# How to write a car scene in a screenplay (INT/EXT.) > Head a car scene with INT. and the vehicle, use INT/EXT. or I/E. when it plays inside and out, or split it into two headings when production needs them. Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26 Article updated: 2026-10-26 ## Direct answer For a scene played inside a car, a plain INT. heading that names the vehicle is enough: INT. ELI'S HATCHBACK - NIGHT. When the scene moves between the road and the seats, INT/EXT. (also written INT./EXT. or I/E.) tells the reader the camera works on both sides. Add MOVING if the motion matters. Some guides prefer two headings instead, EXT. for the car on the road and INT. for the people inside, because production schedules each as its own setup. ## On the page A moving car, inside and out, under one heading ``` INT/EXT. ELI'S HATCHBACK - MOVING - NIGHT Headlights sweep a coast road. Inside, Mara grips the dashboard as the guardrail flickers past her window. MARA Slow down. ELI Not yet. He takes the next bend faster. ``` ## Current practice ### The vehicle is the location _Common choice_ Name the car in the heading the way you would name a room. The Academy Nicholl format guide heads its car scene INT. BLUE CAMARO - DAY and lets the action say it is moving; INT/EXT. or I/E. is the common choice when the scene plays both inside and outside the car. ## Accepted variations ### Inside only _Common choice_ INT. and the vehicle when every moment happens in the seats. The action can say the car is moving; the heading does not have to. ### Inside and out _Common choice_ INT/EXT., INT./EXT. or I/E. when the scene cuts between the passengers and the car on the road. Readers treat the three spellings as the same thing. ### Two headings for two setups _Production-specific_ Final Draft's current guidance splits the scene: EXT. CAR for the car on the road, then INT. CAR - SAME for the people inside, because production cannot break a combined heading down for scheduling, location scouting or set builds. ### Showing motion _Context dependent_ MOVING, DRIVING or TRAVELING after the vehicle tells the reader and the schedule that the car is under way. No one word is standard; pick one and keep it. ## Where reasonable writers disagree Final Draft's August 2026 guide to scene headings asks for separate exterior and interior headings, so production knows which setup each shot needs. Many writers keep the slash for exactly this case, because one heading lets the camera move between the seats and the road without breaking the scene into fragments. For a spec, either reads clearly. For a production draft, follow the breakdown the production office is working from. ## Mistakes to avoid - Writing a new heading every time the camera moves between the front and back seats. - Writing INT. CAR when the story has more than one car. Name whose it is. - Keeping one heading for a drive that stops somewhere the story needs. Each stop that matters gets its own heading. - Using INT/EXT. for a scene that never leaves the inside of the car. - Mixing MOVING, DRIVING and TRAVELING in one script. ## Submission versus production ### Submission or reading draft In a spec, choose the heading that makes the scene easiest to picture and stay consistent: INT. for a conversation in the seats, INT/EXT. for a chase that cuts between the road and the driver. ### Production draft Production schedules the car on the road and the actors inside as separate setups, so a production draft may split an INT/EXT. scene into separate headings. Make that change with the production office's breakdown in hand, and keep scene numbers stable when you do. ## Working in Plot In Plot, start a line with INT., EXT., INT/EXT. or I/E. followed by a space and it becomes a Scene Heading. Plot suggests the vehicles and places you have already used, then the time of day after the dash. The production breakdown marks each scene INT, EXT or both, so the setups a car scene needs show up when you plan the shoot. ## Questions writers ask ### Is a scene in a car INT. or EXT.? INT. when everything happens inside the car, EXT. when we watch the car from outside, and INT/EXT. or I/E. when the scene cuts between the two. The car itself is the location, so name it in the heading. ### What does I/E mean in a screenplay? I/E is short for interior/exterior, the same as INT/EXT. or INT./EXT. It tells the reader a scene plays both inside and outside a location, most often a moving car, without a new heading at every cut. ### How do you show that the car is moving? Add MOVING, DRIVING or TRAVELING after the vehicle in the heading, or say it in the first action line. Pick one word and use it for every moving vehicle in the script. ### Do I need a new scene heading when we cut outside the car? Not under an INT/EXT. heading, which already covers both sides. With a plain INT. heading, a cut to the car on the road is a new EXT. scene, or an action line if the moment is brief. ## Sources and context - [Final Draft — Everything that should and should not be in a scene heading](https://www.finaldraft.com/blog/everything-that-should-and-should-not-be-in-a-scene-heading) - [Academy Nicholl — Screenwriting resources (script formatting guide)](https://www.oscars.org/nicholl/screenwriting-resources) - [The Academy Nicholl format guide's INT. BLUE CAMARO - DAY scene](https://www.oscars.org/nicholl/screenwriting-resources) These sources document current screenplay practice, software guidance, or production workflow. Screenplay style remains flexible, and any delivery brief or submission rule supplied by the recipient takes precedence. ## Where to go next - [Free script breakdown tool](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/script-breakdown): Lists every scene as a production strip marked INT, EXT or both, with its time of day, page, eighths and cast, in your browser. --- Canonical page: