

Screenplays are usually bound with a light card stock cover and back page, often showing the logo of the production company or agency submitting the script, covers are there to protect the script during handling which can reduce the strength of the paper. Because each country's standard paper size is difficult to obtain in the other country, British writers often send an electronic copy to American producers, or crop the A4 size to US letter.Ī British script may be bound by a single brad at the top left-hand side of the page, making flicking through the paper easier during script meetings. Some UK writers format the scripts for use in the US letter size, especially when their scripts are to be read by American producers since the pages would otherwise be cropped when printed on US paper. In the United Kingdom, double-hole-punched A4 paper is normally used, which is slightly taller and narrower than US letter size.

The middle hole is left empty as it would otherwise make it harder to quickly read the script. They are then held together with two brass brads in the top and bottom hole. Physical format Īmerican screenplays are printed single-sided on three-hole-punched paper using the standard American letter size (8.5 x 11 inch). In a " shooting script" the slug lines are numbered consecutively for ease of reference. A slug line, also called a master scene heading, occurs at the start of each scene and typically contains 3 pieces of information: whether the scene is set inside (interior/INT.) or outside (exterior/EXT.), the specific location, and the time of day. Unique to the screenplay (as opposed to a stage play) is the use of slug lines. The dialogue is the words the characters speak, and is written in a center column. The action is written in the present tense and is limited to what can be heard or seen by the audience, for example descriptions of settings, character movements, or sound effects. The major components are action (sometimes called "screen direction") and dialogue. The standard font is 12 point, 10 pitch Courier Typeface. The format is structured so that one page equates to roughly one minute of screen time, though this is only used as a ballpark estimate and often bears little resemblance to the running time of the final movie.
