My Films

Module 3 · Lesson 1 of 6

Read a screenplay page and know its four parts.

A screenplay is a film’s script: what we see, and exactly what is said. Every page uses the same four parts.

The steps

The four parts

  1. First, the scene heading. It says inside or outside, the place, and day or night.

    It starts with INT. or EXT.: INT. means inside and EXT. means outside. It’s all in capitals, like INT. ROSE’S KITCHEN - NIGHT.

  2. Second, the action lines: what we see. Who is there, and what they do.

    They’re written as it happens: “She sits,” not “She sat.”

  3. Third, the character’s name, in capital letters, above what they say.

    The first time someone appears in the action lines, their name is in capitals too, often with their age: ROSE (70s).

  4. Fourth, the dialogue under the name: exactly what they say, word for word.

How long a page runs

  1. One page of script is about one minute of film.

  2. A first film is half a page to one page.

    The sample below is about a third of a page: around 20 seconds of film.

Find the four parts

  1. Read the sample page below, slowly, from top to bottom.

  2. Point to the scene heading, one action line, one character’s name and one line of dialogue.

  3. See the word (quietly) above Rose’s last line? That tells the voice how to say it. Lesson 3 covers it.

Sample screenplay page

INT. ROSE’S KITCHEN - NIGHT

A pot boils over on the stove. ROSE (70s) sits at the table and doesn’t move. A torn envelope lies in front of her.

Her grandson MARCUS (20s) walks in, still in his work jacket. He sees the envelope and stops.

MARCUS
You opened my mail.

ROSE
It came to my house.

MARCUS
Grandma, I can explain.

ROSE
(quietly)
Then sit down. Start with the part you hid.

Marcus stays standing.

Do this now

Read the sample page and point to each of the four parts.

Check yourself

  • Can you point to the scene heading?
  • Can you tell the lines that say what we see from the lines people say?
  • Do you know about how long one page of script runs?

If any answer is no, go back over the steps, or look below.

Stuck?

All the capital letters confuse me.
Capitals mark three things: the scene heading, the name above a line, and a character the first time we meet them. Everything else is normal writing.
I don’t know if my scene is inside or outside.
Ask where the camera stands. In a room, a car or a church, it’s INT. On a porch, a street or a field, it’s EXT.
Do I need special software to write a script?
No. The script page in lesson 5 works on any phone. Write the four parts the way the sample shows them, with an empty line between each one.

Still stuck? Email info@bookwriter.vip and say which lesson you’re on. A person reads every message and writes back.