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“SCREENPLAY TEMPLATE”

written by

Lilyana Millutin

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Draft number/date

Your address

Suburb, State, Post Code

Contact number

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FADE IN:

EXT. SET/LOCATION, DESCRIPTION – DAY

This document is formatted for an A4 page and standard

feature film screenplay styles, from capital letters andindenting through the use of colons and hyphens, to

spacing between sentences (I.e. This paragraph is

'Action').

Feel free to delete the instructional text and re-format

your paragraphs as relevant. It is not exhaustive by any

means.

Before you begin, set the Styles to show only the ones in

use. Otherwise it gets too confusing. Mind you, the fewbuilt-in Normal.dot styles will remain.

CHARACTER CUE

Only use fixed-pitch Courier

twelve point typeface, the

standard font for screenplays.

Although Courier variants will

get you by, try and stick to

the professional standard.

Definitely do not use other

fonts.

In dialogue, spell out numbers and avoid using symbols

and abbreviations.

There is a reason for the pedantics: Most of the

formatting rules exist because of timing, to preserve the

page-per-minute screen time estimate in screenplays.

Also, it facilitates a quick read and differentiation of

elements at a glance.

INT. SET/LOCATION, DESCRIPTION – DAY

“Slug Lines” also known as a “Scene Heading,” tell the

reader where a scene takes place. In other words, where

the camera is positioned.

Scene headings are only numbered in a shooting script.

Do not number scenes in "spec" or a "draft" scripts in

various stages of development.

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CHARACTER CUE

Do not justify the margins.

Use of “CONTINUED” is only required in shooting scripts.

Otherwise, the top “CONTINUED:” and bottom “(CONTINUED)”should be omitted.

Do not break dialogue in mid-sentence, only between

sentences. Breaking description is more flexible

however, best to be consistent and follow the same end-of

sentence rule.

There are only three occasions when it’s permissible to

use ALL CAPS in description:

1) when introducing a character,2) to denote camera direction, and

3) to draw attention to sound effects.

The main reason for using ALL CAPS is to aid the

production manager in breaking down the script, so not

used in spec or draft scripts.

In action and description, a character’s name should be

written in ALL CAPS only when that character first

appears in the script. After that, the name should

appear in Title Case.

CHARACTER CUE

Never use ALL CAPS or italics 

in dialogue. Instead,

underline the word or phrase

you wish to emphasize.

EXT. SET/LOCATION, DESCRIPTION – NIGHT

The “INT/EXT.” (with no period before the slash), is usedif the intention is to move the camera from interior to

exterior or vice versa in a single, uninterrupted shot.

Otherwise, it’s a cut, so use a new scene heading.

FOLLOW HER INTO:

INT. SET/LOCATION, DESCRIPTION – NIGHT

All action is written in the present tense. It describes

the place, characters present, and their choreography.

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It is much neater and easier to follow if you separate

different actions with paragraph breaks.

Parenthetical remarks should only be used when absolutely

necessary, preferably only for action direction rather

than to describe an attitude or verbal direction. Again,professional screenwriters leave this to actors and the

director.

CHARACTER #1 CUE

(parenthetical)

Show it, don’t tell it!

Remember, action focuses largely on what is audible and

what is visible on the screen. Actors don't appreciate

being told how to apply their craft.

For example, if a character is reading text out loud,

this should be indicated with the word “reading” as a

parenthetical direction. Or, as an alternative to

indicate a speech is continuing. In any case, keep

parenthetical direction short, to the point and

descriptive.

CHARACTER #1 CUE

(what are they doing)

However, keep technical

direction at a minimum.

Use of instructional transitions is superfluous. All

scene changes are cuts, all transitions are cuts. In any

case, transitions are directorial phrases hence should be

used with respect )or, not at all). Usually only at the

beginning/”FADE IN:” and at the end/”FADE OUT.”

CHARACTER CUE

Do not try and be creativewith your formatting. Any

deviations will simply scream

out, “Amateur!”

The heading for a scene that takes place inside a moving

vehicle should have the word “TRAVELING” or “MOVING”

appended to it, separated from the time-of-day by a dash.

INT. TRUCK, COUNTRY ROAD – DAY - MOVING

There are numerous screenwriting software packages

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