DAY. NIGHT: That's it or; DAY. NIGHT. DUSK. MORNING. EVENING. AFTERNOON? What or which are the acceptable qualifiers of Slug line I tend to forget the important basics when I dive deeper into the techniques screenwriting.
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From my understanding it's Day or Night. That's it.
Thanks Joseph
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Just DAY or NIGHT and leave it at that. DO NOT use the others.
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NIGHTMARE is not a TOD so is a different context.
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Yes they are available but it doesn't mean you have to use them. Don't use them unless they are absolutely essential to your story and it won't work without.
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If you think about the looks of a sky. There is really only Day, Night, Dawn and Dusk. The difference between noon and afternoon isn't really visible. But the thinness of the light at dawn is completely different to the red of a sunset at dusk. That's my opinion. Unless it is visually different I don't mention it.
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What Craig said. 8am looks the same as 3pm. If it's important to know the time of day, there are many tools, i.e. clock, radio, dialogue, etc. Situations such as morning/evening rush hour. A shop turns a sign to signify they're open/closed. A waiter informs the specials are only served between 12 and 3. Happy hour. The list is endless. Happy writing.
Thank you everyone. This looks trivial but it's a big relief.
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When you do production breakdown it's DAY or NIGHT. That's it. If you need to qualify sunset or sunrise or high noon for the shoot out, do so in the first action paragraph with characters reacting to the time of day.
Another round of appreciation to everyone. Jim Jackson
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Good habits... Eventually everything will be either DAY or NIGHT for scheduling the film, with the very very rare MORNING or EVENING (magic hours, which are a bitch to shoot because the sun only rises or sets for a brief amount of time). So it's a good plan to get used to DAY or NIGHT. Yes, sometimes it is less confusing to use MORNING or EVENING in a spec screenplay to let the reader know we are changing time periods, but use that stuff only when it would be confusing not to. Often as writers we need the "training wheels" of things like that to keep it clear in our minds, when it's really not important for the story... and that's when we need to take the training wheels off! Also: anything that is not a specific such as SAME or CONTINUOUS can be confusing to a reader who needs to remember whether it is night or day and has to flip back through the script until they come to the last use of an actual DAY or NIGHT. I've read scripts that were freakin' CONTINUOUS for 40 pages! What Jim said about clarity is the main thing - try to avoid anything that might be confusing.
Thanks William
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Yeah, William nailed it... "Eventually everything will be either DAY or NIGHT for scheduling the film" Using ' 'Dusk' or 'Dawn' makes it a specific shot - use only if it's absolutely crucial to the story (imo). Write a short description in the narrative to refine the setting otherwise DAY or NIGHT will suffice.
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I always just say DAY OR NIGHT. Additionally, keep your scene headings brief. I often read long ass headings that travel off the reservation and into the forest.
"Taking off the training wheels" shaved 25 pages off a script I wrote. It's not a drag to read anymore.
DAY and NIGHT only is what I have always been told. If it really matters what time of day or what the light is like, describe it in the set up. It shouldn't be in the slug line.