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Capitalization in Screenplays

C

Ccolebrook

Hello fellows, are there any steadfast rules about FULL WORD capitalization in screenplays? I know it's usual to introduce your characters with caps, and props or sounds that are imperative to the screenplay, but what else would need caps?
Is it better to capitalize characters the first time in every scene or just the first time in the script?
I've just been doing it by ear, and with a bunch of competitions coming up and my latest screenplay in polishing, I wanna make sure I'm doing something so elementary correctly.
 
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directorik is quite correct in the matter of underlining instead of capitalising for lines or words to be stressed or near shouted. However, itallics should not be used for this.

Itallics are used for...

1. Foreign words or phrases not within the OED.
2. Names of newspapers and the names of means of transport (eg names of ships, boats, zeppelins etc)
3. Actual trade names like Coke or Pepsi.
4. Quoting lyrics, poems etc
 
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Editor said:
I feel it is insulting to sound engineers and sound mixing crews who are so critical to take away this last monument and nod of thanks to their profession. No sound, no picture, yet so many forget this.
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You quoted me so I'll respond.

The screenplay is not the finished product. The Oscar doesn't go to
sound mixing and sound editing based on what is written in the
screenplay. The screenplay is where the writer tells the story. How
can it be insulting to the audio team if a writer does not use uppercase
letters when writing the word "bang" in a screenplay?

In context of this discussion from 2010 it was said that readers need
sounds in uppercase in order to understand that the "bang" is coming
from the gun in the characters hand. That's what I said was slightly
insulting. Not that sound is unimportant in finished movies.

Editor said:
I always put all sounds in CAPITALS out of respect for their industry and for their near forgotten and overlooked profession - a respect that is so absent in todays world.

In short, it is MORALLY the right thing to do.
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A writer is not showing any disrespect to the audio team when they
do not put each and every sound in their script upper case. A writer is
not being immoral if they do not use uppercase letters for sounds in
their screenplay.

The screenplay is where the story is told. It is not the place to show
respect to the audio team. And (in context) I feel the screenplay is
the place to show respect to the reader of the screenplay.

Is it morally the right thing to do to put props in uppercase? What about
set dressing? How about costumes? The art department deserves respect
too, do they not? Each department deserves respect. But the screenplay
is not the place to show that respect.
 
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On this we simply fundamentally disagree. Sounds were always put in capitals as it was considered vital to flag the sound engineers, whereas anyone can come up with props and costumes. Indeed, an entire generaton of playrights, particularly in London, wrote works designed to be on a minimalist basis with pretty much no props and ordinary clothes.

Removing sound in capitals is simply a modern trend to say the director is all and the rest of us are zero. Thats to folk like the WGA, the work of writers has been undermined, yet that is no reason to reduce one's respect for sound engineers.

- Today it is the "modern thing" no longer to put sound engineers work on capitals.
- In 1860's Alabama, it was the "modern thing" to send escaped slaves to a doctor for psychiatric treatment with drugs and electric shocks to cure them of their desire for freedom.
- In 1930's Germany, it was the "modern thing" to chuck Jewish kids through store front windows.

Doing the "modern thing" is not necessarily the right thing morally.
 
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Editor said:
On this we simply fundamentally disagree. Sounds were always put in capitals as it was considered vital to flag the sound engineers, whereas anyone can come up with props and costumes. Indeed, an entire generaton of playrights, particularly in London, wrote works designed to be on a minimalist basis with pretty much no props and ordinary clothes.

Removing sound in capitals is simply a modern trend to say the director is all and the rest of us are zero. Thats to folk like the WGA, the work of writers has been undermined, yet that is no reason to reduce one's respect for sound engineers.

- Today it is the "modern thing" no longer to put sound engineers work on capitals.
- In 1860's Alabama, it was the "modern thing" to send escaped slaves to a doctor for psychiatric treatment with drugs and electric shocks to cure them of their desire for freedom.
- In 1930's Germany, it was the "modern thing" to chuck Jewish kids through store front windows.

Doing the "modern thing" is not necessarily the right thing morally.
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Well done. You have managed to put down fellow production professionals and
somehow make a moral equivalence between a writer not using uppercase for
sounds in a script and the Holocaust.
 
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directorik said:
Well done. You have managed to put down fellow production professionals and
somehow make a moral equivalence between a writer not using uppercase for
sounds in a script and the Holocaust.
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I too, am astounded.

BTW, my screenplay is going to get edited to remove a lot of caps, based on your remarks. Thanks!

One question... What about sounds intended to be shocking or extreme? Example:

Code: 
[FONT="Courier New"]
John drops to one knee.  BAM!  He fires once, killing Bob.
[/FONT]

OR

Code: 
[FONT="Courier New"]
John drops to one knee.  Bam!  He fires once, killing Bob.
[/FONT]
 
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FlyingMonkey said:
I too, am astounded.

BTW, my screenplay is going to get edited to remove a lot of caps, based on your remarks. Thanks!

One question... What about sounds intended to be shocking or extreme? Example:

Code: 
[FONT="Courier New"]
John drops to one knee.  BAM!  He fires once, killing Bob.
[/FONT]

OR

Code: 
[FONT="Courier New"]
John drops to one knee.  Bam!  He fires once, killing Bob.
[/FONT]
Click to expand...

I used to be big on capitalizing all sounds. Now, this is the seldom occasion where I'll do so. I only use it to call attention to a loud/shocking sound that I want to stand out to the reader. In your example, I would capitalize but it's a matter of preference.
 
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time2focus said:
I used to be big on capitalizing all sounds. Now, this is the seldom occasion where I'll do so. I only use it to call attention to a loud/shocking sound that I want to stand out to the reader. In your example, I would capitalize but it's a matter of preference.
Click to expand...

Thanks. This definitely seems like a preference thing. I think I will remove all such caps from my script and see how it feels. I can always add them back in.
 
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If it's something unexpected, it's fine to capitalize the sound. Again, the point is that too much capitalization makes the script hard to read.

In a shooting script (or a script you intend to shoot), capitalized words can help in marking props and special effects. But in most scripts, they are not. The point is that not every sound needs to be capitalized anymore. That was taught as the standard at one time. If a sound is unexpected, it may make sense to highlight it.
 
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