#SLUGLINE TITLE PAGE HOW TO#
#SLUGLINE TITLE PAGE SOFTWARE#

Filmscript uses a special paragraph setting ( that is called automatically following a character cue. Immediately following the name of the character is the spoken dialogue, which is also set in the center-right part of the page. In the “Hollywood Standard” version of Filmscript, I’ve adjusted the margin to 2.7 inches inside the left margin. It has two primary elements, a character cue telling us which character is speaking, followed by the line (or lines) spoken.Ĭharacter cues are entered in Filmscript using a single hashtag ( #). In the action of our sample script, a second character enters and the main character speaks to him, beginning a chain of dialogue.ĭialogue appears near the center of the page, usually just off-center to the right. Filmscript uses the default paragraph setting for action, so we don’t need to use any tags or make any adjustments. Paragraphs in this element are where you do most of your storytelling and set up lines of dialogue. A character appears in the scene and does something, something happens that moves the story forward, or details are given describing character and/or place. The next element is for action, also referred to as description. If you find a scene starting at the bottom of a page, you can use the divider tag, four consecutive dashes -) on an empty line, to skip ahead to the next page. Open the export preview next to your editor to compare your individual pages. Using the Filmscript style, this setting is entered with two hashtags ( #), and it can start on any line of the page, with the exception that you should remember not to start a new scene on the last two lines of a page. or EXT.), along with a brief description of the scene setting and the time of day (usually either “DAY” or “NIGHT”, but more specific descriptors such as “DAWN” and “DUSK” are also fine). This is a single line set on the left margin indicating interior or exterior (INT. We’ll use this as a reference as we work through the adjustments to Filmscript so you can see how the final document should look with proper screenplay formatting.Īt the top of the sample screenplay page, you’ll find a scene heading or a slug line. We’ll be using some new settings as well in order to bring Filmscript into alignment with industry standards based on the recommendations found at .īelow, you’ll find a sample screenplay page that contains the essential elements of a spec script. Because the settings for headers are additive in CSS and ULSS, that adjustment will affect the margins set using these headers, so we’ll need to compensate for the differences. In the first article, we adjusted the overall document settings to bring them inline with the Hollywood standard. When you export your document, these settings are translated into your final document. Here you’ll find settings for the six headings common to all Ulysses styles which are called in your writing sheet using a corresponding number of hashtags ( #, #, # …). Once you have Filmscript open, scroll down inside the style sheet to the section marked “Headers”. To begin, let’s again open the Filmscript style sheet in an editor using the procedure from the first article. Rather than relying on the app to plot the course for you, Ulysses’ tags can give you that same agility using only a few quick keystrokes, making formatting effortless as you write, but also giving you more direct control over the implementation of these settings. In Ulysses, we can accomplish the essential function of moving quickly between formatting elements from within the writing environment by using markup tags. When an app tries to guess your next move, for instance, but guesses wrong, you might find yourself having to use the touchscreen to select from a scroll down menu to get to the next setting - definitely an interruption to the writing flow. But even in these dedicated screenwriting apps, certain issues are commonplace.

These days, dedicated screenwriting apps try to do much of this work for you, and charge a premium for that convenience.

#SLUGLINE TITLE PAGE SOFTWARE#

Even as technology has advanced, the process is still rather technical in writing software such as Microsoft Word or Apple Pages, which mimic the tab structure used with mechanical typesets. In the early days of cinema, this was accomplished by setting multiple tabs on a typewriter.

#SLUGLINE TITLE PAGE HOW TO#

Welcome to the second part of our blog series! Today, you’ll learn about the use of margins and page numbers in screenplay formatting, and how to adjust these settings in an export style.īeyond basic page settings, formatting a screenplay involves a fairly intricate system of margin settings that place the elements of a script, the action, dialogue, transitions, etc., in predictable locations on the page.

Slugline title page