The short answer.
A scene heading, or slug line, opens every scene: INT. or EXT. for inside or outside, then the location, then a dash and the time of day, all in capitals. For example, INT. ROUTE 9 DINER - NIGHT. A more specific place inside a location goes between them: INT. ROUTE 9 DINER - KITCHEN - NIGHT.
The three parts
Every scene heading answers three questions in the same order: inside or outside, where, and when.
- INT. or EXT. Interior or exterior. Use
INT./EXT.when a scene moves between the two, such as a conversation in a moving car. - The location. As specific as the production needs, and named the same way every time it comes back, so the schedule can group the scenes shot there.
- The time of day. After a spaced dash. DAY and NIGHT cover most scenes.
INT. ROUTE 9 DINER - NIGHT
Rain on the windows. One booth lit.
EXT. ROUTE 9 - BUS SHELTER - CONTINUOUS
A timetable, half torn. Theo stands under the shelter with the duffel over one shoulder.
Sub-locations
When a scene is set in a particular part of a larger place, put the wider place first: INT. ROUTE 9 DINER - KITCHEN - NIGHT. The time of day is always the part after the last dash, so a hyphen inside a name, as in EXT. DRIVE-IN - NIGHT, never gets mistaken for it. First Page’s Navigator reads headings this way, listing ROUTE 9 DINER - KITCHEN as the location and NIGHT as the time.
Times of day
DAY and NIGHT are the default. Use DAWN, DUSK or MORNING when the light matters to the scene. CONTINUOUS says one scene runs straight into the next, as when a character walks from the diner to the bus shelter. LATER says time has passed in the same place. Avoid clock times unless the story turns on them; the reader needs the light, not the minute.
Common mistakes
- Naming the same place two ways. The diner in scene one and THE DINER in scene nine look like two locations to a schedule.
- Leaving out the time. Every heading needs one, even if it is the same as the last scene’s.
- Putting action in the heading. What happens belongs in the action line below it.
- Numbering scenes in a spec script. Scene numbers are added for a shooting script, once the script is going into production.
Questions
- What does INT. and EXT. mean in a screenplay?
- INT. means the scene is inside (interior) and EXT. means outside (exterior). INT./EXT. is used for a scene that moves between the two, or is set in a vehicle seen from both.
- What time of day goes in a scene heading?
- Usually DAY or NIGHT, or a more specific light such as DAWN or DUSK when it matters to the story. CONTINUOUS means the scene follows straight on from the last, and LATER means time has passed in the same place.
- How do you write a location inside another location?
- Put the wider place first and the specific place after a dash, before the time: INT. ROUTE 9 DINER - KITCHEN - NIGHT. The time of day is always what comes after the last dash.
