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FEATURES
All of the templates have the
following features in common. |
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Designed for
rapid typing:
The names of
the first twenty main characters are kept in an internal rapid access
table; as you finish typing the dialogue of one character, you press the
key-combination of the next character and the computer inserts the
relevant name, sets the formatting and is ready for new
dialogue.
The normal features of Microsoft Word are still all available, should you need to
deviate from a normal format, but you probably will never need to.
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Consistent Keystrokes:
Unlike some
other templates systems, the keystrokes do not
vary dependent upon the
type of script that you are making.
You use basically the same set of
special keystrokes, whether
you are typing a film, or a sitcom, or a play
or a radio script.
So once you have learened to use one template, such as
the free sample, you have
learned them all.
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Paragraph
styles:
All the relevant layout styles
are immediately available
by key-combination, toolbar or dropdown menu;
whichever suits you best.
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Headers and
Footers:
Title and page numbers are provided automatically,but you can
easily remove them if your procucer dislikes headers.
Act and Scene numbers are automatic in most cases.
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Production Script:
During your writing phase, the
layout is coloured for easy perception. When the script is ready for
submision a menu command converts it to all black for printing and
removes the macros and crib-sheet to avoid macro security warnings at
the production company.
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MS Word features:
Unlike some over-enthusiastic
scripting templates, the underlying features of Word are not disabled.
They are available if needed for unusual situations, such as Autotext, a
short sequence of keystrokes can substitute a long frequently used text
string
.
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Non-printing
notes:
There is a
facility for including non-printing notes in your
script; these notes are
displayed in grey font.
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Version 5 of the templates
works with all versions of Microsoft Word from
2000 through 2010,
i.e Word 2000 and Word XP(2002) Word 2003, Word 2007 and
Word 2010, but must be installed correctly.
See the link above to the Video Tutorials.
I regret that versions 5 does not work
for the Apple Mac
The six script formats
preferred by the BBC are not in the older versions, they are only in
Version 5. Scroll to the bottom of this page for the older versions which
are completely free.
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BRIEF
DESCRIPTIONS
of each template. |
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Hollywood5_USLtr.dot
and Hollywood5_A4.dot
The
Hollywood5 template produces scripts in courier font and conforming
to current information of the Hollywood fashion in film
scripts. I chose to put a page number in the top
right corner with the Screenplay title in the top left corner both in
smaller letters than the main script. Either addition can easily be
omitted from the final print. |
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Hollywood's style in film scripts
migrates slowly from year to year, probably to distinguish the in-crowd
from the newcomers. This version matches the format originally recommended by Bill
Craig on his website, but now no longer there. |
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These templates are preset for the two
sizes of paper A4 and US Letter. The only differences are in the margin
settings and are
arranged in both cases so that the active area in the
centre of
the page is 6 inches by 9 inches. So if you use the template
appropriate to your paper size you should get exactly the same quantity of
script on the page in both cases. Set to traditional
Courier 10 font,
this gives the format that producers believe
will give on average one minute of
finished film
per page of script.
.
Example: [
The Bulge
by Bill Williams ]
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BBC_Film5.dot
BBC_Film5 produces a script in
the format favoured by the BBC for films and single TV dramas. It is
broadly similar to the Hollywood
Film format. The template also contains
the paragraph styles for adding the Act headings to create the
BBC "Screenplay
Format for TV Shows" formerly mentioned on the BBC
writers room web
site |
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Example:
A Work-In-Progress Format:
[Wall of
Silence by Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran
]
Its final Submission Format:
[Wall of Silence by Laurence Marks & Maurice
Gran ] |
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BBC_Drama5.dot
This template produces the BBC Taped Drama format. The font is
Arial, Character names appear in Bold Caps, Underlined left
justified over the dialogue, which is single-spaced. Stage directions are
bold, capitals, single spaced and offset to the right of the dialogue.
There is a wide left margin to provide space for
the production
teams.
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BBC_Sitcom5.dot
This template produces the BBC Taped
Sitcom format. The font is Arial, Character names appear in Bold
Caps, Underlined left justified over the dialogue, which is double-spaced.
Stage directions are Bold, Capitals, single spaced and offset to the right
of the dialogue.
There is a wide left margin to provide space for
the
production teams.
Example:[Our American Cousin by Tom Taylor
]
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BBC_Stage5.dot
This template produces a UK stage format as suggested
by
some BBC staff. Character names are left justified in the left
column
and in-line with the first line of dialogue. Stage
directions are in All
Capitals and set off to the right
from the dialogue. The font is
Courier. |
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BBC_RadioDrama5.dot
This template produces the BBC Radio Format (Scene Style),
used for drama and non-audience comedy. Character names
are bold capitals left justified in the left column and on the
same line as the
first line of dialogue. Sound directions,
produced by
CTRL+SHIFT+V, are bold capitals underlined
and offset to the right
from the dialogue. |
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Examples:
[Pigeon
Kind by Sally Ann Farmer
]
[The House of Teeth by Spike
Milligan
]
A Goon Show script
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BBC_RadioSketch5.dot
This template produces the BBC Radio Format (Cue Style),
used for sketches and recordings with an audience.
Approximately the same
as the radio drama format it adds
undelined cue lines for F/X and GRAMS
and identifies
the sketch and author on every page.
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Example:
[Foiled by President Fred by Spike
Milligan
]
A Goon Show script. |
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PrivateFilm5.dot
PrivateFilm5 produces a compact film script for private
productions where the producer & director are not worried
about the
rule-of-thumb that one page produces one minute
of film or video. So this
format uses arial font which is
easier to read than courier font and uses
less paper. In
other respects e.g. centering and margins etc it is similar
to
Hollywood Film format, but it is amazing how different
it looks with
such a small change
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Example:
[The
Bulge by Bill Williams
]
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ScriptDevCards.dot
ScriptDevCards is a very simple template, which you can
use
to print out blank script development 'cards'. These are a
handy tool
for getting your thoughts in order before and
during the writing of a
script.
Example:
[Blank
Development Cards
] |
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Studio5.dot
Studio5 produces a UK SitCom type script, as used with
studio audiences. The character names in bold capitals on a line
alone, followed by dialogue on the right half of the page, double spaced.
Stage directions are in Capitals in the right half, but both left &
right justified. Scene headings are bold full width. It is similar to the
BBC sitcom format above but has wider left margins.
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Example:
[Believe Nothing Episode 5 by Marks &
Gran
] |
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Radio5.dot
Radio5 produces a sound script, which matches the original
specification issued by BBC Radio 4. (A useful format, but no
longer
exactly the same as that in use by the BBC now; replacment BBC
formats are available above). Character names are bold
upper+lower case in the left quarter of the page, dialogue in courier font
occupies three quarters of the page width, and sound
effects are bold
small caps and underlined, occupying
the right half of the page.
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Original Radio plays didn’t have scenes,
so there is just a
bold START and END heading for the whole play.
The
template includes an automatic cast list and a place
for typing your
synopsis.
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Stage5A.dot
There appears to be no definitive standards for stage scripts,
whatever looks nice seems to be suitable, so I have supplied 3 variations
suitable for UK stage productions. USA Stage
scripts tend to be in
similar format to Hollywood Films, so
stageplay writers in the USA should
use one of those above.
A USA stage format will possibly be added to this
set later.
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All of the stage templates include an
automatic cast of characters page. This template (Stage5a) produces a
stage script roughly
like the compact scripts used to publish books like
"The Complete Works of Shakespeare". Scene headings and stage directions
are centred and dialogue is against the left margin, with
Character Names
in bold Upper+Lower case.
Example:
[The
Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
]
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Stage5B.dot
A second style for stage scripts, with the dialogue indented by
roughly a third of the page width, and the Character Names left justified
with just a small indent. Act headings are centred, Scene headings left
justified. Stage directions are italic and full
page width. A second style for stage directions is right
justified for Exits & Entries.
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Stage5C.dot
This is similar to stage5b except that the character names are right
justified within the left third of the page, to make them match more
easily to the first line of dialogue. Scene Headings are centred and Stage
directions in italic fill only the right two thirds of the page. Automatic
numbering of Acts and Scenes are provided.
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Example:
[The
Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
]
[The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice
]
[The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice
(production type)] |
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