Tutorials
How to Write a Screenplay for an AI Film
Write it in standard screenplay format, in plain-text Fountain if you like, with one scene heading per location and action lines that describe only what can be seen and heard. Each action paragraph then becomes a shot. Here's how, with an example page.
Write a screenplay for an AI film the same way you'd write any short: standard screenplay format, a scene heading for every change of place or time, and action lines that describe only what the camera can see and the microphone can hear. Then write with the next step in mind, because every scene heading becomes a location reference and almost every action paragraph becomes a shot.
The easiest way to write in that format is Fountain, a plain-text screenplay syntax that any screenwriting app can read. This guide covers Fountain basics, how to write scenes that turn cleanly into shots, and the habits that save you credits later.
Why does an AI film need a proper screenplay?
Because everything after the script reads it. A breakdown pulls characters, locations and props out of it. A shot list splits its scenes into shots. Prompts are written from its action lines. Dialogue goes straight from its lines to the model.
A loose treatment ("she wanders the city, feeling lost") gives every later step nothing to work with. A formatted scene does:
- Scene headings tell you how many locations to design.
- Character cues tell you who needs a reference sheet and a voice.
- Action lines tell you what each shot shows.
- Page count tells you how long the film will run: roughly a minute a page.
What is Fountain?
Fountain is a way of writing a screenplay as plain text, where the formatting comes from a few simple rules instead of buttons. A Fountain file opens in any text editor, and screenwriting software turns it into a properly formatted page. MoviePro's Script Editor stores scripts as Fountain text, formats it on screen as you type, and imports and exports Fountain, Final Draft (.fdx), Word and PDF (Draft a script with AI).
Here is a short scene in Fountain:
Title: The Note
Author: Your Name
INT. BAKERY - NIGHT
Flour dust hangs under a single fluorescent tube. MARA (30s, curly hair tied back, white apron over a grey jumper) kneads dough alone.
She reaches into the flour bin. Stops. Pulls out a folded square of paper.
MARA
(quietly)
Who left this?
She unfolds it. Reads. Her hands go still.
CUT TO:
EXT. BUS STOP - NIGHT
Rain. Mara, coat over the apron, sits on the bench with a small suitcase.
What are the Fountain rules you need?
Most of a script is just typing. These are the rules that matter:
| Element | How you write it in Fountain | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Scene heading | A line starting with INT. or EXT. (or forced with a leading full stop) | INT. BAKERY - NIGHT |
| Action | Any ordinary paragraph | She reaches into the flour bin. |
| Character | A name in capitals on its own line, with a blank line above | MARA |
| Dialogue | The lines directly under the character | Who left this? |
| Parenthetical | In brackets, between character and dialogue | (quietly) |
| Transition | Capitals ending in TO:, or forced with > | CUT TO: |
| Dual dialogue | ^ after the second character's name | JON ^ |
| Note to yourself | Double square brackets; doesn't print | [[check the bus timetable]] |
| Section or synopsis | # for sections, = for a synopsis line; don't print | # Act One |
| Page break | === on its own line | === |
| Title page | Key: value lines at the very top | Title: The Note |
That's enough to write any short. The full syntax is at fountain.io, and the course lesson Writing the screenplay covers the six elements and why they exist.
In MoviePro you don't need to type the markers: Enter moves to the next element and Tab cycles the element type, and the file underneath stays plain Fountain.
How do you write scene headings for an AI film?
Write one heading per place and time, and name each place the same way every time.
This matters more than usual. Each distinct location becomes a location element with its own reference images, and every shot in that scene is sent with them. MoviePro's Analyze script fills the Scenes panel straight from your headings (Break the script down). If you write INT. BAKERY in one scene and INT. MARA'S BAKERY in the next, you've told the breakdown there are two bakeries.
- Pick one name per location and reuse it exactly.
- Always include the time of day. NIGHT, DAY, DAWN. It sets the light for every shot in the scene.
- Split a location when the look changes. A kitchen at dawn and the same kitchen at night are two scene headings, because they need different light.
How do you write action lines that turn into shots?
Write action as a sequence of things the audience sees, one beat per paragraph. Each short paragraph is roughly one shot.
In the example above, the bakery scene has four action beats: the room, Mara reaching into the bin, the line, and her reading the note. That's four shots before you've thought about camera angles at all.
Some rules that help:
- Only what can be filmed. "Mara remembers her mother" can't be generated. "Mara touches the ring she wears on a chain" can.
- One action per paragraph. "She reads it, grabs her coat, locks the door and runs to the bus" is four shots crammed into one line.
- Describe wardrobe when a character first appears. It becomes the Look & wardrobe on their reference sheet. If it changes later, say so in the action.
- Keep camera directions out. Shot sizes and moves belong in the shot list, not the script. Your action lines should make the right shot obvious without naming it.
- Short paragraphs. Three or four lines at most. They read faster and break down more cleanly.
How should you write dialogue for an AI film?
Shorter than you would for actors. Models that generate speech with the picture are reliable on a sentence or two per shot and less so on long speeches.
- Keep each line to one or two sentences. Split a long speech with a reaction shot.
- Avoid hard-to-say names in key lines where you can.
- Use parentheticals sparingly. They can guide a delivery, but the model reads the whole shot prompt, not just the brackets.
Our post on the best AI video model for lip sync and dialogue covers what happens to those lines when they're generated, and how to check and fix them.
How long should the screenplay be?
One formatted page runs about a minute on screen. For an AI short:
| Film length | Script length | Typical shots |
|---|---|---|
| 30 seconds | Half a page | 5–8 |
| 1 minute | 1 page | 10–15 |
| 3 minutes | 3 pages | 30–45 |
| 10 minutes | 10 pages | 100+ |
Shot counts are a guide, not a quota: a quiet scene holds longer shots than a chase. MoviePro's script Report shows pages, estimated runtime, scenes, speaking roles and locations. If it says nine minutes and you planned three, cut on the page, where it's free, not after you've paid to generate it.
How do you go from the screenplay to shots?
Once the draft is done:
- Break it down. List each scene's characters, location, props and wardrobe. In MoviePro, the AI breakdown (1 credit) fills this in and proposes shots for each scene.
- Create the cast. Create from script in Cast & Elements makes an element for every character and location the breakdown found.
- Build the shot list. Each action beat becomes a shot with a size, a move, a length, the characters in frame and the dialogue (Plan the shots).
- Storyboard it before generating (Storyboard it).
The full pipeline from there is in how to make an AI short film.
Should you let AI write the screenplay?
AI can give you a first draft to react to, and that's useful when you're stuck. MoviePro can generate a draft from a description for 1 credit, and its Assist menu can continue, tighten or punch up a passage you select, with each change shown for you to accept or discard. But the scripts that make good films are rewritten by a person. Use generated text as a starting point, then rewrite every line until it sounds like your film.
Before you lock the script, read it aloud. If a line is awkward to say, it will be awkward to generate.
