Read the script’s existing pages.

Using Microsoft Word or any screenwriting software you choose, write the next 1-5 pages in standard screenplay format. If you’re not familiar with such formatting, study the script’s existing pages and search screenplays on the Internet for more examples. Additional formatting instructions can be found under Margins, below.

When you’ve written your pages, attach them to an email and send to Eric. In your email include your name, city or neighborhood, and pretty much anything else you’d like to show in your public ID. You can even add a link to your personal website. The only other info we’ll need is your choice of t-shirt size in case your pages are selected for the script. If you write with a partner, submit both names but only one t-shirt size, please.

NOTE: By submitting, you assign permanent ownership of your submission to the LA Observed Script Project. We may publish the pages online or in print or assign the rights to others for any purpose. We may even get lucky and make a movie, but this is all about the spirit of collaboration to create a new Los Angeles story.

Please email your submission by midnight Sunday to be considered for that week's publication. Entries must be original and non-defamatory. Check back on Wednesday to see the pages we used and read Eric's notes. You can also comment on the script. Then start thinking about the next scene.

If you’re using screenwriting software, we’ll work with whatever margins you’re accustomed to using.

In Word, set margins to 15 on the left and 75 on the right. These will apply to slug lines (e.g., INT. OFFICE – DAY or CLOSE ON THE TELEPHONE) and scene descriptions.

For dialogue, character’s names should appear with a left-side margin of 35. The character’s words will follow, beginning on the next line, between margins 25-57.

Occasionally, it may be necessary to use parenthetical remarks to explain how a line is delivered. (These are used sparingly to give an actor direction he wouldn’t otherwise understand properly.) Parentheticals are placed on a line between the character’s name and his dialogue, between margins 31-50.

Finally, any transition instructions should begin at margin 56. These include things that are largely unnecessary for our purposes, such as CUT TO: and DISSOLVE TO: and also the final words in the script, FADE OUT.