How do you tell the audience it’s the 1960s without using titles or overt exposition through dialogue?
How do you get across that the scene is 1950s small town America?
There are plenty of products, motifs and figures which represent moments in time. The news, music and product releases can help signpost, if cunningly used.
You use action description to set the period without having to use blatant labels or superimposed date titles.
For example, whilst the following works, it is a little too “on the nose.”
That exposition is a little desperate if the story has nothing to do with music or Elvis Presley. It is weak because if the conversation doesn’t proceed from the Elvis comment, then it is so obviously dropped in to make a point.
You would better have references to a period kitchen. Perhaps still use the radio, but have the DJ announce that Elvis is coming to town. It then comes across naturally, more “by the by.”
Another great idea is to place a photo on wall of the president representing your screenplay time period. Obviously this would not be in the kitchen in the above scene, but in an office, or other appropriate scenario.
An excellent example used several times is in "The Shawshank Redemption." In Andy Dufresne's cell, he has posters of women. These go up over a period of years, and thus mark the time appropriately. The first to go up is of Rita Hayworth, in the 1940s. Next comes Marilyn Monroe, in the 1950s, and finally Raquel Welch in the 1960s. A clever exposition of the passage of time.
A great example of declaring a time period is the TV series “Stranger Things.” Right off the bat the show uses almost every element to do so, be it the wardrobe, set dressing, dialogue or theme music. The retro keyboard music, bowl haircuts, Jaws poster, Dungeons & Dragons board game, Chopper bicycle, to name a few.
Having said all that, the sad reality is that for the benefit of the younger generations, born post the year 2000, the Stranger Things show did superimpose the year “1983”.
You will need to be distinct and careful in a story scenario where your character has a 1950s themed kitchen but it is the present day.
Another use of calling out objects in your action description can be to reveal the financial status of your characters, if pertinent to your story. Remember that you can’t write:
Instead you need to dress the characters and set to bring this across:
These visuals tell the state of Mr Jones’s lack of wealth, and the fact the children don’t sit and moan about bread and soup shows a degree of acceptance as to their long running fate.
On the other end of the scale, a character who sits at a large desk with a view across a city, Mont Blanc pen in hand, Patek Philippe watch on the wrist, straight pearly white teeth, and a confident poise, sends a very different signal.
If stuck, simply put yourself in the place of your character and think about the tools of your trade or circumstances of your living. What do you see around you? How do you feel, as that character? Use those objects to signpost the era.
What About a Future?
Another scenario to think about is a story set in the future. There’s a degree of guesswork in terms of what might be feasible in accordance with time, but you have leeway, within reason. Technology is the obvious advance to describe. Style of dress will be another marker to use.
Typically it is modes of communication, computer screen, firearm, and transport which many future world screenplays use to paint a picture. Beyond that there are potential futuristic ideas as to living spaces, fashion, medicine, and how we might be eating.
Using these aspects to describe a time is much better than overt dialogue stressing the point that it is the year 2567.
This brings up the concern of time, in respect of date. This is discussed further in another post here. Briefly, it is so often the case that the exact year is not really important, so best not to restrict yourself to it. The exception will be an historical drama.
The added advantage of using visuals over superimposed dates, is that you stir memories and nostalgia, or if in the future, you create objects and technologies which inspire interest.
Signs for evoking feeling
You can take the use of visual signs further to dress a scene to set the mood and tone, particularly to reflect the emotions of the character.
A simple example of this is that of Shane Black’s “Lethal Weapon.” Riggs lives alone in a trailer. Inside, we see him looking broken, wild hair, sitting on a worn and drab couch in a messy room. He’s handling a Beretta 92 handgun and contemplating suicide. It’s raw. It’s ripe. It is such a lauded scene. Just have a look on YouTube and read the comments.
If Mel Gibson, as Riggs, had been sitting in luxury, wearing smart clothes with bright colors around him, the impact would not have been so great. Sure, it still would have had gravity, as any suicide scene would, but not to the extent that the way it was filmed in the trailer did.
By ensuring that you cover the scene setup in your screenwriting, you steer the impact of the action the way it can best possibly be. If you provide no markers, it will be left open to interpretation, and possibly go a weaker way.
Remember that the moment you sign your screenplay over to the film makers, you have no input, unless explicitly invited onboard (unlikely for a new writer). If the story is precious to you, then set your scenes the way you need them to be in your action description. Just be careful not to over write.
As always, screenwriting is an art of balance compared to writing a book, where you are free to ramble and emphasize. The advice is almost on a knife edge, as we say “Give a little bit more, but don’t over write!”
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