Don\u2019t let something like your margins give someone a simple reason to chuck your screenplay. Make sure your screenplay follows the standard formatting guidelines. If anything makes your screenplay stand out from those written by veterans, it won\u2019t even get through the first round. <\/p>\n
\nRemember that each page of a screenplay generally equals one minute of a movie. Don\u2019t let your screenplay go too long. That\u2019s why Courier 12-point font is the standard. That font matches the one page-one minute guideline. <\/p>\n
\nUse 8 1\/2″ x 11″ white 3-hole punched paper. Put the page number in the upper right hand corner but not on the first page. Make your top and bottom margins between .5″ and 1″. The left margin should be between 1.2″ and 1.6″. The extra inch allows for binding. The right margin should be between .5″ and 1″. <\/p>\n
\nUse the appropriate margins for each part of your text. Descriptions should be indented 1.5\u201d-2.0\u201d on the left and 1.0\u201d on the right. Dialogue should be indented 3.0\u201d on the left and 2.3\u201d on the right. A double space follows dialogue and the next unit, whether it is a character name or an action line. Character stage directions should be indented about 3.7\u201d on the left and 3.0\u201d on the right. <\/p>\n
\nScreenplays are bound with #6 brass brads in the top and bottom holes. Leave the middle hole empty. Don\u2019t use any other materials to bind your script. Only print on one side of the paper. <\/p>\n
\nThe title page has the title and the screenwriter’s name(s) in the middle, and the screenwriter\u2019s address and phone number in the lower right hand corner. <\/p>\n
\nEach time your characters move to a different setting, you need a new scene heading. Scene headings are typed on one line with some words abbreviated and all words capitalized. Put the location and then the time of day after a small dash. Interior is always abbreviated \u201cINT.\u201d and exterior is abbreviated \u201cEXT.\u201d Leave a two-line space following the scene heading before writing your scene description. <\/p>\n
\nPut character names in all capital letters the first time they are used in a description, and these names always use all capital letters in a dialogue heading. <\/p>\n
\nExample: <\/p>\n
\nAIRPORT WAITING AREA \u2013 NIGHT <\/p>\n
\nDAVID sits at the end of the first row of plastic chairs. His head is bent over, and he stares intently at the floor. <\/p>\n
\nThe names of characters with no dialogue are not capitalized when mentioned in scene descriptions. <\/p>\n
\nWhen we hear the character speaking but they are not in the scene, you put (V.O.) next to their character name to indicate Voice Over. When we hear them speaking and they are in the scene but not on camera, you put (O.C.) to indicate Off Camera. This is sometimes written (O.S.) to indicate Off Screen. <\/p>\n
\nSounds the audience will hear are capitalized, such as \u201cWHISTLE\u201d or \u201cBELL.\u201d However, sounds made by characters are not. They are not considered sound cues. Also leave out camera shots. That falls under the responsibility of the film\u2019s director. <\/p>\n
\nThe screenwriting software on the market will help you produce a script that employs these formatting guidelines. However, it\u2019s still a good idea to have a working knowledge of screenplay formatting to give you that extra, professional edge. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Don\u2019t let something like your margins give someone a simple reason to chuck your screenplay. Make sure your screenplay follows the standard formatting guidelines. If anything makes your screenplay stand out from those written by veterans, it won\u2019t even get through the first round. <\/p>\n
\nRemember that each page of a screenplay generally equals one minute of a movie. Don\u2019t let your screenplay go too long. That\u2019s why Courier 12-point font is the standard. That font matches the one page-one minute guideline. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/screenplayfortunes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/screenplayfortunes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/screenplayfortunes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/screenplayfortunes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/screenplayfortunes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/screenplayfortunes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/screenplayfortunes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/screenplayfortunes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/screenplayfortunes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}