Screenwriting : Sights and Sound by Christine Capone

I was told sound only, what needs to be EMPHASIZED to aid in reading.

If it is important CAPITAL LETTERS. This is like saying “Hey this is important”.

There is no great need to capitalise sights and sounds. This comes from shooting script formatting to make it known to the Sound and Sound FX department where they will be especially required. Reading or spec scripts should primarily be easy to read.

That said, if the sound or sight has huge dramatic significance, then you may want to ensure this is not missed by overworked, skim-reading readers - however in these cases I would advise underlining or writing in bold rather than writing in full caps. Just don't litter your script with these though. If your script's action is written well enough, i.e. is lean and clean, then there should be little reason to add any additional layout to your description.

I only capitalize SOUND in my script. I was a professional reader for network/studios/prod-cos for several years. I read the best scripts and the worst scripts, more of the latter. The only thing that I really found "distracting" was grammatical errors and I could usually tell from the first page if I was going to be "distracted".

I've heard only sounds - but also any significant props that appear again later in the script. I find excessive use of bold/underline/italic/all caps very distracting when I read. I think the words you choose should provide the emphasis - the writing should pack the punch rather than the formatting.

You can if you want to, Christine Capone . I capitalize things in action lines to draw attention to them, a character's name when they're introduced in the script, and things like MONTAGE BEGINS and FLASHBACK BEGINS.

The issue is that, in today's world, we've become accustomed to reading anything in all caps as shouting.

My advice is to use it sparingly. I recently read a script where the writer had been advised to capitalise anything important and it was almost comically bad to read through as a result.

Avoid Bold, Underline and Italics for emphasis at all costs.

As noted, the moderate use of CAPS for sounds, what Maurice suggests, in mini slugs and POV.

A clean page for a fast, flowing read is the goal. Layout that pulls the reader's eye down the page. Bloat short circuits that and makes readers grumpy. No one wants a grumpy reader.

Thank you everyone. This really helps a lot!

You're welcome, Christine Capone.

Welcome, girlfriend.

Christine Capone If people like your story, they'll never mention formatting.

Top scripts from recent contests still use caps, bold, italics, underlines and various other tools and techniques to get their point across.

Just be economical about it on the page and it will read better.

Bloat. Many more don't.

All that nonsense is the first stop for uninspired writers. Instead of writing a well-turned phrase, bold or underline a word.

Opinions vary.

BOOM!!!

it’s commonly used for budgeting purposes.

so if costs a lot and requires a setup, that’s what it should be used for.

I added them to my last draft and sent it off to a reader who came back to tell me they shouldn’t be added to spec scripts.

Sounds are usually capitalized. as are special objects, e.g. FIREWORKS.

Was the reader a serious producer? Someone serious wouldn’t picayune like that in my opinion. I learned in film school way back when: the right side is really for the cinematographer, the left, dissolves, etc. for the editor, and the center relatively for sound, as in dialogue, with caps on character introductions and sound and sometimes props. Even a spec script is a blueprint for various departments and jobs. And I worked at a couple of studios that used reading copies with those standards and most, budgeted off of them before numbering for a real production breakdown. Why bother with a production script before getting the money?

Christopher, yeah, maybe they didn't like it but I did use a lot of caps and probably didn't even need most of them. All these comments help a lot. Now I know what to do! thanks!

The easy solution is don't submit to competitions :)

Generally, if your reps/your circle of trusted ppl don't mention caps, that means your storytelling grabbed their attention from jump. That's a good thing.

This pro occupation has thousands of work-for-hire writers & theory gurus with perfect formatting on the page; but they cant come up with concepts.

I agree with Dan MaxXx I don't get why people enter competitions.

Dan and Dan, I'm not even sure why I enter them. I guess I feel that it puts you ahead of the game?? If you advance, you MUST have a story that's compelling. I think this will be my last year, as I have already submitted and with the price increase, it's too expensive. What's your advice for a novice writer? Thx!

Lol stop hanging with unemployed writers Christine Capone I wasted about 5 years hanging out at LA coffee shops bullshitting with other unemployed writers. Nothing is accomplished when everyone in your circle are writers. Especially movie making. I started having success (success meaning learning to make stuff for money) when I started hanging out with actors, camera ppl, post-production ppl, VFx artists... Everyone was learning a different skill, which lead to making a whole movie.

The standard for screenplays has wiggle room for preferences such as these, I would suggest finding the best blend of use for yourself and then take into consideration who you are submitting to. Perhaps research previous winners and ask them what they have used. Ultimately, I don't think any emphasis should be over used.

LOL Now some hang out here with unemployed writers.

The usual quit your job, uproot your life and take a job being paid a pittance as a PA. It's guaranteed fame will soon find you. LOL

E Langley Worse yet, an intern working for free for a hard year before they offer you minimum wage. "But, the perks..."

Christopher...what perks?? haha.

I've been a reader for contests. I always count capping unnecessary things like sounds, props, etc as a red flag and take points away for it. It's a) outdated formatting and b) only really useful in a shooting script. In a spec it's just an eyesore.

Christine Capone As I am sure you know this is a who-you-know business. Screenwriting is a tournament career so nobody knows what anyone needs to do to succeed. I used my spec screenplays to get an agent and attach a couple of Directors to some of my screenplays.

You don't capitalize sounds... except maybe if they are really loud and you are using ALL CAPS for effect. I don't understand capitalizing "sights" - Screenwriting is telling stories visually, so it's all sights.

Here we go again..."rule" territory :)))...yes, capitalize them...and anything you wanna leave readers impression on...

William to draw attention to something that's pertinent to the story. Why else? But who knows. What I've learned is we all write the way we want to and if the story is good then WGAF. Right?

For Example:

THE PRESTIGE

FADE IN:

TOP HATS. Clustered in a small glade. As we SUPER TITLES,

a BLACK CAT slinks its way through them. As TITLES END-

BORDEN (V.O.)

Are you watching closely?

A SECOND BLACK CAT races into frame, HISSING, SPITTING,

CHASING the first cat into the woods beyond and we-

I

NT. CLUTTERED WORKSHOP -- DAY

Moving along a row of CANARIES in CAGES.

CUTTER (V.O.)

Every magic trick consists of three

part, or acts...

Stop at a cage. Weathered HANDS envelope the canary. Hands

and voice belongs to a man in his 60's- CUTTER.

CUTTER (V.O.) (CONT'D) The first part is called the Pledge...

A LITTLE GIRL pershes on a chest in the workshop, watching.

CUTTER (V.O.) (CONT'D) ...the magician shows you something

ordinary-

Cutter moves to a small ORNATE CAGE resting on a prop table.

CUTTER (V.O.) (CONT'D) A deck of cards, ar a bird...

INT. SCALA THEATRE, LONDON -- NIGHT

A packed house. Many hands raised. Move in on a BEARDED MAN,

his gloved hand tentatively rising into the air.

CUTTER (V.O.)

...or a man.

The Prestige is a good example.

A bit of background -> Old school blocking and camera setups. Wide establishing shot first. Medium shot. Then closeups on the actors speaking.

So, If we say small glade filled with top hats - that might be a rather wide shot. Like saying a grassy field with a house in the distance - a wide shot with no particular focus.

However, TOP HATS. Tells us the shot is filled with top hats, a rather medium to close shot and they are important to the scene. Same with the birds in cages.

From the Prestige opening. A medium shot of a glade with top hats. Then next scene is a close shot of canaries in cages. First time adding a picture. Hopefully it will work.

Here's the following canary cage shot.

That being said. We could craft the same thing without the caps. Especially in relation to the other recent post about vertical writing.

These two sets of images pretty much set up the entire movie.

FADE IN:

A cluster of Top hats in a forest glade.

.

.

.

INT. CLUTTERED WORKSHOP -- DAY

Two canaries in small bird cages.

CUTTER (V.O.)

Every magic trick consists of three part, or acts..

It's usually useful to capitalize audio cues like "a KNOCK at the door" or "the phone RINGS." Other than that, most writers don't really use ALL CAPS that much

Nobody in the business of making movies for a living gave formatting do's & don't's to a then unknown 22-year old Shane Black.

Dan MaxXx Interesting how he added extra spaces between some words. Gives a sense of pacing and makes the page easier to read.

I was told a number of years ago to capitalize AUDIO but just recently I was told that you no longer do that as it is distracting. So I stopped doing it, and I think it does read much more smoothly. I will say that keeping up with do's and dont's like that can be difficult at times.

Yes, Christopher Phillips/@DanMaxx, Shane Black's THE LAST BOY SCOUT was an excellent read.

Christopher Phillips I dont think Black used computers to type then. Could be a typewriter thing. I noticed there are two or three spaces after period. lots of "orphan single word" sentences

Dan MaxXx You're right. Just looked at an old article and he beat on the typewriter with two index fingers to get his screenplays out.