I taught a screenwriting class the other day. It was a part of a general film making course, and in the scope of my job as a guest lecturer, I was asked to "judge" and provide feedback on scripts the participants had written. The ask was a short script with no dialogue. Any genre.
And since it was early days, a beginner's course, and these participants weren't really there for just the screenwriting aspect, the formatting for most scripts was not ideal (and definitely not standardised). If you're just starting out or if you're thinking about maybe taking up filmmaking as a hobby, you're not going to invest in Final Draft, and that is perfectly okay. It was my job to show them the basics anyway.
Most of the scripts were really good, formatting issues aside.
But then. Then, there was this piece. It was heartfelt, it spoke to an issue that the writer had clearly lived with personally, and it was artistically so impressive that I gave my recommendation to have it produced in the course (that's the goal with these scripts: one gets picked for production), even though other scripts had been formatted correctly.
The story was so gripping, the visuals were so strong, and the background was clearly so deeply personal and emotionally charged that I could not help but push this piece.
It was written in comic sans in a word document. I did not care one bit. Could not give a flying youknowwhat.
Now. I will stress that this does NOT work for any other scenario. It works for a beginner's course that's not centered around screenwriting. It certainly does not work in the "real" industry or Hollywood or anywhere else. An exec won't read your work if it's presented in crayon, no matter how good it is.
But what struck me was that a good story can be born from anywhere. And if she had added the proper formatting on top of it, my goodness, I would have jumped out of my seat.
Formatting can be learned. The rules can be learned. Heck, softwares do it for us now anyway.
But what this writer delivered is something more than what can be taught. She put a piece of her very soul into that word doc, into those comic sans words. And it reminded me that this is what good writing does. Format be damned.
(Again: do not do this. Format it properly. But remember the core of your writing is heart. The format is the packaging it needs to be in).
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Ronika Merl Thank you for this.
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I think formatting is big, Ronika Merl, and I usually stick to regular formatting, but playing around with it can make a script stand out and impress producers, directors, etc. That's been my experience. But ultimately, it's about the story and how well the script is written.
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Formatting properly is part of being considerate of the reader Ronika Merl. And you're right, FD does most of it now anyway so that we can focus on flowing.
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How can you judge a script's formatting if there is no dialogue? Which means no Character settings. No Parentheticals. Just paragraphs of writing. I like, many professionals, find it nearly impossible to read a 'script' that does not conform to traditional formatting.
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This gives me hope lol I’m still learning how to properly format and let go of my novelist habits but you’re right, the story should shine through no matter what so good on that writer! My first time screenwriting I didn’t know there was dedicated software so I wrote it on OpenOffice with a very bare bones understanding of how it should look. I was told it was hard to read because it was obvious I was new to it and didn’t use designated software (I was also told there was no right or wrong way to write a screenplay which only helped a little bit lol). One day I might invest in FinalDraft but so far Trelby is working pretty well for me, and I’m slowly getting better at writing like a proper screenwriter lol
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Ronika Merl Good stories overcome everything
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Jim Fisher The formatting can still conform to normal screenwriting standards, even if there is no dialogue. Slugs, action, character introductions, cuts etc. Those all exist outside of dialogue.
And yes, I agree. In a different setting (as a judge at a screenwriting festival, or when I take on script doctoring commissions, or when I am asked to give notes on a script), this would have been an absolute nightmare. But still, those two pages gripped me. I think they would have gripped me if she had submitted it in a prose format or as a short story. Or as a play, which can be formatted entirely differently again.
But yes, just to reiterate: I do not think that beginner screenwriters should disregard formatting rules. Absolutely not. I 100% agree with you that it is hard to read, and when you have 200 scripts in a slush pile to get through, you don't got no time for this.
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Banafsheh Esmailzadeh I totally get you! Very early on when I was just learning everything, I found it hard to wrap my head around it all, but once you've made the format into second nature, I find it's actually much easier to write a screenplay than any other format. At this point, I prefer it.
I was commissioned to write a play now, and finding my way back to formatting a play feels odd and unusual
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I received some notes--said it was a good story-- but structure and beats were a bit out of place. Now the thing is, apart from the best action movies, films I see don't follow these beats?
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David, there it is. The people giving you notes-have they ever made and written a full feature? Ask. And was it GOOD?