Format questions

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FJ and G

Hi all,

Some quickie questions (conflicting advice given in several books I'm reading):

1. Should full-length film be 110 or 120 pages?

2. Should you avoid using P.O.V., CLOSEUP, ANGLE ON, etc. Advice was that they clutter and are insulting to the director. Another book says to use them, but avoid CAMERA.

3. What's O.S. stand for?

Thanks.

Dave V.
 

mammamaia

sounds like you need to get trottier's 'bible'... despite controversy on many fronts, all you'll find there, complete with examples, will be acceptable to any agent/prodco...

as for your questions:

1. Should full-length film be 110 or 120 pages?

today's general industry preference is for nothing longer than 110 for drama or action scripts and under 100 for comedy... keep to those limits and you'll be ok... it's just the first look at the script that matters here, and page count is the first thing most mail scanners or readers will check...

2. Should you avoid using P.O.V., CLOSEUP, ANGLE ON, etc. Advice was that they clutter and are insulting to the director. Another book says to use them, but avoid CAMERA.

ALL camera directions should be avoided unless you're going to produce and direct your own work... it's the director's job to decide such things, not the writer's... use POV only if it's absolutely necessary to the plot... most new writers don't know how to use it properly, so study its use in good scripts by the best writers and in trottier's 'bible' before you even decide whether you need to use it or not...

3. What's O.S. stand for?

'off screen'... it means the actor is PHYSICALLY PRESENT on the SAME SET, but just not 'on camera' while speaking [such as in a closet or speaking from the next room]... it does NOT refer to just a 'voice' that is HEARD 'in the scene' while the BODY that voice belongs to is NOT present in the scene [on the set], such as in phone calls, when the voice on the other end is heard... in such situations, the proper term to use is V.O. [voice over]... see pages 139-141 in trottier’s ‘bible’ for the full story on VO vs OS…

hope this helps... for a 'tools of the trade' list, you can email me at: [email protected]

hugs, maia
 

FJ and G

Helps much! Thanks.

Got your email w/tools but admit not yet read it. But promise to.

Cheers.

Dave
 

dchapma123

Again?

"the main thing to remember [and that most newbies who get it wrong don't seem to know] is that VO dialog is DUBBED... in post-production, AFTER the scene is shot... and OS dialog is spoken into mikes ON the set, AS the scene is shot... that's why it's important to know the difference and use the terms properly... see pages 139-141 in trottier’s ‘bible’ for the full story on VO vs OS…"

This is completely irrelevant. Most dialogue that makes it into the movie is recorded during post-production, whether it appears on screen or not. It's just too hard to get good sound on location while the cameras are running. Where and when the sound is recorded has no impact on whether or not you should use O.S. or V.O.
 

xtz

Avoid camera directions - because they are not your job. If you are putting them in it means you're probably trying to write the movie, not the script. And you are writing a spec, not a shooting script (which has camera directions added). Visit

screentalk.biz/moviescripts.htm

Which has scripts in proper format and notice the variety of page lengths. You can use newer examples to model your script format on - which is the best way to learn formatting.

Comedies do tend to be shorter. In the Nicholl (foremost) screenwriting competition the winning entries have ranges from 85 -135 pages if my memory serves. What matters most isn't the page count but that it is a feature length script (ie minutes not pages) -- and that when they start to read they read magic -- if so any slightly on the short/long side first impressions should be soon dispelled. (I imagine as I'm not a script reader though)
 

DevoGrrl

1. Should full-length film be 110 or 120 pages?

Dramas tend to run at about 120. Action and comedy - between 105 (kind of thin) and 110 (pretty much everything I've read)

2. Should you avoid using P.O.V., CLOSEUP, ANGLE ON, etc. Advice was that they clutter and are insulting to the director. Another book says to use them, but avoid CAMERA.

Yeah, those are really irritating. They break up the flow. Pros use them all the time without using them though. Meaning, they find a way to call shots and accentuate details without angles, POVs, etc. If you don't know how to do it yet, don't go there.

3. What's O.S. stand for?

This is for off screen dialog. If a person in your scene is talking with someone we can't see...
 

FJ and G

thx again, all.

dchapma,

You antidipated a Q I forgot to ask reg. diff. btn V.O. and O.S. Guess I'll hit the "bible."

One other thing I forgot to mention:

When 2 dialogues are going beside each other on a page does that mean the two speakers are speaking at the same time?
 

mammamaia

Re: Again?

dchapma... the only reason dubbing vo's is mentioned is to emphasize the main difference between os and vo, which is that the person speaking in os is physically present in the scene, though not seen on camera and in vo is somewhere else altogether...

it's probably not a good enough example since, as you say even that dialog could be dubbed later without the actor ever being on the set... thanks for pointing that out... i guess it's best to just leave it out... hugs, m
 

FJ and G

Re: Again?

Thanks, all for your comments. This morning I started typing the screenplay from my "scene" 3x5 cards and all is going well and more fun than I ever expected. I'll have to design some macros for my Word doc, however, so I don't have to keep changing left, right, center, margins, etc.

I'm using 10 point Times New Roman now and don't know if that's the right font and point size. Any input on that appreciated.
 

mammamaia

wrong font...

only courier 12 pt is acceptable for screenplays... ms word has a screenplay format available... check their site for a download...
 

FJ and G

Re: wrong font...

I didn't see it so sent MS an email.

If they don't reply, no problem, not that hard to create a Macro; after all, we're not doing rocket science here, just simple formatting things. Heck, people once did it on typewriters.
 

Greenwolf103

Re: wrong font...

Ah, yes. The typewriter. *shudders*

Thank gawd I didn't get into scriptwriting when I was still using one of THOSE!
 

Jamesaritchie

Re: wrong font...

It's easy with a typewriter. Easier in many ways than it is with a program designed for screenplay formatting. When using a typewriter, writing a screenplay is all tab and return. Once you have the tabs set you can write a screenplay at tremendous speed.

I've never seen anyone write a screenplay as fast on a computer as some of the old pros did, and occasionally still do, on a typewriter. The closest in speed is someone using Word, and has it set up to use as a typewriter, meaning having all the tabs set and actually knowing the format by heart. You can write all the way through a screenplay without once reaching for the mouse.
 

dchapma123

Re: wrong font...

How is that different from formatting software? I don't use the mouse unless I'm pulling up the thesaurus. Final Draft is all tabs.
 

NikeeGoddess

Re: wrong font...

:lol james...must be justino's cousin ;) ahem, i mean :smack
 

writerscut

It's all choice

If Jamesaritchie wants to use a typewriter, let them! It doesn't mean that they are a masochist, it's just that person's preferred type of typer :) . I used to use a typewriter before the computer came along and now use Movie Magic Screenwriter, which works great, but a typewriter works great too...
 
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