Sample PDF of the Hollywood Standard..2nd edition

THE HOLLYWOOD

STANDARD Second Edition

THE COMPLETE AND AUTHORITATIVE GUIDE TO SCRIPT FORMAT AND STYLE

CHRISTOPHER RILEY

CONTENTS

CONTENTS Introduction Quick Start Guide Avoiding a Dozen Deadly Formatting Mistakes FAQs about Ten Things and Deadly Mistakes

Spec Scripts vs. Production Drafts Single-Camera Film Format The four building blocks of single-camera film format Margins and fonts for single-camera film format Standard single-camera film format margins Are script pages printed on one side of the page or two? Script page template

Shot Headings An important caveat The five parts of a shot heading Interior or exterior Location Type of shot Closeup Extreme closeup vii

THE HOLLYWOOD STANDARD / RILEY

Insert shot Wide shot Medium shot Two and three shot Establishing shot Tracking and moving shot Aerial shot Underwater shot New angle Up angle and down angle High angle and low angle Reverse angle POV shot Handheld shot Subject of shot Time of day How to arrange the information in a shot heading How to decide what information to include in shot headings How to decide when to create a new shot heading What NOT to include in a shot heading Formatting specialized sequences Flashbacks and dream sequences Ending a flashback or dream sequence Montages and series of shots viii

CONTENTS

Intercut sequences Split screen sequences Capitalizing McDonald’s and DeVries in shot headings Breaking a page after a shot heading Spacing between shots and scenes A rogues’ gallery of nonstandard shot headings FAQs about shot headings

Direction Paragraphing in direction Breaking a page in the middle of direction Capitalization in direction Introducing a speaking character How to handle the reintroduction of a speaking character who appears at various ages Describing sound effects and offscreen sounds Describing camera direction The expressions “into frame,” “out of frame,” “into view” and “out of view” Freeze frame A handful of exceptions to prove the rule Superimpositions Ad libs Capitalized abbreviations Signs, banners and headlines ix

THE HOLLYWOOD STANDARD / RILEY

Capitalizing the first letter of direction following a shot heading What NOT to capitalize: EVERYTHING ELSE Underscoring in direction Text messages and instant messages Caller ID Email FAQs about direction

Dialogue Character name over dialogue Changing a character’s name over dialogue Numbered names over dialogue Group names over dialogue Capitalizing McDonald’s and DeVries over dialogue V.O. and O.S.: When we don’t see the person talking Using “voice” instead of V.O. and O.S. The words that are spoken Grammar, accents and colloquial speech Emphasizing words in dialogue Initials and acronyms in dialogue Breaking words with a hyphen in dialogue Parenthetical character direction Five rules of parenthetical character direction Sotto voce, beat, re: Foreign language dialogue and subtitles x

CONTENTS

Song lyrics in dialogue Breaking a page in the middle of dialogue Adding (cont’d), (CONT’D) or (continuing) when a speech is broken by direction Double, triple and quadruple dialogue Margins for simultaneous dialogue Two simultaneous speakers Three simultaneous speakers Four simultaneous speakers FAQs about dialogue

Transitions Fades Cuts Dissolves Wipes Breaking a page at a transition

Punctuation Period Ellipsis Dash Hyphen Quotation marks Underscoring Punctuation and capitalization in direct address xi

THE HOLLYWOOD STANDARD / RILEY

The Evolution of a Script from First Draft to Production Draft CONTINUEDs at the tops and bottoms of pages Scene numbers When scene numbers are locked Omitted scenes Numbering “A” scenes Colored paper Revision marks Full drafts vs. revised pages Revision slugs Deleting material from revised pages “A” pages Runs of revised pages Managing page numbers when a script is revised Title pages distributed with revisions

Special Pages Title pages Title Name(s) and credit of the writer(s) Name Credit Contact information Draft and date xii

CONTENTS

Copyright notice When a script is based on other material or on a true story Cast pages Sets pages First pages Last pages Act breaks

Multi-Camera Film Format A million-dollar tip Standard multi-camera film format margins Shot headings Direction Underscoring character entrances and exits Underscoring camera direction Dialogue Using (CONT’D) when dialogue continues after an interruption Parenthetical character direction Transitions Sound cues Character listings Scene numbers or letters First page of a scene Subsequent pages xiii

THE HOLLYWOOD STANDARD / RILEY

First pages of acts Page one First pages of subsequent acts Last page of each act Breaking pages No CONTINUEDs Breaking dialogue Breaking direction Breaking near a sound cue Breaking near a shot heading Breaking before a scene transition

Unleashing the Power of Script Typing Software Back in the day Flash forward to the wireless future What computers can’t do Choosing the right software Do-it-yourself software solutions Commercial script software Don’t let the autopilot fly you into the ground Mac vs. PC Printers Backup While you’re writing When you quit for the day xiv

CONTENTS

At least once a week File-naming protocol When to change the file version number

Search and Destroy: The Scourge of Typos and the Power of Proofreading A Final Word Appendix A: Single-camera film format sample script pages Appendix B: Multi-camera film format sample script pages Appendix C: Title, cast and sets sample pages Index About the Author

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