U64022 SCREENWRITING ADVANCED
WEEK 2
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS (1)
FINAL DRAFT
TOPICS TODAY
Lecture: screenplay standards (1)
Seminar: class discussion on “Shrek 2” (homework)
Tutorial: Final Draft
Homework/Exercise for week 3
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
Week 2 - Screenplay Standards
SCREENPLAY FORMAT
GENERAL RULES
Font: Courier New 12 (1page=1minute rule of thumb)
Page numbering: top right
Single spacing: applies to Action Dialogue
Double carriage return: between Scene headings and action and dialogue Scenes (?)
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
Week 2 - Screenplay Standards
SCREENPLAY FORMAT/STANDARDS
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
HEADINGS (scenes, shots, slug lines)
BUSINESS (action, direction, description)
DIALOGUE
TRANSITIONS
PUNCTUATION
DRAFTS & SPECIAL PAGES
SCREENPLAY FORMAT – SCRIPT ELEMENTS
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
Week 2 - Screenplay Standards
SCENE HEADING / SLUG LINE (all caps)• Scene intro (location) EXT./INT.
• Description (location)• DAY/NIGHT (DAWN/SUNSET• Info for production manager• Production plan• Production design (sets)
• Photography
ACTION / BUSINESS• Description of action, people, places
• Single-spaced• Margin-to-margin (not justified)
• Sound effects capitalized
SCREENPLAY FORMAT – SCRIPT ELEMENTS
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
Week 9 - Screenplay Format
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DIALOGUE•Character’s name (capitalized)•Character’s extension (O.S. or V.O.)•Parentheticals (stage direction; keep to a minimum, only if essential, e.g. reactions)•Dialogue lines: single-spaced
TABS (from left margin)•Action / Business = 0•Dialogue = 2•Parentheticals = 3•Character’s name (before dialogue) = 4
TRANSITIONS•Only if/when necessary
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - HEADINGS
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
LOCATION- Always from GENERAL to SPECIFIC, separated by comma- If interior plus name of city, name of city in brackets
at end- Multiple locations: separated by hyphen (short)- No articles- ALL CAPS
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - HEADINGS
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
TIME - Mainly DAY or NIGHT, but also DAWN, SUNSET, MORNING,
EVENING- Separated by hyphen- More specific: e.g. FIVE MONTHS EARLIER, SAME TIME, 15
MINUTES LATER (only if necessary)- CONTINUOUS or CONTINUOUS ACTION, don’t overuse (don’t use
if evident from context)- Dates: DAY (1966)- Weather within brackets: e.g. NIGHT (RAIN)- DAY (NEWSREEL FOOTAGE)
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - HEADINGS
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
SHOTS- Don’t overuse- Limit to special situations (establishing shots, aerial,
POV shots)
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - HEADINGS
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
NEW HEADING - Change in location or time- Logic flow of narrative- Special cases: SAME – 90 MINUTES LATER
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - HEADINGSSpacing between scenes• Usually double (one blank line). More material on one page.• Possible triple (two blank lines). Longer but more readable. Not
recommended.
Style• Always present tense• Short, direct sentences• Visual• Break blocks into smaller paragraphs
Underscoring• Continuous but no final period• Looks amateurish, don’t overuse.
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - HEADINGS• Page breaks
• At least after one sentence of action after heading
• Never after just heading (except if ESTABLISHING SHOT)
• Never in the middle of a sentence.
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - DIRECTIONS
CAPITALIZATION
• Introducing a speaking character (each scene, ONLY first occurrence)
• If name soon after generic description, only name• If name well after generic description, first description then name too• If characters played by two actors at different ages, two different
descriptions (ex. YOUNG HARRY, HARRY)
Describing sound effect onscreen (ALL but not living characters) • Both sound and source of sound
Describing ALL offscreen sound• Do not add O.S. if evident from context
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - DIRECTIONS
CAPITALIZATION
Describing camera direction
• The word CAMERA
• Camera movement
• All prepositions related to camera or movement
Other
• INTO FRAME, INTO VIEW, OUT OF FRAME, OUT OF VIEW
• FREEZE FRAME – MILLS
• SUPERIMPOSE:
“THEN NEW LINE, CENTRED”
• SUPER: “THURSDAY”
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - DIRECTIONSALWAYS CAPITALIZE
• AD LIB(s)• V.O.• O.S.• Signs, banners, headlines (within action, within commas)
• Anything written and seen on screen
NEVER capitalize
• “We see” (never capitalize and use sparingly, usually only with POV shots)• b.g.• f.g.
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - DIALOGUE
• CHARACTER’s name
• (O.S.) and (V.O.): ALL CAPS
• O.S. physically present in the scene but not in view
• V.O. all other cases
• NO BOLD, NO ITALICS
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - DIALOGUE
• Spell out all spoken words (no abbreviation)
• Don’t overdo incorrect grammar and colloquialism
• Underline accepted to give emphasis
• Never break a page in the middle of a line of dialogue• Add (MORE) and (CONT’D) beside character name
• Speech broken by direction• (cont’d) is no longer used
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - DIALOGUE
• Parentheticals (character directions)• Never capitalize• Never add period at the end• No more than 4 lines• Not at the end of a speech• Never break page with parenthetical (instead, new page,
name of character (CONT’D) then parenthetical)• (sotto voce) or (sotto)• (beat)
SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - TRANSITIONS
• Always begin script with FADE IN:• Always end script with FADE OUT or THE END (centred, after 5
blank lines)• Use CUT TO: and FADE TO BLACK. to underline particular
situations only• Other
• QUICK CUT TO:
• HARD CUT TO:
• CUT TO BLACK.
• DON’T OVERUSE. ONLY IF ESSENTIAL.
SEMINAR
- View and analyse Shrek 2 plot and apply Vogler’s hero’s journey model (12 steps)
- Grab screenshots for every step to use as slideshow/storyboard; write down your analysis of the 12-step pattern. Save on pendrive and bring to class
- Be ready to discuss your findings in class at next week’s seminar
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
EXERCISE FOR WK 2- Analyse Shrek 2 plot and apply the hero’s journey
model (12 steps)
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
PLOTS
Prologues 1 and 2
Summary of Shrek 1
Antagonist Plot A (main plot) action (goal/quest)
Charming / Fairy Godmother
Romance Plot B (subplot) themes (moral, change)
Fiona / Family
Themes and character pattern/relations structure (parallel threads A/B)
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
SCENE BREAKDOWN
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
3-ACTS & STORY ELEMENTS (Field)
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
3-ACT STRUCTURE - Summary• ACT I – SETUP, pp.1-30
• What? Setting + info (hero)• How?
• Inciting incident conflict action/goal• Plot point #1 (end of Act I – pp.25-27)
• ACT II – CONFRONTATION, pp.31-90• What? Obstacles and problems • How?
• Reversals, recognition, suffering• Mid-point (p.60)• Plot point #2 (end of Act II – pp.85-90)
• ACT III – RESOLUTION, pp.91-110(120)• What? Climax resolution• How? Initial problem solved/unsolved goal achieved
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
HOMEWORK FOR WEEK 3
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
1) Watch and analyse WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
- Write down a scene breakdown- Add Act breaks- Bring to class for lecture
NOTE – Check email for additional movie assigned (one between “Notting Hill”, “Four Weddings and a Funeral”, “Pretty Woman”) and obtain DVD. You will need it to do homework for week 4.
HOMEWORK FOR WEEK 3
U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level
2) Exercise for seminar discussion in wk 3
- Download “Exercise wk3 – Script formatting.doc” file from module webpage
- Format scenes from “The Silence of the Lambs” by applying industry standards for screenplay. You do NOT need to use Final Draft. Do not change anything in the text.
- Highlight in yellow any errors you notice (i.e. formatting rules not followed and/or incorrect standards used)
- Bring your homework in class in Week 3. We will discuss it during the seminar hour.