And today was the first day I would be allowed to post again after I was suspended for contradicting a poster who said the "DAY" and "NIGHT" referenced the time of the action, not the lighting.
To everyone here: Come by the WGA Library and maybe we can chat a bit.
.
Let it be known that in the many years I have been here, you have never once supplied an example of a script that used the convention of referring to NIGHT and DAY in reference to lighting conditions, rather than implied time of day.
I will leave this board convinced, as all the experienced filmmakers that have graced this site, that you have no idea what you are talking about.
So I guess this is your last chance...
Agreed Myosis,
DAY and NIGHT are for the times of day which, from a filming perspective, would be an instruction regarding lighting but that goes without saying. When reading as cript - which is what they're for - it's all so the reader can enivisage he time of day and also to keep track of time.
Basically, the DAY or NIGHT is not related to what time it is, but to the breakout so that all of the DAY lighting setups at one location are done together for budget and scheduling issues, then the two to sixteen hours needed to switch to the NIGHT setup is done and the dark image scenes are shot.
This is the basic stage of understanding why each element is where it is, when it is, and has nothing to do with what happens in the scene. An INT. WAREHOUSE - DAY might well be a huge, empty warehouse with dark windows showing it is night outside but the warehouse is well lit. The text would tell us the windows were dark, but the DAY tells us that we clearly see everything in the scene. What time it is taking place, well, that is what the action text is for.
What if it were "day" outside in terms of time but not in lighting? You need to slug it as NIGHT.
You could have an EXT. OUTSIDE WAREHOUSE - NIGHT in a movie where the two guys from inside the warehouse burst outside to find the world has gone dark, and one checks his watch to confirm it is the middle of the day, but totally dark. The slug line defines it for production and helps the reader understand why the action tells us that they are using flashlights to find their cars in what should be noonday sun.
This is the mechanics of shooting, and how it looks is what INT. or EXT. defines, the location is where it happens, and the DAY or NIGHT is how it is seen.
The cost of locations and lighting are part of the choices made when budget is drawn up, and when a spec screenplay lands on a desk if the writer did not know or just did not follow those guidelines it is unlikely the reader will get ten pages into it before he is making nasty notes.
When I tried to explain that the post was deleted, I was suspended, and I was not even allowed to use the private messages. I strongly suspect those responsible were the same people who took on all of the people who used to post here.
Wrong.
One example.
Last chance.
Early screenplays did not have slug lines, they were added during the production planning stage. The slug line is a production tool, and your argument that it is otherwise is much like the argument that since e. e. cummings didn't use capitals then no one should use capitals because he did it that way and he is famous.
Go by the library and check. Every properly formatted screenplay has the same application of slug line use, and it designates the lighting so the scenes can be sorted and shot with maximum effect.
If you want to do otherwise, fine. Do it.
For anyone else reading, think about it and consider https://www.wgfoundation.org/writing-seminars/ as an alternative to this soon to not be source of advice.
You just had to mention one. And you failed.
After this forum is closed, who will you pretend to be in the business to?
I only watch movies I dont make them but it seems you are wrong and the night and day thing is just time of day. In that scene you describe wouldn't it just be written as night and then the screenwriter mentions lights being on in the house? Or not at all because we assume since we can see them the lights must be on?
So if they went outside it would be described as inside night and then outside night. It wouldnt go from daytime to nighttime because their traveling was almost instantaneous. The reader would be confused as to why several hours passed in what visually is actually only few seconds. If you are trying to not confuse readers then you would fail.
I was watching this documentary where they used this technique called day for night or something. Its where they shot it during the day but made it look like night. Or maybe it was night for day I cannot remember. Do you mean this? I dont understand what you mean.