ALL THOSE WEIRD ABBREVIATIONS
THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE.
There are a number of shortcuts that are available to the screenwriter, and they’re totally accept-
able conventions in the industry. See the chart “Screenplay Abbreviations.”
Screenplay Convention
Abbreviations Meaning Sample Usage
b.g. background Joe approaches from the b.g.
f.g. foreground Joe runs to the b.g, a car parks in the f.g.
V.O. voice-over JOE (V.O.)
O.S. off-scene JOE (O.S.)
The difference between v.o. and o.s. is this: Voice-over is someone talking over a scene in which he
or she isn’t present; o.s. means the character’s dialogue is within the same scene and he or she is
present but not on the screen at that particular moment. For example, the character may be talking
from another room and we hear the voice before the arrival.
