Screenwriting Glossary

A page – revised page that extends beyond the original page to a second page (ie Page 1, 1A, 2, 3, 3A etc)

Abbreviations – shortcuts used in scripts (eg 'VO' and 'OC')

Above-the-line – in film, those costs that occur before filming. This includes the salaries of the talent and creative team (director, producer, screenwriter), plus any rights required for adapted scripts. It can sometimes refer to the people included in the above-the-line payment category

Act – large division of a full-length play, separated from the other act or acts by an intermission

Act/scene heading – heading at the start of an act or scene (centered, all CAPS). Act numbers are written in Roman numerals; scene numbers, in ordinals

Acting edition – published play script, typically for use in productions in the amateur market or as reading copies. Often includes prop list or set design sketches

Action – the pictures we see on screen. Also the direction given by a director indicating that filming begins

Ad lib – dialogue in which the characters or actors make up what they say in real time, on the movie set or on stage. From the Latin, 'ad libitum' ('in accordance with desire')

Against – term describing the ultimate potential payday for a writer in a film deal (eg $400,000 against $800,000 means the writer is paid $400,000 when the script is finished, through to rewrite and polish; when and if the movie goes into production, the writer gets an additional $400,000)

Agent submission – method of play submission, in which a theatre requires that a script be submitted by a recognised literary agent

Alan Smithee – fictional name taken by a writer or director who doesn't want their real name credited on a film

Angle – particular camera placement

Approved writer – writer whom a TV network trusts to deliver a good script once hired

Arbitration – binding adjudication by members of a Writers Guild of America committee, regarding proper onscreen writer credit of a movie. Arbitration is available only to WGA members or potential WGA members

Artistic director – theatre company's chief artistic officer and usually the last stop before a play is selected for production

Associate artistic director – artistic officer of a theatre company, frequently a director and often second to the artistic director, integrally involved with its artistic decisions

At rise description – stage direction at the beginning of an act or a scene that describes what is on stage, literally 'at rise' of the curtain, or more commonly in contemporary theatre, as the lights come up

Attached – agreement by name actors and/or a director to be part of making of a movie

Audio/visual script – dual column screenplay, with video description on the left, and audio and dialogue on the right (used in advertising, corporate videos, documentaries and training films)

Back door pilot – two-hour TV movie that is a setup for a TV series, if ratings warrant further production

Back end – payment on a movie project when profits are realised

Back story – experiences of a main character taking place prior to the main action, which contribute to character motivations and reactions

Bankable – person who can get a project financed because their name is attached

Beat – parenthetically noted pause interrupting dialogue, denoted by '(beat)', for the purpose of indicating a significant shift in the direction of a scene (much in the way that a hinge connects a series of doors)

Beat sheet – abbreviated description of the main events in a screenplay or story

bg – abbreviation for 'background' (eg 'In the bg kids are fighting')

Bill or playbill – play(s) that constitute what the audience is seeing at any one sitting

Binding – literally what holds the script together. As a writer submitting a manuscript, you might use either brads with cardstock covers or one of a number of other premade folders (all available from The Writers Store)

Black box – flexible theatre space named for its appearance

Blackout – common stage direction at the end of a scene or an act

Book – story and non-musical portion (dialogue, stage directions) of a theatrical musical

Brads – brass fasteners used to bind a screenplay printed on three-hole paper, with Acco #5 solid brass brads generally accepted as the highest quality

Bump – troublesome element in a script that negatively deflects the reader's attention away from the story

Button – TV writing term referring to a witty line that 'tops off' a scene

Cable – cable television network such as HBO, or cable television in general

Cast – characters who are physically present in the play or film. These are the roles for which actors will be needed. When we talk about a role in a stageplay as being double-cast with another, it means that the same actor is expected to play both roles. This happens in film as well (eg Eddie Murphy), but only rarely

Cast page – page listing the characters, with very brief descriptions of each, typically following the title page of a play

Centre or centre stage – centre of the performance space used for placement of the actors and the set

CGI (computer generated image) – term denoting that computers will be used to generate the full imagery

Character – any personified entity appearing in a film or a play

Character arc – emotional progress of the characters during the story

Character name – when any character speaks, his or her name appears on the line preceding the dialogue. In screenplays, the name is tabbed to a location that is roughly in the centre of the line. In playwriting, typically the name is centred, but with the advent of screenwriting software that automatically positions the character name correctly, it has become acceptable to use a similar format for character names in stageplays

Cheat a script – fudging the margins and spacing of a screenplay on a page (usually with a software program) in an attempt to fool the reader into thinking the script is shorter than it really is

Close up – very close camera angle on a character or object

Commission – play for which a theatre company gives a playwright money to write, typically with the understanding that it has right of first refusal to premiere it

Complication – second act of a three-act dramatic structure, in which 'the plot thickens', peaking at its end

Conflict – heart of drama; someone wants something, and people and things keep getting in the way of them achieving the goal. At times, the obstacles can be common to both the hero and villain, and the ultimate goal a laudable one for both parties

Continuing dialogue – dialogue spoken by the same character that continues uninterrupted onto the next page, marked with a '(cont'd)' in a stage play

Continuous action – included in the scene heading when moving from one scene to the next, as the action continues

Copyright – proof of ownership of an artistic property that comes with registering your script through the United States Register of Copyrights

Copyright notice – placing your name on the title page of a script

Courier 12 pitch – main font used in the US by publishers and the Hollywood film industry

Coverage – notes prepared by script readers at a literary agency, film production company, theatre company or script competition. Coverage is typically divided into three sections: plot synopsis, evaluation/discussion of the quality of the writing, and a recommendation that either passes on the script or kicks it on to the next level. Coverage is typically for internal use and almost never shared with the writer

Designer – theatre professional whose job it is to envision any of the following elements in a play: costumes, sets, lights, sound or properties

Development – process of preparing a script for production

Development hell – dreaded creative death malaise that occurs when the development process lasts too long

Dialogue – speeches between characters in a film or a play

Direct solicitation – when a theatre contacts a playwright or agent about submitting a script. Theatres that use this method typically do not want the playwright to initiate the contact

Direction or stage direction – see 'stage directions' below

Director – in a stageplay, the individual responsible for staging (ie placing in the space or 'blocking') the actors, sculpting and coordinating their performances, and making sure they fit with the design elements into a coherent vision of the play. In a musical, there will typically be a separate musical director responsible for the musical elements of the show. In a Dramatists Guild contract, the playwright has approval over the choice of director (and the cast and designers). In film, the director carries out the duties of a stage director and then some (eg choosing the shot list), with considerably more say-so over the final product

Downstage or down – part of the stage closest to the audience, so named because when stages were raked (slanted) an actor walking toward the audience was literally walking down

Draft – version of a play. Each draft of rewrites/revisions should be numbered differently

Dramatists Guild of America – professional organisation of playwrights, composers and lyricists, based in New York

Dual dialog – when two characters speak simultaneously

Emphasized dialogue – dialogue that the playwright wants stressed, usually identified with italics

Establishing shot – cinematic shot that establishes a certain location or area

Evening-length play or full-length play – play that constitutes a full evening of theatre on its own

Event – what precipitates a play (eg Big Daddy's birthday in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)

Exposition – first act of a dramatic structure, in which the main conflict and characters are 'exposed' or revealed. Also any information about the characters, conflict or world of the play

EXT – outdoors

Extension – technical note placed directly to the right of the character name that denotes how the character's voice is heard (eg 'OS' is an extension that stands for 'off screen' or 'off stage')

Feature film – movie made primarily for distribution in theatres

fg – abbreviation for 'foreground' (eg 'In the fg kids are fighting')

Film festival – festival of short- and/or feature-length films shown over the course of between a few days to a few weeks. Festivals are places for films and filmmakers,particularly in the case of independent films, to gain exposure, critical buzz and, in many cases, distribution. Perhaps the two best-known festivals in the world are Sundance and Cannes

FLASHBACK – scene from the past that interrupts the action to explain the motivation or reaction of a character to the immediate scene

Font – look of the printed text on the page. For screenplays, Courier 12 point is the standard (a fixed font, which in practical terms means that all letters occupy the same width of space). For stageplays, while Courier 12 point is often used, Times Roman and other proportional spaced, clearly readable fonts are also acceptable (proportional spaced fonts make adjustments for skinnier letters; text usually takes less space)

Formula – more commonly used in the world of film than for describing the stage, it usually refers to a sure-fire method of structuring a script (ie it must include certain elements and arrive at a certain ending). There have been a slew of movies in which a group of misfits are thrown together and ultimately become the David that slays Goliath on the athletic field (eg The Bad News Bears)

FREEZE FRAME – image on the screen stops, freezes and becomes a still shot

Full-length play or evening-length play – play that constitutes a full evening of theatre

Genre – category a story or script falls into such as thriller, romantic comedy, action, screwball comedy etc

Green light – project okayed for production

Header – element of a production script occupying the same line as the page number, which is on the right and half an inch from the top. Printed on every script page, header information includes the date of a revision and the color of the page

Heat – positive gossip about a project on the Hollywood grapevine

High concept – brief statement of a movie's basic idea that is felt to have tremendous public appeal

Hip pocket – casual relationship with an established agent in lieu of a signed, formal agreement of representation

Hook – term borrowed from songwriting that describes the thing that catches the public's attention and keeps them interested in the flow of a story

In the round – type of theatre space in which the audience is usually in a circular configuration, on all sides of the playing area

Indie – production company independent of major film studio financing

INT – indoors

Intercut – script instruction denoting that the action moves back and forth between two or more scenes

Intermission – break between acts or scenes of the play to allow for set changes, and for the audience to go to the bathroom, stretch and buy concessions

Interrupt – when one character cuts off another character's dialogue, sometimes marked with an '...' but better marked with an em dash (---)

Left or stage left – on stage, the actors' left, assuming they are facing the audience

Lights fade – common stage direction to end a scene or an act

Line reading – when a director or playwright gives an actor a specific way to perform a line of dialogue

Literary manager – artistic officer of a theatre in charge of at least the first stages of reviewing scripts for possible production. May have dramaturg responsibilities as well

Literary office – usually headed by the literary manager, and often staffed with interns and in-house or freelance readers. Typically the place to direct script submissions and inquiries

Locked pages – software term for finalised screenplay pages that are handed out to the department heads and talent in preparation for production

Logline – description of a screenplay that is 25 words or less

Lyrics – words that are sung by characters in a musical

MOS – without sound, so described because a German-born director wanting a scene with no sound told the crew to shoot 'mit out sound'

Manuscript – script before it has been published

Manuscript format – ideal submission format in the US and in a number of other countries, with character names centered and capitalised before their dialogue, and indented stage directions.

Master scene script – script formatted without scene numbering (the usual format for a spec screenplay)

Match cut – transition in which something in the scene that follows in some way directly matches a character or object in the previous scene

Miniseries – long-form movie of three hours or more, shown on successive nights or weeks on US TV networks

Montage – cinematic device used to show a series of scenes, all related and building to some conclusion

Movie of the Week (MOW) – movie made primarily for broadcast on a TV or cable network

Multimedia – writing and filmmaking encompassing more than one medium at a time which, script-wise, usually refers to CD-ROM games or internet-based programming

Multiple casting – when an actor plays more than one character

Musical – play in which songs and music are an integral part of the dramatic structure

Musical numbers page – page in a musical script, usually following the 'cast page', that lists the musical numbers (divided by act) and the characters that sing in them

Notes – ideas about a screenplay shared with a screenwriter by someone responsible for moving the script forward into production, which the screenwriter is generally expected to use to revise the screenplay. A similar paradigm exists on stage, with notes coming most often from the dramaturg or director. A key difference between stage and film is that the playwright still owns his script and has final say on revisions. Writers can hire consultants to receive feedback (notes) to help improve their scripts, before submitting them to an agency, production company or theatre

Numbered scenes – numbers that appear to the right and left of the scene heading to aid the assistant director in breaking down the scenes for scheduling and production

OC – abbreviation for 'off camera', denoting that the speaker is resident within the scene but not seen by the camera

OS – abbreviation for 'off Screen', denoting that the speaker is not resident within the scene

Off – short for 'off stage'. Typically written as '(off)' next to a character name when a character speaking dialogue is offstage while she speaks

One-act play – technically a play that has only one act. In more common usage, a play that is not an evening unto itself, but usually runs no more than an hour. A common arrangement is to produce three half-hour one-acts on the same bill

One-hour episodic – screenplay for a TV show whose episodes fill a one-hour time slot, week to week

Opening credits – onscreen text describing the most important people involved in the making of a movie

Option – securing of the rights to a screenplay for a given length of time

Package – assembly of the basic elements necessary to secure financing for a film

PAN – camera direction indicating a stationary camera that pivots back and forth or up and down

Parenthetical – an inflection to a speech noted by a writer also known as a 'wryly', because of the propensity of amateur screenwriters to try to accent a character's speech (eg 'BOB (wryly) ...'). In stageplays, all stage directions (at least in manuscript format) are in parentheses, but 'directing off the page' (as it's often called) is equally frowned upon

Pass – rejection of a property by a potential producer or an agent

Pitch – to verbally describe a property to a potential buyer in the hope it will be bought

Play – sometimes known as a 'stageplay', it's a production which is meant to be performed on stage in front of a live audience

Playwright – person who writes stage plays

Playwriting – craft or act of writing scripts for the stage (ie live theatre)

Point of view (POV) – camera angle placed so as to seem the camera is the eyes of a character

Points – percentage participation in the profits of a film

Polish – in theory, to rewrite a few scenes in a script to improve them. In practice, a screenwriter is often expected to do a complete rewrite of a script for the price of a polish

Producer – person or entity financially responsible for a stage or film production

Production script – script in which no more major changes or rewrites is anticipated to occur, which is used day by day for filming on a movie set

Professional recommendation – method of submission in which a writer may submit a full script if it's accompanied by a theatre professional (typically a literary manager or artistic director, though sometimes a director is acceptable as well)

Property – any intellectual property in any form (including a play or screenplay) that might form the basis of a movie. In theatre, an item usually called a 'prop' (eg a gun, spoon, hairbrush etc) that can held by one of the characters

Proscenium – type of stage in which the actors play opposite the audience, from which they are separated. Most high school auditoriums are prosceniums

Published play format – format typically found in an acting edition, meant to save space, in which the character names are on the left and stage directions occur on the same lines as dialogue

Query – method of submission in which a writer approaches a theatre with a brief letter, accompanied by a synopsis and sample pages

Rake – stage that is slanted so that as actors move away from the audience, they get higher. Few contemporary theatres have raked stages. It's more likely that the house (ie where the audience sits) will be raked

Reader or script reader – person who reads screenplays for a production company, or stageplays for a theatre company, and writes a report on them, often being paid per report

Reading – performance of a play in which the actors are script-in-hand. It could either take place around a table (called a 'table reading') or with some blocking or staging (a 'staged reading')

Register of Copyrights – US government office that registers intellectual property (eg scripts). Necessary before filing a claim for copyright infringement in court

Release – legal document given to unrepresented writers for signing by agents, producers or production companies, absolving said entities of legal liability

Resolution – third act of a dramatic structure, in which the conflict comes to some kind of conclusion: the protagonist either gets it or doesn't

Reversal – place in the plot where a character achieves the opposite of his aim, resulting in a change from good fortune to bad fortune

Revised pages – changes are made to the script after the initial circulation of the 'production script', which are different in color and incorporated into the script without displacing or rearranging the original, unrevised pages

Right or stage right – on stage, the actors' right, assuming they are facing the audience

Romantic comedy or romcom – comedic movie in which the main story resolves around a romance

Scene – action taking place in one location and in a distinct time, which moves the story to the next element of the story

Scene heading or slugline – short description of the location and time of day of a scene (eg 'EXT. MOUNTAIN CABIN - DAY' would denote that the action takes place outside a mountain cabin during daylight hours)

Screening – showing of a film for test audiences and/or people involved in the making of the movie

Screenplay contest – submission opportunity for screenwriters in which a group of readers (judges) select one or more winners from the entered scripts. Typically contests require entry fees that may be as high as $40 to $50, but can often result in prizes as high as $20,000 or more for the winner(s), as well as important exposure to agents and production companies. Some opportunities effectively function as contest, choosing a handful of fellows (ie winners) from the pool of entrants

Screenwriter – most important and most abused person in Hollywood. The screenwriter writes the script that provides the foundation for the film, though it may go through any number of changes, both in the rewriting process before production, during production and in the editing process afterwards. While in the world of theatre, there is usually only one playwright on any given play (or one collaborative team), in film there may be many screenwriters throughout the life of a project

Screenwriting – art of writing scripts for a visual medium

Script – blueprint or roadmap that outlines a movie story through visual descriptions, actions of characters and their dialogue. Also applies to stageplays

Script cover – what protects the script on its travels between the writer and its many potential readers. The Writers Store carries a number of acceptable covers

Script reader – see above as 'reader'

Scriptwriting software – computer software designed specifically to format and aid in the writing of screenplays and teleplays

Securely bound script – typically a stageplay contest's request that a script be more firmly bound than brads will do. Either it is literally bound or it is securely held in a folder

Set – physical elements that are constructed or arranged to create a sense of place

Setting – time and place of a play or screenplay

SFX – abbreviation for 'sound effects'

Shooting script – script that has been prepared to be put into production

Shot – what the camera sees (eg 'TRACKING SHOT' would mean that the camera is following a character or characters as they walk in a scene; 'WIDE SHOT' would mean that we see every character who appears in the scene, all at once)

Showrunner – writer/producer ultimately responsible for the production of a TV series, week to week

Simultaneous dialogue – when two characters speak at the same time, written in two columns side by side

Situation comedy or sitcom – a normally 30-minute (in the US) comedic TV show revolving around funny situations the main characters repeatedly fall into

Slugline – another name for 'scene heading'

SMASH CUT – quick or sudden cut from one scene to another

Soap opera – daytime dramas so named because they were originally sponsored by the makers of laundry detergent in the early days of television

Spec script – script written without being commissioned on the speculative hope that it will be sold

SPFX – abbreviation for 'special effects'

Split screen – screen with different scenes taking place in two or more sections. The scenes are usually interactive, as in the depiction of two sides of a phone conversation

Stage centre or centre stage – centre of the performance space, used for placement of the actors and the set

Stage directions – in a stageplay, the instructions in the text for the actors (eg entrances, exits, significant actions or business etc) and stage crew (eg lights fade). In a musical, the person who directed the non-musical elements of the show may be credited with 'stage direction' to distinguish them from the music director, who will be credited with 'music direction'

Stage left or left – on stage, the actors' left, assuming they are facing the audience

Stage right or right – on stage, the actors' right, assuming they are facing the audience

Stock shot – sequence of film previously shot, and available for purchase and use from a film library

Submission – name for a script once it is submitted to producers or agents

Suggested setting – setting on stage in which a few set pieces or lighting or other technical elements take the place of elaborate set construction

SUPER – abbreviation for 'superimpose', meaning the laying of one image on top of another and usually words over a filmed scene (eg Berlin and 1945)

Synopsis – two- to three-page, double-spaced description of a screenplay

Tag – short scene at the end of a movie that usually provides some upbeat addition to the climax

Technical demands – extent to which a play requires specific lighting, sound, sets etc. Plays with minimal technical demands are easier and less expensive to produce

Ten-minute play – complete play with a beginning, middle and end, designed to play in 10 minutes

The business – show business in general; more specifically, Hollywood moviemaking and television business

Thriller – fast-paced, high-stakes crime story in which the protagonist is generally in danger at every turn, with the most danger coming in the final confrontation with the antagonist

Thrust – stage configuration in which the playing area protrudes into the audience (ie the actors have audience on three sides of them)

Ticking clock – dramatic device in which some event looming in the near future requires that the conflict reach a speedy resolution

TITLE – text that appears on screen denoting a key element of the movie, a change of location or date or person involved in the making of the movie

Title page – page of the script that contains the title and the author's contact information

Touring play – play with minimal technical demands that is meant to be easily packed up and moved from one performance space to another

Transition – script notation denoting an editing transition within the telling of a story (eg 'DISSOLVE TO:' means the action seems to blur and refocus into another scene, and is generally used to denote a passage of time)

Treatment – scene-by-scene description of a screenplay, minus all or most of the dialogue

Tweak – minor change made in a scene or portion of a screenplay or a stageplay

Unsolicited script – method of script submission in which the writer sends the script, without prior contact, to the theatre or production company. Some theatres allow this, most don't, and very few film production companies (for liability reasons) can read unsolicited materials

Upstage or up – part of the stage farthest from the audience, so named because when stages were raked (slanted) an actor walking away from the audience was literally walking up

VO – abbreviation for 'voice over', denoting that the speaker is narrating the action onscreen

WGA signatory – agent, producer or production company that has signed an agreement to abide by established agreements with the Writers Guild of America

Workshop – developmental 'production' of a play, with a significant amount of rehearsal, but with less fully realised production values than a full production

Writers Guild of America (WGA) – main union for screenwriters in the US, with chapters in Los Angeles (WGAw) and New York (WGAe)