I think the worst I’ve seen, though, was a wannabe screenwriter who cut out movie stars’ faces from People magazine and taped them throughout her script, so I’d know how she thought her production should be cast. Quirky fonts like Boopee, Sybil Green, Narkism, and Rockwell Extra Bold.There are no headers or footers with the exception of page numbers placed in the upper right-hand corner.Īlthough this set up is clearly among the easiest steps associated with screenplay formatting, you’d be surprised how many newbies ignore them and commit the following sins: Your screenplay pages should be printed in black ink on one side of 8 1/2 x 11-inch white bond paper, with 1-inch margins on the top, right, and bottom sides and a 1.5-inch margin on the left. Even if you can’t afford snazzy screenwriting software like Final Draft, there are enough Internet resources, books, and downloadable free scripts to make the projects you submit to contests, agents, and prospective producers look as professional as possible. To compete successfully in this market, there’s no excuse for improvisational layouts.
Many of them are penned by writers, of all ages and skill levels, who have decided to write a movie based on the misconception that it must be pretty easy because (1) even mind-numbingly horrid stuff gets made and (2) the stuff that’s great always looks so flawless.įor every plot with a faint glimmer of originality and promise, however, there are just as many more that get rejected from the first page because their authors either didn’t bother to learn the basics of proper formatting or-to paraphrase the inimitable Captain Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean-assumed that industry standards are more like guidelines than actual rules. In my work as a film industry consultant, hundreds of scripts cross my desk annually. Contrary to popular belief, however, being a nonconformist, when it comes to presentation, isn’t a smart course to follow if your product is a screenplay you’re hoping to sell. “Rules are meant to be broken” is an axiom often used by entrepreneurs, politicians, and fashionistas as justification for bending traditional practices to fit an alternative vision.
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