Format Q. proper CUT TO: use

Hi.

From reading these boards, I'm guessing that within the proper screenplay format, there are still "no set rules." However, I would just like to know this for technical reasons.

I have a 95-page script that is going into pre-production soon (ie. I'm not selling it, etc.)

My question: At the end of each scene, and before the following slug line, is it standard to use "CUT TO:" ? (Or is CUT TO only used within scenes?)

Also, are slug lines necessary for "QUICK CUT TO:" scenes within a scene? (A QUICK CUT to the party months earlier that a character just mentioned...) I'm guessing they would be for the producer to be aware of a new location, etc., right?

Thanks.

There is no need for using cut to in a spec. If it is going into pre-pro then the director may want to include certain transitions between scenes but that is at the director's discretion and are used as placeholders to indicate to the editor how he intends the film to be assembled. The same applies to notes like cut to within a scene which are used as reminders on the set and in the editing room as to how the director intends to shoot and have the scene assembled.

A new slugline implies some kind of transition, of which cut to is only one of many possible transitions out of the previous scene and into the next.

Since the script is going into pre-pro I'd suggest you let the director indicate what transitions are desired.

My 2 cents.