What Is a Script?
Basic Elements of Screenplays and Playscripts
In a script, a screenwriter or playwright lays out their vision and provides the director, designers, and actors
with a roadmap for a film or stage production.
What Is a Script?
A script is a document that comprises setting, characters, dialogue, and stage directions for movies, TV shows,
and stage plays. When directors stage such productions, they follow the instructions provided by the script. In
live theatre, script writers are playwrights, and the scripts are also known as playscripts. In film and television,
script writers are called screenwriters. A film script is called a screenplay, and a TV script is called a teleplay.
The script starts the artistic process for a dramatic performance, but film, TV, and theatre are all inherently
collaborative. Directors, actors, and designers interpret the script. Sometimes these professionals uncover
new insight about the material that the original screenwriter may have never imagined during the
scriptwriting process. While a great script forms the foundation of a great performance, it is not the only
factor in the artistic process.
15 Elements of Screenplay Formatting
The vast majority of TV and film screenplays and teleplays follow an industry standard script format. Key
formatting standards include:
1. Page margins: You should have a 1.5-inch margin on the left of the page, a 1-inch margin on the right of
the page, and 1 inch of white space on the top and bottom of the page.
2. Proper font: An industry standard screenplay uses size twelve Courier font.
3. Title page: The script should have a title page with no content apart from the title, author's name,
contact information and representation (if applicable).
4. Page numbers: Page numbers mark every page of the script apart from the first page.
5. Character names: When characters speak, their names appear in all capital letters, centered on the
page, and indented 3.7 inches from the left side of the page.
6. Dialogue: Lines should be centered on the page, below the name of the character speaking. Each
dialogue block should be indented 2.5 inches from the left side of the page.
7. Voiceover: Characters speaking in voiceover signified by "V.O." next to their names.
8. “Off-screen” or “off-camera”: Characters who can be heard off screen signified as O.S. (off-screen) in
film scripts and O.C. (off-camera) in TV scripts.
9. Dialogue descriptions: These should be centered in parentheses, directly above the dialogue.
10. Action lines: Descriptions of action are aligned with the left margin of the page. Action lines should
always appear this way, never in parentheticals.
11. Proper character introductions: Characters’ names should be capitalized the first time they appear.
(This applies for everyone from the main character to unnamed extras passing through a scene.)
12. Scene headings: Often called sluglines, these belong in all caps, aligned left on the page.
13. Locations: Scene headings must always be preceded by “EXT.” for "exterior" or “INT.” for "interior."
14. Transitions: Instructions like "FADE OUT" or "BLACKOUT" appear in all caps, aligned with the right
margin.
15. Minimal camera directions on spec scripts: On a TV show or feature film, camera and lighting choices
belong to the director and their photography team. Refrain from including camera or lighting directions
unless it’s absolutely essential.
4 Elements of a Playscript
Playscripts follow a similar format to screenplays and teleplays, but there are a few key elements that make
playscripts unique:
1. Dramatis personae: Playscripts feature a dramatis personae, a list of character descriptions after the
title page.
2. Stage directions: Instead of action lines, plays include stage directions, which can include particular
blocking notes or instructions for the actors. Typically, playwrights indent and italicize stage directions.
3. Dialogue: Plays are often dialogue-heavy and include monologues. The dialogue can be in prose or
verse.
4. Acts: Playscripts typically feature more than one act, building for suspense and allowing for set changes
onstage. Though screenplays may be broken up into acts, they rarely have act breaks the way
playscripts do.
Types of Screenwriting and Playwriting Software
Most screenwriters and playwrights use screenwriting software to automatically format their scripts. The
industry standard scriptwriting software Final Draft offers templates for most script styles, including spec
scripts and shooting scripts (for both screenplays and teleplays), as well as playscripts. It also provides script
templates of how to properly format examples of each type.
Final Draft formats its scripts such that one page is equal to approximately one minute of screen time. (Note
that this is only true for spec scripts; shooting scripts may contain much more information and wider spacing,
which means multiple pages may fill a single minute.) Final Draft has free competitors, including Fade In and
Celtx.
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Elements of a Script
The script I am going to be using is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Let’s begin with breaking down the
first page of the script (pictured below).
Slugline
Most scenes are going to begin with a Slugline or a Scene Heading. This establishes a few things: The line is
either going to begin with EXT. or INT. This stands for exterior and interior and tells whether or not the scene is
happening inside or outside. Next, the line will give a location. In this example, the location is PRIVET DRIVE.
After that, the writer will establish the time in which the scene takes place. In this case, it is happening at
NIGHT, but it could be DAY, AFTERNOON, SUNSET, or SUNRISE.
Action
So now we know when and where the scene is taking place, but what is actually happening? That is where
the Action comes in. This is used to set the tone for a scene and describe what it is the audience should be
seeing.
Here, the writer is using the action sequence to showcase the entrance of Dumbledore onto the darkened
streets. You can also see that certain details are written in capital letters. This is to establish that these details
are important and should not go unnoticed. Names will also be written in capital letters. Dialogue such as
voiceovers can take place during the action section as well. Movies like Avatar and How to Train Your
Dragon begin this way.
Character Name and Dialogue
When a character begins speaking the writer will write their name, which in this case is Dumbledore, and make
sure that it is centered on the page and written in all-caps. The dialogue immediately follows. The centering of
the character's name and indentation of the dialogue makes the script easier to read and allows for the
reader/actor to easily find the dialogue sections.
As an extra piece of information, any time there is dual dialogue the character names will be placed on the
same line and the dialogue lines should be placed parallel to each other.
Parentheticals
Sometimes a writer will want to make sure the actor playing the role knows exactly how a certain line is to be
delivered or what they are supposed to be doing during the line delivery. This is where Parentheticals come in
handy.
Screenwriters will use parentheticals to tell how a line is meant to be delivered. In this example, Dumbledore
loses his smile when he delivers his second line. Thus implying that the news he is giving to Mcgonagall is not
happy.
Parentheticals can be used to tell whether a line is meant to be whispered or screamed or if the actors should
take a bite of their food as they say their dialogue.
Transitions
There are no scene transitions on this page but I’ll go into what they are anyway because they are important.
Transitions are used to switch between scenes. Examples of this are: FADE IN, FADE OUT, and CUT TO. These
transition words are placed on the far right of the script page and are always followed by a Slugline.
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