John August

Chris Csont

Formatting and software

Formatting, QandA

This is going to sound like a lazy question. What’s the easiest way to handle all of the tabs, centering, capitalization, and formatting required in a screenplay?


I know there are a lot of programs out there that supposedly “handle” all of this for the screenwriter, but there had to have been an easier procedure twenty years ago when these programs weren’t available.

–T. Baker

Update 2025: over the years, we’ve developed Highland Pro which is my preferred screenwriting software. Discover the journey from pdf utility app in 2013 to Highland Pro in 2025!

Yes. It was called a typist, a script services department, or your kind-hearted mother. Because the fact is, formatting scripts has historically been a nightmare. Even computers didn’t help much. Back when I started in 1993, the best way to format a script was through homemade style sheets in Microsoft Word. Every time I finished a script, I would need to go through page by page and check to make sure dialogue wasn’t dangling off pages. It was a giant pain in the ass.

Today we live in a Golden Age for script formatting. Since GO, I’ve been using Final Draft for the Macintosh, which not only handles all the formatting details, but also keeps track of scene numbering and production changes should you be so lucky as to need them. Like all programs, it has its quirks – it can be too helpful at times – but most of my friends seem to be using Final Draft as well.

Although I haven’t experimented with them as much, Movie Magic Screenwriter 2000 and Scriptware have their fans. All three programs are available for both Mac and PC, and all three have downloadable demos. Definitely try them out.

To answer your natural follow-up questions: why are these programs so expensive, and why do they have copy-protection? Probably because there’s a limited market of screenwriters (thus the high price), and being largely broke, screenwriters tend to pirate a lot (thus the copy protection). I’m not saying it’s right or true or fair, but I understand why it is this way.

Learn more about standard screenplay formatting here!

Ratio of pages to screen time

QandA, Words on the page

How do you (roughly) calculate the ratio of script length to screen time?
Would you use a different calculation for different genres?

–Rebecca

The very general rule is that a page in the script should equal a minute of screen time, which is one reason the industry has standardized around 12-point Courier for the font. Since most screenplays are around 120 pages, the movie should work out to be 120 minutes, or two hours, assuming every scene in the script makes it into the movie.

Of course, a page full of action would likely take longer than a minute, just as a page of rapid-fire dialogue would be a lot faster. That’s why before a movie goes into production, the script is often “timed” to estimate how long the movie will be, so the director and producers can plan accordingly.

A “script timer” is a professional reader who estimates how long each scene will play, and thus, the length of the overall movie. Generally, the script timer will take into account the director’s vision and style when timing the scenes; the David Lynch version of a scene would tend to run longer than the Michael Bay version.

Many script timers are in fact the script supervisors, who will be set during the entire production helping the director, actors and editors maintain continuity and catch mistakes. From the screenwriter’s perspective, this is one of the most important people on the set, since he or she always has the director’s ear, and will be the person correcting actors who mangle their lines.

Determining credit

Film Industry, QandA

It has always bothered me that Christopher Fry did not get more credit for the work and writing he did on BEN HUR. [The studio] brought Fry in (after Gore Vidal) to work on making the language more appropriate to the times. As you know, the Writers Guild gave Karl Tunborg the full screenplay credit for BEN HUR. What attention do you think other writers who work on a film should get?

–Gail

BEN HUR came out in 1959. It would be comforting to think that in the 40+ years since then, the process of determining who should get credit for writing a screenplay would have been perfected. Unfortunately, it’s just as controversial as ever.

Screen credits are a huge, sticky mess that pits writers against writers. In fact, there is currently a major debate within the WGA about a proposed redraft of the Screen Credits Manual, the guidebook used by every arbitration panel. If you’re curious, you can read more about the issue in “A Credit Forum” at the WGA website.

In particular, one of these changes would have probably benefited a rewriter like Christopher Fry, since it addresses how much “story” credit a screenwriter gets when incorporating elements from a novel (like BEN HUR).

I’ve been through several arbitrations, one of which got ugly. I’ve also rewritten scripts for which I haven’t sought credit. In both cases, I truly believe there needs to be some sort of “Additional Writing” credit to acknowledge writers who have contributed to the script. It’s frustrating that a screenwriter can spend six months working on a film without having his name in the final credit scroll, while the caterer’s assistant is there for the world to see.

Script formatting

Formatting, QandA

Could you please refer me to a website that gives detailed information regarding the proper format that a film script is to be written before being passed around.

–Pat Meehan

If you’re using either Highland Pro or Final Draft, you can rest assured that the standard formatting
these programs recommend is fine.

If you’re not using either of these, I suspect you’re consulting one of the many screenwriting books out there, all of which will point you in the right direction in terms of margins and spacing.

But the best advice I can give you is to do what I did: find a properly formatted script and copy it exactly. Not only will looking at real scripts show you how they’re formatted, but it will also give you a sense of how standardized the format truly is, for better or worse.

Learn more about standard screenplay formatting here!

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