With the margins set, we are ready to put our content in. Each part of the script has a place. When everything is in its proper place, it provides a certain flow and is easy for an actor, director, or whomever, to know what is happening.
Page layout:
Character Name – 2 inches (from left margin)
Parentheticals – 1 ½ inches (from left margin)
Lines of Dialogue – 1 inch (from left margin)
*dialogue should be not longer than 3 ½ inches total. So it should run from your 1 inch mark to the 4 ½ inch mark.
Transitions – 1 inch (from right margin)
Each scene should contain certain elements also: A header, a scene description, and whatever dialogue you have. Your header contains information that relates to the setting – where and when the answer is taking place. INT and EXT denote whether the action is indoors (INT) or outdoors (EXT).
Here are some examples of headers:
INT. JOHNNY’S HOUSE -- DAY
INT. JOHNNY’S HOUSE – LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT
EXT.ABANDON PARKING LOT -- MORNING
Everything will be either interior or exterior, obviously, but there are seven different times of day that can be used : Sunrise/dawn; Morning; Day; Noon; Afternoon; Sunset/dusk; Night. There are two modifiers that you are allowed to use with these times of day: Late; or Early.
These are the only times of day and modifiers that you will need to use for all your screenplays. They are used primarily as a reference for lighting and it gives the reader a good visual. However, we don’t use times like “midnight” because night is night and it is dark regardless.
Scene Description lets the reader know what action is taking place and describes the setting and characters to give the reader a strong visual image. Within your scene description, each time you introduce a new character type, the character name is all “caps”. When mentioning them again, in a later scene description, use standard rules of capitalization. “Why”? Because casting directors will look at a script and cast for everyone that appears in “all caps” in the scene description. So if you type JOHNNY’s name in caps everytime you mention him in a scene description, your casting director will cast a different actor for each time JOHNNY appears. I know that sounds silly, but that is the rule of thumb.
For example:
JOHNNY, a middle-aged man, wearing torn jeans and a dirty t-shirt, walks into the bar and sits down. Johnny orders a drink from the burlesque bartender, TOM.
Dialogue is an important element of narrative story telling. You can tell a lot about a character simply by the things they say. When writing dialogue into your script you should always use all caps for your character names, but do not use colons.
For example:
"JOHNNY" - good
"JOHNNY:" - bad
Now, you have the basics of screenplay formatting. There are other essential elements to writing, such as plot, theme, and character; but this has been a purely technical piece to help you get started. Formatting is essential for timing and easy flow of information. Remember, you don’t want the reader to feel like an audience member. You want them to feel like they are right there in the middle of everything – part of your story.
One last thing, I can’t believe I almost forgot: There is never a need to use “CUT TO”. It is implied that you will “cut to” if no other transition is denoted. FADE IN or FADE UP FROM BLACK go on the left (side) and FADE OUT or FADE TO BLACK go on the right.
I will leave you with a little example of the beginnings of a properly formatted script:
Click Here to Download
Good luck with your writing!
