What is a Slugline?

The basics of screenplay format are important for anyone breaking into the film industry. Not only do you need to know how to read a script, but you may need to learn how to write them as well.

Right at the beginning of every scene is a thing called a “slugline”. It’s the entry point for each scene and is important as you carry your audience through the story.

Today, we’re going to go over sluglines, define them, and look at a few examples.

Let’s dive in.

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Slugline definition

In screenwriting, a “slugline” is the line of text used to define the setting and time of a scene. It tells the reader (and later, the production team) where and when a scene takes place.

The Elements of a Slugline

When you’re writing a slugline, you’re thinking of three things:

1. Interior or Exterior
2. The Setting
3. The time of day

Writing a Slugline 

Sluglines are really easy to format. Do not overcomplicate them. Just give us the general idea of if we’re inside, outside, the place we’re at, and what time it is when this all occurs.

Sluglines are written this way:

• INT/EXT. SETTING – TIME OF DAY

You classify inside and outside as either INT or EXT.. Then you’ll tell us where we are. You should be as specific as you need to be.

For example, if it’s a house, that’s fine. But maybe your story has a lot of different houses in it, so this is Jeff’s House.

When you say the time of day, you don’t need to be a clock. It can be Early morning, day, late afternoon, twilight, night, midnight, etc.

Most people just use Day or Night to signify the time of day.

Also, all of these elements are always capitalized.

So, if you were inside Jeff’s house at night, it would look like…

INT. JEFF’S HOUSE – NIGHT

Slugline Specifics

The more you write sluglines, the better you’ll get at them. They’re simple. Sometimes, you can make them a little complicated.

Let’s say you want to be in a specific room inside the house.

That would look like…

INT. PRIMARY BEDROOM – JEFF’S HOUSE – NIGHT

Some people put the house before the bedroom in their sluglines. I really don’t think it matters. This is how I learned to do it.

Bold Sluglines 

In my opinion, you should put all your sluglines in bold font. That’s just an opinion. For me, I think it helps with the read and makes each scene stand out on the page.

There are lots of better writers than me who don’t do that.

It’s your personal preference.

Summing Up Sluglines in Screenwriting 

So, there you have it. That’s sluglines. They are the gateway into screenwriting scenes and into reading screenplays.

If you have questions, I’m all ears. The best way to learn is just to write a lot.

Let me know what you think in the comments.