Screenwriting guide
What Is a Screenplay? A Movie Script Explained
A screenplay is the written blueprint for a film: the story told through scene headings, action and dialogue, in a strict format where one page runs about one minute on screen. A film script and a movie script are the same thing. Below is a real page with every element labelled.
Written and reviewed by ScriptLix Editorial
Example 1 · Comedy drama, feature
What does a screenplay page look like, element by element?
An original page written to show what a movie script looks like. Each number points at one element of screenplay format.
1FADE IN:
2INT. DRIVING TEST CENTRE - WAITING ROOM - DAY
3Plastic chairs, a ticking clock, a poster of a smiling family in a car. Nobody here is smiling.
4BEA HOLLIS (70s), cardigan, car keys gripped like a weapon, sits beside her grandson THEO (17), who is on his phone.
5THEO
You're going to be fine.
BEA
6I've failed four times, Theodore. Fine is not on the menu.
7EXAMINER (O.S.)
Beatrice Hollis?
Bea stands. Theo finally looks up.
THEO
8(quietly)
Signal before you pull out.
BEA
I know how to drive.
She marches toward the door. Theo pockets his phone and follows at a distance.
9CUT TO:
EXT. TEST CENTRE CAR PARK - CONTINUOUS
Bea pulls out. No signal.
Written for this page as a teaching example. Not taken from a film.
- Opening transition. Traditional on page one, optional today.
- Scene heading (slugline). Interior or exterior, the location, then the time of day, in capitals. Every new place or time gets one.
- Action. What we see and hear, in the present tense. Short paragraphs keep the page fast to read.
- Character introduction. A speaking character’s name is in capitals the first time they appear, with an age and a telling detail. Format guide
- Character cue. The name above each line of dialogue, indented toward the centre of the page.
- Dialogue. What the character says, in a narrower column under the cue.
- Extension. O.S. means off screen: the speaker is in the scene but not in shot. V.O. is a voice from elsewhere. Format guide
- Parenthetical. A brief note on how a line is said or who it is said to. Use them sparingly. Format guide
- Transition. Flush right. Most modern scripts use few transitions, since a new scene heading already implies a cut. Format guide
Where should you go next?
How to use it
- 1
Read the scene heading first: inside or outside, where, and when.
- 2
Read the action as what the camera sees and the microphone hears, in the present tense.
- 3
Follow the character cues: each name in capitals sits above that character’s dialogue.
- 4
Treat parentheticals and transitions as small stage directions, not dialogue.
- 5
Estimate the runtime at roughly one page per minute.
Screenplay vs script vs teleplay vs stage play
| Term | What it is | Format notes |
|---|---|---|
| Screenplay | A script for a film, feature or short | Scene headings, action, dialogue; about a page a minute |
| Script | The general word for any written performance text | Used for film, TV, stage, radio and games |
| Teleplay | A script for a television episode | Act breaks or teasers; multi camera sitcoms use their own layout |
| Stage play | A script for live theatre | Different layout: character names centred or on the left, scenes by act |
| Shooting script | A production draft of a screenplay | Adds scene numbers and revision marks |
| Spec script | A screenplay written without being paid or hired | Used to sell, or as a writing sample |
What is a screenplay?
A screenplay is the text a film is made from. It describes only what can be seen and heard: places, actions, sounds and dialogue. It does not describe thoughts, and it rarely tells the director where to put the camera. Directors, actors, designers and producers all work from it, so it is written to be read quickly and to be broken down into a shooting plan.
Feature screenplays usually run about 90 to 120 pages. Short film scripts can be a page or two. The page count matters because of the formatting rule of thumb that one page equals about one minute of screen time.
What does a movie script look like?
Like the labelled page above: white paper, 12 point Courier type, wide margins, and text placed in set columns. Scene headings and action run the full width. Character names sit indented toward the centre with dialogue in a narrower column beneath. Transitions such as CUT TO: are flush right. The layout looks plain on purpose, so the reader sees the story and the page count stays honest.
You do not set the margins by hand. Screenwriting software, including free apps, formats the page as you type. The screenplay format guide covers every element in detail.
Is a film script the same as a screenplay?
Yes. Screenplay, film script and movie script all mean the same document. Script is the broader word: it also covers TV, theatre, radio and video games. When people in film say script, they almost always mean the screenplay.
How is a screenplay different from a teleplay or a stage play?
A teleplay is written for television. It uses the same core format but is shaped around episodes, with act breaks and often a teaser or cold open. Multi camera sitcoms use a distinct layout with double spaced dialogue and capitalised action.
A stage play is written for live theatre, where the audience sees one space and the actors speak most of the story. Its format and conventions are different: fewer locations, more dialogue, and stage directions in place of camera based action.
What do screenwriters do?
They write and rewrite scripts. Much of the job happens before and after the first draft: pitching ideas, writing outlines and treatments, taking notes from producers and executives, and revising, sometimes many times. Writers are hired for original stories, adaptations of books or articles, and rewrites of other writers’ scripts.
In television, writers usually work in a writers’ room, breaking story together with a showrunner, then writing individual episodes and rewriting each other. Many screenwriters also direct, produce, teach or write in other forms. Most spend a long time writing on spec, unpaid, before anyone hires them.
What are the parts of a screenplay?
On the page: a title page, then scenes built from scene headings, action, character cues, dialogue, parentheticals, extensions such as V.O. and O.S., and the occasional transition. In the story: usually three acts, a protagonist with a goal, opposition, and a climax that answers the question the opening asked.
Questions writers ask
What is a screenplay in simple words?
The written version of a film: what we see and hear, scene by scene, in a standard format that a whole crew can work from.
How long is a screenplay?
Most features run about 90 to 120 pages, at roughly one page per minute of screen time. Shorts can be a few pages.
What font is a screenplay written in?
Courier or a Courier style font at 12 point, which keeps the page per minute estimate consistent.
What is the difference between a screenplay and a script?
A screenplay is a script for film. Script is the wider word, used for TV, theatre, radio and games too.
Do screenwriters direct their films?
Sometimes. Many writers only write; some go on to direct their own scripts, and many directors also write.