SCRIPT FORMATS
There are two main traditional script-formats for movies.
The most common and modern format describes the scenes at the
beginning, starting with an all capitalized opening line that
indicates: EXTERIOR or INTERIOR (abbreviated EXT. and INT.); location
or place where the action takes place, such as GRIFFITH PARK ENTRANCE;
and the time of day, DAY, NIGHT or DAWN, etc.
A sample script text would look something like this:
EXT. GRIFFITH PARK ENTRANCE. MORNING.
A new model sedan comes through the entrance. The driver, a man in his
mid-fifties, pulls up before the OBSERVATORY BLDG. and parks.
INT. OBSERVATORY MAIN ENTRANCE. MORNING.
POV of receptionist as the man emerges from the car and approaches the
door. We will soon learn that the man is the observatory director. His
name is DR GEORGE CONNORS.
The receptionist, SUSAN QUINN, notices Dr. Connors arriving.
SUSAN
Good morning, Dr. Connors.
Dr. Connors is entering through the door.
DR CONNORS
(Cheerfully)
Good morning! Call me George. Please.
And so on. Notice the format very carefully. The current
format, whatever it may be, is followed religiously, because it
promotes clarity and recognizable standards of judging material for
production.
The older format goes like this. The script page is divided
vertically in two columns. On the left you have the description of the
scene, on the right you have the dialogue. The columns run
concurrently. The dialogue occurs at the point where the action is
recorded on its side of the column. If you're financing your own movie
you can use this format or any other one you find or invent. If you
expect professionals to read your submitted script, you should present
it in the only acceptable format, the first one. If you need a complete
sample of a script, you can get one from a movie library.
If you'll be directing from your own script, without too
much collaboration from anyone, and you can explain to your actors (if
any) your style of working with a script, you can come up with your own
custom styled script. For example, Ingmar Bergman writes his script in
prose, much like a short story. This is very simple in some ways;
however, if you do it that way, you'll need years of experience of
making movies and working with actors.
You could of course get really complicated and have all
kinds of weird sketches and notations. That may be great if it helps
you make a terrific movie.
My advice is: stick with the pros' way of doing it. Everyone is trained
to understand, interpret and collaborate on a standard format script.
Also, you can pretty much count on each page giving you a minute of
film running time, an invaluable yardstick of how long your movie is
going to be, while you're in production. Variations in results from
this rule of thumb indicate your style of working. Your page may
generate forty-five seconds or slightly more than a minute of running
time. You'll be able to gauge your production speed and tempo for
yourself in the future. There can be wide variations in this rule; but,
they are rare.
The "shooting script" is an in-sequence, chronological
progression of the story as it'll appear on the screen. The scenes are
numbered and broken down into shots. This is typically the work of the
director, after he finalizes the script.
If you're the writer, leave this job to the director. If you're the
writer-director, then you may want to do this to the extent of detail
that you like in working with a movie on paper.
Whatever you do, don't write your story in shooting script form from
the outset. You'll seldom find this way of working to be rewarding.
It's like trying to create a symphony by whistling the whole thing for
the first time in its entirety! Mozart may have done it, but in movies
no one has ever come close.