By Alex Bloom | Contributing Writer
Founder, ScriptReaderPro.com
Take a moment to imagine your dream TV writing
assignment… Is it being staffed on a network like
NBC or ABC writing scripts? Or do you see yourself working
in cable, like FX
or HBO? One of
the biggest mistakes aspiring TV writers make is not
first thinking about where they’d like their script
to end up and consequently making sure it’s
formatted accordingly. Rather than think about
format in terms of network vs. cable, it’s better to
think of it in terms of the type of show you’re
writing and the industry standards surrounding it.
Broadly speaking, there are three types of TV script
you will be writing: ½ Hour Sitcom (Single-Camera),
½ Hour Sitcom (Multi-Camera) and 1 Hour Drama.
½ Hour Sitcom (Single-Camera)
In a half hour comedy — whether it’s for
network or cable — you’ll generally want to write in
the main transitions directly onto the page:
Cold Open (same as a Teaser)
Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
Tag
While some single-camera TV comedies (think
30 Rock, Californication) are sometimes
shot using more than one camera, the important point
to remember is that you need to write the teaser,
act breaks and tag directly onto the page. These are
all centered and underlined.
The teaser is the two to five minute sequence
at the beginning of the show designed to hook the
audience, and it’s centered on the page and
underlined. Same with the tag at the end: a short
scene usually unrelated to the main plot that neatly
ties everything up.
Here’s an example of a half-hour single-camera
comedy script:
Cold Open
Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
Tag
Half hour shows on networks are often multi-camera
— that is shot quickly, in front of a
live studio audience using an array of cameras.
Think Frasier or Friends. This means
they have a very specific, technical style of
formatting.
Here are a few quirks that put multi-camera
formatting into a space all on its own:
-
All description is written in
ALL CAPS
-
More
stage directions
-
Sluglines are underlined
-
Dialogue is double-spaced
Here’s an example from Frasier:
Teaser
Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
Act 4
Act 5
This type of show may or may not contain
commercial breaks depending if they’re on network or
cable, but if they do they’ll land in-between the
act breaks. Again, all act breaks are centered and
underlined.
Here’s an example from Breaking Bad:
Overall, writing for a network means to some
extent being restricted by convention. Shows made by
networks don’t often stray too far from a fairly
rigid format. Think of a show like The Big Bang
Theory. If you break down an individual episode
into its individual beats, you’ll see that they
stick to the exact same story format in almost every
show. And this is true of the formatting on the page
too.
It’s worth pointing out that cable shows often
leave out transitions directly on the page. They
often look very much the same as regular feature
film screenplays. The Game of Thrones scripts
for example don’t contain any transitions at all on
the page, just regular sluglines and traditional
screenplay formatting.
Writing for a network such as ABC, NBC, Fox,
etc. to a large extent means being restricted by the
simple fact your stories will be aimed at prime time
family viewing. This means basic genres such as
police/doctor procedurals and not much sex or
violence.
If you don’t much like the idea of being
restricted by network bosses and having your
creativity limited, then you may feel more at home
writing for cable or a streaming service like
Netflix.
On either premium cable (Sundance, HBO) or
basic cable (FX, AMC) you’ll have much more scope to
let your imagination run wild and have more
flexibility in terms of profanity, violence, and
sexuality on screen. Shows like True Detective
or Twin Peaks are built on defying
convention because their creators are
given free reign to express their
unique voice on cable.
Especially premium cable channels like HBO.
A good way to learn how to write a TV script
is find and download some produced scripts similar
to the style you want to write. There are many
script download sites out there, such as Drew’s
Script-o-Rama or Simply Scripts, where
you can get copies of scripts for free and start
breaking them down and studying their format.
Remember that, aside from the structure,
different networks, cable and streaming services
also have their own individual
formatting rules. One
may want scene headings underlined while another
prefers they’re not, and so the best advice we can
give is find produced scripts from your chosen
network or cable channel and then study them to
death.
It may sound rudimentary but if you’re looking
to break into writing for TV, you need to make sure
you’re using the correct writing software. Many
aspiring TV writers seem to think they can get away
with using strange programs that leave the
formatting looking completely off, but this is a
guaranteed ticket to an immediate “Pass”. It just
gives the impression that you’re unprofessional and
that you don’t really care about your work, and so a
reader at a company will think “why should I”?
Spend a few bucks on a professional
screenwriting program like
Movie Magic or
Final Draft and automatically your script’s
formatting will be that much closer to industry
standard because these programs have built-in
templates that take most of the heavy-lifting off
your hands.
All in all it comes down to making sure that
the outlet you plan to pitch your TV script to has
the proper format and structure. You also have the
option of having two completely differently
formatted scripts, one for network and one for
cable. That can always be a smart option for an
aspiring TV writer as well.
Alex Bloom is the founder of
Script Reader Pro — a
screenplay consultancy who offer a set of hands-on
tools for screenwriters, including
script coverage and
an actionable
screenwriting course.