How to Create a «Fade In» Template

Downloads

∂ The PDF Version of the Tutorial

Thecurrentdocumentisdownloadablefrom:

http://www.rolandstroud.com/FadeIn/CreateFadeInTemplate.pdf

∂ The Templates

Ihavemade two templatesavailable fordownload,one forFade In, theother forFinalDraft. I am calling the templates Bells-and-Whistles, but of course you canrenamethemtowhateveryoulike.Thestylesareinlinewithotherscreenwritingtemplates,andIaddedsomestylesthatcouldbeusefulinsomecircumstances(forexample,LyricsandBlankVerse).Ihavegoneoverthetemplatescarefully,buttheymaycontainsomethingsthatneedtweaking.Timewilldeterminethat.

Fade InBells-and-Whistles.fadein.templatehttp://www.rolandstroud.com/Templates/Bells-and-Whistles.fadein.template

Final DraftBells-and-Whistles.fdxthttp://www.rolandstroud.com/Templates/Bells-and-Whistles.fdxt

Introductory Remarks

SomeBackground.WhenIstartedworkingwithcomputersaboutthirtyyearsago,Ihadno ideawhat a templatewas. Eventually, throughworkingwithAdobe FrameMaker (adesktop publishing program) and later with Microsoft Word, I came to appreciate theimmensepower of templates. In anutshell, templates let you jump intowarp speed toformatyourdocument.Whenyourdocumentusesatemplate,eachparagraphhasa style(also called an element in screenwriting) that controls properties like indents, spacing,fonts, and font size. These styles (elements) have tags or descriptive names for theirparagraphtypes.ScreenwritingprogramscommonlyusenameslikeSceneHeading,Action,Character, Parenthetical, Dialogue, Shot, Transition, and the generic Unformatted. Yourprogramappliesthesestylestoparagraphsautomaticallyasyoutype.Theprogramcandothisbecausethetemplateknowsthekindofparagraphthatyouareprobablycreating.Howdoesitknow?Bytwomeans.

1. Predictable Order. Typically, paragraph types follow one another in a probableorder.Someexamples:Character is always followedbyDialogueorParenthetical

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(usually it is Dialogue). So your template assumes that youwantDialogue afterCharacter.

2. Manual Choice.Ifyourtemplatedoesnotcorrectlyguessyourdesiredelement,youcaneasilychangetoadifferentstylewithakeystrokeoramouseclick.

OtherElements.Theusual screenwritingelementsareeight innumber:SceneHeading,Action,Character,Parenthetical,Dialogue,Shot,Transition,andanUnformattedtype(alsocalledNormalorGeneral).However,agoodscreenwritingprogramallowsyou tocreateelementsofyourown.Youmightbeaskingwhetheryouwouldeverreallyneedtodothat.Well, itdependsonthekindofwritingthatyoudo.Forthevastmajorityofscreenplays,youneverneedanyotherstyles,andevenifyoudo,youcanworkaroundthelackwithoutresorting tothecreationof anewparagraphstyle.Butsometimes it ishelpful tohave acustomstyleortwo.Infact,Iintendtoshowhowtocreatenewstyleslaterinthisarticle.

Steps in Creating a Template

Step 1: Open a New Document

DocumentsandTemplates.Didyouknowthateverydocument inFade Inhasatemplate,evenifyouhavenotchosenoneforit?Wheneveryoustartanewdocument,FadeIneitherusesatemplatethatyouhavealreadysetinyourpreferences,oritusestheFadeIndefaulttemplate.Forcreatinganewtemplate,youaregoingtousethedefaultScreenplaytemplateandmakechangesto it.Thenyouaregoingtosave itasanewtemplatewithadifferentname.

Load theDefaultTemplate. Use thesecommands tomakesure thatyouhave thedefaultFadeInScreenplaytemplateselected:File > Templates > New from Template.

Adialogopensandlistsyourtemplates.

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SelectScreenplay.By theway,youwillnot seeall the templates thatare in thegraphicabove,becauseIhaveseveralcustomtemplatesinthelist.

Name Your File

Itshouldgowithoutsaying,butIwillsayitanyway.Giveanametoyourfileafteryouopenit,andfromtimetotimeclickontheSaveiconasyouworkthroughthistutorial.Itdoesnotmatterwhereyousavethefile.Whenyoueventuallycompleteallyourworkandsavethefileasatemplate,FadeInwillsendacopyofittothecorrectfolder.Butrightnowyouaresimplycreating aregular .fadein file.By theway,youdonothave tospecify the .fadeinextension when you save your file. Fade In will automatically append the extension.Similarly,when you later save as a template, do not use an extension. Just let Fade Inhandleextensions.

Choosing a Name

You should use a name that is readily identifiable as a special template.Do not call itScreenplay (which is already the default). Call it by your own name or by somethingdistinctive.Forthepurposeofthistutorial,IamgoingtonameitBells-and-Whistles.WhenIsavethe file,Fade Inautomaticallyaddstheextension .fadeinandcreatesa filenamedBells-and-Whistles.fadein.Thisisnotyetatemplatefile.ItisaregularFadeInfile.

Step 2: Set New Margins

Whenthenewdocumentopens,theleftandrightmarginsaresetat:

LM=1.25in.

RM=1.25in.

Thesearenotthemarginsthatyouwanttouse.Let’stakealookatthePage Layoutdialogandsetsomenewmargins.

UsethecommandsDocument > Page Layout.

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Adialogformarginsandspacingpopsup.Thedefaultmarginsneedsomeadjustments.

Top,Left,andRightMargins.Changethe1.25″valuestothefollowing:

Top:1.0″

Left:1.5″

Right:1.0″

BottomMargin.Ifthebottommarginisnotsetat0.87″,changeittothat.Butdon’tworry—yourbottommarginisstillgoingtobe1.0″,orsoclosetoaninchthatthedifferencewillbeinsignificant.Youmightbewonderingwhyyouwouldwantabottommarginsmallerthan1.0″.Thereasonisthatthelastlinewillwraptothenextpageifitinfringesbyevenahairintoa1.0″margin,andyouwillendupwithabottommarginthatisnoticeablygreaterthan1.0″.Forthatreason,usingamarginthatisalittlelessthan1.0″workswell.

LineHandling,ElementSpacing.LeavethespacingsettingsonNormal spacing.

BreakonSentences.YouhavetodecideyourpreferenceforBreak on sentences.WhattheoptionreferstoishowFadeInhandlesalinethatneedstobreakatthebottomofapage.Iftheoptionisselected,thenFadeInonlybreakssuchalineattheendofasentence.Itdoesnotpermita linetobreak inthemiddleofasentence, whichthenrollsovertothenext

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page to complete itself. Instead, the program hunts backward to find the last completesentenceandbreaksattheendofit.Thisisacommonoptioninscreenwritingprograms,whichusuallyturnitonbydefault.However,Idonotlikeusingit,becauseitcausesalotofwhite space at the bottom of some of the pages. For that reason, I uncheck Break onsentences.Ofcourse,youshouldfollowyourownpreference.

Step 3: Set MORE and CONT’D Options

ClickDocument > More and Continued.

Adialogpopsup.

YouareabletosetvariousMore and Continuedpreferences.ThegraphicshowshowIhavesetmine. I prefer not to use the automatic Character continued exceptwhen a speechbreaksatthebottomofapageandhastocontinueonthenextpage.IseenopointinusingCONT’DafteraCharacternamejustbecauseanactionlinehasintervenedsincethatpersonlastspoke.Also,Ichangedthedefaultcont’dtouppercaseCONT’D,whichIthinkismorecommon in screenplays. I have seen the lowercase form in stageplays, and from anaestheticperspectiveIlikethelowercasecont’d,butforthistutorialIamstickingwiththeuppercaseform.

Step 4: Set the Font for the Document

Ifyouarealready aFade Inuser,youprobablydonotneed to fiddlewithchanging thedocumentfont.YoumostlikelyalreadyhaveaCourierfontthatyoulike.Ifthatisthecase,

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thenstickwithit.But,forheaven’ssake,donotusetheanemic-lookingCourierNew,whichis horrible. Instead, use one of several available free fonts — for example, CourierScreenplay,CourierPrime,orCourier10BT.TheFade InwebsitehasCourierScreenplayandCourierPrimeforyoutodownloadifyouneedthem.

You can changeyour font, ifnecessary,by clickingDocument > Change Document Font.(You can also change the font in the next step, Set Up the Elements, by selecting yourdesiredfontfortheNormalelement.OtherelementsderivetheirfontfromNormalunlessyousettheindividualelementstoanotherfont.)

Step 5: Set Up the Elements

This iswhereyousetup themargins foryourvariousparagraph typesandselectsomeotheroptions.ThedefaultsettingsofFadeInforparagraphindentsareexcellent.However,whenyouchangedthe leftpagemargin from1.25″to1.5″,you ineffectchangedthe leftmarginsof theparagraph styles.Thismatters insome instances.So let’sgo through thesetupforeachparagraphtypeandmakesomechanges.

ClickFormat > Element Styles > Modify Element Style.

Adialogopens,showingtheeightscreenplayelements.

Youaregoingtomodifyeachelementasnecessary.

SelectanelementandthenclickOK.Anoptionsdialogappears.Youcanusethisdialogtomodifythefont,theindents,thespacing,andthebehaviorofFadeInwhenyouhitEnteror

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Tabtocreatethenextparagraph.

Iwill help you to step through each of the elements.But, first, a fewwords about theoptions themselves. Iwill address the SceneHeading as an example,but theprinciplesapplytoalltheelements.

IndentsEachelementhasleftandrightindents,eveniftheindentis0.0″.Theindentsarerelativetothepagemargins.Rememberthatthepagemarginontheleftisnow1.5″.NoadjustmenttotheSceneHeadingisneeded,becauseitssettingsare0.0″,leftandright,relativetothepagemargins.ButforanelementlikeDialogue,whichhasaleftmarginof1.0″,

SpacingSpacebeforerefers to thenumberofblank linesabove aparagraph.Youdonotneed tochangethisunlessyouareoneofthosepeoplewhoinsistonusingonlyonespacebeforeaSceneHeadingbecause(thereasoninggoes)itletsyousqueezemoretextintoahundredpages.

Linespacingreferstosinglespacing(1),oneandahalfspacing(1.5),anddoublespacing(2).Normally you do not need to change this unless you are creating a document (ortemplate)withspecialneeds.

UppercaseThis should be checked for Scene Heading if you want to follow standard screenplayformat.Forsomeotherformats(likeastageplay),youmightwanttouseamixtureofupperandlowercase.

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Keep with nextSomeelementsneedtostaywiththenextparagraph,oryouwillendupwithamess.Forexample,youmightfindyourCharacternameattheverybottomofapage,andthestartoftheDialogueon thenext.Thatkindof thing is terrible.TheSceneHeading isoneof theelementsthatyoudonotwanttobeseparatedfromthenextparagraph;itshouldalwaysbeonthesamepageasthestartofthenextparagraph.

Page break beforeLeave thisunchecked.Withsome formatsyoustart anewsceneonanewpage,butnotwithscreenplays.Bytheway,youcanalwaysinsertapagebreakmanuallyifyouneedone(asinastageplay).

Enter key, Tab key before, Tab key afterLaterIwilltellyouthesettingstouseforeachoftheseforeachelement.However,firstIneedtoexplainthispowerfulbutnotentirelyobviousfeatureofFadeIn.

The purpose of the option with the Enter and Tab keys is to let you determine whatparagaphtypewillautomaticallyfollowwhenyouuseEnterandTab.

Enterkey|AfteryoutypeyourSceneHeadingandhittheEnterkey,thenextelementwillbewhateverelementyouhaveselectedasyouroption.ThedefaultselectionisAction,andinfactthatisthebestchoicefortheEnterkey,becausehittingEnterfeelsnaturalwhenyouhavefinishedaparagraph,andanActionparagraphusuallyfollowsaSceneHeading.

Tabkeybefore|Theimportantwordhereisbefore.ThekeystrokereferstohittingtheTabkeybefore youhavetypedanytextforthecurrentelement.Ineffect,itisawayofchangingyourmindaboutthekindofstylethatyouwantforthatparagraph.Butyoucanonlyuseitbefore you have typed any text for that paragraph. In other words, you cannot typesomething,thengobacktothestartofthetextandhitTabtomakeachange.ProbablythebestoptionforTabkeybeforeinaSceneHeadingisAction.Thatway,ifyouhavecreatedaSceneHeading(butithasnotextyet)andyoudecidetocontinuethepreviousscene,youcanhitTabtomaketheparagraphchangetoAction.

Tabkeyafter |Whenyoufinishtypingaparagraph,youcanhitEnterorTab.Ifyouhavejust finishedaSceneHeading,EntercreatesanActionparagraphbelow it.However,youare wasting the Tab key after option it if you set it to Action, because Enter alreadyperformsthattask.Itisreasonabletoassignadifferentelementtoit.Forexample,afteraSceneHeadingyoumightwanttojumpdirectlytoaShot.MyrecommendationistosetTabkeyaftertoShot.Youcanalwayschangeitsomethingelselaterifthatchoicedoesnotworkforyou.

Setup for Each Element

NORMAL

Noadjustmentnecessary.

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SCENE HEADING

Alreadydiscussedabove.

ACTION

Enterkey|SelectAction,butthenexttimeyoucomebacktothisdialogtheEnterkeychoicewillbeblank.Donotworry;itisstillAction.

Tab key before | Select Character. Thismeans that if you have pressed Enter and findyourselfatthestartofanActionparagraph,youcanchangetoCharacterjustbypressingTab.

Tabkeyafter|SelectCharacter.IfyoufinishanActionparagraphandknowthatyouwanttohaveaCharacternext,youonlyhavetopressTab.

Indents|Nochanges.

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CHARACTER

Uppercase|Itneedstobecheckedforstandardscreenplayformat.

Keepwithnext|Ithastobechecked,oryouwillhaveamess.

Indents |Leftindentat2.3″.ThismeansthatCharacterbeginsat3.8″fromtheleftpaperedge. I have found that this setting, which is within the parameters of some othertemplates,worksverywell.

Enter key | Select Dialogue,which is the most logical thing to follow Character (but aParentheticalcanalsofollowCharacter).

Tabkeybefore|SelectAction.ThismeansthatyoucancanceltheCharacterandconvertitintoActionifyouchangeyourmindabouthavingsomeonespeakatthispoint.

Tabkeyafter |SelectParenthetical. IfyouhavetypedtheCharacternameandyouknowthatyouwantaParentheticalbeforeyoulaunchintoDialogue,youonlyhavetopressTab.Honestly,though,pressingEnter issonaturalaftereveryelementthatyouwillprobablynotremembertousetheTabtocreatetheParenthetical.But,fortunately,youcancreateaParentheticalwithakeystrokeevenifyouforgettousetheTabafterCharacter.(SeeunderDialogue,below.)

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PARENTHETICAL

Uppercase|Unchecked.

Keepwithnext|Itisbettertohaveitchecked,oryoumayendupwithaCharacterandaParentheticalatthebottomofapage,andalltheDialogueonthenext.

Indents|Leftindentat1.8″.Rightindentat1.7″.Withthesesettings,yourParentheticalcanbe25characters(2.5″)andiswell-balancedbetweenCharacterandDialogue.

Enterkey|SelectDialogue.

Tabkeybefore|SelectDialogue.

Tabkeyafter|SelectDialogue.

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DIALOGUE

Uppercase|Unchecked.

Keepwithnext|Unchecked.

Indents|Leftindentat1.0″.Rightindentat1.3″.Withthesesettings,yourDialogueshouldhaveamaximumof37characters(3.7″).

NOTE:Thesesettingsoughttoallow37charactersonaDialogueline.Thisisbasedon theprinciple thatyourCourier12-point fontgivesyou10charactersper inchalongtheline.Ihaveknownsomeotherprograms,withcertainvarietiesofCourier,torender fewerthan10charactersper inch.Theresultofthiswouldbethatyoumightonlyget36 characters to the line insteadof37. If thishappens (Idoubt itwill),changeyourrightmarginfrom1.3″to1.25″.

Enterkey |SelectAction.Thismeans thatafteryouhave typedsomeDialogue,pressingEntercreatesanActionelementinthenextparagraph.

Tab key before | Select Parenthetical. This setting allows you to change the currentparagraphtoaParentheticalbeforeyoustarttyping.

Tabkeyafter|SelectCharacter.TheTaballowsyoutocreateaCharacterelement inthenextparagraph.

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TRANSITION

Uppercase|Checked.

Keepwithnext|Unchecked.

Indents|Left:3.5″.Right:0.0″.Pleasenotetherightalignment.

Enterkey|SceneHeading.

Tabkeybefore|SelectAction.ThissettingallowsyoutochangetheTransitiontoActionincaseyoudecidetoextendthescenebeforeusingaTransition.

Tabkeyafter|SelectSceneHeading.

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SHOT

Uppercase|Checked.

Keepwithnext|Checked.

Indents|None.

Enterkey|Action.

Tabkeybefore|Action.ThissettingallowsyoutochangetheShottoAction.

Tabkeyafter|Character.ThissettingmeansthatyoucangodirectlytoaCharacterafteraShotheading.

Other Elements

Theeightelementsdiscussedabovearethestandardscreenplayelements.Someprogramsuse only seven, because they combine Action and Shot. The Normal style (also calledUnformatted)isaparagraphtypewithnoindentsorspacingspecifications.Itspurposeistoprovideanunformattedelement foruseon theTitlePageandas a style fromwhichotherelementscanderivepropertiesliketheirfont.

Itisraretoneedanewparagraphstyle.Byredefiningtheelementstogivethemdifferentindents,orbychangingthemarginsofaparticularparagraph(bydraggingthethingyontheruler),youcanhandlejustaboutanyformattingneedthatmightarise.

However, it issometimesconvenient tohaveanadditionalparagraphstyleor two. Iamgoingtoshowyouhowtocreate fourspecialelements,which Icall(1)Lyrics, (2)Blank

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Verse,(3)Message,and(4)Section.

Four Special Elements

1. Lyrics.YouuseLyricsforanythingthatissung,oroptionallyforrecitedlyricswithinDialogue.Lyricsareinitalics.Therightmarginisextendedtotherighttokeeplinesfromwrappingunlesstheybecomereallylong,inwhichcasetheywraptocreateanoutdentedparagraph.

2. Blank Verse.Althoughitisrare,somepeoplewriteblankverseforstageplays,andalsosomescreenplayscontainblankverse,usuallysomethingthatisbeingquotedfromShakespeare.Theneed foraBlankVersestylecomes fromtworeasons. It isconvenienttobeabletoaddlinestoaspeechinBlankVersebypressingEnter.Andthelines,beinglongerthanthoseinanormalDialoguecolumn,needasettingfortherightmarginthatallowsmostlinestofinishwithoutalinewrap.

3. Message. This style is useful for descriptions of things like road signs, and forshowingtextmessagesthatappearonscreen.

4. Section.ASectionisasimplestylefordesignationsofACTI,SCENE4,TEASER,TAG,oranysimilarsectionofascript.Itisalsoappropriateforendings,ifyouchoosetonote them, like ENDOFACT and THE END. Sections are centered and are oftenunderlined.

Create the New Element

ClickFormat > Element Styles > Create New Element.

YouthenseeadialogwindowcalledCreate Element.

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Nameyournewelementandgiveitthepropertiesthatitneeds.Iprovidethesepropertiesinthediscussionofeachofthenewelements,below.Ihaveagraphicforeachelementwiththepropertiesfilledin.

LYRICS

Somescreenplaysincorporatelyricswithintheirdialogue.JohnAugusthassuggestedthatagoodwaytohandlelyricsistouseitalicsandnottoincludetheforwardslashthatsomepeople use.He also said that running past the normal length of a dialogue line is notsomethingthatheworriesabout.

NOTE:Stageplaystraditionallyrepresent lyrics inALLCAPS.Speaking formyself, IdonotliketheALLCAPSmethod.Inanycase,myremarkshererefertotheuseoflyricsinscreenplays.

In the followingexample Ihaveextended the lengthof anormalDialogue lineby0.5″. Ihavesettheparagraphstyletohaveanoutdent,sothatwhenalyricrunspasttheendoftheline,itwrapstothenextlinewithanindent.

Γµµγ σϕδρ σγδ ρσφδ−

Γ≅ΜΜ≅ΓΓδκκν+ δυδθξνµδ− Γδθδ ηρ µ νκχ οσθηνσηβευνθησδ σγσ δυδθξνµδ ηρ εληκηθ ϖησγ−

∋ρηµφρ(Ληµδ δξδρ γυδ ρδδµ σγδ φκνθξ νε σγδ βνληµφ νε

σγδ Κνθχ:Γδ ηρ σθλοκηµφ ντσ σγδ υηµσφδ ϖγδθδ σγδ φθοδρ

νε ϖθσγ θδ ρσνθδχ:Γδ γσγ κννρδχ σγδ εσδετκ κηφγσµηµφ νε Γηρ

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σδθθηακδ ρϖηεσ ρϖνθχ+Γηρ σθτσγ ηρ λθβγηµφ νµ−

Σγδ οδνοκδ ηµ σγδ τχηδµβδ οοκτχ ϖησγ δµσγτρηρλ−

Bytheway,whenHannahsings,youmightwanttouseaseparateCharacter/DialogueunitinsteadofmixingthesonglyricsintotheDialogueportion.Inthatcase,thetextwouldlooklikethisandwouldbemuchneater,especiallywhenthesongismorethanafewlines:

Γµµγ σϕδρ σγδ ρσφδ−

Γ≅ΜΜ≅ΓΓδκκν+ δυδθξνµδ− Γδθδ ηρ µ νκχ οσθηνσηβευνθησδ σγσ δυδθξνµδ ηρ εληκηθ ϖησγ−

Γ≅ΜΜ≅Γ∋ρηµφηµφ(

Ληµδ δξδρ γυδ ρδδµ σγδ φκνθξ νε σγδ βνληµφ νεσγδ Κνθχ:

Γδ ηρ σθλοκηµφ ντσ σγδ υηµσφδ ϖγδθδ σγδ φθοδρνε ϖθσγ θδ ρσνθδχ:

Γδ γσγ κννρδχ σγδ εσδετκ κηφγσµηµφ νε Γηρσδθθηακδ ρϖηεσ ρϖνθχ+

Γηρ σθτσγ ηρ λθβγηµφ νµ−

Η γυδ ρδδµ Γηλ ηµ σγδ ϖσβγ,εηθδρ νε γτµχθδχβηθβκηµφ βλορ:

Σγδξ γυδ ατηκχδχ Γηλ µ κσθ ηµ σγδ δυδµηµφχδϖρ µχ χλορ:

Η βµ θδχ Γηρ θηφγσδντρ ρδµσδµβδ αξ σγδ χηλ µχεκθηµφ κλορ+

Γηρ χξ ηρ λθβγηµφ νµ−

Σγδ οδνοκδ ηµ σγδ τχηδµβδ οοκτχ ϖησγ δµσγτρηρλ−

Doesn’tthatlookreallycool?

NOTE:Iincludedthesecondverseforthisexample.Puttingablanklinebetweenthetwoversesrequiredaneasyworkaround,becauseFadeIndoesnotalwaysletyouhitEnter to add ablank linebetween lines (itdoes in some instances,but it’s acomplicatedissue).TheworkaroundwastopressEnterandthenhitthespacebaronetime justtoaddsomethinginvisibleontheline.ThenIpressedEnteragaintocreatethenextline.Ireallydonotliketohavemessythingslikeaspaceatthestartofaline,soafterIgotmyblanklinebetweenthetwoverses,Ideletedtheinvisiblespaceontheline.

Isitnecessarytohaveaparentheticalthatdenotes∋ρηµφηµφ(?Ithinkitdefinitelyhelps.

HereisascreenshotofthesettingsfortheLyricselement.

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Uppercase|Unchecked.

Keepwithnext|Unchecked.

Indents |Left:1.5″.Right:0.5″.First-line indent: –0.5.Note that the first-line indent is anegative.CouldIhavesettherightmarginatzero?Sure,butBattleHymnoftheRepublichassomelonglines,andallofthoselonglinesstretchingouttothepagemargindonotlookgood;soIindentedfromtherightby0.5″.Thelinesweresolongthattheyweregoingtowrapinanycase.

Enterkey |Set it forLyrics. Itwillappearblankwhenyoucomebackto it,butpressingEnterwillstillcreateaLyricparagraph.

NOTE:AnadvantageofhavingaLyricselementisthatyoucansettheEnterkeytocreateanewparagraphthatisalsoaLyricselement.Then,whenyouarethroughwritingallthelyrics,youcanuseTabkeyaftertocreateanActionelement.AndifActionisnotwhatyouwant,youcanchangeActiontoCharacterbypressingTab.

Tabkeybefore|Dialogue.

Tabkeyafter|Action.

Andthatisallthatyouhavetodotocreateanewelement,whichwillbepartofyournewtemplate.You canuse the template over and over, and all of your elements,with theirmodifications,willbepresent.

BLANK VERSE

Andnowlet’screateastyleforBlankVerse.

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What?What?Blankverse—areyoukiddingme?

Yes,blankverse.Itisthekindofstylethatworksperfectlyif:

∂ Youarewritingascript—mostlikely,astageplay—thatusesatleastoccasionalblankverse.

∂ Youarewritingascreenplay,somethinglikeShakespeareinLove,whichusessomeblankversepassagesfromShakespeare’splays.

Sogothroughtheprocess,describedearlier,ofcreatinganewelement.

BelowisascreenshotoftheBlankVersesetup.

Youshouldnotethatthefontistheregularface,nottheitalicsthatweusedforLyrics.

Font|BesuretousethenormalfontfaceforBlankVerse,notitalics.

Uppercase|Unchecked.

Keepwithnext|Unchecked.

Indents |Left:1.5″.Right:0.0″.First-line indent:–0.5″.Any lines thatneed towrapwillwrapwitha0.5″outdent,justastheLyriclinesdid.

NOTE:TheBlankVersestyle letsthe linesextendonouttotherightpagemargin.However,donotworryaboutalotofdensedialoguebecauseoflonglines.AblankverselineisusuallyshorterthanthelonglyriclinesthatwesawinBattleHymnoftheRepublic.

Enterkey|BlankVerse.Thiswillappearblankwhenyoucomebacktoit,but itwillstill

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work.JustpressEnter,andyournextparagraphwillbeanewBlankVerseline.

Tabkeybefore|Action.

Tabkeyafter|Character.

AndthatshouldsetupBlankVerseinyourtemplate.

MESSAGE

Nowlet’screateanelementcalledMessage.Youmayhavereadascriptinwhichseveralitems are described, such as road signs, placards, or telegrams. You can use Actionparagraphsforthese,butitemslookmuchbetterwhentheyareindentedandlisted.Also,youcanusetheMessageelementfortextmessagesontelephones.

HereisascreenshotoftheMessagestylesetup.

TheMessageelementissimilartoDialogue,exceptthatMessagecanextendouttotherightpagemargin.Youcould justuseDialogueandpulltherightmargintotherightwiththethingyon theruler.However,Fade Inwould include this textasDialogue in thereportsfeature.YoudonotwanttomessupyourreportbycountingsomethingasDialoguewhenitisnotrealDialogue.

AnexampleofhowMessagecanbehelpful:

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Σγδ ατρ χθηυδθ οδδθρ σγθντφγ σγδ ϖηµχργηδκχ ρ σγδ ϖηοδθρ σθξ σνϕδδο το ϖησγ σγδ οδκσηµφ θηµ ηµ σγδ χθϕ µηφγσ− Γδ ρδδρ σγθδδθνχ ρηφµρ9

→ Α≅ΗΚ∆Ξ 03← Κ≅ϑ∆ςΝΝΧ 13↑ Β∆ΜΣ∆ΘΥΗΚΚ∆ 3/

Thesinglespacingworkswellwhenthelistdoesnotcontainmuchtext.Ofcourse,youdonothavetousethearrows—butIwantedtobefancyandshowoffabit.

TRIVIA:YoucannotdirectlyenterthearrowsinFadeIn,notevenwithUnicodecodenumbers.However,youcanpastethemintothetext.YoucanenterthemintoWordwiththedecimalcodes8592(←),8593(↑),8594(→).Youdothisonthenumerickeypad,withNumLockturnedon.PressleftALT(holditdown)andenterthecodenumber.ReleasetheALTkey.Youhavetouseanumerickeypad(notthenumberson the typewriter keyboard), or you can use various othermeans of entering aUnicodecharacter.TheimportantthingisthatyoucanpastethecharacterintoyourFade In screenplay.You cando thiseven thoughCourierScreenplayandCourierPrimedonot includethearrows inthe font.Whathappens isthatanother font isautomaticallyusedwhenyoupaste. InmyWindows7system,the fontMSGothic(msgothic.ttc)isused.

TheMessageelementisgreatforshowingtextmessagesonaSmartPhone.Youcanaddablanklinebetweentheparticipantsifyouwanttoavoiddensetext.

Ινγµ οηβϕρ το γηρ Ρλθσ Ογνµδ µχ δµφφδρ ηµ µ δωβγµφδ−

ΙΝΓΜ9 ≅ααξ+ ϖγξ γυδµ’σ Η γδθχ εθνλ ξντ>

≅ΑΑΞ9 Χδθ Ινγµ −−− Σγηρ ηρ φννχαξδ− ≅ρ ηµ+ ξντ βµϕηρρ νεε

ΙΝΓΜ9 Ατσ ϖγξ> Η σγντφγσ σγηµφρ ϖδθδ φθδσ αδσϖδδµ τρ−

SECTION

The creation of Section has one difference from the other new elements thatwe havecreated. It is important to make the centered Section text (e.g., ACT NUMBER) lookbalancedonthepage.Wedonotwantittobetoofarleftorright.Becauseweshiftedtheleftpagemargintotherightinthepagesetup,weneedtomakeanadjustmentbacktotheleft.Anegativeindentof0.5″fortheelementineffectchangestheleftpagemargin(forthiselement only) from1.5″ to1.0″.Here is a screenshot of the setupdialog, appropriatelyfilledin.

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NotethattheLeftindenthasbeensetto–0.50″.

Examples of Lyrics and Blank Verse

The lines below are not part of a unit. I have patched them together for illustrationpurposes.TheActionand theBlankVersearemine; thesong is fromShakespeare’s TheTempest.

Σγδ Ρ∆≅ Β≅ΟΣ≅ΗΜ σϕδρ σγδ ϖγδδκ σν γδκο−

Ρ∆≅ Β≅ΟΣ≅ΗΜςησγ λτρβκδ µχ εησγ+ φννχ Ρσδδθρλµ+ κηϕδ ρν Σγδ βνρσ µχ ρεδ γθανθ αδβϕνµ τρ σγδθδ−Αδ βθδετκ σν βκδθ σγδ θδδε Αδθ σν ρσθανθχ —ςηµχ µχ ρδ γυδ χθηυδµ τρ σνν εθ µνθσγ−

Ρδυδθκ Ρ≅ΗΚΝΘΡ ρβτθθξ αξ− ΥΗΝΚ≅ µχ Ρ∆Α≅ΡΣΗ≅Μ λϕδ σγδηθ ϖξ νµχδβϕ+ γνκχηµφ νµ σν σγδ θηκηµφ µχ σν δβγ νσγδθ−

≅ΘΗ∆Κ∋ρνµφ(

Ετκκ εσγνλ εηυδ σγξ εσγδθ κηδρ−Νε γηρ ανµδρ θδ βνθκ λχδ−Σγνρδ θδ οδθκρ σγσ ϖδθδ γηρ δξδρ−Μνσγηµφ νε γηλ σγσ χνσγ εχδΑτσ χνσγ ρτεεδθ ρδ βγµφδΗµσν ρνλδσγηµφ θηβγ µχ ρσθµφδ−Ρδ µξλογρ γντθκξ θηµφ γηρ ϕµδκκ−

≅ αδκκ ρντµχρ νεερσφδ9 Χηµφ χνµφ−

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≅ΘΗ∆ΚΓθϕ+ µνϖ Η γδθ σγδλ —

∋ρηµφηµφ(Χηµφ χνµφ αδκκ−

Save Your File

Youshouldhavebeensavingyour fileeveryonce inawhileasyouworkedthroughthestepsofthistutorial.Whenyouarefinishedwithallyourwork,saveyourfileintheusualway.Afteryoudothat,youarereadytosavethefileasatemplate.

Advice on Saving

The «Bells-and-Whistles.fadein» Script

Ithasalwaysbeenmypracticetoattachtheextension(like .docx or.txtor .fountainor.fadein)whenInamedafile.

However,whenyouarecreatingatemplate,itisbettertouseonlythenameitselfforyourfile.Leaveallextensionsoff.Why?Itisalittleinvolvedtoexplainit,butthebottomlineisthat you should let Fade In handle the extensions. Fade In will name everythingappropriately.Ifyoutrydoingityourself,youcanendupwithstuffinthefilenamethatisextraneous.Iknow,becauseIlearnedthehardway.

Save as a TemplateNow that I have completed my Bells-and-Whistles.fadein file, I want to save it as atemplate.

Steps1. Deleteanytextinthefile.Itdoesnothurtanythingfortexttobethere,butitwill

showupeverytimethatyouusethetemplatetoopenanewfilebasedonit.2. ClickFile > Templates > Save as Template .3. FadeInautomaticallyappends.templatetothealreadyexistingfile.Butitaddsitto

the .fadein extension that is already there. So your filename ends up with twoextensions.Forexample,mytemplatecomesoutoftheprocesswiththenameBells-and-Whistles.fadein.template.

4. ClickSave.5. FadeInpopsupadialogaskingifyouwanttoinstallthetemplate.AnswerYes.

6. Youdonotseeithappen,butFadeInnowcopiesthetemplatefiletoafolderwhereitkeepstemplates.

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Thenew Bells-and-Whistles template isnow available foruse.You access itby clickingFile > Templates > New from Template.Adialogpopsupwithallofyourtemplatesinalist.Onlythetemplatenamesappear—thedoubleextension.fadein.templatedoesnotdisplay.

Final Comments on «Fade In»Manual Installation of Templates

Itiseasytoinstalltemplatesmanually.JustcreatearegularFadeInfilewiththeelementsthatyouwantandgiveitaname—forexample,MyScreenplay.fadein.Thenrenameitwiththedoubleextensionofa template:MyScreenplay.fadein.template.The filecanreside inanyfolder(itwillbecopiedtothetemplatesfolderautomaticallywhenyouinstallit).

To conduct the manual installation, click File > Templates > Manage Templates. TheManage Templates dialog pops up. Your template — the one that you are installingmanually—isnotinthelist,becauseyouhavenotinstalledityet.

Click Installandthennavigatetothetemplatethatyouwanttoinstall.Whenyoufind it,selectitandclickOpen.FadeIninstallsthetemplatebycopyingittothetemplatesfolder.Youdonothavetokeeptheworkcopythatyouhavejustused.Youcandeleteitorstoreitsomewhereonyourcomputer.

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Comments on the «Final Draft» Template

Even though thediscussionabovedealswithFade In,you should read it,especially theexplanationsoftheelementsthatIcreated—BlankVerse,Lyrics,Message,andSection.

FortheFinalDrafttemplate,IcombinedtheMessageelementintoBlankVerse.Theyaresimilar,andthereasonforseparatingtheminFadeInrelatesmainlytothepowerfulabilityofFadeIntouseEnterand«Tabafter»tocreatethemostlikelyfollowingparagraphtypeforeachwhenitistimetochangetoanewelement.ButbecauseofthelimitationsofFinalDraftintheuseofEnterandTab,itispointlesstocreatetwoelements.

IMPORTANT:Toaddanother lineofBlankVerse,Lyrics,andSectioninFinalDraft,use Shift+Enter. Pressing Enter alone creates a different element for the nextparagraph.

Modifying or Creating a «Final Draft» Template

You canexportany fileas a template. It iseasy.Save the file thatyouwant touseas atemplate.ThendoaSave Asunderadifferentname(thenamethatyouwanttouseforyourtemplate).Besuretoclearoutallthetextfromthefilethatyouareturningintoatemplate(unlessyouwantthattextineveryfilethatisbasedonyourtemplate).

UseFile > Exportandsavethefilewiththe.fdxtextension.YoucanthenjustdumpacopyofthetemplateintoyourFinalDrafttemplatesfolder.Youwillhavetofindtheappropriatefolder.OnmyWindows7machine,forFinalDraft10,thelocationforscreenplaytemplatesishere:

C:\ProgramFiles(x86)\FinalDraft10\Templates\Scripts

WhenyouopenFinalDraftagain,thetemplatefilewillbeinthelistoftemplates.

Version2017.08.0700:48.Author:RolandStroud. Ihavebeenoverthisdocumentrepeatedly.But itmaystillhavetyposorothermistakes.Ifyoudiscoveranymistakes,pleaseletmeknowatrolandraystroud@gmail.com.