Basic Elements of a Film Script for BEGINNERS! (How To Format, Read and Write a Screenplay!)
Summary
TLDRIn this informative video, Mikayla Lizac, a professional actress with nine years of experience, introduces viewers to the essential elements of a film script. She explains terms like slug lines, action lines, and dialogue formatting, providing clarity on how to write for film. Mikayla also clarifies the difference between 'off screen' and 'off camera' dialogue, and the use of parentheticals for direction. The video is a helpful guide for aspiring actors and filmmakers, aiming to demystify film language and scriptwriting.
Takeaways
- 🎬 The video is an educational resource for understanding the elements of a film script.
- 🔍 The 'slug line' or 'scene header' is crucial as it sets the time and setting of a scene, using terms like 'interior' (INT) or 'exterior' (EXT).
- 🏠 'INT' stands for interior and 'EXT' for exterior, specifying whether the scene takes place inside or outside.
- 🔄 'I-E' or 'Interior-Exterior' can be used in slug lines to indicate a setting that transitions from inside to outside or vice versa.
- 📝 Slug lines should be specific to avoid confusion in production, affecting set design, lighting, and sound adjustments.
- 🕰 After the setting, the slug line specifies the time of day or other temporal details like 'day', 'night', or 'moments later'.
- 🤔 Creative liberties can be taken with slug lines to convey a specific tone or atmosphere, like using 'dark abyss' instead of a standard setting.
- 🏃♀️ 'Action lines' follow slug lines, providing more detailed descriptions of what is happening in the scene.
- 🎭 Capitalization in scripts is used for emphasis or to highlight important props, characters, or sounds when they are first introduced.
- 🗣️ 'Dialogue breaks' format the script for spoken lines, with character names in all caps when first introduced, and potential notes for delivery.
- 👥 'Off-screen' (OS) and 'Off-camera' (OC) are terms used to indicate whether a character is in the same room or space as the scene's action.
- 📚 Parentheticals provide specific directions for how a character should say their lines, offering nuanced guidance for actors.
- 🔄 Transitions at the bottom of scenes indicate the pacing and tone of the piece, with different types of cuts and transitions for different effects.
- 📑 The script format can vary greatly depending on the type of production, such as multi-camera comedies versus procedural dramas.
Q & A
What is the primary purpose of a slug line in a film script?
-A slug line, also known as a scene header, establishes the time and setting for a scene in a film script. It typically starts with 'INT' (interior) or 'EXT' (exterior) to specify the location and may include additional details like the specific place and time of the scene.
Why is it important to specify 'interior' or 'exterior' in a slug line?
-Specifying 'interior' or 'exterior' in a slug line is crucial because it helps the production team understand the setting of the scene. This information affects set dressing, lighting, and sound adjustments, ensuring that the scene is prepared correctly for filming.
What does 'INT' stand for in a slug line?
-'INT' stands for 'interior' and is used in a slug line to indicate that the scene takes place inside a building or enclosed space.
What does 'EXT' stand for in a slug line?
-'EXT' stands for 'exterior' and is used in a slug line to indicate that the scene takes place outside, typically in an open environment.
What is the difference between 'OS' and 'OC' in a script?
-'OS' stands for 'off screen', meaning the character is talking but not in the same room or space as the scene. 'OC' stands for 'on camera' or 'over camera', indicating the character is in the same room as the scene and visible to the camera.
Why are character names capitalized when first introduced in a script?
-Character names are capitalized when first introduced in a script to draw attention to their introduction and make it clear to the reader that they are being introduced for the first time.
What is the purpose of action lines in a script?
-Action lines provide detailed descriptions of what is happening in a scene, including character actions, movements, and important props. They help the reader and the production team visualize the scene and understand the actions of the characters.
What is a parenthetical in a script, and how is it used?
-A parenthetical in a script is a set of directions for the actor or the way they are supposed to say their lines. It is used to provide additional details about the character's actions or emotions without taking up a whole action line.
How does a screenwriter indicate that a character is talking about a specific object in their dialogue?
-A screenwriter can use a parenthetical to specify what a character is talking about. For example, 're: coffee, why is it so cold?' helps the actor understand that they are referring to the coffee, not the weather.
What is the role of transitions in a script?
-Transitions in a script, placed at the bottom left corner of a scene, establish the tone and pacing of the piece. They guide the director and editor on how scenes should flow together, whether through cuts, fades, or other cinematic techniques.
Why are dialogue breaks important in a script?
-Dialogue breaks are important in a script because they clearly separate the character's name from their spoken lines. This formatting helps the reader easily identify who is speaking and how their dialogue is structured within the scene.
Outlines
🎬 Introduction to Film Script Elements
In this introductory paragraph, Mikayla Lizac, a professional actress with nine years of experience, welcomes viewers to her channel and introduces the topic of the video. She aims to educate viewers, particularly new actors and writers, on the various elements and terminology used in film scripts. The video promises to demystify the film language for newcomers and includes a brief mention of her credentials and a call to action for viewers to subscribe for career guidance in the film and television industry.
📝 Understanding Slug Lines and Action Lines
This paragraph delves into the specifics of slug lines, which are used to establish the time and setting of a scene in a script. It explains the use of 'int' for interior and 'ext' for exterior, as well as the combination of both with 'I-E'. The importance of specificity in scene setting is emphasized to avoid confusion during production. The paragraph also covers the structure of action lines, which provide detailed descriptions of what is happening in the scene, including character actions and important props. The use of capitalization for emphasis and clarity in scripts is also discussed.
🗣️ Dialogue Formatting and Script Notations
The focus of this paragraph is on dialogue formatting within a script, including character names, dialogue lines, and dialogue notes. It clarifies the difference between 'V.O.' (voice over), 'O.S.' (off screen), and 'O.C.' (off camera), explaining how these notations guide the reader or production team about the character's location in relation to the scene. Parentheticals are introduced as a way to provide specific direction for character actions or line delivery without using a full action line. The paragraph also touches on the use of transitions and cuts, which are placed at the bottom of a scene to indicate changes in the narrative or visual flow.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Slug Line
💡Action Lines
💡Character Name
💡Dialogue Breaks
💡Parentheticals
💡Voice Over (V.O.)
💡Off Screen (O.S.)
💡On Camera (O.C.)
💡Transitions
💡Formatting
💡Screenwriting
Highlights
The video aims to educate viewers on the elements of a film script, focusing on script terminology and lingo.
Mikayla Lizac, a professional actress, presents the video to assist new actors and writers in understanding film scripts.
A slug line or scene header is introduced as the starting point of a scene, specifying the setting and time.
INT and EXT abbreviations are explained, representing interior and exterior scenes respectively.
The importance of specifying whether a scene is interior or exterior for production purposes is emphasized.
Action lines are detailed as the narrative part of a script that describes what is happening in a scene.
Character names in action lines are capitalized when first introduced, aiding recognition for the reader.
Props and important sounds are also capitalized in action lines to denote their significance.
Dialogue breaks and formatting for character speech are explained, including the use of dialogue notes.
VO, OS, and OC are differentiated, with explanations for voice over, off screen, and on camera dialogue.
Parentheticals are introduced as directions for actors on how to deliver their lines.
The use of parentheticals to clarify what an actor is referring to in their dialogue is demonstrated.
Transitions and cuts are described as elements that establish the tone and pacing of a film.
Different script formats are acknowledged, noting that they vary depending on the type of production.
The video concludes with an invitation for viewers to share their favorite script element in the comments.
Mikayla encourages viewers to subscribe and engage with her channel for more screenwriting content.
A call to action for viewers to like the video to help it reach a wider audience is presented.
Transcripts
[Music]
having a hard time understanding the
difference between os and oc are you
unsure about what a parenthetical is or
what a slug line is then this video is
for you hello lovely people my name is
mikayla lizac welcome to my channel or
welcome back to my channel if you're new
here
hey
what
today i'm going to be showing you all
the different elements of a film script
i totally understand film language is
definitely foreign to a lot of new
people who are in the industry and if
you're a new actor or new writer you
might need a little bit of help so i'm
going to show you guys all the different
terms and the lingo used within film
scripts if you don't already know who i
am hi again i already said my name my
name is michaela lizac i'm a
professional actress of nine years imdb
resume in the description and i help
aspiring actors and filmmakers try and
break into the film and television
industry hit subscribe so i can help you
navigate your career or maybe you can
just follow me on mine we are like a
family here we help each other out help
each other try and be successful without
further ado let's get right on into the
video
i think it's pretty fitting that we
start out with what starts a scene and
that would be the slug line or a scene
header a slug line or scene header
establishes the time and the setting for
your reader or for the production at the
start of your slug line you're usually
going to see three letters and it can
either be int or ext but what do these
mean int stands for interior and ext
stands for exterior sometimes you can
also see i dash e and this means both
interior and exterior the reason we use
interior and exterior is so that we're
specific about our setting we're
specific about our setting guys take for
example if your scene just says coffee
house day and there's no interior or
exterior this will definitely cause some
confusion for everybody in the
production having something inside
versus outside for production changes
everything set dressers and lighting and
sound they all have to adjust to being
outside or inside so it's very important
to be specific and it all starts with
interior or exterior after interior or
exterior you're going to have your
setting which is where your scene takes
place this could be as intimate as a
coffee house or a bedroom to something
way bigger like an airport or space
space and sometimes in your slug lines
it can go from a larger area to a
smaller area for example you can put
exterior beach towel bar day so it just
makes things a little more specific
after you're setting you're going to
want to specify time so you're going to
specify whether your scene takes place
in the day or at night or
later or moments later or it's
continuous from another scene to that
current scene and sometimes creative
liberties are taken with slug lines for
example if you have a setting that it's
not really clear what time it is or if
it's inside or outside for example a
dark abyss instead of putting like
interior dark abyss day you can just put
dark abyss and then go into your action
line slug lines can be
very practical and they can be a little
more artistic it just depends on what
type of film you're writing and what
tone you want to convey in your script i
think slug lines are pretty fun and if
you agree give this video a thumbs up
thank you for the thumbs up
if you didn't slugline is very offended
he'll find you in your sleep
interior viewers bedroom night slug line
creeps up to your name lying in bed fast
asleep
holding a knife
don't let that be you
don't let that be you
after our slug lines we have our action
lines those are right down below them
slug lines action lines are pretty
self-explanatory and they're very
important they give the reader and the
production more detail about the scene
what's going on let me pull up one of
the scenes i have written so this is
what you can usually expect from an
action line interior apartment bathroom
night an attractive young woman stacey
20s checks her appearance in a bathroom
mirror she fluffs out her blonde curls
and adjusts the straps of a sexy blue
dress
over here where it says stacy her name
is in all caps why is it in all caps
miss girl you're not gonna put your
character name in all caps all the time
you just capitalize your character's
name when they're first introduced to
the audience or first introduced in your
script right beside that in parentheses
you'll see a little 20s it just gives a
little more description about like the
character or whatever and also within
your action lines if there's a prop
that's very specific or important you
will also put that in all caps or maybe
sometimes sounds like if there's a knock
knock knock it's gonna be in all caps
usually it doesn't have to it can be
italicized again style she looks at a
knife it would be in all caps when
certain elements are important to the
story or they want emphasis a writer
will stylistically make the choice to
capitalize it after action lines we have
our dialogue breaks
dialogue now when it comes to formatting
dialogue within a script you're usually
going to have your character name on its
own line and their dialog lines right
under that now sometimes on the same
line of your character name you're going
to see a little dialogue note and it's
abbreviated what is this what does it
mean now sometimes these abbreviated
notes are for the production how this
dialogue is supposed to be said where
it's supposed to be said so there's a
variety of them so let me go over them v
o means voice over o s and o c these
sound very very similar but they are not
similar off screen means the person is
talking but they're not really in the
same room or the same space
kira is off screen so she's in another
room she's not in the same room she's
not in the bathroom she's yelling over
like stacey ready for a gossip girl
marathon whereas if it said kira oc then
kira would be in the same room and we
could literally have the camera pan over
and she's right there off camera is
really good for reveals when you're
writing next we have our parentheticals
these are more specific directions for
your character or for the way they're
supposed to say their lines it's a
smaller way to give that direction
without taking up a whole action line
for example a store employee is giving a
customer a receipt they can say have a
nice day and in a parenthetical it can
say handing receipts that's just like a
simple example of that it can be used to
explain to the actor how they should say
they're lying for example yelling
crying or it can be used to tell the
actor there needs to be a moment they're
talking and then there's a beat or a
change in thought then or a sigh or it
can help clarify to an actor what
specifically they're talking about for
example let's go back to the coffee shop
exterior coffee house day now we have
two characters outside and they're
drinking their coffee and one of them
says why is it so cold that's kind of a
vague statement for an actor we might
not know what our character is supposed
to be talking about are they talking
about why is it so cold outside why is
my coffee so cold so a way that a
screenwriter can specify that for an
actor is by saying re so in a
parenthetical they could say re-coffee
why is it so cold and it'll help us as
an actor understand how we should say
our mind because if it was re weather
why is it so cold we'd be looking up at
this guy we'd go like this why is it so
cold you know but if it was our coffee
we'd take somebody like why is it so
cool
take this back lastly we have our
transitions
and cuts now for transitions these go at
the bottom left corner of your scene now
transitions again establish more of the
tone of the piece uh the pacing how they
want to shoot it there's a whole bunch
of videos on the different types of cuts
and transitions so i'm not really going
to go over that in this for example if a
writer writes jump cut maybe we know the
pace of the sequence is fast and it's
energetic maybe if we have a match cut
that's a little more artistic or if we
just have a cut too and there are so
many other things like
pre-lapse and act breaks again there's
so many different script formats a
multicam comedy script is not going to
look the same as a five act procedural
drama there's different formatting with
the action lines in the dialogue because
comedy ones use double space and other
one doesn't so there's a lot of stuff
not every script is the same if you want
to learn more about the other types of
scripts you already know leave a comment
down below and let me know what you want
to see next if you want me to explain
more about this or if you literally
don't care and you want me to make
something else comment down below what
your favorite script element is
my favorite script element my favorite
element of script is definitely dialogue
i love no
this is hard actually i like action
lines because they force you to be
really concise but also say so much and
paint this picture i think action lines
are my favorite
dialogue's cool
i really like frick okay i'm torn but
let me know what your favorite element
of a script is in the comments below and
i would love to see what you guys think
and we can compare but yeah
screenwriting is very complex this is
just the basics of formatting there's so
much that goes into it i hope you guys
found this helpful and if you made it to
the end of the video don't forget to
leave without subscribing please like
this video so more people find this
video and my channel can grow it would
mean the world to me you can also follow
me on my instagram if you want more
screenwriting content be sure to check
out this video how to break down a
script i think it'll be really helpful
especially for actors it's a really good
one so i would say check out that video
i hope you have
i hope you have a lovely day or night
whenever it is for you and i will see
you
in the next one
[Music]
[Music]
you
Weitere ähnliche Videos ansehen
How to write and format screenplays like a pro! Script writing tips and tricks
Why we all need subtitles now
TITANIC (1997) | Behind the Scenes of Leonardo DiCaprio Cult Movie
Write better dialogue in 8 minutes.
LONG List of New Movies I LOVED & a few I did't...
Anatomy of a Screenplay — Movie Script Format Explained (And Why It Matters)
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)