What does "OFF" mean in a script?
Could anybody, please, enlighten me as to what "off" means in the following excerpts taken from the script for the TV show "Breaking Bad"? (I've also come across the same use of "off" in other scripts).
"Our two scary Cousins glare at Heisenberg. Off them, wrathful and unblinking, their lips moving in silent prayer... and us thinking ”Oh shit. THIS can’t be good...”
He stands chest-high, frantically splashing water at the last few lumps of cash still BURNING poolside. Off our hero...
PAMELA Alright. I usually open with “So sorry you’re here...” (off Sky’s sad smile) Where would you like to begin?
PAMELA And it’s not an apartment, it’s a house that you live in? (off Skyler’s nod) Do you own outright, or is there a mortgage, or do you
SKYLER Okay. I will think about that. **Off the two of them shaking hand**s -- friendly, but strained
Off Walt, staring at him... then lowering his head in assent:
Off her, frustrated and grieving and not allowed by circumstance to even explain herself to her son...
The two slices are carefully mated. Off come the crusts, sliced with a sharp knife.
Off come their Canali suits.
Off these strange events...
MARIE He must have! Why not just say it?! -- Off Marie, left stewing now
Off Jesse, maybe just now beginning to see the light...
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/11022. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
In the context you've provided, OFF Marie, left stewing now means "this is the last thing the camera sees before it moves off her to the next shot."
These are framing directions to the camera person. Look at the parentheticals:
PAMELA And it’s not an apartment, it’s a house that you live in?
(off Skyler’s nod)Do you own outright, or is there a mortgage, or do you...
That means that while Pamela is speaking, the camera either cuts to Skyler so the audience can see her nodding or the camera has been focusing on Skyler while Pamela is speaking out of the frame and then cuts (back) to Pamela with Skyler's nod.
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