What a Script Needs

What a script needs

Example script found online

Screenplay Elements

Scene Heading

This is a one-line description of the location and time of day of a scene, also referred to as a slugline. It should always be in capital letters.

Example: EXT. BOWLING ALLY - DAY 

this reveals that the action takes place outside The bowling ally during the daytime.

Subheader

When a new scene heading is not necessary, but some clarification needs to be made you use a subheader.  A good example is when there are a series of quick cuts between two locations, you would use the term intercut and the scene locations.

Action

The narrative description of the events of a scene which is written in the present tense. 

Character

When a character is first introduced the name should be capitalized within the action. 

For example: The car door opens and in gets out JON, a twenty-something hipster.

A character's name is always capped and always listed above their lines of dialogue. Minor characters may be listed without names, for example "TAXI DRIVER" or "CUSTOMER."

Dialogue

Lines of speech for each character. Dialogue format is used anytime a character is heard speaking, even for off-screen and voice-overs.

Transition

Transitions are film editing instructions, and generally only appear in a shooting script. Transition language includes:

• CUT TO:
• DISSOLVE TO:
• SMASH CUT:
• QUICK CUT:
• FADE TO: