SCRIPT FORMAT

CHEAT SHEET

TITLE PAGE

SCRIPT TITLE

written by

Matthew Harris

CONTACT & DATE

12345 Anystreet Rd.

City, ST/PROV POSTAL

(555) 555-5555

FIRST DRAFT

September 16, 2009

SCENE HEADINGS

Interior or Exterior?

EXT. HOTEL – ENTRANCE – DAY

INT. HOTEL – LOBBY – DAY

Order from general to specific.

CHARACTERS

Introducing a character

MATTHEW HARRIS walks into the hotel

lobby.

Afterwards

Matthew approaches the front desk.

DIALOGUE

MATTHEW HARRIS

A character’s name should

always be capitalized when

speaking.

Margins• Not centered.• Character Name starts at 4.1”• Always begins at same point.

PARENTHETICALS

MATTHEW HARRIS

(flips to next slide)

Words of direction contained in

parentheses within dialogue.

When to use?

• How a line is spoken• What the character is doing while speaking

V.O. & O.S.

MATTHEW HARRIS (V.O.)

• O.S. or Offscreen– when a character is physically present in a scene, but outside the view of the camera

• V.O. or Voice Over– all other instances (i.e. Phone, TV, Speaker, Radio, Narrator, etc.)

SOUND CUES

Capitalize the SOUND, and SOURCE

of sound.

MUSIC plays on the SOUND SYSTEM.

TRANSITIONS

FADE IN:

INT. BAR – NIGHT

CUT TO:

EXT. STREET – NIGHT

FADE OUT.

OTHER

• Single Camera Format– Other formats:

• Sitcom/Multi-Camera• Stage Play

• Spelling and Grammar• Page Numbers• Copyright• Registration

SOFTWARE

• FINAL DRAFT ($249)www.finaldraft.com

• MOVIE MAGIC SCREENWRITER($249)www.screenplay.com

• CELTX(FREE!)www.celtx.com