Note From Tongal: “Yes, Your Screenplay Format DOES Matter!" is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here and then Pitch us a topic you'd like to write about for the Tongal Blog!
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We’ve all been there: it’s a late Monday night class, and your professor is droning on and on about formatting your screenplay. Meanwhile, you’re dozing off thinking about what big new concept you’re gonna write about. Not a complete waste of time, but if you wanna make it in the biz kid, you’re gonna have to know how to format your scripts properly!
“But Why?,” I hear you asking through your computer.
Because producers and executives alike are reading through 1,000 scripts every single day! And even if you have a shoo-in for box office gold AND an Oscar, they won’t even give you their two cents if you don’t have proper formatting. It’s a quick way for them to sniff out your experience levels and whether or not you are a serious scriptwriter. And of course, you are (or aspire to be)! But they don’t know that.
Okay fine! Tell me the actual formatting.
Glad I could convince you! First thing you need to understand is the rundown of each element within a script. There’s: Fade in/out, headers, action, dialogue, parentheses, speaker, VFX/SFX, cut to, inserts, and page numbers. (Yes, even page numbers have a specific way they need to be.) So, let’s run down the list.
General Formatting:
Your text must be in Courier New and 12 point font. It’s a throwback to the OG’s who had to type 100+ pages of content on a typewriter. Your left margin should also be set inwards of two inches, and your right margin should be set to two inches from the right.
FADE IN/OUT:
Unless you have a specific vision of an immediate start/end to your film, your screenplay must start with “FADE IN” and end with “FADE OUT”. It’s justified all the way to the left, in all caps, and ends with a colon (this guy “:”).
Headers:
Headers, or “slugs,” tell the reader where and when a scene is taking place. They should always be in order of: INTERIOR/EXTERIOR - LOCATION -- MORNING/DAY/EVENING/NIGHT followed by a colon. They are also justified all the way to the left, in all caps, and end in a colon. Oh, and shorten the word “Interior” to just “INT.” and “Exterior” to just “EXT.” BTW: Interior equals any scene that takes place inside a building and exterior equals any scene that takes place outside.
Action:
Action is a scene description that tells the reader what’s going on with your characters. It should never be written in passive voice (a.k.a leave all “be” verbs out of this) and it should wrap all the way to the end of the page. Be sure to lay out the design of the space you’re trying to create. Remember: just because you can see it perfectly in your head, doesn’t mean the reader can too. Be specific and clear!
Pro-tip: Remember your place! You’re a writer, not the director. You should never add anything that sounds like direction (e.g. “Sharley realized Mark lied about the divorce, evident by the anger in her face.”)
Dialogue:
Finally, they speak! Dialogue has a very specific indentation when it comes to film. It’s so the actors can quickly spot where their lines are. Plus, it helps differentiate between action text and text that will be read aloud. For dialogue, the indentation should start at one inch in and end at five inches; it should also wrap around itself. (Don’t worry, we’ll go over an example).
Pro-tip: If you’re writing dialogue in a different language, write what is actually being said in the native tongue. Then, in the parentheses, write what language it should be spoken in. What are parentheses? Well…
Parentheses:
Parentheses are where you, the writer, add little details to create a context for how something should be said. For example, if a line should be read sarcastically, this is where you’d note it. Also, if you want a brief pause before a character continues to speak (known as a beat), this is the place for it. The indentation starts at 1.5 inches in from the left and should be used sparingly.
Speaker:
The speaker is the character. Their name should be in all caps and indented two inches in from the left. Do not bold their name or include any other special characters except for accent marks. If your speaker is interrupted by an action text, continue their lines with the character name followed by the abbreviation for continued (CONT.). Along with that, if a character is speaking off camera but in the room, their name will be followed by the abbreviation for off-screen (O.S.); if you want the character to narrate over the scene, replace (O.S.) with (V.O.). If you’re confused, don’t worry! We’ll go over an example.
Pro-tip: When a character is first introduced in the Action text, put their name in caps and give a brief description of them.
VFX/SFX:
VFX (visual effects) and SFX (sound effects) should be written in your script in all caps. And that means any special sound (FOOTSTEPS, BANG, FLASH, etc.). These should be written in the Action text.
Cut to:
A “cut to” is a note to the editor of how the scene should change. It should be written in caps and aligned far right followed by a colon (Cut to:). Only use these when completely necessary! Your script should be just that: a script, not a shooting concept.
Inserts:
Inserts are any scene that fills in the world. Typically, they are recorded without sound and simply help to add quick information that doesn’t need a lot of explanation (like a character’s morning routine). For inserts, it should be 0.5 inches in from the left, Title Case, and followed by a colon. For each new insert, it should be listed another 0.5 inches from the left. When the inserts (or montage) ends, return the indentation back 0.5 inches. Yes, we also hate numbers.
Page Numbers:
Page numbers are very important! It’s the number one (ha!) thing beginners overlook. Your first page (not including your cover page) should not have a page number on it. It is understood to be page one. They should be added as a footer at the bottom and indented dead center.
None of that made sense. Show me!
Fair enough. Here’s how a properly formatted screenplay should look:
My Unsolicited Opinion
While I agree rules are made to be broken, and this entire industry thrives off of pushing the envelope and developing ideas, but when it comes to getting your foot in the door, don’t let a poorly-formatted script keep you from telling an amazing story. And after you get your Oscar, then you can write your scripts in any format you like.
