A script can be as short as two pages and as long as 180. A theatrical script less than 10 pages long is called a skit; a script that is less than 45 minutes is called a "one-act." A play with multiple acts is labeled full-length. In film, a screenplay less than 45 minutes is called a "short"; a longer script is a feature. The average duration of a full length play or screenplay is 120 pages. One properly typed page of script equals one minute of screen time. Both plays and screenplays are comprised of (1) master scenes that establish interior and exterior settings and times, (2) action lines that describe who is in each scene and what they're doing and (3) dialogue blocks. Unlike a novel or short story that spends a lot of time spelling out even the smallest details, scripts written for stage and screen embrace minimalism and leave all of the specifics to the vision and discretion of the director, actors and crew.
The first 10 minutes/10 pages of a theatrical or film script need to identify whose point of view is going to prevail (this is usually the protagonist), what the core conflict is that will drive the action of the story and what the genre is (i.e., drama, comedy, thriller, western, historical). While many stories flirt with elements of multiple genres, neither plays nor movies can be categorized as "mainstream." The reason for this is that it would be confusing for video stores to know where to display the copies. Accordingly, there needs to be a dominant genre evident from the outset, and it has to stay consistent throughout the whole script. The last five pages of the manuscript not only need to resolve the core conflict introduced at the beginning, but must also include the character who was its primary spokesperson. In the event this character died during the story (i.e., William Wallace in "Braveheart"), he still needs to be referenced in conversation or a speech by one of the surviving characters whose life he affected. In script competitions, it's not unusual for a judge to read the first 10 pages and the final five first to determine whether it's worth her time to read everything in the middle.
Scripts for stage and screen are typed on one side of 8-1/2 x 11 inch 20# white bond paper. Margins are set at one inch on each side, and the font used is 12 pt. Courier. Master scenes and action lines start at the left margin (called the slug line), extend to the right margin and wrap around. There is a slight variation to this in play scripts in which action lines are placed in their own block slightly right of the center of the page. The names of characters are capitalized in the dialogue blocks (i.e., SUSAN, MIKE, POLICEMAN) as well as in action lines the very first time they make an appearance (i.e., SUSAN, a disheveled housewife in her 40s, runs into the room). Dialogue for screenplays is centered beneath each character's name in a column that is approximately 3 inches wide.
Dialogue for a stage play either follows this rule or starts each line at the left margin. Cues about how to deliver a particular line (if it's not obvious from the context of the scene) are displayed in parentheses and on a separate line between the speaker's name and the line of dialogue. Master scenes, action lines and dialogue are single-spaced. Page numbers for stage and screen scripts are placed in the lower right hand corner. Completed scripts have front and back covers, are three-hole punched on the left side and bound with brass fasteners.
Stage and screen scripts adhere to a traditional three-act structure of storytelling. A play, however, designates the individual act and scene breaks within the actual text (i.e., "End Act 2, Scene 3"). The first act introduces the main players and sets up the conflict. The second act throws more complications into the mix for the hero. By the third act, the hero is between a rock and a hard place and must commit to an all-or-nothing risk in order to achieve his goal.
There is often foreshadowing in a script; this is a seemingly obscure event that occurs early in the script, but will have significance by the third act just when all appears to be lost. A screenplay can have as many different locations as are needed to tell the story. While a play can effectively orchestrate transitions with the use of light, shadow and elevated platforms to suggest different locales, the majority of the action takes place in only a handful of settings. Likewise, a movie script can literally have a cast of thousands; a script written for the theater has to take into account both the size of the physical stage, the amount of room backstage for everyone to hang out when they're not in a scene, and the expense of costumes and makeup.
In a play script, we know from the first page who all of the players are going to be because they are listed under "Cast of Characters" just below the title and the author's name. This listing is either in order of their appearance in the story or by the size of the role being played. Following each character's name is a short tag about their occupation or their relationship to the other characters. Examples: MELANIE--estranged older sister of Thomas. SGT. GRAY--a soldier home on leave. Beneath the list of characters is the setting and circa of the story. Example: "The village of WIckenshire, late summer in 1947." Following the circa and setting is the phrase AT RISE which is followed by a brief description of what the audience will see when the curtain first goes up.
In a screenplay, there is no listing on the first page of who is in the show; we meet them as the story progresses. Descriptions of screen characters are kept to a bare minimum; these are provided in parentheses after the name the first time they appear. The locations of the action sequences and the time in which they take place are identified in each of the master scenes, and a new master scene is required each time the action shifts to a different place or a period of time has elapsed. Instead of AT RISE to indicate the start of the story, the first words in a screenplay are always FADE IN. The ending of a stage play closes with CURTAIN; the ending of a movie script closes with FADE TO BLACK.
Film is a visual medium and, accordingly, there needs to be lots of movement to keep an audience's attention. It was Hitchcock who once explained that a good movie could be followed and understood even if the sound portion were turned off. In contrast, a good play is one that could be followed fairly easily if you had your eyes closed. Theater audiences are forgiving of stage scenes where the characters talk and talk and talk; movie audiences watching that same scene would get restless and impatient and want to see something new. While actors in a play can engage in a lot of physical activity (especially in a musical production), the bottom line is that they don't have as much room to run around as their film counterparts do. Nor do theatrical actors have the advantage of camera closeups to show all of their emotions (i.e., a single tear sliding down a cheek) and must instead use broader gestures so that even people seated in the back row will catch what's going on.
Since stage and screen scripts are all about minimalism, they both use abbreviations for giving directions rather than spelling everything out and using valuable line space. In theater, abbreviations are used to indicate where the furnishings are placed and where the characters should move when talking and making their entrances and exits. Stage directions are based on the actor's physical position when he is facing the audience. Downstage (DS) is toward the audience; upstage (US) is away from them. Stage left (SL) and stage right (SR) are, respectively, the actor's left and right. Center stage (CS) is in the middle. Within this context, there are also directions such as DSR (downstage right) and USL (upstage left). In a screenplay, these directions don't exist because an actor can be photographed from any angle (including an aerial one) and, thus, there isn't any audience except the camera. Screenplay abbreviations primarily refer to interiors (INT) and exteriors (EXT), vocal tags such as V.O. (voiceover), O.C. (off camera), and CONT'D (continued), and camera directions such as C.U. (closeup).