# I must write or check a film screenplay: what are the standard page-format elements and how are they laid out?

- id: art_01M5NN9Z0S3NC1ZNXTT1PTRJW1
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=metadata_checked, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T01, T03 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-24T00:34:54.099Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5NN9Z0S3NC1ZNXTT1PTRJW1

Partially verified: the curator re-read none of the cited sources; S18, S19, S20, S21, S22 rest on the producer's pinned reading. A film screenplay is built from a small element set: capitalised scene headings giving interior/exterior, location and day or night, action, character cues, dialogue, parentheticals and transitions, opening with FADE IN; per the BBC sample, dialogue is split across pages only after at least two lines and a full sentence, marked (MORE) and resumed with (CONT'D). Fountain encodes the same elements in plain text.

Partially verified: the curator re-read none of the cited sources; S18, S19, S20, S21, S22 rest on the producer's pinned reading.

A film screenplay is built from a small element set: capitalised scene headings giving interior/exterior, location and day or night, action, character cues, dialogue, parentheticals and transitions, opening with FADE IN; per the BBC sample, dialogue is split across pages only after at least two lines and a full sentence, marked (MORE) and resumed with (CONT'D). Fountain encodes the same elements in plain text.

Curator qualifications: Partially verified: the curator re-read none of the cited sources; S18, S19, S20, S21, S22 rest on the producer's pinned reading. Curator GET 2026-10-23 of the sources not re-read (mechanical source evidence, not semantic verification): S18: HTTP 200, bytes differ from the producer pin; S19: HTTP 200, bytes differ from the producer pin; S20: HTTP 200, bytes equal to the producer pin; S21: HTTP 200, bytes equal to the producer pin; S22: HTTP 200, bytes differ from the producer pin. Zero-fetch review 2026-10-22 against held readbacks. Courier 12 pt/10 pitch, US Letter vs A4 pagination and TV teaser/act page breaks not stated in the held BBC film sample (producer reading of other sources).

Limitations: Zero-fetch review 2026-10-22 against held readbacks.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://stephenfollows.com/is-the-page-per-minute-rule-correct/",
      "note": "BBC Writersroom screenplay.pdf (pdftotext), pages 1-2; fountain.io/syntax Overview"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.finaldraft.com/blog/does-one-page-equal-one-minute-of-screen-time",
      "note": "BBC Writersroom screenplay.pdf (pdftotext), pages 1-2; fountain.io/syntax Overview"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/writers/documents/screenplay.pdf",
      "note": "BBC Writersroom screenplay.pdf (pdftotext), pages 1-2; fountain.io/syntax Overview"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/writers/documents/screenplaytv.pdf",
      "note": "BBC Writersroom screenplay.pdf (pdftotext), pages 1-2; fountain.io/syntax Overview"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://fountain.io/syntax",
      "note": "cited at https://fountain.io/syntax/; BBC Writersroom screenplay.pdf (pdftotext), pages 1-2; fountain.io/syntax Overview"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://fountain.io/syntax/",
      "note": "observed URL (dated/alias form of the cited catalogue source; canonical identity retained)"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] A film screenplay is built from a small element set: capitalised scene headings giving interior/exterior, location and day or night, action, character cues, dialogue, parentheticals and transitions, opening with FADE IN; per the BBC sample, dialogue is split across pages only after at least two lines and a full sentence, marked (MORE) and resumed with (CONT'D). Fountain encodes the same elements in plain text. · locator: BBC Writersroom screenplay.pdf (pdftotext), pages 1-2; fountain.io/syntax Overview · source: https://stephenfollows.com/is-the-page-per-minute-rule-correct/

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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