(Part 1)
Tempo
One of the reasons for an action line to be brief is the tempo.
The script does not only tell a story, it also sets the pace of a scene and a situation. There is a general rule that one page of script should match one minute of film. This is of course just an estimation, but you can’t escape from the fact that the way you write, sets the pace.
If you write: “She jogs down the path. An arm appears behind a tree and grabs her. She screams as she pulled off the path” in one single paragraph it is fast paced happening. Just a few seconds really.
With a new paragraph after each full stop, we get a slower pace. In this case we will actually have time to see what happens.
Don’t be afraid to have white on the page. This is not a novel. It is okay to have a paragraph with one short sentence. In a movie script it is a matter of pace.
So let us experiment a little with “She jogs down the path” (“she” in question is a known character).
She jogs down the path.
A single short sentence in a paragraph of its own.
Some might think it is too lonely and adds information. Maybe it turns out something like:
She jogs down the path through the forest. It is early spring and the birds sing high and clear high above.
This might be perfect. Or not. It depends on the tempo of the scene and the information you want to tell.
What will happen to this line is a quick view of our jogging woman, and then the focus will move to the birds and other things indicating springtime. If that is what you intended, then you have succeeded.
If you want to keep focus on the woman, you should give her some time in view and end the paragraph after “path”. “Forest” should be stated in the slugline. If you want to add some idyllic scenery to the image, state in the next paragraph something like “she watches a bird fly as she approaches”. Then you keep focus on your character, and still let us see the birds, and – mind you – keeping a tempo that should be viewable if it were a film.
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