Below are a list of topics related to questions we’ve received at our website, as well as issues that have come up in our consultations. Follow these tips to make your script look polished and professional.
1. Formatting: Most screenplays are written in the Courier Font, 12 point. There is generally a one-inch margin at the sides and at the top and bottom. Resist shrinking your type size or pushing your text beyond these margins in order to reduce your page count. A better solution is to carefully go through your script and cut down description, repetition, and long dialogue chunks.
2. V.O./O.C./O.S: O.C. (off-camera) and O.S. (off-screen) are interchangeable. O.C. is more commonly see in teleplays, while O.S. is used in screenplays. O.S. means the character speaking is literally off-screen. He could be in the next room, or we could be hearing dialogue from a preceding or following scene bleeding over. In all cases, the dialogue is going on in the story in the present. V.O. (voice-over) is narration spoken by a character not currently in the action, such as someone telling a story or reflecting on their past.
3. Subtitles, foreign words: Highlight foreign words in dialogue by putting them in italics. If you are translating them as well, put the English text in parentheses or brackets below the foreign text. If you are not fluent in the language, then stick to English and put “in Italian” (without the quotes) in the parenthetical under the character’s name.
4. Sluglines: Sluglines should begin with EXT. or INT., followed by the location, then a dash, and then the time of day. Although many writers tend to be casual about the sluglines, the more exact you are, the less likely you will confuse the reader. Use CONTINUOUS for the time of day only when a character is moving directly from one location to another, such as from the bathroom to the bedroom. If the scene is simply the next one in the story, then put the time of day. SAME can be used for intercut scenes, such as telephone conversations (see below for more on this). LATER is used when the next scene is the same location as the previous one but at a later period of time.
5. On-screen text: Titles such as ENGLAND, 1942 or FIVE YEARS LATER simply need to be put on their own description line. There is no need to write out SUBTITLE as well. However, the line will stand out more if you underline it and/or put it in bold. If you want to indicate different periods of time without subtitles (such as when cutting back and forth between two periods) then put the date at the end of the slugline.
6. Phone conversations: For phone conversations in which we see both parties, first establish one location with a slugline, a couple of lines of description, and dialogue. Then, on a separate line, write INTERCUT WITH: Then establish the second location with a slugline, description, and dialogue. For the rest of the scene, you only need dialogue and description.
7. Software: While Final Draft is the most common screenwriting program used in Hollywood, it is not necessary for you to have this program to write your script. Screenplays are not currently submitted by agents to studios on disk or by e-mail.
8. How specific should you be?: The more detailed you are in your screenplay, the more authentic the script will be for the reader, but you do not want to go overboard.
- Characters: Distinguish characters via their manner, attitude, posture, and behavior rather than physical characteristics. While an age range is helpful, avoid writing out specific physical traits such as height and hair color, unless these details are essential to the action of the story.
- Location: It is okay to be vague if you want the setting to be a typical suburb or a futuristic city or some more symbolic than realistic setting. However, if you are setting your movie in Chicago, then bring Chicago to life for us. Use the parts of the city that make it unique. Even if your location is a fictional small town, provide the details that will make this town as real for the reader as their own.
- Camera directions: In the early decades of Hollywood scriptwriting, camera directions were often included in a script, but they are now considered the sign of an amateur. However, you can imply camera directions by wording the description carefully. For instance, instead of inserting “POV Danny’s watch: 12:15 p.m.” you can just write, “Danny looks at his watch. It’s 12:15.”
- Songs: Just as the director decides where the camera should go, the job of picking songs for your movie is that of the music supervisor. Include a specific song only if it relates directly to the action of your story -- but understand that the song may be changed in the film, depending on rights availability and the artistic choices of others working on the film.
- Parentheticals: Indented parentheses under the character’s name, above the dialogue, are used to indicate a character’s tone of voice, or an action. However, this device is often overused. As much as possible, let the actor determine how to interpret the line. If you are using the parenthetical for action, such as “with a dismissive wave,” keep it brief. If the action goes over a short sentence, then put it alone on a description line.
Some of these points may seem petty, but they can have a cumulative effect on the reader. The slicker and more professional your script, the less likely the reader will be taken out of your story, and the more likely you are to get a positive response.
