I was showing a draft of my script to a friend and he made mention that it looked great from what he has seen formatting wise. However, he made note that compared to what he has seen, I did not have my scenes titled as Scene 1, 2, or 3, ect. Is it expected to do thus today in the industry or is this just writer's/director's preference? I have seen many scripts that do not do this but I will also admit those scripts are a few years old or older. Thoughts?
Screenwriting : A question about scripts... by Christopher Poet
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That’s for producers. Line producers when you start to work up the script, schedule and budget.
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What does your friend do, in that they normally see numbered scenes? Assuming you're writing a spec script, you shouldn't number your scenes.
Christopher, don't worry about numbering scenes. We're doing Spec Scripts. That's all that matters. Just focus on Act 1, 2, and 3. And they don't even have to be listed on the script as long as you know where they are. Beginning, Conflict, Resolution. The BIG Three.
Pierre Langenegger The script my friend compared mine to was one written by his parents for a production they have going on. And on their scripts, each scene was titled Scene 1, 2, 3 ect.
John & Jamie Than I assume this is not something I need to be concerned with when writing my own scripts?
Not going to lie, I am not sure what you mean by spec script but I will look that up. If it helps, I am doing a set of scripts for a 10 episode web series.
William Gunn Ah okay thanks.
Dan Guardino Thank you for the info. That helps a lot.
I finished my first pilot for TV using Final Draft and the format did not include scene numbers. I specified for "TV." Should I be concerned? Dan Guardino
Marsha M. Nelson Hay I have the same issue kinda. Only rather Page 1 is the only page missing a page number. No idea how to fix it. Did you by chance check the page setup options to tell it to number your pages?
Dan Guardino Hum, now that I did not know. Is there a reason behind this?
Wow, I did not notice that. Final Draft automatically formatted it and numbered it. This is my first time using Final Draft so I'm going to check out some Youtube videos on how to use it lol
Christopher Poet
Production, Scene Numbers, select the Remove Scene Numbers radio button.
It's an original work not a spec. I'm going to pitch it as a limited series for a TV show or possibly to the streaming services Dan Guardino
For television, you do number acts. A tv pilot usually has a teaser and then acts 1-4 or 5. A TV movie of the week (like Lifetime) follows a fairly specific formula of 7 acts. A feature script does not have numbered acts.
Dan, I've had this "spec vs original material debate" a number of times on other sites. Writing tv pilots/episodes/specs seems to be more popular right now than writing feature lengths but for some reason, a lot of the newer writers seem to think writing a sample episode of an existing tv show is what constitutes a spec and when I try to correct them they'll argue 'til their blue in the face, that they're not writing a feature, they're writing a spec. I guess it's another example of terminology taking on new meaning over time.
Hey Christopher, Scene numbering is not necessary for the development or pitching stage. This is a function of production mainly and for later down the development stage when the scene numbers are important to compare the script with the shooting schedule, for example. It can be helpful in conversations with readers to be able to reference the scene number (vs. the page number) but it's certainly not critical. Good luck!
I prefer Fade-In Software over Final Draft. To me it's more user friendly. I know that's a cliche' now, but in this case it's true.
Does anyone else use a software called Celtx?
How good is that quality wise?
I've looked up script examples online and Celtx seems to use the same format of most scripts that have already been produced.
Reading through already produced scripts also helped me with a lot of my formatting issues over the years. I am also very fond of Googling scripts for some of my favorite TV shows and movies.
https://sites.google.com/site/tvwriting
Replying late. You don't need to worry about scene numbers in prospective scripts for features but you do want to use the same format a show uses if you find yourself in a situation where you are asked to write a spec (prospective in short) for an existing TV show as an example. These are usually available on request. Big shows, you can google and find the pdfs. But even then, just stick to the format and someone else will add the numbers.
Celtx.com is not software. It's an online production forum and it's free. I've used it a few times when we have a working project where you need to share notes with multiple crew members. It's not intended for writing from scratch. My opinion is to invest in Final Draft if you can afford it. You can get an older version on ebay for less.
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hmmmm thanks for the info. I have downloaded the scriptwriting software years ago from celtx.com. However, they may not offer it any longer. It is a scriptwriting program though. I have been using it to write scripts offline for years.
I guess it'll have to do until I can afford to invest in Final Draft.
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Okay, thanks. Not aware that celtx had a software. I guess it doesn't really matter how you get the script written, right? As long as it's in the proper format. 20 years ago I used Word and formatted it myself as I went. Big hassle, but it worked.
Correct. Support for disc-based Celtx evaporated years ago. But, it just so happens I can pull a link to a free Windows download from my magic hat: https://celtx.en.softonic.com/