ReddRadar
Agent skill
screenplay-formatting
Format screenplays to industry standard using Fountain markup for professional presentation
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/a5c-ai/babysitter/tree/main/library/specializations/domains/social-sciences-humanities/arts-culture/film-tv-production/skills/screenplay-formatting
SKILL.md
Screenplay Formatting Skill
Purpose
Format screenplays to industry standard specifications. Proper formatting demonstrates professionalism and ensures your script is taken seriously. One page equals approximately one minute of screen time.
Fountain Format
Fountain is a plain text markup syntax for screenplays that exports to industry-standard PDF.
Basic Elements
Title:
THE EXAMPLE SCREENPLAY
Credit: Written by
Author: Your Name
Draft date: January 2026
Contact:
your@email.com
123-456-7890
====
FADE IN:
INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY
Description of the scene and setting goes here.
CHARACTER NAME
Dialogue goes here.
FADE OUT.
THE END
Element Formatting
Scene Headings (Sluglines)
INT. LOCATION - TIME
EXT. LOCATION - TIME
INT./EXT. LOCATION - TIME
Components:
INT.(interior) orEXT.(exterior)- Location name in CAPS
- Time: DAY, NIGHT, CONTINUOUS, LATER, SAME, DAWN, DUSK
Examples:
INT. JOHN'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
EXT. CENTRAL PARK - CONTINUOUS
INT./EXT. MOVING CAR - DAY
Action/Description
Present tense. Active voice. Only what we see and hear.
Keep paragraphs short. Three to four lines maximum.
White space creates pace and readability.
Rules:
- Present tense always
- First appearance: CHARACTER NAME in CAPS
- Sounds in CAPS: BANG, CRASH
- No camera directions (usually)
- No internal thoughts
- 55-60 characters per line
Character Names
CHARACTER NAME
Dialogue here.
CHARACTER NAME (V.O.)
Voice over dialogue.
CHARACTER NAME (O.S.)
Off-screen dialogue.
CHARACTER NAME (CONT'D)
Continued from previous block.
Dialogue
CHARACTER
Regular dialogue goes here.
CHARACTER
(parenthetical)
Dialogue with direction.
CHARACTER
(beat)
Indicates a pause.
Parentheticals:
- Use sparingly
- For tone:
(sarcastically) - For direction:
(to John) - For action:
(standing) - NOT for every line
- NOT for obvious emotions
Transitions
CUT TO:
SMASH CUT TO:
DISSOLVE TO:
FADE TO BLACK.
FADE IN:
FADE OUT.
Note: Most scene changes are implied cuts. Use transitions sparingly.
Special Elements
> INTERCUT - LOCATION A/LOCATION B
FLASHBACK:
END FLASHBACK.
MONTAGE:
A) First image
B) Second image
C) Third image
END MONTAGE.
SUPER: "Three years later"
SERIES OF SHOTS:
A) Description
B) Description
END SERIES OF SHOTS.
Page Layout Specifications
Margins (Industry Standard)
Top margin: 1 inch
Bottom margin: 0.5-1 inch
Left margin: 1.5 inches
Right margin: 1 inch
Action: Left margin at 1.5"
Character: 3.5" from left
Parenthetical: 3" from left
Dialogue: 2.5" from left, 2" wide
Transitions: Right aligned
Font and Spacing
Font: Courier 12pt
Line spacing: Single
Between elements: Single blank line
Page Numbers
Page numbers top right
First page has no number
"1." or just "1" formats acceptable
Format by Project Type
Feature Film
- 90-120 pages typical
- Three-act structure
- No act breaks marked
- Scene numbers only for shooting scripts
TV Pilot (One-Hour Drama)
- 55-65 pages
- Act breaks marked:
END OF ACT ONE - Teaser optional
- Cold open common
TV Pilot (Half-Hour Comedy)
- 25-35 pages (single-cam)
- 40-50 pages (multi-cam, double-spaced dialogue)
- Act breaks marked
- Tags common
Short Film
- 1-40 pages
- Same formatting rules
- Tighter, more economical
Shooting Script Additions
- Scene numbers (both margins)
- Revision marks (
*in margin) - Colored pages for revisions
- Day breaks
- Page locks
Common Formatting Mistakes
Don't:
❌ We see John walk in (don't say "we see")
❌ JOHN walks in angrily (use action, not adverb)
❌ CAMERA PANS to reveal... (no camera directions)
❌ John thinks about his childhood (can't film thoughts)
❌ John (35, handsome, like Brad Pitt) (too specific casting)
Do:
✓ John enters, shoulders slumped.
✓ JOHN, 30s, weary eyes that have seen too much.
✓ A photograph on the desk catches his attention.
✓ He picks it up. His jaw tightens.
Fountain Quick Reference
# Scene Heading forces a scene heading
.FORCED ACTION LINE (note the period)
@Character Name (forces character)
~Lyrics in dialogue
/*
Block comment
*/
[[ Note to self or reader ]]
= Section heading (for organization)
== Second level heading
Title Page Template
Title: YOUR TITLE HERE
Credit: Written by
Author: Your Name
Source: Based on the novel by Author Name
Draft date: January 27, 2026
Contact:
Your Name
your@email.com
(555) 123-4567
Agent Name, Agency
Copyright: (c) 2026 Your Name
====
Quality Checklist
- Title page complete
- Scene headings consistent
- Character names capitalized on intro
- Parentheticals used sparingly
- Action in present tense
- Page count appropriate for format
- Proper Courier 12pt font
- Margins correct
- No camera directions (unless shooting script)
- No typos or grammatical errors
- Page breaks don't split dialogue
- Transitions used sparingly
Recommended Agent Skills
Expand your agent's capabilities with these related and highly-rated skills.
a5c-ai/babysitter
gsd-tools
Central utility skill for GSD operations. Provides config parsing, slug generation, timestamps, path operations, and orchestrates calls to other specialized skills. Acts as the unified entry point that the original gsd-tools.cjs provided via its lib/ modules (commands, config, core, init).
a5c-ai/babysitter
model-profile-resolution
Resolve model profile (quality/balanced/budget) at orchestration start and map agents to specific models. Enables cost/quality tradeoffs by selecting appropriate AI models for each agent role.
a5c-ai/babysitter
verification-suite
Plan structure validation, phase completeness checks, reference integrity verification, and artifact existence confirmation. Provides the structured verification layer ensuring GSD artifacts are well-formed and complete.
a5c-ai/babysitter
state-management
STATE.md reading, writing, and field-level updates. Provides cross-session state persistence via .planning/STATE.md with structured fields for current task, completed phases, blockers, decisions, and quick tasks.
a5c-ai/babysitter
git-integration
Git commit patterns, formats, and conventions for GSD methodology. Provides atomic commits per task, structured commit messages, planning file commits, branch management, and milestone tag operations.
a5c-ai/babysitter
frontmatter-parsing
YAML frontmatter parsing and manipulation for .planning/ documents. Provides read, write, update, query, and validation operations on frontmatter blocks in GSD markdown artifacts.
Didn't find tool you were looking for?