Guide to Writing a Screenplay
How to Write a Professional Script With the Correct Layout
Jan 16, 2009
Ideas are scribbled down in notebooks, hours are spent slaving over a laptop, the scenes play out like a ready-made movie in your head. Now is the time to pull all those threads together and get that movie written down as a professional, correctly laid out screenplay.
Writing for Film and TV
Writing a screenplay entails discipline and rules. Not necessarily the rules of the three act structure, as discussed in Syd Field's script writing bible Screenplay, but certainly the rules of script layout. Writers such as Charlie Kaufman and Christopher Nolan, to name but two, have sidestepped the traditional structure of beginning, middle, end made famous by Syd Field, but no-one can expect their script to impress unless it looks the part.
Correct Formatting for Scripts
Producers, script editors, fellow writers...everyone will take your script more seriously if it is presented in the standard layout. It is generally preferred not only because it make it easier to read, but because it allows for an accurate estimate of screen time to be calculated. One page of standard layout script = one minute of screen time. For a feature film, therefore, 100 - 120 pages is the norm.
Fonts and Paper Sizes
There are minor differences between countries, for example in the States standard paper size for screenplays is US letter size, and the standard font used is Courier 10 pitch, 12 point. In Europe, the standard paper size is A4, and the font is acceptable in Arial, Times or Courier.
Standard Layout and Script Examples
Character names are capitalized and centered on the page, with dialogue and actions written underneath. In scriptwriting, action is always written in the present tense – 'Jack picks up his keys', not 'Jack picked up his keys'. Directions, such as how the line is delivered (e.g. shouting) are given in parenthesis, but should be used sparingly as actors like to decide for themselves.
To get an idea of how scripts are properly set out using standard formatting, the best advice is to read other peoples' scripts. The BBC's Writersroom has a wealth of information for aspiring writers, and quite an array of scripts to look at. Here is a link to the script for the first episode of Life on Mars, by Matthew Graham
Other elements of standard layout, as can clearly be seen from the Life on Mars example, include:
- Page numbers
- Scene numbers (although these are usually only added once a script is in production)
- Scene headers (which describe where the scene is taking place)
- Transitions (e.g 'cut to' – again, usually not added by the writer as it is a directors decision)
- Character tags (OS for off screen, VO for voice over)
Screenplay Layout – Free Software to Download
Although it is possible to follow the standard script layout format by setting tabs on a word processor, it is much easier to use a made for purpose screenplay software program. There are many available to buy, including market leader Final Draft, but for free the BBC has Script Smart, a down-loadable set of Microsoft Word templates. If you don't use MS Word, try the friendly and free to use website Scripped.com for pain free script formatting.
So now you have the tools, go write your masterpiece!
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