John August

QandA

Over-editing

QandA, Words on the page

If you’re editing your own work, how do you stop yourself
from over-editing? To me, it seems like there becomes a point where the editing
is noticible in a negative way on the
screenplay.

–Zack Adcock

Editing is a big part of any writing, but it’s uniquely important in screenwriting,
where so few words have to stand for so much. The most important thing to keep
asking as you edit every word, line and scene is, "Do I need this?" or
more to put it more fully, "How important is this to the story I’m telling?" Often
whole scenes and sequences are felled this way, and it’s better (and cheaper)
to do this kind of work before you’ve spent millions of dollars to film it.

Where editing can go too far is in sacrificing tone or flavor (especially
humor) in service of story efficiency. Good writing has bumps and curves, and
not everything should flow in the fastest possible way. Screenwriting is like
any art that way: deciding what is too much and what is too little, in order
to know what is just right.

Camera angles and edits

QandA, Words on the page

I’m currently banging ideas around for a script, but have
a question concerning the implementation of camera angles/shots. Should
these be written into
the first draft as you envision it in your head, or are they best left until
you write a final shooting script?

–Ross Simms

Until the movie is in theatres, there’s no such thing as a final shooting
script. During production, and even during editing, the script itself is subject
to change.

In my opinion, every draft of a script should be shootable, with the same
level of detail, clarity and professionalism. Scripts do change to a small
degree when production begins, with every scene being numbered, and a byzantine
system for keeping track of changes. But the words themselves are no more or
less specific at this stage than any other.

If a director has specific camera angles that she feels necessary to put in
the script, they get put in the script. But more often, these non-story details
are handled by storyboards or shot lists, rather than the screenplay itself.

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!

Television ideas

QandA, Television

I want to know how hard it is for an unknown writer to get a television show
idea produced.

–Matthew Pizana

Almost impossible.

"Almost" is the key word here, because it could potentially happen
if you were to partner up with a more experienced producer who would have the
connections and clout to get the financing (i.e studio) and the distribution
(i.e. network) to get the show made and aired.

Or, you could do it all by yourself.

Friends of mine who were not directly in the film/TV business had a very good
idea for an unusual spin on the sitcom format. Knowing that words alone wouldn’t
be able to convince someone to make the show, they went out and assembled a
cast, a crew, and shot a sample episode of the show by themselves. It turned
out fantastic. I took the finished tape around to a lot of different TV people,
and my friends got many meetings from interested buyers.

But in the end, no one bought it, and my friends were out a lot of money.

I tell you this cautionary tale not to discourage you — hard work is often
rewarded, and handsomely. But even the best ideas are very difficult to pull
off.