Slugline Question

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  • Slugline Question

    My main character is Amy, so I have her house as
    INT. AMY'S HOUSE - DAY

    Since she ends up moving should I change it to her last name because it is technically her parents house anyway and once she moves could it be confusing if I still call it Amy's house.

    I realize it's a pretty minor detail but I'm curious what people here with much more experience than I would suggest.

  • #2
    Re: Slugline Question

    Originally posted by Hitman View Post
    My main character is Amy, so I have her house as
    INT. AMY'S HOUSE - DAY

    Since she ends up moving should I change it to her last name because it is technically her parents house anyway and once she moves could it be confusing if I still call it Amy's house.

    I realize it's a pretty minor detail but I'm curious what people here with much more experience than I would suggest.
    I would just identify the second house as ...

    INT. AMY'S PARENT'S HOUSE -- DAY

    But I can't see using something as generic as INT. AMY'S (or AMY'S PARENT'S) HOUSE -- I think you'd want INT. LIVING ROOM ... DINING ROOM ... KITCHEN, etc. It might be easier to use some kind of "establishing" shot, like ...

    Code:
    Amy's car diesels to a stop in the driveway of her PARENT'S RANCH 
    HOUSE, indistinguishable from the others on the street except for the two 
    pink, plastic flamingos on either side of the porch.
    
    The hinges on her car creak as Amy shoves the door open. She has to 
    slam it twice to get it to stay closed.
    
    Amy's MOTHER, grey and matronly, smiles as she emerges from the side door.
    
                       AMY'S MOTHER
                    Come on in. 
    
    INT. KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS
    STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Slugline Question

      Thanks for Responding Centos.
      But there is no second house. Amy moves into the apartment and never returns home ever.
      So there is a few scenes in her parents home after she leaves so I feel it could be confusing to say a script reader who reads thru it fast.

      Though at this point I hope a script reader gets that far lol.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Slugline Question

        Use:
        INT. AMY'S PARENTS' HOUSE - DAY
        If you need to be specific about the part of the house (you probably do), then:
        INT. AMY'S PARENTS' HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY
        Later she will move and will live in:
        INT. AMY'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - DAY
        English has a defective possessive. People almost always use it incorrectly. When you talk about living in the house of your parents (plural), then the plural possessive works like this:

        my parents' house

        If you only have one parent, then it is:

        my parent's house

        Of course, to talk about one parent in that way is an awkward construction.

        "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Slugline Question

          How about something simple like

          INT. AMY'S PARENTS' HOUSE - DAY

          INT. AMY'S APARTMENT - DAY

          With a beef description of what the scene looks like at the first visit to it.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Slugline Question

            Originally posted by Paul View Post
            How about something simple like

            INT. AMY'S PARENTS' HOUSE - DAY

            INT. AMY'S APARTMENT - DAY

            With a beef description of what the scene looks like at the first visit to it.
            Consider it from a script breakdown point of view as well. Keeping slug lines consistent and logical mitigates confusion and makes their job a lot easier.

            I'm not sure if if Final Draft has this function, but Fade In Pro gives you an overview of your sluglines to make ensure that AMY'S PARENTS' HOUSE and AMY'S PARENTS' HOME aren't being mixed up.

            I've found that a "General -> Specific" style works best for these purposes.

            EXT. AMY'S PARENTS' HOUSE
            EXT. AMY'S PARENTS' HOUSE, KITCHEN
            EXT. AMY'S PARENTS' HOUSE, KITCHEN, PANTRY ... etc.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Slugline Question

              Me thinking: Oh I think I can help with his question. Hmm there are already some replies, let's see what they said.

              <reads through the responses>

              Welp...um...ditto.

              Centos' reply above is how I would do it and the others covered it pretty well.

              I will only add, IMHO you don't want to be TOO generic with your scene headings but also not be overly descriptive.

              It's also a good idea to take into account each scene in relation to other scenes and locations throughout the script which everyone above kind of hinted at. Use similar conventions throughout (if you have a scene heading naming a location and you move to other similar locations, use the same naming convention).

              Many times the name of a city or high school, etc. is included in the scene header vs just a generic: "JONESBORO TOWN HALL" vs. "TOWN HALL" or "MIDDLEBROOK HIGH SCHOOL" vs "HIGH SCHOOL".

              If there are multiple similar locations (ex. multiple bars in different scenes) then you want to differentiate them.

              Proper names, etc. in scene headings can and IMHO do add better narrative to the script.

              But there are decisions you'll have to make as to how they flow with other scene headings, etc.

              Examples:

              Code:
              INT/EXT. PICKUP TRUCK - DAY
              INT/EXT. JOE'S PICKUP TRUCK - DAY
              INT/EXT. JOE'S FORD F-150 - DAY
              INT/EXT. JOE'S GREEN FORD F-150 - DAY
              INT/EXT. JOE'S BEAT-UP GREEN FORD F-150 - DAY
              INT/EXT. JOE'S BEAT-UP 1970'S GREEN FORD 1-150 - DAY
              At a certain point above, the items become TOO much and the description, if needed (beat-up, make/model, color, year) might be better served being part of the description in the action underneath

              Code:
              INT/EXT. JOE'S PICKUP TRUCK - DAY
              
              Joe takes a long drag on his vape and exhales a large plume of vapor as he
              drives his 1970's green Ford pick-up truck whose better days are behind it.
              One example I used (right or wrong?) recently is:

              Code:
              EXT. TOWN OF SPRINGVILLE - DAY
              
              A sleepy little mining town, etc. etc.
              Used the proper name of the town in the scene heading but the action to describe the town.

              Kind of a general rule I use (right or wrong) is scene headings are where things take place and the subsequent action is the setting of that place/scene.

              Hope it helps.
              You know Jill you remind me of my mother. She was the biggest whore in Alameda and the finest woman that ever lived. Whoever my father was, for an hour or for a month, he must have been a happy man.

              Comment

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