RULES OF FORMATTING

THE RULES OF FORMATTING
PAPER
Three-hole punched, not two-hole. Normal, white paper of the sort they don’t charge extra for at the photocopy store, which is white, 20 lb. bond.

TYPEFACE
12 point Courier or Courier New. This font looks like an old-fashioned typewriter’s font. It doesn’t look typeset. It’s not supposed to look fancy or “produced” or published.
Nothing is boldfaced, even on the title page. Nothing is italicized (though that rule may be changing). Underlining for emphasis may be employed extremely sparingly. The same rule applies ALL CAPS (capital letters).

THREE PARTS TO FORMATTING
There are three parts to screenplay formatting.
1) The slug line (or heading) comes at the beginning of every scene, which is to say every time there’s a new location. It tells us generally where we are and whether it’s day or night.
2) The description “describes” actions of the characters and anything else that needs to be explained. It’s usually visual information or sound effects. “Bob squeezes the trigger and the gun goes BLAM.”
3) The dialogue is what characters say.

SLUG LINES (AKA “SLUGS” or “HEADINGS”)
Slug lines are not indented. They begin at the left-hand page margin and may extend (when necessary) to the right hand page margin. They are written in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
The first element in the slug line is INT. or EXT.
It’s EXT. if the scene is an exterior, INT. if it’s an interior. These are indications of whether the camera and crew will have to set up outside or inside. 99 percent of all scenes are inside or outside. Rarely, a scene takes place in a doorway, or with people on opposite sides of a window, and in such cases INT./EXT. is acceptable.
The second part of the slug tells us where we are – the precise location. If that location repeats in the course of the film, it should always be referred to in the same way. In other word’s, DESIREE’S BEDROOM remains DESIREE’S BEDROOM, and does not change from BEDROOM to DESIREE’S BEDROOM to DESIREE’S BOUDOIR. Here’s a slug:

INT. DESIREE’S BEDROOM – NIGHT

The location should be specific, but not more specific than necessary. For example, if a scene takes place in a park but it doesn’t really matter which part of the park, just leave it at “PARK” and give the production personnel the freedom to pick the most picturesque or convenient park location they can find.
Notice we don’t go into any detail regarding the description of the bedroom – the slug line isn’t the place for that. If more words are needed to describe the room’s fluffy whiteness, do it in the description.
The third part of the slug is the time of day, but there are only two options here: DAY or NIGHT. All scenes are DAY or NIGHT. There’s no need to specify “TWILIGHT,” “LATE NIGHT,” “HIGH NOON” or “ABOUT THREE O’CLOCK.” If that kind of elaboration is needed, put it in the description. To use anything but DAY or NIGHT breaks with tradition and will be seen as amateurish.
Slugs should be short and sweet:

INT. JOE’S BAR - DAY

If you are unable to fit the slug on a single line, then you probably are writing slugs that are too wordy. Elaboration should be handled below the slug.
There is no need to provide new slugs if you’re shifting locations in a single room, but if you move to a new room, a new slug is probably required. If you’re not sure if you’ll need a new slug, ask yourself, will the camera set-up and lights need to move? New set-up equals new location.

SLUG LINES FOR DREAMS, FANTASIES AND FLASHBACKS
In the cases of dreams, flashbacks and fantasies, it is sometimes acceptable to include a fourth part to the slug: an indication, in parentheses, of the scene’s special nature.

INT. DESIREE’S BEDROOM – NIGHT (DESIREE’S DREAM)

Some people also do it this way:

INT. DESIREE’S BEDROOM – NIGHT – DESIREE’S DREAM

DESCRIPTION
Description is the second major part of formatting.
Description is accomplished in paragraphs of prose that stretch across the page from margin to margin. They are not indented. They resemble the paragraphs of a business letter.
The paragraphs of description should be short – no more than four or five lines – and generally speaking shorter is better. A single sentence – or even a single word – is fine.
Long blocks of description should be broken into paragraphs.
Skip a line between paragraphs of description.
Each paragraph should make a single point.
When we say “description,” we don’t mean that you are invited to “describe” ornately the sets, costumes and landscape, as though you were a nineteenth century novelist. Quite the contrary. In the “description” you briefly describe what we see on the screen, usually the actions of the characters and other visual (and sometimes aural) information.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY

Robinson, looking sleepy, pours Annie coffee. Ken enters and sits by Annie.
Put at least one brief line of description after each slug. It looks odd to jump straight from a slug to dialogue.

DIALOGUE
There are three elements to the blocks of dialogue: the speaker’s name, the parentheticals, and the dialogue itself.
The block of dialogue is single-spaced so the eye perceives it as a unit. Do not double-space between the speaker’s name and the actual dialogue.
Let’s start with the speaker’s name or “character name.” This is the person speaking the “speech” or “line” you are about to write.
Indent four tabs (or 20 spaces) for the speaker’s name above the speech.
This should put the speaker’s name more or less in the center of the page – but don’t use your word processing program to “center” every name. Each name is indented the same distance from the left-hand margin. The left hand margin on all character names should be the same. The right hand margin will vary because names come in varying lengths.
Next let’s talk about the speech itself – the dialogue.
Indent the dialogue 10 spaces (or two tabs if your tabs are five spaces).
Dialogue should run in a column down the center of the page.
That column should be between three and three-and-a-half inches wide, or about as wide as your fingers without your thumb.

You may test it on the page by holding your fingers over the dialogue column – it should block out just about everything except for a few stray long words that hang over on the right.
Don’t hyphenate long words at the end of the line – let them run.
Your block of dialogue will look like this:

WESLEY
How come I have to go to school?
They ain’t teachin’ me nothin’!

There you have it, a block of dialogue. There’s one more element to the block of dialogue that you will need, though not very often: the parenthetical.

DIALOGUE AND PARENTHETICALS
The parentheticals (also called “wrylies” or “dialogue directions”) are those little remarks in parentheses usually situated just below the speaker’s name in the blocks of dialogue.
There are only two truly acceptable types of information to include in the parentheticals: How the line is said, and to whom it is directed.
Sometimes – quite rarely, because it’s the actor’s job to inflect the lines, not yours – it’s appropriate to tell an actor how a line is said ("wryly," "tearfully," "whispering," and so on).

ROBERT
(wryly)
I love having my eyes poked with
sticks. It’s festive.

In situations where there are a lot of characters in the scene, it’s sometimes necessary to specify to whom a line is spoken.

OFFICER LINDSTROM
(to Keefa)
You – in the red sweater. Did you
see the robbers clearly?

Remember that in 999 cases out of a thousand, it’s perfectly obvious how the line should be said and to whom it is directed, and to indicate such is a redundant bore. Your readers aren’t stupid. There’s a lot they figure out from context, and to tell them more than they need is insulting and tedious.
Even when you think you need to tell the actor how to read the line, restrain yourself, because the actor will usually make a more interesting choice than you will. That’s the actor’s job. For example.

DR. SIN
(viciously)
I’m going to have Monkeyboy tear
your throat out and eat it.

For one thing, “viciously” is a pretty obvious choice for such a line. For another, there are other ways that might be more interesting. How about “blandly?” Or “amiably?”
Physical actions, “stage business,” and so on, belong within the descriptive passages, not in the parentheticals.
Very occasionally, a small physical action that can be described in a word or two may be contained in the parentheticals, but don’t do this more than a few times in the entire script.

GLENDA
How do you do?
(eyes narrowing)
I’ve met you somewhere. Oh, yes!
You’re that man from the bus station!
I wouldn’t kiss you again…
(she drags on her cigarette)
With my dachshund’s lips.

Notice that the parenthetical may occur again in the same block of dialogue, always occupying its own line.
Remember to use the parentheticals sparingly. Whenever possible let the actor decide for himself whether the line is to be read “indignantly,” “wryly,” “pusillanimously” – whatever.
Don’t use the word “beat” in the parentheticals to indicate where the actor should pause. In fact, only rarely should you presume to tell the actor when he should pause in a line of dialogue.
Parentheticals are very useful to indicate when people interrupt, overlap, or speak simultaneously.

DIALOGUE: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN (OS) AND (VO)
To indicate that a character is heard but not seen, place the abbreviation (OS) in parentheses directly to the right of the character's name. (OS) stands for “off screen,” and it means that the character is physically present in the scene but not seen by the camera. For example:


MIDGE (OS)
When are you going to be done
in that bathroom?

There are good dramatic and comedic reasons a voice might occasionally come from off screen, but if overused OS taxes the reader.
If the speaker is functioning more or less as an omniscient narrator, then use (VO), which stands for voice-over. If the audience hears what a character is thinking (a choice you’d rarely if ever make as a beginning screenwriter), use (VO).

TOM (VO)
I remember the summer of 1985
as though it were yesterday…

You can also use a voice-over to indicate voices from public address systems, radios, and telephones.
Voice-overs are commonly used when a character is reading a letter. The audience sees the character reading the pages and hears the letter-writer speaking them in voice-over.

NAMING CHARACTERS: LABEL DIALOGUE CONSISTENTLY
In the description and in character names above speeches, consistently refer to characters by the same name, usually their first names.
In other words, instead of inconsistently labeling Sam’s dialogue DR. ROSENTHAL and SAM ROSENTHAL and SAM, it should always be SAM. In dialogue, Sam may be called many things: Dr. Rosenthal, Sam, Dad, Doc – whatever. But in the description and dialogue headings, stick with one name: Sam. It avoids confusion.

PHONE CONVERSATIONS
When writing phone conversations, if we’re only hearing one side of it, there’s no need to keep repeating the name of the character who’s speaking. There’s really not even a need to indicate pauses.
Write a phone conversation of which we hear only one side like this:

The phone rings and Mary picks up.

MARY
Hello? Yes, this is Mary Monahan.
My son? What about him? What precinct?
Yes, I’ll be right there.

Notice the absence of ellipses.
If you want to show both sides of the conversation, write:

INTERCUT TELEPHONE CONVERSATION

Briefly describe where the other caller is located, and then write the dialogue as usual. When the conversation ends you can write a subheading that reads

BACK TO SCENE

Or better still, simply indicate that the person hangs up, and leave out “back to scene.”
SKIP TWO LINES BETWEEN SCENES
While you skip ONE line between most of the elements in the script, you skip TWO lines between scenes. Another way to say this is that you skip two lines before every slug.
MARGINS
Your left-hand page margin should be 1.5 inches, while your right hand margin should be an inch or half an inch. (A one-inch left-hand margin is less common, but when used should be accompanied by a one-inch right hand margin.)
The margin at the top of the page is one inch. The margin at the bottom of the page is also one inch.
As we said before, don’t indent slugs or description.
Indent the speaker’s name 20 spaces (or four tabs if your tabs are five spaces). You indent parentheticals (wrylies) 15 spaces (three tabs) and the dialogue itself ten spaces (two tabs).
Remember that dialogue forms a column down the middle of the page and does not reach the right hand margin as the description does.
An alternate indentation scheme indents the character names 22 spaces from the left-hand margin, the parentheticals 16 spaces from the left-hand margin, and the dialogue 10 spaces.
All margins are hard left, ragged right. Do not right-justify your columns.
CAPITALIZATION IN GENERAL
THE SLUG LINE: ALL CAPS
CHARACTER NAME above a speech: ALL CAPS
CHARACTER NAME the FIRST time it appears in the DESCRIPTION: ALL CAPS. In other words, if a new character walks in, then you indicate this by having the character’s name capitalized:

KRISTINA, 45, a smoothly professional businesswoman, opens the door.

Suppose you mention the character in the dialogue several pages before the character physically appears on screen. Should you then write the name in ALL CAPS in the dialogue? No! Use lower case as usual.

GREG
You’re going to love Kristina.

IMPORTANT PROPS can be CAPITALIZED, but not necessarily:

Bob draws a GUN from his trench coat.

SOUND EFFECTS can be CAPITALIZED, but not necessarily. “The DOORBELL RINGS” is fine, but so are “the doorbell RINGS” and “the doorbell rings.” If the sound effect is KA-BOOM, use all caps.
SUBHEADING OR SECONDARY HEADINGS
Sometimes, when you want to indicate a shift of scene or lapse of time within a scene and a new slug seems like overkill, use SUBHEADINGS (or SECONDARY HEADINGS).
For example, if you want to indicate a lapse of time, you might do it this way:

Paris lights a cigarette.

LATER

Cigarette butts spill over the sides of the ashtray.

Or suppose you want to indicate various locations within a larger location.

INT. NIGHT CLUB – DAY

Lilith slithers past the bouncer.

AT THE BAR

Paul notices her arrival and chugs his martini.

Subheadings can be useful, but don’t overuse them. Master scenes (scenes that aren’t broken down into shots, but rather simply tell us what’s said and done at the given location) read very fluidly, and that’s what you want in a spec script.
PAGE NUMBERS
Put the page number at the top right corner of the page. There’s no need for anything more than the number itself, followed by a period. (Without the period is acceptable but not preferable.) There’s no need for a “P." or “page," or the script’s title preceding the page number. There is no need to number the first page, but to do so is acceptable.
Page 1 is the first page of the script, not the title page.
“CONTINUED” AND SCENE NUMBERS
There’s no need to write CONTINUED at the tops and bottoms of the pages in a spec script. It adds clutter and some readers find it pretentious. Likewise, don’t number the scenes.
BREAKING A SPEECH AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE
Try not to break a speech at the bottom of the page – if it’s short, it doesn’t hurt to push it over to the next page. If you must, simply write as much as you can of the speech on the page you've begun with, then place (more) under it.

MARIA
I can’t stand you coming home late
(more)

Then resume the speech atop the following page thus:

MARIA (cont’d)
night after night.

THE TITLE PAGE
Place the title in the center of the page, or a little higher.
There is no need to underline the title, put it in quotation marks, or use any typeface other than 12 point Courier or New Courier. ALL CAPS will suffice. Do not boldface. Skip a line before centering the writer’s name. Do not put the writer’s name in all caps.
It is acceptable to skip a line (double-space) and then center the word “by,” then skip a line and center the name, but I think “by” is understood. Whose name besides the author’s would be under the title?
Include your address, phone number and email on the lower right corner of the title page, hard left margin, ragged right margin, single spaced. Never forget to do this. You never know whose hands the script will fall into, and you want them to be able to reach you.
If you have registered the script with the Writer’s Guild of America, include the registration in the lower left-hand corner.
Do not include a draft number or date on any script you submit to anyone. A low draft number will make some people think the script isn’t ripe, and high draft number will make some other people think it’s been overworked or stale. A copyright date is also not a good idea, as one from even a year ago makes some people wonder what’s wrong with the script that it hasn’t sold yet.
FADE OUT AND FADE IN
At the beginning of the first page you write

FADE IN:

to indicate that the script is beginning. It’s traditional.
At the end of the script, about 105 pages later, against the right hand margin of the last page, indicate the end of the script by writing

FADE OUT:

Do not write FADE IN and FADE OUT between every scene. That would indicate a fade to black between every scene, which would be interesting and Brechtian under certain circumstances, but probably not what you intended.
SYNOPSIS AND CAST LIST
Unless someone insists, do not include a synopsis (plot summary) with your script. If you do, people will read the synopsis and skip the script. Do not include a cast list or character list as in a play – it is not customary and looks amateurish.
COVER
The script should be covered on front and back with single sheets of 8 _ by 11 cardstock (60 to 110 lb.), any color.
NO illustrations of any kind and indeed no writing of any kind should mar the cover. The title page will be inside the cover.
NO TITLE ON THE SPINE
The people to whom you submit scripts often write the title of a script on the spine so that it’s easier to find on a bookshelf. They do that, not you.
FASTENERS
Fasten your script with two, not three, round-headed brass brads, and make sure those brads are not flimsy but STURDY so the script doesn't fall apart as one tries to read it (very annoying). Acco #5 1 _ inch Solid Brass Fasteners, stock # 71505, are a good choice. They come in boxes of 100. Order them now and keep them on hand because if you live anywhere but Los Angeles no store will have them in stock. Never get brads that are too long and clip them, because that leaves sharp edges. How favorably disposed would you be toward a script that ripped your flesh? And do not under any circumstances have the copy shop bind your script with a plastic spiral.
CREDITS
Don’t bother specifying where the credits roll at the beginning and end of the film.
MONTAGE
A montage is a series of shots, usually without dialogue, usually meant to show a process such as falling in love or becoming famous. Montages are often used where in fact the point would be better made with a single, strong scene of conflict. Some screenwriters think montages are old fashioned and perhaps lazy. Still, there are times one might want justifiably to use them, and they’re done like this, single-spaced with dashes:

MONTAGE
- John and Mary frolic on the beach.
- John and Mary share a soda.
- John and Mary stand at the altar on their wedding day.
- Mary throws a dish at John’s head. He ducks.
- Mary walks in on John in bed with a Shetland pony.
- John, on his knees, begs Mary to stay as she walks out the door with her suitcases.

Sometimes at the end you might include the following subheading:

BACK TO SCENE.

INSERT SHOTS
If a brief shot of another location interrupts the scene – for example a single-shot flashback, or a letter, or a computer screen – you might employ an insert shot.

INSERT – THE LETTER

“Dear Rick, You’d better leave Paris
without me. I’ll always remember you.
Ilsa.”

BACK TO SCENE

Notice that the letter is indented like dialogue, but enclosed within quotation marks. BACK TO SCENE is unnecessary if a fresh slug follows the insert.

CAMERA AND EDITING DIRECTIONS
Camera directions are in ALL CAPS and formatted as description. They are flush left. If you wanted to indicate a couple of close-ups followed by a POINT OF VIEW shot, you would do it this way.

CU JOAN WINKING at John.

CU STEVEN smiling.

STEVEN’S POV: CAMERA TILTS down Joan’s shapely body.

But you’re not going to include camera directions, you’re going to leave that to the director, so there’s no need for you to know how to do them.
You’re also going to avoid editing directions, but if you can’t they’re in ALL CAPS, flush right, followed by a colon. For example, if you wanted to end a scene with a dissolve you would write this:

DISSOLVE TO:

“WE SEE”
Avoid using “we see” in description. Most description in a script is of things “we see.” Of course we see it – it’s a movie. Reading “we see” breaks the story’s spell by distancing the reader from what he’s reading. Just describe what we see without telling