Also known as Sluglines, Scene Headings, establish the location where a scene is set, time (day or night) and whether things are happening inside (INT) or outside (EXT).
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Script Writing: From Start to Finish
- Introduction
- How to Write a Screenplay
- Scene Headings
- Action lines
- Dialogue
- Parenthetical
- Transition
- Sources
- References
Screenplays are blueprints for films, TV, plays and other visual mediums.
Before any big-budget deals are made, casting decisions solidified, and sets get built, there needs to be a screenplay in place to dictate the creative direction of any film.
To learn more about the elements of script writing, we spoke with:
How to Write a Screenplay
Scene Headings
Action lines
Action lines define what happens in a scene. They describe everything the audience is seeing on screen. They’re always written in present tense.
Dialogue
All spoken dialogue, whether in voiceover or in-scene should be written as dialogue. The name of the character speaking should appear in caps, centered on the page. The dialogue is also centered, and appears directly beneath their name.
All to say, do not underestimate the importance of a treatment!
Parenthetical
Sometimes you’ll want to make certain aspects of your characters’ dialogue be clearly distinct or very specific, and that’s when you can put a parenthetical between the character’s name and their dialogue to provide some extra direction and context on how the line is meant to be performed.
Transition
Script transitions are cues to the reader on how changes to the next scene can be executed. They can be effective communicators on the mood when a scene comes to a finish. Transitions are always capitalized and followed by a colon, with the exception of the final FADE OUT or CUT TO BLACK, which should be followed by a period.
When you’re writing, take into consideration the notion that scripts should be seen as blueprints, not novels. Your job is to tell a compelling story with engaging characters, strong conflicts and high stakes, but it’s also very important to remember to keep everything moving along at a fast clip. Just as the pace of a motion picture is important, so too is the pace of a screenplay. Always keep momentum in mind as you’re crafting and executing your story.
Sources
Ashley Avis
Ashley Avis is an award-winning American filmmaker. She recently wrote, directed, as well as edited the feature film Black Beauty for Disney+ starring Oscar winner Kate Winslet, Mackenzie Foy (Twilight), and Iain Glen (Games of Thrones). Disney debuted the movie worldwide in November 2020.
Black Beauty will mark Ashley’s fourth feature film, in addition to writing, directing, and producing hundreds of commercials and branded content to date.
Upcoming projects include writing and show running the television series Breyer Hollow for Imagine Entertainment’s Executive Producers Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Stephanie Sperber; as well as directing and producing the documentary Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West (2021).
Commercially Ashley is known for the elegance and storytelling of her short-form work. She has directed for clients such as Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, Pfizer, Footlocker, Asics, Red Bull, Coca Cola, Cali Burger, and dozens of independent brands.
In 2016, she won the Mercedes-Benz Award for her auto-fashion fusion spot “Bespoke,” and in 2019 she directed as well as edited Chevrolet’s fourteen-part “Goalkeepers” campaign featuring Olympians Mia Hamm, Hilary Knight, and Laurie Hernandez, encouraging young girls to stay in sports.
An Editor of over a decade, she cuts the majority of her own work–and is the co-founder of Winterstone Pictures, a boutique production company in Marina del Rey, California.
Ashley’s visual style has been called “timelessly romantic,” (White Lies Magazine), while Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times has said her work on Black Beauty is “beautifully uplifting… writer-director Ashley Avis and her production team have created a gorgeous, sweeping epic.”
In the fall of 2020, Ashley founded and launched The Wild Beauty Foundation–a new organization to help illuminate key issues wild and domestic horses are facing today through entertainment, youth-focused educational programs, and on the ground rescue efforts.
Ashley lives near the ocean with her husband and producing partner Edward Winters. When she isn’t working, she can be found passionately rescuing horses in need, and recently adopted two wild horses of her own.
Matt Lieberman
In a span of about 2 years, Matt Lieberman has had seven screenplays produced by major studios. These include his Black List Free Guy script due May 21, 2021 (starring Ryan Reynolds with Shawn Levy directing), Scoob! released on May 15, 2020 (starring Will Forte, Zac Efron and Mark Wahlberg), Playing with Fire (starring John Cena) released November 2019, The Addams Family (which grossed over $100 million dollars domestically in 2019) and Rumble due to release May 14, 2021 (starring Will Arnett). In addition, he wrote The Christmas Chronicles (2019’s Netflix holiday hit from his spec script starring Kurt Russell) and its sequel, released November 25, 2020 (directed by Chris Columbus).
Matt sold his spec script Meet the Machines to Lionsgate. He is currently writing The Jetsons and Rin Tin Tin for Warner Bros.
Originally from New Jersey, Matt is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, daughter and French bulldog.
Billy Ray
Billy Ray wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for Captain Phillips, for which he won the WGA award. He also wrote, directed, and executive-produced Showtime’s The Comey Rule, which had the biggest debut of any limited series in that network’s history.
Ray’s films as Writer, Co-writer, or Writer-Director include The Hunger Games, Richard Jewell, Shattered Glass, and Breach. His current feature projects include ’68: the true story of Olympic medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos, and The Silent Wife for Nicole Kidman. Ray is a member of the AMPAS Board of Governors. He believes in democracy, justice, and the Dodgers.
References
- 1Theo Friedman . "WGA Minimums — Writers Guild Pay Rates Explained". Studiobinder. published: March 2021. retrieved on: June 2023