Screenplay

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This article is about the media object. For other uses, see Screenplay
(disambiguation).
Main article: Pre-production

Sample from a screenplay, showing dialogue and action descriptions

A screenplay or script is a written work by screenwriters for a film, video game,
or television program. These screenplays can be original works or adaptations from
existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and
dialogues of the characters are also narrated. A screenplay written for television
is also known as a teleplay.

Contents [hide]
1 Format and style
1.1 Physical format
2 Screenplay formats
2.1 Feature film
2.1.1 Spec screenplay
2.2 Television
2.3 Documentaries
3 Screenwriting software
4 Script coverage
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links
Format and style[edit]
The format is structured so that one page equates to roughly one minute of screen
time, though this is only used as a ball park estimate and often bears little
resemblance to the running time of the final movie.[1] The standard font is 12
point, 10 pitch Courier Typeface.[2]

The major components are action (sometimes called "screen direction") and dialogue.
The action is written in the present tense and is limited to what can be heard or
seen by the audience, for example descriptions of settings, character movements, or
sound effects. The dialogue is the words the characters speak, and is written in a
center column.

Unique to the screenplay (as opposed to a stage play) is the use of slug lines. A
slug line, also called a master scene heading, occurs at the start of every scene
and typically contains three pieces of information: whether the scene is set inside
(interior/INT.) or outside (exterior/EXT.), the specific location, and the time of
day. Each slug line begins a new scene. In a "shooting script" the slug lines are
numbered consecutively for ease of reference.

Physical format[edit]
American screenplays are printed single-sided on three-hole-punched paper using the
standard American letter size (8.5 x 11 inch). They are then held together with two
brass brads in the top and bottom hole. The middle hole is left empty as it would
otherwise make it harder to quickly read the script.

In the United Kingdom, double-hole-punched A4 paper is normally used, which is

slightly taller and narrower than US letter size. Some UK writers format the
scripts for use in the US letter size, especially when their scripts are to be read
by American producers, since the pages would otherwise be cropped when printed on
US paper. Because each country's standard paper size is difficult to obtain in the
other country, British writers often send an electronic copy to American producers,
or crop the A4 size to US letter.
A British script may be bound by a single brad at the top left hand side of the
page, making flicking through the paper easier during script meetings. Screenplays
are usually bound with a light card stock cover and back page, often showing the
logo of the production company or agency submitting the script, covers are there to
protect the script during handling which can reduce the strength of the paper. This
is especially important if the script is likely to pass through the hands of
several people or through the post.

Increasingly, reading copies of screenplays (that is, those distributed by

producers and agencies in the hope of attracting finance or talent) are distributed
printed on both sides of the paper (often professionally bound) to reduce paper
waste. Occasionally they are reduced to half-size to make a small book which is
convenient to read or put in a pocket; this is generally for use by the director or
production crew during shooting.

Although most writing contracts continue to stipulate physical delivery of three or

more copies of a finished script, it is common for scripts to be delivered
electronically via email.

Screenplay formats[edit]
Screenplays and teleplays use a set of standardizations, beginning with proper
formatting. These rules are in part to serve the practical purpose of making
scripts uniformly readable "blueprints" of movies, and also to serve as a way of
distinguishing a professional from an amateur.

Feature film[edit]

Screenplay for The Godfather Part II, Turin, Italy

Motion picture screenplays intended for submission to mainstream studios, whether
in the US or elsewhere in the world, are expected to conform to a standard
typographical style known widely as studio format which stipulates how elements of
the screenplay such as scene headings, action, transitions, dialog, character
names, shots and parenthetical matter should be presented on the page, as well as
the font size and line spacing.

One reason for this is that, when rendered in studio format, most screenplays will
transfer onto the screen at the rate of approximately one page per minute. This
rule of thumb is widely contested a page of dialogue usually occupies less screen
time than a page of action, for example, and it depends enormously on the literary
style of the writer and yet it continues to hold sway in modern Hollywood.

There is no single standard for studio format. Some studios have definitions of the
required format written into the rubric of their writer's contract. The Nicholl
Fellowship, a screenwriting competition run under the auspices of the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has a guide to screenplay format.[3] A more
detailed reference is The Complete Guide to Standard Script Formats.[4]

Screenplays are almost always written using a monospaced font, often a variant of
Courier or Courier New, both mostly used as 12 pt font. This is preferred due to
its clarity. Screenplays are usually 90-120 pages long.

Spec screenplay[edit]
A "spec script" or speculative screenplay is a script written to be sold on the
open market with no upfront payment, or promise of payment. The content is usually
invented solely by the screenwriter, though spec screenplays can also be based on
established works, or real people and events.[5]

Television[edit]
For American TV shows, the format rules for hour-long dramas, like CSI, and single-
camera sitcoms, like Scrubs, are essentially the same as for motion pictures. The
main difference is that TV scripts have act breaks. Multi-camera sitcoms like I
Love Lucy use a different, specialized format that derives from radio and the stage
play. In this format, dialogue is double-spaced, action lines are capitalized, and
scene headings, character entrances and exits, and sound effects are capitalized
and underlined.

Drama series and sitcoms are no longer the only formats that require the skills of
a writer. With reality-based programming crossing genres to create various hybrid
programs, many of the so-called "reality" programs are in a large part scripted in
format. That is, the overall skeleton of the show and its episodes are written to
dictate the content and direction of the program. The Writers Guild of America has
identified this as a legitimate writer's medium, so much so that they have lobbied
to impose jurisdiction over writers and producers who "format" reality-based
productions. Creating reality show formats involves storytelling structure similar
to screenwriting, but much more condensed and boiled down to specific plot points
or actions related to the overall concept and story.

Documentaries[edit]
The script format for documentaries and audio-visual presentations which consist
largely of voice-over matched to still or moving pictures is different again and
uses a two-column format which can be particularly difficult to achieve in standard
word processors, at least when it comes to editing or rewriting. Many script-
editing software programs include templates for documentary formats.

Screenwriting software[edit]
Main article: Screenwriting software
Various screenwriting software packages are available to help screenwriters adhere
to the strict formatting conventions. Detailed computer programs are designed
specifically to format screenplays, teleplays, and stage plays. Such packages
include BPC-Screenplay, Celtx, Fade In, Final Draft, FiveSprockets, Montage, Movie
Magic Screenwriter, Movie Outline 3.0, and Scrivener, Movie Draft SE and Zhura.
Software is also available as web applications, accessible from any computer, and
on mobile devices, such as Fade In Mobile and Scripts Pro.

The first screenwriting software was SmartKey, a macro program that sent strings of
commands to existing word processing programs, such as WordStar, WordPerfect and
Microsoft Word. SmartKey was popular with screenwriters from 19821987, after which
word processing programs had their own macro features.

Script coverage[edit]
Main article: Script coverage
Script coverage, is a filmmaking term for the analysis and grading of screenplays,
often within the "script development" department of a production company. While
coverage may remain entirely verbal, it usually takes the form of a written report,
guided by a rubric that varies from company to company. The original idea behind
coverage was that a producer's assistant could read a script and then