If you’re writing a spec screenplay,your title page should contain the following information:
- Your script’s title
- The name of the writer(s)
- Your contact information
Shot Headings: Location
Location is another no-brainer. At this point, we know we’re either indoors or outdoors (perhaps both) — now we need to know where the damn thing is taking place. Here’s the way the Coen Brothers open up Cormac’s No Country For Old Men:
EXT. MOUNTAINS – NIGHT
Snow is falling in a gusting wind. The voice of an old man:
VOICE OVER
I was sheriff of this county when I was twenty-five. Hard to believe. Grandfather was a lawman. Father too. Me and him was sheriff at the same time, him in Plano and me here. I think he was pretty proud of that. I know I was.
You can choose to be more specific with your location. From The American by Rowan Joffe:
[scrippet]
Shot Headings: Interior / Exterior
Does the scene take place indoors or outdoors?
Use abbreviations. No need to to type out INTERIOR or EXTERIOR. Just use INT. or EXT.
From Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Charlie Kaufman:
INT. BOOKSTORE – NIGHT
Joel sits in the bookstore coffee shop. It’s a jarring transition, visually and emotionally. Joel is in the midst of some traumatic state of mind.
