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Foundations of Screenwriting: Script & Screenplay Formatting
Rating: 4.2 out of 5(36 ratings)
3,984 students

Foundations of Screenwriting: Script & Screenplay Formatting

Learn how to format your screenplay in the Hollywood Standard. Be taken serious by studio executives, producers & agents
Created byIFH Courses, Geoffrey D Calhoun
Last updated 8/2021
English
English [Auto],

What you'll learn

  • Learn How to Format Feature Films in the Hollywood Standard
  • Televison Formatting
  • How to get an agent or manager
  • How to Copyright your screenplay

Course content

1 section • 16 lectures • 5h 32m total length

  • Introduction1:44

    Master the essentials of screenplay formatting and adopt a proven system to craft professional scripts from pre concept development to last minute rewrites, with expert guidance.

  • What is Format?4:10

    Master screenplay format to ensure readability and theater of the mind, covering industry-standard rules, punctuation, establishing shots, bold slug lines, and the 12-point Courier title-page tradition.

  • The Title Page3:57

    Maintain a plain, standard font title page free of top text, pictures, art, or disclaimers, with only one email and one phone number, and understand ampersand versus and for co-writers.

  • Basic Formatting7:35

    Master basic screenplay formatting, from clean sluglines and fade in/out to concise action, off-screen cues, and punctuation like ellipses and m dashes; software options include Final Draft and Movie Magic.

  • Advanced Formatting8:50

    Master advanced formatting for screenplays, using primary and secondary scene headers, series of shots, and montages; apply visual subtext, inserts, flashbacks, and intercuts for clarity.

  • Multi-Camera Television Format5:13

    Discover multicam television formatting, a live studio audience format using multiple cameras, underline conventions, capitalized action, and camera directions to support rapid dialogue rewrites, cold opens, and act breaks.

  • Single Camera Television Format4:30

    Explore single camera television formatting for one-hour dramas, including serial and procedural structures, act breaks and teasers, and network versus cable and streaming differences in screenplay formatting.

  • Formatting Tips and Tricks8:37

    Master formatting tips for screenplays, including multicam vs single cam, title pages, and life rights considerations. Write in active, concise action; avoid cut to; compare shooting and spec script formatting.

  • Split Screen Formatting4:36

    Master split screen formatting as a camera direction, denoting it in action lines or parentheses. Learn when to use it in shooting scripts and how dual dialogue handles simultaneous dialogue.

  • Documentary Format3:06

    Explore documentary script formatting with multi-column layouts for visual and audio, including narration, sound effects, and music cues, emphasizing shots through camera directions and templates.

  • How to Properly Copyright Your Screenplay3:33

    Copyright your screenplay through the U.S. copyright system to own the rights and avoid costly legal battles; avoid WG registration myths and protect against plagiarism.

  • Agents and Managers7:59

    Navigate agents versus managers to advance your screenwriting career; learn commissions, roles, and protections, including entertainment lawyer review, to avoid predatory practices and maximize outcomes.

  • Scriptments4:33

    Understand how a scriptment blends treatment and screenplay in prose, mapping from logline and synopsis to a five-to-ten page treatment, with worldbuilding and camera directions.

  • Bulletproof Screenwriting Interview with Geoffrey D. Calhoun1:12:36

    Explore the foundations of screenwriting and script formatting, including structure, loglines, and high versus low concept. Use mind mapping to craft marketable, character-driven stories and paths to getting work read.

  • Bulletproof Screenwriting Interview with Karl Iglesias1:14:16

    Explore how to craft emotional impact through theme and visual storytelling, keep a sea of white space, economy of words, and sharpen scene, subtext, and dialogue.

  • Bulletproof Screenwriting Interview with John Truby1:57:19

    John Truby explains that professional screenwriting hinges on mastering plot: a clear desire line, relentless opposition, and narrative drive, with theme woven through a strong main character across genres.

Requirements

  • Basic knowledge of movies

Description

Join over 60,000 students learning from our courses!

You want to write a screenplay but have no idea how to properly format it for Hollywood to be taken seriously. Well, this course is for you. This comprehensive formatting course will show you how to properly format a Hollywood Screenplay for film, television and streaming. Taught by best-selling author and screenwriter Geoffrey D. Calhoun.

We’ll cover:

  • What is Formatting?

  • The Title Page

  • Basic Formatting

  • Advanced Formatting

  • 30 Min Multi-cam TV Formatting

  • Single Camera TV Formatting

  • Formatting the 1hr Drama

  • Formatting Tips and Tricks

  • Split Screen Formatting

  • Documentary Formatting

  • How to Copyright Your Script?

  • Agents and Managers

  • Scriptments

  • Bonus: Bulletproof Screenwriting Interview with Geoffrey Calhoun

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What people are saying about our other courses: 

THIS COURSE IS AMAZING!!! I'm learning SO FREAKIN MUCH from it, and it's totally blowing my mind. Thanks so much to Gil and Alex for putting this course together. I'm a director working on my first horror film, which has a bit of action in it, and this course is totally giving me rocket boots. If you have more courses from Gil, please let me know and TAKE MY MONEY! - Colby R Rice

Excellent content. But you'd better pay attention or you will miss something. This course is packed with loads or useful and well explained stuff. - Mr Mick Farmer

Instructor is clearly in command of craft and engages with questions, simple explanations and familiar examples. Video and audio are excellent. - Bill Halford

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About your instructor:

Geoffrey D. Calhoun is a multi-award-winning screenwriter and is sought out as a script consultant and a re-writer for various stages of development and production. He is the director of the Script Summit Screenplay Contest which is listed as one of the biggest Screenplay Competitions by The Script Lab.

He is known for his fast-paced thrillers but has also won awards for comedies and dramas. In 2017 Geoffrey was listed as a Top 100 Indie Writers in the World. He believes everyone is a writer at heart and has dedicated himself to help others learn the craft. His courses are designed to break down the mysteries of screenwriting by using easy to follow templates, outlines, and modern popular films as examples.

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So what are you waiting for? Whether you are fresh out of film school, a screenwriter who wants to create his/her own content or just someone who wants to make a feature film this course is for you. Join over 60,000 students that have already taken IFH filmmaking and screenwriting courses. 

If you've got the dream.

If you've got the drive.

If you've got the passion - but you're missing the knowledge and experience...this course will help you take your screenwriting dream to the next level.

Enroll NOW and learn how to format your screenplay for Hollywood! Let's get started!


Who this course is for:

  • Screenwriters
  • Filmmaker
  • Video Creators

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