(Hang on, this starts out complicated.)
ACT ONE
A
A BLACK SCREEN. IN WHITE LETTERS APPEARS, "DID SOMEONE SAY
'FORE,' MATT?"
FADE IN:
INT. THE FRASIER FORMAT PAGE - NIGHT
ABOVE IS THE ACT NUMBER, SCENE NUMBER, AND SCENE HEADING
(ALSO KNOWN AS A SLUGLINE). THEY ARE ALWAYS ALL CAPS AND
UNDERLINED.
THE ACT NUMBER'S LEFT MARGIN IS 39 AND IT IS 15 LINES DOWN
THE PAGE (ASSUMING YOU HAVE A 4-LINE HEADER FOR YOUR PAGE
NUMBER). THE ACT NUMBER IS USED ONLY FOR THE FIRST SCENE OF
ACTS ONE AND TWO, AND THE SCENE NUMBER GOES FIVE LINES BELOW
IT.
THE SCENE NUMBER'S LEFT MARGIN IS 42, AND IT APPEARS 20 LINES
DOWN THE PAGE WHEN IT'S NOT WITH THE ACT NUMBER.
THE SLUGLINE MARGINS ARE 15 AND 70. BUT BEFORE THE SLUGLINE
YOU'LL NEED "FADE IN:" EVERY SCENE OPENS WITH THIS, AND IT
APPEARS 8 LINES BELOW THE SCENE NUMBER.
NOTICE THE BLACK SCREEN/WHITE LETTERING LINE. BOTH ACTS OPEN
WITH THIS, USING THE SAME MARGINS AS ACTION. IT GOES BEFORE
"FADE IN:" AND SHOULD BE A PUN.
SKIP A LINE AFTER THE SCENE HEADING AND YOU'RE HERE, IN
ACTION (SOME FOLKS CALL IT STAGE DIRECTION). AS YOU CAN SEE,
IT'S ALL CAPS AND SINGLE-SPACED. IT GOES ALL THE WAY ACROSS
THE PAGE, USING MARGINS OF 15 AND 74. SKIP A LINE AND WE GET
TO...
FRASIER
Dialogue. It is double-spaced,
capitalized normally, and has margins
of 25 and 61.
NILES
By the way, the left margin for the
character name is 39. Be sure to skip
a line before the dialogue.
ALSO LEAVE A BLANK LINE BETWEEN DIALOGUE AND ACTION.
BASICALLY, LEAVE A BLANK LINE BETWEEN EVERYTHING. WHEN
YOU'VE REACHED THE END OF THE SCENE, WORK IN "AND WE:" OR
"WE:", SKIP A LINE AND TYPE "FADE OUT" AT MARGIN 56.
DEMONSTRATING, WE:
FADE OUT.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
B
FADE IN:
INT. THE FRASIER FORMAT PAGE - MOMENTS LATER
AFTER FADING OUT ON THE PREVIOUS SCENE WE MOVE ON TO THE
NEXT. "FRASIER" USES A LETTERING SYSTEM FOR THEIR SCENES, AS
DEMONSTRATED ABOVE. USE THE ACT NUMBER ONLY FOR THE FIRST
SCENE OF EACH ACT, FOLLOWED 5 LINES LATER BY THE SCENE
NUMBER. ON ITS OWN, THE SCENE NUMBER APPEARS 20 LINES DOWN
(PLUS 4 FOR YOUR HEADER, OF COURSE), FOLLOWED 8 LINES LATER
BY "FADE IN:" EACH SCENE BEGINS ON A NEW PAGE.
ROZ
(CALM) If you're going to use
parentheticals, they are capitalized
and appear on the same line as the
dialogue.
MARTIN
And one last thing. Unlike most other
shows, "Frasier" doesn't use a teaser
or cold opener. They just dive right
in with Scene A, no warm-up, no
nothing. They don't need it, they're
that good. Act Two picks up the scene
numbering where Act One left off.
DAPHNE
The last scene of Act One ends with
"FADE OUT," followed by "END OF ACT
ONE" centered and underlined. Act Two
ends with "FADE OUT," followed by "END
OF ACT TWO" centered and underlined.
BULLDOG
The scene that runs over the end
credits is called, oddly enough,
(END CREDITS). This scene is numbered
like all the others, then skip a line
for (END CREDITS), then skip eight
lines to "FADE IN:" to start the
scene. The scene ends with "FADE
OUT," then "END OF SHOW" centered and
underlined.
And that's it. Start writing!
FADE OUT.
END OF EXAMPLE
