The GITS Club: A discussion about format

If you haven’t visited the new peer review site The GITS Club, I recommend it. Even if you don’t have script pages or loglines you want to get feedback on, there are several interesting discussions going on there right now. For instance, here is a post by napolyphonic:

Ok, so, I’ve had a lot of comments on the first fifteen pages of AETHER I posted in the Entire Acts section. Some of the comments address the formatting of the pages I’ve written. I know there are some formatting issues, but I save those for closer to a polish because things change constantly and reformatting is a pain. And right now, in early stages, I don’t want to hear about formatting, I want to hear about story issues.

Also, I personally don’t use any software. I format in Word because I feel it’s more organic. If I want something to be somewhere or look a certain way, that’s where it goes. That’s just my style. I got my initial formatting guidelines from the Academy website (the ones used for the Nicholls Fellowship), and from there, I just look to other produced screenplays for specifics. I personally feel that the rules aren’t completely written in stone, that style can be more important as long as it translates the story to the reader in a viable manner(just look at Tarantino’s style). I don’t subscribe to any specific format and it changes from script to script depending on genre. For example, an actioner would have more dashes, in oppose to more commas in a drama.

Having said that, maybe we could have a discussion on format right now. Who believes hardline formatting is more important than style? Why do you feel that way? Do you think standardized formatting can serve every genre the same? And, can the rules be broken?

And here was my response:

@ napolyphonic: The simple answer is a dogmatic stick-to-guns response that you have to write by standard guidelines and for one good reason: a script reader sees any deviation from those as a sign of an amateur.

However you raise a point I’ve never heard before: you choose to write in Word, not Final Draft or some other screenwriting software because you “feel it’s more organic.” That combined with your last set of questions — “Who believes hardline formatting is more important than style? Why do you feel that way? Do you think standardized formatting can serve every genre the same? And, can the rules be broken?” — and the responses here makes me think this is worthy of a discussion on GITS.

First off, are there any other folks who prefer to write their scripts in Word because it feels more “organic?” The larger point is how many of you feel constrained by generally accepted screenplay format guidelines? Perhaps you have format ideas that would improve the current way of doing things.

I still stand by my point: When a script reader goes through a script that has significantly different formatting than standard guidelines, they are more than likely going to chalk that up as an amateur at work. However there is a larger point to napolyphonic’s post and that is this: Screenplay format is an organic thing. It changes. Indeed, much of our discussion on format has been about how screenplays are becoming much more literary in style as they move away from directing lingo — that is an example of screenplay format evolving.

So as long as we’re here, let’s step back for a macro view of screenplay format. Are there ways to improve it, make it more readable. The big proviso here is that at the end of the day, a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie. So while we have some latitude re style and format with a selling script, that will not be the case with a shooting (production) script. 

Also this: If you don’t have Final Draft of Movie Magic Screenwriter and it’s due to cost, then you can use Celtx. Many of my students use it and it does just fine for standard format issues.

And also in terms of this question: “Do you think standardized formatting can serve every genre the same?” This goes, in part, to the issue of Narrative Throughline which you can read about here and here.

Re The GITS Club: Once more my thanks to Jeff Messerman who continues to do a bang-up job as moderator there.

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