Posted on September 21, 2009 in Screenplay Format, Story | 3 Comments
by Christina Hamlett
When I was a young aspiring writer, I had a strong aversion to the use of “said” in a story. My justification was that it was blah. It was uninspired. It was pedestrian. Why use “said,” I rationalized, when there were so many other words in the English language that were way more [...]
Posted on June 24, 2009 in Featured, Screenplay Format | 4 Comments
When it comes to formatting, screenplays follow strict rules. Proper format is the first thing agents and other prospective readers look for in a script. In this hyper competitive world, you can’t afford a bad first impressions.
Beyond the basics of layout and margins, there are some gray areas of formatting that every writer will eventually [...]
Posted on May 14, 2009 in Screenplay Format | 3 Comments
John August takes a brief look at the new bits in the latest Final Draft, including a peek into the new file format and the package contents.
Learn More
Posted on April 22, 2009 in Screenplay Format, Storyboarding | No Comments
If you haven’t already downloaded Celex now is the time, if you have, now is the time to update. Celtx released a update to their 2.0 release in February. Version 2.0.1 includes some improvements and important bug squashes.
Also check out our recently posted a list of 55 Celtx Tutorials.
From Celtx – [...]
Posted on April 20, 2009 in Screenplay Format, Storyboarding | 11 Comments
Update:
This post has been updated. The new post can be found here:
110 Celtx Tutorials
Whoever said you can’t get something for nothing never used Celtx. This is not just one of the best open source programs, it one of the best pieces of filmmaking software period. And, with the newly released v2.0 [...]
Posted on March 3, 2009 in Screenplay Format | No Comments
Celtx v.2.0 has been released and available for Download from Celtx.com.
…RELEASE NOTES:
NEW FEATURES
CELTX STUDIOS
We are pleased to introduce Celtx Studios, a set of web services designed to work with the Celtx software. Your Celtx Studio provides:
Web Based Storage and Access to Your Media Projects
Media Projects created in Celtx can be saved straight to your Celtx [...]
Posted on October 9, 2008 in Screenplay Format | No Comments
Formatting tricks of the trade, to manipulate the all important page count. For the obsessive-compulsive screenwriter. Or is that redundant?
…Any script with a page length over 125 is suspect. Over 130, and the script is, at best, an interim draft with “Lots more work to be done.”
…Any slight advantage is worth gaining. Nothing that might [...]
Posted on August 14, 2008 in Screenplay Format | No Comments
by Christopher Riley
We’ve all heard the warning against overwriting our screenplays by including too much camera direction or too many slug lines. We worry about getting it wrong, because we’re professionals. Or at least we want our scripts to make us look that way.
A little knowledge about how the pros use shot headings will go [...]
Posted on July 26, 2008 in Screenplay Format | 2 Comments
by David Trottier
There has been a lot of talk lately about the new spec formatting style. Throughout the 1990s, there has been a movement toward ‘lean and clean’ screenwriting: Shorter screenplays, shorter paragraphs, shorter speeches, more white space and the omission of technical instructions. It should come as no surprise that this gradual evolution continues [...]
Posted on July 22, 2008 in Screenplay Format | No Comments
by David Trottier
Q: A Reader’s Script Formatting Question: How does a writer denote in a spec screenplay the fact that a character has a double identity and is known to individual characters under two separate identities? Example: a character is known as ‘BILL’ to one set of characters, but ‘JIM’ to another — do you [...]
Posted on July 22, 2008 in Screenplay Format | No Comments
Some great advice and free PDF on screenplay formating from the Nicholl Fellowships and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Suggest by member: Lila
…There is no absolute “standard” format used by all professional screenwriters working in the American film industry. Slight variations abound in scripts written by professionals. That said, professional scripts [...]
Posted on July 19, 2008 in Screenplay Format | No Comments
Scriptologist.com offers a great series of articles covering the basics to the more advanced areas of screenplay formating.
How to Format a Screenplay
You’ve plotted your story, developed your characters, and written a scene-by-scene outline of your story. Now you’re ready to write it in professional screenplay format. Read more…
How to Format a Screenplay: Part II
This is [...]
Posted on May 29, 2008 in Screenplay Format | 1 Comment
Hollywood loves buzzwords, and one of the latest is “vertical,” as in make your screenplays vertical. Like many buzzwords, this one is based on a fundamental truism: it is easier to read a manuscript that is “vertical” with lots of white space on the page than one that has great text density.
You know this yourself. [...]
