So you want to know what a proper screenplay format is? Maybe you’re writing your first feature or reviewing a peer’s script for the first time, and all of a sudden the technicalities of format become pertinent.
The subject may seem dry and entirely superficial, but the benefits of making proper script formatting are numerous. If you were interviewing for a job as a construction foreman or a high-end fashion consultant, you’d wear different attire, and that attire would contribute to your getting the job because it tells the interviewer that you know the business, what’s expected of you, and you respect the business.
That’s what proper screenplay formatting is: dressing the part. A spec script or an assigned script, in a strong sense, are actually job applications or portfolios often read, reviewed and “interviewed” without your physical presence, and that “script cover” is your attire communicating that you know the business, what’s expected of you and your respect the business.
In short, when your script looks the part, it has a two-fold effect:
Inspiring you to feel you can do this professionally
Inspiring readers to feel you can do this professionally
Screenplay Software/Apps
Final Draft (industry standard)
Celtx
WriterDuet
StudioBinder
Fade In
What a screenplay title page should look like
What a screenplay page should work like
