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Film & Television vocabulary · Pre-Production and Scripts

Parenthetical

Meaning in film & television, with examples

nounCommon term

In film & television, parenthetical means: A short instruction in brackets within dialogue formatting that suggests an action or way of speaking.

In Turkish: parantez içi oyunculuk yönergesi

How it is used

Writers use parentheticals sparingly to clarify a line's delivery or a small action.

Example sentences

  1. The parenthetical tells the actor to whisper the final sentence.

    The direction changes delivery rather than spoken words.

  2. We removed the parenthetical because the dialogue already made the anger clear.

    The instruction added information the actor could already infer.

Common collocations

  • dialogue parenthetical
  • remove a parenthetical
  • pre-productionThe planning stage before filming starts, when the script is finished, the cast is chosen, locations are found and the budget and schedule are prepared.
  • screenplayThe written plan of a film in a standard format, with scene headings, descriptions of action, character names and dialogue.

More terms: Pre-Production and Scripts

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