By silent script, I mean a script that would be transferred to the screen as a silent film. Would I need a new way of formatting it? Does anything have to be different? I haven't been able to find any samples of silent film scripts on the web at all and would like to have help with this. I have a feeling that there is not a big difference between a silent and a regular film script. The problem is that I don't know what I have to change to make a silent script.

I'd just state at the start "This script is for a silent film" or words to that effect. If you are doing one in the style of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton then those films used occasional title cards stating short dialogue or actions. Youtube 'em.

Apart from that normal formatting would be fine. I was gonna make a joke about my scripts don't make any noises anyway, apart from occasional groans but, as you can see I didn't manage it. Oh, they do make a bang when they hit the bin.

Silent Scripts are almost always emprovised... The words they speak are dramatic exaggerations and expressions. The script format is more a series shots and events that unfold.  If you are shooting the script yourself an outline is probably all you'd need truth be told.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffB6rCxj9TY

This is a video I found on the source material and they explain a better way of doing it, but if it were me... Outline - Add lib - Shoot -

ok. thanks for the help guys.

USA, are you talking about a silent film, like back in the day, before we had sound, or are you just saying, there won't be any spoken dialogue in your script?

Big difference.  If it's simply a dialogue free script (like at least 1 I read in here some time ago), then just write it like you would normally...there just won't be any actual spoken dialogue.

But if you literally want the Chaplin route, my question to you would be, "Why?".

I am talking about a silent film, like in the 1910's and 1920's. If you want to know why, it is simply because I like trying new things and think this would benefit me a whole lot in terms of writing in general. I like using my imagination in a lot of my scripts, so you can see why I would want to. It isn't something I would post on SS because I can imagine how confusing it would be to understand what is going on and so forth.

Actually, those movies were written pretty much as they are now. You can see people speaking and the script told them what to say. The decision as to the title cards is made in post to decide what is needed to tell the story beyond what is shown on screen. The title cards can be in the scripts, but for the most part, you wouldn't write it any differently than you would a modern, except to realize that the dialogue you wrote won't be heard and that some of it will probably be titled.

Given that modern films can have sound, though, you would do better to forego dialogue altogether, and just write a dialogue free script.

I wrote one called "Found" that you can look at if you want a short example. You can find the link in the MY STUFF page in my signature. It's not perfect, but maybe it will give you a start. And I'm sure there are others around the site.

Good luck.

James