How to Format Your Screenplay

So, you want to write a screenplay? You want your words to come to life for your friends, family, or possibly more to see?

There are some things to know before you sit down and start writing. Whether it’s a short 10-minute film or a 90-minute feature, format is everything. Be detailed, yet concise. The screenplay serves as a guide for your cast and crew on how the motion picture will play out on screen. It has to hook the first reader, which is usually someone in a producer’s office, before it reaches a producer’s desk.

If the document is not properly formatted, producers will not take time to read it.

Format as follows:

1. Set page margins. Your left margin should be 1.5 inches, and your right 1 inch. Top and bottom page margins are set at 1 inch.
2. The font required for a script is 12-point Courier.
3. Screenplays are written in scenes, which need a scene heading, action, character name, parenthetical, and character dialogue.

• Scene Heading – where the action is taking place
• Action—what is playing out in the scene.
• Character name
• Parenthetical—an added descriptor in parenthesis
• Dialogue—the words spoken by the character.

A scene heading looks like this:

“INT. HOUSE – KITCHEN – DAY,” which represents shooting a daytime scene inside the kitchen of a house. Shots set outside are marked “EXT” for exterior.

The action of a screenplay should be written in present tense with a character’s first appearance in all caps like this, “JOHN, (25), rushes into the kitchen to check the STOVE, as smoke billows. Dark brown hair covers his face.”

A character is always introduced with a brief description before dialogue is written. Dialogue is centered 1 inch from the left margin and always under a character name written in all caps.

Voice over or off-screen moments are identified in parentheses by the character name in a screenplay. If a character’s dialogue is cut off at the end of a page, CONT’D should be written in parentheses as their dialogue continues like this: “JOHN (CONT’D).”

Abbreviations:
(V.O.) – Voice over
(O.S.) – Off screen
(CONT’D) – Dialogue continued

Parentheticals are added under a character’s name to imply how the actor should portray the line. Take care not to overuse these.

When you add these elements to your screenplay you should be well on your way to seeing your script complete.

Some things to keep in mind while writing your script:

• On average, a page of a script is equal to one minute on screen. So, a ninety-minute movie is roughly ninety pages long.
• Do not add camera angles into your script. These elements will be added later by production crew if your project is produced.
• Show. Don’t tell.

There are programs that can be used to help you properly format your screenplay. A couple of examples are Final Draft and Celtx.

Now, start drafting your own screenplay.
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