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FilmSkool — a free film school

The Screenwriting Description Rules You Need to Know

The conventions governing description and action lines — what a screenwriter is allowed to put on the page, what belongs to other departments, and how much white space the reader expects.

Allen Wrote On · 9 min · Intermediate · SCR · Screenwriting · 2023

What you take away

Action lines describe what the camera can record; anything a camera cannot see is a note to yourself, not to the reader.

Watch it

Filed under

Oscar winners for screenplay

Books on screenwriting

The Art of Dramatic Writing — Lajos Egri
The TV Writer’s Workbook — Ellen Sandler
Writing the TV Drama Series — Pamela Douglas
Zen in the Art of Writing — Ray Bradbury
The Writer’s Journey — Christopher Vogler
Screenwriting Tips, You Hack — Xander Bennett

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Anatomy Of Story - Television Edition: The Complete Film Courage Interview with John Truby — Film Courage · 55m · Intermediate

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