screenplays
Movies on paper
Screenplays are scripts written for film or television, containing dialogue, scene descriptions, and directions for action.
The format is highly standardized—slug lines indicate location, dialogue centers on the page, parentheticals guide delivery.
A screenplay serves as the blueprint from which directors, actors, and crew build the finished production: She sold her first screenplay to a major studio.
Original text before publication
- draftPreliminary version of text
- outlineSummary of key elements
- revisionAltering to improve
- rewriteRevise text substantially
treatment · logline · synopsis · formatting · scene · act · sequence · montage
Storyline or land parcel
- arcCurved line segment
- climaxPoint of greatest intensity
- expositionSystematic explanatory presentation
- resolutionFormal decision or determination
conflict · denouement · protagonist · antagonist · subplot · foreshadowing · pacing · tension
One who leads
- castingShaping through liquid form
- actorsThose playing roles
- scenesDivisions within acts
- cinematographyMotion picture visual craft
shooting · editing · soundtrack · premiere · studio · audition · rehearsal · costume
Strokes connecting two points
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- banterPlayful, teasing exchange
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
- soliloquyDramatic speech to oneself
quip · retort · subtext · exposition · voiceover · oneliners · catchphrase · speechifying
Script's scene header
- parentheticalSet off by punctuation
- transitionChange from one state
- voiceoverOff-screen recorded speech
- intercutAlternate between scenes
continuous · flashback · superimpose · chyron · fadeout · cutout · extension
manuscript
Original text before publication
rewrite · treatment · logline · synopsis · formatting · scene · act · sequence · montage · beat
plot
Storyline or land parcel
- arcCurved line segment
- climaxPoint of greatest intensity
- expositionSystematic explanatory presentation
resolution · conflict · denouement · protagonist · antagonist · subplot · foreshadowing · pacing · tension · backstory
director
One who leads
cinematography · shooting · editing · soundtrack · premiere · studio · audition · rehearsal · costume · set
lines
Strokes connecting two points
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- banterPlayful, teasing exchange
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
soliloquy · quip · retort · subtext · exposition · voiceover · oneliners · catchphrase · speechifying · naturalistic
slugline
Script's scene header
- parentheticalSet off by punctuation
- transitionChange from one state
- voiceoverOff-screen recorded speech
intercut · continuous · flashback · superimpose · chyron · fadeout · cutout · extension
- cinemafilm, films, film studios, movies, movie
- creative worksbooks, autobiography, memoir, novels, diary
- writingsessay, essays, article, articles, stories
- written worksessay, novel, anthologies, history books, letter
- worksmasterpieces, compositions, piece, pieces, work
- screenwritingscript, scripts, scriptwriter, scriptwriting, draft
screenplaysnovels
Extended prose fiction
prose fiction · short stories · poetry · improvisation · reality television
- screenplay writerAuthor of film scripts