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Sluglines and Similar locations

Hey all,
I'm working on a new script right now and I have question about scene headings. I've got a character that moves, so there are many similar headings. for instance. in the beginning of the script a heading may be:

EXT. ETHAN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Later in the script he moves to a new home so how would I label his new bedroom (which will be his bedroom for the remainder of the script)? Would I label them both with "ETHAN'S BEDROOM", or give his initial house a heading like this:

EXT. ETHAN'S BEDROOM, HOUSE 1 - NIGHT

And give his new room the notation "HOUSE 2" or would that be bad form? How does one differentiate similar locations?

Also, when doing a scene with a car, would it be labeled INT or EXT? Say perhaps the scene may be shot cutting from interior angles and exterior angles of a crowd walking around a car with a guy in it. How would I label the scene heading so the whole sequence could just be written as one big description, and leave it up to the director/DP to decide where to shoot the angles from, whether looking out from inside the car or in from the outside?

Thanks!
 
Congrats on the new...

Hey all,
I'm working on a new script right now and I have question about scene headings. I've got a character that moves, so there are many similar headings. for instance. in the beginning of the script a heading may be:

EXT. ETHAN'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Later in the script he moves to a new home so how would I label his new bedroom (which will be his bedroom for the remainder of the script)? Would I label them both with "ETHAN'S BEDROOM", or give his initial house a heading like this:

EXT. ETHAN'S BEDROOM, HOUSE 1 - NIGHT

And give his new room the notation "HOUSE 2" or would that be bad form? How does one differentiate similar locations?

Also, when doing a scene with a car, would it be labeled INT or EXT? Say perhaps the scene may be shot cutting from interior angles and exterior angles of a crowd walking around a car with a guy in it. How would I label the scene heading so the whole sequence could just be written as one big description, and leave it up to the director/DP to decide where to shoot the angles from, whether looking out from inside the car or in from the outside?

Thanks!

script.

In your first question about the houses... I wouldn't use HOUSE 1 or HOUSE 2. Where are the houses? If they're located in two different cities or towns, you can differentiate between the two based on that. What are the style of the homes? If one was ranch style and one was a bungalow, you could use that...

For example...

EXT. BUNGALOW HOUSE - DAY

EXT. RANCH STYLE HOUSE - DAY

Or... Based on their locations...

EXT. BUNGALOW HOUSE PASADENA - DAY

EXT. RANCH STYLE HOUSE SAN DIEGO - DAY

As for moving throughout the house, use subheadings -- also known as secondary sluglines. Like this...

EXT. RANCH STYLE HOUSE SAN DIEGO - DAY

Ethan enters...

INT. RANCH STYLE HOUSE SAN DIEGO

...shuffles through the

LIVING ROOM

past the massive MOOSE HEAD hanging over the fireplace
on his way to his new

BEDROOM

and flops down on the bed.

As for the scenes with a car -- INT. or EXT. -- depends on the scene. If the ACTION takes place inside the car then clearly, you use INT. If the action takes place outside of the car, then it would be EXT. but not EXT. CAR. It would be EXT. LOCATION -- i.e., where the car is located.

However...

Let's say you were having some action taking place inside and outside of the car but also ON the car somehow... For instance, if a character climbed outside the window while the car was driving and pulls themselves up on the hood. Then you COULD go ahead and use EXT. CAR but you could still use EXT. LOCATION if you wanted. The action/description is what will make us understand MORE about the location as long as you write it correctly.

filmy
 
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