What is the difference between V.O. and O.S.?

What is the difference between V.O. and O.S.?

V.O. (voice over) and O.S. (off-screen) are similar terms, but they have slightly different applications. Both are used to indicate that dialogue is spoken by someone not currently seen on the screen; the difference isn’t where the speaker is not, but where the speaker is.

O.S. is used when the character is in the scene location, but not currently on screen. If Sally walks to the other side of the bedroom and into the walk-in closet, and yells unseen about how she’s out of clean socks, O.S. should be used.

In television, especially multicam sitcoms, it is not uncommon to see O.C. (off-camera) used instead of O.S.

V.O. is used when the speaker is not physically in the scene. The speaker could be someone on the other end of a telephone line or radio broadcast, an unseen narrator, or a character’s inner-monologue.

This last example is important to note, as it is somewhat counter-intuitive: if an on-screen character’s thoughts are heard, it is V.O., not O.S.

If there is pre-lap dialogue, you can indicate it with PRE-LAP or V.O. Either is acceptable.

VO= voice over - used for narration

OS= off stage - meaning we hear them but don't see them

OC= off camera - pretty much the same as OS

(OS= off screen)

V.O. for telephones, answering machines, mechanically produced sounds, etc.

O.S. when the person is on set, but not being filmed. The point being, in a shooting script, if you write O.S., the actor should be on set. Not the case with V.O. Typically you wouldn't schedule actors for phone calls if they're not needed in front of camera. The script person will usually read the missing actor's lines. The costs of carrying extra actors adds up pretty quickly. Something to avoid.

O.C. comes from television. You do see it, but it's not the standard for film.

But... The fact is, other than production managers, no one really cares about this. Certainly not in a spec script. Not something to lose any sleep over.

Use of (V.O.) and (O.S.)

(V.O.) or VOICE OVER means the character is not usually seen on screen but we hear his voice conveyed over some kind of mechanical contrivance such as a telephone or tape recorder. The situation may be one where the character is thinking out loud. We will hear that character's voice on a pre-recorded sound tape while the camera is on the character. When someone is talking over the other end of the telephone, we would not see that person.

(O.S.) or OFF SCREEN or OFF STAGE means that the character is not seen on the screen but we hear him talking from another room in a house or from some adjacent area. In an (O.S.) situation the character is readily available to be on camera. Both (V.O.) and (O.S.) appear capitalized in parenthesis, abbreviated after the character cue.

Sometimes dialogue in a screenplay doesn't involve one character speaking to another character face to face. Instead, there might be off-screen dialogue, telephone dialogue, or voice-over narration. Off-Screen Dialogue When the audience doesn't see a character who is speaking, the dialogue in the screenplay must be formatted so that it's clear which character is speaking and where that character is located. For example, a scene can be set in a room where a woman calls a child who is upstairs in his bedroom. The audience sees the woman but not the child. However, the audience hears the child answering. Example: The WOMAN wipes her hands on her apron and looks up at the staircase.                                              WOMAN                                         (calling loudly)                            Andrew, come down here right now or                            you'll miss the school bus!                                              ANDREW (O.S.)                            Be right there. In the example above, O.S. appears in parentheses and is used to indicate that Andrew is OFF SCREEN. We don't see Andrew, but we hear his reply. The abbreviation, O.S., is used to format OFF SCREEN dialogue. A character's voice may be heard from another room, from outside the house, over a loudspeaker, or any place OFF SCREEN.

Telephone Dialogue Often, a character in a script is required to speak on the telephone. The audience won't see who the character is speaking to, but will hear the character's voice over the telephone. This use of dialogue formatting is known as a VOICE OVER, which is abbreviated and placed in parentheses next to the character's name. Example:                                               JACK                                         (on the phone; frantic)                           Where's my daughter? If you hurt                           her, I'll kill you!                                               KIDNAPPER (V.O.)                                         (voice disguised)                            Nothing will happen to her if you do                            exactly what I say. Narration Some screenplays use a narrator who we hear but don't see. When the audience hears his voice but doesn't see him in the scene, his dialogue is referred to as a VOICE OVER and is abbreviated to read, (V.O.). The narrator gives the audience background information needed to move the story forward quickly. An excellent example of the effective use of narration is the screenplay for The Shawshank Redemption. After the protagonist, Andy Dufresne, is sentenced to serve time at Shawshank Prison, the character, Red, is introduced as another prisoner at Shawshank. He's a major character who befriends Andy and is part of the plot. But Red is also a narrator. When he acts as a narrator, his voice supplies information and provides commentary on the action. Example from The Shawshank Redemption:                                               RED (V.O.)                            I must admit I didn't think much of Andy first                            time I laid eyes on him… (Darabont, Frank. The Shawshank Redemption: The Shooting Script. New York. Newmarket Press. 1966.) Forrest Gump is an example of another screenplay that uses narration to give the audience information they wouldn't get from the action. Forrest, the protagonist, participates in the action of the story and sometimes acts as a narrator who gives us information in a VOICE OVER. Example: Forrest gets down and looks around.                                               FORREST (V.O.)                            It wasn't always fun. Lt. Dan always                            gettin' these funny feelings about a rock or                            a trail, or the road, so he'd tell you to get                            down, shut up!                                               LT. DAN                            Get down! Shut up!                                               FORREST (V.O.)                            So we did. (Roth, Eric. Forrest Gump. Based on the novel, Forrest Gump, by Winston Groom. Washington Square Press.) Keep in mind that action is the most important element in a screenplay. The characters' actions define them and move the story toward a climax. But narration cannot take the place of action. Instead, narration enhances the action and provides information the audience needs. Reading screenplays that use O.S. dialogue and V.O. dialogue can help aspiring screenwriters gain a better understanding of how and when to use these formatting techniques.