Emphasizing words on Dialogue

[sir pink]

Is it proper to be allowed a scattered few bolds or CAPS or UL's in the dialogue to show emphasis?
Or is that being too controlling?

RANDY
And those fair angels went in to have sexual
relations WITH THE SONS OF MEN!

And which is right(er)?

[UserName]

Avoid emphasis in dialogue. If absolutely positively necessary, use caps ... no bold or underline.

[esdavis88]

Eh, you'll get mixed feelings on this. Some feel it's an eyesore, some say it's directing the actors too much, some feel it can help bring voice to a script.

Personally, I do it very sparingly. Only if a particular word is very important, do I then think about putting it in italics. One thing I can't stand is reading a script where a character is angry and then all of their dialogue is in CAPS. Argh, frustrates me to no end. If ths scene is intense, it should read as intense without all of the CAPS, underlines, and !!!!!

So my final answer is: Use it sparingly and only if you really have to.

[JakeSchuster aka Ostroff]

I find italics aren't always noticeable as such in Courier. And when the page is photocopied, all bets are off. I underline when I need to emphasize a word.

[PipeWriter]

I'll use underline about once a script. I usually put it in when I notice I'm fumbling over some line of dialogue where the emphasis isn't obvious.

[roscoegino]

CAPS? Depends on the scene. If the scene is pivotal enough. If the character is showing an emotion he hasn't shown and the story has reached a certain boiling point then go for it. But if on the first page you have:

BOB: HEY, HONEY I'M HOME!!

I'd lose it unless you're doing The Sam Kinison Story.

[ComicBent]

In general, do not use caps for emphasis or shouting.

If an occasional emphasis is needed because the nuance is truly unclear, and could lead to ambiguity, use underline. Such a situation will be rare.

If you feel that someone must shout, and you really cannot resist the urge to direct, just use a parenthetical (shouting).

[whistlelock]

either your writing has the emotional intenstiy it needs or it doesn't. Playing tricks with the font isn't going to help you.

[nickj]

I use an underline only when the line might be misunderstood without it. More than 2-3 times per script and you may be overdoing it.

[OkeyDokey]

Bold: never
Caps: very sparingly, for shouting
Underline: very very sparingly, only for clarity of emphasis

Edited to add: I still think it's OK to use caps for shouting on occassion, but apparently I'm in the minority....

[DZ440]

I have seen underlining used in some blockbuster film scripts, but only very, very sparingly. Never use caps to shout, like ComicBent said just use a parenthetical such as below.


EXT. THE PARK - DAY

A CRAZY GUY jumps around for joy.

CRAZY GUY
(shouting)
I won the lottery! Yay!
Spacing is off, but you get the point.

[dk23]

I don't see any problem with using caps to emphasize a word.

BOB
Get your butt in gear, NOW!

Makes the tone pretty obvious with no extra direction needed, doesn't it? And as far as I know, the purpose of a screenplay is by and large to convey the important information as succinctly and vividly as possible.

Dan

[VLBarnhill]

EXT. THE PARK - DAY

A CRAZY GUY jumps around for joy.

CRAZY GUY
(shouting)
I won the lottery! Yay!

I wouldn't using the parenthetical in this example. The action implys he would be doing more than whispering. Let the actor do his job.

:smokin

[Deus Ex Machine]

Call me old fashioned but I always thought an exclamation mark was enough to indicate shouting.

[kenGosling]

using caps to indicate shouting isn't good, you should paranthise (shouting)
never use italic or bold
you may choose caps or underline to emphasise a word or give it much more importance.

[VLBarnhill]

And yet another GREAT point by the Deus Machine.

Your comment does raise a question, Deus. I've heard more than one writer state:

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever use (!) exclamation points.

WTF? Anyone else hear that?

:smokin

[Deus Ex Machine]

I'm not a fan of exclamations in narrative but can see no reason for exclamations not to be used appropriately in dialogue to indicate intensity and/or volume of speech.

[dk23]

In the internet era, exclamation points have taken on a life of their own (similar to "...") and are used in nearly every sentence by many people. I can only assume the recommendation to not use them stems from them being so over used by many.

Dan

[gruss]

Prediction: over the next few years, CAPS will become the de facto standard for added emphasis in dialogue but emphasis of any kind will still be discouraged.

Underscore is so 20th century.

And I think there are times when a parenthetical (shouting) just won't do it. For instance, you can shout an entire paragraph but still emphasize particular words.

[nickj]

I tend to agree. Underlining's okay on a printed page, doesn't always look good (or work) on the screen. CAPS always work. Underlining is typewriter-speak for italics.

[Salazkin]

Why would anyone use an exclamation point in narrative? ALL CAPS, on occasion, as needed, okay. But it seems to me that intensity, amplitude, magnitude, etc. can be more than adequately conveyed with, what was it?... oh, right -- words.

[Writer1]

In a spec I just completed, the police chief is whispering to a thug from Chicago...a thug who he just kicked the crap out of.

The chief leans down and whispers.

Chief
This ain't Chicago. This is MY town.

I dunno if it's correct, but it looks right on the page. The chief is conveying that he owns the town.

[gruss]

Punctuation: a legitimate part of written language; no one should be afraid of it!

I just came across a South African film website that demanded that writers never, ever, use semi-colons. Anywhere. I'm sorry but I'm leaving my semi-colons right where they are. In fact I might throw a few more in just for spite.

[Lulu1000]

My $ .02:

Use all uppercase to indicate shouting (when a parenthetical isn't a better solution) and use an underline to indicate emphasis on a word -- but only when it's really needed for the actor /reader to get the sense of the line.