All those CAPITALS

[claire]

As I embark on my first script-writing project that any producer is actually likely to see, I feel like a peasant seated at a noble's table. I look down and wonder what all those different forks are all about.

In this case, I'm wondering about all those incredibly strict rules of script formatting. May I just ask about one of them?

In the "action" portions of the script, I see that you use CAPITALS the first time you introduce a character. Okay. Makes sense. And some writers say also to use capitals to express sounds (The telephone RINGS). There also seems to be a convention for using caps the first time you mention an object or a location (The TELEPHONE RINGS).

But if I were reading a spec script, I'd find all those caps horribly distracting.

JOHN walks over to the TABLE where the TELEPHONE is RINGING ...

is horrible compared with

JOHN walks over to the table where the telephone is ringing.

I can understand the need for those caps in a shooting script, but not a spec script.

Must I use all these attention-distracting capitals? And if so, what's the latest rule on exactly which elements really must be capped?

Thanks to Carol for providing these forums and thanks to Carol or any other expert who cares to help me.

[TSS moderator (CarolP)]

Hello Claire,

I see your dilemma. EXCESSIVE CAPITALIZATION CAN DEFINITELY BE DISTRACTING. The current rule about when to capitalize and when not to capitalize is this: capitalize a character’s name when they are first introduced in your script, and capitalize sounds. To reference the former first, character introductions are usually something like “JOHN enters,” but they can also be done through pictures or videos. If we first see a character in a photograph, that is when his/her name should be capitalized, rather than when they first appear in flesh and blood.

Some writers argue you should capitalize a character’s name each time they appear in a new scene. Please don’t’ do this. Your instincts toward less caps is definitely a good one.

As for sounds, yes capitalize them, but only what we actually hear. To use your example, you would want “the telephone RINGS” rather than “the TELEPHONE RINGS.”

As for objects, don’t bother. Unless perhaps it’s an animal (eg - a PANTHER attacks), in which case you might take liberties.

I hope this helps clear things up.

Anyone with dissenting opinions or questions is welcome to post them here.

Until then.

Carol P