Sunday Picture Post 3 / Tip: Int./Ext.
For The Sunday Picture Post, we are going to flip upside-down the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Thousands of words are great if you are writing a novel, but if you are writing a screenplay, you need to do the opposite and be as concise as possible.
Each Sunday I will post a picture. For your screenwriting practice in brevity, in the comments section, please post one or all of the following:
- 1 word describing the theme, mood, or scene
- 1 sentence to describe the scene
- A pitch to sell the entire movie
The more colorful and creative you are, the better! Use any genre.
A good screenwriter is laconic, using a few words to say a lot.
SCREENWRITING TIP OF THE DAY: INTERIOR / EXTERIOR
The above image in a tunnel could be written in several different ways. Here are just a few.
INT. CAR — NIGHT
From Jan’s perspective we follow the culprit through the tunnel.
(Here we are in the car with Jan driving through the tunnel and anywhere else that is indicated. We do not see Jan, maybe just the hands and legs. )
INT. CAR — DAY
Jay bangs on the steering wheel in frustration from being blinded by the sudden dimness of the tunnel as Speedy gets away.
(We see Jay and Jay’s driving perspective too.)
INT. TUNNEL — NIGHT
As Jed’s 20-foot SUV runs out of gas, Bad Guy speeds down the tunnel and escapes.
(We see both vehicles from a wide shot outside perspective.)
INT. TUNNEL — DAWN
Dazed and confused, standing in the middle of the road, James is relieved to see the morning sun rise at the other end of the long tunnel.
(From an outside perspective, we see James standing in the middle of the road and some light at the end of the tunnel.)
EXT. TUNNEL — NIGHT
Scared of the lights in the tunnel, the aliens retreat. Jean drives to safety in the center of the tunnel.
(In this one, we see from a wide shot as the aliens stop their pursuit outside of the tunnel, and Jean continues driving into the tunnel.)
Some kind of lighting and reflectors are usually used during filming whether it is night or day, inside or outside. INTERIOR and NIGHT scene headings signal that special lighting equipment will be required for that shot. EXTERIOR signals to take weather precautions.
The language and formatting of screenwriting is not only to convey an image onto the screen, but it is also to inform the film production crew of the requirements they will need to accomplish their job: lighting, sound, wardrobe, actors, vehicles, weather, location, and more.
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High speed chase.
The Russian mob is pursuing a French murder witness in order to get rid of the evidence.
JEAN – Good call. That is a French tunnel. I guess that makes me the Russian mob. And yeah, I drive pretty fast… while snapping photos! Am a bad girl. *smiling*
Claustophobic
An underground ring of internet hackers known as the **J Mafia, has caused a worldwide unfixable computer crash on every worldwide computer. They’re asking for billions and billions of dollars in ransom from all the worldwide business conglomerates, presidents, royalty, etc. The J Mafia is en route to their underground complex underneath the Eiffel Tower. The twist, the leader of the J Mafia is the son of Bill Gates who unexpectedly, has a fall and gets amnesia, and he’s the only one who knows the number sequences to get all the worldwide computers back!
** In honour of the “J Mafia” here on Screenwriting for Hollywood, LOL!
I realize my movie pitch is a bit too long….
JAN – WOW! That was a great pitch. It was not too long for an elevator pitch. There’s a movie I would go to see. Hope somebody picks that one up and runs with it. Yeah, I realize there are 5 of us in the J Movie Mafia; pretty funny. Glad you enjoyed that.
First of all, great and fantastic new lay-out, I know it’s still the same, but the look and feel- it’s more sophisticated! Very appealing!
On to the picture post…let me continue my being ’sentimental’… LOL
Tragedy
A much maligned ‘royalty’ who is with her lover, is being pursued by a group of hungry wolves, known as the papzi…
I know, I know, I have no originality, but all I can think about tunnels is the late Princess Diana…
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That J Mafia is yeah, pretty funny Jan!
JED – I always think of Princess Diana when I look at that tunnel picture. I have seen where Princess Diana crashed and have passed through that tunnel many times. I was in Paris when it happened. Before she died, I always thought to myself: This is a really dangerous spot. It’s a pretty gnarly veer. Though the paparazzi surely may have caused the accident, even without them, it is a rough spot. Driving in Europe is much crazier on those fast compact roads than in the large spaciousness of America.
Wow….I didn’t know it was a French tunnel! I was just making up the Russian vs. French.
- Blurry
- There’s always a light at the end of every tunnel, at the end of every life
- Traveling by car seems more dangerous everyday. Even more dangerous in this tunnel, where a forgotten myth started decades ago and a group of friends has an accident . A survivor of the accident becomes depressed and walks everyday into the tunnel,not knowing why but just feeling why,and one day,when he’s most aware, he sees a blurry face on the wall of the tunnel. He never believed in God but he had to believe his friends were still alive and their souls were just trapped in some other world. The only survivor ever, fighting his own inner battles, tries to bring his friends back what he doesn’t know is that there are more souls than his friends’ and that they already passed away they just can’t find their light.
It’s a discovery of what humans have the will to do just to feel and how they really feel when they find out they can’t do anything or everything
ANA PT — Way to come on scene with a bang! Thanks for participating with us on the Sunday Picture Posts. This tunnel one here that you write got me all choked up and teary eyed — it’s really good. Welcome. Looking forward to more of your creative writing.