with traditional techniques would raise the text, which would spoil the qual
ity of your script. Read for example this passage from Almost Famous (Almost cÃ©
lÃ¨bre7). The scene provides a dialogue between Russell, guitarist in a group of
70, and Penny Lane, queen of the groupies.
RUSSELL (smiling) Of course, you've removed as did Frank Sinatra ... He sneers.
He goes to the ice maker with a glass in hand.
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Scene which does not appear in the final film, written by Cameron Crowe
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RUSSELL (continuing) Miss Penny Lane. Let me tell you what will lose the Rock an
d Roll on the day you really retire. Russell is one to one drop ice cubes into t
he glass. RUSSELL (continuing) The way you transform a hotel room in house. (Ice
) The way you pick up the poor guys in every location where you spend. As the ma
gic flute player. (Ice) The way you know the lyrics to every song. Each song. Ev
en bad. Especially bad. (Ice) This little green coat in summer. (Ice) Your real
name, you do not want to reveal. (Ice) And I could go on. But my glass is full .
..
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Here the action of putting an ice cube in the glass is not exactly simultaneous
to the pronunciation of words of dialogue (as in the case of "rising from his ch
air"), such actions occur "alternate" with words, they serve to punctuate the va
rious "points" of the speech. But precisely because they are more a function of
"punctuation" of dialogue that a significant action of the dramatic point of vie
w, the act of placing them in the column of the dialogue is entirely appropriate
and effective.
EXTENSIONS
Abbreviations as (VO) or (OS) are often found in the column of dialogues with th
e name of the character.
MARIO (O.S.) ANNA (V.O)
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These are what are called extensions and their function is to report situations
in which the voices we hear do not match the lip movements of the characters we
see on the screen. Nothing too difficult, do not worry.
(VO) means "voice over" and implies the presence of a narrator outside the actio
n unfolding on screen, eg. narrative voice or the character's inner monologue.
EXT. CHURCH - DAY Overcast, some tourists and full of pigeons. ANNA (VO) It was
the summer of 1993, and our family had just moved from Genoa to Milan.
Or:
INT.
DINING ROOM - DAY
The husband and wife are eating a strange exotic soup.
WOMAN Is it good?
MARIO (V.O.) Good horror? But you donated your taste buds or what?
When the character spends the soliloquy in normal dialogue, you can cut the dial
ogue as if they were two different characters:
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MARIO (V.O.) Good horror? But you donated your taste buds or what? MARIO (aloud)
Delicious.
(O.S) means SCREEN8 OFF. It differs from the voice over the fact that the OS the
voice has nothing to do with interior monologues or narratives nondiegetic. Tha
t voice belongs to a character that is not visible on the screen but which is a
character similar to the other. As in the following example:
EXT. HOUSE OF ANNA - DAY Mario KNOCK on the door. One opens. MARIO Open to me, p
lease! ANNA (OS) If you have something to say to me write to my lawyer.
In summary, we do not see Anna pronounce his reply simply because it is on the o
ther side of the door, and that the human eye can not see through the woods. But
his voice is part of the so-called diegetic space, it is therefore
8
We sometimes use the abbreviation HC (off), sometimes VO (voice), and naturally
there can arise significant problems of clarity, since the latter usually the la
bel indicates very different concept of Voice Over. Our advice is to use the abb
reviations U.S. (off screen and OS for VO for Voice over) and inserted at the be
ginning of the script before the "FADE IN:" a little legend clear:
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27
part of the normal world history. In the case of voice narration or a monologue
(VO) The voice is placed instead on another "narrative level" 9
I often find it difficult to understand the exact difference between these two c
oncepts. So I created a sort of "proof by 9" which I hope will help you easily d
istinguish these two situations. Try every time to ask if the other characters a
re able to hear the voices in question. If they can hear (as in the case of Mari
o that means exactly the words of Anna), so OS is a voice, otherwise (as in the
previous case of a woman who obviously can not hear Comment treacherous husband)
is a VO
In the (frequent) of the telephone conversation in which we hear the voice witho
ut seeing the caller, such a vote must be considered OS since it is anyway intra
-diegetic (the character at the other end of the wire can obviously hear it).
ALTERNATE MOUNTING (INTERCUT)
Obviously when a telephone conversation, the author may also choose to show us t
he two speakers in their respective environments. To do this we will show altern
ating images of the two characters instead of us just hear the voice of one over
the telephone.
And this is as good a technical standpoint, since it will be recorded separately
and then superimposed on the scene.
9
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We will then have two separate scenes to be filmed in two different places. But
these two scenes succeed very quickly, and the images we are continually passing
, for example, the office of Anna's apartment Mario. As we have stated repeatedl
y, the script must be before any fluid and it would be counterproductive to spec
ify each replica of the dialogue scene change with a new title scene. The right
solution is to signal the establishment of a montage, which shows that throughou
t the scene the speaker must be in the frame. . The change of place is implied.
Here is an example.
INT. OFFICE OF ANNA - DAY A small room with river view. In the center a desk cov
ered with papers and office supplies. Anna leaning against the window is dialing
a number on his mobile.
INT. MARIO'S HOUSE (KITCHEN) - DAY A large room decorated in a modern style. Mar
io is currently drain the pasta. The phone RINGS. Mario grabbed the cordless pho
ne on the table.
MARIO Hello? ALTERNATE MOUNTING BETWEEN THE BUREAU OF ANNA AND THE HOUSE OF MARI
O. ANNA Hi, I am. MARIO Where the hell have you been??
28
FORMAT OF THE SCENARIO. AUTHOR: CLAUDIO Dedola. WEBSITE: CINEUROPA.ORG THE SUBTI
TLES
29
When one wants to write dialogue in a foreign language and allow the reader / vi
ewer to understand its meaning thanks to the subtitles, the choice must be speci
fied in the scenario by duplicating "column of the dialogues. On the one hand, t
he character's name and aftershocks in the foreign language, on the other phrase
SUBTITLES and translation.
ANNA Get out of my way!
Yields SUBTITLES!
THE "MOUNTING (MOUNT) By editing we mean this kind of narrative synthesis that i
llustrates one phase of history through a succession of images without dialogues
that are turned in different places but still related to the topic and are ofte
n accompanied by a musical commentary. For example, a sequence which, through th
e images of various games won by the same boxer, can express his irresistible ri
se. Or a sequence of paintings inspired by the honeymoon of a married couple to
express their happiness. In a film about the life of a diva of the theater will
be a montage summarize its successful tours, and so on. Again if you wanted to b
e absolutely accurate it should be a succession of separate scenes (because the
place is always changing). But on paper, we could lose the unity of the sequence
. Here is how to report these small chapters of the film:
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30
ASSEMBLY - ANNA AND MARIO'S HOUSE CAMPAIGN Restaurent Anna directs the work of p
ainters in the show. Mario mows the lawn. Anna painted an old gate. Mario helps
a worker to wear a table inside. Anna hangs a painting in a room being decorated
. Anna Mario shows two samples of carpet. Anna is the lounge windows. Mario unpa
cks a TV. Mario and Anna admire with satisfaction the work completed.
Such episodes may be numbered or countersigned by a sequence of letters.
THE FLASHBACK
The flashback is to say, the representation of past events,Âmust be clearly ind
icated in the script. And with good reason that, as we said earlier in the film,
there is only the present tense and the simple reading of the scenes may not be
sufficient to explain events that are located in the past.
In the first case, simply indicate so in the title of the scene, as in the follo
wing example:
EXT. BEACH DAY - FLASHBACK
Sometimes they will specify the period in which the flashback is (otherwise it w
ill be done in the lines of description).
INT. QUIRINALE - DAY - FLASHBACK (1948)
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31
If the flashback is composed of several scenes, we must point out that this sequ
ence. Most textbooks recommend the report in the title of the first scene contai
ned in the FB:
INT. FROM TERMINI STATION - NIGHT - FLASHBACK SEQUENCE
For greater clarity, others advise to place first the phrase "sequence flashback
capitalized by aligning the left and then to indicate the flashback scenes as i
f they had any Another scene:
FLASHBACK SEQUENCE - EXT FORENCE 1951. SANTA CROCE SQUARE - NIGHT
Finally, remember to always signal the end of the flashback as follows:
INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - DAY - FLASHBACK (1986) Anna, aged ten, sits at his desk
in a deserted classroom. She gets up, goes to the door of the classroom and ope
ned it. Corridors, too, seem deserted. She returns to her desk, took his backpac
k and runs out of the room. END OF FLASHBACK
NB This has been said about the flashbacks is generally valid also for the dream
sequences:
EXT.
SKY OVER MILAN - NIGHT - DREAM
But nothing, of course, obliges you to add these indications. If, in the film, w
e want to confuse the viewer, we can do it with the readers of the script. At th
is time, we will write the scenes "dream" normally and in the end we finish with
...
31
INT. MARIO HOUSE - NIGHT
32
Mario awakes. He looks at the clock: 4:51. He heaved a sigh of relief. It was a
dream.
TRANSITIONS A scenario speculation ("spec it) should be made only by the scene t
itles, descriptions and dialogue (in which category it is returning the stage di
rections and extensions). Between the end of a scene and the beginning of anothe
r, information indicating the "break" between the two units are not needed. The
fact that there is a break whenever we make a new scene is implied. It is theref
ore unnecessary, and it is even a mistake to conclude the scene by indicating "C
UT TO:".
EXT. MAZZINI STREET - DAY
Mario pedal fast on his old bicycle. CUT TO: EXT. MALL - DAY Mario arrives, supp
orts his bike against a wall and rushed inside. The only two really useful trans
itions can be summarized thus "HE TURNS INTO (SOLVENT TO), you can use to give e
mphasis to the passage of time between one scene and the other (perhaps by writi
ng HE SLOWLY IN TRANSFORMING to indicate a very slow fade) and "FADE OUT:" what
you write at the end of the last scene of your movie, to offset "FADE IN:" initi
al, indicating the transition to black and end of the film. "HE TURNS IN" and "F
ADE OUT" also written in uppercase, right-aligned. We must make a 32
33
precision on the FADE IN / FADE OUT. Although they usually appear only at the be
ginning and the end of the scenario, it is possible to have a "fade out" before
the end, for example at the end of the first acte10. This is to isolate, as a fo
rmal point of view, this narrative unit. We will, therefore, a fade to black, fo
llowed by the appearance of a new image that will be reported in the scenario wi
th a new FADE IN:. This imperfect correspondence between the "Fade Out" and the
end of the movie that you can not waive the requirement to record systematically
even in the scenario the word END to enter the script. It will be written in up
percase in the center of the page, preceded by a space. This accuracy may seem s
uperfluous, but you believe it or not, many people who come to the end wondering
if they have not, by chance, lost, pages, especially in the presence of open en
ds ... so since it does not cost anything, always end with a nice "END".
EXCEPTIONS TO THE PROHIBITION OF USE OF TECHNICAL TERMS 1) If you consider absol
utely necessary to emphasize in the text in a visual detail you can use to excep
tional technical formulas as "detail on the gold medal" or "close to Angela." Yo
u should not use them too often throughout your script at risk of being "hyper-d
irectional '(over-directing).
2) "The camera pulls back revealing ..." This option is allowed when you want to
hide and then reveal to the viewer the real nature of the situation depicted.
We talk about the division of the script in action in another lesson, say at onc
e that this is not a formal division.
10
33
34
Consider the example used in many well-worn comic films: a man is shot in half-f
igure in a jacket and tie, when the frame expands, we discover that not wearing
pants. It also uses this technique in more dramatic settings. The English formul
a is "PULL BACK TO REVEAL"
3) ANOTHER ANGLE SHOOTING (placed as a sub-title of the scene). Sometimes it is
very important to change the view within the scene:
INT. DEPOSITION MUNITIONSI - DAY A soldier moves silently along the wall. ANOTHE
R ANGLE SHOOTING Behind him, unseen, a sniper rifle and the weapon's point again
st him.
It could, however, present the situation without resorting to notes staging expl
icit, as is the case in showing the change of framing / angle shooting. Reread t
he scene without "ANOTHER ANGLE SHOOTING. As you can see, this does not change m
uch. However, the use of term as it serves to underscore the importance of "dram
atic" change of perspective. The other term with a similar function which can be
used in cases of absolute necessity is "ANTI-CHAMP" or, in English, "REVERSE AN
GLE.
PAGE NUMBERS They must be placed in the top corner, right. The cover page is not
part of the script itself and is not counted. The first page of the script
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35
(The one with the first scene), obviously recognized, does not, by tradition, th
e number 1. The numbering starts to appear from the following page (which is num
ber 2).
TABS The description covers 60 characters. The column of the dialogue "holds" 30
signs, starting 10 of them over the left margin of the description. The name of
the person who writes about 20 spaces in the left margin of the description. Th
e stage directions are smaller than 15 signs and they are 16 spaces from the lef
t margin of the description.
Una page scenario includes 60 lines of text (including newlines). No pages can e
nd with a title or subtitle of scene or the character's name at the beginning of
a dialogue. In these cases, these "last" lines slide to the next page. For this
reason, a large number of pages of script will eventually have a number of line
s less than 60. N.B. If a dialogue is interrupted by a page change we will do th
e following:
HARRY Listen ... If you asked me what it looks like and that I'd said she has a
strong personality so it would have meant she is not attractive ... (More) - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - Page Break - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - HARRY (cont'd)
11 But as it is told me that she has lots of personality, two hypotheses are po
ssible. Not very attractive or very attractive personality with lots of personal
ity.
11
Abbreviation continued
35
36
Instead you can put MORE TO FOLLOW in French. Instead of you can put Cont'd CONT
INUED. In the example I gave the English terms as the notes are usually inserted
automatically by the software scenario rather than being added manually, and so
ftware generally use English terminology.
OUTER (IN THIS SECTION, EVERY WEEK, WILL BE TREATED THE ASPECTS OF THE SECONDARY
AND ABOUT THE LITTLE THINGS)
SOFTWARE: think about the last little rule. Even being very careful to never fin
ish a page with a title or a stage name, it is sufficient that any time you cut
one line of dialogue on page X for all your efforts to be canceled. But you can
escape such a fate! Screenwriting software automatically move to the next page t
he title in question,Âand automatically write "MORE", "CONTINUING" cont'd. " Wi
th software you can simply write INT. so he understands that this is a scene as
it will then automatically capitalized and you may only have begun to write the
name of the place (eg by typing .. R restaurant) that it will suggest a list of
words and the lighting conditions. Contact J and appears DAY. No need to write t
he title of the scene, after he already knows he has to insert a space and the s
ame must be done after each descriptive paragraph and every line of dialogue. Of
course he knows the name of each of your characters for which you simply type S
for Sigismund. And, needless to say, he knows the difference in size between th
e descriptive paragraphs and
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37
Column dialog and change the format dialogue descriptive format simply press a b
utton. The program itself is the stage directions (Parenthetical) and extensions
, it suggests transitions and a thousand other things. You'll love it as a broth
er.
ITALIAN FORMAT: The format that we have to study today is called the American fo
rm of layout. This, by its clarity, has become, over time, the universal standar
d. Historically, other forms of layout, however, have existed. The Italian, for
example, shared the page into two columns. On the right description, the left di
alogues12.
EXT. CENTRAL PARK - DAY Ike e Mary found on a park trail then breaks out the sto
rm. We see lightning and hear thunder. They run to shelter. IKE Course is an ele
ctric storm. You want to end in an ashtray? MARY was a beautiful day! IKE is tru
e, wonderful. THE THUNDER increases. IKE (continuing) My God, I think I heard an
explosion in the skyscraper Chrysler
They continue to run, run OTHERS also, it starts to rain.
12
The French form is a combination of Italian and American form, which maintains t
he right column dialogues but who writes a full page description.
37
FORMAT OF THE SCENARIO. AUTHOR: CLAUDIO Dedola. WEB SITE: CINEUROPA.ORG EXERCISE
: Write this scene:
38
Christmas Eve: your character (male, female, young man, young woman ... you choo
se) is shopping in a store downtown (library, shop, store ...). There is a poten
tial gift, checks the price on the label and then tries on him (hat, scarf, sung
lasses, pen, backpack ...). At that time, his phone rings. He answers and (while
still on the phone) he meets a friend in the store. It follows an exchange of v
ows between your character, the friend and the person on the phone. After greeti
ng his friend and ended his telephone conversation, the character moves toward t
he exit of the store but forgot to be based in its place, it triggers the alarm.
Enrich just volontÃ©13. MAX 3 PAGES.
Be attentive to the layout, but do not worry about the precise size of the colum
ns of dialogue and description (just the description is full page and the dialog
ue is centered and a width approximately equal to half). It is not necessary to
follow the rule on "forward" and "after" the change of page.
13
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