How to Format Your Script

8/2/2019 How to Format Your Script

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How to format your ScriptMany screenwriting books specify formats that may not still be in general use today, or whichcontain directions that may be unnecessary. The following format tips are accurate and will resultin your screenplay being formatted in the correct manner. These tips apply only to a spec script.

A production script contains editing and camera directions (and scene numbers) all of which areonly added after a script goes into production, and should not be included in a spec script, thepurpose of which is only to present the basic story. How the story is interpreted on the screen isup to the director, not the writer.

LENGTH: Ideally, a screenplay for a regular feature film for theatrical release or for televisionshould be between 100 and 120 pages. DO NOT list a cast of characters before the first page ofthe script. And, DO NOT number the scenes.

THERE ARE ONLY THREE ELEMENTS NECESSARY IN A SPEC SCRIPT:

THE SCENE HEADING (INTERIOR OR EXTERIOR, LOCATION, TIME)

THE VISUAL EXPOSITION (Only what you would see if you were watching thescreen)

THE DIALOGUE

(1) The Scene Heading sets the stage for the action and dialogue to follow. It tells us where thestory is taking place, and the time of day. There are only two locations where this can happen,inside (INT) or outside (EXT). The specific location and geographic placement should be

included as well. The scene heading is positioned on your first indent, one-and-a-half inches infrom the left hand side of the page.

EXAMPLE:

EXT. DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN. DAY

or

INT. WEAVER HOME. NIGHT.

If the action shifts from one area in a location to another, simply repeat the main scene heading.Do not indicate ANGLE ON or ANOTHER ANGLE ON, or ON (name of character). The director

may decide to make a continuing dolly shot out of the scene rather than cutting from one area toanother. He will also decide which character he will focus on in the scene. The main sceneheading is all you need to indicate where the action takes place. Readers do not appreciate awriter giving camera directions. You are telling a story, not directing the movie.

(2) The Visual Exposition is a detailing of the action or movement taking place on the screen,and should contain ONLY what you would SEE if you were watching the screen.

The first time a character appears in the script, the name is CAPITALIZED, but only the first timehe or she appears in the script. Similarly, the first time a character appears, the name should be

followed by a brief physical description that includes age and build, for example: 30-ish, stocky,handsome. This is all you need, not half-a-page of family history!


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Visual exposition should line up below the Scene Heading at the same indent position, one-and-a-half inches in from the left hand side of the page. Both dialogue and visual exposition shouldbe single-spaced, not double-spaced. Between scenes there should be two spaces only.

EXAMPLE: JOHN WEAVER, 45-ish, heavy -set, enters the room, looks around for a moment andthen slumps into an armchair, staring at his wife, SUSAN, 50-ish, plain and overweight, who is

standing looking out the window. She turns and they glare at each other a moment in silence.

NOTE: No explanation is given why they glare at each other. Motivation and reasons for

characters behavior will be revealed through their actions, reactions and dialogue. It would beunnecessary to include in the above visual exposition an additional phrase, such as: John,annoyed at being fired at the office, looks grim. This would be revealed later through dialogue.

Remember: visual exposition should contain only what you would SEE if you were watching thescreen.

(3) The Dialogue follows the visual exposition, with each characters name CAPITALIZED in thecenter of the page, followed by the words that are to be spoken, on the next line, centered with

the left and right margins approximately two inches in from each side of the page. Do not includeemotional or physical direction in parentheses below a characters name before the lines of

dialogue. If you consider it essential that a character give a line in a certain way, e.g. angrily,this should be included in the visual exposition above the lines, such as: Susans face reflects hermounting anger. Visual exposition should only indicate action we can SEE.

INCORRECT:

SUSAN(Angrily)

Sure Im mad at what you did. When are yougoing to learn to think of someone besidesyourself?

CORRECT:

Susan walks over to John, her face reflecting her mounting anger.

SUSAN

Sure I'm mad at what you did. When areyou going to learn to think of someonebesides yourself?

If a pause is desired between two lines in dialogue, this is indicated by the words beat inparenthesis, lined up with the left margin of the dialogue, as follows:

SUSAN

Sure Im mad at what you did.(beat)

When are you going to learn to think ofsomeone besides yourself?

Voice-Over Dialogue:

When a characters voice is heard, but the character is not seen on the screen (maybe he/she is

speaking in another room) the dialogue is followed by (O.C.), These letters stand for OffCamera, as follows:


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SUSAN (O.C.)I cant hear you. What did you say?

If explanatory voice-over narration (V.O.) is needed to cover a scene, it is specified either as:

NARRATOR (V.O)

or, if a characters voice is used

SUSAN (V.O.)

If a telephone conversation is in progress between one person seen on the screen, and another

person on the line, the unseen characters dialogue over the phone is indicated as Filtered, asfollows:

SUSAN (Filtered)We must have a bad connection. What did

you say?

Similarly if a voice is heard over an intercom, radio or TV, the characters name is followed by(Filtered).

If two characters are engaged in a telephone conversation, the word INTERCUT may be placedat the left hand margin at the start of the exchange, following by the sequential dialogue between

the characters. This eliminates the need for separate scene headings for each character beforeeach line of dialogue.

LENGTH OF DIALOGUE: Try not to use more than 5-6 lines of dialogue at a time. If a characterhas to give a long speech, break it up by inserting a suitable line of visual exposition before

continuing, e.g. He turns and walks to the window or He takes a sip of his drink. Such visual

exposition may be inconsequential, but it makes for better readability of the script and helpsminimize the impression that a script is top-heavy with dialogue.

SOUNDS: Any sound that occurs in the visual exposition should be capitalized, e.g. A CAR

HONKS outside. Or, The SOUND OF BREAKING GLASS is heard. Do not include wordssuch as BANG! CRASH! when describing sounds. A script is not a Batman cartoon!

MOS: When characters are talking in a scene, perhaps in the background, and their actualdialogue is not heard, you should add MOS after the description of the action, e.g. John andCynthia are at the bottom of the stairs, talking MOS, while Elaine enters the room.

MOS originated with famous director Otto Premingers fractured English. He once called outDis scene is mit out sound. Mit Out Sound... (MOS) which some may regard as Mr. Premingersgreatest contribution to the film industry.

PRINTOUTS: A screenplay should be written on a word processor and printed in 12 point

Courier font on a laser printer for clarity. Dot-matrix printouts are not acceptable because theyare usually difficult to read and the size of the font is often too small. Adjust your page breaks onyour computer printout so that any dialogue or visual exposition is complete at the bottom of thepage at a period.

Do not break sentences between pages.


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Do not add MORE or CONTINUED at the top or bottom of a page. A reader does not needinstructions to turn a page, and this only interrupts the flow of the exposition or dialogue.

Do not hyphenate words from one line to the next.

Do not number individual scenes. This is only done after a script goes into production.

Do not use semi-colons anywhere. Use commas or periods between sentences.

Use ellipses in dialogue only to show a characters hesitation, never to replace commas orperiods.

Use exclamation points only after expletives, never after a phrase or sentence.

Do not capitalize any lines of dialogue. The director will tell the actor what to emphasize.

The name of the screenplay should appear on each page, followed by the page number,preferably in the bottom right hand corner, though the top right hand corner is acceptable.

And above all, as film is a visual medium, if you can make your point through action rather thandialogue, youre ahead of the game!

BINDING: Do not bind your script with plastic Spiro-Bind or Velo-Bind or between stiff cardboardor plastic covers.

Scripts should be punched with three holes in the left hand side and bound with two 1 1/2 inch(No.6) solid brass brads, top and bottom.

A white card-stock cover should be added front and back, with the name of the script capitalizedand centered on the cover, followed two lines down by Original Screenplay then two lines downby then two lines down Writer's name.

Never add any artwork to the cover. Never include First Draft or Second Draft.

Leave the bottom right hand area for you or your agents name, address and telephone numberto be added.

There should be NO camera directions included such as CUT TO or DISSOLVE or CAMERAMOVES UP or ANGLE ON or POV or BACK TO SCENE. This is the directors prerogative

and may be put in only after a script goes into production. The writer tells the story, creates thecharacters and spells out the action. How this is transferred to the screen is the directors job, notthe writers.

The only exception is FADE IN, which is on the first page only two lines below the name of thescreenplay, which should be capitalized and centered ten lines down from the top of the page.FADE IN should be lined up with your first scene heading two spaces below at the left margin. Atthe end of the script, FADE OUT is placed at the left hand margin, two spaces below the last lineof visual exposition.

Never put character names in CAPS on a separate line above the rest of the sentence describingthe action. Let each paragraph of visual exposition flow naturally as it would in a regular


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manuscript. Character names are part of a sentence and should not be put on a separate linebefore the rest of the scene description.

Do not specify certain songs or music in a script. State the type of music you feel appropriate:

e.g. soft romantic music or raucous rock music but do not name specific songs. Again, this isthe directors prerogative, not the writers.

FORGIVE US FOR BEING PICKY:

After reviewing hundreds of scripts, we have found these are the five most common errors:

Alright should be two words, All right.

The possessive of it is its not its which is a contraction of it is.

The abbreviation of You are is Youre not Your.

OK should be spelled out Okay.

While exit is a valid stage direction, this word is not very visual when used in film. It isbetter to describe how a character exits, such as he walks out or she runs out of theroom, thereby creating a better visual image for the reader.

PROFANITY AND SEX: While four-letter words may be essential in dialogue as indications ofcharacter or urgency, excessive profanity and violence and explicitly described sex scenes do not

enhance your chances of your script being favorably received. Similarly, inclusion of drug activityby the characters can often cause a negative reaction to your script.

The degree of violence or sexual intimacy that may wind up on the screen is determined by thedirector. In a sex scene, for example, the writer simply has to make the statement, They move tothe bed and make love.

Or, with violent action, merely state: John raises his fist, strikes Carl and they begin fighting.Choreography for any type of physical action (sex or violence) is done by the director.

While every screenplay should flow smoothly, be well-written, with no typos, misspellings orgrammatical errors, remember that you are writing a story that should contain only dialogue and

description of action. You are not writing a Pulitzer prize-winning novel! So refrain from flowerypretentious sentences or flamboyant poetic phrases that you think will show your literaryexpertise. Above all, do not get cute with your descriptions. Never say, as some writers are

prone to do, he gives her a shit-eating grin. Simply say: He grins at her. Coarse slang invisual exposition does not help create a good impression of your work.

THE INCITING INCIDENT: Every script should have the inciting incident in the first twelve

pages - a scene in which the main character is introduced, and his/her quest/goal/problem/conflictis revealed that has to be resolved by the end of the story. In brief, a hook to grab our attentionimmediately and make us want to read on and discover how the plot works out.

Without this, a script can well wander on and on for pages before our interest is captured, andoften this may come too late. Story editors may not finish reading a script that doesnt grabthem in the first twelve pages.


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IN GENERAL: Be specific... be concise... be brief and guard against excessive verbiage. Slangterminology may be used in dialogue (because it is the character speaking) but not in visualexposition.

Use as few words as possible in spelling out the action, but do not write in shorthand! Makeeach sentence complete rather than a sequence of unconnected phrases or words. Readers do

not like having to decipher what you have written and are far more impressed by good and properuse of the language.

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How to Format Your Script