The full trailer for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is finally here in all its Quicktime glory. For now, it’s exclusively at Moviefone, but you can see it in theaters starting on Friday. It should be attached to Madagascar most places.
Glossary: Manuscript and Tentpole
At readers’ request, I’ve added two new terms to the Glossary:
MANUSCRIPT
The typed (as opposed to type-set) version of a novel, as originally submitted to the publisher by an author. Much of the editing and revision of a book takes place at the manuscript stage.
TENTPOLE
A major motion picture, generally released in the summer or Christmas season, which is the primary focus of a studio’s marketing attention. The term comes from this analogy: if the tentpole fails, everything will collapse around it.
From FD to MMS
Craig Mazin of Artful Writer has had enough headaches (and heartaches) with Final Draft. He’s switched over to Movie Magic Screenwriter. You can read about his reasons why here, followed by a lot of opinions from fellow screenwriters.
Me, I’m still using Final Draft, though as often as I complain about it, I should probably give MMS another look.
Opening titles
The script I’m working on has a highly relevant scene (which might
include bits of dialogue) that sets up the main character. I want this
action to occur during the opening credits. How do I indicate this in
proper format?
— Alan McCoy
Most screenplays don’t mention anything about their opening titles, leaving it to the director to figure out where and when and how the names will run. However, if you have a specific story goal you want to achieve with your opening title sequence, you can include it in the script.
The words you’re looking for are “BEGIN MAIN TITLES.”
(“Credits” generally refers to the scrolling list at the end of the movie which lists all of the people who worked on the movie. “Main Titles” (or “Opening Titles”) are the people and/or production companies who have their names prominently displayed at the start of the movie, along with the title of the film.)
You can start the titles at any point within the first 10 pages or so. The scenes that run under these credits should obviously be simple enough that if the viewer is paying attention to the names — “Hey! Clint Howard is in this!” — they won’t miss any crucial piece of story information.
If you choose to use “BEGIN MAIN TITLES,” be sure to include the corresponding “END MAIN TITLES” so the reader won’t be left filling in phantom executive producers until page 45.
But just to reiterate: most screenplays never mention the opening titles. So don’t include them unless they’re serving a specific story purpose.