Formatting guidelines

In scriptwriting, the industry-standard formatting is very important and has to be given to attention.

The majority of scripts have to be typed in 12-point Courier typeface, with one-inch border all around the paper.

Title page will have a title centered about one-third down the page; underneath it there is an author’s name and his/her information either left bottom corner or right bottom corner. And every page should be about a minute of screen time; the total script should not be longer than 120 pages in feature films.

Slugging elements are in all uppercase letters, this is for identifying whether the scene is an interior or exterior location, what the specific place is, and time of day.

Action lines are to the last detail what is being shot, written in present tense with no indentations.

The first words of character names should be the only words in capital letters above the character’s dialogue, centered; character’s dialogue left-aligned, indented. Sometimes there may be parentheticals that are used to show how the lines need to be delivered.

Also importantly correct formatting with very few transitions, like CUT TO: or FADE IN:, are necessitated to take the script in the right direction.

By following these tips, you are able to verify that your script is professional and reviewed for compliance with industry standards.

StudioBinder‘s following video explains “How to Format a Screenplay: Screenplay Formatting 101”