Screenwriting : Formatting Question: Is he an Actor? A Mask? Or a Serial Killer from a successful horror film franchise? by Bill Brock

Bill Brock

Formatting Question: Is he an Actor? A Mask? Or a Serial Killer from a successful horror film franchise?

Hi, My Peeps. And when I say "Peeps." I'm referring to those gross Easter marshmallow things...

Anyway, I have a strange combination of three particular characters in my script.

1. Trey Wallace, the actor who portrays a horror film serial killer, whose signature look is a clown mask.

2. "The Mask,' a rubber mask in the form of a depressed clown. The birthplace of this character: Trey's warped psychosis. The Actor and Mask share many conversations throughout the script.

3. Sad Man, the film's serial killer character.

Near the end of the script, Trey is so far gone that he actually embodies the character of Sad Man.Trey (the actor) meets up with Lisa (the actress portraying the Final Girl) away from the movie set for a fierce battle to the death. Once Trey climbs into the mask for the final scene, how should he be labeled?

Trey? Sad Man? Mask? (I include the mask because he's been such a powerful influence on Trey.)

Anyway, on the last page, I list him as:

TREY/MASK/SAD MAN

And he's only listed once in this manner.

Any thoughts?

Brock out.

Maurice Vaughan

I think that'd work, Bill Brock. TREY/MASK/SAD MAN. Maybe add an action line somewhere in the scene so it's clear to the reader that he's so far gone, he has become all three.

Nathan Woodward

Two things.

1. Peeps are delicious and I will never hear or entertain anything to the contrary.

2. I have always just referred to the character by their name to save on confusion. Him putting on the mask reflects the change in character.

Dan MaxXx

I'd do all three as separate characters, change font color or different font type.

Fred Smith

The creativity and insight here are just a testament to the vibrant community we have, always ready to delve into the intricacies of screenwriting and storytelling. On a related note, in working through my latest horror script, I found myself wrestling with how to visually present my ideas, not just on the page but in a way that could be easily shared and discussed with my writing group and potential collaborators. I realized that transforming my screenplay and notes into more visually accessible formats could bridge that gap. That's when I discovered this amazing tool https://pdfflex.com/pdf-to-png which converts PDF documents into PNG images. This has been incredibly helpful for sharing specific scenes or excerpts without losing the formatting nuances that PDFs can sometimes compromise. It’s perfect for those moments when you want to quickly showcase a piece of your script for feedback or discussion, especially in forums like this where visual aids can really enhance our conversations about storytelling elements.

CJ Walley

When I wrote a script that had a character with multiple personalities, I used bold when they were in the other personality. Worked well.

Bill Brock

Thanks, guys. Lots of great ideas here. This is the only script I've written that showcased a character with multiple personalities. Not too worried at this point. If I ever sell it, it'll be rewritten and destroyed anyway.

Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Bill Brock.

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