Formatting Issues

Status
Not open for further replies.

rinks

And make sure your formatting guidelines are up-to-date.
I ran into problems with my last script using questionable formatting. I sent it to a Script Service to proof for grammar and formatting and whatnot and was amazed at the number of errors I had overlooked in the script. Places where VO and OS were used incorrectly, errant camera directions, etc. Unbeknownst to me, the default margins for my script were set incorrectly- the top page was to high, the bottom was to low. This can have an effect on the page count and looks like "cheating".

Consult the latest books if you've got questions as to usage. I would also have to say that it's well worth it to pay the 75 bucks to have a script service look it over. They can catch a lot of things you miss. The one I used was www.hybridscript.com, and they were great.
 

Jamesaritchie

All camera directions are errant for a script you're trying to sell. Best to leave them out completely. Anything to do with the camera is the director's baliwick.
 

mammamaia

i can't see paying a service to do what anyone pursuing a career in a specialized craft like screenwriting needs to learn from the git-go... there's no easy way to become a master of any art form... too many substitute paying others for doing the work themselves and too many make fortunes on all who do!... imo, no one should call themselves a screenwriter or a novelist or whatever, if they can't do all the work on their own--the boring scut work, as well as the 'fun' stuff like writing scenes and dialog...

sorry to run on like that, but i deal with amateurs/beginners all day, every day, and it's such a pain to see how many of them think just anyone can be a writer and if they can't do part of the job well enough, well, they'll just pay someone to do it for them... that's not being a writer... it's being a dilettante wannabe... lecture over:ssh ...

james is on target with "NO" camera directions, vs 'errant' ones...

hugs, maia
 
Status
Not open for further replies.