Screenplay formatting reference
Screenplay format, from margin to montage
Start with the standard page: the font, the margins, and the elements every scene is built from. Then find the convention your scene needs, from overlapping voices to production numbering, with examples, accepted alternatives, and production judgment close at hand.
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Get the printable field guideKeep the examples and source notes beside your draft, or bring them to class.
INT. LAST TRAIN - NIGHT
Mara's phone lights her face.
MARA
(to herself)
Too late.
CUT TO:
New to screenplay format?
Read your first screenplay page
A scene starts with where and when, shows what happens, then names the speaker before the dialogue. These are the elements in the example above. Open a definition for the finer points, or start writing with a template.
Scene Heading (Slugline)
A scene heading, or slugline, is the line in capitals that opens each scene in a screenplay. It says whether the scene is interior or exterior, where it takes place and the time of day, for example INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT. Production breakdowns and schedules are built from it.
Action
The descriptive prose of a screenplay — what the audience sees and hears, written in present tense. Also called description.
Character Cue
The speaker’s name above a dialogue block, conventionally in uppercase — the label that tells the reader who is talking.
Parenthetical
A short note in parentheses under a character's name, above the line it changes, such as (quietly) or (to Maria). It says how a line is delivered, who it is aimed at, or a small action during it. In grammar, a parenthetical is an aside set off from the rest of a sentence.
Dialogue
The words characters speak in a story, play or film. In a screenplay each speech sits under the speaker's name in a narrow centered column; in Plot, a dialogue pass proposes tighter lines you accept or reject one at a time.
Transition
An editing instruction between scenes — CUT TO:, DISSOLVE TO:, SMASH CUT TO:. Modern specs use them rarely; most cuts are assumed.
Put the format to work
Start with a screenplay template
An opening scene you can adapt, with an explanation of what each line does.
Write and format a scene in Inkwell Plot
Choose elements with the toolbar or keyboard and let Plot lay out the page.
Preview your screenplay as formatted pages
Paste screenplay text or open a Fountain or Final Draft file to check its layout.
How long should a screenplay be?
Page-count bands for features, pilots and contest windows, measured against published scripts.
Standard page setup
The screenplay page, measured
Screenplays are typed in one size of Courier on US Letter, with a wide left margin for binding. Nobody grades the measurements, but readers notice a page that looks crowded or runs long. These are the measurements Plot lays out as you write and prints in every PDF, and they match Final Draft's published margin guide column for column.
- Font
- Courier, 12 point
- 10 characters to the inch, every character the same width
- Paper
- US Letter, 8.5 × 11 in
- Page numbers sit at the top right, starting on page two
- Margins
- 1.5 in left, 1 in right
- 1 in top and 1 in bottom. The wide left margin leaves room for a three-hole binding.
- Lines per page
- 54
- Fixed type and spacing are why a page is planned as roughly a minute of screen time. That is a convention, not a stopwatch.
Where each element sits
| Element | Starts at | Column width |
|---|---|---|
| Scene heading Capitals | 1.5 in | 6 in 60 characters |
| Action As typed | 1.5 in | 6 in 60 characters |
| Character cue Capitals | 3.7 in | 3.8 in 38 characters |
| Parenthetical As typed | 3.1 in | 2.5 in 25 characters |
| Dialogue As typed | 2.5 in | 3.5 in 35 characters |
| Transition Capitals | Flush right to 7.5 in | 6 in 60 characters |
Word processors measure indents from the margins rather than the paper's edge. In those terms the same page indents dialogue 1 inch from the left and 1.5 inches from the right, a parenthetical 1.6 inches and 1.9 inches, and the character cue 2.2 inches from the left.
Rather not set a style for every element by hand? Plot places each one as you type, on a free plan.
Start writing freeSources Reviewed
- Final Draft — What are the margins for a screenplay?
The margins, where each column starts and how wide it runs, and flush-right transitions
- Academy Nicholl Fellowships — Screenwriting resources and format guide
Courier 12-point, ten-pitch
Dialogue, devices, and readable information
What the audience hears, what it reads, and how simultaneous voices share a page.
Phone calls & intercut
Establish what the audience sees and hears, then use clear scene headings or an INTERCUT instruction so a phone conversation stays easy to picture.
V.O. vs O.S.
O.S. means a speaker is in the scene but outside the frame; V.O. covers narration and voices outside its physical space. See screenplay examples of both.
Text messages
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.
Dual & overlapping dialogue
Format two characters speaking at once, create dual dialogue in Inkwell Plot or Final Draft, and decide when an interruption works better as stacked dialogue.
Foreign language & subtitles
Tell the reader what language is spoken and whether the audience understands it, then write the readable translation without repeating the instruction on every line.
Inserts, screens & written material
Put the exact words the audience must read in action, and use an INSERT only when the change in visual emphasis is itself important.
Pre-laps & sound bridges
When the next scene's sound arrives before its picture, write it just above the scene it belongs to: a (PRE-LAP) cue for a line of dialogue, a PRE-LAP line in action for a sound.
Songs & lyrics
Set sung lines apart from speech — italics or all caps, one lyric line per line — and quote only the lyrics the scene actually needs.
Sound effects & capitals
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.
Supers & title cards
Write on-screen text word for word, where it appears: SUPER: over the picture, a card of its own over black, and one label for the whole script.
Pauses & interruptions
An ellipsis for a line that trails off, a dash for one that is cut off, and an action line, or a sparing (beat), when a silence has to land.
Sequences and time
Keep changes in place, pace, memory, and elapsed time visible without over-directing.
Montage
How to write a montage in a script: open it, write each visual beat, and end it where scenes resume. Five page examples, from one line to a montage over a voice-over.
Flashbacks
Mark the flashback in the scene heading, run longer memories as a block, and return to the present so readers never lose the timeline. Five page examples.
Continuous action & time jumps
Use CONTINUOUS for unbroken movement into a new location, SAME for simultaneous time, and a plain action beat or new time label for an actual jump forward.
Dream sequences
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.
Transitions & FADE IN
Most scene changes need no transition: the next heading is the cut. Write one when the edit tells the story, and treat FADE IN and FADE OUT as a choice.
Car scenes & INT/EXT.
Head a car scene with INT. and the vehicle, use INT/EXT. or I/E. when it plays inside and out, or split it into two headings when production needs them.
Submission and production
Present the draft appropriately for its reader, then protect production state when it matters.
Title pages & anonymity
Keep a normal master title page with authorship and contact information, but create a separate anonymous PDF whenever the current submission rules require it.
Scene numbers & production
How to add, keep and hide scene numbers in Final Draft, when a script needs them, and how A/B scenes and OMITTED keep production references stable.
Screenplay example
An original screenplay example with each element explained: scene headings, action, character cues, parentheticals, dialogue and transitions, each shown in place.
Television formats
Match current episodic and house conventions instead of assuming one universal template.
Screenplay format questions
What writers ask first
What is the standard screenplay format?
A screenplay is typed in Courier 12 on US Letter paper, with a 1.5-inch margin on the left and 1 inch on the right. Scene headings and action run margin to margin, dialogue sits in a narrower column under a capitalized character cue, and transitions sit flush right. There is no official standard, but readers and contests expect pages that look like this. The page setup on this page has every measurement.
What are the basic elements of a screenplay?
What is the difference between a script and a screenplay?
A screenplay is a script written for the screen. Script is the wider word: it also covers stage plays and audio drama. In film and television the two are used interchangeably, and a TV episode's script is sometimes called a teleplay.
Why are screenplays written in Courier?
Courier is monospaced: at 12 point every character is the same width, 10 to the inch. That keeps the amount of text on a page predictable, which is what lets page count work as a rough clock. Courier Prime is a popular free version of the same design.
Can I format a screenplay in Word or Google Docs?
Yes. Set the margins to 1.5 inches on the left and 1 inch on the right, and the font to Courier 12. Then give each element a style, with indents measured from the margins: dialogue 1 inch from the left and 1.5 inches from the right, a 3.5-inch column; parentheticals 1.6 inches from the left and 1.9 inches from the right; character cues 2.2 inches from the left. Every element then needs its own style change as you write. A screenplay editor applies them as you type; Plot does it in a browser, on a free plan.
How many pages is a two-hour movie script?
About 120, if you plan at a page a minute. That is a convention rather than a measurement: dialogue-heavy pages play faster and action-heavy pages slower. Most feature specs land between 90 and 120 pages, and the screenplay length guide checks a count against genre bands and contest windows.
What software formats a screenplay automatically?
Dedicated screenplay editors, including Final Draft, WriterDuet, Fade In, Highland, Arc Studio and Plot, place each element as you type, so you never set an indent by hand. Plot runs in a browser, has a free plan, and exports a PDF laid out to the measurements on this page.
Check the actual file
Learn the convention. Then protect the draft.
The reference explains intent. Screenplay Diff shows what changed after a rewrite or format conversion; the FDX migration guide covers an industry-standard handoff.