Slug Line -
INT. JEFF - LIVING ROOM - JEFF’S HOUSE - DAY
1)INT (or EXT) - Interior or exterior, tells us if the shot is inside or outside
2)CAMERA FOCUS - Who the camera is looking at
3)Scene Setting
4)Location
5)NIGHT or DAY (If the scene happens at dawn or dusk, simply write DAY or NIGHT in your slug line and then detail dusk or dawn in your direction body.)
Direction Body - Under the slug line (one space down) acting directions and setting details are described further. For example:
JEFF sits cross-legged behind his desk, sipping at his tea when the SOUND OF A DOOR OPENS. MICHELLE walks in, SIGHING at first, until she sees him and LAUGHS.
Names are always capitalized.
Sounds are always capitalized.
When characters are introduced their age and general description is given.
Camera focuses are always capitalized. (Example: “MICHELLE reaches down to PICK UP A COFFEE CUP.” The switch of angle from Michelle to her coffee cup is a camera direction. NEVER USE THE WORD CAMERA WHEN GIVING THESE DIRECTIONS! Major camera directions begin new paragraphs.)
Dialogue - Dialogue is 1” in from the body description on either side. Character name is capitalized and centered above the dialogue. Emotion or dialogue descriptions are located 1.5” from the body description on both sides of the page and located just below the character’s name. NEVER GIVE STAGE DIRECTIONS HERE. For example:
TEXT
MICHELLE
(grinning)
You look like a girl when you cross your legs
like that.
So, it all comes together like this:
INT. JEFF - LIVING ROOM - JEFF’S HOUSE - DAY
It’s early dawn. JEFF, 20’s, wearing a business suit is sitting behind his desk, cross-legged and sipping at his tea when the SOUND OF A DOOR OPENS. MICHELLE, 30’s, walks in, SIGHING at first, until she sees him and LAUGHS.
MICHELLE REACHES DOWN FOR HER COFFEE CUP and takes a drink.
TEXT
MICHELLE
(grinning)
You look like a girl when you cross your legs
like that.
SLUG LINE & CAMERA DIRECTION CHEAT SHEET
FADE IN ON - Opening up from darkness
FADE OUT - Darken screen
MEDIUM SHOT - Shot of someone from chest on up
C.U. SHOT - (Close Up) Close Up of something, like an eye or a hand
E.C.U. SHOT - (Extreme Close Up) Close Up on tiny objects, like insects
FULL SHOT - A full frame shot of someone
WIDE SHOT - A shot encompassing several people or things to focus upon
WIDEN SHOT, or PULL BACK - Pulling away or widening the frame (“zooming out”)
PANORAMA SHOT - Wide or Extreme Wide Shot, panning across location
ANGLE ON - Direction, focus of camera onto something else
HEAD SHOT - A C.U. SHOT of someone’s head
INSERT - A C.U. or E.C.U. SHOT where something is inserted (exe: E.C.U SHOT of hand INSERT photo)
E. WIDE SHOT - Extreme Wide Shot
CUT TO - Cutting from one scene to the next (not used so much anymore)
DISSOLVE TO - A CUT TO using superimposition, ghosting last shot into next
SUPERIMPOSE - Ghosting two images together
OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT - A shot looking over character’s shoulder
REVERSE ANGLE/SHOT - reversing one shot angle (from, say, front to back)
SIDE SHOT - Shot of someone from the side
BACK SHOT - Shot of someone’s backside
ESTABLISHING SHOT - Establishing location, usually a shot of a building or place
INT - Interior
EXT - Exterior
POV - Point of View, used like: ANN’S POV (the camera is seeing through Ann’s eyes)
PUSH IN, or CLOSE IN - Getting closer to something (“zooming in”)
HALF SHOT - Shot of someone from waist up
TRACKING SHOT - A shot used with a dolly or tracking rails for running scenes
MOVING SHOT - When someone moves or is walking
TRUCKING SHOT - A shot that moves at higher speeds, usually following a vehicle
FOLLOW… - Following a character around
ARIEL SHOT - Shot framed from above the camera focus or from the sky
