Anyone who's even dabbled in screenwriting knows that the modern screenplay must be written in a very precise format. Tabs, margins, font, etc. are all dictated to the zillionth of an inch. Scripts that don't fit the format are universally, unilaterally labeled "unprofessional" and tossed into the wastebasket unread.

Why is this? Is it simply that studio executives are talentless and borderline illiterate tools incapable of evaluating a script based on anything more than the most obvious and superficial criteria?

Sure.

But it's also true that the modern filmmaking process is a massive undertaking, with some productions employing hundreds or thousands -- or maybe millions, I don't really do research -- of people.

The screenplay is the central document of the production, and at some point, nearly every member of that production will need to reference the script for something: the writer, the director, the producer, the actor, the crew, the craft services guy...

(Okay, maybe not the craft services guy.)

At some point, an actor thought he could learn his lines better if his character's name was centered. At some point, a director wanted the time of day listed after each scene location.

However it happened, it happened. There is one sceenplay format, and if you want to be a screenwriter, you better learn it.

Such is not the case with comics scripts. Why? Again, I don't do research, but here's my theory:

There aren't enough people involved in making a single comic, and they don't make enough money anyway.

If five people are working on a project, they could have an informal conversation about script format if they really wanted to.

If ten bazillion people are working on a project, those kinds of conversations aren't feasible.

And since the average comic probably loses a few hundred dollars, there's no real incentive or need to standardize.

On top of that, consider the reality that -- until very recently -- comic scripts were hard to come by. Back in olden times, if you wanted to learn how to write comics, your best bet was almost always to buy some comics, stare at them for a long time, and guess.

Today, the internet offers an embarassment of riches. Scryptic maintains a modest collection of comics scripts. Do some googling and you easily find scripts by great writers like Grant Morrison, Brian K. Vaughan, Neil Gaiman, and Warren Ellis.

And that's to say nothing of all the books you can buy, from Nat Gertler's excellent Panel One and Panel Two to Brian Bendis' Powers Script Book and on and on.

So if you want to ape the style of your favorite comics writer, you can. But should you?

Given that there is no set format, you're almost always better off developing a style that works well for you -- and for your creative team.

Read other writers' scripts; borrow what you like; ignore what you don't.

For those who don't feel like doing hours and hours of research, though, I'm going to cover some typical script formatting variations in this column.

Recently, I asked some of the folks in the Scryptic community to share their own script writing format in a hastily conceived exercise I call...

 

THE EXCITING

SCRYPTIC SCRIPT SCRIBING

EXPERIMENT

Or "XSSSX" for short. The instructions were as follows:

• Write a one page sample script (in your usual format) that conveys the following in four panels:

• 1. Man walks into his den. Give as much description of the den and the man as you normally would. He thinks that the war has gone on too long. (Use captions, thought balloon, or nuanced panel description; whatever you would use normally.)

• 2. He turns on his radio. The announcer on the radio says that thirty more soldiers died in the Martian War today.

• 3. Man turns off the radio and complains (out loud) that he can't even listen to his afternoon jazz without the war intruding.

• 4. The man looks up. He says, "You!" A voice from off-panel says he shouldn't look so surprised.

• Then, IF YOU NORMALLY CONTINUE TO THE PAGE DESCRIPTION WITHOUT SKIPPING TO A NEW SCRIPT PAGE, continue on to "Page 2." Keep going until you hit the beginning of the page description for Panel 1. For the Page 2, Panel 1 page description just write "Story continues."

 

• If you always start a new script page for every comics page, you're done already!

 

I received a number of responses, including ones from Fred Duran, Brent Fowler, Joseph Gauthier, John Heintzelman, Kevin Huff, Cary Kelley, Caleb Monroe, and Alan Moore.

Unfortunately, Mr. Moore's contribution didn't meet the guidelines, so I was forced to exclude it. I suspect he'll land on his feet, though.

Not surprisingly, the scripts I received ran the gamut from simple to... not simple.

Before we start talking similarities and differences, let's list out the different elements of the comic book page:

• Header, Footer & Titles. What appears at the top of every page? What appears at the bottom? Where does the title go? We'll also discuss contact information, etc. in this section.

• Page and Panel Breaks & Numbering. How do you indicate a new page or a new panel? When do you insert a page break?

• Panel Descriptions. How, if at all, do you divide panel descriptions? How do you emphasize specific pieces of information over others?

• Dialogue and Captions. How do you format dialogues and captions? Where do you set your tabs? Do you capitalize or use lower case? Do you number your balloons?

• Fonts and Margins. Finally, what font and font size do you use? What margins, etc? 
  

We begin with Headers, Footers & Titles. Most of the entries included some kind of header. This typically included the name of the story and the author. Some also included the page number in the header or in a separate footer.

 

Kevin and Brant both included the date, which seems like it might be unnecessary detail to me, but is probably helpful if you know you'll be doing multiple drafts.

John and Joseph included a place for contact information. This is essential if you're sending your work out. The standard advice five years ago was to include ALL of your contact information at the top of every page, but with the current ubiquity of email, that's no longer necessary. Most people will be contacting you almost exclusively through email anyway.

A typical header from one of my scripts might look like this:

ArchEnemies #3: "Past Repeating" [FINAL]

DrewMelbourne.com

Note that I don't bother with my name OR an email address above, because both are easily discernible from the URL. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this approach, but I like branding my work. And here the brand is "DrewMelbourne.com."

I generally center the page number in the footer.

In addition to the information in the header and footer, John included a title page, which I think is a great idea for longer pieces. It's probably less necessary if you're writing shorter pieces, though.

Now let's talk Page and Panel Breaks & Numbering and let's start with the big question:

 

To page break or not to page break?

 

Should you jump to the top of a new page every time you start describing a new page in the comic?

The advantage of the page break is that a reader is less likely to get confused about which comics page a particular panel falls on. There is a valid concern, but there is another method of handling it that I'll discuss later.

Now, if every page description ran exactly three quarters of a page, I'm guessing that everyone would always insert page breaks. But the reality is that some page descriptions are very short and some are very long.

The main arguments AGAINST page breaks are that (1) it wastes "trees" when you print it out, and (2) it involves extra scrolling when you read it on the computer. Neither of these are particularly compellling.

(Because, as any fourth grader will tell you, "trees do SO grow on trees" and "George Jetson is a wuss.")

Brant inserts page breaks. John, Fred, and Caleb don't. I'd generally suggest that you DO, because cleaner and clearer is always better.

Most people put the comics page number in bold or all caps or both. Again, it's very important to know when a new page starts and the old page is finished.

Joseph and Caleb also included a panel count after the page number, like this:

PAGE ONE (3 Panels)

 

I do this myself. It helps me stay focused on how many panels I'm cramming into each page, and it helps the rest of the creative team when they're working their way through the script.

There were some interesting approaches to panel numbering. Kevin labeled each panel "Pic 1," "Pic 2," etc. I think that might be a British thing.

Joseph and Caleb both wrote out "Panel 1." but didn't include a line break after. The panel number became part of the panel description paragraph.

As long as the panel description stays at one paragraph, this shouldn't hurt readability, but if you're writing longer panel descriptions, you'd probably want to rethink this approach.

(More on panel description later, obviously.)

I have two approaches to panel numbering. For shorter/faster works, I use abbreviated notation at the start of the panel description paragraph:

 

P1/ Insert panel description here.

 

It's quick, clear, compact, and easy to read.

For longer works, I use a method hinted at above, which helps the reader keep track of which page and panel they are on:

P5.4
Insert panel description here.

 

The above panel description is for Page 5, Panel 4. A reader can look at any panel description on any page of my script and instantly know where in the story they are.

I'm sure I stole this approach from someone, but I can't remember who. So if you need to refer to it as something, call it the "Drewy Decimal System."

 

(Or don't.)

 

If you use the "Drewy Decimal System" it reduces the need for page breaks, because it will be very clear what page each panel is associated with.

If you DON'T include page breaks between page descriptions, the standard approach seems to be a double space before the next comics page number.

And now a quick word about Panel Descriptions. There seems to be a general consensus that panel descriptions should be kept to a single paragraph. Personally, I think this is nonsense.

For some scripts that might make sense, but if you adhere to closely to this rule I think you're just asking for trouble.

There are a number of things you can do in a paragraph, to help make important information stand out:

For instance, Kevin puts proper names in ALL CAPS. I put every character's name in ALL CAPS the first time they appear, which is how it's done in screenplays.

Kevin also puts a special note in parentheses in his first panel, which is something I've done from time to time.

Realistically, though, as long as your panels are clearly marked, there's no reason that you shouldn't break your panel decription into multiple paragraphs. If you describe three characters, it's okay to make each description one paragraph.

Your goal is NOT to conform to some specific "rule of format." Your goal is to clearly convey your vision.

If your panel description covers two or three or four or five different elements, break them out for clarity!

There are two schools of thought when it comes to Dialogue and Captions:

Old school formatting places the character name (or the word "caption" or "sfx" for sound effect) on the left. Then the writer tabs over an inch or so and writes the actual text to appear in the comic.

There are variations on this approach, based on where the tabs are set. Joseph, Fred, Caleb, and Kevin leave the character name flush against the left hand margin. Brant and I both tab in about half an inch first.

Cary and John center the character name and run the text underneath, with wider margins. This is how it's done in screenplays and how a number of "hotshot young writers" are now formatting their scripts.

It's been argued that this method is clearer, but I don't see it. It's certainly not LESS clear though.

I believe that this approach was first popularized when Bendis and other writers started using script writing programs like FINAL DRAFT and MOVIE MAGIC SCREENWRITER, but now all the cool kids are doing it.

Again, it certainly isn't going to HURT your script, so do whatever works best for you.

Joseph did two things with his dialogue that I want to point out. First, both he and Caleb numbered each piece of text that will appear on the page separate from page and panel order. For example:

 

4. POTTER:      YOU!

 

This kind of notation is VERY helpful to professional letterers. At the same time, it's more numbers along the left margin and that can be confusing.

Personally, I only include these when a letterer or editor requests them.

The other thing that Joseph did that I wanted to point out was that he wrote all of his dialogue, captions, and sound effects in ALL CAPS. Most comics are written in all caps, and I personally think that it makes good sense to write the text out like it will appear in the comic.

In this era of electronic lettering, you may be best served by formatting your text exactly as you'd like it to appear on the page, including caps and bolds when appropriate.

 

Or not. Ask your letterer.

 

And lastly, let's quickly talk Fonts and Margins.

Microsoft WORD defaults to 1" at top and bottom and 1.25" at the left and right. Almost everyone I've ever met prefers a strict 1" margin all the way around, but nearly no one I've ever met actually cares all that much.

Personally, I think you're best off with the narrower margins, since you'll be able to fit more information, more comfortably into a smaller space. Remember, clean and compact.

In terms of fonts, there are three rules of thumb. (So you may need to borrow a friend's hand to follow this.)

Four of our guinea pig writers stuck with Times New Roman. Again, that's a WORD default, so no one's going to argue with Times.

Three of our guinea pigs used Courier. That's the typewriter-style font standard for screenplays. It's wide and readable and the default for programs like MOVIE MAGIC SCREENWRITER.

Personally, I prefer to use Verdana, which is the font that this column (and much of the WWW) is written in. Verdana is a sans serif font like Arial and it tends to read a little cleaner, in my experience.

Just don't write your entire script in MS Comic Sans, and I think you'll be okay.

Click here to view all the scripts we talked about this week. I'll try to get up one of my own scripts soon.

I encourage everyone to continue this discussion over at the forum.

Join me back here in 2006 for an exciting announcement (finally!) about my upcoming series, ArchEnemies, coming in April from Dark H -- I mean, a publisher to be announced later.

Drew Melbourne is a freelance writer living in NYC. His first series, ArchEnemies, is coming soon. For more, visit DrewMelbourne.com.