How to Write a Script or Screenplay For Beginners (Part 3 of 3)

Formatting a Script or Screenplay

With those other documents out of the way, let’s talk screenplays.

While screenplays are first and foremost artistic pieces of creative writing, they are also important technical documents, allowing everyone working on a project to do their jobs. The screenplay is how the actors know what to say, how the art teams knows what props to bring, and even a huge part of how the budget is decided for a film. With so much riding on the screenplay, it’s no wonder that it has become a regulated art form with fairly strict rules about formatting.

Now, it’s important to note that there will be exceptions to these rules. (After all, there are no rules in art). However, it’s still vital to understand the basic format of a script so that if you break a rule, you can strive to make it seem intentional rather than ignorant.

Below, we’ll look at an example screenplay page and break down the different components of its formatting.

Example Screenplay Page

Font

Screenplays are almost always written in some version of the font Courier. That's what gives them that old-fashioned type-writer-y look. Courier is what's called a monospaced font, so each character is going to take up the same amount of width on a line. That way, whether you're typing a capital W, a lowercase i, a space, or a comma, each keystroke is going to add the same amount of length to your script.

Length

The general rule of thumb is that one page of screenplay should translate to about one minute of screen time.

But this only serves as a rough estimate and should be treated as such. If a script features a lot of rapid-fire, rat-a-tat dialogue, it might run long. For instance, Aaron Sorkin's dialogue-heavy script for?The Social Network?is over 160 pages long, but the movie clocks in at a brisk 2 hours. On the other hand, if a script features little dialogue but a lot of action, it might run short. Just look at Christopher Nolan's 106-minute film?Dunkirk?for which the published screenplay is a mere 82 pages.

Still, while it's not an exact science, the “one-minute = one-page” rule gives you something to aim for. If you're planning to make a ten-minute short film, then that script should probably be around ten pages. Nine or eleven pages probably isn't a big deal, but an 18-page document likely needs some editing before you go into production.

Scene Headings

At the beginning of each scene, there will be a heading which sets the stage by answering two essential questions: "Where does this scene take place?" and "When does this scene take place?" These scene headings are always written in ALL CAPS. Some writers also chose to?BOLD?and/or?UNDERLINE?theirs but this is more of a stylistic choice. Whatever you choose, just make sure to be consistent throughout your whole screenplay.

An example scene heading might look like this:

INT. DINER - NIGHT        

Now these headings are broken down into three components. The first two answer the "Where?" question, while the third component takes care of the "When?"

Exterior or interior

The first part of your scene heading tells us whether we are outside or inside. If the scene heading starts with EXT. then it's an exterior location (outside). If it starts with INT. then it's an interior location (inside). On rare occasions, you might see INT./EXT. for a scene that cuts back and forth between the outside and inside of a location. An example of this would be a car chase where you want to intercut our protagonist heroically jerking the steering wheel and her sports car weaving through traffic without having to create a new scene heading every time you envision a change of perspective.

Location

The next component of a scene heading is the location where the scene takes place. Try to be as specific as possible without being wordy. For example, don't say we’re in JOHN'S HOUSE when you could just as easily say we’re in JOHN'S KITCHEN.

While you'll be?describing your location in the screen direction, it's sometimes a good idea to throw an adjective into the scene heading. Yes, it's perfectly fine to say INT. BATHROOM but think of the difference between a scene set in the interior of a FILTHY BATHROOM vs. a FANCY BATHROOM. This way, you're not even through the scene heading and you're already setting up your reader's expectations.

Time Of Day

The final part of the scene heading is the time of day which is separated from the location by a hyphen with a space on either side. Almost always, the time is DAY or NIGHT. Occasionally you'll see a MORNING or a DAWN or an EVENING but this is only if that specific time of day is important to the scene taking place.

Also, some writers will use CONTINUOUS when the scene at hand is linked to the previous scene with no break in between. For example, if in Scene A, John opens the door of a restaurant, then the scene heading for Scene B which shows him shut the door behind him might look like this:

INT. FAST FOOD RESTAURANT - CONTINUOUS        

Please note that this CONTINUOUS only works if this scene starts with John on the other side of the door. If we cut inside and he's already sitting down at his table, then it's better to just say the time of day again.

Screen Direction

This is where most of your writing will happen. In these blocks of text that run all the way from the left margin to the right margin (no indenting on paragraphs here).

The SUBSITUTE (50s), thick mustache and glasses, strides confidently into the colorful first-grade classroom. He scans the rows of students, and-- THWACK! Smacks a ruler into his hand. It’s clear he means business.        

As the name suggests, screen direction is where you'll introduce everything that the audience sees on screen. This includes descriptions of locations, characters, and props as well as any important action of the scene. This doesn't only mean the type of action we see in an action movie (She dodges out of the way just in time.), but also the action in a comedy (He slips on the banana peel) or the action in a drama (They stare deeply into each others' eyes. Very much in love.) If you want the audience to see something happen, you better describe it in your screen direction.

Below are five things to keep in mind when writing your screen direction.

1. Grammar is a suggestion not a rule... In screen direction, it's not vital that you follow every convention of grammar to a T. In fact, it's not uncommon for screenplays to have sentence fragments or even one-word sentences. Why is that?
2. Except for your tense. That?is?a rule. A screenplay is always written in present tense, as if the writer is transcribing events that are happening in real time. So while most novels would say, "Rebecca ran out the door," a screenplay would say, "Rebecca runs out the door."
3. Keep the paragraphs small.
4. "We see" and Camera movements Two things that internet screenwriting guides and gurus love to rail against are screenwriters saying "We see" (along with its equally maligned cousin "We hear") and describing shots or camera movements. However, these gurus ignore the fact that successful Hollywood writers use these devices all the time. So let's throw this rule out. Remember, there are no rules in art! (Except for that present tense thing. That one's a rule).

The door SLAMS open and in struts JASMINE, mid-40s, pantsuit perfectly pressed, hair perfectly coifed, her eyes piercing and focused. She looks every bit like the cut-throat businesswoman she is.

Jasmine points accusatorially at PRINCIPAL JOHNSON (50s, a bit of a slob), and he recoils back into his seat.
        

Dialogue

Now we get to the fun stuff: Writing what your characters say to one another.

When formatting dialogue, but the speaking character’s name in the center of the page in ALL CAPS. Below their name will be a column of text with lines for the actor to say.

								          JASMINE
								How dare you steal the president's
								favorite gold fish?
        

Sometimes to the right of the characters name will be a set of parentheses with one of these four things written inside of it.

• (V.O.) is for voiceover. This is used when narration is played over the footage. It could be a character's internal monologue or a literal narrator telling us the story. The key distinction with voiceover is that no one in the scene can hear what's being said.
• (O.C) is for off camera and (O.S.) is for off screen. These two are used interchangeably and both refer to when someone in the scene is physically saying the words we hear (making it different from V.O.), but the audience can't see the speaker. Sometimes this is used when a character is in hiding and speaks before revealing themselves. Other times it simply means the speaker is in the other room and is calling out to the characters who are on camera at the moment.
• (CONT'D) means continued. This is used whenever a block of dialogue that is meant to be delivered continuously is broken up, either by screen direction or by a page break.

However if the parentheses are not to the right of the character's name but below it, then this is called a parenthetical. Parentheticals give the reader a little insight into?how?an actor should say a line. It can be purely technical like (into phone) or it can be about performance (unsure of himself). However be verrrrrry cautious when writing performance-based parentheticals. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it should be clear based on the situation and lines how a character is feeling, so adding a parenthetical might only serve to get on an actor's nerves. Let the actors make their acting choices and refrain from telling them what to do as much as possible. These performance parentheticals are often only helpful when a character's line delivery goes against the expected response.

Finally, DUAL DIALOGUE occurs when two characters speak in unison or are speaking over one another. An example would be...

						MOM
                      What do you guys want for dessert?

                   SON                         DAUGHTER
       Cupcakes!                      Ice cream!
        

While this tool can be a lot of fun, and has been used to great effect (check out Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women for a recent masterclass in dual dialogue), be very careful with it. Dual dialogue is often used as a crutch by beginner writers who want to make their scripts seem more rapid-fire, but they only end up making their pages look cluttered. Even more egregious is the beginner who uses dual dialogue in an effort to lessen their page count. Don’t ever do this.

Transitions

On the far right side of the page, screenwriters have the option to write in their own transitions (FADE TO: CUT TO: etc). However, like camera moves, these should only be included if they are absolutely necessary to understand the story. For the most part, it's assumed that moving from one scene to another will happen with a cut so adding a CUT TO: only serves to take up precious page space. Yet in some rare instances– such as a particularly abrupt cut played for drama, irony, or comedy– a CUT TO: or even a SMASH CUT TO: may be appropriate.

Wrapping Up

Now, we’ve outlined the conventions of the traditional screenplay format, but there’s one crucial element we haven’t touched on yet. This element also happens to be the single most important thing when it comes to writing a a great screenplay: a great idea.

No amount of proper formatting or concise screen direction or vivid character descriptions will ever make up for the fact that the only reason to write a screenplay in the first place is because you have a great idea. So challenge yourself to come up with an idea that’s so funny or dramatic or scary or weird that its something you would want to see.

Once you have that idea, flesh it out. Think about how long it should be, what sorts of story beats it needs, and what types of characters you can dream up. Is this idea best suited to a web series or a short film or a sketch video? And if, after toying with this idea, stretching it out to see if it breaks, you’re still excited about it, then it might just be time to sit down and write a screenplay. Luckily, now you know how.

If this post has inspired you to try to write your own script then check out our post on choosing the right screenwriting software for you: (LINK TO BE ADDED). Trust us, this stuff is considerably easier when using a tool meant for screenwriting.

Or maybe your great idea doesn’t need a script at all. Maybe a thoughtful treatment or a series of hand-drawn storyboards or even a quickly typed-up outline is enough for you to get going.

The important thing is that you write out some kind plan. Because once your great idea becomes a great plan, that’s when you can get to shooting.