Car chase scene heading

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  • Car chase scene heading

    I've written an action scene which involves two characters in different vehicles communicating via radio while being chased by a detective.
    How would you structure the scene as I'm treating each vehicle as a different location however they are in the same scene?

    http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps79a4fa84.jpg

  • #2
    Re: Car chase scene heading

    I find that in these sequences, it's best to utilize mini-slugs, rather than full scene headings:

    INT. FIRST VEHICLE -- DAY
    Hero does or says something...

    INT. SECOND VEHICLE -- CONTINUOUS
    Sidekick does or says something as well...

    WITH HERO
    as he maneuvers around some obstacle...

    WITH SIDEKICK
    as he narrowly misses a reversing dumptruck...

    WITH DETECTIVE
    as he follows the trail, slowing to allow the dumptruck to pass...

    WITH HERO
    as something else happens...

    etc. etc. etc.

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    • #3
      Re: Car chase scene heading

      Mini slugs are a good way to go. I write action scenes like this frequently, and sometimes if I'm going to be cutting quickly between the interiors of two cars and also viewing action on the exterior road, I'll just say:

      INTERCUT BETWEEN THE TWO CARS AND THE ROAD AS NEEDED

      And then go ahead and write all the dialogue and action without any slugs at all -- this way the action moving briskly down the page without interruption. (Of course, you must first establish all the locations referenced with slugs.)

      The intercut function can also work in interior settings. I recently wrote a scene of a political town hall meeting that takes place in an auditorium. The protagonist is standing in the wings, watching the action on the stage and in the audience. However, attention frequently shifts focus to the speaker on stage, and then to members of the audience. After establishing all three locations, I used a slug line:

      INTERCUT BETWEEN THE BACKSTAGE WINGS, THE STAGE, AND THE AUDIENCE AS NEEDED

      And then I proceeded to write out all the dialogue and action. The focus of the attention is obvious.

      Maybe that can help?

      Late Night Writer

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      • #4
        Re: Car chase scene heading

        I'd go with INTERCUT as well. It makes the read cleaner / faster.

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        • #5
          Re: Car chase scene heading

          Slug lines can be a *tool*, so I usually don't use intercut (it's like throwing away a tool). Instead use the mini slugs to change POVs in order to increase excitement.

          Here's a blog entry where I have the scene from my screenplay, the scene from the movie, and why I wrote it as I did:

          http://sex-in-a-sub.blogspot.com/201...car-chase.html

          Bill
          Free Script Tips:
          http://www.scriptsecrets.net

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          • #6
            Re: Car chase scene heading

            You can also ID the cars to help the reader track the action. Amini did this really well in Drive. So instead of FIRST CAR and SECOND CAR it would be THE MUSTANG and THE RANGE ROVER. Should help paint the picture and give you some more latitude with your action in terms of cutting back and forth.

            A
            Write, rite, wright... until you get it RIGHT.

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