Editing Screenplay (section)

== Screenplay formats ==
Screenplays and teleplays use a set of standardizations, beginning with proper formatting. These rules are in part to serve the practical purpose of making scripts uniformly readable [[blueprint]]s of movies, and also to serve as a way of distinguishing a professional from an amateur.

===Feature film===
[[File:The Godfather Screenplay.JPG|thumb|Screenplay for the 1974 film ''[[The Godfather Part II]]'', written by [[Francis Ford Coppola]] and [[Mario Puzo]], held at the [[National Museum of Cinema]] in Italy]]
Motion picture screenplays intended for submission to mainstream studios, whether in the US or elsewhere in the world, are expected to conform to a standard [[typographical]] style known widely as the ''studio format'' which stipulates how elements of the screenplay such as scene headings, action, transitions, dialogue, character names, shots and parenthetical matter should be presented on the page, as well as font size and line spacing.

One reason for this is that, when rendered in studio format, most screenplays will transfer onto the screen at the rate of approximately one page per minute. This rule of thumb is widely contested &mdash; a page of dialogue usually occupies less screen time than a page of action, for example, and it depends enormously on the literary style of the writer &mdash; and yet it continues to hold sway in modern [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]].

There is no single standard for studio format. Some studios have definitions of the required format written into the rubric of their writer's contract. The [[Nicholl Fellowship]], a screenwriting competition run under the auspices of the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]], has a guide to screenplay format.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080822084909/http://www.oscars.org/nicholl/format.html Guide to screenplay format] from the website of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences</ref> A more detailed reference is ''The Complete Guide to Standard Script Formats''.<ref>''The Complete Guide to Standard Script Formats'' (2002) Cole and Haag, SCB Distributors, {{ISBN|0-929583-00-0}}.</ref>

==== Speculative screenplay ====
A [[speculative screenplay]] or "spec script" is a script written to be sold on the open market with no upfront payment, or promise of payment. The content is usually invented solely by the screenwriter, though spec screenplays can also be based on established works or real people and events.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://actfourscreenplays.com/glossary/spec-script/|title=Spec Script|date=29 July 2010 |publisher=Act Four Screenplays|access-date=August 10, 2012}}</ref>

===Television===
For American TV shows, the format rules for hour-long dramas and [[Single-camera setup|single-camera]] sitcoms are essentially the same as for motion pictures. The main difference is that TV scripts have act breaks.  [[Multiple-camera setup|Multi-camera]] sitcoms use a different, specialized format that derives from stage plays and radio. In this format, dialogue is double-spaced, action lines are capitalized, and scene headings, character entrances and exits, and sound effects are capitalized and underlined.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Drama series and sitcoms are no longer the only formats that require the skills of a writer. With reality-based programming crossing genres to create various hybrid programs, many of the so-called "reality" programs are in a large part scripted in format. That is, the overall skeleton of the show and its episodes are written to dictate the content and direction of the program. The Writers Guild of America has identified this as a legitimate writer's medium, so much so that they have lobbied to impose jurisdiction over writers and producers who "format" reality-based productions. Creating reality show formats involves storytelling structure similar to screenwriting, but much more condensed and boiled down to specific plot points or actions related to the overall concept and story.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

===Documentaries===
The script format for documentaries and audio-visual presentations which consist largely of voice-over matched to still or moving pictures is different again and uses a two-column format which can be particularly difficult to achieve in standard word processors, at least when it comes to editing or rewriting. Many script-editing software programs include templates for documentary formats.