Also known as description · stage direction
The descriptive prose of a screenplay — what the audience sees and hears, written in present tense. Also called description.
On the page
Action
She crosses to the window and waits.
Strong action is visual and economical: it shows behavior, not essays about feelings. Readers skim action for story momentum; directors and ADs skim it for what must be staged. If a paragraph could only live in a novel's interior monologue, rewrite it as behavior the camera can capture or cut it before a cold read stalls.
Dense blocks are a frequent pass trigger even when the information is good. Break beats into short paragraphs so the eye keeps moving; white space is part of pacing on a screenplay page. One image or move per chunk usually lands harder than a packed paragraph that tries to do five jobs at once.
Sounds the audience hears belong in action lines. Heavy camera direction belongs mainly in shooting drafts or director-driven material. In a spec, write what we see and hear unless the move itself is the story point — a whip-pan joke, or a reveal that only works as that specific reveal on the page.
How to format text messages in a screenplay
Put readable on-screen messages in action, identify the sender when needed, and use one consistent pattern instead of disguising silent text as spoken dialogue.
How to format a montage in a screenplay
Signal the montage, organize its visual beats in action, and end it clearly when the reader might not otherwise know where ordinary scene flow resumes.
How to format an INSERT shot, screens, and letters
Put the exact words the audience must read in action, and use an INSERT only when the change in visual emphasis is itself important.
How to format a dream sequence in a screenplay
Establish who is dreaming, mark where the dream begins and ends, and show the return to waking life so a dream is never mistaken for the story's reality.
Should sound effects be in all caps in a screenplay?
Capitalize a sound, prop, or action only when it has to jump off the page, and a speaking character's name at first appearance, so capitals still mean something.
Short enough to keep the eye moving — often one to three lines per beat. Dense blocks slow a read; white space is part of pacing on the page, not empty decoration.
Sounds the audience hears belong in action. Heavy camera direction is usually reserved for shooting drafts — in a spec, write what we see, not a shot list, unless the move is the story point.
Some writers capitalize key sound effects or first appearances of important props as a production cue. Keep the habit consistent and light; shouting every noun in caps reads like a beginner production memo.
Yes for standard screenplay craft — we watch events happen now. Past tense slips usually signal novel habits; they slow the read and look nonstandard to professional readers.
