Margins, indents, the font, and line spacing are essential building blocks of page length, which roughly corresponds to running time of a minute per page. They should not be altered or fudged. Unless you’re a famous screenwriter, any deviation marks you as an amateur. Your title page is also subject to rigid formatting rules.

See screenwritingcommunity.net/margins-indents-fonts-spacing-titlepage/ for the precise specifications.

The review has found 5 possible spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure issues in scene description. They are not individually marked in your script.

These are not necessarily errors. Both good cinematic shorthand and human dialogue routinely depart from strictly correct language. Neither this app nor any grammar-checker can reliably distinguish between actual errors versus legitimate, intentional uses of departures from strict English usage in cinematic descriptions or dialogue.

For guidance on cinematic shorthand style, see: screenwritingcommunity.net/mastering-cinematic-shorthand/

Correct formatting calls for a spec movie script to begin with "FADE IN:" flush left in all caps and end with "FADE OUT." flush right in all caps.

Exception: If you intend for the audience to hear sound before the visual transition begins, the sound description should precede FADE IN: —

(SOUND OF A DISTANT SIREN)
FADE IN:
EXT. MOUNTAIN ROAD – DAY

• Every character should be referred to by one consistent name throughout. If you call a character JOHNSON on page 1 and DETECTIVE JOHNSON on page 20, script breakdown software counts them as different characters. Use Final Draft’s Replace Character tool (Edit → Replace Character) to safely merge inconsistent names.
• A spec script normally introduces 3–4 named characters in the first 10 pages (minimum 2, maximum 5–6). Too few may mean a slow opening; too many can overwhelm the reader.
• An orphaned character cue is a character name in dialogue format with no following dialogue. These often indicate deleted dialogue, a formatting error, or a character who should be in the cast list but isn’t.

Use MORNING, AFTERNOON, or EVENING only when the specific time crucially impacts the plot in a way that “DAY” doesn’t communicate. Departing from DAY and NIGHT can cause production software to mis-count day and night scenes. The camera cannot “see” MORNING or AFTERNOON — it sees only DAY.

CONTINUOUS should be used only when action is literally unbroken between shots. See screenwritingcommunity.net/using-continuous-in-scene-headings/

LATER — it is your responsibility to show on screen that time has passed and about how much. See screenwritingcommunity.net/using-later-in-scene-headings/

Subheadings: When a master scene heading (INT. UPSTAIRS - DAY) is followed by all-caps subheadings (BATHROOM, HALLWAY) marking movement within that space, this is standard format. Subheadings don’t need their own INT./EXT. or time of day.

Note on LATER: If you use "LATER" in a scene heading or slugline, provide visual and/or auditory evidence that time has passed.

ALL CAPS is correct for:

• Sluglines within a scene, BEGIN FLASHBACK / END FLASHBACK, on-screen text TITLES and SUPERS, and subheadings within a master scene (BATHROOM, HALLWAY)
• A character’s name on their first appearance in action description
• A pet or animal’s name
• Business signage, license plates, and other real-world instances in which capitalization is normal (e.g., WILLIE’S CONSTRUCTION — WHEN YOU WANT IT DONE RIGHT)
• An important sound effect with dramatic impact (GUNSHOT, EXPLOSION, CLICKS)
• A key offscreen sound that drives the scene

ALL CAPS is not appropriate for:

• General action description or repeated character references
• Atmospheric sounds (the wind WHISTLES — write in mixed case)
• Any word simply intended to seem important

If an on-screen character groans, sobs, yells, snores, burps, laughs, screams, whines, or whispers, it is not capitalized unless it interrupts the scene, alerts another character, or acts as a distinct audio cue.

Note on character names: If a character name is flagged here, it probably means you did not include that character in the cast list as a non-speaking character. Add them manually. Also review your character list for misspelled names — Final Draft counts “RACHEL,” “RAHCEL,” and “RACHEL.” (with a period) as three different characters.

A note on sound effects: When a sound is important enough to capitalize, heighten its effect by giving it its own paragraph and describing the reaction in a new paragraph.

Camera directions (CLOSE ON, CUT TO, PAN TO, DOLLY IN, etc.) are generally not used in spec scripts. They are considered the director’s province. The reader wants to visualize the story, not receive camera instructions.

Use a camera direction only when the specific shot is essential to the story — for example, a CLOSE ON a specific object that drives the plot — and the meaning could not be achieved through action description alone.

If the camera cannot record it and the microphone cannot hear it, cut it. Never write thoughts, feelings, or history that is not visual or aural.

Change "He feels nervous" to something like "He taps his foot rapidly, eyes darting toward the door."

Do not summarize a scene’s atmosphere or a character’s state. Describe the physical evidence.

Do not write: The office was chaotic.
Do write: Papers coat the floor, coffee stains mar the desk, and a phone rings incessantly.

Parentheticals (wrylies) in dialogue are used only to provide clarity about how a line is delivered when the intended delivery isn’t obvious from the text. They are never used to describe significant action. Action belongs in scene description.

An exception: a micro-action that goes with the speech can appear in a parenthetical if it is instantaneous and directly impacts the beat of the speech — such as: (to John), (sarcastically), (pause, then softly), (in Spanish), (whispering), (nods), (points to the door), (checks watch), (shrugs).

Long blocks of unbroken action description are hard to read and slow the pace on the page. As a general rule, no action block should exceed 4–5 lines. Break them up with white space. The page should look like it breathes.

Veteran readers often use the density of action blocks as a quick signal of a writer’s experience level. Tight, airy pages read as professional.

Overused words create a subliminal sense of repetition that fatigues the reader. Vary your word choices. A word that appears more than a dozen times in a 90-page script is worth a second look. The most commonly overused words in screenplays include: suddenly, quickly, slowly, back, then, now, just, really, very, looks, turns, walks.

(CONTINUED) markers at the top and bottom of pages are a holdover from the era of physical production copies. They are not used in spec scripts. Delete them. Final Draft can be set to omit them automatically under Format → Elements → Continued.

Interpreting and dramatizing the character of a real historical figure is generally (but not 100%) without legal risk. Interpreting and dramatizing the character of a living person poses much greater risk. The producer of such a work incurs those legal costs and risks, which might be an impediment to buying your screenplay.

The rules are more strict for the use of the content of others’ creative works, such as songs or poetry, if they are still protected by copyright. Instead of specifying a particular song or artist’s work, describe a style and era: “a driving funk groove, early 1970s.”