Hello good people. I just wondered if I could get any advice from the wise folk on here about how to format the opening of a script I'm currently writing. It's not really a montage I don't think, (although I could be wrong), it introduces the 2 main characters who are going about their daily business in 2 separate locations and it cuts between the 2. It's not split screen, I want a few seconds on one character before cutting to the other, this goes on for roughly 30 seconds.

Now I have final draft and if I want to create a new scene then it starts it on a different page. I don't want to have this 30 second opening written as a few lines on about 8 different pages which it is at present as I am cutting between the shots and the next shot is becoming a new scene, how can I get around this?

Any help greatly appreciated. I probably haven't explined that too well so apologies for that.

Write it using the screenplay format on FD.

How about putting both locations seperated by a /

So

Int.House/Ext.Street-Day.

Then describe under that what's happening.

Thank you very much fellas. That was very prompt too, it's greatly appreciated. Marc P, you'd have thought that was obvious wouldn't you, and maybe it would have been to someone with a modicum of intelligence. I however, have none and only realised after reading your reply that I had it on a sitcom format. Tremendous, I think I'll start eating wax crayons.

Thanks again to you both.

I've asked to format such a scene as (eg):

INT/INT LOUNGE/OFFICE DAY

IN THE LOUNGE

ANDY
What a lovely lounge.

IN THE OFFICE

TERRY
I hate this office.

IN THE LOUNGE: ANDY JUMPS ON THE SOFA

IN THE OFFICE: TERRY KICKS OVER A CHAIR

etc.

Note that if there's an existing scene, and another location comes into play, eg. someone coming in as a phone call, then you start a new scene at the point where it becomes INT/INT or INT/EXT or whatever, and you start another new scene if either of the original two drops out and it reverts to being INT or EXT. So someone in a scene, then having a phone conversation that finishes and they go back to what they are doing, is laid out as three scenes.

This is according to one BBC exec, but in my experience there's no such thing as a BBC 'house style'.