Screenwriting guide
How to Write a Short Film Script, with Example
To write a short film, pick one character, one want and one change that fit in 5 to 15 minutes, which is roughly 5 to 15 script pages. Start late, keep locations and cast small, and end on a turn rather than a lecture. Below is a complete original short script, rendered page by page.
Written and reviewed by ScriptLix Editorial
What does a complete short film script look like?
An original short written for this page and rendered in standard format. Read it with a timer: it plays in about three minutes.
Complete short · about 3 pages
Lost Property
A complete original short: one location, two actors, daytime, no special effects. It would run around three minutes.
INT. LOST PROPERTY OFFICE - DAY
A narrow room under a railway station. Shelves to the ceiling: umbrellas, a tuba case, a single crutch, a box of reading glasses sorted by strength.
A printed sign taped to the counter: FROM MONDAY, REPORT LOST ITEMS ON THE APP.
MARGIT HALÁSZ (60s), cardigan, pencil behind her ear, peels price stickers off a stack of folders and drops the folders into a skip bag.
A buzzer. She does not look up.
MARGIT
We close at four.
JUNE OYELARAN (late 20s), work lanyard, rain on her shoulders, stands at the counter.
JUNE
It's ten past three.
MARGIT
Then you have fifty minutes to tell me what you lost.
JUNE
An umbrella. Black. Yesterday, on the 8:14.
Margit looks at a wall of black umbrellas. Then at June.
MARGIT
Handle?
JUNE
Curved. Wooden. I think.
MARGIT
You think.
Margit pulls one at random and lays it on the counter.
JUNE
That's it.
MARGIT
It is not. That one came in on Tuesday with a man who cried about his divorce for twenty minutes.
June laughs despite herself. Margit does not.
MARGIT (CONT'D)
What did you really lose?
June looks past her, to a shelf behind the counter. A single small shoebox, labelled in faded ink: 1999.
JUNE
Do you keep things that long?
MARGIT
Policy is ninety days.
JUNE
That's not what I asked.
A beat. Margit takes the shoebox down. She does not open it.
MARGIT
Describe it.
JUNE
A mitten. Red, with a white reindeer. The reindeer's missing an eye because I chewed it.
(beat)
My dad brought me here to look. Every Saturday, all winter. You said if it came in you'd keep it.
MARGIT
I say a lot of things.
JUNE
You said it to a crying six year old.
Margit opens the box. Inside, folded in tissue: one red mitten. A white reindeer with one eye.
June stares at it. She reaches into her bag and lays a second red mitten on the counter. The reindeer on this one has both eyes.
They sit side by side. A pair, finally.
JUNE (CONT'D)
He kept the other one in the glovebox. Until he sold the car, which was last month, because he can't drive anymore.
MARGIT
Is he...
JUNE
He's fine. He forgets things. He didn't forget this.
Margit slides both mittens toward her.
MARGIT
Sign here.
She pushes a paper form across. June signs. Margit stamps it, hard, with real pleasure.
JUNE
You could've thrown it out years ago.
MARGIT
Policy is ninety days.
June tucks the mittens into her coat and goes. The buzzer sounds behind her.
Margit looks at the empty spot on the shelf. Then at the skip bag. Then at the sign about the app.
She takes a luggage tag from a drawer, writes CLAIMED on it, and ties it to the empty shelf.
She switches off the light.
FADE OUT.
Written for this page as a teaching example. Not taken from a film.
- One location and two speaking parts make it cheap to shoot and easy to schedule.
- The want is planted fast. Margit wants to close the office and leave without ceremony.
- The fake umbrella claim gives the scene a small mystery before the real request arrives.
- The turn is a physical object: a second mitten that completes a pair the audience saw a moment ago.
- The ending shows the change in an action, a handwritten tag, not a speech about what the job meant.
Which free tools help you make the short?
Need an idea that fits? Set the plot generator to Short, or start from a story starter. To read more complete shorts, see these short film scripts. For features, read how to write a screenplay.
How to use it
- 1
Choose a target runtime and treat it as a page count, about one page per minute.
- 2
Write the idea as one character who wants one thing and is changed by one event.
- 3
List what you can actually film: one to three locations, a small cast, little or no night work.
- 4
Outline a beginning, a turn and an ending on a single index card before you draft.
- 5
Draft fast, then cut every scene that does not move the character toward the change.
- 6
Read it aloud with a timer, then plan the shoot with a shot list and a budget.
Short film length at a glance
| Target runtime | Script pages | What usually fits |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3 minutes | 1 to 3 | One scene, one reveal or joke |
| 5 minutes | About 5 | Two or three scenes, one clear turn |
| 10 minutes | About 10 | A small arc with a beginning, a middle turn and an end |
| 15 minutes | About 15 | A fuller arc, a second character with their own want |
| 20 minutes and up | 20 plus | Close to a pilot or a proof of concept; harder to programme |
How long should a short film script be?
Use the one page per minute rule: a 10 minute short is about a 10 page script. It is an average, so dialogue heavy pages run faster and action pages slower. The runtime calculator will convert any page count for you.
Shorter is usually easier to programme. Festivals each set their own maximum running time for the short category, so check the rules of the festivals you want before you lock a length.
What makes a good short film idea?
One character, one situation, one change. A short does not have room for a subplot or a large cast, so the best ideas are contained: a single night, a single room, a single decision. Look for a moment when someone’s life tips, and tell only that moment.
Test the idea with a one sentence logline. If you need a second sentence to explain the world, it may be a feature idea in disguise. A proof of concept for a feature is a valid goal, but it should still work as a complete story on its own.
How do you structure a short film?
Three movements on a small scale. Set up the character and their want in the first page or two, turn the situation around the middle, and land the change at the end. You can skip a long setup entirely and start in the middle of the problem.
Many strong shorts end on a reveal or a reversal that reframes what we saw. Others end on a quiet decision. Either way, the final image should show the change rather than have a character explain it.
How do you write a short film on a small budget?
Write for what you can get. Every location is a permission, a travel day and a lighting setup. Every speaking actor is a schedule to coordinate. Night exteriors, crowds, vehicles in motion, children, animals, weather and period costume all add cost and time.
The constraint is a creative tool. A story set in one kitchen with two people forces you to find drama in performance and dialogue, which is where shorts often shine. When the draft is done, the film budget template, shot list and storyboard templates help you plan the shoot.
What are common short film script mistakes?
Trying to fit a feature into ten pages, opening with credits and slow establishing shots, explaining the theme in the last speech, and ending on a twist that the story did not set up. Another is writing scenes the crew cannot shoot, then rewriting on the day.
Is a short film script formatted differently?
No. A short uses standard screenplay format: scene headings, action, character cues and dialogue, in Courier 12 point. A title page is still expected when you send it out.
Questions writers ask
How many pages is a 10 minute short film?
About 10 pages, using the rough rule of one screenplay page per minute of screen time.
Can a short film have more than one location?
Yes, but each location costs time and money. Many good shorts use one to three locations.
Do short films need three acts?
They need a beginning, a turn and an end. On a small scale that often happens in three or four scenes rather than three formal acts.
How do I write a short film with no budget?
Write for places and people you already have access to, keep the cast small, avoid night exteriors and moving vehicles, and let dialogue and performance carry the drama.
Should a short film have a twist?
Only if the story sets it up. A turn or a change is essential; a twist is one way to deliver it.