Screenwriting Examples for you

[bluejester12]

I've read dozens of screenplay, but recently started taking notes on mechanics that may not always be clear to me ie. using CUT TO, undelring, how often to use CAPS. Following are my notes on some screenplays I read and how they handle certain mechanics. I tried to avoid shooting drafts and "older" scropts. All of these can be found on drews-script-o-rama.


If you find this list useful, let me know and I'll try to keep the thread updated.



AMERICAN PIE White revision

Slugline goes from larger to small
ex. EXT EAST GREAT FALLS - MAIN HALLWAY -- MORNING
Uses "we see" and "we hear"
Mixes “CONTINUOUS” “CONTINUOUSLY” and “SAME TIME”
Double spaced between action-slug-action
Uses CUT TO once
BATMAN BEGINS Finished draft?
o Slugline is separated from larger to smaller by a comma.
o Ex. INT. DISUSED KITCHEN GARDEN, WAYNE MANOR – DAY
o Occasionally uses "we" but not "we see" or "we hear"
o Uses "CONTINUOUS" a lot
o Uses "INSERT CUT" when Bruce is having a flashback at the Opera House
o Uses caps a lot
o Double spaced between action-slug-action
o Uses CUT TO sparingly


1492 - revised,c1993
o Uses CUT TO
o Good dialogue, like how scenes wrapped up, ‘button’
o Uses “we see” “we hear”
o CAPPED every times a persons name mentioned. Ugh!


16 BLOCKS - c2004

Uses lots of italics
Sentence fragments for action
CAPS SOUNDS
Key actions CAPPED
Minor characters CAPPED on intro.
No CUT TO
ABSOLUTE POWER
o Outside in slugs ex. INT. LUTHOR’S HOUSE – DINING ROOM
o Sentence fragments for action
o Lots of em dashes
o Underlining for emphasis


AS GOOD AS IT GETS


No CUT TO
Slugs work outside in ex. INT. CAROLS APARTMENT - KITCHEN - NIGHT
Doesn't use CONT'D
Brief descriptions of inner conflicts

[RainbowDragon]

Sounds like all passes to me, then. Hahaha.

There's no such thing as perfect format, draw the reader in and hopefully they'll ignore what could be called "errors" by the unsympathetic or rigid at heart.

[MrJayVee]

Good bit of research, BlueJester12. This basically backs up what I’ve been saying all along. All those relatively trivial components (i.e. CUT TO, SAME vs CONTINUOUS, CAP vs. underlining, etc.) don’t make a heck of a lot of difference if you’ve got a really well-written script.

The problem with most newbie scripts is they’re badly written. Bad stories, bad structure, too much direction, too much dialogue, on-the-nose dialogue, etc.

Don’t focus quite so much on the technical aspects of the formatting. Sure, it’s important, but if your script is a mess, nobody cares whether you CAPPED a word, underlined it or used italics.

[MitchJ]

Good advice, MrJayVee. :Thumbs:

With so many samples and so many gurus, we can get lost in a sea of minutia.

[NikeeGoddess]

funny how people worry and spend so much time angsting over formatting. the real truth is in the story. if it's great then formatting will be overlooked --- yeah, i know it has to get passed the readers crap --- all i'm sayin' is if the story is so cool that they keep reading then they will overlook these minor technical errors that can easily be fixed.

focus on what's most important and what's is most lacking:
content... content... content...