Parenthetical Directions

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Parenthetical Directions
When you find it necessary that a snatch of dialogue be delivered in a certain way, add a parenthetical, like this:
LISA
(irritated)
What is that idiot doing?
Such directions should, however, be used sparingly. The reason you don't see any in the Appendix A sample is because they simply weren't necessary. They seldom are.
If you should feel an uncontrollable urge to tell the actor how to do his job, or you want to give him a bit of stage business by all means do it -- but take care not to load the entire script up with this kind of thing. Otherwise your reader might feel a lot like Lisa does.
Camera Directions
One of the most common questions I'm asked about screenplay format is, "Should I use camera directions?" My usual reply is, "Why would you want to?"
The typical response has something to do with the writer's attempt to convey his "vision," to give the dialogue subtext, or to focus attention on a particular prop or character.
These are perfectly respectable reasons, but none of them in any way necessitates the use of camera directions in your script. There's nothing more annoying to a reader than seeing a passage that reads:
The CAMERA swoops toward the window, PUSHING IN on
Maria and Juan.
What does such a line really accomplish? Does it somehow make the script more visual? No. What it does do is draw unnecessary attention to the camera and, therefore, jars the reader. Not good. Whenever you pull the reader away from your story you lessen the impact of that story, and camera directions are among the most distracting annoyances you will find in an amateur screenplay.
But wait a minute, you're saying. I've read scripts that had all kinds of camera directions in it. Uh-uh. And what happened when you came to those camera directions? You most likely got confused or annoyed and felt like tossing the script aside.
What you read was most likely a production draft of the script, which is the version written after the director has had his hands on it. It's highly likely that the writer's first draft of that same script had no camera directions at all.
I can still hear some of you. You just have to put in a camera direction because it's vitally important to the story. You need a CLOSE-UP of the lead character to show how his nostrils flare when he's angry.
Okay. Then why not simply write: "His nostrils flare."
What do you see in your mind when you read that line? A CLOSE-UP of flaring nostrils, would be my guess.
If you look back at my sample page in Appendix A, you'll see that I do not use one camera direction. But if you bother to actually read it, you'll find that the mind supplies all of the camera directions you'll ever need.
I assume that, as a writer, you have done a lot of reading. Take a look at your favorite novel. Is it visual? Can you see the action in your mind? What about camera angles -- do you see any of those?
A fiction writer doesn't need camera angles to get his "vision" across. Instead of using technological jargon like CLOSE-UP and ANGLE ON and LONG SHOT, he carefully chooses his words to make you see what he wants you to see. And a handful of carefully chosen words is worth a hundred mind-numbing camera angles.
However, as always, when it comes to screenplay format, there are exceptions to the rule. If you look at Appendix B, which features the second sample I've provided, you'll note that the page is broken up by what looks like a lot of scene captions. Technically speaking these aren't all scene captions because they don't always move us to a new location. So what are they?
Camera directions. Yep, you caught me. But you'll notice that at no time do I mention the camera or an angle or a close-up. I use simple captions to help the reader focus in on a particular subject without pulling him out of the story. Notice how the action flows from narrative to caption to narrative again? This is a sneaky way of directing on paper without using the unnecessary jargon.
If you chose to use this technique, you must use it sparingly. You'll note that the sample in question is an action scene and this is where I feel the technique works best. In action scenes there are often a number of things going on at once and clarity is all important. These pseudo camera directions help clarify the action.