What is a screenplay? Definition, length and how it differs

A screenplay is the written blueprint of a film: a document, in a fixed page format, that tells the story through scene headings, action and dialogue — only what an audience will see and hear. Screenwriting is the craft of writing one, and a finished feature screenplay usually runs about 90 to 120 pages.

This guide defines the screenplay, explains how it differs from a script, a teleplay, a stage play and a novel, separates spec scripts from shooting scripts and covers length and who reads one. When you are ready to start, the how to write a screenplay guide picks up from here.

What is screenwriting?

Screenwriting is writing stories to be filmed. A screenwriter decides what happens, in what order, who says what and what the camera finds in each scene — but not how it is shot, lit or acted, which belong to the director, crew and cast.

That limit shapes the whole craft. A screenwriter cannot describe a thought unless it shows on a face or comes out in a line, and cannot use a paragraph of backstory unless it turns into something on screen. The work is choosing the moments that let an audience infer everything else.

What a screenplay looks like

Every screenplay is built from a small set of elements: a scene heading that says where and when, action that says what we see, a character cue, the dialogue under it, the occasional parenthetical and transition. They are set in Courier 12 on US Letter with fixed indents, so every script looks alike on the page. Here is an original fragment:

EXT. HARBOR WALL - DAWN

Fog. A small boat bumps against the stones. SELMA (70s) unties it with hands that know the knot.

Her grandson ARI (12) runs down the steps, out of breath.

ARI
You said you'd wake me.

SELMA
I said I'd wait.

She hands him the rope.

Eleven lines carry a place, a time, two people, a history between them and a decision. That economy is what the format is for. The screenplay format guide lists every element with its indent.

Screenplay vs script: is there a difference?

A screenplay is a script for the screen, so every screenplay is a script, but not every script is a screenplay. "Script" is the broader word: it covers stage plays, radio dramas, podcasts, video games and commercials as well as film and TV. In film and television the two words are used almost interchangeably, and "script" is the everyday term on set.

• Screenplay — written for a film, usually a feature or a short.
• Teleplay — written for a TV episode. It uses the same page format, with act breaks or a cold open depending on the show; the TV pilot guide covers the differences.
• Stage play — written for a live theater. Its format is different (character names centered or on the left, stage directions in italics or parentheses), it leans on dialogue and it is staged in one space in front of an audience.
• Novel — written to be read. A novel can enter a character's head and summarize years in a sentence; a screenplay can only show and let people speak.

Spec script vs shooting script

A spec script is a screenplay written on speculation — without a contract or payment — to sell or to show what a writer can do. A shooting script is a version prepared for production, with numbered scenes and the changes needed to schedule and film it.

The practical differences are on the page:

• Scene numbers: none in a spec script; locked numbers in a shooting script, so an added scene becomes 12A and a cut one is marked OMITTED.
• Camera directions: rare in a spec script; a shooting script may add shots and inserts.
• Revisions: a shooting script carries revision marks and dated, colored revision pages as changes come in; a spec is one clean draft.
• Readership: a spec is read by agents, producers and contest judges; a shooting script is read by the cast and every department.

How long is a screenplay?

A feature screenplay usually runs 90 to 120 pages, because one formatted page plays for roughly one minute of screen time. A half-hour TV episode is around 25 to 35 pages and an hour-long episode around 45 to 65. A short film can be anything from one page to about 30.

Page count is a rough guide, not a stopwatch: a page of fast dialogue plays quicker than a page of dense action. But it is why the format is strict. Change the font or margins and the page stops meaning a minute.

Who reads a screenplay?

A screenplay is read long before it is filmed, and by many people with different questions:

• Readers and development executives, who write coverage and decide whether a script moves up the chain — see the script coverage guide.
• Producers and financiers, who judge cost, cast appeal and market.
• Directors and actors, who decide whether they want to make it.
• Every department once it is greenlit: the assistant director breaks it into a schedule, design reads it for sets and props, wardrobe for costumes.

That is why clarity matters more than style. Each of those readers needs to find what they are looking for fast.

Read a short screenplay

The quickest way to understand a screenplay is to read one. The Screenplay Museum has six original one-page screenplays, each showing a single technique — a cold open, intercutting, subtext, voice-over — and each can be opened as your own project to study or rewrite.

Write it in Scenaloom

Scenaloom is a screenwriting app in the browser that formats a screenplay as you type: Courier Prime 12 on US Letter, the right indents for every element, and (MORE) and (CONT'D) at page breaks. You can draft a spec with scene numbers off, then lock numbers and add revision marks when it becomes a shooting script, and export to PDF or Final Draft (.fdx). Start a screenplay on the Free plan, no card needed.