Following Time of Day, there’s a little category I like to call miscellaneous (excluding weather, these are all functions of time). You can lump the following in this category: Time Date Weather Continuous Action Flashback / Present Day
Is your scene taking place during the day or night? The go-to terns are DAY and NIGHT. I recommend you stay with these, but if you’re feeling a bit rebellious, you can color your script with these: MAGIC HOUR SUNSET…
Who or what is being featured in the shot? It can be a person, place, or a thing — some people calls it a noun. The subject will follow the shot type, or it can be alone. There’s only one…
Shot types indicate a specific type of shot to be used in a scene. As an aspiring screenwriter, you should be careful — you’re walking the “write, don’t direct” tightrope with some of ’em. Most of the time, I only…
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…
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…
You can use up to five different elements in your shot headings. These are most commonly referred to as SLUG LINES and are always in CAPS. You can include the following in your slug lines:
