The term Exterior (abbreviated Ext.) refers to any Scene that would take place outdoors, or on a stage made to look like an outdoor area.

A Location doesn't count as being Exterior merely because it is outside of the door of another Interior Location. The rule is more this: If a Character could look up and see a ceiling over them (whether constructed, or even of a naturally occurring cave), they are in an Interior Location, but if they were to look up and see foliage or sky over them, they are in an Exterior Location. There are some exception to this: A Location will still be considered Exterior if it is mostly outdoors but there is an awning overhead, or if the shot looks into an open garage, open barn, or open shed, but the vantage point remains outside.

For example, if there is an office building with a hallway, the Shot inside of the hallway would be considered Interior, even if it is being used to represent action taking place outside the door of a particular office. These might be designated rather, Int. Office Building Hallway, and Int. Office. Once the building is exited, only then is an Exterior Shot: i.e., Ext. Office Building.

Furthermore, a Shot looking from just outside of an exterior door or window but primarily into an interior, is probably considered an Interior Shot, but is a subjective consideration based on how much outdoor scenery is visible, and possibly whether the outdoor scenery is faked on a sound stage, or part of an actual outdoor location or exterior set.

See also: Interior

The namespaces for Interior and Exterior Locations are distinct from one another. In other words, there can be an Interior location named Sheriff Station and an Exterior location named Sheriff Station, and they are treated as two entirely distinct Locations. (Almost always, these would be representing the inside and the outside of the same building in the world of the Story.)

A Location that has been defined as Exterior within the Location Specifications also has a different set of Lighting defaults.

Note: Although this term is most frequently used (as here) when describing the Location of a Scene, the Game Engine also differentiates between Interior and Exterior Camera Angles as well. Usually a matching type of Camera Angle is used for a particular scene, but it is technically possible to have an Exterior scene going on and to show it (or even just one shot of it) from an Interior Camera that has a vantage point that is looking out onto that action, or vice versa.

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