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Formatting text shown on screen

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 January 14, 2005  Formatting, QandA

First, it was such a pleasure to meet you in Austin last year. Hope to see you next year, too. I had a question A weekly-ish roundup of stuff we've found
that I’ve never gotten a straight answer on. interesting delivered right to your inbox.

How do you format it when you’re trying to show text being written on a computer monitor, speci cally Your email address
showing the exchange between two people in an internet chat room (a la “Closer”, but I haven’t found that
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script)? I’m guessing INSERT: COMPUTER SCREEN would be a start, but what’s after that? Would the same be
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used to show the text message on a cell phone?

EXPLORE
— Derek
Projects
Your instincts are right. I might choose slightly di erent words, but the net result would be the same: Arlo Finch (26) Big Fish (87)
Charlie (39) Charlie's Angels (16)
Chosen (2) Corpse Bride (9)
With a glance back over her shoulder to be certain no one’s
looking, Sydney quickly types in the search parameters. Dead Projects (18)
ON THE SCREEN Frankenweenie (10) Go (30)
Bank records scroll past at unreadable clip, finally arriving at Karateka (4) Monsterpocalypse (3)
a single matched record:
One Hit Kill (6) Ops (6)
CREDIT DAUPHINE, 204394753, BRUSSELS
ON SYDNEY Preacher (2) Prince of Persia (13)
She GASPS, recognizing her former faux-employer. Shazam (6) Snake People (6)
SYDNEY Tarzan (5) The Nines (118)
(sotto)
SD6. The Remnants (12) The Variant (22)

Apps

Bronson (13) FDX Reader (11)

I used a separate slugline (“ON SYDNEY”) to get us out of “ON THE SCREEN.” If you were crunched for
Fountain (32) Highland (71)
space, you could probably omit it; it’s pretty clear in context.
Less IMDb (4) Weekend Read (33)

I don’t often use “INSERT:” or “ANGLE ON:” in screenplays. They feel fussy, and rarely o er anything Recommended Reading

more than a single slugline in uppercase would. First Person (82) Geek Alert (145)
WGA (119) Workspace (19)
And as far as a cell-phone screen, there’s really no di erence:
Screenwriting Q&A

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Hearing a strange CHIRP, Chloe digs out her cell phone. She’s
gotten a new text message. Formatting (128) Genres (90)
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WHRE U AT?
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grimaces, frustrated. Starts to dial.
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(to Ruth) Story and Plot (170) Television (161)
I swear, your brother could get lost in a
closet. Treatments (21)
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More screenwriting Q&A at

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