Camera angles, scene cuts and other technical instructions will almost certainly be changed by the director, the cameraman, and editor during the long production process.

But what about when they are absolutely indispensable for the narrative of the story? After all, we’re writing film scripts here, and we sometimes need - or want - to direct our film a little. Let’s discuss some of the elements you might need most frequently:

Transitions

Indicating how to cut from one scene to the next. Justification is always flush right, with one line separating them from the last line in the previous scene and from the slugline of the next.

The standard transition, and thereby rather superfluous - at least in my opinion.

Self-explanatory. When the cut is a gradual fade.

When, for example, we cut from a ring in a jeweler’s window, to it being placed on a bride’s hand in church.

When we jump out of the scene for a moment to see something important. The first two, POV and INSERT, always end in BACK TO SCENE, or the slugline of the next scene.

POV

Point of View. You might need to show what a character is seeing. This is how it is done:

(...)

INSERT

The quick insertion of a detail. For example:

(...)

CLOSE SHOT and CLOSEUP

These are often confused.

CLOSE SHOT is a shot of one or two characters’ head and shoulders. CLOSEUP examines some detail of a character or object. For example:

(...)

and

(...)

MONTAGE and SERIES OF SHOTS

These are also often thought to be the same thing, which is not the case. The difference being that MONTAGE incorporates much more on the screen. It is used to show a series of events, such as:

(...)

SERIES OF SHOTS are mini-scenes making up a sequence:

(...)

Camera Cues

Sometimes how the camera acts can be vital to the narrative of your story. I recall a scene from a British comedy program years ago, which illustrates this very well. Two friends are talking through a wire partition. One of them is in uniform, the other wears a coat, has apparently come in from outside. He’s brought a cake and news of various friends and members of the other man’s family. Judging by the context, and comments like: "I can’t stand it in here any longer", we presume that it is a friend paying a prison visit. But at the end of the scene, someone off screen, behind the friend, suddenly complains: "Hey, are you going to be all day?!". The camera pulls back to reveal a long queue in a post office.

Here, camera cues would be fundamental. They are written in capital letters. The end of this scene would be written as follows:

The Friend turns, as the ANGLE OPENS TO REVEAL a long line of people, most of them holding letters and parcels, and all looking very impatient. The decoration of the large room and posters around the walls show that it is a post office.

(...)

Other camera cues might include, CAMERA FOLLOWS, ADJUSTS, ZOOMS, FINDS, etc.

INTERCUT and Simultaneous dialogue

Two other techniques you might need quite often arise when you want to cut back and forth between two scenes or shots, or when two characters speak at once.

In order to show two people on the phone, for example, we use INTERCUT - before or after the second speech - like this:

Robert picks up the phone.

INTERCUT PHONE CONVERSATION

(...)

Of course, INTERCUT can be used in other situations, too.

Simultaneous dialogue is written as follows:

(...)

One Last word

As I have already mentioned, the controversy and arguments about screenplay format are never-ending. This guide does not attempt to be definitive or include all aspects of a screenplay, much less serve as an only truth - which certainly does not exist.

Writers will always have their own preferences and small personal variations.

What I have done here is simply outline some of the essential rules for writing your screenplay in Master Scenes, so that it will be immediately recognizable as a screenplay.

That, being a film script, it is read in the most visual manner possible.

Copyright © 1996-2000 by Hugo Moss
All rights reserved