[PRE-PRODUCTION] Screen Writing - Scripting Conventions

Although I have finished the base of my story in the form of a script, I want to explain how I came to write my script and the research I did in order to create it. I learnt script writing while studying at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology, and now ironically enough, I teach script writing at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology.

While teaching how to write a script with my students, I ask them to create an example script and to include all of the following;

• Scene heading; A description of the location, time of the day and whether it's indoors or outdoors, usually in once sentence.
• Action; A description of any action or events that will appear on the screen.
• Characters first appearance; A description of the character that has first appeared on screen.
• Character; The characters name which always appears above the dialogue to show who is actually speaking.
• Dialogue; The lines of speech that the character is saying.
• Transition; Any form of editing instruction.
• Sub Header; A less detailed description of the location, time of day and whether it's indoors or outdoors, used when a longer heading is not needed.
• Parenthetical; A description of the action or attitude of the character.
• Extension; A description on how the voice will be heared by the audience.
• More & Continues; 'Mores' and 'continues' are used when the dialogue is spilling over to the next page, this is used to indicate the same character is speaking.
• Page Number; The page number which is located in the top right of the page.
• Intercut; Quick cuts between two scene locations.

Although every script does not need these, I think it's good to know what each of them are and what they do in the script.

Example of a script from 1928, Mickey Mouse - Steamboat Willie

Example of a script from 2010, Adventure Time - It Came from the Nightosphere