Explain the conventions of script, outline what each convention is and what is expected to
be in each.
Title Page:
The picture on the left is the title page from my script. The title page is seen at the front of every script, and it informs the reader of a few things. One of the things is that it lets us know what the movie is called; in this case, we can see it is Hidden Windows. The title is written in bold, and in this case is significantly larger than the rest of the text. In some other scripts, the writer may keep the font the same size and just underline it instead. Below it, we find the writer of the script, which in this case is me, Tavleen. Sometimes, there may be more than one writer, and therefore, they would add the names together. After this, we have the copyrights. This informs the reader of the rights to using the script, and how it has been authorised for use.
Formatting:
For the formatting, I had to ensure I considered all the conventions. One format that industry-standard film scripts follow is using the Courier font. As you can see on the left, I have incorporated this throughout my whole script. Another feature is that they use scene headings, e.g. EXT or INT. In the top left of the script, I have included this where it states 'EXT. CAR WASH.' INT stands for interior, and EXT stands for exterior, which essentially tells us whether the scene is being filmed inside or outside. A further way in which I have followed the script conventions is by using parenthicals, which are seen below the character names. This gives the actor an insight into how the line should be read. On this page, there are a few more ways that I have used formatting, such as character names, dialogue and action lines. These are quite straightforward, and they are very common features of movie scripts.
Slug Lines:
Slug lines are a part of what I previously mentioned. They are seen at the beginning of a scene, specifically in my script where it says 'EXT. CAR WASH - NOON'. Once again, they let the readers understand where and when the scene is happening concisely. One key point is that they are always written in capital letters, which clearly and quickly lets either directors, crew or actors understand what is going on.
Timings:
Timings are not so explicit in film scripts, unlike radio scripts for example. However, the reason why scripts are written with the courier font is since it estimates to work out to be a minute a page. Directors may afterwards list the timings in shooting scripts, to help give a better understanding on how long the film will be.
