Screenwriting : Characters that age and dialogue heading by Ann Burr

You wouldn't mess with casing, if that's what you're driving at. YOUNG JANE TEEN JANE OLD JANE If there's one age that predominates (your "main Jane") stick with JANE for that one. Though frankly, if she aged steadily over the course of the script, I might just go with JANE the whole time for reader clarity. If God forbid the script were being produced, your Janes could then be subdivided as appropriate for casting purposes. 'Cause it could be awful irritating to read 30 pages of OLD JANE dialogue.

Jane is only two ages teenager and old . OLD JANE starts the story and ends it, while TEEN JANE is the middle.

Got it. JANE and OLD JANE then. So sayeth I. We'll see if anyone else disagrees. :)

thanks

I'd do TEEN JANE and JANE and OLD JANE (and let casting deal with finding an actress who wants to play OLD JANE!). Be careful of things like this, though. A juicy Oscar bait role where a character ages is one thing... but just having your story take place in a bunch of time periods might be a casting issue. If you're going to "spend money" on that expert old age make up, make sure the story is worth it!

I agree 100% with Alle. If Jane has aged by, say 25 years, you can use; SUPERIMPOSE: " 25 years later" to age her

she ages, from 16to19 then she is 69-70. I know the 16-19 wouldn't need to be labeled each year.

Alle, I have seen a multitude of movies in my years, and a multitude of those have used the "SUPERIMPOSE" to indicate a change in time and/or location. I think that most people would rather have it laid out straightforward because they do not pay that much attention to detail.

Hey Ann, if you are taking drastic, sudden jumps in age, take a look at other scripts for example to see how other writers handled the same issue. The script for "Looper" deals with the same character at different ages. Also, the pilot script for "True Detective" also jumps back and forth in time. Frankly, I think using a SUPER for this specific story element is lazy writing. From what you stated earlier on this thread, your character's age for the majority of the script is older so she should be referred to by her name, "Jane." After a clear slug line, with a different year, followed by a description of what is happening, you can either keep referring to your character as "Jane." Or, if you prefer to be even clearer for the reader, refer to her as "Young Jane." When she returns to "present day" she would be "Jane" once again. Remember clarity is key. :)

ok its starts in present day OLD JANE begins to tell her story. the story then goes back to the 40's when she was a teenager (43-46) then ends with her old again. So as i write dialogue: begining OLD JANE, middle YOUNG JANE and back to OLD JANE?

Ann, your character "Jane" starts the story at present time (Do not use "Old Jane." That doesn't make sense when starting your story at present time. She is who she is). Then, whatever you are doing in the middle, maybe a flashback, you could refer to her as "Young Jane." However, depending on how well you have constructed your story, used slug lines, description and dialog to create a sense of time period, you could just refer to her as "Jane" throughout. Please seek out pdfs of shooting scripts to see how others handled the same character told from different ages or points in time. Honestly, this is a great way to figure out script devices and how best to write for clarity. Look to the pros. :) I already listed "Looper," "True Detective," "Forrest Gump" might be a good one, also the "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." All featured characters shown at different ages and times. Best of luck with your script!

thank you so much.

You're welcome, Ann. I just hope it helped somewhat. :) Again, best to you!

Ouchie. Old Jane. Can you say Senior Jane?

'atta girl, Mary