Here’s our penultimate episode of this formatting blog series. Hopefully you know the drill by now: While fellowship season corresponds with quarantine season, we’re breaking down formatting of library scripts to help you get the info you need for writing your spec. If we haven’t covered the show you’re spec-ing, or if you have additional, more targeted questions, please send us an e-mail at library@wgfoundation.org.
We can’t send you scripts in their entirety. We aren’t the copyright holders and we don’t have the right to distribute them beyond the physical library. We can, however, pore through the scripts and try to find you the information you need.
FAMILY GUY (FOX)
Average page count: 45
Average scene count: 35 or so
Broken into acts? Yes, 3.
Other things to consider:
There’s no teaser or tag. Each script is broken into 3 acts — all roughly 13-15 pages.
Act breaks are formatted like ACT ONE centered, bolded and underlined, then when the act is over END OF ACT ONE also centered, bolded and underlined. When the third act is over, it's END OF SHOW.
The dialogue is double-spaced and the directions are single spaced.
Generally, there’s lots of dialogue and lots of clean, white space on the page.
Also note that scene headings are in bold and if you're going to include any camera directions like ANGLE ON or WIDEN TO INCLUDE or something like that -- those are always in bold and CAPITALIZED. If you're specifying any sound effects or noises a character makes, those are also in bold.
GLOW (Netflix)
Average page count: 24-37 (average about 30)
Average scene count: 23-33
Broken into acts? No
Other things to consider:
Scripts specify a main title, GLOW TITLE CARD, on the left side of the page in bold, usually occurring at the end of the first scene, a few pages in.
Episodes are not broken into acts, but the end of each script is denoted with “END OF EPISODE” centered and underlined.
The description is specific and purposeful and packed with wrestling jargon and choreography.
KILLING EVE (BBC)
Average page count: 55
Average scene count: 50
Broken into acts? Yes, 5 plus a teaser
Other things to consider:
The scripts are written with a "roughly" one page teaser and 5 acts, but keep in mind there are no page breaks between the acts. Instead, they simply insert the start of a new act between two scene headings
The short teaser begins “PRE-TITLE” (underlined on the left-hand side) and concludes “TITLE: KILLING EVE” (not underlined), also on the left-hand side.
The acts are also called “Parts” as in PART ONE, PART TWO, etc. instead of “ACT ONE” or “ACT TWO.”
The show notes dialogue in different languages with a parenthetical.
Generally, the description is specific, detailed, funny — the more you can bring about these qualities in your spec, the better.
LAW & ORDER: SVU (NBC)
Average page count: 60
Average page count: 55
Broken into acts? Yes, 4 plus a teaser
Other things to consider:
The series has been around for years and years, however, if you're procedurally-minded, this is still a great spec to show off your procedural chops.
Each act averages around 12-15 pages.
Act breaks are formatted in the standard ACT TWO / END OF ACT TWO centered and underlined. At the end of the episode, it’s END OF EPISODE. Same goes for the teaser: TEASER / END OF TEASER.
Act outs are big on Law & Order. Most of the time before the act ends, the writers have us looking at the reaction of one of the characters, e.g. - “Off Benson” or “Off Stabler” as they have a realization. Typically there’s also a “FADE OUT” on the right-hand side before the end of the act.
The description is very efficient. Camera directions are CAPITALIZED.
MADAM SECRETARY (CBS)
Average page count: 55-58
Average scene count: 23-49
Broken into acts: Yes, 4, plus a very long teaser
Other things to consider:
Each script is broken into four acts, plus a very long teaser. The teaser is 12-15 pages on average. Act lengths vary. The later acts (acts 3 and 4) seem to be a bit shorter 5-7 pages where acts 1 and 2 are 8-11 pages.
Act breaks are formatted like "ACT ONE" centered and underlined at the top of a new page, then when the act is over it's "END OF ACT ONE" centered and underlined. ("TEASER" / "END OF TEASER") then when act four is over it's END OF EPISODE.
Like most network shows, the writing is very straightforward. There's really not a lot of description on the page. There's a lot of clean white space -- mostly dialogue.
STRANGER THINGS (Netflix)
Average page count: 53-61
Average scene count: 78-103
Broken into acts? No
Other things to consider:
All scene headings are in bold.
MAIN TITLES appears in center, bold and all caps where appropriate. (This varies greatly by episode)
When the script is over, END EPISODE appears in all caps, underlined and centered.
Character descriptions are one or two sentences. Scene descriptions and action are mostly short sentences. Specific, visceral. We hear a lot of sounds like CRASH and BOOM and BANG and these appear in all caps to draw attention.
Occasionally action or dialogue is underlined for emphasis too.
Flashbacks or flash cuts to earlier episodes appear in italics.