Printing words on-screen
When you want a title to appear on the screen (i.e. “Two days later” or “September 1987″) how do you write it exactly?
– A. B.
via IMDb
Printing words on screen works much just the way you’d think. You write TITLE OVER, like this:
- INT. JOHNSON FARM - DAY
- Robin pulls open the curtains, so tattered they begin to rip from the rod. Bright light floods into the dusty room.
- TITLE OVER:
- 21 HOURS AFTER ABDUCTION
- With a trained eye, she surveys the dank livingroom. Her attention focuses on a chest of drawers, which has been pulled out slightly from the wall.
Note that many times, you simply want to provide clarifying information to the reader, and have no intention of showing an on-screen title. In these cases, it’s completely acceptable to append the info to the end of a scene header.
- EXT. POLISH GETTO - DAY [1945]
- INT. MARGE’S KITCHEN - NIGHT [WINTER]
- EXT. CENTRAL PARK - [THE NEXT] DAY
Of course, only append this bracketed information if it really is crucial to helping the reader understand the scene — for instance, if your story moves back and forth between two timelines. Otherwise, you’re just adding clutter.
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April 10th, 2005 at 8:39 am
Well, the text in the photoshopped screen capture includes strong language and has to be rated R. Not that I’m shocked but Charlie from the previous pic might be )
April 11th, 2005 at 7:28 am
Are you using TITLE OVER the same way you’d use Super? As in:
SUPER: “21 HOURS AFTER ABDUCTION”
April 11th, 2005 at 7:52 am
TITLE OVER: = SUPER:
It’s just a matter of personal preference.
April 11th, 2005 at 8:24 am
viktor is right, the caption on the capture means “Who f*cked Loanna?” in French. Loanna was starring the first French Reality TV show (Loft Story, 2001) and is well known for a very hot “midnight bath” session.
April 11th, 2005 at 10:21 am
I remember the controversy over Loft Story, and the protest that the participants were “captives.” Whereas American reality show contestants would willingly shoot themselves in the head.
December 22nd, 2007 at 11:32 am
I was wondering if you’re trying to put text on the screen that says something like “Bill Murray as Steve Zissou” what would be the best way to do it. I know which actors I will be using so I wasn’t sure if including the actors name would be acceptable.