Placement of INSERT SHOT: in Final draft

My Final Draft puts the words "BACK TO" over on the far right and then I have to actually put the shot itself on the far left as a new slug. What I'm saying it: it doesn't seem to be "BACK TO SHOT" it simply says "BACK TO." At least for me that's what it does.

I never bother with "INSERT" because I'm told it's kind of an outdated thing to do now adays.

Final Draft 7 automatically turns recognized phrases like CUT TO: and FADE TO: and FADE OUT: into right-justified Transition elements as soon as I type the colon.

But when I type INSERT SHOT: or BACK TO SCENE: it ignores these, they remain Action elements. How come your FD is doing this? I'd guess maybe we don't have the same "defaults" switched on, or similar reason.

CONTINUEDs at the bottom of the page and the top of the next page seem to have gone out of vogue, these can easily be turned off in FD via Document > Mores and Continueds > untick Scene breaks

I wrote a script with a sniper character who looked at his targets through his sniperscope. Writing single lines like "INSERT SNIPERSCOPE POV - a Security Guard talks on his radio." saved a lot of space, and read smoother than "CUT TO: We see a Security Guard through the cross-hairs of a sniperscope, talking on his radio." or similar convoluted delivery every time.

Final Draft, like other big shooters, is geared to meet standard industry screenwriting format. I'd trust the software, unless it suggests something really bizarre.

-Derek

"Final Draft, like other big shooters, is geared to meet standard industry screenwriting format. I'd trust the software, unless it suggests something really bizarre."

i've been browsing a load of scriptwriting places and i checked out a load of software before settling, and it seems to me that there is no industry format! apart from the placements of margins and tabs, no one can seem to agree with what you should include, how you should phrase it etc etc. it's quite baffling or newbies like me to read, eg, "put CONTINUEDs....etc", then you go to the next "industry standard" site and it says "CONTINUED is now regarded as obsolete" etc.

Even as I typed that sentence, I knew it could get me into all sorts of trouble.

There are links to format guides in the tips threads and others all over the internet, but who's to say they're 100 percent right? There's no guarantee, only a fingers-crossed assumption that they come close.

But as a rough rule of thumb, accepting the defaults of a major screenwriting software package used by many pros is perhaps a reasonable option.

I'm afraid that's the best I can offer in the way of layman's advice. I might as well have said "Use the Force to guide you."

-Derek

there's no need to worry about this until you actually print out your final draft for submission.
you will find that changing one line on any given page will alter the bottom of every page after that so the editing will be tedious and feel never-ending.

Well, I dunno about other places. In the begginin, I had some troubles to adapt myself to FD because is was against some rules that I was taught. I'm fro Mexico, and some standars of screenplay on LatinAmerica, like the size of merges or so, change a little bit because of spanish language, grammar, and else, so they could keep the page per minute.So now that I'm writing in english on FD, I still feel kind of dizzy by the software formats.

But no many time away, a teacher also taught me that there also many different variats for a movie screenplay, and those rules where for producing sales, so the reader has a better understanding of page breaks, scene breaks and the cost of the movie. However, when it comes to practic, specially if you are indie filmmaker, is good and very recomendable to keep a continuity of the script ev'n if that means to break some presentation rules, so the the system of eights and the page-minute won't be compromised. If your sale is to an executive, diferent story. But if your sale is to a director or a producer you known or worked before, don't stress by minimum things.

So if you are not going to submitt the screenplay to contest or something, don't worry so much as things as a scene breaking before the first dialogue or if insert shot is on the right or left of the page, since it will be a watste of energy while you arite, will compromise your work, and most, if you follow books guideline and you are the producer or the director, will be more difficult to move forward when you make you schedule and shooting list.

I've never done a : with BACK TO SCENE so it's never ported it to the right. And I'll do INSERT - BLAH BLAH

I've seen scripts that use the colon and scripts that use the dash. Maybe just adjust your typing like that and you won't have a problem?

ETA: If final draft does something formatting wise you don't like. Just click in the line so your curser is sitting on it. Then pick a different formatting at the top left. Set those lines to action or whatever and it will left allign. Sometimes the program does misunderstand what you're after and tries to format it the best you can. Overriding it is simple.

Just saying, this thread is from 2008, I'd guess the OP has dealt with the problem by now.

-Derek

Oh, sorry, didn't realize this was a resurrected thread.