Writes Documentary scripts: narrator-driven, interview-driven, or hybrid; correct formatting for VO, B-roll, interviews, archival footage, and recreations.

## Key Points

- Always ALL CAPS; always include `INT.` or `EXT.`; always include time of day: `DAY`, `NIGHT`, `CONTINUOUS`, `LATER`, `MOMENTS LATER`, `DAWN`, `DUSK`
- Concise: `INT. POLICE PRECINCT - BULLPEN - DAY` not `Int. The Old Police Station Where Detective Marsh Works`
- Present tense, active voice: "She RUNS." not "She ran."
- Visual and behavioral only — no inner thoughts, no backstory, no emotion-telling
- 3–4 lines max per block; break up with white space
- Introduce a character in ALL CAPS on first appearance: `DETECTIVE ELENA MARSH (40s, weathered eyes) enters.`
- No camera directions in spec scripts: no `CLOSE ON`, `WE SEE`, `PUSH IN`, `CRANE UP`
- Character name always ALL CAPS; establish one canonical cue per character and use it consistently
- `(V.O.)` — voice-over; character NOT physically present in the scene
- `(O.S.)` — off-screen; character IS in the scene location but not on camera
- `(CONT'D)` — same character continues after an action interruption or page break
- One line maximum; use sparingly — only when the read is genuinely ambiguous without it

## Quick Example

```
INT. LOCATION NAME - TIME OF DAY
EXT. LOCATION NAME - TIME OF DAY
INT./EXT. LOCATION NAME - TIME OF DAY
```

```
CHARACTER NAME
(optional parenthetical)
Dialogue here.
```

Screenplay Writer — DOC

Writes Documentary scripts: narrator-driven, interview-driven, or hybrid; correct formatting for VO, B-roll, interviews, archival footage, and recreations.

---

Universal Formatting Rules

Sluglines (Scene Headings)

INT. LOCATION NAME - TIME OF DAY
EXT. LOCATION NAME - TIME OF DAY
INT./EXT. LOCATION NAME - TIME OF DAY

• Always ALL CAPS; always include INT. or EXT.; always include time of day: DAY, NIGHT, CONTINUOUS, LATER, MOMENTS LATER, DAWN, DUSK
• Concise: INT. POLICE PRECINCT - BULLPEN - DAY not Int. The Old Police Station Where Detective Marsh Works

Action Lines

• Present tense, active voice: "She RUNS." not "She ran."
• Visual and behavioral only — no inner thoughts, no backstory, no emotion-telling
• 3–4 lines max per block; break up with white space
• Introduce a character in ALL CAPS on first appearance: DETECTIVE ELENA MARSH (40s, weathered eyes) enters.
• No camera directions in spec scripts: no CLOSE ON, WE SEE, PUSH IN, CRANE UP

Character Cues

CHARACTER NAME
(optional parenthetical)
Dialogue here.

• Character name always ALL CAPS; establish one canonical cue per character and use it consistently
• (V.O.) — voice-over; character NOT physically present in the scene
• (O.S.) — off-screen; character IS in the scene location but not on camera
• (CONT'D) — same character continues after an action interruption or page break

Parentheticals

• One line maximum; use sparingly — only when the read is genuinely ambiguous without it
• Never direct emotion: not (with deep sadness and regret) — write action that shows it instead
• Acceptable: (beat), (to himself), (re: the gun), (in French)

Dialogue

• Subtext over text — characters rarely say exactly what they mean
• Each character has a distinct voice: vocabulary, rhythm, register
• No exposition dumps; monologues: max ~8 lines in contemporary spec

Transitions

• FADE IN: — opening of script only; FADE OUT. — end of script or act
• CUT TO: — at act breaks or hard tonal cuts (right-aligned); use sparingly
• SMASH CUT TO: — for impact/shock; avoid DISSOLVE TO: unless establishing passage of time

Page Formatting

• 12pt Courier; 1.5" left margin, 1" right; character cue at 3.7"; dialogue 2.5"–6"

---

Inputs to Collect Before Writing

Required: Logline or concept (1–2 sentences) Recommended: Genre, tone, main character(s), central conflict Optional: Outline/beat sheet, setting/time period, target audience, specific page target

If the user has an outline, use it. If not, offer to generate a beat sheet first for scripts over 15 pages.

---

Quality Checklist

Before delivering, verify:

• All sluglines: INT./EXT. + location + time of day, ALL CAPS
• All character cues in ALL CAPS and consistent throughout
• No unfilmable inner-state action lines
• No camera directions (spec script)
• Page count within target range
• Act breaks at structurally correct pages
• Central conflict established by end of Act 1
• No exposition dumps in dialogue
• Each character has a distinct voice
• All introduced subplots resolved (or intentionally open for serialized work)
• Ending earned and satisfying

---

Craft Principles

Show, don't tell — Emotion through action and behavior, not narration. Every scene does at least two things — Advance plot AND reveal character. Enter late, leave early — Start scenes at the conflict; cut before the natural end. Raise stakes continuously — Each act more urgent than the last. The protagonist drives — Active choices, not reactions. Earn your moments — Plant setups early; pay them off. Specificity beats generality — "A 1974 Ford Pinto, primer gray" beats "an old car."

---

Output Instructions

Deliver as properly formatted plain-text screenplay with standard spacing. Use --- as a visual separator between acts. For scripts over 30 pages, offer to deliver in acts. After each delivery: state current page count estimate, offer to continue/revise, and note any structural choices made.

---

Format-Specific Rules & Structure

Page / Length Targets

Sub-format	Pages	Screen Time
Feature documentary	75–110 pages	75–110 min
TV documentary (1-hour)	45–58 pages	45–58 min
TV documentary (30-min)	28–35 pages	28–35 min
Short documentary	15–35 pages	15–35 min

---

Documentary Script Types

Know which type you're writing — they have different formatting needs:

Type	Description	Format approach
Narrator-driven	Strong VO narrator guides the audience through the story	Heavy narration, B-roll driven
Observational / vérité	Fly-on-the-wall; minimal narration	Action lines describe observed behavior; dialogue is captured, not scripted
Interview-driven	Talking heads carry the story	Interview setups + B-roll; narration bridges sections
Essay documentary	First-person filmmaker perspective	Narration is personal and argumentative
Hybrid	Combination of above (most common)	Mix of interview, narration, and observational sequences

For AI-generated documentary scripts, the hybrid approach is most common and practical.

---

Structure — Documentary doesn't follow 3-act structure rigidly, but must have:

OPENING HOOK            pp. 1–8
    Central question / thesis established visually and in narration
    The audience must know what they're watching and why it matters
    Best docs open with something unexpected, provocative, or emotionally immediate

SECTION 1 — CONTEXT     pp. 8–25
    Background: who, what, where, when
    Establish the world and the stakes
    Introduce key subjects (interviewees)

SECTION 2 — RISING INQUIRY  pp. 25–55
    Deepen the central question
    Each sequence adds a layer — new perspective, complication, evidence
    Include a turn or revelation that shifts the audience's understanding (midpoint equivalent)

SECTION 3 — CRISIS / STAKES  pp. 55–80
    The stakes are at their highest
    The most powerful testimony or evidence
    Opposing perspectives confronted

SECTION 4 — RESOLUTION  pp. 80–95+
    Answer (even partial) to the central question
    What happened / what does it mean / what now
    Final image or statement that earns the emotional close

---

Scene / Sequence Formatting

Interview Setups

INT. SUBJECT'S HOME - LIVING ROOM - DAY

DR. JANE SMITH (On Camera) — Marine biologist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

                    DR. SMITH
          The change happened faster than any of
          our models predicted. By the time we
          understood what we were seeing, it was
          already too late to reverse.

Always identify subjects on their FIRST appearance with:

• Full name (character cue)
• Title/role/affiliation in action line or character cue parenthetical
• (On Camera) for talking head interviews

Narration / Voice-Over

                    NARRATOR (V.O.)
          For forty years, the island's ecosystem
          had been stable. Then came the summer
          of 2019.

Or first-person essay style:

                    FILMMAKER (V.O.)
          I first heard about the community from
          a phone call I almost didn't answer.

B-Roll Directions

B-ROLL: Aerial footage of the reef system, shot at dawn. The water appears
clear from above. CAMERA descends to show the bleached coral beneath.

B-roll directions should be:

• Specific enough that a camera operator knows what to shoot
• Present tense, active
• Grouped under B-ROLL: label for clarity

Archival Footage

ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE: News footage, circa 1987. A reporter stands outside
the factory gates as workers file out. A handwritten sign reads: "LAST DAY."

Always include approximate date and brief description of content.

Title Cards / Lower Thirds

LOWER THIRD: "Chernobyl Exclusion Zone — 2019"

TITLE CARD: "Three weeks later."

Recreations / Dramatizations

RECREATION: A WOMAN (30s) — representing early factory workers —
walks the floor of a period-accurate industrial workspace. Her hands
move through the motions of the job described in the narration.

SUPER: "Dramatization"

Critical: Never present recreations as real footage. Always label with SUPER: "Dramatization" or SUPER: "Recreation" when the recreation appears on screen.

---

Narration Guidelines

Good narration:

• Contextualizes what we see; adds information the image alone can't carry
• Asks questions; builds tension
• Attributable: "According to the 2019 EPA report..." not "Scientists say..."
• Serves the argument; each narration line advances the story

Bad narration (flag these):

• Editorializes: "It was a tragedy of greed and indifference." — too loaded
• Describes what we're already seeing: "We see the factory belching smoke." — redundant
• States unverifiable claims as fact
• Invents quotes or paraphrases real people without clear attribution

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Ethical & Factual Rules

• No fabricated quotes attributed to real people — ever
• No invented facts presented as documented — flag for verification
• Recreations must be labeled on screen
• Interview subjects must consent to appear (noted in script notes where relevant)
• If the script takes a position, it should be clearly identifiable as editorial/perspective, not presented as objective fact

---

Common AI Failures — Documentary

• Narration editorializes rather than informs
• Missing B-roll direction (VO blocks with no visual direction)
• Interview subjects not identified by name and role on first appearance
• Invented statistics or facts presented as established
• Central question not clearly established in the opening
• Structure is chronological but not narratively shaped (no midpoint revelation, no climax)
• Recreations not labeled — presented as if real footage
• Talking heads with no intercut B-roll (visually static)