All Topics  
Screenplay

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Screenplay
 
 
  Topics Screenplay Topic Home

A screenplay or script is a written work especially for a film
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
 or television program
Television program

A television program , television programme , or television show is something that people watch on television. It may be a one-off broadcast or, more usually, part of a periodically recurring television series....
. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing works. A play for television is known as a teleplay
Teleplay

A teleplay is a play written or adapted for television. The term surfaced during the 1950s with wide usage to distinguish a TV script from stage plays for the theater and screenplays written for films....
.

format is structured as so one page usually equates to one minute of screen time. In a "shooting script
Shooting script

A shooting script is the version of a screenplay used during the production of a motion picture. Shooting scripts are distinct from Screenplay#spec scripts in that they make use of scene numbers , and they follow a well defined set of procedures specifying how script revisions should be implemented and circulated....
", each scene is numbered, and technical direction may be given. In a "spec
Spec script

A spec script is a "speculative" screenplay, one that the Variety slanguage dictionary defines as being "shopped or sold on the open market, as opposed to one contract by a studio or production company."...
" or a "draft" in various stages of development, the scenes are not numbered, and technical direction is at a minimum.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Screenplay'
Start a new discussion about 'Screenplay'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


A screenplay or script is a written work especially for a film
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
 or television program
Television program

A television program , television programme , or television show is something that people watch on television. It may be a one-off broadcast or, more usually, part of a periodically recurring television series....
. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing works. A play for television is known as a teleplay
Teleplay

A teleplay is a play written or adapted for television. The term surfaced during the 1950s with wide usage to distinguish a TV script from stage plays for the theater and screenplays written for films....
.

Format and style

The format is structured as so one page usually equates to one minute of screen time. In a "shooting script
Shooting script

A shooting script is the version of a screenplay used during the production of a motion picture. Shooting scripts are distinct from Screenplay#spec scripts in that they make use of scene numbers , and they follow a well defined set of procedures specifying how script revisions should be implemented and circulated....
", each scene is numbered, and technical direction may be given. In a "spec
Spec script

A spec script is a "speculative" screenplay, one that the Variety slanguage dictionary defines as being "shopped or sold on the open market, as opposed to one contract by a studio or production company."...
" or a "draft" in various stages of development, the scenes are not numbered, and technical direction is at a minimum. The standard font for a screenplay is 12-point Courier
Courier (typeface)

Courier is a Monospaced font slab serif typeface designed to resemble the output from a strike-on typewriter. The typeface was designed by Howard "Bud" Kettler in 1955....
.

The major components are action and dialogue. The "action" is written in the present tense. The "dialogue" are the lines the characters speak. Unique to the screenplay (as opposed to a stage play) is the use of slug lines
Screenplay slug line

In a screenplay a slug line tells the reader that the story has changed in location or time. It tells the reader where and when the action appears and the line comprises three parts:...
.

Format consists of two aspects:
  1. The interplay between typeface/font, line spacing and type area, from which the standard of one page of text per one minute of screen time is derived. Unlike in the United States where US letter size and Courier 12 point are mandatory, Europe uniformly uses A4 as the standard paper size format (but without a uniform font requirement).
  2. The tab settings of the scene elements (dialogue, scenes headings, transitions, parentheticals, etc.), which constitute the screenplay’s layout.


The style consists of a grammar that is specific to screenplays. This grammar also consists of two aspects:
  1. A prose that is manifestation-oriented, i.e. focuses largely on what is audible and what is visible on screen. This prose may only supply interpretations and explanation (deviate from the manifestation-oriented prose) if clarity would otherwise be adversely affected.
  2. Codified notation of certain technical or dramatic elements, such as scene transitions, changes in narrative perspective, sound effects, emphasis of dramatically relevant objects and characters speaking from outside a scene


Screenwriting software

Detailed computer programs are designed specifically to format screenplays, teleplays and stage plays. Celtx
Celtx

Celtx ['k?lt?ks] is free media pre-production software designed for creating and organizing media projects like screenplays, films, videos, stageplays, audio plays, documentaries, machinima, comics, games and podcasts....
, DreamaScript, Final Draft, Movie Outline
Movie Outline

Movie Outline is a word processing program to step outline your cinematic story and format your screenplay. It was created by Dan Bronzite, a produced UK screenwriter, and first released in 2004 as an outliner but in its latest incarnation boasts all the features a screenwriter needs to take their film story from idea to professional screenp...
 3.0, FiveSprockets, and Montage
Montage (software)

Montage is screenwriting software developed for Mac OS X. Montage allows the creation, editing, and management of screenplays on Macintosh computers....
 are several such programs. Software is also available as web applications, accessible from any computer, and on mobile devices.

See also

  • Act structure
    Act structure

    Act structure explains how a plot of a film story is composed. Just like Play have 'Acts', critics and screenwriters tend to divide films into acts; though films don't require to be physically broken down as such in reality....
  • Closet screenplay
  • Dreams on Spec
    Dreams on Spec

    Dreams on Spec is an American documentary film that profiles the struggles and triumphs of emerging Hollywood screenwriters. It was written and directed by Daniel J....
  • Filmmaking
    Filmmaking

    Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story idea or commission through scriptwriting, shooting, editing and finally distribution to an audience....
  • Guide to Literary Agents
    Guide to Literary Agents

    Guide to Literary Agents is a book that compiles hundreds of listings for literary agents and writers' conferences. The book is an annual resource for writers who wish to find an agent and sell their work to publishing houses....
  • Screenwriter's salary
  • Screenwriting
    Screenwriting

    Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing Screenplay for film, television or video games.Writing for film is potentially one of the most high-profile and best-paying careers available to a writer and, as such, is also perhaps the most sought after....
  • Storyboard
    Storyboard

    Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations or s displayed in sequence for the purpose of previsualizing a motion graphic or interactive media sequence, including website interactivity....
  • Writer's Digest
    Writer's Digest

    Writer's Digest is an American magazine devoted to both beginning and established writers, offering interviews, market listings, calls for manuscripts, and how-to articles....
  • List of film-related topics
    List of film topics

    This is a list of film-related topics.#National cinemas | #Film-related topics | Lists... | #Film genres and plots | #Cast and crew | #Film details | #Film success | #Awards and festivals | #Film links | #Geography | #Other | #See also...
  • List of screenwriting software
    List of screenwriting software

    Screenwriting Software helps the user to properly format and present a screenplay. Apart from these specialized screenplay software applications, there are many add-ons or templates for popular word processors like Microsoft Word....


External links