Must I really use Courier font?
The truth is that even this 'rule' has been broken, and successfully, as all of them have. But it is an extremely rare event, not to be attempted by newbies or the faint-of-heart. It's just not worth playing around on this one. Give 'em what they want, and give it to 'em with a smile (forced or otherwise).This means ONLY Courier 12-point, and nothing else. Not Times Roman, Arial, or Helvetica. Not even a different 'typewriter' style font. Not 10 point, or 14 point, or any other font size. Courier 12 point and that's that.
Why only Courier 12-point?
Screenplays used to be written on typewriters, and the standard font was what we call "Courier" today. By the very nature of the technology, fonts were 'fixed pitch', not 'proportional spacing'. This means each letter took up the same space on the page.
Why is 'fixed pitch' so important?
Because scripts should yield a page-per-minute onscreen time. To give the producer a heads-up on what he's getting himself into money-wise and length-wise, yes, but also to facilitate every step in the production process. Directors need to know the length of scenes, as do actors and 'continuity gals'.Readers have been known to get the heebie-jeebies when they see proportionally-spaced fonts on screenplays, knowing that this means the writer may have squeezed more into a page, thus setting their calculations askew.
If the letters in the script all are the right height on the page, and take up the same space across the page, we all stick pretty closely to this page-a-minute format. This is even more important in the laissez-faire Hollywood of today where scripts come in from thousands of writers each year, and from all corners of the globe. We all need to be 'on the same page', at least when it comes to page count vs. on-screen time.
The bad news is that your laser printer may not do justice to the font, making it look anemic, puny, and sickly. It may seem too thin for you even to read. The operating system version you use, to add insult to injury, may give you access only to Courier New or another nonstandard version of Courier that's taller than the proper font.
Using incorrect fonts.
Using incorrect fonts--not just different, but wrong--adds to the height of your lines, and can add to the length of your screenplay. Stretched out versions of Courier can mark your work as that of an amateur.One fix is in the copying. Your script may come out a little light-looking from your laser printer, but the copier will give it a slightly darker hue, making it easier to read.
| DON'T MAKE IT BOLD IN YOUR DOCUMENT! That's the true mark of a wanna-be. As is setting the copy machine abnormally dark. |
Final Draft Courier font.
Another fix is to use the Final Draft Courier font, found in their software . .
But take care applying other options, as the farther afield you venture the more trouble you encounter. And the farther afield you venture the less likely anyone can or will follow. You may be able to get your set-up fine-tuned, but if you ever hand off your script electronically you won't know what results they'll get at the other end.
There are no rules in Hollywood!
| NOTA BENE: apply any screenplay formatting guidelines with discernment, and at your own peril. No claim can be made to the absolute correctness of any approach, as no absolutely correct screenplay format is known to exist in Hollywood. There are no rules (but you better not break any of them). |
Help from software
One way to ensure the proper use of Courier font in your screenplay is to write it using popular screenwriting software such as . .
 
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