Welcome back! Today I’m going to be talking about your scripts format. It’ll get a bit technical so try to bear with me. I’ll be include a picture as our featured photo for all our visual learners. This way you get a bette idea of where everything goes.
Your standard format would be a Courier font at a 12 point size. The margins are 1.5 inches on the left side of the page and 1 inch on the right side of the page. The dialogue block starts at 2.5 inches from the left side of the page. Character names must have uppercase letters and must be positioned 3.7 inches from the left side of the page. Finally page numbers are positioned in the top right corner with a 0.5 inch margin from the top of the page followed by a period. Your first page isn’t typically number because this is usually just the title page. Please refer to the reference phot as an example for this format since it is so technical.
Now that we talked about the technical format of the script, we can talk about the elements within the script.
First you have your scene headings or your slug line. This tells the reader of the script where the scene is taking place. First you would put if this is indoors (INT), outdoors (EXT). Next to this you will name the location: BEDROOM, LIVING ROOM, BASKETBALL COURT. This slug line could also include production information like the type of shot it is, ESTABLISHING or MIDSHOT. So all together this would look like this:
INT. ROOM WITH PINK WALL IN THE BACKGROUND
MIDSHOT
After the kind of shot this is you’ll include the action. This is whatever the character(s) are doing in this scene.
MIDSHOT- Lauren is sitting in a chair looking out a window.
Next you will put the character name in the center of the page. You’ll do this whenever a character’s dialogue is about to follow. A character name can also be a description, or an occupation. Some characters are just side characters and don’t need names for the audience to remember like COP #1 and COP #2.
Below this could be a parenthetical if it’s called for. It could be used to show an attitude, verbal direction or action direction for the actor who is speaking the part. This could also be used as a continuation notation. This is if the character is speaking followed by an action line and then the same character continues speaking. You can see this in our featured photo where it says EXECUTIVE and below it in parentheses it says “with an air of dismissal” this is a parenthetical. I like to think parenthetical = parentheses if that helps.
Now you’ll have your dialogue which is pretty self explanatory. This is whatever that character has to say.
You may have extensions next to your characters name. It will either say O.S which means off screen or V.O which means voice over. This just tells how the character’s voice will be heard by the audience.
Finally you’ll have your transition at the end of the scene when you are changing settings. This is at the bottom right of your page and its always in all caps. You may have seen this as CUT TO, FADE TO, FADE OUT, or even DISSOLVE TO.
Again please refer to the featured photo for a visual of what this should end up looking like.
Please comment below any questions or suggestions. Don’t forget to share this post with your friends.
See you soon!