Screenwriting : is "INT. EXT HOUSE - EVENING" acceptable? by Glen Bradley

INT. HOUSE - NIGHT or EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT ... in the action/description you can say write 'Twilight hour' if needed. There's only DAY or NIGHT.

you can always specify the exact time of day inside the scene description.

The script is also a technical plan for production to schedule how & when to shoot.

Designations of daypart are a guide for script breakdown during scheduling. That could be the source of pushback.

Evening is generally between six and nine PM. From a lighting perspective, six PM in the winter is different than in the summer. In summer, reflectors and limited fill lights could be enough. In winter it's totally artificial light. That's a huge set up difference for crew and DP. It matters for scheduling cast as well.

Dusk, Dawn, Sunset etc. are acceptable if they're helpful to the story. Otherwise the guideline is simply Day or Night.

In the example, is INT./EXT. HOUSE exactly what is meant. This would be two scene headings because they're different set ups.

EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT

INT. HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

These are normally light indicators. There is different light at Day, Night, Dusk and Dawn.

But if your script has formal tone, like a british garden party, Evening would be a great tonal choice since has the same outcome.

I try not to stress the small stuff. If that is my only problem I would be dancing for joy.

INT. EXT HOUSE – EVENING

It is not written right. Should be:

INT./EXT. HOUSE – EVENING

Only say it is evening if the scene has to be shot in the evening for some reason otherwise just make it a DAY or NIGHT shoot.

Normally you would only use INT./EXT if you are going back and forth—comon in car chases.

Cutting inside and outside a house needs to set up both sides independently: INT. HOUSE - SOME ROOM and EXT. HOUSE. Once a briefly intro, it's an INTERCUT - OUTSIDE/SOME ROOM. The focus is in two discrete elements in two separate locations. INT./EXT. HOUSE doesn't work because it calls on the person (AD) breaking it down to make a decision - which is it.

I recently revisited NOBODY a film from about a year ago. They chose not to intercut, and this is a production draft which will diverge from a Spec, but scene 104A on page 63 came to mind as illustrative:

https://pdfhost.io/v/B7XbPfTW3_Nobody

In a Spec, a car chase is another animal because it's shot differently. It's INT./EXT. CITY - STREETS - CAR, TRAVELING - DAY. This is clear to an AD as it's one discrete element. Scouting then blocking can take place accordingly.

What's going on in this scene. OP? Is there a character lurking about outside.

Dan Guardino I know it isn’t written right, I was just offering both set ups (ext/int) at once in order to save space in the headline, and wondering if there was room for ‘evening’ along with day and night. This has literally nothing to do with whether it’s inside or outside, aka int. And ext.

I guess I just sweat small stuff because sometimes the producer doesn’t care and sometimes they do.

Personally, I'm a firm believer that you should only use

DAY

NIGHT

LATER (or MOMENTS LATER)

SAME

CONTINUOUS

As a reader, it irks me to see DAWN, EVENING, MORNING, DUSK.

And for the ones I mentioned to use that aren't just a simple DAY or NIGHT, you gotta be careful and use it correctly. I see LOTS of scripts use CONTINUOUS incorrectly.

E Langley that was great advice thank you! I also like to use a main intro to the main place like -

Int. Hospital - Day

….

Hospital Hallway (continuous)

….

Hospital Emergency Room (continuous)

…..

Ext. Hospital Parking Lot - Day

(All in caps of course) it lets the actions flow along with the story much better, in my experience.

Thanks, Glen.

I use mini-slugs and POV as well. I don't use continuous but lead ins for the flow.

He gets his bearings, navigates to a ---

HALLWAY

or

MORTIMER

gets his bearings.

As a side note, I certainly hope no reader seriously bangs a script for formatting that's acceptable based on a limited view of what's correct.

E Langley great tip on the lead ins which people are hesitant to use I find. I rarely use continuous and try to stay away as much as possible.

.. and don't overuse CONTINUOUS ... use when absolutely necessary ...

I think you got great advice here. Like E Langley, I do not use continuous if I use the mini slugs. I also like to use secondary location because I think it helps the reader know the specifics. For example: EXT./INT. HOUSE – FRONT – NIGHT

Yeah, I've read some people recommend using DAY/NIGT only, but don't sweat. If it's of importance that setting is in that part of the day, just use it...say, someone becoming a vampire a TWINCH TO SUNSET would be great... :)

Hello Glen - I wouldn't mind sharing what I have been advised: be clear and consistent. No professional reading your script will "pass" because you write EVENING in your slugline instead of NIGHT, as long as you're consistent and it doesn't slow down their read. Happy New Year :-)

Not really an issue on a spec but consider just how hard it is to actually shoot something specifically during the evening when on location. People are pointing out that the light is different between day, dusk, and night, but it's way more complicated than that. You're talking about huge changes in hue and sun/shadow position minute by minute. Anyone who's done a shoot that runs late will know this. You're doing multiple takes, close ups, turning the world around, reseting scenes, resetting stunts, and whatever else, sometimes in geographical locations (such as the desert) which seems to transition in the blink of an eye. Lights, reflectors, ISO settings, and grading can only do so much.

This is why mornings and evenings are so often shown as little more than a quick setting shot of the sun either rising or falling before the story continues.

Willem Elzenga He asked a question and I tried to answer it. What don't I get?

Shame on you Willem. Some people strive to be professional and helpful. ;)

Just a note on using CONTINUOUS, because - again - I see t misused in amateur scripts OFTEN!!!!

CONTINUOUS is only properly used if the camera/action is continuously (without cutting away) moving from one room to another.

For instance, if we're following a character from, say, the living room into the hallway, to a bedroom, you could go:

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

Joseph reads the newspaper from his recliner.

NATALIE (O.S.)

Joe? Could you come here a minute?

With a sigh, Joseph folds his paper neatly and stores it on the end table.

He leaves his chair and heads--

INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

--down the hall, past family photos, and turns the corner into the--

INT. BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

--to find Natalie frantically rifling through her closet. She spots him.

NATALIE

I can't decide which dress!

All too often, I'll see scripts that do something like this:

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

Bill bursts into the room, interrupting Sally's slumber.

BILL

They're coming! We gotta go! Let's move!

Sally fantically gets out of bed.

INT. CAR (MOVING) - CONTINUOUS

Bill speeds down the street, Sally in the passenger seat, watching out the window as police lights come down another road toward their house.

In the first example that's accurate, we are literally continuously following the action.

In the second example that's wrong, we're obviously cutting from the bedroom the car... but the writer puts it as "CONTINUOUS" because they want it to be seemless. But that's not how it works.

I'll also often see phone conversations where we get back-and-forth listed as CONTINUOUS... but that's not accurate either. In those cases, if you want to slug out every back-and-forth, it would actually be SAME (as in happening at the same time) rather than continuous. But it's likely better/smoother to do an INTERCUT slug between the two locations.

Willem Elzenga I am a professional screenwriter so I am sure I would understand since this was just a simple question regarding how to form a certain scene heading.

Told you. Professional and helpful, Willem, but the question is not in question.

Willem Elzenga I still don’t know what you meant when you told me I don’t get it. Maybe I misunderstood his question, “Basically, is using an EVENING headline over a strict NIGHT headline in a script OK?” So here is my newest answer to a simple question. DAY and NIGHT are preferred but EVENING is okay. If it appears I still don’t get it maybe I don’t get it.

(i.e. THE LIFE OF A SCREENWRITER)

(e.g. SCREENWRITING LIFE)

The OP's question is whether using EVENING in a screen heading is 'appropriate'. It is but it's not the best. It's the folk packing the grip truck that really need to know what they include by way of lights, scrims, flags , stands, etc. If we're shooting INT. I can make it EVENING all day long whereas the evening's actual Golden Hour usually runs about half an hour. I'm 'old school' so I'd rather use NIGHT and spell out evening in the scene description. But to each his own - you do whatever feels right to you.

A lot of good suggestions here. But I think this is good opportunity describe place. INT./EXT. HOUSE - EVENING description: The sun kisses the night clouds as they roll in... Something to that effect to set the visual of the twilight scene.

So your point is you are a director and you want everyone to know that. I think that pretty much answered my question.

Is it crucial to your script?

If it isn't, don't bother with it.

If it is, you needn't worry too much you might break a convention, because:

1. Several popular writing software offer different script formats, in some of these formats you'll find a long list of times, and not just day / night. It is being used.

2. Personally, and it'd be my advice to you, only ever use the more unconventional times if you're trying to convey a specific tonal lighting. Dawn / dusk / evening do not the same colour of either day, or night. If it's crucial, use it.

3. No one worth their salt will turn down a good story and a pleasant read just because you wrote evening where they expect night. And conversely, no matter how perfectly-formatted your script is, if it's terrible.

Glen Bradley keep your slug lines simple, Glen. INT. EXT. is misleading.

This is a great convo. I teach script writing and I used to be so strict with DAY, NIGHT, CONTINUOS, LATER but more and more students kept bringing Oscar nominated scripts to me showing me DAWN, DUSK, EVENING, NOON and I have also been seeing it in books. So it's hard for me to tell them know when they are seeing it in top level scripts. I have had to relax the rule over the years because even the Cinematographers would say, they do want to know if it's DAWN or DUSK because that affects their lighting choice and it alleviates confusion on set when one person thinks it's the middle of the day when the sun is up high versus the end of the day when the sun is low and the shadows are long. Only thing I don't tell me students to do, is DON'T say MIDNIGHT or 8:00 PM that makes no sense, because we can't tell the difference between those two on screen.

Even the rule about not putting characters thoughts or your thoughts into a scene description keeps getting broken, especially as a tonal choice. A student had many questions regarding this with the Across the Spiderverse script. My advice to her was that as an emerging screenwriter, stick to convention. When you become famous and no one wants to tell you no, then you can do as you please to fit the story, but breaking the rules too early in your career can set you back, because the person reading your script has the power.

Kevin Jackson, good advice!

Willem Elzenga LOL!

Some people have said don’t worry about the small stuff and I agree because nobody is going to pass on a screenplay just because of minor formatting issues. However, a spec screenplay for something other than a lower-budget one is more often than not written on assignment so you want the person reading your screenplay to believe that you know the business and how to write for it. That is why when a new screenwriter asks a question here I don’t usually say do whatever you want. I encourage them to write their screenplay as well as humanly possible so they might be the ones who get hired to write one for hire or work on some production screenplays which is always a good thing because of the contacts you made and contacts in this business is everything.

Hi Glen Bradley - I recommend Spencer Robinson's Stage 32 webinar on writing descriptions in screenplays. Spencer works with some of the top writers in the industry. Here's a link so you can check it out: https://www.stage32.com/webinars/How-To-Write-Descriptions-In-Your-Scree...

Kevin Jackson that’s great. My writing teachers were Pilar alissandra and Milton justice, Oscar winners. We never had the convo about this. I’m just guessing they knew enough to bypass and keep reading. If a script is good, it’s just good, in my experiences?

Bo Rubin i only use Final Draft.