FADE IN:
INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY
This is stage direction and it begins any where from one and a half to two inches in from the left edge of the paper.
CHARACTER NAME
Character names are centered at four and a half inches in from the left hand side of the paper.
DIALOGUE
The dialogue should be three inches from the left hand side. It is written under the character name and shouldn't extend beyond a line two and a half inches from the right side of the paper..
EXT. AMUSEMENT PARK - DAY
This is where the action goes or where you describe what we, the audience, see. When you describe a character make sure the description can be transmitted visually. If you write, "single parent mother," how do we see single parentness? If you say stripper or business woman we can see this in the style of dress and the description evokes an image
*Make sure you double space between dialogue and scene description.
PARENTHESIS (ex. surprised)
in parenthesis is an actor's instructions right before the dialogue; I showed you this so you would know how it is used, but I discourage using it unless absolutely necessary. Actors don't like to be told how to interpret a character and it usually ends up being scratched out.
CUT TO:
When you want to stop one scene and go the the next you CUT TO or DISSOVE TO are indications you can put to the far right of the page. You can to use these sparingly, but just remember, you are the writer not the director or the cameraperson. I'd rather a screenwriter provide a visual description of what we are seeing in each scene of the screenplay and let the director get together with the cameraperson so they can figure out what transition to use between those scenes before they get to the movie screen.
(MORE) & (CONT'D)
these are used to interrupt a character's speech at the end of a whole sentence if they aren't finished talking by the bottom of the page. You can write (MORE) on the line beneath the last sentence and indent it to align under the character's name. Then you repeat the character's name with (CONT'D) next to it, on the top of the the next page.
THE USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS
Caps are used for the characters name in the stage direction the FIRST TIME he enters the script. This is done to alert the casting director. I cannot tell you how many scripts I've read with the character's names in capital letters throughout the entire script.
Caps are used for sound effects (BAM or CRASH or BOOM) to alert the sound engineer.
Caps can be used for camera angles ONLY WHEN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to indicate point of view. Once again, remember, you are the writer not the director or camera person.
Secondary characters, or characters who do not speak, do not have to be capped (ex. crowd scenes or props). If you have to put emphasis on something in action or dialogue, you can underline it.
MISCELLANEOUS USES FOR CAPS
AD LIB: when the actors fill in dialogue with incidental lines.
VOICE OVER (V.O.): narrator speaking over the action.
OFFSCREEN (O.S.): when we hear a character speak offscreen by calling out from somewhere like another room or place.
BEGIN TITLES, END TITLES, and FREEZE FRAME: are shooting script indications and I would strongly suggest steering clear of them.
TITLES OF SONGS AND BOOKS
That's pretty much the basics of the screenplay format. Buy using the guidelines above your screenplay should be properly formatted for industry professionals. After you know how to format your screenplay your next step is to find out what screenplay structure is.
Below are the structural components of a screenplay:
Act I - The Setup
Plot Point One - Dramatic Context
First Half
Act II - The Confrontation
Plot Point Two - Dramatic context
The Middle
Act III - The resolution
Second Half