by Chris Riley
There are plenty of books available that tell you about the importance of sticking to the standard formatting of screenplays. The screenwriting programs available will automatically format your script to proper margins and placement of dialogue. So, what do you need this book for?
Christopher Riley
Well, there are some things that the computer programs won’t tell you. They won’t tell you why a certain order of elements in a slugline is preferable. They won’t tell you why it is not a good idea to think you can fool Studio Readers by changing font size. But Chris Riley does. Element by element, he explains why the Hollywood Standard format for scripts developed. Beginning with the use of Courier 12. By fortuitous chance, filmmakers discovered that using that font and size made for a very helpful equivalence of one page to approximately one minute of screen time. Perhaps the most useful discovery for the filmmaking process ever. But Riley explains the production value of ordering bits of information in the script. And when you think about it, it even makes good sense for the reading of a script. Unlike prose, where you might want to hold back pieces of information about the environment for dramatic effect in the storytelling, when we’re talking about visual images, it doesn’t work that way.
The book is completely thorough, element by element, punctuation, ordering of information. Everything you need to know to make your script the cleanest, most shootable thing from the first time you print it out. It is now in its second edition, which should give you some idea of how valuable and useful this can be on your shelf.
