INTERCUT: Telephone Conversations In Screenplays

Telephone Conversations Dialog on the telephone is a bit of a challenge because at least one of the participating characters is not physically present. There are three possibilities to handle this: The audience neither sees nor hears the other party. The content of the conversation is reflected in what the one character says. The audience sees one character but hears both - or several  - on the phone. The movie switches back and forth between two (or more) characters as the conversation proceeds. Method 1: Audience sees only one party In this case the responses of the other (unseen) party are implied by what the visible character says and does:

HELEN          Hello, Jack ... Are you sure?          ... Do you have her number? She searches her pockets, finds a pen. She looks around, searching.                      HELEN          Once more please. She starts writing on her hand.                      HELEN          Three-Seven-One ... Five-Five-          One-Eight. Surprised, she stares at what she wrote, the writing already smeared by sweat.                      HELEN          That’s Cory’s number.

	Method 2: One party seen, both parties heard In this case the remote character speaks voiced over:
	HELEN          Hello, Jack!                      JACK (V.O.)          Hello, I got a call from Kate.          She’s back in the country.                      HELEN          Are you sure?                      JACK (V.O.)          Of course, I’m sure. She wouldn’t          lie to me.                      HELEN          Do you have her number? She searches her pockets, finds a pen. She looks around, searching. ...
	Method 3: Both parties are seen alternately.  If both parties should show up on screen, you have several options to handle this. Two involve using INTERCUT: Method 3A: Simple INTERCUT
	INTERCUT: HELEN’S KITCHEN / JACK’S CAR                      HELEN          Hello, Jack!                      JACK (V.O.)          Hello, I got a call from Kate.          She’s back in the country.                      HELEN          Are you sure?                      JACK (V.O.)          Of course, I’m sure. She wouldn’t          lie to me.                      HELEN          Do you have her number? She searches her pockets, finds a pen. She looks around, searching. ...
	Method 3B: INTERCUT with details This is probably the preferred method because it allows to visually establish the speakers’ situations:
	INT. HELEN’S KITCHEN - DAY Helen walks through the door, dressed in workout gear, panting. The telephone rings. INT. JACK’S CAR Jack holds his cell phone. INTERCUT - TELEPHONE CONVERSATION                      HELEN          Hello, Jack!                      JACK (V.O.)          Hello, I got a call from Kate.          She’s back in the country.                      HELEN          Are you sure?                      JACK (V.O.)          Of course, I’m sure. She wouldn’t          lie to me.                      HELEN          Do you have her number? She searches her pockets, finds a pen. She looks around, searching. ...
	Both methods using INTERCUT give the director complete freedom when to switch between the locations (Helen’s kitchen and Jack’s car). Directors are said to like freedom. If you need more control over the change then you should use master scene headings: Method 3C: Use master scene headings
	EXT. HELEN’s HOUSE - DAY Helen comes jogging up the driveway, enters the side door. INT. JACK’S CAR Jack drives his Corvette on the freeway. He searches his pockets.                      JACK          Where is my phone? A woman’s hand presents him with a cell phone from the passenger seat. Jack dials. It rings on the other end. INT. HELEN’S KITCHEN - DAY Helen enters, panting. The telephone rings.                      HELEN          Hello.                      JACK (V.O.)          Hello, this is Jack. I got a call          from Kate. She’s back in the country.                      HELEN          Are you sure?                      JACK (V.O.)          Of course, I’m sure. She wouldn’t          lie to me.                      HELEN          Do you have her number? She searches her pockets, finds a pen. She looks around, searching.                      HELEN          Once more please. She starts writing on her hand.                      HELEN          Three-Seven-One ... Five-Five-          One-Eight. INT. JACK’S CAR - DAY On the passenger seat sits Cory. She checks a gun, charges it and hides it between the pages of a folded newspaper. INT. HELEN’S KITCHEN - DAY Surprised, she stares at what she wrote, the writing already smeared by sweat.                      HELEN          That’s Cory’s number.
	If you decide to spread a telephone call over an entire page like in the last example above, make sure it pays off. Follow Trottier’s advice: “If you describe how a character drinks a cup of coffee, then the coffee better be poisoned.” Another way of showing both parties of a phone call is to use a split screen.