How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

    Something like:
    Code:
    INT. BEDROOM -- NIGHT
    
    Vader awakes. He gets out of bed.
    
    INT. LANDING -- A BIT LATER
    
    We hear the toilet door flush. Vader emerges from the bathroom.
    The two shots belong to the same sequence but they're not quite continuous as obviously a short amount of time has elapsed. What's the accepted way of writing the second slug?

  • #2
    Re: How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

    You're right, it's not "CONTINUOUS"

    Personally, I write it in the scene slugline as "(LATER)", but in this case you'd get away with doing nothing, in my books. The "He gets out of bed" logically sets up the next action/scene. Unless he's had to spend some inordinate amount of time in the bathroom - say he's developing a case of cholera or something - I'd just not worry about it.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

      Originally posted by Pike View Post
      Something like:
      Code:
      INT. BEDROOM -- NIGHT
      
      Vader awakes. He gets out of bed.
      
      INT. LANDING -- A BIT LATER
      
      We hear the toilet door flush. Vader emerges from the bathroom.
      The two shots belong to the same sequence but they're not quite continuous as obviously a short amount of time has elapsed. What's the accepted way of writing the second slug?
      If they're different locations, i wouldn't indicate the time shift in the slugline but in the scene description. But the scene as you're writing it here doesn't feel like it even needs to call that shift out. this feels like just normal time passing from one cut to the next. the viewer will get that Vader went to the bathroom after getting out of bed, and then emerging post-whatever in the bathroom

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

        Originally posted by Pike View Post
        Something like:
        Code:
        INT. BEDROOM -- NIGHT
        
        Vader awakes. He gets out of bed.
        
        INT. LANDING -- A BIT LATER
        
        We hear the toilet door flush. Vader emerges from the bathroom.
        The two shots belong to the same sequence but they're not quite continuous as obviously a short amount of time has elapsed. What's the accepted way of writing the second slug?
        "MINUTES LATER" or "MOMENTS LATER" depending on the amount of time. I don't know if that's the right way to do it or not, but it's the way I would do it.
        STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

          INT. LANDING -- NIGHT

          ... regardless of the amount of time that has passed.
          "I am the story itself; its source, its voice, its music."
          - Clive Barker, Galilee

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

            Originally posted by TwoBrad Bradley View Post
            INT. LANDING -- NIGHT

            ... regardless of the amount of time that has passed.
            I'm guessing that's technically right and that's the way it would definitely be if it was a shooting script ... but for a reading script I see, "MOMENTS LATER" or "MINUTES LATER" as "shorthand" that could keep you from having to write unnecessary description. At least that's the way I look at it.
            STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I'm a wannabe, take whatever I write with a huge grain of salt.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

              I like the way David Trottier suggests to do it. (Just an opinion.)

              Master scenes and secondary scenes revisited
              Let's go to another example. As you know, you begin a scene with a master scene heading, which names the master (or primary) location; for example, EXT. SMITH HOUSE - DAY. Other locations (such as BEDROOM or HALLWAY) that are part of the master location are called secondary locations; the resulting heading is called a secondary scene heading.

              In addition, it's okay to add a secondary location to a master (primary) location in a master scene heading. I'll illustrate all of these points below.

              First, we'll begin with the master scene heading that includes a secondary location and then move to other secondary locations.
              INT. SMITH HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

              John slams the front door and races down the

              HALLWAY

              and into his

              BEDROOM

              where he dives on top of his bed and sobs.

              The above is correct, but it could have just as easily been written like this, which is also correct:

              INT. SMITH HOUSE - DAY

              LIVING ROOM

              John slams the front door and races out.

              HALLWAY

              He runs past pictures of his family.

              IN THE BEDROOM

              He stumbles in and falls on his bed sobbing.

              As you can see, any number of secondary headings can follow as long as the locations are part of the master (primary) location. Once we change the camera placement to an exterior location or to a location that is not part of the master location, we must create a new master scene heading.
              "I just couldn't live in a world without me."

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

                I only use slug lines within a scene if I'm bouncing around within a large locale, INT or EXT.

                Example: The scene heading is supposed to tell us the main location, eg. INT. AUDITORIUM, and the time - NIGHT. But +the slugs that I might use are REFRESHMENT BAR, SALAD TABLE, CONFERENCE TABLE, EXIT or ENTRANCE DOOR, or PODIUM. But the overall shooting and set-up location is the INT. AUDITORIUM - NIGHT.

                Thus, I'm not too fond of the Trottier sample here. Yes, it does avoid dealing with the time of day in each location, because it's only in the scene heading, INT. LIVINGROOM, but the slugs bounce around all over the house, way out of range of the livingroom.

                Since this is all continuous, you could use SERIES OF SHOTS; oops, another can of worms.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

                  Originally posted by Centos View Post
                  I'm guessing that's technically right and that's the way it would definitely be if it was a shooting script ... but for a reading script I see, "MOMENTS LATER" or "MINUTES LATER" as "shorthand" that could keep you from having to write unnecessary description. At least that's the way I look at it.
                  It doesn't go without saying. There are no shortcuts.

                  The movie audience doesn't see "MOMENTS LATER- in the script. If it's necessary to the story for the audience to get a sense of the passage of time, the clue needs to be in the Action.

                  The reader and audience will figure it out.
                  "I am the story itself; its source, its voice, its music."
                  - Clive Barker, Galilee

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

                    Originally posted by StoryWriter View Post
                    I like the way David Trottier suggests to do it. (Just an opinion.)

                    I like that a lot--it's clean and your reader gets the point without wasting a lot of ink.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

                      Originally posted by SBdeb View Post
                      I like that a lot--it's clean and your reader gets the point without wasting a lot of ink.
                      You do realize the Trottier example has nothing to do with signifing a short break between shots?
                      "I am the story itself; its source, its voice, its music."
                      - Clive Barker, Galilee

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

                        Originally posted by Pike View Post
                        Something like:
                        Code:
                        INT. BEDROOM -- NIGHT
                        
                        Vader awakes. He gets out of bed.
                        
                        INT. LANDING -- A BIT LATER
                        
                        We hear the toilet door flush. Vader emerges from the bathroom.
                        Using Trottier's example:

                        Something like:
                        Code:
                        INT. VADER'S HOUSE -- BEDROOM -- NIGHT
                        
                        Vader awakes. He gets out of bed.
                        
                        LANDING -- LATER
                        
                        We hear the toilet door flush. Vader emerges from the bathroom.
                        I don't know if it's really worth beating yourself up over this:

                        Something like:
                        Code:
                        INT. VADER'S HOUSE -- BEDROOM -- NIGHT
                        
                        Vader awakes. He gets out of bed.
                        
                        LANDING
                        
                        We hear the toilet door flush. Vader emerges from the bathroom.
                        The very fact that the "he gets out of bed", is above the "Vader emerges from the bathroom", in the script, strongly implies that the bathroom emergence follows the getting out of bed. It suggests chronological order, the passage of time.

                        Unless there's some serious reason to indicate how long he spent in the bathroom -- people will get it.

                        At least I hope so. I wouldn't want to be the guy who acted confused by the whole thing:
                        "So wait -- did Vader get out of bed, in his bedroom at the EXACT same time he emerged from the bathroom, on the landing, or what? How does he emerge from the bathroom, on the landing, while he's simultaneously getting out of bed in the bedroom? And why does "Vader awakes" come before "Vader emerges from the bathroom", in the script? Why aren't we given any coherent time-frame to figure this all out? It's just all too confusing!"
                        Last edited by StoryWriter; 01-16-2018, 03:23 PM.
                        "I just couldn't live in a world without me."

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

                          TwoBrad was correct in this discussion.

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

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: How do you signify a short break between two different shots?

                            How do you signify a short break between two different shots?
                            What kind of short break between two shots? Something like a 'lavatory break'? Maybe the sound of a toilet flush and the character then emerging from a bathroom would be enough to indicate almost exactly that amount of time passing.

                            Originally posted by StoryWriter View Post
                            Code:
                            INT. VADER'S HOUSE -- BEDROOM -- NIGHT
                            
                            Vader awakes. He gets out of bed.
                            
                            LANDING
                            
                            We hear the toilet door flush. Vader emerges from the bathroom.
                            What!? Two Vaders!?

                            [Disclaimer: I'm an aspiring professional, so trust nothing I say.]
                            Last edited by Crayon; 04-29-2018, 08:00 AM. Reason: typo
                            Know this: I'm a lazy amateur, so trust not a word what I write.
                            "The ugly can be beautiful. The pretty, never." ~ Oscar Wilde

                            Comment

                            Working...
                            X