By Sukriti Bajaj
Writing should be an adventure, shrouded
in mystery and uncertainty, blessed with
amazing grace. In theory, of course.
Syd Field
Writing a screenplay is like climbing a
mountain. When youre climbing, all you
can see is the rock in front of you and the
rock directly above you. You cant see
where youve come from or where youre
going.
Syd Field
A screenplay or script is a written work by screenwriters for a
film, video game, or television program.
These screenplays can be original works or adaptations from
existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions,
expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated.
A play for television is also known as a teleplay.
Literary Screenplay
Publicistic Screenplay
Original Screenplay
Derivative Screenplay
Directors Screenplay
Poetic Screenplay
In cinematography, there are several types of screenplays:
A Literary Screenplay is a screenplay written in the same
language that is used in fiction. This type of screenplay is not
always an adaptation of a literary work; it may well be an
original work in its own right.
A Publicistic Screenplay, in contrast to a literary screenplay, is
written in the broken language used in newspaper articles
and does not contain the aesthetic component found in the
literary and artistic styles.
Screenplays can be both original and derivative.
An Original Screenplay is written as an independent work of
art, featuring an original plot and original protagonists.
A Derivative Screenplay is an adaptation of an existing literary
work for the screen.
A Directors Screenplay is a screenplay, the descriptive part of
which is numbered or has the boundaries between shots
indicated on it (wide shot, close-up shot, etc.).
A Poetic Screenplay is a literary and dramatic work whose
descriptive part is divided into rhythmically commensurable
segments, or poems. This remarkable feature makes the
poetic screenplay very distinct from the other types of
screenplays, endowing it with a special form of artistic
expression.
Action is character. What a person does is
what he is, not what he says.
Syd Field
INTRODUCTION
Screenplays and teleplays use a set of standardizations,
beginning with proper formatting.
These rules are in part to serve the practical purpose of
making scripts uniformly readable "blueprints" of movies, and
also to serve as a way of distinguishing a professional from
an amateur.
It is very important that the correct format be used, as
otherwise the script is likely to be disregarded very quickly.
An incorrectly formatted script can be very difficult for actors
to read from, when testing the script out.
OVERVIEW
12-point Courier font
1.5 inch left margin
1 inch right margin (between .5 inches and 1.25 inches),
ragged
1 inch top and bottom margins
Approximately 55 lines per page, regardless of paper size
(top and bottom margins adjusted accordingly). This does not
include the page number, or spaces after it.
Dialogue speaker names (in all caps) 3.7 inches from left side
of page (2.2 from margin)
OVERVIEW
Actor parentheticals (aka wrylies) 3.1 inches from left side of
page (1.6 from margin)
Dialogue 2.5 inches from left side of page (1.5 from margin)
A script usually begins with "FADE IN:", followed by the first
scene description and ends with "FADE TO BLACK or "CUT TO
BLACK" for abrupt endings.
OVERVIEW
Pages should be numbered in the top right corner, flush to
the right margin, a half-inch from the top of the page.
Numbers should be followed by a period.
The first page is not numbered.
The title page is neither numbered nor does it count as page
one, so the first page to have a number is the second page of
the screenplay (third sheet of paper, including the title page),
which is numbered 2.
In the most basic terms, a screenplay is a 90-120 page
document written in Courier 12pt font on 8 1/2" x 11" bright
white three-hole punched paper.
It's a timing issue to use Courier font. One formatted script
page in Courier font equals roughly one minute of screen
time. That's why the average page count of a screenplay
should come in between 90 and 120 pages. Comedies tend to
be on the shorter side (90 pages, or 1 hours) while Dramas
run longer (120 pages, or 2 hours).
The First Page of a Screenplay
While screenplay formatting software such as Final Draft,
Movie Magic Screenwriter, Movie Outline and Montage frees
you from having to learn the nitty-gritty of margins and
indents, it's good to have a grasp of the general spacing
standards.
The top, bottom and right margins of a screenplay are 1". The
left margin is 1.5". The extra half-inch of white space to the
left of a script page allows for binding with brads, yet still
imparts a feeling of vertical balance of the text on the page.
The entire document should be single-spaced.
The First Page of a Screenplay
The very first item on the first page should be the words
FADE IN:. Note: the first page is never numbered. Subsequent
page numbers appear in the upper right hand corner, 0.5"
from the top of the page, flush right to the margin.
Scene Heading
Indent: Left: 0.0" Right: 0.0" Width: 6.0
A scene heading is a one-line description of the location and
time of day of a scene, also known as a "slugline." It should
always be in CAPS.
Example: EXT. WRITERS STORE - DAY reveals that the action
takes place outside The Writers Store during the daytime.
Sub Header
Indent: Left: 0.0" Right: 0.0" Width: 6.0
When a new scene heading is not necessary, but some
distinction needs to be made in the action, you can use a
subheader. But be sure to use these sparingly, as a script full
of subheaders is generally frowned upon.
A good example is when there are a series of quick cuts
between two locations, you would use the term INTERCUT and
the scene locations.
Action
Indent: Left: 0.0" Right: 0.0" Width: 6.0
The narrative description of the events of a scene, written in
the present tense. Also less commonly known as direction,
visual exposition, blackstuff, description or scene direction.
Remember - only things that can be seen and heard should
be included in the action.
Character
Indent: Left: 2.0" Right: 0.0" Width: 4.0
When a character is introduced, his name should be
capitalized within the action. For example: The door opens
and in walks LIAM, a thirty-something hipster with attitude to
spare.
A character's name is CAPPED and always listed above his
lines of dialogue. Minor characters may be listed without
names, for example "TAXI DRIVER" or "CUSTOMER."
Dialogue
Indent: Left: 1.0" Right: 1.5" Width: 3.5
Lines of speech for each character. Dialogue format is used
anytime a character is heard speaking, even for off-screen
and voice-overs.
Parenthetical
Indent: Left: 1.5" Right: 2.0" Width: 2.5"
A parenthetical is direction for the character, that is either
attitude or action-oriented. With roots in the playwriting genre,
today, parentheticals are used very rarely, and only if absolutely
necessary.
Two reasons. First, if you need to use a parenthetical to convey
what's going on with your dialogue, then it probably just needs a
good re-write. Second, it's the director's job to instruct an actor
on how to deliver a line, and everyone knows not to encroach on
the director's turf!
Extension
Placed after the character's name, in parentheses
An abbreviated technical note placed after the character's
name to indicate how the voice will be heard onscreen, for
example, if the character is speaking as a voice-over, it would
appear as LIAM (V.O.).
Transition
Indent: Left: 4.0" Right: 0.0" Width: 2.0
Transitions are film editing instructions, and generally only
appear in a shooting script. Transition verbiage includes:
CUT TO: DISSOLVE TO: SMASH CUT: QUICK CUT: FADE TO:
As a spec script writer, you should avoid using a transition
unless there is no other way to indicate a story element. For
example, you might need to use DISSOLVE TO: to indicate
that a large amount of time has passed.
Shot
Indent: Left: 0.0" Right: 0.0" Width: 6.0
A shot tells the reader the focal point within a scene has
changed. Like a transition, there's rarely a time when a spec
screenwriter should insert shot directions. Once again, that's the
director's job.
Examples of Shots:
ANGLE ON
EXTREME CLOSE UP
PAN TO
LIAM'S POV -
USE OF "CONTINUED"
When a shot or scene continues from one page to the next,
(CONTINUED) must be added at the bottom of the page where
the break occurs, preceded by a single blank line.
CONTINUED: is then added at the top of the next page,
followed by a single blank line.
BREAKING STAGE DIRECTION
When stage direction (also known as action) is broken at the
bottom of a page, break it only at the end of a complete
sentence. CONTINUEDs must be added as explained above.
BREAKING DIALOG
When a character's speech is broken at the bottom of a page,
break it only at the end of a complete sentence. Add (MORE)
4.1" from the left page edge at the bottom of the page where
the break occurs, directly beneath the dialog (in other words,
no blank line separates the (MORE) from the dialog) On the
following page put (CONT'D) after the character name and on
the same line as the name.
Also, when breaking speeches, do not place parenthetical
character direction before the (MORE). Place the parenthetical
direction with the remainder of the speech on the next page.
FORMATTING PARENTHETICAL CHARACTER DIRECTION
"Parenthetical character direction" is specific business relating
only to the speaking character. Parenthetical character
direction is placed in parens, on a separate line from
dialogue.
If the direction goes more than four lines, place it at the left
margin as regular direction, using a colon (:) to indicate it
goes with the character's next speech.
FORMATTING DIALOGUE
Words are never broken by a hyphen at the end of a line of
dialogue unless it's a naturally hyphenated word, such as
twenty-three, point-blank, etc.
FORMATTING SHOT HEADINGS
All shot headings are placed on a line by themselves with two
blank lines above and one blank line below. This includes any
so-called "hidden" shots which may be imbedded in
descriptive passages.
SCENE TRANSITIONS
Scene transitions such as CUT TO and DISSOLVE TO are
entirely optional, but when used should be preceded by one
blank line and followed by two blank lines.
When breaking pages, the scene transition must remain with
the shot just completed. In other words, it is never
permissible to start a new page with a CUT TO or a DISSOLVE
TO. It must be placed at the bottom of the previous page.
SCENE TRANSITIONS
Scene transitions such as CUT TO and DISSOLVE TO are
entirely optional, but when used should be preceded by one
blank line and followed by two blank lines.
When breaking pages, the scene transition must remain with
the shot just completed. In other words, it is never
permissible to start a new page with a CUT TO or a DISSOLVE
TO. It must be placed at the bottom of the previous page.
