Screenplay question???

Question:What does a screenplay consist of? How is it designed???

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: What does a screenplay consist of? How is it designed???

Short concise information about the setting and action.

EXTERIOR - DAY - THE DOCKS

EXTERIOR - NIGHT - FULL SHOT - OFFICE COMPLEX

INTERIOR - DAY - BEDROOM

The information about who is there and what they are doing (and it should have something serious to do with the story or setting up the story or characters).

Dialog from the characters.

To keep it easy on a first draft I'd do
everything flush left but limited the
dialog to half way across the page
because after your re-write you are
going to center this with the
character name on top in CAPS

JOHN Listen to this!

JIM (grinning) I'm all ears.

You're going to line feed so it is like this

JOHN

Listen to this!

JIM
(grinning)

I'm all ears...

And then center that dialog in the middle of the page.

All your SHOTS SCECENE and instructions stay left flush

Everything must have a puropose.

You must have a plot

One or more sub plots

You must establish people and things
Build slowly on that plot
Reach a high point
And resolve it.

Try and do it in about 100 pages

There are dozens of screenplay writing books; in fact you don't need to buy a book; google "screenplay writing format". You'll get your answers right there.

A screenplay script answers this three questiones all the time of a play: Whos on the stage? (Changes only) What are they doing? and What are they saying.

Take this for an example:
Act 1
Scene: The living room: a sofa with a tv.
Scene 1: Lisa sitts in the sofa w Daniel. Theyre watching a comedy film on the tv. (Noise from the tv)
Lisa: Did you have fun last evening?
Daniel: Hm
Lisa: And?
Daniel And what?
Lisa: And what did you do?
Daniel: I kissed your sister.
Lisa (Surprised): What?

And so on. Johan