Quick and stupid format questions

[DoubleIT]

Once I establish that it is day, i dont need to slug -DAY again until something changes, correct?

And for a montage is it simply;

INT. HOUSE - DAY

MONTAGE:

JACK runs to the fridge
JILL flushes the toilette
TIMMY bangs his head against the wall
BILLY does one handed pushups

END MONTAGE

EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT

Jack and Jill glare at each other. Jack slowly reaches into his pockets as the menacing twinkle in his eyes grows.





Is that the correct format?

[dpaterso]

Your example is odd because you only give us 2 sluglines, DAY and NIGHT.

If you mean something like:

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

Jack and Jill bake a cake.

INT. TOILET

Jill flushes the toilet.

INT. CELLAR

Timmy bangs his head against the wall.

INT. GYM

Billy does pushups.

EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT

Jack and Jill put on ski masks and check their guns.

...then sure, I'm gonna assume all the slugline-less scenes take place during the DAY, since DAY was the last time of day specified. I've seen time of day omitted like this in several pro scripts I've read.

But, you'll appreciate that once the script goes into production, DAY or NIGHT will be inserted as needed. Why? Extreme example, what if you removed Pages 87-88 from your master script and gave them to your second unit director so he can go film some street scenes while you do the character close ups in the studio. Hours later 2UD returns with his sweating crew and happily says, "It's in the can!" You reply, "But these scenes take place at night! It's still daytime!" 2UD points out that there are no time of day flags in the sluglines. Checking your script, you discover that NIGHT last appeared on Page 86. 2UD, whom you discover is a violent psychopath recently released from prison after serving 30 years hard time for unspeakable crimes, draws his Bowie knife and snarls, "I wish I could get my hands on that lazy damn screenwriter!"

-Derek
My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57)
Take the critiques you get with a grain of salt. Invariably, some of the critics will be kooks, bitter curmudgeons, or complete fools. ~odocoileus

[DoubleIT]

Your example is odd because you only give us 2 sluglines, DAY and NIGHT.

If you mean something like:

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

Jack and Jill bake a cake.

INT. TOILET

Jill flushes the toilet.

INT. CELLAR

Timmy bangs his head against the wall.

INT. GYM

Billy does pushups.

EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT

Jack and Jill put on ski masks and check their guns.

...then sure, I'm gonna assume all the slugline-less scenes take place during the DAY, since DAY was the last time of day specified. I've seen time of day omitted like this in several pro scripts I've read.

But, you'll appreciate that once the script goes into production, DAY or NIGHT will be inserted as needed. Why? Extreme example, what if you removed Pages 87-88 from your master script and gave them to your second unit director so he can go film some street scenes while you do the character close ups in the studio. Hours later 2UD returns with his sweating crew and happily says, "It's in the can!" You reply, "But these scenes take place at night! It's still daytime!" 2UD points out that there are no time of day flags in the sluglines. Checking your script, you discover that NIGHT last appeared on Page 86. 2UD, whom you discover is a violent psychopath recently released from prison after serving 30 years hard time for unspeakable crimes, draws his Bowie knife and snarls, "I wish I could get my hands on that lazy damn screenwriter!"

-Derek
My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57)
Take the critiques you get with a grain of salt. Invariably, some of the critics will be kooks, bitter curmudgeons, or complete fools. ~odocoileus


Hahah ok good point. So i should just always put it in because eventually itll be there later? And I guess my montage example wasnt that great... I guess my major question is do i need to reslug for everything? In my script the montage starts right after FADE IN, so im just a little confused. It happens in a bunch of different locations that the audience is seeing for the first time, along with characters they are just meeting. Do i have to slug for each location and describe the local? Its going to make the montage a lot longer page wise than it will be time wise..

FADE IN:

MONTAGE:

JACK, 32 and balding, runs around the track

JILL, 49, a parapalgeic with a warn smile, cooks a pie in the kitchen

TIM, 101, with a large afro, does jumping jacks by the water fountain.

END MONTAGE

Now doing that, we sort of know the characters but not the local at all, since this is the very first part of the script. So should it be

FADE IN:

MONTAGE:

EXT. TRACk - DAY

A mile long running track with basketball and tenis courts in the background. Groups of RUNNERS and SPRINTERS are spread about.

JACK, 32 and balding, struggles half way down the track.

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

A small kitchen right out of a 1950's sitcom.

JILL, 49, a parapalgeic with a warn smile, is hunched over a mixing bowl.

EXT. BASKETBALL COURT - DAY
The game is over, and the five young PLAYERS, one with basketball in hand, look with amazment as TIM, 101, with a large afro, does jumping jacks by the water fountain.

I dunno, i suppose the second way must be the right way of doing it, especially because its the very first part of the script, but i thought wheni read other scripts montages didnt have slugs?

[dpaterso]

Yeah dat sounds logical, before you can montage, you have to intro the locations and characters first, unless they're self-explanatory and/or well-known, e.g. and borrowed for education purposes from the "Sprockets" screenplay by Mike Myers/Jack Handy/Michael McCullers:

MONTAGE OF CLICHE AMERICAN IMAGES (IN COLOR)

Wheat fields, baseball games, fireworks, American flags,
freckle-faced children, etc.

MONTAGE OF CLICHE IMAGES OF NEW YORK

Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Broadway lights, cabs,
Rockefeller Center, etc.

MONTAGE OF CLICHE LOS ANGELES IMAGES

Girls on the beach, Hollywood sign, Mann's Chinese, BMWs,
lowriders, fake boobs.

-Derek
My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57)
Take the critiques you get with a grain of salt. Invariably, some of the critics will be kooks, bitter curmudgeons, or complete fools. ~odocoileus

[DoubleIT]

OK cool, thanks ! Another stupid format question that ive always been unsure of...

If you are switching locations in the same room, do you have to reslug;

INT. DINING ROOM -SARAS TABLE - NIGHT

The two sit at the table and pick at their crab legs.

SARA
So

TIMMY
You like to, well, you know?

INT. DINING ROOM - BENS TABLE - NIGHT
Ben sits by himself, eyes closed, praying to his food.

Or do you just do


INT. DINING ROOM - DAY
the two sit at the table ...

BENS TABLE
Ben sits by himself, eyes closed ...

Or does either way work?

[xhouseboy]

OK cool, thanks ! Another stupid format question that ive always been unsure of...

If you are switching locations in the same room, do you have to reslug;



Short answer -no.

You're not switching locations in the same room. You're basically introducing other characters within the same scene.

Unless, of course, you're going for a time-cut in that same location, and then it would be acceptable to reslug after the cut, and go to a different table.

[dpaterso]

Methinks mini-slugs would make things easy for you, first set up the general location in the slugline, e.g.

INT. SEAFOOD RESTAURANT - NIGHT

SARA'S TABLE

Sara and Timmy pick at their crab legs.

TIMMY
Now will you reveal the location of
your battle fleet, crustacian scum?

SARA
Aw, you're a Trekkie. That's sweet.

BEN'S TABLE

Ben sits by himself, watching Sara from across the room.

SARA'S TABLE

TIMMY
What's HE looking at?

-Derek
My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57)
Take the critiques you get with a grain of salt. Invariably, some of the critics will be kooks, bitter curmudgeons, or complete fools. ~odocoileus

[DoubleIT]

Methinks mini-slugs would make things easy for you, first set up the general location in the slugline, e.g.

INT. SEAFOOD RESTAURANT - NIGHT

SARA'S TABLE

Sara and Timmy pick at their crab legs.

TIMMY
Now will you reveal the location of
your battle fleet, crustacian scum?

SARA
Aw, you're a Trekkie. That's sweet.

BEN'S TABLE

Ben sits by himself, watching Sara from across the room.

SARA'S TABLE

TIMMY
What's HE looking at?

-Derek
My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57)
Take the critiques you get with a grain of salt. Invariably, some of the critics will be kooks, bitter curmudgeons, or complete fools. ~odocoileus

Cool... and that works even if its like a big place (Cruise ship dinning room in my actual script) and the convos are totally seperate?

[dpaterso]

Yes, although a major edit is required, you'd have to change the slugline to:

INT. CRUISE SHIP DINING ROOM - NIGHT

:)

-Derek
My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies. (http://hometown.aol.co.uk/DPaterson57)
Take the critiques you get with a grain of salt. Invariably, some of the critics will be kooks, bitter curmudgeons, or complete fools. ~odocoileus

[Winterchase]

What about using:

INT. CRUISE SHIP - SAME

or

INT. CRUISE SHIP - CONTINUOUS

MMS seems to add 'em in automatically, although to me using DAY, AFTERNOON, etc. is more logical in light of the script later being broken up as mentioned in an earlier post.