Screenplay formatting field guide

Establish geography before abbreviating it

Common choice

Readers need to know where each visible caller is before an intercut instruction can do useful work. After that setup, repeating full scene headings for every exchange usually adds friction without adding information.

Stay with one side

Context dependent

Keep one scene heading when only one caller is visible. Mark the remote speaker with a character extension and, when useful, a short source parenthetical such as “from the phone.”

Keep cutting with scene headings

Common choice

Separate headings remain a clear choice when the locations change, visual business matters on both sides, or the exact rhythm of each cut is important.

One-sided call

Context dependent

If the other voice is intentionally unheard, write the visible character's pauses and reactions in action or brief parentheticals. Do not invent dialogue merely to fill the silence.

Submission or reading draft

A submission draft can use the leanest version that makes the call easy to see and hear. Avoid production shot lists or editing instructions that do not clarify the story beat.

Production draft

Once a production team is working from the script, retain established scene identities and coordinate changes to numbered scenes. An intercut does not erase the scheduling significance of the locations introduced before it.

Do I need a new scene heading every time the call cuts between callers?

No. Establish both locations once with their own scene headings, then add an INTERCUT line and let the dialogue alternate. Go back to full scene headings only when a location changes or something at one end needs its own visual beat.

How do I write a phone call where only one side is heard?

Stay in the visible character's scene and write their pauses and reactions in action or short parentheticals. If the audience does hear the other voice through the phone, mark that cue V.O. or add a source parenthetical such as (from the phone).

How does a reader know the intercut is over?

Show the call ending in action, or return to a single scene heading. Either tells the reader the alternating pattern has stopped and ordinary scene flow has resumed in one place.

The extension should describe the sound's relationship to the scene

Widely expected

O.S. keeps a speaker inside the current physical scene; V.O. places the voice outside its immediate on-screen action. That distinction helps readers, performers, editors, and production teams understand what must be captured.

O.C. may appear instead of O.S.

Software-specific

Some television templates and regional workflows use O.C. (off camera). Follow the delivery template when one is supplied and avoid switching labels mid-draft without a reason.

Phone and device audio

Context dependent

Some writers use V.O. for a remote caller; others rely on a source parenthetical. “(from the phone)” is useful when V.O. might otherwise read as narration.

Narration

Common choice

A narrator who is not speaking inside the pictured moment is normally marked V.O., even when the narrator also appears elsewhere in the story.

Submission or reading draft

Choose the extension that lets a reader understand the moment on the first pass. A submission draft does not need a sound-department explanation beyond the voice source the story requires.

Production draft

The distinction can affect how dialogue is recorded and scheduled. Follow the production's template and script-coordination decisions if they use O.C., filtered dialogue, or another established notation.

What is the difference between V.O. and O.S. in a script?

V.O. means voice-over: narration, an audible thought, a recording, or a remote voice outside the pictured location. O.S. means off-screen: the speaker belongs to the scene's physical location but is outside the frame. Put either extension in parentheses after the character's name, above the dialogue.

How do I write V.O. or O.S. dialogue in Inkwell Plot?

In Plot, set the line to Character and type the name with its extension, such as MARA (V.O.) or ELI (O.S.). Press Enter to write the speech as Dialogue. Plot recognizes the extension and keeps the cue attached to the same character in suggestions and cast counts. Put a source such as (from the phone) on a Parenthetical line when needed.

How do I write voice-over dialogue in Final Draft?

Create a Character element, type the speaker's name, add a space, and type an opening parenthesis. Choose V.O. from the extension options, then write the speech as Dialogue. Use the extension beside the name; a separate parenthetical below the cue can clarify a source such as a recording or phone.

Is a voice on the phone V.O. or O.S.?

Both conventions appear. The caller is not in the location, so many writers use V.O.; others leave the cue plain and add (from the phone). Pick one for every call in the draft, and add the source parenthetical whenever V.O. could be mistaken for narration.

What does O.C. mean in a script?

Off camera. Some television templates use O.C. where feature scripts use O.S.; both mean the speaker is in the scene but outside the frame. Use whichever label your template uses and do not mix the two in one draft.

Is a character's inner thought written as V.O.?

Yes, when the audience hears it. A thought rendered as audible speech takes V.O. because it is not spoken aloud in the pictured moment. If the audience never hears the thought, show it through behavior in action instead.

Keep the words in action and the pattern consistent

Common choice

Action margins signal that the audience sees information rather than hears spoken dialogue. A short, repeated label lets the eye recognize every later message quickly.

Inline message

Context dependent

A very short message can sit in the same action paragraph as the notification when that reads cleanly and the exact screen presentation is unimportant.

Dedicated message line

Common choice

Place the label and message on their own action lines when the wording is a story beat or several exchanges need to scan quickly.

Speech or V.O.

Context dependent

Use dialogue only when a character or synthetic voice actually reads the message aloud. The visual text may still need an action line if the audience also sees it.

Submission or reading draft

Prefer a simple action-based pattern that remains legible in PDF and does not depend on color, a custom font, or a device-shaped graphic.

Production draft

If the exact interface, timing, or language becomes a playback-graphics requirement, the production can add design and shot detail without changing the submission draft's underlying story information.

Should text messages be written as dialogue?

Only when a voice actually reads them aloud. A silent message the audience reads on screen belongs in action; putting it under a character cue tells the reader somebody is speaking.

How do I format a back-and-forth text conversation?

Introduce the phone once, then give each message its own action line with a short, repeated label such as TEXT FROM ELI or MARA'S TEXT. The consistent label lets a reader scan the exchange without a drawn phone interface.

Can I use SUPER for a text message?

Pick one pattern per device and keep it. SUPER usually means words laid over the picture, like a location card; mixing it with TEXT and INSERT for the same phone makes the reader stop and decode your convention.

Match the container to the sequence

Context dependent

A one-sentence montage does not need a formal block. A complex sequence benefits from visible start and end markers plus location-aware beats. Both are accepted when the reader can follow time, place, and progression.

Single-line montage

Common choice

Use one action sentence when the sequence is repetitive, brief, and does not need distinct story beats—for example, a run of unsuccessful auditions.

Mini-slugs or full scene headings

Context dependent

Mini-slugs keep a fast sequence compact. Full headings are clearer when locations will matter to scheduling, the sequence contains dialogue, or each beat behaves like a scene.

SERIES OF SHOTS

Common choice

Some writers use SERIES OF SHOTS for related images that do not imply the same compression of time. The terms overlap in practice, so describe the intended progression rather than relying on the heading alone.

Submission or reading draft

A submission draft should optimize for the reader's experience. Keep the sequence lean, visual, and specific; avoid camera-by-camera coverage unless a shot is itself the story beat.

Production draft

When each montage beat needs its own schedule, location, cast, or scene number, promote those beats to production-recognizable scene headings in coordination with the production team.

What is the difference between a montage and a series of shots?

The terms overlap. Writers generally use MONTAGE for a sequence that compresses time or shows progress, and SERIES OF SHOTS for related images that do not imply the same compression. Describe the progression you want rather than relying on the heading to carry it.

Do I have to write END MONTAGE?

Only when the reader could otherwise miss where ordinary scene flow resumes. A one-line montage needs no end marker; a longer block across several locations should close with END MONTAGE or a scene heading that clearly takes over.

Can a montage include dialogue?

It can, but a line of dialogue usually means a beat is behaving like a scene. When a beat needs speech, a location that matters, or its own place in the schedule, give it a full scene heading instead of a dashed mini-slug.

Name the time shift at the first point of ambiguity

Common choice

A reader should recognize the move into the past before interpreting the scene. A heading suffix works for one scene; explicit start and end markers are safer for a sequence.

Heading suffix

Context dependent

Add FLASHBACK, YEARS EARLIER, or a specific date to the scene heading when one scene carries the time shift and the return is obvious from the next heading.

Flashback block

Common choice

Use FLASHBACK / END FLASHBACK around several scenes or when the present-day frame resumes without a naturally explanatory heading.

Quick memory image

Context dependent

A short action cue such as A FLASH OF: can carry a single image without manufacturing a complete scene. Return immediately to the ongoing action.

Submission or reading draft

Use the least notation that makes the timeline immediate. A reader should not need color, revision marks, or production metadata to understand the transition.

Production draft

Past-period scenes often affect cast, wardrobe, art, and location breakdowns. Keep full scene headings where those distinctions need to remain visible to production systems.

Should I write FLASHBACK in the scene heading?

It works for a single scene, but a concrete cue such as TEN YEARS EARLIER or a date usually tells the reader more. When several past scenes run together, bracket them with FLASHBACK and END FLASHBACK so the active timeline is never in doubt.

How do I return to the present after a flashback?

Make the return as explicit as the departure: a scene heading marked PRESENT, an END FLASHBACK line, or a heading whose time and place are unmistakably current. The reader should never learn a scene was in the past only after misreading it.

Is a dream sequence formatted like a flashback?

The mechanics are similar — mark where it starts and where reality resumes — but label a dream as a dream. Stories usually treat memory and imagination differently, and a reader who mistakes one for the other misreads the scene.

Submission instructions outrank generic title-page advice

Changing practice

Programs change partners, portals, eligibility, and file requirements. Check the official rules again immediately before export; do not rely on a prior year's checklist or on another contest's anonymity policy.

Identified master

Widely expected

Keep a complete title page in the working draft with the exact credited writer or writing team and a current contact channel.

Anonymous submission copy

Context dependent

When rules require blind reading, export a separate copy with the specified identity fields removed. Check headers, footers, file name, embedded PDF metadata, and title-page contact lines—not only the centered author name.

Optional registration and draft details

Context dependent

Registration numbers, representation, source credits, and draft dates belong only when they help the recipient or a supplied template asks for them. Keep the title and byline centered and contact information legible at the lower left.

Submission or reading draft

Treat the official opportunity page and portal as the live contract. Verify anonymity, page count, file naming, PDF size, authorship, and AI-related declarations each time you submit.

Production draft

Production drafts use identified ownership, draft dates, revision information, and distribution controls. Do not carry a contest's blind-reading omissions into the production master.

What goes on a screenplay title page?

The title, a writing credit such as Written by, the writer's name, and contact information at the lower left. Registration numbers, representation, and draft dates are optional and belong there only when they help the recipient or a supplied template asks for them.

Should a spec title page carry a draft date?

Only when the recipient or a supplied template asks for one. Draft and revision dates do real work on production drafts, where several versions circulate at once; a reader evaluating a spec rarely needs one.

How do I make a screenplay anonymous for a contest?

Export a separate copy and remove every identifier the rules name: the title-page name and contact lines, headers and footers, the file name, and the PDF's document properties. Keep the identified master untouched so the blind copy never becomes your only draft.

Stable references matter more than tidy renumbering

Production-specific

Schedules, call sheets, breakdowns, sides, and department notes refer to scene and page identities. Once those references circulate, preserving them prevents a revision from making every related document ambiguous.

Unnumbered spec or submission draft

Widely expected

Unless a recipient asks for numbers, keep the reading copy clean. Scene numbers and locked-page artifacts imply a production state that most submission readers do not need.

Numbers appear on both margins

Production-specific

A shooting script conventionally repeats each scene number to the left and right of its scene heading. That makes the reference visible from either side of a printed or annotated page.

Inserted and omitted scenes

Production-specific

New scenes commonly receive suffixes between existing numbers. Deleted production scenes remain marked OMITTED so collaborators know the number was intentionally removed rather than accidentally missing.

Submission or reading draft

Export an unnumbered PDF unless the current brief, fellowship, studio, or classroom assignment explicitly requests a numbered draft. Remove production revision artifacts that the recipient did not ask to review.

Production draft

Coordinate numbering, page lock, A-pages, omitted scenes, revision sets, and issue dates with the script coordinator or production office, which decides when a draft is officially issued.

How do I add scene numbers in Inkwell Plot?

Open Document settings from the Document sidebar or the command palette, review the preview on the Script tab, and choose Apply numbering. Plot preserves existing references and gives inserted scenes lettered numbers such as 24A. One Undo reverses the numbering. Numbers carry through FDX; a writer's-draft PDF stays unnumbered, while a locked production revision prints them in both margins.

How do I add scene numbers in Final Draft?

Choose Scene Numbers from the Production menu. Choose Scene Heading as the element, enable Number/Renumber, set the starting number, and confirm. The default start is 1. If you only want to number from the cursor onward, enable Number from Current Scene. Final Draft applies numbering when you run this command; it does not automatically number every new scene as you type.

How do I keep existing scene numbers when adding a scene in Final Draft?

In Final Draft, choose Scene Numbers from the Production menu with Keep Existing Numbers enabled. Existing references stay in place, and inserted scenes receive letter suffixes between them. Check that option before confirming: renumbering an issued draft can invalidate references in schedules, sides, and breakdowns.

How do I hide scene numbers without deleting them in Final Draft?

In Final Draft, choose Scene Numbers from the Production menu, open Options, and turn off the left and right number displays. The numbers remain assigned and can be shown again. Remove Numbers deletes the assignments instead. For a submission copy, export a separate PDF with the numbers hidden and check the resulting pages.

Should a spec script have scene numbers?

Usually not. Leave a reading draft unnumbered unless the recipient asks for numbers. Scene numbers signal a production draft, where schedules, call sheets, and breakdowns need stable references to point at.

What happens to scene numbers when a scene is added after lock?

The new scene takes a suffix between existing numbers — a scene inserted after 24 becomes 24A — so every later number, and every document that already cites one, stays valid.

What does OMITTED mean in a shooting script?

A numbered scene was cut. Its number stays in place marked OMITTED so the crew knows it was removed on purpose and the scenes after it keep the numbers everyone is already using.

Reserve columns for meaningful simultaneity

Common choice

Dual dialogue is a familiar visual convention for concurrent speech. Because two columns slow the eye and complicate pagination, it works best when hearing both lines together creates the joke, conflict, or information the moment depends on.

A cut-off line

Common choice

End the interrupted speaker with an em dash, then place the interrupting cue beneath it. The vertical order tells the reader exactly when control of the exchange changes.

Brief overlap

Context dependent

A short parenthetical such as “overlapping” can clarify a moment that begins before the previous line fully ends but does not justify two sustained columns.

Dialogue timing in a locked script

Production-specific

A production may annotate precise overlap or split dialogue for recording and coverage. Follow the show's established script and sound workflow once one exists.

Submission or reading draft

Use dual dialogue sparingly in a reading draft and verify the exported PDF at the actual page break. If an interruption reads clearly in stacked dialogue, prefer the lighter treatment.

Production draft

Preserve the paired dialogue structure when the script enters production because it can affect performance timing, coverage, and sound. Coordinate late pagination changes in a locked draft.

How do I create dual dialogue in Inkwell Plot?

Write the two character cues and speeches one after the other in Plot, then put the cursor in the first speech and toggle dual dialogue. On Mac, press Command + D. Plot pairs the speeches, prints them side by side in PDF, and preserves the pair in Final Draft import and export. Toggle again to return to stacked dialogue.

How do I create dual dialogue in Final Draft?

Write both character cues and speeches one after the other. Put the cursor in the first character's name and choose Dual Dialogue from the Format menu. The desktop shortcuts are Command + D on Mac and Control + Alt + D on Windows. The two speeches then appear side by side; check the exported PDF if the exchange reaches a page break.

How do you write two characters talking at the same time?

Put their speeches side by side as dual dialogue: each character cue with its lines in its own column, starting level with the other. Use it only when the audience should hear both speeches at once. For an interruption, stack the lines and cut the first speaker off with an em dash.

Can dual dialogue have more than two speakers?

Standard dual dialogue is two columns. For three or more voices at once, describe the overlap in action, or use one shared cue such as ALL for a line spoken together, instead of improvising extra columns that become unreadable or break on export.

What does (overlapping) mean under a character cue?

The line starts before the previous speaker finishes. It suits a brief overlap that does not justify two sustained columns — the reader hears one speech crowd the next rather than two running together.

Does dual dialogue survive a move between Final Draft and Plot?

Yes. Paired speeches in a Final Draft file import into Plot as a pair and export back to FDX as side-by-side dialogue, so the columns are still columns when the office opens the file.

Write for what the audience can understand

Context dependent

The screenplay normally stays readable for its intended reader while a concise instruction defines the language heard on screen. The scene should also make clear whether viewers receive subtitles, partial comprehension, or no translation.

One setup for a whole exchange

Common choice

An action line that establishes the language and subtitles can govern the following dialogue until the language or audience relationship changes.

A cue-level reminder

Context dependent

Use a brief parenthetical such as “in Spanish” when a character switches languages mid-scene or the change could otherwise be missed. Repeating it under every cue adds noise.

Intentionally untranslated speech

Context dependent

If the point is that a viewpoint character cannot understand, describe the speech and any recognizable words or reactions rather than giving the reader a false full translation.

Submission or reading draft

Write the draft in the language required by the recipient and make any other spoken language legible through a consistent translation convention. Check the current submission rules before sending a multilingual script.

Production draft

A production draft may add translation, dialect, subtitle, and localization notes outside the reading flow. Confirm final wording with the appropriate language experts rather than treating the submission translation as locked dialogue.

Should foreign-language dialogue be written in that language?

Usually not. Write the dialogue in the script's reading language and establish which language is actually spoken. The exception is speech the audience is not meant to understand: describe it and the listener's reaction rather than translating it.

How do I show that dialogue is subtitled?

Say it once — in action, such as “Their exchange is SUBTITLED,” or in a parenthetical on the first line — then let the translated dialogue run. Repeat the note only when the language or the audience's understanding changes.

Do I need (in Spanish) under every character cue?

No. Establish the language once for the exchange and add a cue-level parenthetical only when a character switches languages mid-scene or the change could otherwise be missed.

Separate readable story information from interface decoration

Common choice

A reader needs the exact words that change the scene and enough context to know where they appear. They rarely need every menu, timestamp, icon, email header, or graphic-design decision surrounding those words.

Inline in action

Common choice

A short sign, headline, or note can remain in the action paragraph when it reads naturally and does not require a distinct visual beat.

A dedicated INSERT

Context dependent

Give the object its own all-caps shot line when the audience's close attention, reveal timing, or return to the surrounding scene matters.

Longer correspondence

Context dependent

Summarize what is skimmed and quote only the lines that must be read verbatim. A voice-over may accompany it when the film actually uses a voice, but written material is not dialogue by default.

Submission or reading draft

Keep written material legible in a normal PDF at ordinary zoom and quote only story-essential text. Avoid embedded screenshots or decorative mock interfaces unless the recipient expressly permits them.

Production draft

Playback graphics, clearance, localization, exact timestamps, and device behavior may require a separate production workflow. Retain the approved words in the script while those departments refine the final screen design.

What is an INSERT in a screenplay?

A close view of something the audience must read or notice — a note, a screen, a photograph — written as its own all-caps line. It stays inside the current scene, so it does not need a new INT. or EXT. scene heading.

How do I get back to the scene after an insert?

Continue with an action line, or write BACK TO SCENE when the return needs flagging. Avoid adding a new master scene heading for a close view that never left the location.

Should I format a letter or email as dialogue?

Not unless a voice reads it aloud. Words the audience reads belong in action. Quote only the lines that matter to the story and summarize whatever the character skims.

Name the temporal relationship the audience experiences

Common choice

CONTINUOUS describes uninterrupted action across a location boundary; SAME describes simultaneity; LATER or an action line marks elapsed time. Choosing the accurate relationship is more useful than varying labels for style.

Elapsed time in action

Common choice

A separate action line such as THREE HOURS LATER is direct, visible, and avoids turning a relative phrase into production location metadata.

LATER in the scene heading

Context dependent

INT. ARCHIVE — LATER can work when the location is re-established and the prior temporal reference is close enough to be unmistakable.

A new DAY or NIGHT

Context dependent

Use a fresh concrete time of day when the jump changes the production period or when LATER would make the schedule and the image less clear.

Submission or reading draft

Choose the shortest label that lets a reader picture when the scene occurs. A reading draft benefits more from clear temporal movement than from exhaustively specifying schedule categories.

Production draft

Time-of-day labels affect breakdowns and scheduling, so a production may normalize LATER, SAME, dawn, or continuous sequences. Coordinate those changes instead of silently revising locked scene identities.

What is the difference between CONTINUOUS and SAME?

CONTINUOUS means the action moves unbroken into the new location, like following someone through a door. SAME means the new scene happens at the same time as the previous one, without a continuous move connecting them.

What does MOMENTS LATER mean in a scene heading?

A short jump forward, usually back in a location the reader has just seen. Use it when it is obvious what it is later than; for a longer or less obvious gap, say how much time has passed in an action line.

Can I use CONTINUOUS for scenes that simply follow each other?

No. Adjacent scenes are not continuous by default. Keep CONTINUOUS for uninterrupted action across a location change; otherwise use an ordinary time of day or LATER.

The recipient's template outranks a universal act count

Changing practice

Broadcast, cable, streaming, single-camera, and multi-camera scripts do not share one act pattern. Commercial structure and house style continue to change, so a comparable current script or supplied template is stronger evidence than a generic page-count formula.

Write to an existing show's format

Widely expected

For a sample episode, follow the show's current produced-script structure, including its labels, act count, capitalization, and page-break behavior.

An original pilot

Context dependent

Choose the most plausible format for the intended market and make it consistent. A cold open and tag are story tools, not mandatory decorations for every half-hour script.

Streaming and premium formats

Changing practice

Many scripts without commercial constraints omit printed act breaks while retaining act-like story turns. Current recipient guidance should decide the page format.

Submission or reading draft

Check the fellowship, room, class, or representation brief for format and page limits, then compare a current script from the closest relevant show. Use labeled acts only when that evidence supports them.

Production draft

Once a show controls the script, its coordinators and templates govern act labels, scene labels, page breaks, revision marks, and headers. Preserve that house structure through every issued draft.

Does the tag start on a new page, or can it share the last act's page?

In an act-broken script it usually starts a new page. Treat the TAG like another act: close the final act — with END OF ACT if your template uses it — then open the TAG under its own centered heading at the top of the next page. In a script without printed act breaks, the closing scene simply follows the others.

What is the difference between a cold open and a teaser?

In current use they name the same thing: the scene or scenes before Act One. TEASER is the older network label; COLD OPEN is common in comedies and many current scripts. Use whichever label the show you are writing for uses.

Do I need END OF ACT at the end of each act?

Only if the template you are matching uses it. It is customary in many act-broken scripts but not required, and scripts without printed act breaks leave it out entirely.

How many acts should a TV script have?

It depends on the show, the outlet, and the era. Network episodes have used several different act counts, and many streaming scripts print no act breaks at all. Match a current script from the show or the format the recipient asks for, not a generic count.

Put the sound above the scene it belongs to

Common choice

A pre-lap sits at the end of the outgoing scene, immediately before the heading of the scene whose sound it is. The label tells the reader to hear it early; the heading that follows tells them where it came from.

Dialogue pre-lap

Common choice

Use PRE-LAP in parentheses after the character name, the way V.O. or O.S. is used, so the line reads as dialogue that arrives ahead of its picture.

Sound or music pre-lap

Context dependent

Write one action line such as PRE-LAP: A guitar chord is struck. Final Draft's own guidance italicizes it; the label carries the meaning on its own if the italics are lost in a later export.

The edit sets the overlap

Production-specific

How early the sound actually begins is decided in the cutting room. The script records the intent; it does not time the overlap in seconds or frames.

Submission or reading draft

A pre-lap can sharpen a transition in a spec, but it is still a device. Use it where the overlap carries meaning — an answer arriving before the question's scene ends — rather than as a house style for every cut.

Production draft

In production the pre-lap becomes a note for editorial and sound. Keep the line and its scene placement stable in revised pages so the edit and the script continue to agree on which scene the sound belongs to.

Where does a pre-lap go — before or after the new scene heading?

Before it. The pre-lapped line or sound sits at the end of the outgoing scene, directly above the heading of the scene it comes from, so the reader hears it early and then sees where it belongs.

Is a pre-lap the same as V.O.?

No. V.O. marks a voice from outside the pictured scene, such as narration. A pre-lap is ordinary dialogue or sound from the next scene, heard a moment before we cut to it.

Can a pre-lap be music or a sound effect?

Yes. Write it as one action line, such as PRE-LAP: A guitar chord is struck, directly above the scene the sound belongs to.

Make singing look different from speech

Common choice

A reader should know a line is sung before reading it. Italics or all caps, with each sung line on its own line, both do that; the choice matters less than keeping one convention for every song in the script.

Italic lyrics

Common choice

Italics under the singer's cue keep the page quiet and read clearly as song. Produced musical screenplays have used this form.

All-caps lyrics

Common choice

All caps, one sung line per line, is the other long-standing convention. It stands out more on a busy page and survives any typeface.

Reference the song instead of printing it

Context dependent

When the music already exists or plays under a scene, name the song or describe it in action. Some musicals written alongside recorded demos refer to tracks rather than printing every lyric.

Submission or reading draft

Outside a musical, keep songs short on the page. A reader needs the song's dramatic job, not every verse, and a one-line description often serves a spec better than printed lyrics.

Production draft

Any existing song a production uses has to be cleared, which is the production's job rather than the draft's. Original lyrics are often settled with the music team, so revise them through the script's normal revision process like any other dialogue.

Should song lyrics be in italics or all caps?

Either is accepted. Italics read quieter; all caps stand out more on a busy page. Choose one and use it for every song in the script, because consistency is what tells a reader a line is sung.

Do I write out the full lyrics of an existing song?

Usually not. Name the song and describe what it does in the scene. Printing an existing song adds pages without adding story, and any song a production uses has to be cleared anyway.

How do I write a song that plays in the background?

In action. Describe what plays and when it matters — a jukebox starts an old ballad — and quote a lyric only when the words themselves land a story beat.

Mark the boundaries, then write normally

Common choice

Inside the dream, scene headings, action, and dialogue work exactly as they do anywhere else. What makes it read as a dream is a clear marker at each end and a dreamer the reader can name.

Standalone markers

Common choice

DREAM SEQUENCE and END DREAM SEQUENCE as their own action lines bracket a dream that runs across several scenes.

Marker in the scene heading

Context dependent

Adding the marker to the heading — EXT. HARBOR PIER - DREAM SEQUENCE - DAY — suits a dream that lasts one scene. The end still needs marking.

Italics throughout

Context dependent

Some writers italicize the whole dream on top of the markers. It helps on the page, but italics can be lost when a file changes format, so they should never be the only signal.

Submission or reading draft

Keep dreams short unless they carry the story. Readers are wary of dreams used for a cheap scare or to state a theme, so clear markers let the scene be judged on what it does rather than on whether it confused them.

Production draft

A dream is still a shot scene with its own location, cast, and time of day. Full scene headings inside it let the breakdown and schedule treat it like any other scene.

Does DREAM SEQUENCE go in the scene heading or on its own line?

Either works. A standalone action line brackets a dream that runs across several scenes; adding DREAM SEQUENCE to the heading suits a one-scene dream. Whichever you choose, mark where the dream ends.

How do I show a character waking up?

Return to the dreamer's real location with a scene heading and show the waking in action — a jolt, a gasp, an alarm. END DREAM SEQUENCE before that heading makes the boundary unmistakable.

How is a dream different from a flashback on the page?

A flashback shows something that happened; a dream shows something imagined. The markers work the same way, but naming the device correctly tells the reader how to read the scene.

Capitals are emphasis, so ration them

Common choice

Final Draft's guidance names key sound effects, props, and actions as fair game for capitals and warns that overuse slows the read and dilutes the emphasis. A reader skimming only the capitals on a page should get its most important sounds and objects.

Key sounds

Common choice

Capitalize the sound word itself — SLAMS, RATTLES — when the audience must register it: a clue, a threat, or the cue for what happens next.

Character introductions

Widely expected

A speaking character's name in capitals at first appearance is one of the most consistent feature-script conventions. After that the name returns to normal case in action.

Heavier or lighter by writer

Changing practice

Some writers capitalize more freely to drive the pace of an action-heavy scene, while others leave sound capitals out entirely. Both are current practice; what matters is that the choice reads as deliberate.

Submission or reading draft

In a spec, capitals should make the read faster, not louder. Capitalize the few sounds and objects that turn a scene and let the rest of the action carry itself.

Production draft

Capitalized sounds and props can help departments find what a scene needs, but the production's own breakdown decides what is pulled. Keep emphasis consistent once pages circulate so revised pages match the ones already in use.

Do sound effects have to be capitalized in a screenplay?

No. Capitalizing a key sound is a common convention for emphasis, not a formatting rule. Use it for the few sounds the audience must register and leave ordinary sounds in normal case.

Why is a character's name capitalized the first time they appear?

It flags a new speaking character for the reader and for casting. After that first introduction, the name returns to normal case in action; the character cue above dialogue is always in capitals.

Should props be in all caps?

Only when a prop matters to the story — the weapon, the letter, the key. Shooting scripts sometimes capitalize more for the props department, but a spec reads better when capitals are saved for what turns a scene.