[Filmmaking] - Screenwriting - Screenplay Format.pdf

How to Format Your Screenplay Like a Pro
by Robert Gregory-Browne

Introduction

Proper screenplay format is one of those things that seems to stymie novice
screenwriters. Little do they know that it never was and never will be an exact science.
Over the past several years, I've spent a lot of time on the web, in newsgroups, and on chat lines talking
to screenwriting hopefuls. I've been on AOL and other services and have joined or formed a number of
screenwriting related forums. In that time, the mon questions I've encountered (second only to
"How do you get an agent?") are related to one thing: screenplay format.

"What are the proper margins for a feature screenplay?"
"Should I use CUT TO or leave it out?"
"What's the standard format for a flashback?"

When I first started writing screenplays, I, too, was full of the same kinds of questions. I diligently
studied all of the screenplays and screenwriting books I could find and checked a dozen different
sources to get the answers I needed -- none of which made me feel any more confident about what I was
doing, simply because much of the information I uncovered seemed contradictory:

"Always use CONTINUED to denote the continuation of a scene."
"It is no longer accepted practice to use CONTINUED to denote the continuation of a scene."
"Capitalize a character's name whenever you use it."
"Only capitalize a character's name the first time you use it."

Every source I checked seemed to speak with great authority, and, by the time I'd finished my search for
answers, I was left more confused than when I started. How was I ever going to write a screenplay that
didn't scream amateur? (And, trust me, the last thing you want to look like in this business is an
amateur.)

But not all was lost. After all the months of struggling to understand the intricacies of screenplay format,
I e to realize one very important thing -- forting bit of insight I relied o