Formatting

I have noticed that many films seem to depend on voice-overs,
especially films adapted from novels, I worry about overusing voice over in
my own script writing
because it seems like a kind of compensation when one can’t write the action
of a scene, or translate a character’s thoughts into a compelling visual. What
guidelines would you suggest for writing voice-overs?

–CIM

Voice-overs have a bad reputation for exactly the reasons you cite. Often,
one senses that that writer didn’t do a good job finding visuals and dialogue
to tell the story, and thus fell back on the voice-over as a crutch. And it’s
an especially pervasive problem with movies based on books, because the voice-over
is often the easiest way to translate prose to the screen.

My advice – nothing revolutionary – is to do everything you can to plan out
your story without using any voice-over at all. That means creating scenes that give the important information while moving the story forward, and using
images and moments in place of explanation.

But there are some instances where a voice-over is appropriate. BIG FISH,
which I adapted from a novel by Daniel Wallace, uses voice-over extensively,
because the movie is about unraveling the elaborate stories that a man tells.
Since storytelling is at the center of the movie, it makes sense that characters
will be narrating these tales, both on-camera and off.

What’s important is that voice-over should never replace actual scenes, nor
should it be redundant to what we do see. If a character opens a box and finds
a gun inside, the voice-over shouldn’t say, "When I opened the box, I
found a gun inside." That voice-over adds nothing, except an explanation
for the blind. But if the voice-over had said, "My uncle had many ways
of keeping us in check," then you would have changed the dynamic of the
scene in an interesting way.

Another important factor is which character is doing the voice-over. Whoever
you pick will automatically get elevated to Most Important Character status
unless you deliberately state otherwise (such as THE PRINCESS BRIDE, which
is narrated by a character outside of the world). Just make sure that whoever
gets voice-over power is worth the investment.

Finally, a pet peeve. In my opinion, movies should either use voice-over throughout
or not at all. If a movie starts with a voice-over, then never uses it again,
I get frustrated waiting for it to come back. Similarly, a voice-over that
just kicks in at the end is bewildering, because it seems to break the rules
of the movie I just watched.

I have a very simple question that has to do with secondary scene headings. I know this differs writer to writer, but let’s say you have a character who walks into a closet — how do you label it in the script? Is it:

What is the best way to go? Thanks in advance.

–Dustin Tash
The Oreogod

Of course, there’s no one best answer that’s appropriate for every situation. In most cases, I would opt for the first format, without the "moments later," which I generally save for a minor time cut. So it would look like:

This is assuming the character is in the closet long enough for there to really be a scene. That is, a few lines, or at least some dialogue. Anything less, and I might not break out the closet at all, and just let the scene description handle the location:

When in doubt, use the simplest form that works for the moment.

Can you tell me what is preferred/correct for this situation? Mabel is moving through a house (and, if necessary, outside):

INT. LIVING ROOM – DAY

Mabel searches for the cat.

INT. KITCHEN – DAY

Mabel searches for the cat.

EXT. STREET – DAY

Mabel searches for the cat.

Et cetera. Thanks very much.

–Arnold Sable

Yeah, that pretty much sucks, Arnold. Unless you are repeating the sentence for some effect, perhaps showing how intensely single-minded Mabel can be, almost anything else would be better.

The simplest choice would be to use a different scene heading that encompasses all needed locations, such as:

INT. HOUSE – VARIOUS ROOMS – DAY

Or, if you do want to show each location, try varying your descriptions of Mabel’s search so that they don’t repeat.

Finally, you could consider using a montage format:

MONTAGE as Mabel searches for the cat:

— She pulls open the dryer in the laundry room.

— Checks the kitchen cupboards.

— Searches under the porch with a flashlight.

— Pokes the broom under the sofa.

— Rechecks the kitchen cupboards again.

What format you choose really depends on the situation, and how much information you need the reader to know.

Could you please refer me to a website that gives detailed information regarding the proper format that a film script is to be written before being passed around.

–Pat Meehan

If you’re using either Highland Pro or Final Draft, you can rest assured that the standard formatting
these programs recommend is fine.

If you’re not using either of these, I suspect you’re consulting one of the many screenwriting books out there, all of which will point you in the right direction in terms of margins and spacing.

But the best advice I can give you is to do what I did: find a properly formatted script and copy it exactly. Not only will looking at real scripts show you how they’re formatted, but it will also give you a sense of how standardized the format truly is, for better or worse.

Learn more about standard screenplay formatting here!

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