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First, establish both locations with a scene heading. Then, describe the action of the phone RINGING and whatever dialogue you need. Follow that with a new line “INTERCUT -- TELEPHONE CONVERSATION” (or simply “INTERCUT -

PAUL/MIKE”) so you can switch between the characters as they speak.

If you have to, make sure it's for a good reason. You can either set it up with a line like “FLASHBACK – TESSA’S BIRTH,” describe the action, and then close it

with a new line “BACK TO PRESENT DAY.” Or, you can include FLASHBACK in your scene heading: “INT. HOSPITAL - DAY - FLASHBACK.”

For a montage, begin with a slug line – “SERIES OF SHOTS - DAY AT CARNIVAL.” Underneath this you list each shot with letters and a closed

parenthesis and a new line for each shot. For example, “A) Riding the Ferris Wheel B) Eating a hot dog... “

When this happens, it's called dual dialogue and you format it by putting both character's dialog in its own block side-by-side-- so two columns of text. This is

useful when one character interrupts another. (Just don’t over-do it. Unless you’re Quentin Tarantino.)

No. You want to keep your script as easy to read as possible and camera directions are ugly and will interrupt your flow. Plus, the director will likely shoot your scene

however he/she wants anyway. Keep it READABLE!

Slang and other "dirty words" are fine for dialogue, but if it's in your scene descriptions and you're not writing a lowbrow comedy, best to remove it. The clearer your screenplay, the better. Don't abbreviate, write out full words - but

acronyms like “ASAP” are fine to use.

Anytime a character first appears in the story, is must be in ALL CAPS, even if they never speak. This also applies to characters who don't have a name like STUDENT

or BANK TELLER. Of course, you must always capitalize the characters’ name when writing their dialog. (But if yer writing a low-budget script, try to keep the

NEW characters to a minimum.)

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