Hi... Hello!
Today I am going to explain
about a Screenplay's Format
Why should we format
a screenplay?
Can't we just write in paragraphs
like in a story or a novel?
No...
A screenplay is a
technical document
It should not be treated
like a dialogue sheet
It contains important information & instructions
that you'll be sharing with the other departments
Also, this is the
document you'll be using
to note down all the
requirements necessary for shoot
That is why it is very important
to format a screenplay
Now, let's take a look at the
scene elements one by one
The first thing you write
is the scene heading
also called as
the slugline
Here you say if its
INTERIOR or EXTERIOR
What the LOCATION is
and the TIME
These are the three things
you have to write here
When you start writing your first
script, you get some basic doubts
For example,
When two characters are talking and walking
from inside a house to the outside,
should we write
INTERIOR or EXTERIOR?
You may get
doubts like this
Write both.
Write as INT slash EXT
Only then the DoP
will know that
we would be requiring INT lights and
also have to plan for EXT set-ups
In LOCATION, you mention
WHERE the scene is happening
It could be a character's house or
a particular room inside that house
or a public place.
Whatever it is, mention it there
If it's a MONTAGE sequence, there'll
probably be many locations in it
You obviously can't
mention everything here
It's also impractical to plan exactly
what they are at this scripting stage
That'll come later
during the production
So, for now, just
write SEVERAL
Later, when you get into
production stage, before shooting
you can plan properly,
write down the shot list
and break down the locations
according to that
Next is the TIME
Here you write if it is
DAY or NIGHT
Some people prefer writing MORNING,
AFTERNOON, EVENING, MIDNIGHT etc.
Few have the habit of writing
specific times like 8am, 9pm, 11:35am
You don't have to be so
specific in the scene heading
If you want to mention exact time,
you can do so in the description
In montages, you can
mention both DAY and NIGHT
If the next scene happens
on the same day,
you can write LATER,
LATER THAT NIGHT
or FEW MINUTES LATER
In some instances, because
there's a shift in location,
you may have to break a
scene and start a new one
but there may not be much of
a time gap between the two
So, for the following scene,
write CONTINUOUS as the time
Next is ACTION
Here you have to write what will
be seen and heard.
Write only that
"Her face was as
beautiful as the full moon"
"Her pretty eyebrows
were like bows"
Don't write poetic
verses like these
Or else the cinematographer
may start wondering
"Do we take a shot
of the moon?"
"Do we require a
shot of a bow?"
So, don't write like that
Basically, write whatever AUDIO &
VISUAL will be there in the scene
in PRESENT TENSE.
That is the DESCRIPTION
In the description, when you introduce
a character for the first time
Write their name
in a BOLD font
So that the name retains in
the minds of the readers
and they can easily follow the
character in the upcoming scenes
Suppose there's a TITLE
that should come on screen,
you can mention it in the
description itself as TEXT or TITLE
Next comes the
CHARACTER NAMES
Make them BOLD and
center aligned
You can name the characters which
are important to the story
You don't need to give names for small
characters who appear in just one scene
Readers may wonder,
"Who is this Kaveri?
Who is this Muthu?"
and get confused
It's okay just to write Courier Boy
or Shop Keeper and the like
Next comes PARENTHESIS,
under the Character name
Here, you write the tone of the
dialogue that is about to be said
Are they angry?
Are they sarcastic?
Are they crying or
Are they screaming?
Mention HOW the characters
will be saying the dialogues
Other than tone and
modulation
if a character is required to perform
an action while saying the dialogue,
you can mention that
inside the brackets too
Other than that, when a character
speaks in a different language,
you can mention that
also in the parenthesis
Next is DIALOGUE
Align in the center of the
page under the character name
If it's a standard dialogue,
you can write it as it is
In case, it is
a VOICE OVER,
Or a voice coming from
OFF-SCREEN
Or a voice from a PHONE,
you can mention the abbreviation
next to the character name
The final element
is the TRANSITION
You write it in the
right side corner
The usual one is CUT TO
Or if you have any other
transition in mind
like DISSOLVE TO or FADE TO,
you can mention it there
Sometimes TRANSITIONS
appear inside a scene too
Those in-scene-transitions
need not be on the right side
Write them in-between the action
lines wherever they happen
It could be DISSOLVES,
FADES or CUTS
Whatever they are, mention
them in the description itself
If two people in different
locations talk over the phone,
you can write
INTERCUT WITH
When you are writing
a screenplay,
Crane Up, Pan Left, 
Tilt Down
and other camera-specific
instructions need NOT be mentioned
Not right now
You can write them in the
Shooting Script
That is, before
going for shoot
you'll be doing a shot
breakdown, isn't it?
You can write these
at that time
You don't need to write this
information at this stage
Some of you
have asked me
"What is the LENGTH of a Scene?
How many pages should it be?"
"How many pages should a
full screenplay have?"
Many of you may
already know
I'm telling those who
don't know the answers
When you write a screenplay
in a proper format,
One page accounts to one
minute of screen time
If you are planning to
make a 20 Min short film,
your script has to
be roughly 20 pages
So for a two and a half
hour long feature film,
make sure the script
doesn't exceed 150 pages
A scene's duration depends
on your creativity
It could be just 10
seconds or 2 minutes
A five minute short film could have a
single scene running for 5 minutes
It all depends on
your creativity
But, generally if you take
a fast paced feature film,
on an average, the duration of a
scene could be 1 to 2 minutes (roughly)
That's it!
Write well.
Write a lot!
Enjoy writing!
Bye
