What are extensions in screenwriting? Extensions in screenwriting are abbreviations written by the writer on the right side of a character’s name in a screenplay to indicate where a character is talking from.
There are two screenwriting extensions:
| Extensions Abbreviations | Meaning | When to use Them |
|---|---|---|
| O.S. | Off Screen | When the speaking character is in the room but isn’t seen by the camera. Sometimes replaced by (O.S.) |
| V.O. | Voice Over | In every other case, this extension is used, for example, heard voices, voicemails, T.V’s, radio, narrations, flashbacks, you name it. |
How to Format Screenwriting Extensions
How do you format a screenwriting extension? You format a screenwriting extension by capitalizing the abbreviations of O.S. or V.O. surrounded by parentheses next to the character’s name.
Most screenwriting software will auto-populate this when hitting space after writing the character’s name.
Example:
John (V.O.)
I never knew what she really meant my that.
Example 2:
John (O.S.)
The time she came I didn't know what she really meant.
Examples of Screenwriting Extensions in Screenplays
Below we have two examples of extensions used in a screenplay written by Tod Philips.
In this example, you can see they didn’t use the periods. My guess is because this is a production draft script where the typical screenwriting quarks aren’t a bother. After all, the producer trusts the writer.
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