A scene set around 11pm, but it's summer in Stockholm, i.e. daylight. Is the slugline -- DAY or -- NIGHT?!
Footery format question...
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Re: Footery format question...
Originally posted by Hamboogul View PostYou could always write...
EXT. STOCKHOLM - NIGHT
It's a Nordic summer, meaning that even though it's 11 PM, there's still light out.
Or whatever. Don't overthink it.
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Re: Footery format question...
Originally posted by chilldivine View PostA scene set around 11pm, but it's summer in Stockholm, i.e. daylight. Is the slugline -- DAY or -- NIGHT?!
If you say "night" people are going to assume dark sky, most light coming from artificial sources, etc. If you say "day" people are going to assume that the primary light source is the sun.
Which of those is the case?
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Re: Footery format question...
Originally posted by Joe Unidos View PostYeah, don't overthink --and I advise ignoring any adivce on this topic that mentions line producers and production planning and all that.
Isn't planning (or at least acknowledging awareness of production planning) the whole point of sluglines?
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Re: Footery format question...
Originally posted by Ronaldinho View PostDoes it FEEL like day, or does it feel like night?
If you say "night" people are going to assume dark sky, most light coming from artificial sources, etc. If you say "day" people are going to assume that the primary light source is the sun.
Which of those is the case?
It's day in so far as it's full on daylight, so I started by labelling it day. However, the feel and tone of the scene is night so that held me up when I was reading over the draft.
There's probably no perfect answer, but I'd be interested in any thoughts!
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Re: Footery format question...
If I am reading a spec, I just want it to be clear and consise. If I see a DAY slug followed by "Late night bar patrons wander here and there," I am confused. If I see what Ham described, it's not only clear --it's interesting. I see it and it's cool.
IMHO, all a spec writer cares about is clarity for a reader. Others obviously will disagree.
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Re: Footery format question...
Well, are you writing in english for foreign producers or are you writing in swedish? If you write in swedish you hardly need to explain what a Stockholm night looks like. But yeah I would write it like Hamboogul.
EXT. SLUSSEN - NIGHT
A bright swedish summer night.
or in swedish
EXT. SLUSSEN - NATT
En typisk svensk sommarnatt.
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Re: Footery format question...
EXT. STOCKHOLM - SUNLIT SUMMER NIGHTThen what Hamboogul said for the action graff:
It's Nordic summer, meaning that even though it's 11 PM, there's still light out.As Joe Unidos wrote, the real key is to not confuse the reader. To me, anyway, that trumps the general preference for only using DAY and NIGHT for the time.
I had a scene in which two people have a short phone call - one is in NY (outside) and it's DAY while the other is in Beijing (outside) and it's NIGHT. At that point in the script the action is centered in NY, so for NY I wrote DAY and for Beijing I wrote NIGHT (IN BEIJING). I think that's better for the reader than just simply NIGHT or NIGHT (SAME TIME) or such.
My thinking is that if I just wrote NIGHT, the reader would think, "Night?" Then, if I were there, I'd say, "Yeh, it's night in Beijing," and the reader would say, "Oh, yeh." I might be wrong, but that's my process.
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Re: Footery format question...
Originally posted by chilldivine View PostA scene set around 11pm, but it's summer in Stockholm, i.e. daylight. Is the slugline -- DAY or -- NIGHT?!
I think of it like this - the slug line is giving me the main info on the scene, the description gives me secondary info. So 11pm in Stockholm would probably be DAY in my slugline and then I'd explain in the description that it's 11pm and still light out.
But if you did it the other way? You wouldn't get kicked out of Hollywood.
PS: I like Manchester's solution.
- Bill (plans for sex, not masturbation)Free Script Tips:
http://www.scriptsecrets.net
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Re: Footery format question...
Originally posted by Manchester View PostEXT. STOCKHOLM - SUNLIT SUMMER NIGHTThen what Hamboogul said for the action graff:
It's Nordic summer, meaning that even though it's 11 PM, there's still light out.As Joe Unidos wrote, the real key is to not confuse the reader. To me, anyway, that trumps the general preference for only using DAY and NIGHT for the time.
"Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood
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Re: Footery format question...
I recall the script for Insomnia labeled similar scenes NIGHT but told us in the action graph that light flooded Al's hotel room keeping him awake. Though from a production standpoint you'd label the scene DAY, as in it's lit by daylight. Go with whichever suits your fancy.
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Re: Footery format question...
I know I'm repeating what others are already saying but if it's night then the slugline should obviously say "night." If it's as bright as day, throw that into the action line. But for God's sake, if it's not day don't label it as day.
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Re: Footery format question...
Thanks very much everyone - it seems there isn't a consensus, but food for thought anyway.
My own gut feeling is that daylight = DAY, but this is a potentially confusing read in any case (it's a sort of looping structure so jumps around in time) so I want to establish my time frames as clearly and efficiently as possible.
This is my final tweak/polish draft, so it's the time to over-think footery details!
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