Screenwriting.io | Answering basic questions about screenwriting.

What is a beat?
The word “beat” has a few different specific uses in screenwriting. But in general, all forms are a type of single, small unit. In screenplays, a “beat” is the smallest unit of measurement. If a character sits down at a desk and picks up a pencil, that is two beats. A “beat sheet” is a […]
What is a treatment?
A treatment is essentially a prose version of your screenplay, although its exact definition can vary from person to person. Usually, treatments differ from outlines in that they look more like short stories where outlines look more like breakdowns or bulleted lists, but this is a bit of a generalization. Most feature treatments are around […]
What are colored revisions/drafts/pages?
Colored pages are used in film and television to keep track of revisions to a script as it goes into production. Spec screenplays and screenplays in development won’t have colored pages. It’s generally only once the script is locked for scheduling and budgeting that colored pages are used. Revision order is tracked on the script’s […]
What is standard screenplay format?While there can be slight variations for different types of scripts (ie multicam sitcom teleplays), screenplays follow strict formatting rules.