Contents
Basic Formatting & Punctuation Signs | “Shorthand” Markup Codes | Words & Terms
Knowing how to “mark up” your own scripts can be handy, especially if you get used to working with a certain set of symbols & terms. When faced with a script that has zero markup, you can add your own if need be!
Below is a table that shows some common shorthand codes (plus some variants) that you might see used in scripts.
| Shorthand / Markup | Alternate Forms / Names | Definition |
| Underlined Text | Underscored Text | Off-screen dialogue (where the mouth is not seen)
|
| [Brackets] | [Square Brackets] | Non-vocalised directions / instructions. Can be shorthand, like:
or a more complex direction like:
|
| (Parenthesis) (plural: parentheses) | (Round Brackets) | Vocalised effort sounds that aren’t necessarily dialogue, such as emoting:
or even more specific, like:
|
| > | Right-pointing quote mark /
“Greater than sign” | Runs into… – or – Goes into… – or – Turns into…
• eg: [MNS CONFUSED > MNS LOOK x2] |
| >CUT | Text | Go until the cut
|
| … | Ellipsis (plural: ellipses) | Pause |
| .. , | Two dots / Comma* | Small or Short Pause |
| , | Bold Comma | “Micro Hitch” – typically 2-to-3 frames |
| ~ | Tilde | 1/4 beat hitch |
| ^ | Caret | 1/2 beat hitch |
| / | Forward Slash or just Slash | Full beat hitch |
| // | x2 Slashes | Two full beats |
| /// | x3 Slashes | Three beats – (usually requires a separate cue) |
| – | (hyphen) or “dash” | No pause; two lines run together with no break in lip flaps at all |
| //// | x4 Slashes | Used at ends of lines only to indicate a very long pause |
“There are no commas in anime!”
* There will be commas in dubbing scripts, however they are typically only there for grammatical purposes; only pause at the specific pause indicators (if used), or if directed to do so. (This is something you could check with the director.)