Month: April 2013

  • Screenwriting – Dialogue – Spacing

    Think in terms of the tabs on your word processor rather than
    measuring from margins, etc. Dialogue begins at tab 29 and
    cuts off at tab 60. Period. That’s all there is to it.

    This information was taken from Cole/Haag’s “The Complete
    Guide To Standard Script Formats: Part I: The Screenplay.”
    You should purchase this book. It is the industry standard
    and covers just everything on which you might a question.

    Producers, readers, actors, directors, etc. aren’t so much
    concerned about spacing as the screenwriter is. There must
    be some semblance of order on the page so that it is easy for
    others to read. So, dialogue is placed in the middle of the page
    for easy access. No one will take out a tape and measure
    distances. They measure with their eyes, like what looks right
    and what doesn’t look right. Whatever doesn’t look right can
    throw them off and cause the screenwriter to lose credibility,
    not only in spacing, but the writing as well.

    I hope this is of help to you.

    Best Regards,

    Donald L. Vasicek
    Olympus Films+, LLC
    The Zen of Writing (Screenwriting)
    http://michaelc.nextmp.net/wordpress
    dvasicek@earthlink.net