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Compilation © Robin Kelly 2001 - 2003
From: Kent Smith
Subject: script formatting
As one who has spent far too much of his life reading other people's scripts (I've been in the story departments at a several studios, including Universal and WBros), I can assure you that scripts are submitted in every conceivable format, type size, and on every kind of paper. They're all read and covered, sometimes synopsised, and if there's any hope for the story, analysed. No one that I know gives a flying fuck about the font size, as long as it's readable. Some of the best projects I've read came in at 300+ pages (i.e., Apocalypse Now). I've also seen 40 page features. Some of Walter Hill's scripts look like poems. For a script to get to a studio it's usually come through an agent, and some of them are anal and others aren't. (Actually, a lot of scripts seem to slip in through the accounting department -- one of the eternal mysteries of the Industry.) Unfortunately, as more and more scripts are being formatted by Movie Magic and other scripting programs, a really deadly sameness is growing among the submissions. The issue is the quality and originality of your story, friends, not the font.
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From: Charlie Harris, www.screen-lab.co.uk
Subject: Layout (was Fonts)
"1. Each scene should be numbered on the left"
Don't number scenes until you have been asked to provide a shooting script, immediately prior to production. From that point on the numbers are "locked" and can never be changed, for very sensible reasons. If there are scripts running around with different scene numbers it confuses the hell out of the production office. And I guarantee that if there is a possibility of confusion it will arise.
After the numbered shooting script, any new scenes are inserted, eg: 7a, 7b... and deleted scenes are marked as such, eg: 12 SCENE DELETED. They should also be copied on different coloured paper for each redraft. But none of this should concern scripts which haven't yet been bought.
"3. Always put the names of the characters in CAPITALS, except when they occur in the actual dialogue."
Personally, I prefer the American method, also common here in the UK, which only puts the character in CAPS when he/she first appears. (a) This makes the first entrance clear for every department - useful for readers and also for make-up, costume, etc (b) The other method makes me feel SOMEONE is SHOUTING at me every few LINES ;-0
"Double space the stage directions from the dialogue, but single space the lines of the stage directions themselves."
And single return between the name of the character speaking and the dialogue that follows.
"The only reason to be anal about font size is to make your script look professional, according to industry standards."
Not quite the only reason, but certainly a crucial reason. It's the fastest way a producer can judge if someone has been around the block and cares about the craft.
If a writer can't be bothered to find out and use the right format, which is easy, what guarantee is it that he/she can be bothered to get stuck into any script problems that may have arisen?
"The one minute per page rule is an average, based on the assumption that one page of dialogue runs approximately to one minute of screen time."
Actually it's more like 1 page of dialogue = 30 seconds, but this is balanced out by 1 page of action usually running at more like 2 minutes or more, depending.
Thus a script that comes in at longer than 100 pages indicates either a long film or a dialogue-heavy one (or both). And both types of film are more difficult to finance and to sell....
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From: Mary Donald
Subject: Re: script format
Russ - the easiest and cheapest is to download free shareware from the net. I use Screenpro which works as a template with Word. I can't remember the site address but if you search for Screenpro you should be able to find it quite easily.
As for fancy expensive screenwriting programmes I think its best to wait until you're working with a script editor or producer and you might be e-mailing scripts back and forth and then its best to get whatever they use.
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From: M J Simpson
Subject: Re: script format
"I am a relatively inexperienced screen writer. I have written a screenplay but I have used my own format, knowing little of the way in which you are supposed to format film scripts. If a script is good enough do producers and directors really care about it conforming to the conventional formats?"
You'll get a lot of replies to this, but just consider this: if you had an absolutely fantastic CV in terms of experience and qualifications, but you hand wrote it on lined paper, would a prospective employer bother to read it?
Script readers are busy and tired and looking for an excuse to throw your script to one side. You have to make their life as easy as possible and that means conforming to the accepted layout. If it's hard for them to read, they just won't bother (just as that hypothetical employer won't bother with hard-to-read CVs).
Learning scripting format, or buy some formatting software, before you do anything.
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From: Robert Moss
Subject: script format
"If a script is good enough do producers and directors really care about it conforming to the conventional formats?
I just find it really hard to believe that there are people out there who won't even read a script if it is not properly formatted."
Believe it - unless your script is formatted to the industry standard the chances are that your script will not get read. Tarantino allegedly writes longhand with felt pen and he can't spell - but he is Tarantino and has made his name. Shane Black allegedly uses all kinds of non-standard script squigglies when he writes - but he is Shane Black. Paul Schrader's script for Taxi Driver is all over the place, but the thing these people all have in common apart from talent and ability, is they knew people.
If you don't know someone and have an 'in' to the business and you submit a badly formatted script, you will find it hard to succeed. When you are famous you can do what ever you want.
Look at it this way. You are an overworked reader, you have just pulled a ten hour shift skim reading 20 scripts that largely suck... you come across one that is written in a non standard way, that is hard to follow because they're tired and have not idea where the heck you are coming from... 99,999 times out of 100,000 they will reject it just because of the way it looks. You may get lucky, but you probably won't.
A badly formatted script marks the writer out as an amateur and people are always looking for reasons to reject scripts because basically they are afraid of losing their jobs - don't give them any more reasons that they already need. You get one chance to make a good first impression - don't blow it.
The chances are any pro reader will look at the following when he gets a script - a) is this script formatted properly b) how many pages is it c) am I grabbed in the first 1-10 pages.
If you fail on any of these your work will not get read. Pass and the reader may venture beyond page 10 and then it's all down to how good your writing is.
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From: Alex Rose
Subject: Font size
I have watched this list with interest for some time now and many times have felt inclined to reply, but have always held back for fear of becoming embroiled in some relatively pointless discussion, that will have me spending hours composing for the list, instead of actually getting down to writing.
I am a writer, but I also work as a reader, have done for some years and currently work for several companies. Sometimes I may have to read as many as ten screenplays in a week and I read hundreds throughout the year. I enjoy the work, it keeps me active, pays the rent and I love it when I find a screenplay worthy of praise.
Sadly these are few and far between, as most of the screenplays I read fall down in too many areas - the most fundamental being poor storytelling, a weak story told badly. It isn't any externally imposed structure that causes this, it isn't having to work to a particular format and it isn't having to work in a particular font. These screenplays are written by people who haven't learnt their craft. Just as it is easy for us to knock would be producers who merely have to pick up a screenplay to pronounce themselves active, so too is it to find fault with the many would be writers out there, who switch their computers on, plug in Final Draft and start typing after the words FADE IN. It is vital that writers do the best by their work if they wish to see it get made. Do yourself a favour, stop sending out sloppy work in the name of creativity and stop seeing industry idiosyncrasy as a barrier and start using it as a tool.
If it makes it easy for me to read a screenplay in 12 point Courier, do it, it won't make your work any less creative and it may be one less obstacle on the long road to getting your screenplay made. If keeping your screenplay within certain parameters at this early stage drives you nuts, just wait until you sell your baby and six months later the producer puts a black pen through three pages of your best work, fires you and replaces you with his girlfriend's hairdresser. Keep it real. It's a long journey, do what you need to do to get you where you want to be.
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From: Robert Moss
Subject: script format
"If readers will dismiss a script because it's in the wrong format then they shouldn't be a reader - and lets face it some of them shouldn't."
I prefer to think that if writers can't be bothered to format their script to the industry accepted standard, then they shouldn't be writing. There's no excuse not to format work properly - there are loads of script writing/formatting products available. Every course or book worth its salt will tell writers how and why to format their work.
With all due respect, you may well be kind enough to read work that's formatted in a non standard way, but you're not a reader for Fox or Universal. The chances are they won't read something that looks like it was written by an amateur.
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From: Geoff Harris
Subject: Script layout
The comments about script layout may well encourage writers to not let their creativity be confined by the rules of layout and format, but how difficult is it to use a scriptwriting program or format your WP to make a standard script layout?
The standard layout must have been around since the thirties and is recognised by readers and producers. If they suddenly get a script in a different layout, they have to start figuring it out in their minds while reading the pearls within it. It gets in the way of the writing, because it causes an obstacle for the reader to get over. Also, the layout gives other information like screen time and visual information.
Why would a writer want to make it difficult for someone to like his script??
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From: Ian Fenton
Subject: Punk Format
What's all this nonsense about formatting? Sounds like procrastination to me. As for 'come on all of you from the punk generation have you learned nothing?' - the great punk bands mastered the format of the pop song pretty quick - all the classics are verse/chorus/verse/chorus etc. It was what they said and how they said it that was different. The format was as old as the pop song and they knew it. That's how they succeeded.
As for the writer/reader debate, given the vast number of poorly written scripts out there, a readers job is not to say 'YES', it is to say 'NO'. Therefore the more reasons you give a reader to say 'no', the more chance you have of having your script rejected before it has a chance to be read. If you believe in the story you are telling then you owe it to yourself to give your work the best possible chance of getting through the maze - formatting it correctly is a good start.
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From: Jon Green
Subject: Script format redux
A few words on feature format:
Yes; it should be content, not presentation, that makes or breaks a screenplay. This is construed to mean, "OK, then, presentation doesn't matter -- send it in however it's laid out." In fact (and in practice) this is headstand logic. The pragmatically more correct interpretation is: "Format your script according to industry norms, so that the deciding factor to an experienced reader is _only_ the content."
Use the wrong fonts, the wrong layout, the wrong binding, and you place obstacles in the path of your script's progress through readers to production. Gimmicks do not impress experienced readers; quite the opposite. You just may get away with a different industry-standard format (teleplay; theatre), but you're reducing your chances. You simply won't get anyplace with home-brewed formats. Anecdotal and probably apocryphal evidence to the contrary proves only that there are occasional exceptions for the lucky few.
There is one salient reason why feature readers prefer US screenplay format (*): it works out at one page per minute on average. If they're under orders to consider only scripts that (for example) have a running time of 105 to 120 minutes, they simply can't bother with anything in a non-standard format. The pittance they get per script doesn't pay them enough to sit there trying to guess, calculate or dry-run the running time for every non-standard script in their in-tray.
Personally, I don't see the point in spending months on the edge of burn-out, pouring every jot of your creativity into your magnum opus, only to find no-one's interested because of something as banal as the layout. Equally, if you've spent so much time writing the blasted thing, why on Earth begrudge the short time needed to put it into a saleable format?
Alternatively, do your own thing and improve the odds for everyone else. You choose.
(*) Accepted, there are many subtle variations in the US feature format, but readers aren't likely to be fazed by the difference between (say) Final Draft's layout and MM2k's, so I'm lumping them all in together.
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From: Lynne Harvey, http://www.lynneharvey.com
Subject: Screenwriting and format - last posting
The correct format for tv theatre and film should be adhered to. Did I say any different? No. It's when the guidelines are constantly changed and guidelines get picky and silly (e.g correct weight of paper, spacing, font, font size, layout, margin three spaces in not five - we all know the form) If character/action movement etc are easily identifiable and the script is easy to read and not in some strange font or italics all over page - what is the readers problem? It wasn't so long ago that writers were being told to make their scripts stand out from all the others. If every book magazine and newspaper was set out in EXACTLY the same way and you were reading them one after the other - it would get boring. Bring on the people who are a little different - who DARE to step out of line.
It's SOME of the screen writing courses that null creativity - not the font fuhrers. Doesn't every village town and city now have someone teaching you how to write and where to send your work? Who are all these people? My dog could set up a writing course and take the money - in fact he probably knows more about it than SOME of these 'teachers'. This is my last posting on this - I've already answered nearly 150 emails of agreement (plus two who want to debate it) I shall now go and write my WW2 play in Disney font!!! Er.. that was a joke.
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From: Alex Francis
Subject: Creativity
I've been following the discussions about formats and creativity, and thought I would just give some perspective as someone who has been a professional reader.
As others have pointed out, the reason for those boring rules about fonts, margins, page size etc. is so that one page roughly equals one minute. Simple. Even minor changes in these aspects can have a big knock on effect over the course of a feature script. There is another factor to think about as well, though. Everyone will admit this formatting looks bloody strange and is difficult to read at first. However, an experienced reader will have learned to filter all that crap out and be able to effectively 'watch the movie' as it's described on the page without distraction. That's a good thing. Any attempts at creativity in the way the script is physically presented will jar the reader out of this state, will call attention to itself instead of what is being written. That's a bad thing. Period.
Save your creativity for the ideas and characters and situations you've invented and sweated over for months. That's where it matters. Then stifle your creative urges for the few minutes it takes to make sure your script conforms to industry standard format. It may be demeaning to you as an artist, but your career will thank you for it.
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From: Jeff Caffrey
Subject: Script format
What's wrong with all you people out there. You want to write scripts and have them read yet you can't even set simple styles in Microsoft Word.
I'm trying to be helpful but I've had a long day, I've just run a bath and I'm tired, so I'll keep this brief:
These settings are taken from a very old book, which has since been deleted and whose title I can't remember.
The master scene script is set in a single column format. With the left edge of the paper at zero and your type preferences in picas, give your copy horizontal spacing thus:
10 - sequence numbers
15 - directions - 75
30 - speeches - 60
40 - parenthetical business - 55
45 - names of speakers
60 - transitions
75 - page numbers (although this is the least important setting)
Assign all the type in Courier New 12pt type, put these setting in your style menu in word and assign them short cuts (ie: 'control + 1'for directions, 'control + 2' for speeches etc.). You can set your CONT's (not a reference to the swearing debate) and page numbers in your header and footer menu, then save the whole document as a template which you go into every time you are writing a script. Then, let your creative juices flow at will and just type. Then go over your work later and highlight each section and use your short cuts to format it. It's fucking simple. Why the debate? Why the expensive software? Nobody had Final Draft software or Screenpro 20 years ago - they never even had computers - they had big cumbersome fuckoff typewriters. How do you expect to write the next big thing if you can't even follow the onscreen instructions on your computers. Jeez.
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From: Mandy Honeyman
Subject: Courier 12 Mac/PC
You're absolutely right, there is a big difference between PC/Mac versions of Courier 12 -- you're not going mad! (I spent a week trying to sort this out myself). Try downloading 'Final Draft Heavy' from www.finaldraft.com . Firstly, it prints darker than the PC Courier and it's more like the Mac Courier. However having just completed co-writing a script with a Mac user, it is almost impossible to match page for page line for line even using final draft itself. We resorted to only printing from one machine in order to keep uniformity. By tweaking line lengths we ended up only being a couple of para's out. Which was still irritating.
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From: Chris Thomas, Raindance
Subject: Free script format and style guide
For a free script format guide that shows how to make your screenplay look professional send your street address to me. I'll mail you one!
Tel:020 7287 3833 email: chris@raindance.co.uk
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