Reoccurring points

clonedbeef said:

How do you set up things in your screenplay world that are reoccurring?

I have a city which looks to be present day but there are no televisions, telephones, or computer and mentioning it in every setting would be pedantic.

I have a character who is always seen in a new suit and driving a new car, how would I set that up besides introducing that fact every day he appears?

I assume that the solution would apply to these and all things similar. Thanks.

Click to expand...

Hi cloned,

If it were me, I'd approach the two differently. In the first description where you say that there are no tvs, phones, etc - I'd make it clear that applies to the world as a whole and not just the specific location where the scene is set.

As for the character. I would specifically describe the car and suit in each scene. i.e Tony pulls up - this time driving a Ferrari and wearing Versace.

clonedbeef said:

"The room was spared from electronics and telephone communication, something that the entirety of the city shared"

Would that work for one of the early INT. scenes?

Click to expand...

Hi Cloned

A couple of things. Screenplays are written in present tense so it would be "The room IS". But overall I find this sentence a bit clunky and unclear.

Short, declarative sentences are best. "something that the entirety of the city shared (or should be shares) is too prose-y.

Keep it simple, Keep it clear and keep it visual.

clonedbeef said:

"The room was spared from electronics and telephone communication, something that the entirety of the city shared"

Would that work for one of the early INT. scenes?

Click to expand...

What I would do:

INT. OFFICE -- DAY

A room devoid of modern equipment. No telephones, no computers. Not even a wall jack or cable hook up. A calendar on the wall displays today's date beside a standing, counterweighted clock with manual hands. A modern skyline is visible through the office window.

MAIN CHARACTER strides through the door in a crisp modern suit with a cup of Starbucks in his hand and a stack of files under his arm.

(Something like this would quickly establish the time frame as modern day while showing there are no electronics in the room.)

Cyia said:

What I would do:

INT. OFFICE -- DAY

A room devoid of modern equipment. No telephones, no computers. Not even a wall jack or cable hook up. A calendar on the wall displays today's date beside a standing, counterweighted clock with manual hands. A modern skyline is visible through the office window.

MAIN CHARACTER strides through the door in a crisp modern suit with a cup of Starbucks in his hand and a stack of files under his arm.

(Something like this would quickly establish the time frame as modern day while showing there are no electronics in the room.)

Click to expand...

Cyia's example is good, but I would advise that after the "cable hook up." You add a sentence making it clear that this is a world without electronics. It will establish your world for the reader and cut out the tedium of having to mention there are no electronics in every scene set in a place where there would normally be some.

I think you should keep it succinct. Writing, " Tony pulls up - this time driving a Ferrari and wearing Versace" is just perfect. I would also say that writing "There are no televisions, telephones, or computers in this world" in the first descriptive paragraph covers it for the rest of the screen play. Remember, a script is a framework so that the director and the actors can get on with the serious business of making a movie. Don't bog things down with the color of the wall paper or the number of dust bunnies under the couch unless these things are necessarily a critical part of the plot.