Creative Writing

Ms. Carla Kurt

Formatting Scenes for a Screenplay

THE SCENE

The building blocks of your screenplay are scenes. There are many definitions of a

“scene” in a screenplay, but for our purposes think of a scene as its own story. There is a

beginning, a middle, and an end. And, in almost all cases, your scene should move the

story forward.

An average- length movie has around 40 to 60 scenes. Most scenes are 2-3 pages or 2-3

minutes. Watch a movie with a stopwatch and time it yourself. Certainly these numbers

are just an approximation but it’s helpful to keep that number in mind.

Outlining, or structuring, your screenplay before you begin writing is a great way to get

started. For example, let’s imagine our job is to write the next James Bond movie. This is not that difficult because James Bond movies often follow the same structure. What type of scenes do we usually find in a James Bond movie?

1. An opening thrilling action sequence.

2. Bond gets a mission from headquarters.

3. Bond meets a beautiful woman (or two).

4. Bond finds that the beautiful woman is actually a spy or agent.

5. Bond still goes to bed with her and usually convinces her to join him later.

6. Bond goes to a casino or a big event to spy on the film’s enemy.

7. The enemy captures Bond and almost kills him but Bond narrowly escapes.

8. Bond goes to HQ and sees the latest cool gadgets and weapons.

And on and on. Bond movies are so predictable that the entire Austin Powers films were

written with almost the exact same structure. That is partly why they were so successful.

They parodied all these scenes that we’ve come to expect in Bond films.

In fact, you can think of most genres of having similar structures. A horror film often

follows a particular scene structure. Romantic comedies, action films, love stories, and

detective thrillers also follow similar structures. That isn’t bad necessarily. While your

screenplay should be wholly original, you also want there to be a level of familiarity to

the audience.

It’s not that hard to think of 40 to 60 scenes. You can write an average of 2-3 pages in

just an hour or so. That means you could write a screenplay in just 2 months on your

lunch break. Now it shouldn’t seem so overwhelming.

SCENE ELEMENTS

Appendix A contains a scene from the fine screenplay for the movie Erin Brockovich

written by Susannah Grant with revisions by Richard LaGravenese. Read this scene

completely before continuing.

Did you read it? Now let’s break down this scene into the 5 major elements of a

screenplay.

1. Scene Heading

2. Action Line

3. Character

4. Dialogue

5. Parenthetical

SCENE HEADING – The Scene Heading is sometimes called The Master Scene

Heading. It indicates the start of a new scene and is used just one time per scene at the

beginning. Also called the Slugline, the Scene Heading breaks down into 3 parts.

INT. MASRY & VITITOE - RECEPTION – DAY

1. INT. or EXT. (Interior or Exterior) – Is this scene inside or outside?

2. LOCATION – Where is the scene taking place? In this case inside the law firm known

as MASRY & VITITOE. The writer here gives us more details. It’s also taking place in

the RECEPTION area.

3. TIME OF DAY – When is the scene taking place? In most cases, you should be as

general as the scene allows. This gives the production crew flexibility when to plan to

shoot this scene. However, if it’s critical that the scene take place at noon, or early

morning, or 5 minutes before midnight, then you should certainly be specific.

The Scene Heading is always written in ALL CAPS.

ACTION LINE – The Action Line tells us what is happening in the scene. It is always

written in the present tense. When you first introduce a character, you can introduce him

or her in ALL CAPS. The rest of the Action Line is not written in all caps.

A sign over the reception desk reads: MASRY & VITITOE,

ATTORNEYS AT LAW. ED MASRY, senior partner in the firm,

enters the office and approaches his secretary's desk. His

avuncular presence masks a savvy legal mind, and his

somewhat rumpled appearance indicates a disinterest in

pretense.

Some writers write action lines sparely. Others are more detailed in their descriptions.

Write using a style that is personal and comfortable to you. But, remember, that your

action lines will not be read by the audience. Action lines are not intended to be a novel

but directions to the director and actors.

CHARACTER – The Character Line is obviously the name of the Character speaking. It

is written in ALL CAPS. You do not have to name every speaking part in your

screenplay. For minor characters that speak just once or twice, you can certainly name

them MAN #1, WOMAN #2, BOY #1, etc.

DIALOGUE – Another fairly obvious one. Dialogue is what your character is speaking.

Movie dialogue is different than normal, every day conversation. In most cases, you want

to keep your dialogue brief and to the point. Keep the story moving forward.

PARENTHETICAL – The parenthetical describes a character’s action or dialogue. For

example, you could use a parenthetical to make sure a character whispers or screams.

You could use it to add a pause or “beat” to a character’s dialogue.

Use parentheticals sparingly. Many writers mistakenly use parentheticals too often. Let

the actors and director do their jobs. Only use a parenthetical if your dialogue requires it.

And if you find yourself using parentheticals too often, then your dialogue probably

needs to be improved.

Source:

http://www.screenstyle.com/howtoforscre.html

CAPITALIZATION AND SPACING

The guidelines below are from The Screenwriter’s Bible by David Trottier, which you have in your final project handout. Open a word document and create a template using the specifications below in order to complete the Scene Formatting Exercise that follows.

Page Margins – If you want to set up your own tabs and margins, use the following

guides:

Left margin - 1.5 inches

Right margin - 1 inch (or 8 inches from the left edge)

Top margin - 1 inch

Bottom margin - 1inch

Margins of Screenplay Elements

Scene Heading - 1.5 inches from the left edge of the page

Action Lines - 1.5 inches from the left edge of the page

Character - 3.7 inches from the left edge of the page

Dialogue - 2.5 inches from the left edge of the page

Parentheticals - 3.1 inches from the left edge of the page

Spacing

Dialogue should be no wider than 3.5 inches. Set your right margin of all dialogue at 6

inches from the left edge of the page.

Parentheticals should be no wider than 2.5 inches. Set your right margin of all

parentheticals at 5.6 inches from the left edge of the page.

SCENE FORMATTING EXERCISE

Format the situation described below into a screenplay scene. Use correct scene heading, action descriptions, dialogue, and parenthetical descriptions for characters' dialogue. As a screenwriter, you are not required to indicate camera shots. In fact, it's not advisable to do this because it's the job of the film director, not the screenwriter.

Situation: Bob and Marianne walk into a dark movie theater. The movie has already started, and nearly every seat is occupied. Bob, a tall, stocky young man, carries a super-sized box of popcorn and a super-sized drink. Marianne, dressed in a revealing tight sweater and jeans, carries a bag of potato chips and a large drink. She moves down the aisle quickly, scouting for seats while Bob struggles to see her in the dark. He stumbles over his own big sneakers, and popcorn spills from the container onto several patrons seated near the aisle. Bob apologizes, and other patrons tell him to "shut up." Marianne waves to Bob from the front of the theater. She's found two seats up front. She calls out to Bob and waves frantically. A variety of comments are heard from other patrons.  Bob catches up to Marianne, and they move across the row to their seats. Bob steps on a woman's toes, and she shrieks. He apologizes. Bob and Marianne finally settle into their seats. He munches his popcorn happily and slurps his big drink. A woman seated behind Marianne squirms to see the screen above Marianne's big hair. Marianne turns toward Bob and kisses him noisily on his cheek. He smiles and squeezes her thigh. A man seated behind Bob says something unkind. Bob turns around, smiles, and tells the man he must be jealous. It's quiet for a few moments.

Marianne begins opening her bag of potato chips. A man seated in front of her turns around and looks at her viciously. Marianne offers him a chip, but he declines.  Marianne munches contentedly on her chips and sips from her big drink as she watches the screen. The audience is no longer watching the screen.  Their angry eyes have settled on Bob and Marianne.

Source:

http://www.scriptologist.com/Magazine/Formatting/formatting.html