Scene HeadingEdit
Scene heading
A scene heading, also known as a slug line, is the line at the top of a new scene in a screenplay that identifies where the action takes place and roughly when. It serves as a compact production instruction that communicates location, environment, and time of day to everyone from the director and cast to the grips and lighting crew. In most professional scripts, the scene heading is the initial anchor point for planning a shoot, guiding set design, location scouting, and scheduling, while also helping continuity maintainers track changes across takes and sequences. For many writers, the scene heading is both a storytelling device and a practical tool that keeps the writing aligned with the realities of production.
The scene heading functions as a contract of sorts between the writer and the production team. By clearly stating interior versus exterior conditions, the locality, and the time of day, it frames the narrative possibilities and the resource requirements. It helps editors, producers, and location managers anticipate what is needed for a given shot, from costumes and props to permits and weather considerations. In this way, the scene heading reduces the back-and-forth during the shoot and supports a smoother day-by-day schedule. See how this interacts with the broader discipline of screenplay formatting and with production schedule planning, both of which rely on reliable slug lines to keep work moving.
The form and use of scene headings have a long-standing tradition in the craft. The standard approach marks each new scene with a line beginning either with INT. ( interior) or EXT. ( exterior), followed by a location and a brief indication of time: DAY or NIGHT (with more granular times sometimes used in television or on set). In many scripts, all of the information in the heading is written in uppercase to maximize legibility on a busy set or in a crowded editing room. However, practices vary by jurisdiction, format, and the preferences of a given production team or publishing house. Modern tools for screenwriting, such as Final Draft or Celtx, provide templates that enforce these conventions while allowing for those who want more flexibility to adapt the style without losing clarity. See also slug line for the alternative terminology and its usage across the industry.
Structure and Elements
Typical composition: a scene heading begins with INT. or EXT., then a location label, and finally a time designation. Example: INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY. This compact line communicates the core constraints that shape the scene’s production real estate.
Interior vs exterior: The choice of INT. or EXT. signals not just a physical setting but a different planning regime—interior spaces generally imply controlled lighting and sound, while exterior spaces introduce concerns like weather, lighting weather, and access.
Location and time: The specific label after INT./EXT. identifies the place, and the time (DAY, NIGHT, or a more precise designation) informs scheduling, lighting, and crew call.
Optional details: In some contexts, a heading may include additional shorthand or notes that help with planning, such as a modifier for a specific room, floor, or significant set piece. The shooting script may expand on these details in a separate production note or in the action following the heading.
Variants and flexibility: While the all-caps convention is common in traditional Hollywood formatting, some writers and some contemporary publications use mixed case on the heading, particularly for television, streaming, or regional productions. The essential aim remains: convey location, environment, and timing quickly and unambiguously.
Related concepts: The scene heading sits alongside other script features such as dialogue, character cues, and action lines, all of which contribute to the script’s readability and manufacturability. For a deeper dive into the line that begins each scene, see slug line.
History and Practice
Scene headings emerged from the needs of early cinema and stage-to-film transitions, evolving as a practical shorthand to coordinate large crews and rapid shooting schedules. As the screenwriting profession coalesced into a defined craft, standardization around interior/exterior designations, location names, and time of day helped unify the language across writers, directors, and studios. With the rise of television writing and multi-camera formats, scene headings adapted to accommodate faster shot turnovers and tighter production calendars, while preserving the core function of signaling a shift in setting and logistical requirements.
Today, the format is taught in many screenplay formatting guides and is enforced by script readers, producers, and post-production teams. Writers who understand the convention can more easily translate a narrative moment into a concrete set of resources, while editors and line producers can align shooting blocks with the creative plan. For those who study the broader ecosystem of writing for film and television, the intersection of scene headings with plan-driven production is a useful case study in how form and function reinforce one another. See screenplay and production schedule for related concepts.
Controversies and Debates
Within the industry, debates about how strictly to apply traditional scene-heading conventions often reflect broader tensions between artistic control and production pragmatism. From a practical, results-oriented perspective, a clear slug line is indispensable: it avoids miscommunication, minimizes delays, and keeps the crew aligned on location, lighting, and time-of-day constraints. Critics who emphasize efficiency tend to argue for tight, unambiguous headings even in ambitious works that push stylistic boundaries.
On the other side of the aisle, some writers and commentators advocate for flexibility in format to accommodate experimental storytelling. They argue that rigid all-caps headings can feel stylistically limiting or incongruent with certain voices and genres, especially in art-house or streaming productions that experiment with tone and pacing. Proponents of traditional formatting contend that narrative merit should carry the project, and that well-structured headings simply make that work possible by reducing logistical friction.
A subset of conversations around representation and storytelling sometimes touches script conventions as a proxy for broader cultural debates. Critics of what they call excessive “political correctness” sometimes claim that rigid or retrospective demands about setting, locale, or social context can steer scenes toward messaging rather than plot and character. Advocates of inclusive storytelling reply that clear, honest representation is a essential part of credible world-building and audience trust. In practice, experienced writers often integrate representation and realism within the action and dialogue itself, rather than relying on a heading to convey social context. Where debates arise, the preferred stance is to balance narrative clarity, production practicality, and authentic character portrayal, without sacrificing craft or marketability.
In sum, the scene heading remains a foundational device that anchors production planning while supporting narrative clarity. Its proper use helps ensure that a writer’s vision can be realized reliably on screen, even as the broader media landscape evolves with new formats, platforms, and audience expectations.