The rules specifically are that it should contain: a) INT. The slug line exists to tell us where and when a scene takes place. So here are my top thirteen most common script mistakes I see with regard to format. JOE – LATER,” you don’t actually mean we should set up a camera inside Joe (ouch!) but that we’re with him in the scene that is actually in a bar. Good luck getting your killer story read by a busy executive who doesn’t have time to figure out that when you write, “INT.
MONTAGE SLUGLINE MOVIE
The script functions as a blueprint for building a movie and it must be executed in the language that all the builders recognize. Screenwriting is a very particular writing discipline with very particular rules we all must follow. “I’m a bad-ass who doesn’t play by the rules and I have a killer story so none of that should count.” Well, me too and bully for you. All those add up to a writer who hasn’t bothered to learn the language of screenwriting. OS or OC, mis-formatted intercuts or montages will. I’m more likely to give that writer notes and hope they submit a cleaned-up script next time around.” So while a wonky slug* won’t kill your script in contests, a wonky slug on top of misused parentheticals, wrong use of VO vs. If there are a lot of format errors, I’m not going to stand up for you. If the only format issue is that the slugs are off here and there, I can do that. I have to be willing to stand up and defend it to my fellow judges. For every script I choose to advance, I have to believe it could win the whole contest. But poor formatting can be a tie-breaker. I said, “As judges, I think we’re all looking for a good story most of all. One student asked if poorly formatted slug lines would keep her script from advancing in a contest. We talked about common format mistakes I see as a contest reader, and looked at how story structure and character motivations feed into a log line and therefore a pitch. I recently guest lectured a class for Slamdance and Roadmap Writers on pitch polishing.
0 kommentar(er)
