Screenwriting : Formatting questions by Göran Johansson

I've heard that (O.C.) is considered obsolete and should be replaced with (O.S.), Göran Johansson. I only use (O.S.).

CIA is fine.

I use ... for pauses in dialogue. You could leave it to the director or actors to decide where to put the pauses, but I like to include pauses in dialogue because they're important to the scenes. Example: A character pauses during dialogue to show doubt, and that doubt leads to an argument or twist in the scene.

I basically do exactly what Maurice does and knowone's complained to me yet.However within scripts you do have a degree of freedom for instance in the movie Arrival they along with readers were struggling with describing/understanding the visual of the alien language hyroglifics the movie is based on.In the end they created the hyroglifics and put them dirrectly in the script.So don't stress too much.

Maurice Vaughan I am an over-user of ellipses in regular writing...and glad to see that you use them in-script!

I steal formatting styles from my favorite screenwriters, copy & paste to my document, change stuff I like to do. Never got formatting notes. There are readers and there are readers. Choose the latter who are actually employed at companies. GL

Ok, Dan Guardino. I haven't seen (O.C.) in scripts in a while.

Whoops, I was under the impression V.O. had replaced O.S...

Gotcha Dan Guardino. When I started writing my first script I basically just searched "How do I denote a character speaking out of camera shot", and as well all know lots of different opinions on the Interwebz! I did see people stating O.C. was primarily used in TV series. I think I might have erred a few times using V.O. vice O.S. a handful of times, but pish posh!

Hi and I believe use O.S. because most people reading current scripts will know it. The abbreviation and pauses are your preference as long as you are consistent throughout the script. I hope this helps.

Dialogue is meant to be spoken. Would a character say SEEEYEUH or C-I-A? CIA is not correct in dialogue.

Göran Johansson RE 3: check out David Mamet's choices with the professor's phone calls in his play Oleanna. Having said that, a '.' and an '...' have very different dynamics. You could argue that grammatically the period is not a pause but a stop. Whereas an '...' is perhaps an introspective or more patient pause v. a '-' which could be an interrupting pause, etc. Totally your call as the writer, I believe. There's no one correct way - the intent is to help the reader 'hear' the character.

RE 2: similarly, if there's an idiosyncratic speech pattern you want to get across when someone mentions the Agency, then go phonetic. Otherwise, just writing CIA should suffice.

Well, well , well. I am fussy about being careful in my slepping... however, apart from the fact that it means so much to educators and script doctors... the intriguing question persists: do you really believe it matters one iota to the producer if he thinks the plot will turn a profit irrespective, whether it’s the CIA, the NSA or the FSB?

I'd go for "O.S" and "CIA" instead of "C-I-A". And I add a lot of "..." in dialogues (especially phone convos). But whatever the option selected, just apply it throughout the whole script. Consistency is the key.

I never even thought of hyphenating acronyms unless a character speaks each letter of it out for emphasis...

Dear friends, what an overwhelming response. I interpret the situation like this.

1. (O.C.) can safely be avoided.

2. Majority prefers CIA in front of C-I-A.

3. Majority prefers ...

Many thanks. Today I learned something new due to you.

You're welcome, Göran Johansson.

Göran Johansson learn something else: Internet posters are not the best resource.

Besides common sense, on page 299, of "The Screenwriters Bible" Seventh Edition by Dave Trottier, the authority on screenplay formatting, states "...the letters F B and I are said (written) individually, the acronyms MADD and UNICEF are pronounced (written) as words."

Acronyms that simulate words are written as such. FBI, CIA and NSA are not. Though an acronym, SWAT can be said and written as a word. DMV can not. NATO is a word. CDC is not.

Buy the "...Bible" to use as a reference.

I agree with Philo Kvetch, Dave Trottier has many books on this, and you can subscribe to her free newsletters where he sends information on structure and formatting a screenplay.

Are viewers confounded when props have "CIA" on them? How many script readers, of spec scripts specifically, deduct points or just bail on scripts because an acronym isn't hyphenated? How many spec scripts, that actually make it into the hands of actors, confuse thespians with unhyphenated acronyms? The idea that acronyms that don't have the fortune to be similar to actual words or don't have the right letter structure worthy of a flowing pronunciation have to be hyphenated, or the letters separated by periods, in a spec script is strange... Also in other languages, like Spanish para exemplar, "DEA" would be pronounced "De-Ah" and "CIA" would be "Cee-Ah" so if you're writing in Spanish in an English-language script what is the writing protocol for acronyms then?

E Langley The whole point is avoiding confusing the viewer or the reader obviously. "CIA" on a badge prop is still read by the viewer is it not? The maddening thing about screenwriting protocols is the myriad of opinions of people in the industry. Re: the acronym thing same goes for say quotation usage in scripts. So you or someone else can talk about this or that so-called 'expert', but a multitude of other individuals will still have different opinions. Is the book writer reading my spec script? Are the studio interns triaging scripts familiar with said individual or his writing advice? Empirically I have yet to witness someone getting dressed down for not hyphenating acronyms. Succinct.

Dan Guardino "That is what I said earlier. Obviously some people disagree but it doesn't matter if you are writing spec screenplays because nobody is paying you to write them." YES. If Ridley Scott calls me up and wants me to change all my acronyms to his preferred style bring on the hyphens! Obviously I still want to breach the production gates, but I doubt hyphens, or lack thereof, are going to be the deciding factor...

Snoring........ Snorring..........Snorrring...... (SSS) ... It does not mean SECURE SOCKETS LAYER.... for those in computers.

Dan Guardino Exactly my thoughts. I had ALSO read somewhere to use periods, not hyphens, in acronyms like "C.I.A." and THEN with acronyms that typically don't get punctuation, e.g. "SWAT", punctuate those in the action lines (i.e. "S.W.A.T.")!

Nice Mike Childress and that makes lots of sense.

Some care. Certainly! Those on the other side of jaded nihilism anyway.

IRL, how does one say the agency's name? As a word or spelled out. Using the former will attract funny looks. Then there's a formatting expert who counsels on proper, spelled out usage. Funny how the expert is used selectively to prove one element but not another. No one, self-celebrating pundits included, can predict how a script will be received. What might or might not trigger acceptance or rejection. Therefore, it's best for a writer to write in proper English.

As a dichotomy that has a familiar feel is playing out, maybe S32 can sell red baseball hats: Make Abbreviations Great Again.

Huh?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-ca6AOKWXI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-ca6AOKWXI

Philo Kvetch Out of the context that your are discussing I found the film an interesting journey. Ver often I find myself asking "Am I being an asshole or being logical. Is this guy a naysayer or what. blah blah blah." So the short applies possibly to all of us. We certainly can learn. Especially self-analytical souls.