How to Write a Screenplay - Lowerated

Lower Rated
Jun 6
5 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

By Muhammad Wisal

Let’s Be Real About It

Writing a screenplay isn’t about writing pretty words. It’s about writing instructions. You’re not writing a novel. You’re writing something that will be turned into sound, visuals, acting, editing; everything.

And that means there are rules.

A lot of them.

Some of them make sense. Some of them are just there because people said so 50 years ago. Either way, if you want your script to be taken seriously by producers, competitions, festivals, or even your own crew, you need to follow the format.

In this blog, I’ll break it all down for you. The standards. The structure. The formatting. Everything that can make or break how your script is perceived.

And then I’ll explain how Lowerated Scriptwriter lets you forget most of that and just focus on the actual story.

Standard Script Format: What It Actually Looks Like

A standard film screenplay follows a specific format. Here's what you're dealing with:

🔢 Page Count

90–120 pages
One page roughly equals one minute of screen time
Short film? 5 to 30 pages.
Anything longer than 130 pages better be exceptional.

⏎ Structure

Act I - Setup (Pages 1 - 30)
Act II - Conflict (Pages 30 - 90)
Act III - Resolution (Pages 90 - 120)

This is the basic three-act structure. There are variations, but most commercial screenplays fall under this timeline.

Formatting Breakdown

Here’s what you need to know to make a script that looks like a script.

🎬 Scene Headings (Sluglines)

EXT. HAUNTED HOUSE - NIGHT

INT. LIVING ROOM – DAY

INT. or EXT. — Interior or Exterior
Then location
Then time of day (DAY / NIGHT / EVENING / etc.)

These go in ALL CAPS and are left-aligned.

📝 Action/Description

This is where you describe what’s happening on screen.

Sarah walks into the room, carrying a box. She sets it down gently and looks around.

Sarah walks into the room, carrying a box. She sets it down gently and looks around.

Always in present tense
Keep it visual. Don’t write what can’t be seen or heard.

🗣️ Character Name

This goes centered and in caps, above the dialogue.

							SARAH

Character Name Extensions

These go in parentheses right next to the character’s name, above the dialogue.

🎙️ (V.O.) Voice Over

Used when the character is not seen on screen, and their voice is being heard narrating.

Common in:

Narration
Inner thoughts
Letters or journals being read aloud
Phone messages

Example:

					SARAH (V.O.)
		I didn’t always believe in second chances.
 		But that changed last summer.

🎧 (O.S.) Off Screen

Used when the character is in the scene but not currently visible on camera.

Maybe they’re in another room, or the camera is focused somewhere else.

Example:

					DAVID (O.S.)
			Are you even listening to me?

You hear them, but don’t see them.

🧱 (O.C.) Off Camera (Sometimes used instead of O.S.)

(O.C.) stands for Off Camera, and it's essentially the same as (O.S.). Some screenwriters prefer one over the other depending on country or tradition, but (O.S.) is more widely recognized in the industry, especially in Hollywood style screenwriting.

Still, here's how it looks:

						AMIR (O.C.)
				This is your last warning.

Again, the speaker is present in the scene, but the camera isn’t showing them at the moment.

🎤 (CONT’D) — Continued

This one appears automatically when the same character speaks again immediately after an action line or brief pause.

						LEILA
				This place is a mess.
			(she picks up a broken frame) 

					LEILA (CONT’D)
			And you just left it like this?

💡 Tip: Don’t Overuse These

These extensions are useful, but don’t sprinkle them on every other line. Use them when they matter to the scene. In most cases, just the character name is enough.

💬 Dialogue

Lines spoken by the character, right under the name, centered.

						SARAH
			I didn’t think I’d see this place again.

🧍‍♂️ Parentheticals

Used for tone or small actions. Not for every line.

						SARAH 
					(whispering)
				I don’t think he saw us.

Don’t overuse these. Directors and actors don’t like being micromanaged. Use only when the delivery has to be clarified.

🎞️ Transitions

														  CUT TO: 
														 FADE IN:
													 DISSOLVE TO:

Usually right-aligned. Use them when you really need them. Most modern screenplays don’t overdo it.

Margins and Spacing

Screenwriting software handles this, but here are the specs if you’re curious:

Font: Courier 12pt
1.5-inch left margin
1-inch right, top, and bottom margins
Character name block: starts at 3.7 inches from the left
Dialogue block: starts at 2.5 inches

Each page should have around 55 lines max.

Do You Really Have to Memorize All This?

No. You don’t.

You just have to use the right tool.

How Lowerated Scriptwriter Makes This Easy

Most new writers get stuck not because they don’t have ideas—but because they don’t know how to format a screenplay properly. Or they get distracted trying to do everything perfectly and never finish the thing.

That’s why we built the Lowerated Scriptwriter to take care of all that formatting for you.

Here’s how it helps:

Auto-formatting

Just write. Don’t worry about margins, caps, spacing. We’ll handle that. Scene headings, dialogue blocks, transitions, all automatically formatted.

AI Assistance with Oli

Not sure how to structure a scene? Talk to Oli. Our assistant helps you brainstorm, refine, and even generate scenes based on your ideas.

📄 Export-Ready PDF

Title page, synopsis page, proper pagination, it’s all baked in. When you’re done, you can export your script in industry standard PDF format.

🧍‍♀️ Character + Location Tools

Forget going back and counting who spoke what, where. LOWERATED scans your script and shows:

All characters
Their dialogues
Which scenes they appear in
Character images and backstories

Same thing with locations.

🏷️ Element Tagging

The platform tags props, effects, sound, costumes, 21 elements in total, so you don’t have to manually prep a breakdown for production later.

📊 Analytics

It also gives you insight into:

Dialogue pacing
Most active characters
Scene frequency
Suggestions for balance and structure

So you’re not just writing blindly.

Final Thoughts

If you’re starting to write your first screenplay, learn the basics. Know the format. Understand the structure. But don’t let that block you from actually writing.

The story matters more than spacing.

Let the tool handle the formalities so you can focus on writing something worth filming.

Check it out here: https://platform.lowerated.com