Fountain cheat sheet

Fountain formats a screenplay from plain text. In styled mode the editor applies these rules for you; in raw mode you type them directly. Here are the most common elements. The editor also offers a syntax guide in the right-hand panel.

Scene heading

A line that starts with INT., EXT., INT./EXT. or EST.:

INT. CAFÉ - DAY

EXT. COBBLED STREET - NIGHT

An explicit scene number goes between hashes at the end of the line:

INT. CAFÉ - DAY #12#

Action

Just a paragraph. It describes what we see:

Marie pushes the door. The room is empty; a cup still steams on the counter.

Character, dialogue and parenthetical

A name in capitals introduces a line; the parenthetical goes between the two:

MARIE
(quietly)
Is anyone there?

An extension goes in parentheses after the name, for example MARIE (V.O.) for a voice-over.

Transition

A line in capitals ending in TO: (or prefixed with >):

CUT TO:

Centered text

Wrapped in > and <:

> THE END <

Note (kept out of print)

A comment visible in the source but absent from the printed screenplay, between double brackets:

[[check with the production]]

Emphasis

As in Markdown: *italic*, **bold**, _underline_.

Title page

At the top of the file, as Key: value fields. In styled mode it is edited as a first sheet instead (see Screenplay).

Title: My Film
Author: An Author