I like capitalization -- what I really like are capitals used to indicate a new shot, and used to push the reader through a sentence -- capitalize the subject and verb of an action sentence. For me capitals actually make for a much FASTER read.

They're also a great tool for emphasis, obviously, and since we're not allowed to use underlines, bolds or italics, it seems a shame to remove this tool from the writer's arsenal as well.

j

Trevor, I say it depends on the pace of the narrative.

I don't think anyone would mind the occasional capitalization throughout the action lines. If you gotta show what needs to be seen amidst what's happening, then capitalization is probably the way to go, to highlight the visually imperative elements of the scene. But if it's overdone then it will be adverse to your intented "direction".

I think the example that Scott gave from one of his scripts is a good indication of something that could be viewed as overkill. When in doubt, one should adhere to some self-imposed guidelines for capitalization - stick to a modest rule of thumb, like objects but not verbs, or sounds but not adverbs, etc.

With Scott's example for instance, I thought that the exclamation point (!) was more imposing than the 12-out-of-28-words capitalization. Yet that's what he chose to do when he did it. He may have doubted himself thirty times and still decided "It must be there(!)" It made sense to him then, but not now.

We change, opinions change, and so do rules. People were against anything but paint on a canvas, until some whack swapped a brush for a blowtorch. Goodbye paint... Goodbye canvas. And voila` GENIUS.

So... Look, when it comes to craft - being EFFICIENT is better than being deficient. Being DEFIANT better than being defined. Write how you wanna write and tell it the way only you can tell it. Don't get all by-the-book-writer geeky on yourself. I bet you write scripts because you saw a movie once and said, "I can do better than that."

CAPITALIZE on that(!)

Scott, thanks so much for covering this topic again. The Justin Zackham example you provided really illuminates the fact that it's really about "whatever works." The story's the thing.

I still don't get why the formatting books are so zealous about capitalizing both the sound AND the object making the sound.

@James - I see what you and Scott mean about CAPS potentially making things read faster or pop. It's all very Shane Black. But I like Scott's current less-is-more view of things.

@stefano - Thank you for your thorough response. I will definitely CAPITALIZE on the current trends, and what feels right, rather than strict adherence to potentially outmoded formatting rules. :)

Time to read some more Black List scripts...

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Trevor

'Time to read some more Black List scripts...'

No.No. NO. Time to write one!

I was looking for an answer to this very question today - great timing, Scott!

I recently got coverage from a British script reader saying that capitalising sounds was antiquated and showed lack of basic script structure.

So, now I'm really confused. I'll stick to my emphasis sounds - and emphasis objects.

I wrote a short about a group of teens playing Russian Roulette - so I capitalised the appearance of THE GUN, as if it were another main character.