John August

Formatting

Numbers in dialogue

Formatting, QandA

questionmarkI’m writing a screenplay in which an administrator reads excerpts from a statistical report. I’m not quite sure how to write the numbers which he uses in dialogue. Should I use numerals? Words? Doesn’t matter?

— Marcus J

For dialogue, a screenwriter should use as few numbers as possible, and write them out unless it’s cumbersome to do so.

Write out:

* “We’ve got nineteen calls on hold.”
* “That joke’s got to be a hundred years old.”
* “Alaska may be the forty-ninth state, but it’s first in awesome.”
* “We have an unidentified craft, bearing thirty-one mark nine.”
* “This suit cost me five thousand. You stole yours from a hobo, I’m guessing.”

Use numbers for things like dates, codes and phone numbers:

* “According to this, he was born March 10th, 1970. That means he’s already forty.”
* “The combination is 21…34…17.”
* “Just call this number: 555-764-2002.”

In action lines, I generally spell out numbers less than ten. But I’ll happily break that rule if it looks better on the page. I never start a line with a numeral, and will favor unspecific counts when possible: a thousand stars rather than 1,000 stars.

When two characters are played by the same actor

Formatting, Projects, QandA, The Nines, Words on the page

questionmarkIf a main part of a plot is that two characters look identical (but are not related…think the movie “Dave”), where/how in the script do I say they should be played by the same actor?

— Jeremy Kerr

As a general screenwriting rule, if it would be obvious to the viewer, make it obvious to the reader. Immediately after introducing the second character, include a hard-to-miss note explaining that the two characters are played by one actor.

PROFESSOR DONALD SCOTT isn’t your classic tweedy bookworm. With a short temper and a strong right hook, he’s more likely to settle arguments in back alleys than lecture halls.

[NOTE: Donald Scott and Thom Penn aren’t twins, but are played by the same actor -- for reasons that will soon become clear.]

In the case of The Nines, a huge conceit was that the nine principal roles were played by three actors. I added a note just after the title page, so there was no chance a reader would miss it:

nines note

(cont’d) vs. CONTINUOUS

Formatting, QandA

Via [Twitter](http://twitter.com/johnaugust), I got a question about the variations on “continued” you often see in screenplays.

The first form, a contraction of the word, is widely used to indicate that the same character is speaking after an interrupting bit of scene description. Almost every screenplay you read will have it.

MARY

What’s wrong? Why are you smiling like that?

TOM

No reason.

Under the table, the dog begins licking the arch of Tom’s foot.

TOM (CONT’D)

Do you need any h-h-h-help with dessert?

Most screenwriting software will automatically generate the (cont’d), and you should let it. It’s standard, and particularly useful for actors. It’s your choice whether to have it be uppercase; (cont’d) or (CONT’D) are both fine. Pick one and stick to it. ((You may run into situations in which a character is both speaking and giving voice-over in a scene. Your software might try to flag those voiceovers as continuations of the character’s normal dialogue. Don’t let it.))

A related situation happens when a block of dialogue needs to extend off the bottom of the page. Screenwriting software will offer to put a (more), with a matching (cont’d) on the next page. Let it — though you might also consider tweaking the lines so that the dialogue doesn’t break there.

A second form of continued happens when a scene spans across multiple pages. If a scene continues off the bottom of a page, most screenwriting software will offer to put CONTINUED: at the top left of the next page, next to the scene number.

  A134 CONTINUED:

EDWARD

I have been nothing but myself since the day I was born. And if you can’t see that, it’s your failing, not mine.

You don’t need it. Turn it off.

The only time to use these continueds is when you’re headed into production, complete with a shooting schedule and scene numbers. They help reduce confusion when you have colored revision pages. Beyond that, they’re clutter. Get rid of them.

The final form of continued happens in scene headings. Some screenwriters use CONTINUOUS to indicate that action is ongoing despite changes of location:

INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT

Mary searches for Rex, checking under the bed.

INT. BASEMENT – CONTINUOUS

Tom WHISTLES, shaking Rex’s favorite toy.

I’m not a big fan of this use of continuous, because it’s all too easy to forget what time of day it’s supposed to be. In the (rare) cases in which I need to clarify that the action from one scene to the next is continuous, I put it in brackets.

EXT. BACKYARD – NIGHT [CONTINUOUS]

Rex digs his way under the fence.

Last looks

Formatting, Words on the page

I handed in a script today, and thought it might be helpful to talk through my best practices when finishing up a draft. I don’t always do all of these — but I get nervous if I’ve skipped one.

1. Print it out.
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There are mistakes you’re only going to catch on paper. So print it. I like to do two-up (side-by-side) printing to save paper, but your eyes might prefer full size.

Circle mistakes with a colored pen so you’ll see them. In addition to typos, look for any bit of redundant description or needless fluff. You can almost always squeeze a page out of a 120-page script.

2. Make changes all at once.
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It’s tempting to fix mistakes as you catch them, but you’re likely to miss things if you’re constantly switching between error detection and error correction. Sit at the computer and go through page by page, fixing each problem you’ve found. As you go, you may spot ways to improve page breaks and other formatting niceties.

3. Fix the title page.
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This is the step I often forget, resulting in mis-dated drafts and re-exported .pdfs. If I’m doing multiple versions of a draft — for example, one with starred changes, one without, I’ll make sure the title page indicates this.

4. Save this draft and email it to yourself.
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Yes, you should have multiple backup strategies. But the self-addressed email will always work, and can be accessed from wherever you find yourself.

5. Export a .pdf — then check it.
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These days, you almost always “hand in” a draft as a .pdf by email. But make sure it actually looks right, complete with title page. If you’re friendly with the assistant on the other end, ask her to check if there’s anything you’re at all worried might print strangely, such as a title page font ((Yes, you can use a font other than Courier for the title page. But I rarely do anymore.)) or starred changes in the right margins.