Screenwriting Glossary: Essential Terms Every Writer Should Know

Screenwriting is an art form that often goes unnoticed. Lost in the bright lights, media craze, and glitz and glamour that is attached to the entertainment industry, the foundation of film tends to fade into the background.

Yet, what is a favorite movie or show without its screenplay? If there is no story, there is no heart-touching acting, no awe-inspiring cinematography… none of it would exist.

More goes into a screenplay than just dialogue. You need to not only direct actors, but also give cues for lighting, “blocking” (definition below!), art direction, and more. Within the screenwriting world, there is a lot of specific jargon used to make sure everyone is able to do their job correctly. Below, we have compiled for you a list of some of these terms to help you write your script just like the professionals do!

Common Screenwriting Terms:

Slugline = A bit of text at the beginning of each new scene or location. It helps to set the scene. In particular, the slugline details whether the scene is inside or outside, the specific location, and the time of day.

Shot = A shot is what the camera records. From the moment the camera begins recording to when it stops is the shot. Shots can range from a few seconds to many minutes. Usually in a scene (see below) you will use multiple different shots with differing angles to give your scene depth.

Scene = A scene is one continuous moment in your screenplay, when the action takes place in a single location or time frame. Scenes can be comprised of multiple shots, or may take place in one long shot (such as in the Netflix show Adolescence).

Blocking = Where the actors are positioned on the set. This also refers to where the camera is positioned, and you will have to “block out” the camera’s movements before a shot takes place.

Monologue = A continuous speech given by a single character to themself, another character, or the audience. The opposite of dialogue (which is between two people or more people).

Aside = An aside is when a character “breaks the fourth wall” and speaks to the audience.

Screenplay Descriptions:

Within a screenplay, screenwriters use terms and abbreviations to communicate lots of details in a small space. The ones listed below are commonly used, and so we recommend that you incorporate them into your own screenplay. You can learn more about how to format these abbreviations in our formatting blog post.

INT. = Interior. This is to let the director know the scene is set inside. It’s included at the beginning of the “slugline.”

INT. LESLIE’S BEDROOM - DAY

EXT. = Exterior. Similar to “INT.”, this is for when your scenes are set outside, and is also at the beginning of the slugline.

EXT. HOTEL GARDENS - NIGHT

CONT’D = “continued”. This technique lets you break up a character’s monologue or speech with descriptions of what viewers are seeing on screen, signaling to the viewer that you are returning to the same character speaking. Place "CONT’D" after a character’s name, in parentheses:

LESLIE (CONT’D)

[Begin the rest of monologue here]

Beat = To signify a pause in either action or dialogue.

LESLIE

[dialogue]

(beat)

[dialogue cont’d]

Parentheticals () = In a script, you can’t write character descriptions or emotions the way you would in prose. These should all be placed within parentheses so the directors and actors can know what to look out for.

LESLIE (late 20s, commanding, intelligent)

(annoyed)

[dialogue]

To [character] = If a character changes who they’re talking to mid-sentence, use this to signal the change.

LESLIE

[dialogue]

(to Amy)

[dialogue]

V.O. = Voiceover. This tells the director and actors that something different is happening on camera while we hear the voice of a character giving dialogue. You might say:

LESLIE (V.O)

[Begin dialogue here]

You might include a description of what is seen on camera either before or after these directions.

TALKING HEAD = A character is speaking directly to the camera, like an interview in a documentary. First write the character’s name in brackets, followed by “talking head”:

[LESLIE] TALKING HEAD

ANGLE = A direction indicating a specific camera position or perspective for a shot

ANGLE: SARGENT'S BINOCULAR VIEW OF DOWNSTAIRS

SFX = Sound effects; Non-dialogue audio cues in a script (e.g., explosions, footsteps, gunshots) that indicate specific sounds to be heard.

SFX: FOOTSTEPS

Now you know! If you want to try your hand at writing your own script, why don’t you enter our Screenwriting Competition this March?