# How to format phone calls and intercut conversations > Establish what the audience sees and hears, then use clear scene headings or an INTERCUT instruction so a phone conversation stays easy to picture. Sources reviewed: 2026-08-09 Article updated: 2026-09-23 ## Direct answer For a call shown in two places, establish each location with its own scene heading. Then either keep cutting with scene headings or add an all-caps action line such as INTERCUT — TELEPHONE CONVERSATION before alternating dialogue without more headings. If the audience stays with one caller, keep that location and identify the remote voice instead. ## On the page Establish both locations, then begin the intercut ``` INT. MARA'S KITCHEN - NIGHT Mara paces with her phone to her ear. INT. ELI'S CAR - SAME Eli watches the warehouse, phone to his ear. INTERCUT — TELEPHONE CONVERSATION MARA Tell me you found it. ELI I found the door. MARA That wasn't the question. ``` ## Current practice ### Establish geography before abbreviating it _Common choice_ Readers need to know where each visible caller is before an intercut instruction can do useful work. After that setup, repeating full scene headings for every exchange usually adds friction without adding information. ## Accepted variations ### Stay with one side _Context dependent_ Keep one scene heading when only one caller is visible. Mark the remote speaker with a character extension and, when useful, a short source parenthetical such as “from the phone.” ### Keep cutting with scene headings _Common choice_ Separate headings remain a clear choice when the locations change, visual business matters on both sides, or the exact rhythm of each cut is important. ### One-sided call _Context dependent_ If the other voice is intentionally unheard, write the visible character's pauses and reactions in action or brief parentheticals. Do not invent dialogue merely to fill the silence. ## Where reasonable writers disagree INTERCUT — TELEPHONE CONVERSATION, INTERCUT CONVERSATION, and INTERCUT AS NEEDED are all readable after the locations are established. Named forms become useful when three or more locations could make the pattern ambiguous; a routine two-person call usually does not need one. ## Mistakes to avoid - Using INTERCUT before the reader knows the two locations being intercut. - Switching between scene headings, V.O., O.S., and parentheticals without a stable visual rule. - Writing a long call as an uninterrupted block of dialogue while important action is happening at either location. - Treating SAME as a substitute for geography; it communicates time continuity, not where a character is. ## Submission versus production ### Submission or reading draft A submission draft can use the leanest version that makes the call easy to see and hear. Avoid production shot lists or editing instructions that do not clarify the story beat. ### Production draft Once a production team is working from the script, retain established scene identities and coordinate changes to numbered scenes. An intercut does not erase the scheduling significance of the locations introduced before it. ## Working in Plot In Plot, each end of the call is a Scene Heading, the INTERCUT line is Action, and each speech is Dialogue — Tab moves you between them as you type. Both locations show in the scene list, and the intercut reads exactly as written in the PDF and in the FDX you hand the office. ## Questions writers ask ### Do I need a new scene heading every time the call cuts between callers? No. Establish both locations once with their own scene headings, then add an INTERCUT line and let the dialogue alternate. Go back to full scene headings only when a location changes or something at one end needs its own visual beat. ### How do I write a phone call where only one side is heard? Stay in the visible character's scene and write their pauses and reactions in action or short parentheticals. If the audience does hear the other voice through the phone, mark that cue V.O. or add a source parenthetical such as (from the phone). ### How does a reader know the intercut is over? Show the call ending in action, or return to a single scene heading. Either tells the reader the alternating pattern has stopped and ordinary scene flow has resumed in one place. ## Sources and context - [Final Draft — How to Format a Phone Call in a Screenplay](https://www.finaldraft.com/blog/how-to-format-a-phone-call-in-a-screenplay) - [Final Draft — Complete screenplay guide (intercuts)](https://www.finaldraft.com/learn/how-to-write-a-screenplay-complete-guide) - [Final Draft's current guide to intercut conventions](https://www.finaldraft.com/learn/how-to-write-a-screenplay-complete-guide) 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. --- Canonical page: