Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

60%
+1 −0
Q&A How are descriptions and character thoughts handled in a screenplay (versus a novel)

Expressions: You can say something besides "angry", there are many flavors of anger, but no, do not describe the facial features. That is directing; do not try to do the director's job in your scr...

posted 6y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-19T22:13:23Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/35332
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T08:35:17Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/35332
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T08:35:17Z (almost 5 years ago)
### Expressions:

You can say something besides "angry", there are many flavors of anger, but no, do not describe the facial features. That is directing; do not try to do the director's job in your screenplay. You might say "coldly furious" if it is important to convey the demeanor of Jack and what he does next or says next. You might say "Jack ROARS in fury and slams the iphone on the table, breaking the screen, then throws it across the room, accidentally breaking three of Mary's antique ceramic figurines." (Because the audience knows that Mary will notice this, due to the pride in her collection we saw earlier.)

Even that might not make the final cut, the director can change this to something else.

### Character Thoughts:

NEVER. A screenplay consists ONLY of things the audience can SEE and HEAR. **_NOTHING ELSE._** If they can't see it, you don't write it. If anything, "Jack appears ashamed and turns to hide it." The audience can see that (and exactly how Jack shows shame is up to the actor and director; not you).

A screenplay is told ONLY through dialogue, setting, and action. Absolutely nothing the audience (or director) cannot see or hear. For example, even in a setting, you will be marked an amateur for "a sense of forboding hung over the city, the air seemed thick with it." How do you film "forboding" and "air thick with it"? Do you mean it is overcast? Foggy? Then say that. Don't say "the tension was thick." I can't film that. Stay specific, stay visual/auditory.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-04-20T19:26:33Z (over 6 years ago)
Original score: 4