I sent for some guidelines for writing for The BBC years ago and came across them recently. It states this is how to begin your film or television screenplay. Scene headings are typed in capitals and must indicate interior or exterior, the location, and day or night. Scene action is double-spaced under the heading in upper and lower case text with double-spacing between paragraphs. Scene action should only deal with what is happening on the screen and must never stray into the superfluous novelistic text related to character thoughts or back-story.
A general rule of thumb is to limit a paragraph of scene action to four or five lines. Consider each paragraph as a significant beat of action within your scene. Begin a new scene heading with a line of scene action. So this was technical layout advice I was offered then. I recently visited their website and they have a comprehensive and detailed section on scriptwriting but I will just link in the bit about writing scenes today.
SCENES (BBC, WEBSITE)
A combination of time, place and setting you use to frame and show a significant moment or event in the story.
Scenes show the conflicts, tensions, dilemmas, decisions, actions and reactions of characters driving your story. Ask these questions of every scene you plan to write.
1) What effect does this scene have on the character within the moment?
2) What effect does it have on the subsequent events of the story?
3) What impact does it have on the world of the story?
4) What else is going on below the surface and beyond the text?
Juxtaposition is crucial.
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