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screenplay

 
Dictionary: screen·play   (skrēn'plā') pronunciation
 
n.

The script for a movie, including descriptions of scenes and some camera directions.


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Literary Dictionary: screenplay
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screenplay, the script of a film, comprising dialogue (and/or narration) with instructions for sets and camera positions.

 

Written text that provides the basis for a film production. Screenplays usually include not only the dialogue spoken by the characters but also a shot-by-shot outline of the film's action. Screenplays may be adapted from novels or stage plays or developed from original ideas suggested by the screenwriters or their collaborators. They generally pass through multiple revisions, and screenwriters are called on to incorporate suggestions from directors, producers, and others involved in the filmmaking process. Early drafts often include only brief suggestions for planned shots, but by the date of production a screenplay may evolve into a detailed shooting script, in which action and gestures are explicitly stated.

For more information on screenplay, visit Britannica.com.

 
Word Tutor: screenplay
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: The script from which a movie is made.

pronunciation Cary Grant liked the screenplay the first time he read it.

 
Wikipedia: Screenplay
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Sample from a screenplay, showing dialogue and action descriptions.

A screenplay or script is a written work especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing works. A play for television is known as a teleplay.

Contents

Format and style

The format is structured in a way that one page usually equates to one minute of screen time. In a "shooting script", each scene is numbered, and technical direction may be given. In a "spec" or a "draft" in various stages of development, the scenes are not numbered, and technical direction is at a minimum. The standard font for a screenplay is 12-point Courier.

The major components are action and dialogue. The "action" is written in the present tense. The "dialogue" are the lines the characters speak. Unique to the screenplay (as opposed to a stage play) is the use of slug lines.

The format consists of two aspects:

  1. The interplay between typeface/font, line spacing and type area, from which the standard of one page of text per one minute of screen time is derived. Unlike in the United States where US letter size and Courier 12 point are mandatory, Europe uniformly uses A4 as the standard paper size format (but without a uniform font requirement).
  2. The tab settings of the scene elements (dialogue, scenes headings, transitions, parentheticals, etc.), which constitute the screenplay’s layout.

The style consists of a grammar that is specific to screenplays. This grammar also consists of two aspects:

  1. A prose that is manifestation-oriented, i.e. focuses largely on what is audible and what is visible on screen. This prose may only supply interpretations and explanation (deviate from the manifestation-oriented prose) if clarity would otherwise be adversely affected.
  2. Codified notation of certain technical or dramatic elements, such as scene transitions, changes in narrative perspective, sound effects, emphasis of dramatically relevant objects and characters speaking from outside a scene.

Screenwriting software

Detailed computer programs are designed specifically to format screenplays, teleplays and stage plays. Celtx, DreamaScript, Final Draft, Movie Outline 3.0, FiveSprockets, and Montage are several such programs. Software is also available as web applications, accessible from any computer, and on mobile devices.

See also

References

  • David Trottier (1998). The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script. Silman-James Press. ISBN 1-879505-44-4.  - Paperback
  • Yves Lavandier (2005). Writing Drama, A Comprehensive Guide for Playwrights and Scritpwriters. Le Clown & l'Enfant. ISBN 2-910606-04-X.  - Paperback
  • Judith H. Haag, Hillis R. Cole (1980). The Complete Guide to Standard Script Formats: The Screenplay. CMC Publishing. ISBN 0-929583-00-0.  - Paperback
  • Jami Bernard (1995). Quentin Tarantino: The Man and His Movies. HarperCollins publishers. ISBN 0-002556-44-8.  - Paperback
  • Riley, C. (2005) The Hollywood Standard: the complete and authoriative guide to script format and style. Michael Weise Productions. Sheridan Press. ISBN: 0941188949.

External links



 
Translations: Screenplay
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - filmmanuskript

Nederlands (Dutch)
draaiboek

Français (French)
n. - (Cin) scénario

Deutsch (German)
n. - Drehbuch

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (κινηματογραφικό) σενάριο

Italiano (Italian)
copione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - roteiro (m)

Русский (Russian)
(кино)сценарий, художественный кинофильм

Español (Spanish)
n. - guión

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - filmmanus, scenario

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
电影剧本

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 電影劇本

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 영화 대본, 시나리오

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 映画脚本, 映画

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مخطط ألمسرحيه أو ألفلم ألسينمائي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תסריט לסרט, עם הוראות משחק ובמה וכו'‬


 
 
Learn More
Syd Field's Screenwriting Workshop (Education Film)
high-concept
scenario

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Literary Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Copyright © Chris Baldick 2001, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
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