Sherlock Holmes and the Killer Tomatoes

Table of Contents

Guidance on Margins, Indents, Font, Line Spacing, and the Title Page

Margins, indents, the font, and line spacing are absolutes, and may not be altered, violated, or fudged under any circumstances or for any reason. They are the essential building blocks of page length, which roughly corresponds to running time. 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.

Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, and Sentence Structure

The audit has identified 2 possible spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure issues in scene description in the script for your review.

These may be errors or good cinematic shorthand. Neither this app nor any grammar-checker can reliably tell the difference. They are not individually marked in your script.

We recommend that along with this script audit, you run the spell checker of your screenplay software. For broader grammar checking, you can also run the text of the screenplay through Grammarly, Quillbot.com, or Microsoft Word. However, these tools will treat good cinematic shorthand as errors while also finding any actual errors. Review each suggestion and ignore their recommendations to “correct” good cinematic shorthand.

If you do use a cinematic shorthand style for scene description, here are some guidelines to best practices: screenwritingcommunity.net/mastering-cinematic-shorthand/

Review your use of MORNING, AFTERNOON, or EVENING in scene headings. They should be used only when the specific time of day crucially impacts the plot in a way that “DAY” doesn’t communicate, or when showing a contrast or sequence of time passing — such as back-to-back scenes in the same location. Otherwise, use DAY or NIGHT.

Departing from the traditional DAY and NIGHT can cause production planning and budgeting software to mis-count day and night scenes. Also, the camera cannot “see” MORNING and AFTERNOON — it sees only DAY. EVENING is worse in visual terms; it could be daytime, dusk, or night.

A note on CONTINUOUS: CONTINUOUS should be used only when the action is literally unbroken between one shot and the next. Otherwise, use DAY or NIGHT. For detailed guidance, see screenwritingcommunity.net/using-continuous-in-scene-headings/

Important formatting detail: In scene headings, separate both sides of the hyphen from text with a space. Correct: INT. HOUSE – DAY.   Incorrect: INT. HOUSE-DAY.   Incorrect: INT. HOUSE -DAY.

A note on LATER: If you use “LATER” in a scene heading or slugline, it is your responsibility as the screenwriter to show on screen that time has passed, and about how much time. You should not leave it to the director to write this element of the story. See screenwritingcommunity.net/using-later-in-scene-headings/

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).

This script contains 9 marked instances of ALL CAPS flagged in action lines. Some might vary from accepted style. Check them against the guidance in this section.

ALL CAPS is correct for:

• Sluglines within a scene, directions such as “BEGIN FLASHBACK” and “END FLASHBACK,” and on-screen text TITLES and SUPERS
• A character's name on their first appearance
• 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, whispers, et cetera, it is not capitalized unless it interrupts the scene, alerts another character, or acts as a distinct audio cue.

Important note on character names: If a character name is flagged below as an ALL CAPS issue, it probably means that you did not include that character in the character/cast list as a non-speaking character. You should add that character manually; all characters should be listed for script breakdown, casting, and budgeting. Also review your character list for misspelled names — for example, Final Draft will count “RACHEL,” “RAHCEL,” and “RACHEL.” (with a period) as three different characters.

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

A Final Word on Formatting and Screenplay Style

For the final word on formatting questions raised in this report — including ALL CAPS usage, slugline styles, scene heading conventions, and spec script vs. shooting script standards — consult the authoritative sources listed on our formatting reference page:

screenwritingcommunity.net/screenplay-formatting-resources/

That page covers the primary authoritative books and web resources, including The Hollywood Standard by Christopher Riley and The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier.