Screenwriting : Question re screenwriting by Rosalind Winton

Hi Rosalind. Adding an image in a script is a "no-no." That said, it depends. For example, ARRIVAL included some graphics of the alien's language in the screenplay, which seems appropriate and fitting for that specific story and context. Or... if you're making this film yourself then you can do whatever you wish. Lol! However, I would recommend you just describe the postcard in action. And if there is some story-relevant detail or message that the audience must read, then you format that with INSERT, which is rather handled like a flashback. INSERT should be used sparingly and indicates this detail would be seen on screen, a close-up.

INSERT - THE POSTCARD, which reads:

Then the postcard message....

Then BACK TO SCENE

A good resource to have is The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier. In the book, there are lots of examples of how to handle such a need on the page. Hope that helps!

Hi Beth

Thank you so much for clarifying that for me, I wasn't sure and didn't want to do the wrong thing and I will certainly look up The Screenwriter's Bible, sounds perfect.

You could do a "look book" as part of your pitch package. Usually it's put together by the Director or Producer when they go out on meetings to try to sell a project that has some seed money behind it. But I've seen look books by writers too. A look book is usually a nice, well put together booklet with images that express the world the script is set in, the look of the characters, the tone, and key set pieces. I've seen them range from collages of pictures gathered from the internet to fully rendered computer graphic models and professional concept art.

Hi Rosalind: Based on my experience, I would have to agree with Beth. Typically, a writer will avoid including images when submitting the script.

However, I believe a key element would be to describe the postcard in such visual, vivid and evocative language that the reader will be able to "see" the postcard without having seen it.

A suggestion would be to describe the image in graphic detail. Is the image faded? Crisply focused? What about the writing? Is it neat? Or messy? Did they scrawl it quickly down or take the time and write cleanly? What's the condition of the card? Pristine? Creased? Cracked? What about the stamp?

Use every tool at your disposal because something such as a card, is a great motif. Also, don't try to reveal everything about the card at the same time. Peel back information about it like an onion, allowing the reader to discover something new that relates to the story.

Hope this helps!

Put the image in the script.

Brilliant, thank you Shaun, yes, I will do that, it is actually quite tattered and torn, rather dog eared and it's written in Hebrew script and only part of the address can be seen. There is no stamp only the partial postmark 'thampton', so I will have great fun describing it in my script.

Dash. I think I will take Beth and Shaun's advice not to include a picture of the postcard, but thank you very much for your reply.

David. Thank you for your advice, what a great idea, I'll keep that in mind later on, hopefully I will get that far :)

Hi Dan, the postcard is the means by which I'm going to transition the story from present day when my sister and I found the postcard after my parents had died to a flashback to when my Great Grandfather wrote it. I will be able to describe it well, because I have it in a frame on my table, so I can actually describe what I'm seeing and it's important to me that the actual postcard we have is described in the script.

Format it the way Beth described, exposed the emotional attachment to the postcard in the action description, followed by your transition into the past with your choice of dissolves. Clarity, I feel is what's important here.

I'm puzzled why you'd need to show the post card if you have "Based on a True Story" just below your script title. And no, don't include it in a look book. It's too valuable for that. Are you aware that a letter from the Titanic sold at auction last week for a king's ransom?

Dan, it's not a documentary, but the postcard is important. My Great Grandfather wrote it to his wife from Titanic, before it set sail from Southampton, I'm using it as a link between the past and the present.

Thank you W Keith

Erik, I just thought it would be a good idea, rather than describing it, to show the actual postcard my Great Grandfather sent from the Titanic in the script, I just needed to know if that is something that can be done. I've been told not to do that, so I'm not going to, I will describe it instead.

Rosalind, I thought that Beth did a good job describing what to do, however, as a screenwriter of over 30 scripts and a producer gearing up for his 14th and 15th pictures, including a picture in your script is not going to help. You can always describe it in detail - again, as Beth pointed out - but including a picture will not help.

Sam, thank you very much, I appreciate your advice and I am going to describe it :)

Thank you Dan.

Beth is spot on, on how to handle it in the script. But if you ever get to pitch to a producer, that postcard needs to be part of the pitch. A look book, perhaps, as David said, but the actual postcard (in a protective covering, of course) shown to the producer during the pitch would be a visceral, compelling selling point. And I bet, not one the producer has ever seen - which would raise your story above the clamoring noise of other pitches.

Dan M INSERTing a real postcard from the Titanic might (not is) be a good visual establishing time/place - that's important in a story/script.

John, that's fantastic, thank you, the postcard is already laminated, so that would be okay, I love showing it to people and telling my Great Grandfather's story.

I think I should explain some things, because it seems some are not sure why I'm including the postcard within the story. My Great Grandfather wrote it to his wife from the Titanic, before it set sail from Southampton. The postcard was passed to their daughter (my Grandmother), but then it was lost and no one could find it, searches were made over the years, but with no luck. The mystery of what happened to the postcard was speculated on through the years, we thought either it had been accidentally thrown out, or maybe even stolen, there were arguments in the family as to who actually had it, my Father or his brother and the subject often came up and it was one of those things we never thought would be solved. After my parents died (my mum in 2011 and my dad in 2012 after long illnesses), my sister and I were sorting out their wardrobes. In one of the wardrobes, the shelves were stacked to the brim with books, among these books was a pile of books about Titanic, which my dad must have collected. I was flicking through them and the postcard fell out of one of the pages of the book I was looking at. My sister and I could not believe it. The postcard had been in our home the whole time. My dad had laminated it and had used it as a bookmark, he had forgotten and in all the years it was lost, it actually wasn't. The feeling of holding this postcard in our hands was indescribable. We couldn't read it because it was written in Hebrew script as my Great Grandparents had come to London after they left Warsaw in Russia and didn't speak English well, so we found a Rabbi to translate it for us. So the postcard really is a part of my Great Grandparent's story and that's why I want to include the story of it in my script.

Just say, no. My research shows it's a rookie move. Let your writing do all the talking.

Hi Rosalind, in addition to Beth's advice for within the script, if the postcard is key to the story, you could include a picture as part of a custom cover design for your script. The screenwriting software allows for this now. Most contests/people I've encountered encourage visual materials to accompany your script. After all, film is visual medium so might be nice addition.

Thank you Shawn.

Thank you Sarah.

The advice has been amazing and I really appreciate it all.