Screenwriting Format Basic
A traditional Hollywood script is often broken into these three main sections.
What is the three-act structure?
When introducing a brand-new character in the action lines, their name is commonly written in this style.
What is ALL CAPS?
Released in 1997, this James Cameron epic became the first film to surpass $1 billion at the box office.
What is Titanic?
Released in 2019, this Marvel blockbuster briefly toppled Avatar to become the highest-grossing film worldwide (unadjusted) ($2.79 billion grossed).
What is Avengers: Endgame?
These all-caps lines begin with “INT.” or “EXT.” and indicate the location and time of day.
What is scene headings or slug-lines?
The major event that sets the story in motion, typically happening around pages 10–15, is called this.
What is the inciting incident?
When does the character's interior life occur?
When does the character's exterior life occur?
Interior = birth to 1st page of the script
Exterior = 1st page of the script to the last page
This 2009 3D sci-fi film, also from James Cameron, eventually dethroned Titanic as the highest-grossing movie (unadjusted) in history ($2.93 billion grossed).
What is Avatar?
This 2019 Bong Joon-ho thriller won Best Picture at the Oscars—the first foreign-language film ever to do so.
What is Parasite?
When a character is speaking but not seen on camera, this abbreviation appears next to their name.
What is (O.S.) for off-screen (or O.C. for off-camera)?
What is the average length of a screenplay?
The average length of a screenplay is about 90-120 pages.
Abbreviated as (V.O.), this indicates the character speaking is not physically present but narrating over the scene.
What is Voice Over?
Disney’s 2012 sci-fi “epic,” starring Taylor Kitsch as a Civil War soldier on Mars, was a massive flop ($250 million cost // $285 million grossed // $200 million lost).
What is John Carter?
This 2022 breakout hit from A24 follows a Chinese-American family navigating an IRS audit, interdimensional chaos, and googly eyes—all in one wild ride.
What is Everything Everywhere All at Once?
What is an adapted screenplay?
Not an original movie idea. Based off of an existing intellectual property.
The emotional high point or the moment of greatest tension in the film’s narrative is known as this.
What is the climax?
What is the difference between a character's need vs want?
Want is what the character is aware of in terms of their goals. Need is the unconscious motivation, and in terms of their goal is something they have to learn in order to reach their goal.
This 2023 Greta Gerwig film became the highest-grossing movie ever directed by a woman, raking in over $1.4 billion worldwide.
What is Barbie?
This 2023 dark comedy from Emerald Fennell follows a wealthy university student and her mysterious new friend as their toxic relationship spirals into obsession, betrayal, and bloodshed.
What is Saltburn?
What is the screenwriting rule of thumb?
1 page of a properly formatted script = Approximately 1 min of screen time.
A ________ who ________ something, takes _________, but meets _________ which leads to a __________ and, finally, a ___________.
A hero who wants something, takes action, but meets conflict which leads to a climax and, finally, a resolution.
These short instructions in parentheses, found beneath the character’s name, clarify how a line is delivered.
What are Parentheticals Directions?
Released in 1980, this western epic by Michael Cimino is notorious for its colossal financial loss and near destruction of a major studio ($44 million cost // $3.48 million grossed).
Who is Heaven’s Gate?
This German Expressionist silent film from 1922, an unauthorized adaptation of Dracula, introduced audiences to Count Orlok and has influenced horror cinema for over a century.
What is Nosferatu?