Is it a good idea to write which music plays during the scene? I wanna write a scene where the character is in New York City. In a cab and she’s listening to Frank Sinatra’s New York New York. While this music a montage shows typical this of the big apple. Is it a good idea to name it? And if “yes!” how do I write it in the screenplay?
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Is it good to name music in a scene?
- Thread starter Future_Screen
- Start date
@Parios I found nothing that tells me how to write the scene how I want it.
WRITE:
Brief character descriptions
Dialog
Minimal character movement (most blocking will be designed in production)
Scene descriptions (only as needed)
DON’T WRITE:
Credits
Edits
Transitions
Camera shots/angles
Music
Sound Effects/Foley (unless it’s eliciting a direct reaction from the characters, such as “a large explosion shakes the office building”)
The entire purpose of your screenplay is to convey the story so that the director can craft a visual depiction, and so that the actors understand the emotions of their characters and can interpret them on screen. Everything else is determined by people other than the screenwriter.
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Unless the song is a key plot point there is no reason to specify that song in the screenplay.
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Reason two not to put it, it's cliche.
Write your montage and let the director figure the rest out. Think about your montage. What is the point of it? Is it showing how far this person has come? Or a life change? Or someone that is running from something? Be creative.
OR were you just writing a montage to show a person is in NYC and to play NY NY. That is cliche and drop it.
Write your montage and let the director figure the rest out. Think about your montage. What is the point of it? Is it showing how far this person has come? Or a life change? Or someone that is running from something? Be creative.
OR were you just writing a montage to show a person is in NYC and to play NY NY. That is cliche and drop it.
The answer is no - you do NOT write songs in a screenplay.
However, if you wanna write a song in a screenplay do it - it's YOUR screenplay:
Code:
[FONT="Courier New"]INT. NEW YORK YELLOW CAB - NIGHT
The moment she steps into the cab the Frank Sinatra version of "New York,
New York" plays.
WOMAN
The Met Opera. And take your time.
I wanna see the sights.
- Penn station drifts away behind her.
- She rolls down the window.
- Times Square - all flashing lights and tourists.
- 30 Rock looms large.
- She slides to the other side of the cab.
- Madison Square Garden - Knicks are playing.
- A couple of hookers tear at each others garish wigs and get in a blow
or two.
- An entire street bumper to bumper with Yellow Cabs.
- She slides in her seat as they take Columbus Circle.
And there it is! The five, ninety foot arches all lit up and the famous
fountain.
You can do it if you are gone direct the movie. If I remember correctly David linch is giving suggestions for: camera movement, Transitions and noise Music.
You are correct that a writer can write the screenplay exactly as
they want: songs, camera directions, sound and music cues, blocking
directions, emotions. It's YOUR screenplay.
Usually here on indietalk writers are asking about the accepted
method. Even if the writer will also be directing it is good to know
and understand the standards and accepted format and methods
of a typical screenplay written on speculation.
Established writer/directors with funding like David Lynch often write
in their own, unique format and style. In general it is poor advice to
look to them as the standard. I always feel it's better to fully understand
how an unproduced, unestablished writer should do it rather than how
an established writer/director has done it in the past.
Yes, its best to understand and master the basics before breaking the rules. Also here in Europe, you have a better chance to get funding if your screenplay is good. Agreed.
Something useful to thing is that the song you want to be heard is good for your taste, but maybe many people won't like it. For example personally I find it cliche and weird coincidence to be in New York and in the cab the song New York New York is playing! Sometimes we thing that a song will be great in that scene, but think that this is only a personal opinion, relax, and don't write it.