Presenting your film or television script to a studio, producer, director or agent in standard screenplay format can mean the difference between a pass and a sale. Improper format is the mark of the amateur – and screenwriting software is only the beginning. If you don’t know how to arrange the information in a shot heading, what to include in parenthetical character direction or how to set up an intercut telephone conversation, a movie or television script typed with even the best screenwriting software can still brand you an amateur. Use these valuable tools to help you present your television or movie script in professional, standard script format.

Submit a script format question to Hollywood’s foremost authority on screenplay and teleplay formats, Christopher Riley, the author of The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style, coming March 2005 from Michael Wiese Productions .

Consult the screenplay format archive for answers to past script format questions.

Download sample television and movie scripts in standard screenplay format and see how it’s done.