Scene header

I think this one is flexible but I would personally go with EXT. OPEN DOORWAY - DAY or something like that. For shooting/scheduling purposes I think EXT. is more accurate because bad weather could easily delay this scene.

maybe depending on the side of the door where the first or most of the shots are coming from?

so shooting from INT. looking out you would header INT., and other way around

not sure though, probably flexible. a fun nuance question though, anyone actually know?

So you're talking about cutting between perhaps OTS shots of each character, one from inside looking out and one from outside looking in? Just pick one. As a screenwriter (although this may be for you to direct, you still ought to be thinking like a screenwriter) you shouldn't been thinking about camera directions. To you, it should just be a conversation in a doorway. Where does the scene start? Surely it doesn't start in the middle of the conversation. Do we start with the outside character approaching the door? If so, go with the EXT. and leave it at that. If we start inside with the character answering the door, go with the INT.

chahlagarrett said:

Hello everyone,
I'm new to this forum, and this is my first post. I'm currently working on my first script, and have a dialog between two people at the front door of a house. One person is inside, and the other stands outside the open door. Switching back and forth between outside and inside scene headers is cumbersome. Idealy, I want to do an intercut here, but it looks kind of odd to have one here, since the two pepople are standing in front of one another. Can I get by with an INT./EXT. FRONT DOOR, then proceed as in a regular dialog? What would be the best way to proceed ?

Thank you for your help.

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Welcome. INT/EXT is used in very limited contexts. It can imply action is occuring on the inside being observed from the outside (looking from the street into a fight in a window) or vice versa (being in a car and watching a fight outside). It can be used with tracking as when an actor moves from outside of a house inside. Though that is not common. Since neither are moving and there is no barrier between them in your example, INT/EXT is not appropriate.

samwagner1000 said:

maybe depending on the side of the door where the first or most of the shots are coming from? ...

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This is the best way to approach the scene in the spec script. Which side of the door does the scene start? The conversation then proceeds from there. If the one comes in or the other goes outside, you can change the slugline.

mad_hatter said:

So you're talking about cutting between perhaps OTS shots of each character, one from inside looking out and one from outside looking in? Just pick one. As a screenwriter (although this may be for you to direct, you still ought to be thinking like a screenwriter) you shouldn't been thinking about camera directions. To you, it should just be a conversation in a doorway. Where does the scene start? Surely it doesn't start in the middle of the conversation. Do we start with the outside character approaching the door? If so, go with the EXT. and leave it at that. If we start inside with the character answering the door, go with the INT.

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Exactly. The script is not about what happens weather wise in production. That's the producer's and director's headaches. It's not the writer's place to dictate how the scene is to be shot. The director may opt to shoot the back and forth exchange totally from the inside or the outside. I understand what is meant but to be clear the screenwriter should be aware of camera shots but not dictate them. Being mindful of what constitutes a shot helps to break up action blocks. MH's point though, is that flipping back and forth between INT and EXT is attempting to direct from within the script. That clutters the script with unneeded sluglines and comes across as a new writer.