How to write a vertical drama script

1. The shape of one episode

Write to the clock. Spoken English runs about 2.6 words a second, and a scene of six to eight seconds holds two or three short lines. For a 30-second episode the beats fall like this:

• 0 to 1 second: the first line, seven words or fewer, carrying a stake: fired, married, heir, contract.
• 1 to 16 seconds: the push. Someone resists, and the problem gets harder.
• About 17 to 22 seconds: the turn, between 55% and 75% of the runtime. Power, information or the relationship changes.
• 22 to 28 seconds: one reaction and the last line, six words or fewer, a reveal or a threat.
• The end: two seconds earlier than feels safe, on the strongest face.

2. Stretch it to 45 or 60 seconds

A longer episode gets more scenes, not slower ones. At 45 seconds there is room for a third character or a second location, or for a sitcom's punchline, a one-second reaction and a button. At 60 seconds, the most an agent-media episode can run, keep the single turn and the same 55% to 75% window; spend the extra seconds on the push. Save 60 for a premiere or a finale.

3. Lay out the page

A vertical script does not need screenplay software. Each scene gets one heading line and then the lines:

• Scene line: the location, who is in frame, and the one prop if the scene has it.
• Dialogue: the speaker's name, a colon and the line. One line per row, so you can time them.
• Action: a short note in brackets only when the picture carries the story, such as a ring set on a counter.
• The turn: mark it, so you can check it lands past the halfway mark.
• The cliffhanger type: name it under the last line.

4. Keep it filmable

The vertical frame is narrow, and the rules follow from it. Keep four people in frame at most and three speaking. Give the episode one prop and let the turn land on the prop or on a face. Avoid phone screens and letters the viewer has to read; on a small screen they rarely land. Every line should still make sense with the sound off, because captions carry it.

5. Choose the ending

Every episode ends on an urgent question, and there are five reliable ways to get there. Do not use the same one for more than two episodes running.

• Partial reveal: half a secret comes out.
• Reversal setup: the winner of the scene is about to lose.
• Intrusion: someone walks in who should not be there.
• Ticking clock: a deadline lands.
• Betrayal reveal: an ally turns out to be on the other side.

6. Check it out loud

Read every line aloud with a timer, then answer these before the script is final:

• Does the first line carry a stake and land within a second?
• Is there exactly one turn, past the halfway mark?
• Is the last line six words or fewer, and does it leave a question open?
• Does the episode open on the last one's cliffhanger, with no recap?

From script to screen

With agent-media, you write in Claude. Share your idea and your draft lines in the chat; it writes each episode's script inside a planned season, with the same cast and locations, and shows it to you with its price. You can change any line before you approve, and then the episode is filmed in 9:16 with captions, a score and no watermark.

Episode 1 of your own show is $1 for one 30-second episode at 480p, and a micro drama of ten such episodes is $49 one-time.

Example: a 32-second vertical script, as filmed

Runway, episode 1. Scene: a startup office, Maya and Dan in frame. Eight lines in 32 seconds, a sitcom, so the turn is a punchline: the brick. The last line is the next bad idea, which episode 2 picks up.

Questions