Scene to Scene

[Chachee]

Hi again. I've just read in a thread on recommended books for new screenwriter's and I will purchase them ASAP. But until I do, I have another question.

When you have a character in one room, say a hallway, who does something like look at a photograph on the wall, and then walks into the kitchen down the hall, would the kitchen scene be a brand new scene?

Since I am writing this script with no intentions to direct it myself, and only have hopes to market and sell it, I'm not always sure about how I should follow/write a character who moves from one room to another. Feels choppy to write a new slug line when following a character through their house.

Any thoughts?
Chachee

[Kelsey]

I*m only answering as an attempt to better understand myself; please wait to for someone else to verify whether my anser is correct or not before using it. This is something I stumble over a bit as well.

I think you would do something like:

INT. AVA'S HOUSE - HALLWAY - NIGHT

Ava stumbles down the hall, still not quite awake. She stops in the middle of the hallway to look at the pictures on the wall before moving into the

KITCHEN

She opens the refridgerator.


I don't know, there are probably a few mistakes...this isn*t something I*ve been using a lot lately.

[Charli]

INT: HALLWAY -- DAY

Mark ambles down the long hallway. He stops for a moment, looks at the

PORTRAIT OF HIS YOUNGER SELF

on the wall. He straightens the frame, walks

INTO THE KITCHEN

heads straight for the pizza box on the counter.

****

If the picture is important to show as a frame in the story, then minislug it,
otherwise don't highlight it and move on into the next room. Read
Screenwriting Bible for rules on formatting.

Charli

[scripter1]

Yes it is all one scene.

This scenerio would be a very, very small sequence.

A real scene change is when the idea/plot point being presented changes.

You can shift through a multitude of locations but remain in the same scene going through sequences of actions, like a car chase.

I'll hunt for the link to the thread about scene changes we had several months back.

Choppy or not you have to highlight the location change. If anything has to be moved it's got to be marked.
The best thing to do is to NOT change rooms in one location that much if you can.
If you've got three, four or more mini slugs on one page the scripts going to look weird and the set designers/tech crew will be pulling out their hair trying to plan how to move all the gear.

If cool stuff happens in each new room then it is worth it.
I'm not sure that eating pizza, brushing teeth, getting dressed, kicking toys out of the hallway, tucking kids into bed, then checking something in the garage would be worth it.
ALL these things would happen in a new local but are they VITAL to the actual story? Most likely not.

You don't want to remain stuck in one place either for the entire story, that gets really boring. The human eye needs to see a change of scenery from time to time.

Take a serious hard look at your story and see if these kinds of changes are mandatory for the story or can you write the scene better while staying in one spot?
Why can't the picture be in the bedroom? Or the scene take place in the hallway? Or maybe it's a tiny all in one apt or bungalow with a mini fridge?
And just how important is it that we see him/her eating pizza in the kitchen?
Can't they eat and look at the same time?

(for a really interesting first hand account about films that take place in one location but move from room to room check out Bill's film log over at scriptsecrets. I'll post the link once I find it.)

well, for some reason I can't find a link to Bill's on location adventure but it's a great story. It's located in the cafe section, about four or five threads down.

The thread about what makes a scene change was on the old boards and I can't find it.

[Ravenlocks]

A "scene" in the story sense may still involve several location changes requiring sluglines.

[altoption]

Here's a master scene version. Meaning no mini-slugs.


INT. PIETRO'S HOUSE - NIGHT

PIETRO sashays down the hall, still dripping wet from the shower, a towel draped around his waist. He stops to admire a portrait of himself on the wall. Water pools by his bare feet on the hardwood floor.

PIETRO
Kid, you've still got it!

He heads into the kitchen, flicks on the light. It's a kitchen to die for, glistening white. On the counter, Tillie, the cat, has her snout buried in his dinner.

PIETRO
Tillie, no!

Pietro takes one step, slips. Feet fly up. Head hits floor. Pietro lies there, motionless on the gleaming tile floor. From her perch on the counter, Tillie glances down at him.

TILLIE
Fvcking idiot.

Then, she resumes her feast.

[TwoBrad Bradley]

When did definition of a scene change to include more than one location?

Did someone misinterpret the “beginning-middle-end” thing? Did some “expert” feel that if it’s impossible to accomplish this in one location (scene) the solution is it’s now okay to do it over many locations (scenes)?

It must be written down somewhere. I would like to see where you get this stuff from.

[altoption]

Originally Posted by TwoBrad Bradley

When did definition of a scene change to include more than one location?

Did someone misinterpret the “beginning-middle-end” thing? Did some “expert” feel that if it’s impossible to accomplish this in one location (scene) the solution is it’s now okay to do it over many locations (scenes)?

It must be written down somewhere. I would like to see where you get this stuff from.

I'm not big on rules, but...

The scene takes place in one location: PIETRO'S HOUSE. It's continuous. A guy walks from his hallway into the kitchen. It's one scene in one location. Sure, feel free to break it up. I like the simplicity of one slug.

You got a problem with that?

[TwoBrad Bradley]

altoption, I was referring to having more than one Scene Heading (SLUG) and calling it a single scene.

But, about your example:

I can see the “beginning-middle-end” of the kitchen part.

Pietro doesn’t want Tillie to eat.
He makes a move to stop the cat.
He fails.

What does the hall have to do with the scene?

[TwoBrad Bradley]

Consider a simple chase (action bulleted just for example purposes):

EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET – DAY

- occupant in blue car tries to shoot out the tires of red car.
- fails

EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET – DAY

- blue car tries to run red car off the street
- red car is forced onto the crowded sidewalk but manages to get back on the street.

EXT. FACTORY STREET – DAY

- blue car tries repeatedly to get in front of red car
- succeeds but red car turns the other way.

EXT. COUNTRY ROAD – DAY

- blue car smashes into rear of red car.
- blue car loses control and flips upside down.

Each scene can not be considered a chase SCENE. It’s just a little scene (each with a beginning, middle and end) about someone trying to shoot out somebody’s tires, etc.
When you string all these separate SCENES together it becomes a chase SEQUENCE.