Formatting

How should I incorporate titles regarding date, time, location, etc. into a script for the viewer to read on the screen when the movie is complete?

–DJ

Anything that needs to be printed on screen (that is, it’s not part of the set or other design) is preceded by two magic words —

TITLE OVER:

You then center whatever information you want to appear on screen, be it the location, the time, whatever. Unless you’re doing a long, Star Wars-style crawl, this should be all you need.

For GO, there was a “RONNA” at the head of her section. In the second CHARLIE’S ANGELS, one title read:

NORTHERN MONGOLIA, NEAR THE SIBERIAN BORDER.

As opposed to Southern Mongolia, which is totally different.

That said, you probably don’t need to label every new location you visit, a la “The X-Files”. Always ask yourself whether the moment would be just as clear without printing anything on the screen. And you certainly shouldn’t include any titles that are really just credits, such as “A FILM BY DJ SMITH.” (And frankly, I believe no one should ever use that credit, because it cheapens the contribution of everyone else who worked on the film.)

Some writers really frown on using titles, because they feel that it’s the director’s prerogative whether or not they’re needed. I disagree. If it helps the reader understand the flow of the story, and makes the script read more like the final movie you want to make, by all means use them.

I have a character name question. Without giving anything away, I wrote a
screenplay that involves one character that has to use two names during the
duration of the script. You could probably say the same for when Superman or
Batman are Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne. What I was doing was just using the name
that the character is at that time.
My question is – am I right? I figured since I give an explanation a head
of time, that I could easily just call the character by his name or alias,
and there would be no confusion.

–Andy

You’re right in assuming that the most important thing is to avoid confusing
the reader. Every script finds its own way of doing things, so there’s no hard
and fast rule. If I were writing the next BATMAN, I suspect I would call use "Bruce
Wayne" when refering to the awkward billionaire, and "Batman" when
refering to the Caped Crusader. In a movie like this, the two different versions
of the character rarely appear in the same scene, so it would probably be less
confusing.

In the case of a movie like TOOTSIE, I’ve never read the original script,
but I suspect that when Dustin Hoffman’s character is dressed as either a man
or a woman, the script refers to him as Michael. When he’s in drag, his dialogue
headers probably read like, "MICHAEL (as DOROTHY)" to make it clear
which persona he’s playing at the time.

In the case of a movie like FIGHT CLUB (warning, spoilers
follow), since
the reveal that Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are actually the same person comes
so late in the story, you would obviously treat them like two completely separate
people.

I have written a few short stories that turn out to be 5
or 10 minutes. Now I am currently in the middle of writing a full-length screenplay
and was wondering,
what is a good amount for a full length? I heard that there is an amount that,
if it is under, studios will not except it. Is that true, and if so,
what is that amount?

–Ross

Most of the time, you’ll hear 120 pages, which is a good rule of thumb. Honestly,
a script could be anywhere from 100 to 145 pages and still be a reasonable-length
movie, but the majority of scripts that go into production fall between 110
and 120 pages. That’s generally what I aim for.

I thought it was Hollywood urban legend, but Warner Bros. actually has in
their screenwriter contract that a feature-length screenplay can’t come in
at more than 120 pages. I suspect they made an exception for the recent Harry
Potter movie, which based its running time, probably weighed in at more than
140 pages.