The Screenplay Format could be compared to an architectural drawing

For an accomplished writer of screenplays, the format has passed into second or third term. It is part of the routine and even probably has software that lets him perform the task in an automated manner, however for those who are starting in the art or screenwriting either amateur or professional, the format is still somewhat tedious work but also for many a rigid and capricious sequence of instructions. How to understand the format of the screenplay with its various components such as master scene headings or sluglines, action, character names, dialogue, plus margins, spacing, etc? Why was accepted as a convention in the film industry the standard screenplay format?

An original way to explain it could be, making a comparison with the architecture. We can do a written or spoken description of a building, as detailed or stingy as we like, however it lacks mainly of two things:

1. It is not systematic.- depending on who does the description include a variable quantity, quality and interaction of elements
2. It is freely interpreted.- Based on what is described, each person can imagine a myriad of possible details, present or absent, since they are not specified nor bounded

If someone would want to construct the building based on a prose description, would have trouble raising something to sustain beyond a few inches off the floor. There would be descriptions talking about the importance of the building in the urban context, other would talk about the beauty (or ugliness) of the building, some people might write about their possible functions and uses, and some others would write making an inventory of component parts or detailed cost of the overall design. However, we would face with all sorts of difficulties, following any of these stories to lay the foundation stone. Additionally, all of these notions would be radically influenced by gender, age, nationality as well as social, economic and cultural backgrounds of the reader, resulting in a myriad of possible interpretations of what could be the building but no precise instruction. It is here, that the architect needs to know and then soak up all the ideas, synthesize, organize, and then put them in a systematic and detailed plan. The plane then define the extent of the land, the area that will be built, in order to build the different components of building materials will be needed, as well as personnel, time, and money that will be required. The drawing may not be as nice as any of the descriptive texts, but in the end, is what will materialize at the building and then observe its beauty, explore its importance in the urban environment, evaluate its functionality and measure its costs, etc. The drawing in this case would be for a descriptive text of the building as the screenplay format would be for a novel and the architect is the screenwriter.

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