You’ve got the idea. It’s brilliant. Maybe it’s a high-octane heist or a quiet indie drama about a cat that talks back. But then you sit down to write and realize your Word document looks like a grocery list rather than a Hollywood script. You start hunting for a screenplay format example pdf because, honestly, the industry is weirdly obsessed with where you put your margins. It’s not just about being "neat." It’s about a universal language that tells a producer exactly how long your movie is going to be.
One page equals one minute. That’s the golden rule.
If your formatting is off, your timing is off. If your timing is off, your budget is wrong. If your budget is wrong, your script is going in the trash before anyone even reads the first line of snappy dialogue. It sounds harsh, but that's the reality of the gatekeepers at major agencies like CAA or WME. They can smell an amateur from the font choice alone.
Why Everyone Sucks at Finding a Good screenplay format example pdf
Most people just Google a template and download the first thing they see. Big mistake. Half of those "examples" are student projects from 2004 or, worse, transcriptions. A transcription is what someone writes after the movie is finished. It’s not a screenplay. It’s a report.
You need a spec script.
A real screenplay format example pdf should show you the "spec" style—the version you write when you're trying to sell the damn thing. It shouldn't have camera angles like "ZOOM IN" or "ANGLE ON." Why? Because you aren't the director. Not yet, anyway. If you start telling the director where to put the camera in your script, they’re gonna get annoyed. Your job is to describe the story, not the lens millimeter.
Take a look at the scripts hosted by sites like ScriptSlug or Go Into The Story. When you open a PDF of a script like Michael Clayton by Tony Gilroy or Lady Bird by Greta Gerwig, you notice something immediately. White space. Lots of it. If your page looks like a dense wall of text, you’re doing it wrong. Readers in Hollywood "skim-read" first. If they see huge paragraphs of description, their eyes glaze over.
The Anatomy of the Page
Let's get into the weeds for a second. Every legitimate screenplay format example pdf is going to use 12-point Courier font. Always. Don't use Times New Roman. Don't use Arial. Don't even think about Comic Sans unless you want to be blacklisted. Courier is a monospaced font, which means every letter takes up the same amount of horizontal space. This is how the "one page equals one minute" math actually works.
Then there are the margins. Your left margin needs to be 1.5 inches. This is a leftover habit from the days when scripts were physically hole-punched and put into brass fasteners (brads). The extra half-inch keeps the text from disappearing into the binding. Your right margin is about an inch, and the top and bottom are an inch.
Scene Headings are Your Best Friends
You might know them as "sluglines." They look like this:
INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY
Simple. Direct. You need three things: Interior or Exterior (INT. or EXT.), the location, and the time of day. If you’re looking at a screenplay format example pdf and the sluglines are all flowery and descriptive, close the file. It’s garbage. You don't need "INT. THE SMOKY, DARK ROOM WHERE DREAMS GO TO DIE - LATE AT NIGHT." Just write "INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT." Use the action lines below it to tell us it’s smoky and dark.
Action Lines and the Art of the "Three-Line Rule"
Expert writers like Walter Hill (who wrote Alien) are masters of the "vertical" style. They keep action lines short. Punchy.
- John enters.
- He sees the mess.
- He sighs.
If you look at a professional screenplay format example pdf, you'll rarely see an action paragraph longer than four or five lines. If it’s longer, break it up. Give the reader's eyes a break. You're directing the reader's mind. Each new paragraph of action is basically a new shot. It creates a rhythm. It’s like music.
Think about the opening of Inglourious Basterds. Quentin Tarantino is famous for his long dialogues, but his action lines are incredibly specific. He doesn't just say "they eat." He describes the tension of the cream on the strudel. But even then, he keeps the blocks of text manageable. He wants you to keep turning the page.
Dialogue and Extensions
Dialogue is centered—well, not exactly centered, but indented about 2.2 inches from the left. The character's name is in all caps, about 3.7 inches from the left.
And then there are extensions. These are the little notes next to a character's name.
- (V.O.) means Voice Over. The character isn't in the scene, or we’re hearing their thoughts.
- (O.S.) means Off Screen. They are in the location, but the camera isn't on them.
I see people get these mixed up all the time in "amateur" screenplay format example pdf files they find on Reddit. If a character is talking from the other room, it’s (O.S.). If a narrator is telling us about their childhood while we see a montage of old photos, it’s (V.O.). Get this wrong, and you look like you don't know the basics.
Parentheticals: Use Them Sparingly or Die
A parenthetical is that little instruction in parentheses under the character's name, like (whispering) or (sarcastically).
Pro tip: Don't use them.
Okay, use them maybe once every ten pages. If the dialogue is written well, we should know it's sarcastic. Actors actually hate being told how to say their lines. If you write "(angrily)" before a line where the character says "I hate you!", you're wasting space. We get it. He's mad. Only use a parenthetical if the line needs to be delivered in a way that isn't obvious from the text. For example, if a character says "I love you" while holding a knife to someone's throat, you might want to put (coldly).
The Mystery of Transitions
"CUT TO:" used to be at the end of every scene. In a modern screenplay format example pdf, you'll notice it's mostly gone. It's implied. When you go from one slugline to another, we know we're cutting. You only need a transition if it's something special, like "MATCH CUT TO:" or "FADE OUT."
Actually, "FADE IN:" should only ever appear on the very first page, and "FADE OUT." (with a period!) should only be at the very end. If you’re fading to black every five minutes, you’re slowing down the momentum of the read.
Software is the Real Shortcut
Honestly, trying to do this in Microsoft Word is a nightmare. You’ll spend four hours fighting with tab stops and zero hours writing. If you're serious, grab a tool.
- Final Draft: The industry standard. It's expensive, but it’s what everyone uses.
- Fade In: A lot cheaper, and many pros (like Rian Johnson) swear by it.
- Celtx / Highland 2 / WriterDuet: Great for beginners and collaboration.
These programs handle the formatting for you. You just hit "Tab" for dialogue and "Enter" for action. They can even export a perfect screenplay format example pdf for you so you don't have to worry about the margins being 1.4 instead of 1.5.
Examining a Real-World Example: "The Social Network"
Look at Aaron Sorkin’s script for The Social Network. If you find that screenplay format example pdf, you’ll see he breaks some rules. He uses a lot of "..." and "--" to indicate overlapping dialogue. This is "Sorkin-style." But notice the bones are still the same. The margins are right. The font is Courier. The sluglines are clear.
He knows the rules so well he can bend them. You can't bend them until you’ve mastered the standard.
Common Mistakes That Scream "Amateur"
- Underlining things: Just don't. Use italics for emphasis if you must, but keep it rare.
- Bold in action lines: Some modern writers do this to highlight sounds or props (e.g., A GUN EXPLODES), but don't overdo it. It makes the page look messy.
- Page numbers on the first page: Page 1 shouldn't have a number. Page 2 should.
- Title pages with artwork: This isn't a book cover. A title page should be plain white with the title in the center, "Written by" under it, and your contact info in the bottom corner. That’s it. No AI-generated art of your protagonist.
Why Your "First Ten" Matter Most
In the industry, people talk about the "First Ten." These are the first ten pages of your script. Most readers will decide whether to finish your script based on those pages. If they see a single formatting error on page one—like a missing (O.S.) or a lowercase slugline—they start looking for reasons to hate the story. It sounds unfair, but they have a pile of 500 scripts to get through. They want to find a reason to stop reading.
Don't give them one.
When you download a screenplay format example pdf, use it as a ruler. Hold it up against your work. Is your character name too far to the left? Are your page numbers in the top right corner where they belong?
Specific Visual Cues
Let's talk about "Intercuts." Say you have two characters on a phone. You don't want to write a new slugline every time the camera switches people.
- Establish Location A (INT. KITCHEN - DAY).
- Establish Location B (INT. OFFICE - DAY).
- Write "INTERCUT PHONE CONVERSATION."
Now you can just write the dialogue back and forth without any more sluglines. It keeps the energy up. This is the kind of nuance you only see in a professional screenplay format example pdf.
The Wrap Up on Formatting
Format isn't there to stifle your creativity. It's there to provide a structure so your creativity can be understood by a crew of 100 people. The Cinematographer needs to see the sluglines to know where to bring the lights. The Script Supervisor needs the page numbers to keep track of the day's work. The Actor needs the character name to be distinct so they can find their lines.
🔗 Read more: Why Captain Underpants Epic Choice-o-Rama is Still the Weirdest Thing on Netflix
Actionable Next Steps
- Download three "Pro" scripts: Go to a site like The Script Lab and find the screenplay format example pdf for a movie similar to yours (e.g., if you're writing a horror, get Get Out).
- Audit your margins: If you aren't using screenwriting software, measure your PDF export. If it’s not 1.5 inches on the left, fix it.
- Kill the "We See": Search your script for the phrase "We see." Delete it. Instead of "We see a car driving down the road," just write "A car drives down the road." It’s more active and professional.
- Check your "First Ten": Read the first ten pages out loud. If an action block takes you more than five seconds to read, it’s too long. Break it up.
- Verify Font: Ensure you are using Courier or Courier Prime. No substitutions allowed.
Writing a movie is hard enough. Don't let a margin or a font choice be the reason your story never makes it to the screen. Get the format right, then get the story right.