Emphasis in Action

When you write your Action, there are times where you will capitalize certain words or phrases for emphasis. For example:

CARL BANNER shoves open the glass door. It hits the wall 
and the glass SHATTERS.

The sample above shows the two most common uses of capitalization.

First, when you introduce a character (the first time you type his/her name in Action), capitalize the name. Only capitalize the name the first time you use it, not every time.

The second capitalization indicates a Sound Effect. The glass "shatters." The reason that Sound Effects or SFX (see Abbreviations) are capitalized is to alert the production people to the need for the sound effect. That's why emphasizing sound effects is optional and, frankly, I don't recommend it unless, of course, you know that the reader expects it.

A much less common use of capitalization is to emphasize camera directions. Because this falls WAY into the realm of ...don't direct it, I really suggest you not do this unless you know it's expected. Just so you understand what I mean, here's a sample:

As the circus caravan continues, we FOLLOW the sad 
clown and ZOOM IN to SEE that it's really Mrs. Clearson 
in disguise.