Sheree Martin's Lounge Discussions

THANK YOU Sydney S

Answering your question Sheree, ... No. It's just my humble opinion reading a lot of screenplays and never seing it mentioned in screenwriting books. Personally, I would keep the formatting 'solemn'; cap, italic, bold, underline as less as I can, let the story speak for itself and thereby create the emotional impact. But that's just me. If you get the oppertunity, ask a pro.

Hello, Everyone * I'm new to the craft but working with a producer, developing a short story I wrote into a feature. Is it proper to include things like Transition shots in a Spec script? I was told not to worry about formatting (at least for now) but I thought those kinds of notations were determined by the director. I'm also looking for format clarification on how to begin and end Montages and Flashbacks. Thanks so much!

Stephanie, the advice I've gotten from a lot of people is to leave most transitions out and just specify what a viewer would see in the final product. So, you don't need a FADE, for example, or CUT TO, in most cases. I put the the effect in the action descriptions. So, instead of fade, I might open the next scene with "THE NEXT MORNING..." to indicate that the action ended on one day and continued the next. The director or editor would probably fade it out and then fade in, for example, or use another device to show the transition of time. I think for a spec script you want to keep the reader in the story as much as possible, and transitions take them out of the story to think about how it is being presented.

For flashbacks, I think the key thing is clarity. I looked in David Trottier's "The Screenwriter's Bible" and there are several ways to do these. After trying some, I use "FLASHBACK" underlined at the start and a transition like "BACK TO SCENE" or "END FLASHBACK" at the end (also underlined). This allows me to have one or more scenes in the flashback, and it is clear where the flashback begins and ends. It is hard to miss underlined, all caps action lines, and I think this makes it easy to refer back to find the beginning of the flashback from the end.

I don't think a montage need the same treatment because the elements should be very short.

MONTAGE - FUN AT AMUSEMENT PARK

Myra and Sam enjoy themselves at the park.

-- They go on the Ferris wheel.

-- They dance at the dance hall.

[The next scene or sub-scene starts with a heading or subheading.]

I'm interested to know what other people think about formatting these.

Rich, thanks so much for your detailed response! I'd been following the formatting you described for the Montages and Flashbacks but I'm a little paranoid: I didn't have any scripts in my reading pile that used them and my inner OCD voice kept saying, "Can't be that simple!"

Transitions weren't even on my radar until I recently watched some tutorials that used them in samples. Like you, I'd been putting directives for Transitions in Action Lines but started second-guessing myself. I guess it's time to stop doing that!

Thanks again for taking the time to respond :)

I thought so too! After writing it in third, I second guessed it.

Hope you and your family are staying safe, Sheree Martin.

I agree with Geoff Hall about 1st person.

I've never done a written pitch for a true story, so I'm not sure if you should use "characters" or "people."

I could email you Stage 32's Written Pitch Sample. The sample is for "Star Wars," but it might help you format your pitch.

Sheree Martin If it's the first pitch, I don't think you use names but descriptions, like "a young woman who such and such..." And I agree, if it's a personal story, you might use first person.

Sheree, since I pitch my Memoir... I use names. Stay Safe!!!

Hey Sheree Martin, firstly, tell the story however it feels more natural for you. I'd rather see it in first person, but use those names if they'll help move the needle. When we started pitching Judy Heumann's story, no one knew who she was, but that changed because we kept on it. Keep rolling!

Hi Sheree Martin! So glad that you're here! Would love to hear more about what you're looking to do here at Stage 32 and what you're working on :)

Hi Sheree, welcome to the community! It's lovely to meet you.

Thank you all! I'm working on a written pitch right now and it's going to rain all weekend so I'll finish the "Introduce Myself" section.

You're welcome, Sheree Martin. This weekend is Stage 32's monthly Introduce Yourself Weekend (www.stage32.com/blog/navigating-stage-32s-introduce-yourself-weekend-3460). It's from Friday to Monday.

Glad to have you here Sheree! What are you hoping to accomplish in the Stage 32 community? We're here to help you achieve your goals!