Screenwriting : Ext. SCENE HEADINGS - PULLING MY HAIR OUT by Travis Macready

How are things, Travis Macready?

I don't know all of the locations in your script, but you can format the cavern like:

INT. DARK CAVERN - DIFFERENT AREA

When the character(s) moves to a different area, I would use "DIFFERENT AREA" in the scene heading so the reader will know that it's a different area.

I have a script that takes place 40% in just a prison cell. I divided the headers up like Maurice said: INT. PRISON CELL. MATTRESS - DAY

INT. PRISON CELL. SINK - DAY

The script's already a shooting script, though, and the director insisted I change it thusly... in the spec I had only general instructions on where the character was within the area.

I'd be happy to help out if you'd like to have someone have a closer look

Yeah, I am mostly concerned about the use of Continuous. I have been receiving conflicting information about its usage. I know the screenwriter's bible says if it is obvious not to use it.

If it is in a cave and there is no light coming in you don't use DAY or NIGHT in the scene heading.

In outer space/underground in a cave or mine - there is no DAY/NIGHT (you don't need it). If the camera moves from one area of the cavern to another; CONTINUIIOUS is all you need - INT/EXT doesn't matter. Now in Ronika's example, she's got the camera inside of a mattress and inside a sink - some hard shots to block/shoot.

Now you guys know why I am confused lol. I have seen so many opinions about scene headings

For reference: the cavern in my script is complete darkness. No outside view or light source.

Juan. Day or Night tells people if it is going to be a day or night shoot. If the scene takes place in a cave where there is no daylight, they can shoot it anytime they want because it wouldn't matter.

Sorry to be a monumental pedant here but DAY/NIGHT doesn't specify a day or night shoot, it only specifies the fictional scene is to look like it takes place in the DAY/NIGHT. It's very common to shoot interior night scenes during the day to keep the schedule tight and, if you have a lot of money to rent a portable sun, even shoot interior day time scenes during the night.

The lighting conditions also do not specify the time of day of the scene. That's letting the tail wag the dog. For chronological storytelling reasons, you stick with when the scene is taking place, dark, light, or otherwise.

Some stuff just doesn't work well with the format of scene headings and you have to get creative and effectively "block" your scenes to help show where they start and finish. LATER, MOMENTS LATER, and CONTINUOUS are a way of doing that. Another way, as alluded to, is to actually break the single location down into sections as if it's on stage and you're having to do a set change. In this case, I would look into cave systems and learn about what different areas are called.

There's also something else to takeaway from the situation here; if there's no easy fix, there's a chance the location setup is simply monotonous and that might be a huge issue when it comes to making an entertaining film.

FWIW, my most popular, which is all set in one location, opens on a fifteen page scene that, if I were turning into a production script, I could easily block into two smaller scenes which were developed during the writing process as such.

Hello there! My first question to you would be why are you writing this screenplay, meaning, do you want to produce it or are you going to seek representation with it? If you want to get it made on an indie budget, I’d have the scenes as DAY, so you would be able to have some light coming from maybe top of the cave. I know you want to keep it as this eerie place with total darkness, but you have to consider that total darkness means higher budget. Besides, people in production generally dislike night shoots, so you may already be closing some doors with that choice. However, if it’s a short, that’s easier to manage. On the other hand, if you’re going to seek representation with this screenplay, you can mostly do whatever you like :) I hope this helps, have a great day!

Hi Tripp,

You might want to take a look at the screenplays for The Descent and The Descent II. Those are two great scripts (and films), and address your questions. They both use the word "dark" or "darkness" in the scene headings, and also use names for the different parts of the caves and that you might find useful. You can find and download both scripts at thescriptsavant.com

Best fortunes in your creative endeavors, Tripp, and stay safe!

Just because someone does something in a production script doesn't mean that is the only way to do something. I can find examples of everything people say you shouldn't do in a spec. Obviously people can do whatever they want if nobody is paying them. However, if you are in a dark cave and there is no light, it doesn't matter if it is day or night outside the cave. Same goes if someone is deep in the ocean.

Agree with the first half of Dan's comment. This treating of production scripts, especially from relative small indie prodos, as sacred scriptures is getting a bit ridiculous. If anything, I've found the professional side of screenwriting way more loosey-goosey with formatting technicalities, with different people having very different preferences on top of that.

This is partly why I tell people to stop worrying so much about this stuff. In a case like this, dark, night, whatever, people tend to know what the inside of a cave is like.

Something I will add is that actual caves are not that easy to find and get permission shoot in. Been there.

It can be instructive to see what Neil Marshall did with his script for The Descent. They get to the caves about 25 pages in . Aside from not saying day/night (instead saying “dark”) Marshall names the locations by their distinct qualities. Words like fissure, pipe, cathedral, etc. Link here: https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.96/p2z.144.myftpupload.com/pdf/Th...