John August

Words on the page

Including illustrations with your screenplay

QandA, Words on the page

questionmark
I know it’s a big no-no to include drawings or images in your screenplay, but is it ever okay in certain circumstances?

For example: I’m writing a script where the town that the story is set in is integral to the plot. A fight breaks out there in key sections of the town’s layout and it is all very well co-ordinated.

In this case, is it possible to include a small map of the town’s layout?

I’ve tried describing the town and its layout in detail, but it ends up at over 3 pages…and that’s condensed. Surely a small map could help the reader better understand the details of the action scenes?

–Matt

answer iconI recently read the first few books of [THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=johnaugustcom-20&path=tg/detail/-/0689859368/qid%3D1089740079/sr%3D1-2″), and sighed with nostalgic longing at the map on page two which shows the layout of the little town. The author/illustrators had gotten it just right. I immediately flashed-back to my sunbeam days of youth, as an eager young reader flipping to the map to figure out what route Bobby would take to get to the Old Mill.

Cut to the present. I’m going to stick to my guns and say it’s never okay to include drawings with a screenplay. For as often as screenwriting is compared to architecture, there’s one crucial difference: it’s not really architecture. With clever descriptions, the screenwriter gets to evoke the feeling of a small town, with its lazy cobblestone streets and general store on the corner. But you’re not allowed to literally draw the map.

I know that for something like a fight sequence, a schematic might make life a lot easier, but words are all you get. Focus on the emotion and story moments of the fight, not the logistics, and everyone will be better served.

Ratio of pages to screen time

QandA, Words on the page

How do you (roughly) calculate the ratio of script length to screen time?
Would you use a different calculation for different genres?

–Rebecca

The very general rule is that a page in the script should equal a minute of screen time, which is one reason the industry has standardized around 12-point Courier for the font. Since most screenplays are around 120 pages, the movie should work out to be 120 minutes, or two hours, assuming every scene in the script makes it into the movie.

Of course, a page full of action would likely take longer than a minute, just as a page of rapid-fire dialogue would be a lot faster. That’s why before a movie goes into production, the script is often “timed” to estimate how long the movie will be, so the director and producers can plan accordingly.

A “script timer” is a professional reader who estimates how long each scene will play, and thus, the length of the overall movie. Generally, the script timer will take into account the director’s vision and style when timing the scenes; the David Lynch version of a scene would tend to run longer than the Michael Bay version.

Many script timers are in fact the script supervisors, who will be set during the entire production helping the director, actors and editors maintain continuity and catch mistakes. From the screenwriter’s perspective, this is one of the most important people on the set, since he or she always has the director’s ear, and will be the person correcting actors who mangle their lines.

Do I have to write the courtroom scene?

QandA, Words on the page

I am writing a screenplay that has a court room sequence.
Since I find it hard to write lawyer lingo, I figured that I could write the
sequence in a
voice over and have the actors do their thing as I write it out or as the director
sees fit.

–Scott

I hate to burst your bubble, but those lengthy courtroom sequences every week
on "Law and Order" — the ones where Sam Waterston cleverly gets
the witness to screw up on the stand — someone actually has to write all of
those. Every word, every comma. Waterston is a talented actor, but he doesn’t
come up with a single thing he says. Neither does the director. It’s all in
the script, and it’s really, really hard to write.

The same holds true for every line spoken in every movie you’ve ever seen,
with the exception of a few improvised comedies and Dogma experiments.

If you find it impossibly difficult to write lawyer lingo, I can think of
a few options:

  1. restructure the story so you don’t need the courtroom stuff
    at all,

  2. get someone to help you, or
  3. tell a different story, one without
    lawyers.

Transitions

QandA, Words on the page

Ordinarily, the scripts I tend to write are by nature
shooting scripts. In all probability its due to the fact that I know that
I’m going to be the one
directing them, so they’re very "CUT TO" and "FADE TO" heavy.
However, I’ve recently been entertaining the idea of entering a few in screenwriting
contests and most of the feedback I’ve received from peers has been that shooting
scripts are often dismissed as being "unprofessional."
Have you found this to be the case? If so, what sorts of things need to be
avoided and why?

–Richard

It’s truly a matter of personal style. I’ll explain how I approach it, but
you should know that there is not one right answer.

I use "CUT TO:" when it’s meant to be an especially blunt transition.
The classic and bad example is when a character says, "I will never, ever
get on a train." CUT TO: He’s on a train. (This is a situation where some
writers use, "SMASH CUT TO:", but that’s always seemed tacky to me,
like a cymbal crash.)

CUT TO: is also helpful when you’re finishing up a series of short scenes in one location, and then need to make it clear to the reader that you’re jumping
to a new place and time.

Overuse of fades can feel like the writer is trying to "direct from the
page," generally a no-no. One or two in a script won’t raise any hackles.
Fifteen will. So be judicious.