The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style

This is a rare book. I hate style and grammar books in general. But this book flows; it made me aware of repeated questions I have in mind when writing and just as quickly answered those questions. The voice the book is written in demonstrates a mastery of, but also a humble reverence for the subject. I was taken aback by the emotion I felt by what is essentially a textbook. That’s not quite a first for me, but unusual. There are some books I don’t want to be far from, because they do feel like dear friends, and this is one of them. In terms of a stylebook what I like most about this book is the way it demonstrates how not to do something, followed by the how-to-do something using the same example. There are many single pages in this book with demonstrations that I believe are worth the cost of the book alone. Even if not script writing, there are matters here about punctuation that are presented in ways I have not seen before, that seen in this format make perfect sense and give me confidence in my writing. The large format of the book is also helpful. It is script-like and feels generous to the mind and in the hand, and so mimics it’s many lessons about what makes for quick reading and a sense of fluid absorption of the material.

Format standards in scriptwriting are essential to being taken seriously at all in this industry and the standards evolve. This edition of this book brings us right up-to-date and gives us the ability to fashion really professional-looking scripts. This can't be done by screenwriting software. More, the book is like a screenwriting course, even though it is not necessarily intended to be. Suddenly, while learning the DOs and DON'Ts, the writer understands why those things are in place and and tighten and strengthen their work. The example script pages are a great resource and he even tells us which brads to use and how many. Finally! The definitive word on brads!! (Yes, it's actually important.) Don't even think about it. If you want to write a film or TV script, buy this.

I found this a great resource with lots of detailed information about formatting scripts. It isn't going to teach you how to write a script (at all), but only how to format it. It won't tell you whether or not you're "supposed" to do something, only how to do it if you choose to. It's like a grammar reference for people who already know how to speak English -- and it's great for that purpose. Like all good grammar books, it's super picky. In my opinion, this was the best buy that I've made to prepare myself for next year's schooling. Teachers are notoriously picky.

Okay, you've got a great idea for a movie. It could be worth big bucks. But, sad to say, ideas alone are a dime a dozen (if that). But if you have a fully realized story for a movie, it is absolutely essential that it be presented in the proper format or it will likely be tossed. That first impression for new screenwriters showing their work is EVERYTHING. So, to make sure your script is lean and clean and immensely readable, you MUST follow basic formatting rules that are truly universal. Make it look like a pro wrote it and perhaps that producer you've cornered at a restaurant or the D girl (or boy) will get through the first crucial ten pages because your script at least looks like the real deal. And to make it so, there is no better reference tool than "THE HOLLYWOOD STANDARD." It's the Bible. Study it until it's a natural part of your movie writing process and you will even the playing field (assuming you can tell a compelling story, of course. But that's another conversation). This volume covers just about everything. It's a good reminder for the pro and essential for anyone with a movie idea in his or her head. Everyone has a great idea for a movie, but it's getting the story on paper that's the first step. IMPORTANT NOTE: This book is NOT about story structure but the layout of the actual written word. And the ebook version may change the look of the sample pages so the proper formatting is lost.

Within the first five pages, I knew that The Hollywood Standard was a great investment. The details on script writing for Hollywood have been invaluable in helping me clean up scripts I have already been working on. I knew immediately that I need to change some things within my script. It's clearly written, with a bevy of easy-to-understand examples. It details every question I had on how to properly write a Hollywood-worthy script. With the help of this terrific book, I was able to bring my script to a professional level. If you are interested in writing professional scripts, this book will help make it happen. So you probably shouldn't buy it. I don't need any more competition!

Another writer recommended this book as I was struggling to write my TV pilot. This is a book that works along with Final Draft , this books teaches you what and when toindent or capitalize, it’s not something Final Draft can teach you. I highly recommend this book. It’s under 200 pages and you learn from a seasoned former executive about the what nots and what to do. You don’t want to get your great story idea thrown out due to bad formatting. This book is totally affordable!

I like this book a lot, it's much better than the few others available on the same subject. But I still feel that something is missing, a lot more technical terms and details could and should be included. For example, what's the difference between Intercut and Crosscut? How about Jump Cut and Match Cut? Etc, etc... Writers need a Bible of technical tools all the time. Out of respect, and for the fact it's still the best of its subject, I think the book certainly deserves five stars.

This book is all you will ever need on formating, it is like mathimatics, completely explainable and spelt out clearly. Also the book shows the diffrent ways you can create and express your own style, what is ok to copy from the big stars and whats not. Buy the book, then re-read it FIVE TIMES.

Hay muchas maneras de escribir un guion pero solo unas pocas que son aceptadas por la industria. Este libro te da justo esto: las pautas que la industria va a seguir para acceder a tu guion y para comprobar si es válido o no. Siguiendo sus pautas ya tienes un trecho del camino andado. Sin ellas, si quieres acceder a la industria, y por mucha voluntad que tengas, seguirás andando por el desierto.

Esté libro es esencial para quién quiere escribir un guión y aún no entiende el formato de escritura.

If you're serious about screenwriting, you need to own this book. I recommend the ebook so it's easy to search.

This is of course the last word in how to structure a movie script and touches on shooting scripts and other topics. As such, it is invaluable, as long as you are working to the 'Hollywood' norm. I suppose that my only gripe is that the books nails down the absolute rules and standards in an industry that is conservative enough! Getting the movie industry to adopt a new technology is sometimes like drawing teeth. Imagine trying to get a LA-based team to NOT use Media Composer, ProTools and Maya! The answer is, that outside of Hollywood (and with Hollywood, I mean all the satellites of Hollywood in NY, the UK, New Zealand, Berlin and, well anywhere, where they hope or aspire to achieve Hollywood status, or are working with Hollywood studios) we/they are using anything and everything - the latest Bond was edited on Premier and CGI was Cinema 4D. (And if you don't know what any of that means, trust me, movie makers do!) But the use of a standard script form does have its advantages - at least, everybody knows, by looking at the words on the page, what the words are, i.e. dialogue, business, whatever. As a work, setting the standard is what this book does brilliantly. If you are making movies, you need this book, so that either what you write translates into a film, or what you read reflects the intentions of the writer. If you come from radio or theatre, some of this strict formatting may baffle you - but trust me, it's worth while learning. And like any set of rules and standards, sometimes we just go bonkers and break them - but you have to know the rules, if you are going to break them successfully!

Questo libro contiene davvero tutte le regole della sceneggiatura e soprattutto i casi nei quali applicarle. Una piccola pecca che gli si può fare è che le diverse parti del testo della sceneggiatura sono analizzate in capitoli diversi del libro, il che richiede di doverlo scorrere più volte, anche se l'indice per argomenti in fondo al libro aiuta parecchio penso comunque che questo "problema" sia dovuto dalla struttura stessa della sceneggiatura. Si può avere un'anteprima del libro [ ... ]