There are a LOT of formatting issues you need to be concerned with in order to make your script appear professional. Let's start with the beginning.
This page is constantly changing. Updates are always being made. Stop back often for more formatting tips.
Title Page
The title page is the first page the script reader should see when he/she opens your envelope. Shooting scripts have a much different type of title page, which displays a logo of the show (Deep Space Nine or Voyager), the title, and the final draft date on a card stock. Your title page should also be a card stock, but should include: your name, your address, your telephone number and area code, the title of your script, and the date. Below that page is, in shooting scripts, another type of title page, which displays information such as writing credits, older titles for the episode, directing credits, and legal documentation.
To come: Examples!
Lists
Shooting scripts contain cast lists, set lists, and pronunciation guides. You can find defintions of these terms in the terminology section. You aren't required to include any lists, but you may if you so desire. They will not count for or against you. :-)
To come: Examples!
Script Pages
Most script pages are the same. The very first one, which includes the teaser, has a special format you should use. It's included in the picture linked to below. The best way to explain these, I think, is just to show you.
To come: Examples!
Headers: Each page should include a header. The standard header format is: VOYAGER: "Title" - date as ##/##/## - TEASER(/ACT ONE/ACT TWO/ACT THREE/ACT FOUR/ACT FIVE) left aligned, and the page number aligned on the right side of the header.
Font: USE COURIER 12 POINT FONT! UNDERLINE IMPORTANT THINGS, DON'T MAKE THEM BOLD.
Tab Stops:
• Character names should be in ALL CAPS, and indented 3 1/4".
• Parenthetical notes under character names, which can include directions for speaking or actions at the time the dialogue is being spoken, should be in all lowercase, and indented 2 3/4" under the character name.
• Dialogue should be in normal type, and indented 2 1/4".
• Actions and scene markers should be indented 1 1/4" from the edge of the page.
• Scene transitions should be RIGHT-ALIGNED.
• Else... use your best judgement.
Character Names: Each time a character speaks, his/her name should be aligned as described above. In actions or sluglines, character names should be typed as regular names using upper and lower case, EXCEPT for the first time a character's name appears in actions. Then it should be in ALL CAPS. After that, standard.
Parenthetical Notes: Don't bog down on them. Many are ignored anyway, and directors improvise. If you do include them, make them short and to the point. Example: (sighs) is MUCH better than (sighs at Chakotay's ignorance).
Dialogue: Dialogue should be written in the character's voice. By that, I mean don't make the character say something he/she normally wouldn't. Don't create pages and pages of one character talking, either. Two pages in a row of one character speaking tends to get boring, on paper and on screen. On the same not, don't make dialogue too short, either. A page of "Really?" "Yes." "No kidding." "Wow." "Yeah." "I thought so, too." looks REALLY bad on paper, and will sound worse on screen.
Actions and Scene Markers: Make them simple, but concise. Example:
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM
Where Janeway paces the room. All other senior officers are seated at the conference table, looking worried. Seven of Nine has, in her hand, a rather strange looking device which we learn is a BORG COMM PANEL.
Also important: DON'T NUMBER YOUR SCENES. This is done ONLY in shooting scripts.
Scene Transitions: There are several types of scene transitions you can use. Here's a list: CUT TO: used to show an abrupt change in scene. SMASH CUT TO: same as above, only more abrupt. ;-) INTERCUT: used to change to another scene, but indicate that it takes place at the same time as the previous scene. A good example would be changing from Engineering to the Bridge during a comm discussion. DISSOLVE TO: indicates to the special effects guys to create a "dissolving" effect. TIME DISSOLVE TO: flashback sequences. FADE IN: use this every time you begin a new act. FADE OUT use this every time you end an act.
There are many more, and I'll add to these every time a new one pops up.
New Scenes: There are 2 basic ways of introducing new scenes. INTerior shots and EXTerior shots. Interior shots are shots which take place inside a room or building. Examples include BRIDGE, ENGINEERING, BRIEFING ROOM, MESS HALL, STRAW HOUSE, SEWER, SHUTTLE COCKPIT, etc. Exterior shots are those of outside areas, or space. Examples include SPACE, A FIELD, VOYAGER, THE PLANET, BORG VESSEL, etc. We introduce new scenes this way in the following format:
INT. VOYAGER - BRIDGE
Where Janeway paces.
--OR--
EXT. SPACE - VOYAGER AND THE BORG VESSEL
The Borg ship FIRES A TORPEDO at Voyager.
This page is constantly changing. Updates are always being made. Stop back often for more formatting tips.
