Radio Play Script Format

We use something close to the BBC Radio Scene style for our radio scripts.   If you happen to write using Movie Magic Screenwriter, you can find a formatting template here.  (Final Draft is unable to format scripts with the character and dialogue on the same line.)  If you use the wonderful Scrivener, you can use the radio scene style format.

Important bits, for the final format:

• Character and dialogue on the same line
• Number all pages, or we may drop them by misttake and reassemble it creatively
• Sound effects, ambience, etc on separate lines, in all caps
• Don’t split a character’s dialogue across a page break

 

Alternatively, you can submit scripts in a text format similar to fountain.io, which we can easily import and format:

• character names in all caps, on a line by themselves
• dialogue directly underneath character names, in a standard paragraph
• sound cues in all caps, on one or more lines, with a blank line before and after

Like so:

NOEL
(narrating) Through that door, there's about five feet of dank, soulless space between the parking lot and the water table.  That's where the other market is. They call it the Saturday Night Market, but it goes on day and night – 24/7.  It’s where the real business gets done in St. Pete. (To O’Reilly) Just through here.

SOUND: DOOR CLOSES

SOUND: UNDERGROUND AMBIENCE

O'REILLY
I feel like I should close this down.