Screenplay Formatting: The Complete Guide
A practical guide to screenplay format — margins, slug lines, dialogue, and transitions — for film and TV writers.
Proper screenplay format isn't pedantry — it's how readers scan 120 pages in an afternoon. This guide covers what producers and coverage readers expect in 2026.
Page layout basics
- Font: 12-point Courier (or equivalent monospace)
- Margins: ~1.5" left (for binding), 1" top/bottom, ~1" right
- Length: ~1 page ≈ 1 minute of screen time (feature baseline)
Core elements
Scene headings (slug lines)
Always ALL CAPS: INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY
Action lines
Present tense, visual, economical. One paragraph = one beat of filmable action when possible.
Character cues
Centered above dialogue, ALL CAPS on first introduction.
Dialogue
Centered block under character name. Parentheticals sparingly.
Transitions
Use CUT TO: only when the cut itself is story-relevant; otherwise omit.
TV vs feature
Episodic scripts add act breaks, teaser/cold open tags, and sometimes dual dialogue columns. Narratiq supports short-form and series metadata natively.
Write in Fountain
Fountain is a plain-text markup format — version-control friendly and human-readable. Narratiq's editor compiles Fountain to industry PDF layout automatically.
Try the Fountain editor free or read our Fountain markup guide.
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