Screenplay Is not only meant for you, it should be easy for everyone to understand what have u written..Didn't get what i said..? okay i will tell you in detail..for instance imagine that you are writing a script with some love theme. And you have completed scripting it completely. Now think that you have given your bound script to your cinematographer or cameramen after reading that script he shouldn't complain that he didn't understand anything after going through your script (i.e) i simple terms you script is not your sole property it should be in a way that each and everyone in your team should understand what you have meant in the script and should be clear from creating doubts.
Elements Of Screenplay
Did you ever got irritated when thinking about the screenplay format you are following..? for example sometimes you can get irritated for detailing small small things into your screenplay...but tell you it will do lots of wonders to your making skills. Each and every step in formatting a screenplay have a meaning.Slug lines,action,character's name,parenthetical, dialogue, transition and if needed type of shot(now a days nobody is denoting a shot in screenplay..defining a shot will be done for few shots which are considered as important). All these are called elements of screenplay and are explained by me in detail for you didn't go through the post please go through.
What is a Slug line..?
INT.VILLAGE HOME-DAY
in the above line what i have mentioned is nothing but a slug line. In the above line it denotes:
INT means Interior
VILLAGE HOME means The scene is taking place at a Village inside a house.
DAY means the scene is taking place in the day time.
Mentioning all the above details will help to plan your project in a compact manner..i.e you are mentioning that this particular scene is going to take place inside a house...with the help of this detail your art director can able to plan the house you want and design sets as per the requirements.
Second detail you have given is, house and the scene happens to be in a day time. So your cameramen or cinematographer will get an idea like what type of lighting to be used and what are the optimum angles that makes the scene more interesting and feast to eyes.
Your editor will get an idea what type of narration you are expecting and what are the important master scenes in a film.
Each and every element in a screenplay plays a major role. This post is just targeted to explain the importance of the elements in a screenplay and how they are useful..because before doing anything we must know why and what we are doing so that our way will be clear without any obstacles. And one more thing we have to remember is, these are not only meant for structuring the screenplay, these elements in screenplay adds clarity to your project so just don't ever fill that space with the words..just feel the importance in your narration and use them.As mentioned before there are lots of formats available for formatting a screenplay..choose the one which u feel comfortable and maintain that throughout so that u can create your style of writing. Actually these are not rules..just guidelines to structure your screenplay...hope this post helped you all..any comments or suggestions are welcomed. Cheers and happy writing..