Writing sound in the screenplay: Traditions and innovations

Abstract

Despite the rich literature on both film sound and screenwriting, there is a paucity of practical advice in current Hollywood screenwriting guides on how to write sound into scripts. This essay encourages the work of screenwriters, screenwriting teachers, students and cinema scholars in two ways. It both reviews the traditions for integrating sound into screenplays and introduces innovations in the classical script format for writing sound. A sequence of off-screen sounds can convey a whole series of actions, while sounds in an outline or synopsis can structure an entire film narrative. As in past screenplays, sounds can again be written side by side in tandem with yet independently from images. Finally, the article makes original emendations to the classical master scene format for writing dominant sounds that fill a scene as well as indications for movie music. At a time when both film production and the screenplay itself are being transformed, this essay rejuvenates both film scholarship and practice by bridging historical traditions with practical innovations for screenwriting sound.