Watch the short scene from the beginning of Legend. Write (and the type) a minute and a half of the screenplay using the correct conventions.
Next, read the original screenplay and see how close yours is.
Elements of a screenplay.
The first formatting element is the scene heading – also dubbed the slug line. Screenplays written in the master scene format are broken into scenes not cuts. The scene headings are written in all caps, as well as INT or EXT for Interior or exterior. This is followed by the name of the location and a designation of day or night.
The next element is action. This should describe action that can be seen or heard. Sounds Effects that are important to the story but are heard off screen need to be in ALL-CAPS.
Next we have Character name. This has it’s own line in ALL caps. A character who is off screen or speaking in voiceover should be designated by O.S. or V.O.
Parentheticals provide context or instruction for the dialogue delivery. These should be used sparingly so as not to reduce the readability of the script.
Next, dialogue blocks are offset from everything else and centered on the page. Parallel dialogue (overlapping dialogue) is written in side-by-side blocks.
The final element is the scene transition. These should be used sparingly as well. Readability is key!
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