Have you ever thought of writing a screenplay? If so, wondering where to start? You can use the Google Docs screenplay template to create beautiful screenplays in Google Docs.
Even though there is no built-in Google Docs screenplay template to start right away, you can create a screenplay template in Google Docs using different methods to write the blueprint of your movie.
Let’s dive deep into this article to find out some simple workarounds to create a Google Docs screenplay template and format a screenplay.
Table Of Contents
What is a screenplay template?
A screenplay is a document written by screenwriters. There are certain rules you have to follow when creating a screenplay format; and that’s why before creating a screenplay template in Google Docs, you’ve to learn how to how a screenplay format looks.
A single formatted page usually represents a minute of movie screen time. So, a screenplay should have 90-120 pages with a specific size of the paper, font, margins, and more. A 90-page screenplay would run for about 1 ½ hour and a 120-page screenplay would run for about 2 hours.
You can choose Google Docs to write your screenplay because of its abundant variety of fonts, colors, line spacing, and other style rules. By tweaking certain attributes like fonts, margins, line spacing, and style rules, you can create the desired screenplay template using Google Docs.
Playscript template in Google Docs
The screenplay is also known as playscript. Read on to know how to create a playscript template in Google Docs.
How does a screenplay template look?
Before you begin creating a Google Docs screenplay template, it’s essential to know what are all the necessary formatting you should do and how your screenplay template is going to look. Some of the formatting guidelines for the Google Docs screenplay template are
- 12-point Courier Font
- Left margin – 1.5 inch, Right margin – 1 inch, Top and Bottom margins – 1 inch
- Approximately 55 lines excluding the page number and spaces
- Actors parenthetical 3.1 inches from the left side of the page and 1.6 from the margin
- Dialogue speaker names should be in capitals and is 3.7 inches from the left side of the page & 2.2 from the margin
- Transitions, props, sounds, and camera movements should be capitalized
- Dialogue box begins 2.5 inches from the left side of the page and 1.5 inches from margin)
- Page numbers should be in the top right corner of the page and flush to the right margin.
- Page numbers should be half-inch from the top of the page
- The first page and the title page should not be numbered
- So the page number should begin on the second page of the Google Docs screenplay template in which the third sheet of paper including the title page
With keeping in mind all of the rules mentioned above, let’s start creating a Google Docs screenplay template by using all the fonts and tools offered by Google Docs.
Google Docs screenplay template – Using Screenplay Formatter add-on
The easiest way to create a Google Docs screenplay is using the free Screenplay Formatter add-on. With the Screenplay Formatter, you can create collaborative scripts to format your screenplay in Google Docs.
How to create a Google Docs screenplay template in Google Docs using the “Screenplay Formatter” add-on?
To create a Google Docs screenplay template in Google Docs using the “Screenplay Formatter” add-on, first, you’ve to install it into your Google Docs.
Download script template Google Docs
Follow the below steps to get a “Screenplay Formatter”.
Step 1: Open Google Docs and sign into your account.
Step 2: Create a blank document in which you want to create a Google Docs screenplay template.
Step 3: Click “Add-ons” from the menu bar at the top of the page.
Step 4: Search for “Screenplay Formatter” and then install it.
Google Docs screenplay template using a third-party add-on
Step 1: When your Screenplay Formatter is installed, you can access it through the add-ons toolbar. Click add-ons and choose “Screenplay Formatter” from the list of options.
Step 2: A sidebar will appear with formatting options for your script. You can see a bunch of options to format everything from scene headers, dialogue, and transitions. You can insert each one of them into your page to format your Google Docs screenplay template.
Sometimes, you may find it a bit time-consuming since you have to manually input each element so that the add-on can read and adjust the text.
Google Docs screenplay template – Manually
Manually formatting your screenplay in Google Docs instead of “Screenplay Formatter” may eat up a lot of your time. But you can avail all the awesome features offered by Google Docs to format it perfectly.
How to manually format your screenplay template in Google Docs
To manually format your screenplay template in Google Docs, follow the below steps.
Step 1: Open Google Docs and sign into your account. Create a blank document.
Step 2: Navigate to the top menu bar and click File > Page setup
Step 3: From the window that opens, set the paper size and margins. As mentioned earlier, set Left margin – 1.5 inch, Right margin – 1 inch, Top and Bottom margins – 1 inch
Step 4: As discussed earlier, set the standard font for the Google Docs screenplay template as 12-point Courier Font.
Step 5: Now type the Action, Character, Dialogue, Parenthetical, Brackets, Slugline, and Transition. Slugline, Character, and transition should be in capital letters.
Step 5: Also, follow other screenplay formatting requirements listed above to ensure your Google Docs screenplay template has the right format.
Step 6: Once you have formatted the body of your screenplay, add a title page to your screenplay template.
- Using a black page and action style, create five blank lines
- Type the name of your screenplay in bold and capital letters
- Create two more blank lines and type “Written by”
- Create another blank line and type your name
Now, align everything to the center of the page. Next, add page numbers by clicking “insert” in the menu bar and clicking on “page numbers.” Choose the second option to show page numbers in the upper right-hand corner after the first page. Your Google Docs screenplay template is all set and ready.
Script outline template Google Docs
Outlining your screenplay is much easier with Google Docs. Google Docs has a native outlining function that automatically formats specific elements in your screenplay template document, especially those written in all caps. You can view the script outline of the template in Google Docs by navigating to the menu bar, clicking on the ‘View’ menu, and selecting the “Show document outline” option.
But, a major drawback in Google Docs outline is it isn’t always consistent. It won’t automatically categorize screenplay elements such as acts, or scenes. So, it’s better to manually outline the script template in Google Docs.
You may also like following the below articles
- How To Create Google Docs Template?
- How to wrap text in Google docs- Step-by-Step
- How to add or delete Google docs page break
So what are you waiting for? Format your screenplay template using Google Docs at no cost and no time.