Correct format for a Psychotic Episode

[GBarlow]

At least the Subject line was catchy...

I know this has been covered numerous times before...but since the search facility here is rudimentary (to say the least), I need to ask again.

My protag is prone to having spontaneous hallucinations/visions, and I'm having issues with the format for these.

So far I have each episode starting with a FLASH (which should at least distinguish it from normal reality). Concerning the vision/hallucination itself, should it have its own full slugline? Or should I just specify a location? Does it matter?


Thanks,

[Queen Uhuru]

Concerning the vision/hallucination itself, should it have its own full slugline? Or should I just specify a location? Does it matter?

I'm going to take a wild guess and guess that since the purpose of a screenplay is to act as a blueprint for what appears onscreen, if the hallucination scene is something that you want to appear onscreen, then you will have to provide the visuals and the action and the dialogue (if any) that's in it, just as if you were writing a "normal" scene.

And since you will be doing that, you will have to give some sort of rudimentary hint to the director et al what the general set-up is for the scene - hence, a slugline. It will involve a location/set and lighting and set decoration and camera set-up and that calls for a slugline.

Just mentioning a location will do one of two things, probably. One, it won't give all the required information in order to set up that scene. And two, it could be confusing to a reader and/or director if a location only is mentioned because they might think you are indicating it is part of the last slugline/set-up you wrote in your script previous to mentioning that "location."

Hope that helps.

[Optimus Maximus]

Hmm.

/ puts on "Psychology Guy" hat

I guess it would depend on the construct of the psychosis. Is it a "vision" or is it a "hallucination?"

If it's a "vision," as in the person "sees," for example, a future event, that would need to be structured with a separate slugline.

At least, I think it would.

I dunno. I've never written a "vision" scene. But, a vision is basically an all-encompassing mystical phenomenon, but it's more "dream like" to the person receiving it.

So, I'd think that describing that "world" would involve a new slug similar to that of a flashback:

INT. DLCARY'S HOUSE - DAY - FLASHBACK

In this case, it may be appropriate to substitute VISION for FLASHBACK. But, that seems/looks kinda stupid.

Some people use minislugs for flashbacks:

FLASHBACK:

blah blah blah

END FLASHBACK.

And, I suppose you could do the VISION in a similar fashion, but substitute, "VISION" for "FLASHBACK." Again, I'm no expert, but I think this way looks better. However, I'd only write a "vision" this way if it took place in another setting and didn't involve that character (as if they were experiencing it as a spectator).

However, if you're referring to a "hallucination," that would simply involve a "malfunction" of one sensory system. Tactile and auditory hallucinations are the most common (people "feel someone touching them" or they "hear" someone calling their name).

I would write this as a normal scene, no separate slug, because for a true hallucination, the person believes that one event to be real, so why would the scene change? If it's real to your character, I'd write it as real in the scene. The fact that it's a hallucination should come out naturally in the story.

Or, you might be referring to something called "derealization," which many people mistake for simple hallucinations. Derealization is basically a more fully-encompassing neurological state. It's like a hallucination for all your senses at once.

You're walking along the street. All of the sudden, a big purple dinosaur smashes the house next to you by taking a dump on it. Then, a flower springs forth from the cement sidewalk in front of you. You smell it and it smells like your Uncle Larry. you touch it and it melts like candy in your hand. Then, you hear a clap of thunder, only it's not thunder it's a really loud farting noise, but it's still coming from the clouds. Then, it starts to rain bacon grease. And you actually feel the bacon grease soak you. Your hair is soaked and greasy and your clothes are sopping wet.

Suddenly, your best friend taps you on the shoulder, and you snap out of it. (Well, that's not really how breaking out of it happens, but that's how it would probably happen in a movie).

The thing to remember hear is that the smells, sounds, tactile feelings, tastes, sights, everything in this derealization episode seems totally real to the person experiencing it, just like a simple hallucination seems real to him/her.

For that person, IT IS REAL, so I don't think you should give the mystique of it away by marginalizing it by giving it separate slugs and headings.

So, I would probably write it as the natural development of the scene, no extra slug or anything like that. However, in the narrative/action afterward and subsequent progression of your story, it should be apparent that none of what just happened was "real."

Or was it?

EXT. DLCARY'S HOUSE - DAY

David skips along the sidewalk like a little girl.

CRACKLE!

An enormous transparent fuschia sunflower SHOOTS up from the pavement at his feet!

DAVID
Jeenkies!

Cautiously, David leans in and smells it, inhaling deeply. It suddenly BURSTS like a balloon, drenching Dave in urine....

blah blah blah

CURTIS CANDY (O.S.)
Dave? Yo, Dave.

David snaps out of it. The sidewalk, the street, everything is back to normal.

He shakes it off, confused.

DAVID
Oh...huh?

Okay, my example totally sucks, but you get the idea.

Semantically, a "vision" isn't much different from a hallucination or derealization (though visions are usually limited to being "spoken to" by some mystical presence: God, dead relative, the Ghost of Christmas Past, etc. while derealization/hallucinations are more like an acid trip that is mistaken for true reality.)

The main differences in this case are how it seems to the person experiencing it (how real it is) and how you wish to describe it.

So, I might write a "vision" with minislugs, like a dream (since that's basically what it is, a glorified dream), but only if it were a vision NOT involving the character experiencing it (like Cordelia's visions in "Angel.").

But, personally, I'd probably write it the same way I'd write a single sense hallucination and/or episodic derealization: the same as I'd write any other scene.



Damn, I just made this sh!t a helluva lot more complicated than I had to.

[Revisionist]

Go with the mini slug. It'll flow better. Full slugs will slow down the scene...

INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY -- NIGHT

James, ass pokin' out of a hospital gown, feels his way down the dim corridor. Head hung, obviously disoriented, but trudging on nevertheless...

FLASH

It's all gone. He drives a car that races off the road and down a tree infested hill. Branches snap. The mirror's torn off. Metal screeches.

A glance next to him reveals a girl. A ghost? A zombie? Her hair hangs damp and knotted. Her face cut. Her eyes dead. She stares at him. She reaches... Then...

BANG

He's back in the hallway. His hands cover his face as he slides down the wall to the floor. A groan escapes him.

JAMES
I can't take this...

With a deep breath he uncovers and opens his eyes.

Zombie girl crouches on the floor before him. God she's ugly. And reaching for him. Again.

He scrambles backwards. She touches his leg. Grips it as he kicks to get away...

JAMES
Ohhhhhh... Ssshhhhiiiittttt....

NURSE (O.S.)
Mr. Grant. What are you doing out here?

James glances to her, panic in his eyes. His eyes shoot back to the dead girl only to find her gone. He stops fighting. Red hand marks remain on his ankle.

________________

Notice I used FLASH and BANG. It drives the scene home. Others may disagree but I believe that writing is about the impact of the scene. A mini slug like BACK TO SCENE and INSERT SCENE reads really dry.

Just my 2 cents.