Vertical Drama Script Format: A Scene and Dialogue Template

Choose a Format Before Naming Episodes and Scenes

Choose one editable script as the source of story text for the project. Storyboards, image/video prompts, and production checklists should refer to it rather than rewrite the plot independently. Here is a minimal skeleton for the project's Markdown format:

Copyable blank skeleton (replace the prompts; every tagged line is optional):

# EP001 【Episode title】

## EP001-SC001 内 · Location · Time/weather

(Visible, performable action)

Character (optional performance/strategy cue): Dialogue

[OS] Character: off-screen dialogue in the same scene (optional)

[VO] Character: non-local subjective/narrative voice (optional)

[SFX] A sound that changes attention, action, or information (optional)

[画面文字] Surface: exact words the audience must read (optional)

[连续性] A previously established state that could be lost later (optional)

[转场] A transition with a story purpose (optional)

This Markdown format uses one of the literal space markers 内/外/内外; choose the one that fits. Its labels are shown in Chinese here; document any translated labels before using them. Do not mix in the separate △/▲ production dialect, where a character’s OS may mean inner voice.

The source format spells its on-screen-text tag [画面文字]; a bilingual team can agree on a translated tag in its format note. Keep episode and scene IDs stable in this format. Include time or weather only when it matters to action, performance, or continuity. This is the project Markdown convention; teams using another production format should define its marks before drafting. For a shot-by-shot plan, use the separate storyboard template; do not put shot size, camera movement, focal length, or video-generation parameters into the story source.

The blank skeleton is a reading excerpt. The full project draft still needs its actual episodes, scenes, and necessary production content under the chosen format. Stable IDs and parseable headings support references rather than proving scene quality. Retain source text and unresolved items when organizing an existing draft.

Separate Visible Action from Character Dialogue

Write an action paragraph for something happening now that can be performed or seen. Start a new paragraph when the focus, information, or spatial relationship changes. Format dialogue as Character (optional performance/strategy cue): Line; keep the speaker explicit. A cue should name one executable choice, such as “lowering her voice so the person outside cannot hear,” rather than piling on synonyms for emotion.

Build dialogue tension through each speaker's goal, relationship, subtext, and what the exchange changes; choose line length and action/dialogue balance for the scene. Scene goals and opposition are story decisions; a format template only makes those choices clear on the page.

Use Production Labels Only for Necessary Information

Write the project's notation in a one-page format note before using it in a script. In the current Markdown format, the labels have these roles:

The pinned source uses the Chinese labels [画面文字], [连续性], and [转场]; agree on translated labels before using them in an English-language script. Production dialects define their own marks and may assign a different meaning to OS. In one project dialect, △ can mark environment/empty frames and ▲ character action; that dialect may use a character's OS for inner voice. The current Markdown format instead uses [OS] for off-screen dialogue in the same scene. Keep each definition inside its own format. Do not mix them or claim a single industry-wide standard.

Original Example: Rechecking a Service-Desk Time

This original fictional excerpt demonstrates formatting; it is not a filmed or verified result:

# EP001 【Receipt Check】

## EP001-SC001 内 · Community service desk · Evening

Lin Yao slides the handwritten receipt back across the counter, pointing to the handwritten 18:10 in its top corner.

Lin Yao: But I submitted it before five.

[OS] Colleague in the hallway: The printed receipt is ready.

The clerk takes the fresh printout from the printer and turns it toward Lin Yao.

[画面文字] Submission time: 16:52

[画面文字] Reprint time: 18:10

The clerk hands the printed receipt to Lin Yao.

[连续性] Lin Yao holds the printed receipt; the handwritten receipt remains on the counter.

The heading establishes when and where. The action is visible. Character names identify each speaker. On-screen text and off-screen dialogue appear only because the story needs them. The final line records where each receipt is after the handoff. If a later storyboard would change a story fact, confirm it with the script owner instead of silently changing it in the board or prompt.

Compare an AI-Formatted Script with Its Source

Give the AI the source draft, the chosen format, and the character list. Ask it only to organize structure: add episode/scene headings, separate action from dialogue, and apply required labels under the selected rules. If the format is undefined, a speaker is unclear, or the source is ambiguous, mark it “Needs confirmation” instead of guessing.

Compare the result with the original. Check whether speakers changed, the order of action and dialogue shifted, a character's inner thought was automatically labeled as VO/OS, or scene/time/object handoffs were added or removed. Formatting does not replace the author's review of semantic changes. Plan episode pacing and event order at outline stage; this page only checks whether each scene is clear in the written script.

FAQ

Are △ and ▲ universal standards for vertical-drama scripts?

The cited source defines these marks as one project dialect and documents the Markdown screenplay format separately. Choose the format before drafting, then follow the meanings defined for it.

What is the difference between OS and VO in a script?

It depends on the selected format. The Markdown format on this page uses [OS] for off-screen dialogue in the same scene and [VO] for non-local subjective or narrative voice. Another project dialect may define a character's (OS) as inner voice. A project should name its convention; do not mix the two in one scene.

Should a screenplay include shot size, camera movement, and focal length?

This story-script format leaves those details to the storyboard or camera plan. Keep scene boundaries, visible action, dialogue, and necessary production information in the script. If the team uses another format, document it first.

Can AI convert an old script directly into a new format?

AI can propose a formatted copy, but keep the source and compare the result line by line. Speakers, action order, dialogue, time, and object states can shift during normalization. Send uncertain items to the author for review instead of letting the model fill them in silently.

Related reading

• Novel to short drama: episodes, scripts and storyboards→
• How to write a storyboard script: shot list template for short drama→
• Seedance prompt guide: turn short drama shots into video prompts→