Screenplay Formatting Standards

Why formatting matters

Screenplay formatting isn't decoration. It's a shared contract between the writer, the reader, and every department that will later turn the page into a shot. Because the format is standardized, one properly formatted page runs roughly one minute of screen time — so a 110-page script tells a producer the movie runs about 110 minutes without anyone timing a single scene. Break the format and you break that trust on page one.

Page setup

Font: why Courier

The eight elements

Every line in a screenplay is one of eight block types. Learn these and you know screenplay format.

1. Scene heading (slug line) — INT. LOCATION - DAY
2. Action — what we see and hear, present tense.
3. Character — the speaker's name, ALL CAPS.
4. Dialogue — what the character says.
5. Parenthetical — brief delivery cue like (whispering).
6. Transition — CUT TO:, FADE OUT:, right-aligned.
7. Shot — CLOSE ON, ANGLE ON — use sparingly.
8. Note — a private writer note; never exports to a final draft.

Scene headings (slug lines)

Always ALL CAPS. Always start with INT. (interior), EXT. (exterior), or INT./EXT. (both). Then the location, then a hyphen, then the time of day.

INT. AFRICAN DESERT OUTPOST - DAY

EXT. ODESSA TRAIN STATION - NIGHT

INT./EXT. TRUCK - MOVING - DAWN

Action lines

The sun burns across an endless sea of sand.

A lone soldier — STEPHAN, 30s, cracked lips, hollow
eyes — stumbles over a dune. His radio crackles.

Character & dialogue

Character cues sit 3.7 in from the left edge, ALL CAPS. Dialogue sits 2.5 in from the left and 2.5 in from the right. Parentheticals go on their own line, 3.1 in from the left, and only when the delivery genuinely matters — never as a substitute for action.

                    STEPHAN
          Just a few more clicks.

                    COMMANDER (V.O.)
              (over the radio)
          You are lost, soldier.

Modifier tags — (V.O.) for voiceover, (O.S.) for off-screen, (CONT'D) when the same character speaks again after action — sit on the same line as the character cue.

Transitions & shots

Transitions are right-aligned and always end in a colon: CUT TO:, DISSOLVE TO:, SMASH CUT TO:. Most modern specs drop transitions entirely except for FADE IN: at the top and FADE OUT. at the bottom. Shot descriptions like CLOSE ON or ANGLE ON should be reserved for moments the reader must see exactly the way you see them — the director will handle the rest.

Modern spec-script conventions

• No scene numbers on a spec — only on shooting scripts.
• No camera direction unless it's essential to the story.
• Drop (CONTINUED) at page breaks and (MORE) on split dialogue.
• No WE SEE, WE HEAR, or WE CUT TO — trust the reader.
• Feature specs run 90 to 120 pages. TV drama pilots run 55 to 65; comedy pilots 28 to 34.

Software that formats for you

Handling every margin, cue indent, and page break by hand is a losing game. Screenwriting software applies the format automatically as you type — Enter after a character cue jumps to a dialogue block, Tab cycles element type — so you focus on the story, not the ruler.

Frequently asked questions