Should you include transitions and camera directions in your script?

The quick and dirty answer is: no.

The cop out answer is: it depends.

I think that camera directions and scene transitions are the domain of the DOP and editor, and the director to an extent. To include this in a script is tantamount to telling them how to do their job. Would you like your script mangled by actors who think they know better? Similarly, you shouldn’t add directions and transitions, simply because its saying you know better.

It’s also a point of professional courtesy. To leave this out is to say that yes, I trust the other folk involved in the production to do their job competently, just as I do mine.

And also, this is the magic of production. If your script were executed exactly as you envisioned it with no deviations whatsoever, it will bear a certain homogeneity, a certain… “stink” that is quite distinctive. But it’s when each person adds his or her own take to the project, the synthesis of creative minds on moving pictures creates an experience for the viewer that no single mind, no one person can do so.

No other creative line has this unique trait of melding so many creative ideas into a finished video that is far more than the sum of its parts.

But then as I said at the beginning, it depends. And just as there are no hard and fast rules in production (or life for that matter), there are exceptions to this.

You can use it sparingly, when you really feel a need to do so and you cannot express it any other way. Ideally, you should be skilled and experienced enough to convey the type of shots that your scene descriptions warrant (a director worth his salt won’t use a CU for the beautiful city skyline in your first scene, for instance), but doing it sparingly is fine.

Sparingly means not more than once per 10 pages.

If your director is incompetent, then by all means, go ahead. This sends a signal that you have no faith in your production team, and it isn’t the best way to build and cultivate relationships. But when you know your name is on the final product and there isn’t any other choice, well, you’ve gotta do what you gotta do. I don’t advocate it, though.

Lastly, you should include it if you’re directing and editing and basically, a one man production team. Just for reference.

If you’re reading this instead of writing though, I have one thing to say to you.

Go write and stop procrastinating!