An ellipsis should be written as three consecutive periods with a space on either side ( ... ).
An ellipsis should be used whenever a character is interrupted or changes thoughts mid-sentence (unless the job type or reference sheet requires a different interruption marker.).
Examples:
- I lost my train of thought, and before I knew it … Hey, what are you eating?
- I was just about to eat my … an airplane.
Note: The first example capitalizes the first word of the phrase occurring after the ellipsis because that phrase is a complete sentence. Otherwise, do not capitalize the first word after an ellipsis.
NEVER use an ellipsis when a character pauses mid-sentence or for dramatic pauses.
Incorrect: And the winner is Chef Bobby Flay.
Examples:
(1 speaker)
Look, my cat is ... Well, let's just say she's very clever.
Sometimes, when I think about my cat ...
(2 speakers)
Speaker 1: I told you not to feed ...
Speaker 2: No, you didn't!
When a speaker is interrupted by another speaker, place the ellipsis at the end of the line of the character being interrupted, and start a new line for the interrupting speaker, as shown above. DO place an ellipsis at the beginning of the completing line.
Example:
Speaker 1: Together, we hunt and pick ...
Speaker 2: Oh, he's so cute.
Speaker 1: ... buy and sell ...
Speaker 2: So what is that?
Speaker 1: ... to turn the science of strange into a business.
In many cases where a speaker is simply agreeing with the ongoing speaker with single-word responses like "Uh-huh," "Right," "Okay," etc., place the single-word responses as their own sentence after the original sentence is completed. In cases where the responses are completely overlapped by the original sentence, you can omit the responses altogether.
Spoken:
Speaker 1: So I know we had a lot of back and forth deciding on what the right ...
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 1: ... house would be, but I think we came to a pretty good decision.
Transcribed:
Speaker 1: So I know we had a lot of back and forth deciding on what the right house would be, but I think we came to a pretty good decision.
Speaker 2: Right.
DO include a character's response if it is contextually important or if the response is clear and not overlapping the other speakers.
Speaker 1: After everything, would you say we made the right choice?
Speaker 2: Uh-huh.
Speaker 1: After everything, would you say we made the right choice?
The ellipsis trumps and replaces any other punctuation that might be used.
Example
Incorrect: Do I think I …?
Correct: Do I think I ...
Use an ellipsis when an expletive is edited out of the sound but there is no audible beep or if the audio has been completely cut from a segment of the job.
Use an ellipsis if the audio cuts off mid-sentence at the end of a job.
Example
We're almost out of time, folks, so if anyone has any questions, we can try to ...
Generally, an ellipsis will be used outside of quotation marks UNLESS it's part of the quoted material or a title.