Wednesday, 3 February 2016

Major Project- Screenwriting Research, What do I Capitalize?

Based on feedback received for the first draft of my series; Ascension, I have begun to put some more thought into how exactly I should structure my script, most notably, what and why I should capitalize certain words in screenplays. This is an area I have yet to explore, and so I decided to do some online research into why certain words and phrases are capitalized in scripts, and therefore learn where I should capitalize in my own work.
I came across this website: https://www.screenwritinggoldmine.com/forum/threads/capitalization-in-action-lines.3451/ which features many discussion boards which are frequented by screenwriters and people in the industry where they can share ideas and their own scripts. I found this thread where the subject of what to capitalize is brought.
I believe this post in particular is fantastic reasoning for capitalizing certain words and phrases;

The main reason for the capitalization of certain words and phrases seems to be to add emphasis to certain aspects of the description. It almost seems to be done this way in order for the words to stand out from the page, as if someone skim-reading the script would automatically pay attention to the few words that are capitalized and get a general idea of the actions happening, and the general atmosphere of the scene without having to fully read the script.

With this in mind, I returned to my script and made a few changes
As you can see, although the changes are minimal, there is much more emphasis on certain words thanks to my usage of capitalization. This means that if I were to submit my script to a production company (who assumingly has many scripts, and doesn't have time to read through all of them) they would be able to skim read my work, and still get an idea of what is going on, and the feel of the scene I have created without having to spend too much time reading it.

I also came across this website; https://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/CAPITALIZATION-in-Screenplays which discusses the idea that the usage of capitalized words in terms of sound is quite subjective. The general consensus seems to be that as long as the script reads well, and emphasis is placed on certain aspects that make sense, capitalzation can be used to accentuate certain words or not, depending on whether or not the script writer feels it necessary.

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