Hey guys, I'm looking for a little bit of help regarding screenplay formatting. When I'm all done with my script, I'll let you guys have a look! Thanks in advance!

None of these examples are from my script... just basic situations and actions.


#1)  When first introducing a character, how should I indicate their age?

EXAMPLES:

A. BOB, a hulking in his mid fifties, rushes across the yard.
B. BOB, a hulking man in his mid 50's, rushes across the yard.
C. Something else

also

A. TIM, late twenties, stands off to the side.
B. TIM, late 20's, stands off to the side.
C. Something else

#2)  When describing a group of the same people (who aren't important at all), how should I say their name?

EXAMPLES:

A. BYSTANDER1 looks up.
B. BYSTANDER 1 looks up.

#3)  Suppose part of my story takes place in a house of which each room is used. How do I indicate that a person walks or moves to the other rooms if I want NO time to pass in between and no cuts to occur? I would imagine that slugs are needed, but do I use CONTINUOUS ?

EXAMPLE:

INT. LIVING ROOM -- DAY

Julie sits quietly on the couch with a frown. An alarm pierces the silence. Julie looks up and starts towards the kitchen.

INT. KITCHEN -- CONTINUOUS

Julie walks through the doorway and trips over an old pair of SHOES on the floor. Julie's face turns red. She picks herself up and briskly moves over to the stove.

Is this done correctly?

#4)  Can actions lines end in prepositions?

#5) Can actions lines use flagrantly poor grammar occasionally?

EXAMPLES:

Sue hears a rain drop echo off the tin roof. Then she hears another. And another. And another.

also

The man in red steps in front of Bill with a chuckle and removes his mask, revealing...

                                           BILL
                                           Jim?

#6)  Should using italics for emphasis in dialog be avoided?

#7)  How exactly do you indicate a character's accent?

#8 )  Is the use of parentheses in actions frowned upon?

EXAMPLE:

Jack's hair is jet black (just long enough for a breeze to have an influence) and combed back.

#9)  If there is more than one scene within a flashback, should every slug contain something that states that this scene is part of the flashback?

#10)  Should numbers ALWAYS be avoided in action descriptions (similar to #1) ?

EXAMPLES:

MEPHISTO, a 9-foot tall robot, rampages across the street.

also

John lifts a 3-foot crate.

#11)  Is musical direction allowed in action lines? My screenplay is NOT a musical and I only cue music twice (not at the start or end).

#12) And the most important question -  how long should my screenplay be? As of now, mine is 98 pages. I've read from different websites that spec screenplays should be in the 110-115 page range. Is this true?


Thanks alot to all who try to help!

-Erik

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #1)  When first introducing a character, how should I indicate their age?

JOHN (25) steps up to the desk.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #2)  When describing a group of the same people (who aren't important at all), how should I say their name?

BYSTANDERS gather around the crime scene.

BYSTANDER1 looks up.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #3)  Suppose part of my story takes place in a house of which each room is used. How do I indicate that a person walks or moves to the other rooms if I want NO time to pass in between and no cuts to occur? I would imagine that slugs are needed, but do I use CONTINUOUS ?

Slugs are not needed when your character goes from one scene (ie: room) to the next in a spec script.

INT. LIVING ROOM -- DAY

Julie sits quietly on the couch with a frown. An alarm pierces the silence. Julie looks up and starts towards the kitchen.

She walks through the doorway and trips over an old pair of SHOES on the floor.

This is fine.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #4)  Can actions lines end in prepositions? #5) Can actions lines use flagrantly poor grammar occasionally?

You can if it helps the story telling.  Keep in mind that there is a difference between artistic license and being illiterate.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #6)  Should using italics for emphasis in dialog be avoided?

For the most part, yes.  The only time when you should use italics would be when a character pronounces something incorrectly (I saw this in an Abbot and Costello script, once).

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #7)  How exactly do you indicate a character's accent?

              ROBERT
       (English accent)
It looks like rain.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #8 )  Is the use of parentheses in actions frowned upon? EXAMPLE: Jack's hair is jet black (just long enough for a breeze to have an influence) and combed back.

In this case, yes.  Parenthesis have a different purpose in scripts.  They're used in dialogue when the dialogue is has an unusual tone

          ROBERT
     (sad)
I won a million dollars....

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #9)  If there is more than one scene within a flashback, should every slug contain something that states that this scene is part of the flashback?

No.  When your flashback ends, the slug should include PRESENT or END OF FLASHBACK.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #10)  Should numbers ALWAYS be avoided in action descriptions (similar to #1) ?

You can use them.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #11)  Is musical direction allowed in action lines? My screenplay is NOT a musical and I only cue music twice (not at the start or end).

It is if music is used as a prop.  IE:

ROBERT enters the stage as the orchestra music starts.

It shouldn't be mentioned for background music.  IE:

The tempo quickens as Robert slams his foot on the gas pedal.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #12) And the most important question -  how long should my screenplay be? As of now, mine is 98 pages. I've read from different websites that spec screenplays should be in the 110-115 page range. Is this true?

Long enough to tell the story.  If your story is good at 98 pages, don't change it.


Phil

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #1)  When first introducing a character, how should I indicate their age?

Your examples are fine.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #2)  When describing a group of the same people (who aren't important at all), how should I say their name?

Again, your examples are fine. Just make sure your labels are consistent. However, it's useful to give your stock characters characteristic labels as opposed to just numbers. This way you have Inquisitive Bystander or Doctor Bystander or Glasses Bystander...just to give the extra something to go off of and to distinguish them from each other instead of just a number. We had one script that went up to Cop 10 and that was just silly.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #3)  Suppose part of my story takes place in a house of which each room is used. How do I indicate that a person walks or moves to the other rooms if I want NO time to pass in between and no cuts to occur? I would imagine that slugs are needed, but do I use CONTINUOUS ?

Your example works fine, just drop the "Continuous." Whoever reads the script should get the clear idea that the action works continuously from one scene to another. If they can't get that idea, then you haven't written it clearly enough. Another useful took here, though, when referring to actuion continuously between scenes would be using secondary headings. This would change you example into something like this:

INT. LIVING ROOM -- DAY

Julie sits quietly on the couch with a frown. An alarm pierces the silence. Julie looks up and walks

INTO THE KITCHEN

where she trips over an old pair of SHOES on the floor. Julie's face turns red. She picks herself up and briskly moves over to the stove.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #4)  Can actions lines end in prepositions? #5) Can actions lines use flagrantly poor grammar occasionally?

You always want to strive for correct grammar, otherwise you just look sloppy. Some license is extended to break a few grammatical rules, but these mostly take place within the framework of the spec descriptions (dialogue can use anything and doesn't count). One of few instances of questionable grammar goes like this:

Bob walks to the fridge. Opens the door. Grabs a carton of milk. Chugs the whole thing down.

Your example is also quite within the boundaries of being allowable (i.e. your "revealing" example) just as my former secondary heading example is ok. Beyond that, grammar should be correct unless there is a compelling reason for it not to be. And why end a sentence with a preposition?

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #6)  Should using italics for emphasis in dialog be avoided?

Any Word Processor flourish should be avoided. Screenplays should look like they came off an old typewriter. Consider the limitations.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #7)  How exactly do you indicate a character's accent?

Either in a wryly or in the first description of the character. Either way goes.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #8 )  Is the use of parentheses in actions frowned upon?

I'm not sure why you'd want to, but as long as you're within the boundaries of showing, not telling, and using proper grammar, whatever you write is fine. It just has to flow easily when someone reads it.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #9)  If there is more than one scene within a flashback, should every slug contain something that states that this scene is part of the flashback?

It depends on how you do the flashback. If you started the series of flashbacks by placing a - FLASHBACK at the tail end of every slug, you have to do that consistently throughout. It is easier in a series of scenes that are flashbacks to just write BEGIN FLASHBACK with an END FLASHBACK at the end. That way, you're covered.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #10)  Should numbers ALWAYS be avoided in action descriptions (similar to #1) ?

Numbers are fine in descriptions, but not okay in dialogue. Numbers should be written out in dialogue to ensure the way they are spoken is correct. In action, these are not read by a character, so it doesn't matter as much. It is useful to follow basic grammar rules here where you write out numbers under twenty, but that's not a requirement.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #11)  Is musical direction allowed in action lines? My screenplay is NOT a musical and I only cue music twice (not at the start or end).

It depends on the story. If such a thing is necessary within the framework of the story, then by all means. If it is mostly superfluous, than it shouldn't be there.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 #12) And the most important question -  how long should my screenplay be? As of now, mine is 98 pages. I've read from different websites that spec screenplays should be in the 110-115 page range. Is this true?

If you read enough about this, you'll find numbers ranging from 85 all the way to 135 pages. It all depends on what people are looking for. The average range is between 90 and 120, since your average movie is 90 minutes long which allows it to fit in a 2 hour TV time slot. The key is as Phil said, as long as it takes to tell the story. Now it's true some won't read scripts that exceed a certain length, but we can't be sure who those people are.

Quoted from dragonforce52087 Thanks a lot to all who try to help!

Well, I hope what we offer is up to the standards you are placing, and being that most of us are amateurs with no experience in the actual field of Hollywood readers, take it with a grain of salt. The main thing you want to look into with your script is to ensure that it is a page turner. If you have an interesting and compelling script, then you can usually get away with breaking "the rules" occasionally.

Of course, don't get caught up in the rules too much. We're in the business of making movies which are purely visual so almost NOTHING we've talked about here will show through on screen. It's simply a way to play the game to get in the door after which, none of it matters anyway.