In screenwriting, the use of “INTERIOR” and “EXT” is crucial to convey the location of a scene. The first element of the scene heading, INT/EXT, is used to describe the location of a scene, either interior (INT.) or exterior (EXT.). The major location provides a general area, while the minor location provides a more specific understanding of the immediate area. Scene headings detail where we are in the script, whether it’s inside (EXT. or INT.) and at which location. The only place to use EXT/INT or INT/EXT is in the slugline for a montage, indicating that some scenes are interior and some are exterior.
The Screenwriting Industry Standard abbreviates “INTER” as “interior”, “EXT”. stands for “exterior”, and is used to describe scenes that take place outside or in open spaces. When writing a scene heading with “EXT”., specify once per character where they’re at in the dialog. If the scene involves exterior action, such as two cars racing down a street or someone standing on a car, it’s EXT.
Locations play an indispensable role in a screenplay, but their significance can be overlooked because they do not move like characters. Mastering screenplay format is essential to elevate your script and captivate audiences. A slug line, also known as a scene heading, establishes the setting of each scene and allows readers to know when a new scene begins and where and when it takes place.
📹 3 Rules Beginning Screenwriters Need To Know – Dr. Ken Atchity
In this Film Courage video interview, producer/author Dr. Ken Atchity shares his 3 rules beginning screenwriters must know.
What is interior and exterior in film?
“INT” stands for interior scenes, taking place within enclosed spaces, and “EXT” denotes exterior scenes set in the outdoors. These distinctions are crucial in guiding the production team through the intricacies of filmmaking. Mastering these scene headings will enable effective communication of creative vision and contribute to the seamless storytelling process. As you continue your cinematic endeavors, embrace the power of “INT” and “EXT” in your screenplays to guide your storytelling adventures.
Is a scene in a car interior or exterior?
In a screenplay, it is important to distinguish between an interior scene and an exterior scene. Some screenwriters add phrases like “MOVING” to create a busy slug line, but the scene description should convey the character is driving. Other additions include “SAME” or “LATER” to indicate that the scene takes place within the same moment of the previous scene. Using terms like “EARLY MORNING” or “DAWN” should only be used if they are partial to the story, such as in a vampire movie script. However, a simple “DAY” or “NIGHT” is sufficient. The scene description can also be used to convey other information like the time of day.
What does exterior mean in a screenplay?
The initial component of scene headings, INT/EXT, is employed to ascertain the geographical position of a scene, whether it is situated within an interior or exterior setting. It should be noted that master or primary scene headings include this element, whereas secondary scene headings or sluglines may not always include this delineation. A secondary subheading or slug may be followed by a period and a location.
What does interior and exterior mean in a script?
The initial component of the slugline (master scene heading) comprises “Interior,” which pertains to indoor settings, and “Exterior,” which pertains to outdoor settings.
How do you write a location in a script?
Scene headings are used to introduce new locations in a script, typically in all capital letters. They begin with the location name, followed by a hyphen (-) and the words “day or night”. They also indicate whether the scene takes place in the interior or exterior of the location.
A description is a brief paragraph that introduces the scene’s setting, character appearance, and initial actions. It is usually written in an active voice in the present tense and should be visible to the audience. Extraneous details should be communicated or eliminated. Descriptions begin on the left margin in conventional screenplay format.
What is the meaning of exterior place?
The exterior walls of the building require repainting, and the exterior is unadorned. The exterior of the tooth is composed of a highly durable enamel material. The exterior is located on the external surface.
What is an example of exterior?
Exterior house paint is formulated for use on the shingles or siding of a home, rather than the walls. Similarly, the exterior finish of a vehicle is also located on the exterior. The term “exterior” has its etymological roots in the Latin word “exterus,” which signifies “on the outside, outward, or foreign.” In addition, the term “exterior” can be used to describe something that is located in or appropriate for an outdoor setting or within a building.
Is a car interior or exterior in script writing?
While the rule is not absolute, it is recommended that if the scene is unambiguously either interior or exterior, the appropriate designation be applied. To illustrate, if a film is centered on a family confronting a mind-control device and the characters, who are approximately one centimeter in height, are traversing from their vehicle to the front, the scene is likely to be confined to the interior.
What is exterior vs interior space?
Interior designers endeavor to fulfill the needs of occupants, whereas exterior design strives to create an aesthetically pleasing and captivating structure that commands attention, with the objective of developing a functional environment.
How do you mention a location in writing?
To effectively describe a place in a story, consider six tips: describing it through characters’ senses, including time periods, small-scale changes in time, showing how characters feel about the setting, keeping the setting description relevant to the story, and listing adjectives to describe story locations.
- Describe place through characters’ senses: We feel connected to a place when we see it through their senses, such as sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Using every sense might not make sense for your book, but it’s possible to create a vivid image in your reader’s mind. For example, in Roald Dahl’s children’s classic, set in a sweet factory full of wonder, even the edible wallpaper makes sense.
What is the correct way to write a location?
The recipient’s first and last name, street number, apartment or unit number, city, state, zip code, and country are all essential components of an address. To ensure proper delivery, include the recipient’s first and last name, and if sending to multiple people, include both first and last names. This information helps in understanding the purpose and location of the package or delivery.
📹 Screenwriting 101
▽ Timestamps ▽ » 0:00 – Intro » 0:45 – Concept » 2:31 – Log Line » 4:03 – Structure » 7:03 – Formatting » 10:53 – Scriptment …
I confess, I’ve never really thought of the audience as the most important character, or any character at all! Now that I’ve spent a couple of minutes thinking about it, it seems obvious that this is the correct approach. I’m going to try and see every scene through the eyes of an audience – what they would think/feel – and hopefully it will make a positive difference to my writing!
As an audience, I disagree…I absolutely HATE when something is coming out of the blue, completely illogical and makes no sense. I cringe and get frustrated because I feel exactly like somebody thought that I thought I paid MY FUCKING MONEY just to be scared and not enjoy the complexity of the movie like a person with a brain. And I’m not trying to deny this man’s knowledge I just give my personal opinion as an audience member.
“Do you think of the audience as the most important character?” Nope. My opinion is, the audience is a very important collaborator. They are above the most important character, they are creators as well, since they’re experiencing and interpreting the story (how they read/watch/play show how the story is perceived by other people). Again, it’s MY impression when I interact with them, not necessarily a “universal truth”.
When writing/ directing a character I need to be able to relate to their behavior and action as if it was me myself in that situation and a lot of directors and writers fail at presenting that to the audience…you get more fear and scare out of them trying logically make the best decision only to fail.
I tend to struggle mightily if I try to write for the amorphous blob that is “the audience” but I have tremendous success if I can narrow my focus to an individual to be my audience, like trying to write a short story my mom would enjoy reading and having her in mind throughout that writing process.
I don’t think him saying the audience is the main character means in any notion that as a writer you need to care about specifically what people are going to think and although that is important in its own way, I believe what he means is you want to make sure your audience feels a connection to the main character/characters. therefore there’s a projection onto the audience that creates an a understanding to the story. The main character and the audience should definitely feel like one. It’s like when we watch a movie, for example, “back the future”. we get to see everything through the visuals of of our main character’s,Marty’s life. His daily morning, his relationships, his problem, how he gets through it. just to make you feel like “wow I can’t even imagine trying to just start off my day and getting blasted into 1955.” You want the audience to experience this adventure with him. You NEED the audience to become him. I thought this was excellent advice. Thoughts?
I’m not 100% convinced we should think of the audience as a ‘character’. But I do think we need to give their views and expectations a great deal of credence. I mean, a show like Mr. Robot did treat its audience like a character and in my view, they did it successfully. But maybe I’m wrong, and this is now more important in the age of streaming and VOD. I have no problem with the idea of treating the audience as a voyeur.
I strongly disagree. If a character acts illogical for the sake of drama, many people are going to lose immersion and tune out. A good writer is able to have a character make sensible choices that are consistent with their internal desires and emotional state while still bring the story to a dramatic high. Put it this way, would you be more engrossed (tense, frightened, afraid etc) if a character uses all their cunning and logic and still struggles to reach their goal, or would you rather have you character go down the dark alleyway all alone for the sake of “drama.” Ken seems to be under the impression that characterisation and drama aren’t linked, but they are. It doesn’t matter what is happening on screen, my emotional reaction is going to be in proportion to how much I care about the characters. If you characterise your protagonist as lacking the basic desire to take steps to preserve their own life then even If they are being chased through a haunted house by a knife wielding maniac I won’t feel anything in relation to your movie, because I won’t have any investment in the characters. Ken’s advice relies on the idea that the audience is stupid. It’s hack advice for hack writers. If you truly want to create drama in your script you have to work out a way to incorporate it naturally. That’s what good writers do. Ken’s advice is hack advice for hack writers. Not all writers are equal so don’t assume he knows his stuff just because he’s appearing on a YouTube website. He’s a producer not a writer.
The man is right. However: Chronological Order is part of the film, so it does need to be took into consideration, as it can give the audience different perception on events. Phycological order needs to work to, as the fear the character faces is directly to do with the earlier instances heightening and leading to the climax. For the example he gave of the girl not checking the flashlight, this may relate to what the man was talking about. If there are details of her being stupid and clumsy beforehand, you can expect the films logic plays a big role in making her do actions that best portray her character
No. What’s he going on about? He’s saying that the audience will both question what characters are doing, and that they will keep perusal because it’s a movie. How many terrible movies follow that advice? How many people complain when characters do something unmotivated or plain dumb because it’s a movie. Dumb characters are so hard to want to see succeed, because they come off as following the plot. you want something scary? The character does everything right, everything that the audience would do, and still loses. We cheer when dumb characters in movies die.
1 & 2 definitely but #3? how did ‘star wars’ or ‘predator’ used the audience? if not to shock them; for drama i would say yes but sci-fi and even action, that rule is out; now you have to be aggressive about ideas because most have already shown (unless you have great actors people will pay to watch regardless lol see Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep or Jim Carey for that matter!
Very interesting. Not the script advice but the people walking around in the background. Remember, everything must be connected to everything else. Who was that old boy doddering in and out of shot? Is he related to the younger plump women who appears after? What exactly is going on behind the book case?
This is really poor advice. Really, the most important element is always the characters and the plot. Based on amazon reviews of this bald guys books “I am glad I did not spend a penny on it. Slow plot, shallow characterizarions, and a strong distaste for the direction taken by the author. Sorry I wasted my time reading it.” and “If zero stars were possible that would be my rating.” nobody should listen to what he says about making a movie.
I’ll just say what I think. I played a lot of games and watched a lot of shows and from my perspective, striking a good balance between the dynamics(action, music, visuals, etc.) and dialogue keeps things interesting. Add a flavor of unpredictability and it’s gonna be like striking gold every time the audience get surprised; That’s if the content garnered the audience’s trust in the first place. Teasing, pleasing, sharing, and caring is what I think will make a great story. In a way you’re still speaking to your audience; It’s just fancy words and complimentary factors.
That is once again, total bullshit. YES a novelist can say something on page 1 that does not connect to what is said on page 158, but just bc you have permission to be an idiot rather than a decent novelist IN NO WAY makes that a good idea. And since that is NOT a good idea either for a novel or a screenplay, it does not allow any screenwriter, including this one, to imagine they are somehow above it all or must adhere to some higher cause or that screenwriting is somehow more noble than writing novels, or more difficult. IT ISN’T. The penalties for not being consistent and coherent are just as severe for a novelist as they are for any other serious writer. A screenwriter has to be able to write dialogue and action. A novelist has to be able to write dialogue, action, AND narrative. A screenwriter does not have to make dialogue or action work ‘on the page’. That is left up to those they hand it off to. The skillset for literature is much stronger and the bar is much higher. Novelists can’t hand what they create off to collaborators to shoulder the burden. They can’t phone everything in. They can’t rely on a director or producer or rewriter to fix what does not work the way it should. They have to be good at all aspects of storytelling rather than just one or two. All good stories connect everything together, and that is just as important in a novel as it is anywhere else. Every good story in novel form is consistent and coherent, all moments in subplots are relevant to all the other moments, subplots, and main plots, and everything that happens is significant to the story.
I know he’s just giving an off the cuff example. But, no. I’m not scared. Because hollywood has used the same predictable trick too many times. Many times i’ll make a joke about a movie or show. Like ya know “The good guy in all black named The Darkling is actually evil.” And by the end i’m mad or bored. Because my “jokes” actually predicted the movie or show.
The problem with films is that most of it is fan service and sensationalism none of it is believable, real, relatable. I say F*ck the audience as the main character. Im trying to make art and something original. If they don’t like it f*ck em. People don’t like oscar best picture movies. You can’t please everybody so there’s no point in trying to keep them in mind 24/7. If you’re pleased with what you wrote someone else will be pleased with story.
I hate it when they do the things that are obvious in movies It’s like they pulled a can off the shelf in Hollywood ok feed them this! I hate to already know which way the story is already going! I like to be surprised I’d rather see her not go up the step cause I know thats stupid and there’s a million films that do that same thing and it’s boring! BORING, TRICK ME GO LEFT INSTEAD OF RIGHT! Have her do something logical and the birds out smart her and catch her a totally different way! So in your mind it made sense to not go up the steps thats stupid! Show her run to the basement and they come though a broken pipe we saw her trying to fix in the middle of the movie before the birds went crazy! When we were just being introduced to her! Working around the house! I like to be fooled!
I agree that as examples of what he’s talking about go, the scene from “The Birds” might have been a poor choice. I just meant that, to me, the principle is sound. Your reaction to that particular scene kind of proves the point. It may have made sense to Hitch (the turmoil of his relationship to Tippi may have been a factor there) to send her character into the attic, but you (and many others) are lost to explain the action, and forcibly expelled from the story when they were supposed to be enthralled by it. However you feel about Hitchcock, you will find many examples of this principle in his work. How well they work in his oeuvre (as with all art) is subject to personal taste.
Great interview but I’d have to disagree with the example of the red & blue cap. It can be subtle or on the nose, but using that style of visual communication develops the breadth of emotions attached to the character and said characters reactions to the events on screen. Obviously this guy knows 100x more about writing than I do, but it’s food for thought.
My rule in Screenwriting is to break all the rules. I am a non-conformist and that is why I am a wealthy Engineer and Land Developer. Maybe my screenplay will take off. I am spending thousands for professionals to help me. I never do anything mediocre. I got a 7/10 from PAGE Awards for commercial success. Not bad for 30 days of writing for a 1st script. It did not suck.