SCREENWRITING TERMS

A Page - A revised page that extends beyond the original page, going onto a second page. (i.e. Page 1, 1A, 2, 3, 3A)

Action - The moving pictures we see on screen. Also, the direction given by a director indicating that filming begins.

Against - A term describing the ultimate potential payday for a writer in a film deal. $400,000 against $800,000 means that the writer is paid $400,000 when the script is finished (through rewrite and polish); when and if the movie goes into production, the writer gets an additional $400,000.

Alan Smithee - A fictional name taken by a writer or director who doesn't want their real name credited on a film.

Angle - A particular camera placement.

Approved writer - A writer whom a television network trusts to deliver a good script once hired.

Arbitration - Binding adjudication by members of a Writers Guild of America committee regarding proper onscreen writer credit of a movie; arbitration is available only to WGA members or potential WGA members.

Attached - Agreement by name actors and/or a director to be a part of the making of a movie.

Audio/Visual Script - A dual column screenplay with video description on the left and audio and dialogue on the right, used in advertising, corporate videos, documentaries and training films.

b.g. - Abbreviation for "background" (i.e. In the b.g., kids are fighting).

Back Door Pilot - A two-hour TV movie that is a setup for a TV series if ratings warrant further production.

Back End - Payment on a movie project when profits are realized.

Back Story - Experiences of a main character taking place prior to the main action, which contribute to character motivations and reactions.

Bankable - A person who can get a project financed solely by having their name is attached.

Beat - A parenthetically noted pause interrupting dialogue, denoted by (beat), for the purpose of indicating a significant shift in the direction of a scene, much in the way that a hinge connects a series of doors. For normal, non-significant pauses, it is suggested that Spec screenwriters use an ellipsis (...) to indicate the pause, avoiding the use of BEAT and PAUSE as much as possible- perhaps entirely.

Beat Sheet - An abbreviated description of the main events in a screenplay or story.

Brads - Brass fasteners used to bind a screenplay printed on three-hole paper, with Acco #5 solid brass brads generally accepted as having the highest quality.

Bump - A troublesome element in a script that negatively deflects the reader's attention away from the story.

Button - A TV writing term referring to a witty line that "tops off" a scene.

Cable - A cable television network such as HBO, or cable television in general.

Cast - The characters who are physically present in a film. These are the roles for which actors will be needed. When we talk about a role in a stageplay as being double-cast with another, it means that the same actor is expected to play both roles. This happens in film as well (e.g. Eddie Murphy), but only rarely.

CGI - Computer Generated Image; a term denoting that computers will be used to generate the full imagery.

Character - Any personified entity appearing in a film.

Character arc - The emotional progress of the characters during the story.

Character name - When any character speaks, his or her name appears on the line preceding the dialogue. In screenplays, the name is tabbed to a location that is roughly in the center of the line.

Cheat a script - Fudging the margins and spacing of a screenplay on a page (usually with a software program) in an attempt to fool the reader into thinking the script is shorter than it really is.

Close Up - A very close camera angle on a character or object.

Complication - The second act of a three-act dramatic structure, in which "the plot thickens," peaking at its end.

Conflict - The heart of drama; someone wants something and people and things keep getting in the way of them achieving the goal. At times, the obstacles can be common to both the hero and villain, and the ultimate goal a laudable one for both parties.

Continuing Dialogue - Dialogue spoken by the same character that continues uninterrupted onto the next page, marked with a (cont'd) .

Continuous Action - Included in the scene heading when moving from one scene to the next, as the action continues.

Copyright - Proof of ownership of an artistic property that comes with registering your script through the United States Register of Copyrights.

Copyright Notice - Placing ©Your Name on the Title Page of a script.

Courier 12 pitch - The main font in use in the U.S. by both publishers and the Hollywood film industry.

Development - The process of preparing a script for production.

Development Hell - The dreaded creative death malaise that occurs when the development process lasts too long.

Dialogue - The speeches between characters in a film or a play.

Draft - A version of a screenplay. Each draft of rewrites/revisions should be numbered differently.

Dual Dialog - When two characters speak simultaneously

Establishing Shot - A cinematic shot that establishes a certain location or area.

Exposition - The first act of a dramatic structure, in which the main conflict and characters are "exposed" or revealed. Also, any information about the characters, conflict or world of the play.

EXT. - Outdoors.

Extension - A technical note placed directly to the right of the Character name that denotes HOW the character's voice is heard. For example, O.S. is an extension that stands for Off-Screen.

f.g. - Abbreviation for "foreground" (i.e. In the f.g., kids are fighting).

Feature Film - A movie made primarily for distribution in theaters.

FLASHBACK - A scene from the past that interrupts the action to explain motivation or reaction of a character to the immediate scene.

Font - The look of the printed text on the page. For screenplays, Courier 12 point is the standard (a fixed font which in practical terms means than an l or an m, although the m being wider, occupy the same width of space). For stageplays, while Courier 12 point is often used, Times Roman and other proportional spaced, clearly readable fonts are also acceptable. (Proportional spaced fonts make adjustments for skinnier letters; text usually takes less space.)

Formula - This usually refers to a "sure-fire" method of structuring a script (i.e. it must include certain elements and arrive at a certain ending). For example, there have been a slew of movies where a group of misfits are thrown together and ultimately become the David that slays Goliath on the athletic field (e.g. The Bad News Bears).

FREEZE FRAME - The image on the screen stops, freezes and becomes a still shot.

Genre - The category a story or script falls into - such as: thriller, romantic comedy, action, screwball comedy

Green Light - A project OKed for production.

Header - An element of a Production Script occupying the same line as the page number, which is on the right and .5" from the top. Printed on every script page, header information includes the date of a revision and the color of the page.

Heat - Positive gossip about a project on the Hollywood grapevine.

High concept - A brief statement of a movie's basic idea that is felt to have tremendous public appeal.

Hip pocket - A casual relationship with an established agent in lieu of a signed, formal agreement of representation.

Hook - A term borrowed from songwriting that describes that thing that catches the public's attention and keeps them interested in the flow of a story.

Indie - A production company independent of major film studio financing.

INT. - Indoors.

Intercut - A script instruction denoting that the action moves back and forth between two or more scenes.

Interrupt - When one character cuts off another character's dialogue, sometimes marked with an ... but better marked with an em dash (--).

Line Reading - When a director gives an actor a specific way to perform a line of dialogue.

Locked Pages - A software term for finalized screenplay pages that are handed out to the department heads and talent in preparation for production.

Logline - A "25 words or less" description of a screenplay.

M.O.S. - Without sound, so described because a German-born director wanting a scene with no sound told the crew to shoot "mit out sound."

Manuscript - A script before it has been published.

Manuscript Format - The ideal submission format in the United States and in a number of other countries, with character names centered and CAPS before their dialogue, and indented stage directions.

Master Scene Script - A script formatted without scene numbering (the usual format for a spec screenplay).

Match Cut - A transition in which something in the scene that follows in some way directly matches a character or object in the previous scene.

Miniseries - A long-form movie of three hours or more shown on successive nights or weeks on U.S. television networks.

Montage - A cinematic device used to show a series of scenes, all related and building to some conclusion.

Movie of the Week - Also known as an "MOW," a movie made primarily for broadcast on a television or cable network.

Multimedia - Writing and filmmaking encompassing more than one medium at a time which, script-wise, usually refers to CD-ROM games or Internet-based programming.

Multiple Casting - When an actor plays more than one character.

Notes - Ideas about a screenplay shared with a screenwriter by someone responsible for moving the script forward into production, which the screenwriter is generally expected to use to revise the screenplay. .

Numbered Scenes - Numbers that appear to the right and left of the scene heading to aid the Assistant Director in breaking down the scenes for scheduling and production.

O.C. - Abbreviation for Off Camera, denoting that the speaker is resident within the scene but not seen by the camera.

O.S. - Abbreviation for Off Screen, denoting that the speaker is not resident within the scene.

One-hour Episodic - A screenplay for a television show whose episodes fill a one-hour time slot, week to week.

Opening Credits - Onscreen text describing the most important people involved in the making of a movie.

Option - The securing of the rights to a screenplay for a given length of time.

Package - The assembly of the basic elements necessary to secure financing for a film.

PAN - A camera direction indicating a stationary camera that pivots back and forth or up and down.

Parenthetical - Also known as a "wryly" because of the propensity of amateur screenwriters to try to accent a character's speech -- as in BOB (wryly) -- an inflection to a speech noted by a writer. Of course, in stageplays, all stage directions (at least in Manuscript Format) are in parentheses, but "directing off the page," as it's often called, is equally frowned upon.

Pass - A rejection of a property by a potential producer or an agent.

Pitch - To verbally describe a property to a potential buyer in the hope it will be bought.

Points - Percentage participation in the profits of a film.

Polish - In theory, to rewrite a few scenes in a script to improve them. In practice, a screenwriter is often expected to do a complete rewrite of a script for the price of a polish.

POV - Point of View; a camera angle placed so as to seem the camera is the eyes of a character.

Producer - The person or entity financially responsible for a film production.

Production Script - A script in which no more major changes or rewrites is anticipated to occur, which is used day by day for filming on a movie set.

Property - Any intellectual property in any form (including a book or screenplay) that might form the basis of a movie.

Query - A method of submission in which a writer approaches a producer or agent with a brief letter, accompanied by a synopsis and sample pages.

Reader (aka Script Reader) - A person who reads screenplays for a production company and writes a report about them, often being paid per report.

Register of Copyrights - The US government office that registers intellectual property (e.g. scripts), necessary prior to filing a claim for copyright infringement in court.

Release - A legal document given to unrepresented writers for signing by agents, producers or production companies, absolving said entities of legal liability.

Resolution - The third act of a dramatic structure, in which the conflict comes to some kind of conclusion: the protagonist either gets it or doesn't.

Reversal - A place in the plot where a character achieves the opposite of his aim, resulting in a change from good fortune to bad fortune.

Revised Pages - Changes are made to the script after the initial circulation of the Production Script, which are different in color and incorporated into the script without displacing or rearranging the original, unrevised pages.

Romantic comedy - Also known as a "romcom," a comedic movie in which the main story resolves around a romance.

Scene - Action taking place in one location and in a distinct time that (hopefully) moves the story to the next element of the story.

Scene Heading - A short description of the location and time of day of a scene, also known as a "slugline." For example: EXT. MOUNTAIN CABIN - DAY would denote that the action takes place outside a mountain cabin during daylight hours.

Screenwriter - The most important and most abused person in Hollywood. The screenwriter writes the script that provides the foundation for the film, though it may go through any number of changes, both in the rewriting process before production, during production, and in the editing process afterward.

Script - The blueprint or roadmap that outlines a movie story through visual descriptions, actions of characters and their dialogue. The term "script" also applies to stageplays as well.

Script cover - What protects the script on its travels between the writer and its many potential readers.

Script Writing Software - Computer software designed specifically to format and aide in the writing of screenplays and teleplays.

Set - The physical elements that are constructed or arranged to create a sense of place.

Setting - The time and place of a screenplay.

Screening - The showing of a film for test audiences and/or people involved in the making of the movie.

SFX - Abbreviation for Sound Effects.

Shooting Script - A script that has been prepared to be put into production.

Shot - What the camera sees. For example, TRACKING SHOT would mean that the camera is following a character or character as he walks in a scene. WIDE SHOT would mean that we see every character that appears in the scene, all at once.

Simultaneous Dialogue - When two characters speak at the same time, written in two columns side by side.

Situation comedy - Also known as a "sitcom," a normally 30-minute (in the United States) comedic television show revolving around funny situations the main characters repeatedly fall into.

Slugline - Another name for the SCENE HEADING

SMASH CUT - A quick or sudden cut from one scene to another.

Soap Opera - Daytime dramas so named because they were originally sponsored by the makers of laundry detergent in the early days of television.

Spec Script - A script written without being commissioned on the speculative hope that it will be sold.

SPFX - Abbreviation for Special Effects.

Split Screen - A screen with different scenes taking place in two or more sections; the scenes are usually interactive, as in the depiction of two sides of a phone conversation.

Stock Shot - A sequence of film previously shot and available for purchase and use from a film library.

Submission - Name for a script once it is submitted to producers or agents.

SUPER - Abbreviation for "superimpose" meaning the laying one image on top of another, usually words over a filmed scene (i.e. Berlin, 1945).

Synopsis - A two to three page, double-spaced description of a screenplay.

Tag - A short scene at the end of a movie that usually provides some upbeat addition to the climax.

The Business - Show business in general; more specifically, Hollywood moviemaking and television business.

Thriller - A fast-paced, high stakes crime story in which the protagonist is generally in danger at every turn, with the most danger coming in the final confrontation with the antagonist.

Ticking Clock - A dramatic device in which some event looming in the near future requires that the conflict reach a speedy resolution (hence, the ticking clock).

TITLE - Text that appears onscreen denoting a key element of the movie, a change of location or date, or person involved in the making of the movie.

Title Page - A page of the script that contains the title and the author's contact information.

Transition - A script notation denoting an editing transition within the telling of a story.

Treatment - A scene by scene description of a screenplay, minus all or most of the dialogue.

Tweak - A minor change made in a scene or portion of a screenplay or a stageplay.

Unsolicited Script - A method of script submission in which the writer sends the script, without prior contact, to the theater or production company.

V.O. - Abbreviation for Voice Over, denoting that the speaker is narrating the action onscreen.

WGA Signatory - An agent, producer or production company that has signed an agreement to abide by established agreements with the Writers Guild of America.

Writers Guild of America - Also known as "the WGA." The main union for screenwriters in the United States, with chapters in Los Angeles and New York.