FORMAT OF

SCREENPLAY
By Sukriti Bajaj

Writing should be an adventure, shrouded

in mystery and uncertainty, blessed with
amazing grace. In theory, of course.
Syd Field

SCREENPLAY
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

SCREENPLAY

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.

TYPES OF
SCREENPLAY
Literary Screenplay
Publicistic Screenplay
Original Screenplay
Derivative Screenplay
Directors Screenplay
Poetic Screenplay

TYPES OF 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.

TYPES OF SCREENPLAY
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.

TYPES OF SCREENPLAY

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.

FORMAT OF
SCREENPLAY
Action is character. What a person does is
what he is, not what he says.
Syd Field

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY

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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
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)

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY

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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY

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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY

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).

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
SCREENPLAY ELEMENTS
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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
SCREENPLAY ELEMENTS
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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
SCREENPLAY ELEMENTS
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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
SCREENPLAY ELEMENTS
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."

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
SCREENPLAY ELEMENTS
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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
SCREENPLAY ELEMENTS
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!

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
SCREENPLAY ELEMENTS
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.).

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
SCREENPLAY ELEMENTS
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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
SCREENPLAY ELEMENTS
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 -

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY

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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY

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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
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.

FORMAT OF SCREENPLAY
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.

THANK YOU !