I’d like to preface everything that I write in this episode by noting that there are no ‘universal’ rules in screenwriting, but these are general guidelines that will give your script a professional look. Whether what you’ve written qualifies as “professional” is a completely different conversation.
Your font should Courier, 12-point font, 10 pitch. No exceptions. This is about as close as you’ll get to a universal rule in the realm of screenwriting.
All pages should be single spaced, with an extra line break between items. By ‘item’ I of course mean any change in the function of what is being written, e.g. switching from a scene header to action or from dialog to a transition. As with most rules, there are of course exceptions. The most notable of which is anything involving dialog. You wouldn’t put an extra line break between a character’s name and their line of dialog, nor would you between a parenthetical and the dialog it describes. It’s best to think of ‘dialog’ as a single item composed of the character’s name, what they’re saying, and any parenthetical describing it. Everything else generally requires an extra line break before changing the function of the text. This is what I imagine your script currently looks like:
JEFF
  This is the kind of stupidshit that happens when you useMicrosoft word to format your script.Isn’t it annoying?
Jeff smashes his laptop to pieces in frustration.
JEFF
Oh, thank God. This feels
so much better.
The margins are pretty rigid for your standard screenplay: left, 1.5 inches; right, 1.0 inches.; top, 1.0 inches to the body, 0.5 inches to the page number; bottom, 0.5 to 1.5 inches, depending on where the page break comes. Just like in seventh grade language arts, it’s considered cheating to mess with the margins and you don’t want to get caught.
You’ll notice that the bottom margin can vary page to page, and this is mostly so that items that wrap from one page to another can be kept intact whenever possible. For example: a long line of dialog or description might be cut from the bottom of one page and put at the top of the subsequent page.
Your script should ALWAYS include page numbers in the top right corner. While the exact margins aren’t standardized, it’s best to have the page number be right justified, about half an inch of the top of the page and an inch of the right edge.
Scene headings always appear in all caps. Sometimes they’ll appear in bold or underlined, but this is usually a stylistic choice made by the writer. You’ll frequently see it used in television by showrunners who have differing opinions about how the script should be laid out. Usually, your scene headings will look like this:
EXT. THUNDERDOME - NIGHT
All scene headings contain the same information: Interior verses Exterior, abbreviated as INT. or EXT., which indicates whether the scene is located inside or outside; location; a hyphen to separate location from time of day; and finally Day or Night to indicate at approximately what time of day the scene is occurring. Some writers use more specific terms like Dusk, Dawn, or Noon to indicate time, but this isn’t necessarily the standard.
It used to be necessary to include transitions to indicate a scene change is coming, but this is no longer considered essential. However, transitions can be useful when changing scenes rapidly, and are still essential at the beginning and end.
Descriptions, are the narrative account of the action of the script. They help establish the context of the scene and describe the action that unfolds. Occasionally, description is used to get inside a character’s thought patterns, a la the novel, but this is usually unsuccessful because conveying interiority is extremely difficult in film. Description generally the final line of dialog. However, scenes can, and frequently do, end with a line of dialog, transition, or other item.
While absolutely vital to the success of a script, description can also be its greatest weakness. It’s important to be vivid and concise, or you risk losing the interest of your reader. Some writers have turned to using choppy, incomplete sentences as a way of keeping their script brief, but allowing for rapid fire action. In general, this is a risky venture, because without the use of full sentences the script can also lose it’s intended effect. It’s good advice to stick to complete sentences and careful word choice for the ideal combination of clarity and brevity.
Frequently, writers use camera direction as a form of description. While common in produced scripts, it’s best for amateur writers to avoid using camera direction. Usually, once a script has gone into production, the director(s), producer(s), and, potentially, writer(s) will make what is called a “production draft” that contains some camera direction and additional details which make physically shooting the script easier. It is not the job of the writer to include camera direction from the very first draft, so it’s best to avoid doing so unless absolutely necessary. You might think it is, but I’d be willing to bet your script will work better with out it. And I’d be fucking right.
Character introductions are the first instances where a character appears in a script. His or her name should appear in all caps (some writers put it in bold, but this is a matter of style) and should be followed by a brief description of him or her. Almost all writers include the character’s approximate age and a brief physical description. This is also a useful area to begin establishing how the character portrays themselves to others. Frequently, writers will use this initial description to establish unique traits that make the character(s) stand out from one another. This is an excellent way to develop strong characters with distinct voices, tones, mannerisms, et cetera.
Important items and sound effects should appear in all caps or bold (another stylistic choice) to indicate that reader should be aware. While this is kind of hokey and seems like weak writing, it can be useful for building a visual image in the mind of the reader or indicating important events that the reader should focus on. It should look something like this:
As he searches through the scattered remains of the trashcan for lunch, Jeff spots a SHINY QUARTER and immediately pockets it.
Character names that immediately proceed a line of dialog should be centered (or roughly 4.2 inches in from the left margin) in all caps. This is a universal rule, except when two or more characters are speaking simultaneously, in which case the indentation from the left margin will be changed slightly to allow for two lines of dialog to fit. This is a fairly rare occurrence though, and most modern screenwriting programs have some sort of quick formatting which helps with simultaneous dialog.
JEFF
This is where the line of
dialog would normally be.
Dialog should always be centered, immediately beneath the character(s)’s name(s), generally not more than three lines (Unless it’s important!), and should have roughly three inch margins on each side. This means that the line of dialog is wider than both the character names and any parenthetical which might be describing it. Generally, dialog looks something like this:
JEFF
I am speaking. Listen, dammit!
Two interesting variants of dialog are Voice-overs and Off-screen dialog. A voice over is a form of narration where a character speaks over an image , and is indicated by writing the letters V.O. in parenthesis next to the character’s name. It should look something like this:
JEFF (V.O.)
Voice-overs suck.
Off-screen dialog generally occurs when a character within the physical scene is speaking, but the camera does not yet see him or her, and is indicated by writing the letters O.S. in parenthesis next to the character’s name. It should look something like this:
JEFF (O.S.)
You can’t see me.
Dialog which wraps from one page to another is usually broken up by a page break. Generally, this is formatted as normal, but dialog on the first page ends with (MORE) centered, immediately below the line of dialog. At the beginning of the subsequent page, the line of dialog continues with the character’s name immediately followed by (CONT’D) in parenthesis.
JEFF
It’s almost as if I stopped
(MORE)
2
JEFF (CONT’D)
talking in mid-sentence, and
then resumed suddenly.
Parentheticals are items that can be inserted into a line of dialog to help expand the reader’s understanding of that particular line. They should appear entered, in parenthesis, immediately below the character’s name and above the dialog, about 3.7 inches in. Parentheticals are useful for conveying emotion, brief bits of action, if a line is spoken in a foreign language, et cetera. While some amateur writers embrace parentheticals with a vigor, it’s usually better to be sparing with them as to not box the director and actor into a corner.
The averages script is 90 to 120 pages in length. It’s usually best to keep within these limits for your first few screenplays. You might argue that someone like Ridley Scott gets away with writing a MUCH longer script, and that would be precisely the kind of argument that justifies why Ridley Scott makes millions of dollars every year and you’re currently unemployed.
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