Formatting with regards to location changes

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  • Formatting with regards to location changes

    I have a question regarding two specific cases that relate to sluglines and when a new one is necessary.


    #1


    I have a scene that begins in the hallway of a house where we see a man descend down the stairs (visible from the hallway) and then he walks through the hallway and into the kitchen where he has a long conversation and where the scene really takes place.


    How do I handle this slugline-wise?


    Do I just write


    INT. HOUSE HALLWAY - DAY


    and then explain in the action that he descends down the stairs and moves through the hall into the kitchen and leave it at that?


    #2


    I have a scene that begins on the street, a guy is walking and runs into someone, has a conversation, after the conversation ends he continues down the street a little further and then crosses, walks into a bar and the scene continues in the bar.


    Now, the idea is that the whole part on the street would be handled in one take and POSSIBLY the take would continue on into the bar, but possibly there might be a cut from the street into the bar, but there would be no time lapse, the scene would just continue in the bar.



    Do I need a new slugline when the guy walks into the bar?

  • #2
    Re: Formatting with regards to location changes

    Originally posted by Dimitri001 View Post
    I have a question regarding two specific cases that relate to sluglines and when a new one is necessary.


    #1


    I have a scene that begins in the hallway of a house where we see a man descend down the stairs (visible from the hallway) and then he walks through the hallway and into the kitchen where he has a long conversation and where the scene really takes place.


    How do I handle this slugline-wise?


    Do I just write


    INT. HOUSE HALLWAY - DAY


    and then explain in the action that he descends down the stairs and moves through the hall into the kitchen and leave it at that?


    #2


    I have a scene that begins on the street, a guy is walking and runs into someone, has a conversation, after the conversation ends he continues down the street a little further and then crosses, walks into a bar and the scene continues in the bar.


    Now, the idea is that the whole part on the street would be handled in one take and POSSIBLY the take would continue on into the bar, but possibly there might be a cut from the street into the bar, but there would be no time lapse, the scene would just continue in the bar.



    Do I need a new slugline when the guy walks into the bar?
    #1. INT. HOUSE HALLWAY – DAY
    Man walks down hallway.

    INT. HOUSE KITCHEN – DAY
    Man has a conversation.

    (and you don’t really need the hallway shot; it’s a “shoe leather” shot)

    #2. EXT. STREET SCENE – DAY
    Man walks down street. Man meets someone he knows.

    MAN
    Blah, blah, blah.

    KNOWN PERSON
    Blah, blah!

    Man continues down street. He crosses and goes into a bar.

    INT. BAR – DAY
    Man walks into the bar.

    MAN
    (to bartender)
    Why is my Writer making me
    do all this walking? It has
    nothing to do with my story!
    Last edited by Clint Hill; 03-08-2020, 05:47 AM.
    “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Formatting with regards to location changes

      When you're in a single location like a house or, let's say a bar, you can use subheaders as long as it's clear you are in the same location.
      INT. HALLWAY - SUNRISE

      Jessica walks down the stairs and turns into the hallway heading into the--

      KITCHEN

      Where she pours herself a cup of coffee, glancing out the window at the sunrise. Something gets her attention and she runs out the back door into--

      EXT. BACK YARD - SUNRISE

      Jessica chases away a black bear tearing into garbage cans.
      You can still use full sluglines if you want. Once you go into production they will need to be turned into full sluglines anyway. The reason to use subheaders is to improve the speed and flow of the read.

      Second example.

      EXT. MICHIGAN AVENUE, CHICAGO - DAY

      Mark runs down the sidewalk knocking people out of his way, until a OLD MAN, grabs his jacket, stopping him. Old Man gives him a dressing down.

      Old Man sends Mark on his way with a shove.

      Mark sprints--

      ACROSS THE STREET

      Mark slows, straightening up his disheveled clothes, smoothes his hair back and grabs the door to Harvey's Bar and walks in.

      INT. HARVEY'S BAR - CONTINUOUS

      Mark waves to BIG JOHNNY at the end of the bar and sits on the stool next to him.
      Those are two ways to do it.
      "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Formatting with regards to location changes

        EXT. MICHIGAN AVENUE, CHICAGO - DAY

        Mark runs down the sidewalk knocking people out of his way, until a OLD MAN, grabs his jacket, stopping him. Old Man gives him a dressing down.

        Old Man sends Mark on his way with a shove.

        Mark sprints--

        ACROSS THE STREET

        Mark slows, straightening up his disheveled clothes, smoothes his hair back and grabs the door to Harvey's Bar and walks in.

        INT. HARVEY'S BAR - CONTINUOUS

        Mark waves to BIG JOHNNY at the end of the bar and sits on the stool next to him.
        Lisa, everything is fine with this through the sprint across the street. But once the man gets to the other side, you are really dealing with a different location and you will need a closer shot. You really need a new Scene Heading if you are going to show him doing something like straightening his tie. He is obviously in a different location, and it is just as if you had never seen him cross from the other side of the street.

        The way that TigerFang handled #2 is fine as long as the scene is supposed to show the man from afar as he crosses the street and enters the bar. We have all witnessed scenes like that in films. But if the perspective changes (camera is now across the street and close to the man as he enters the bar), you need a new scene.


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

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Formatting with regards to location changes

          Zero percent chance I'm adding a scene heading for running across the street.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Formatting with regards to location changes

            Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
            Lisa, everything is fine with this through the sprint across the street. But once the man gets to the other side, you are really dealing with a different location and you will need a closer shot. You really need a new Scene Heading if you are going to show him doing something like straightening his tie. He is obviously in a different location, and it is just as if you had never seen him cross from the other side of the street.

            The way that TigerFang handled #2 is fine as long as the scene is supposed to show the man from afar as he crosses the street and enters the bar. We have all witnessed scenes like that in films. But if the perspective changes (camera is now across the street and close to the man as he enters the bar), you need a new scene.

            Yes, my mistake. ACROSS THE STREET is too vague and in this instance is a camera direction to indicate a TRACKING SHOT.

            Using the subheader HARVEY'S BAR would be clearer, because that is where the action stops. Further, it would only be necessary to use a subheader if something specific HAPPENS at that secondary location, which I indicated. That shot in front of Harvey's Bar where the characters preps his appearance could be a separate shot on its own. It could also be a part of a single tracking shot.

            Locations can be designated by many descriptions... E.G. FIRE HYDRANT, THE CORNER, BESIDE THE SPACESHIP, MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION or GASLIGHT POST.

            Exterior subheaders aren't always as clearly stated as inside buildings. The point is ALWAYS write with as much clarity as possible.

            You could have a large set with all exterior shots. For example, locations could be: ROBINSON'S SPACESHIP, ENGINEERING TENT, BONFIRE.

            Using a single line in all caps is an acceptable way to clarify a change in a shot or a focus on a specific PLACE or CHARACTER. But that is not the same as a subheader, though they do appear the same.

            If you have the POLICE on one side of the street preparing to fend off RIOTERS on the other side of the street, a writer might opt for all capping either group to indicate the shot change... or to indicate the shot cutting from one location, or one side of the street, to the other.
            EXT. MAIN STREET U.S.A. - DAY

            A squad of POLICE rush into a line, riot shields up, visors down and batons ready.

            ACROSS THE STREET

            RIOTERS jostle for position in front of barricades, wearing little protection, wielding rocks and protest signs, cursing at--

            THE POLICE

            Reinforce their position standing in tight formation, shoulder to shoulder. In one fluid motion, the entire line of fifty Policemen step into the street, united.
            In this case across the street indicates a camera shot change to another location within the location. It doesn't have to be a building. It's clear what "across the street" means in this scene context. At least it does to me.

            There are many ways to write and format a screenplay. Writers' style can vary a lot and the formatting choices one writer makes, another writer may not.

            If you read production ready scripts they have full scene headers for every change of location, so if you're uncertain, the best option might be to fully list out your scene headers in every instance.
            "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Formatting with regards to location changes

              Originally posted by Satriales View Post
              Zero percent chance I'm adding a scene heading for running across the street.
              I have a standard answer:

              Do it however you would like.

              Nobody will send the police to your house for some kind of format violation.

              Happy writing!

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

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Formatting with regards to location changes

                Oh, one thing I would add, to help make it easier to understand HOW to use sub headers...

                The sub header eliminates everything that is redundant. So the specific area becomes the sub header, e.g.

                Ex:

                INT. NIGHT CLUB - NIGHT

                INT. AT THE GOGO BAR, NIGHT CLUB - NIGHT

                INT. POOL TABLE, NIGHT CLUB - NIGHT

                INT. DART BOARDS, NIGHT CLUB - NIGHT


                Sub headers:

                AT THE GOGO BAR

                POOL TABLE

                DART BOARD

                Sometimes you might use a full header if your location was another room within a room, say, RESTROOM, or say an OFFICE, but it's really what the writer chooses-- again, go for clarity first and foremost.

                What you want to avoid, is reader hesitation where, for one reason or another, they stop to try to FIGURE OUT what you mean. That is not ideal.
                "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Formatting with regards to location changes

                  Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
                  I have a standard answer:

                  Do it however you would like.

                  Nobody will send the police to your house for some kind of format violation.

                  Happy writing!
                  Completely agree. It just personally gave me anxiety.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Formatting with regards to location changes

                    I see people mention using sluglines to indicate shot changes - I thought you weren't supposed to "direct" inside the script. That saying how something should be shot was a no no

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Formatting with regards to location changes

                      You are not directing anything when you indicate a location within a scene.

                      However, I would stress to you that significant changes of location deserve their own master Scene Heading, not just a slugline.

                      For example, let's say that a restaurant has essentially three areas. (1) The main dining area, (2) a bar, (3) a cozy area with a fireplace (gas, ceramic logs). Each area is easily visible to the others, but they are not so close together that people could chat back and forth among them without shouting across the room.

                      If your story deals with people and events in each of the three areas, it is better to use a master Scene Heading for each area, as in:

                      INT. RESTAURANT - BAR - NIGHT

                      INT. RESTAURANT - DINING SECTION - NIGHT

                      INT. RESTAURANT - FIRESIDE AREA - NIGHT

                      Do you have to do it this way? No. You can use slugs like BAR and DINING SECTION and FIRESIDE AREA after you establish the general scene with:

                      INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT

                      If you use minislugs like BAR, etc., those scenes — and they are scenes, not just locations within a scene — will be changed to master Scene Headings somewhere in the rewrite process.

                      Now, about "directing" in scenes ... Whether you use master Scene Headings or minislugs, you should — in general — describe what you mean for the audience to see. Do not try to designate shots as such with things like ANGLE ON JOE. And do not try to describe every gesture that a character makes, or every emotion that a character displays.

                      But all of the stuff about not directing is like quicksand. You trust it to hold you up, but when you wander out into it, you start to sink. Not much is solid about rules in screenwriting.

                      For example, if two people are at the bar, and one of them starts talking about a picture behind the bar, you might write:
                      Joe points at a picture behind the bar.

                      JOE
                      That's me forty years ago. God, I was in great shape in those days.
                      This is perfectly good screenwriting. The director would then decide on the shots. Is the picture visible when Joe speaks and points, or do we just see him speak and point, and then we have a close-up on the picture? You do not have to get into all of that.

                      But suppose you have some specific images in your mind as to what is playing out before you. I would not hesitate to write something like:
                      Joe points at a picture behind the bar.

                      JOE
                      That's me forty years ago.

                      An 8 x 10 glossy black-and-white picture of Joe in a football jersey hangs behind the bar.

                      JOE (O.S.)
                      I was in great shape in those days.
                      It is clear from the way that I wrote this that the camera gives us a close-up shot of the picture. Also, the JOE (O.S.) tells us that Joe makes his nostalgic comment while we are looking at the picture.

                      Is this directing? Yeah, a little bit. But the act of writing is itself involves some directing. Just do not overdo it.

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

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