How to Format a Phone Call in a Screenplay (4 Methods)

To format a phone call in a screenplay, pick one of four methods: stay with one character and write only their side, write the caller's lines with a (V.O.) extension, slugline both locations and use INTERCUT to cut between them, or tag the phone voice (FILTERED). Choose based on whether the audience needs to see the other end.

Updated 2026-09-22 · About 7 sections · 5 answered questions

How to format a phone call in a screenplay: the four methods

A phone call is a dialogue scene where one speaker is somewhere else. Every convention for writing one answers the same question: how much of the other end does the audience get? The four standard answers, from least to most:

Method	Audience hears	Audience sees	Use when
One side only	One character	One location	The other end is unimportant, or the mystery of it is the point.
Caller as (V.O.)	Both	One location	The words matter but the other location does not.
INTERCUT	Both	Both locations	Both people's reactions carry the scene.
(FILTERED) / speakerphone	Both	One location	You want the reader to hear the tinny, distorted quality of the line.

Decide before you write the first line. Switching methods halfway through a call is the most common way these scenes go wrong on the page, because the reader has to re-learn where they are standing.

Method 1: one side of the call only

Stay in the room with one character. The other voice is never written. The audience, like anyone overhearing a call in a café, reconstructs the conversation from one half of it. This is the leanest option and often the most dramatic, because the silences on the page are where the other person is talking.

INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - NIGHT

Mara walks fast, phone tight to her ear.

                      MARA
                      (into phone)
            Say that again.

A nurse passes. Mara keeps walking.

                      MARA (CONT'D)
            You're sure it's hers.

She stops dead.

                      MARA (CONT'D)
            Don't touch the keys. I'm coming.

Three things to notice. The (into phone) parenthetical is used once, on the first line, to establish that she is not talking to the nurse; after that it is understood. The action lines carry the beats where the other person is speaking. And each of Mara's cues after an action line takes (CONT'D), which the software adds because nobody else spoke in between.

Write the unheard half in your head before you write the heard half. If Mara's lines do not make sense as responses to something specific, the reader feels it, even without knowing what is missing.

Method 2: both sides heard, one location, caller as (V.O.)

Keep the camera in one place and let the audience hear both voices. The character who is elsewhere gets the (V.O.) extension on every cue, because their voice arrives through a device rather than from the space. This is the method to use when the words on both ends matter but the second location does not.

INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - NIGHT

Mara answers on the first ring.

                      MARA
            Ben.

                      BEN (V.O.)
            They found her car at the reservoir.

                      MARA
            And the keys?

                      BEN (V.O.)
            In the ignition.

Mara closes her eyes.

The question every writer asks here is whether the phone voice is V.O. or O.S.. The convention is (V.O.). (O.S.) means the speaker is physically present in the scene's location but out of frame, in the next room or behind a door. A caller is in another location entirely, so the O.S. extension is the wrong tag. Readers will forgive it, but they will notice.

You do not need to slugline Ben's location, describe it, or explain how he is calling. If it matters that he is in his car, Mara can hear the engine and the action line can say so.

Method 3: INTERCUT between two locations

When both characters' faces carry the scene, show both. The INTERCUT convention establishes both locations once and then lets you alternate lines freely without a new slugline for every cut. There are two accepted syntaxes.

Syntax A: slugline each location, then declare the intercut.

INT. MARA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Mara paces, phone to her ear. Ben's duffel still by the door.

                      MARA
            Tell me you're not in the car.

INT. BEN'S CAR - NIGHT

Ben drives one-handed, phone on the seat, speaker on.

                      BEN
            I'm not in the car.

INTERCUT - MARA'S APARTMENT / BEN'S CAR

                      MARA
            I can hear the engine.

                      BEN
            That's the radio.

Mara looks at the duffel. Ben takes the exit at sixty.

Syntax B: a single combined heading. If the first location was already established and you want to move quickly, one line does the work:

INTERCUT - MARA'S APARTMENT / BEN'S CAR - CONTINUOUS

Some writers prefer INTERCUT WITH: as a right-aligned transition placed after the second slugline. All three forms are read the same way. Once the intercut is declared, action lines can describe either location, and the reader tracks who is where by the character names. No further sluglines are needed until the call ends.

Close the sequence explicitly if the next scene is not obviously separate. END INTERCUT on its own line, or simply a fresh scene heading, tells the reader the split is over. Three-way calls work the same way: INTERCUT - MARA'S APARTMENT / BEN'S CAR / 24TH PRECINCT.

Method 4: (FILTERED), speakerphone and voices in the room

(FILTERED) is an extension that says the voice is coming through a speaker with the sound quality that implies: a phone on speakerphone, a radio, an intercom, a baby monitor. It replaces (V.O.) on the cue rather than joining it. Use it when the distortion is part of the scene, for instance a voice everyone in the room can hear, or a line the character struggles to make out.

INT. BEN'S CAR - NIGHT

Ben sets the phone on the dash. Speaker on.

                      MARA (FILTERED)
            Where are you?

Ben glances at the exit sign.

                      BEN
            Parked.

Keep one rule in mind: the extension describes the voice as heard in the location the camera is in. If you intercut, each character is plain in their own location and never filtered. If you stay in one place, the absent character is (V.O.) or (FILTERED) on every line. Mixing the two inside one call is the sign of a draft that changed its mind.

Video calls, FaceTime and split screen

A video call is a phone call where the other person is visible on a device in the room. Format it like Method 2, with one change of extension. If we see the caller on the screen, tag their cues (ON SCREEN) or (ON VIDEO); if the device is out of frame and we only hear them, (V.O.) is still correct. Establish the device once in action and let the cues do the rest.

If both faces need equal weight, INTERCUT works exactly as it does for audio, and the reader assumes the laptop or phone camera as the eyeline. SPLIT SCREEN is a directorial choice and belongs in the shooting script, not a spec, unless the split is a story device the film cannot work without.

For the written side of a call, the text thread or the email that follows, see how to format text messages in a screenplay. Zen Writer treats INTERCUT lines as scene headings in the scene navigator, so you can jump straight to a call while revising, and every voice-over cue is collected in the automatic characters list.

When the conversation happens by typing rather than talking, none of these methods apply. How to format text messages in a screenplay covers the (TEXT) cue, on-screen text and group chats.

Common phone call formatting mistakes

Tagging the caller (O.S.). O.S. means in the location, out of shot. A caller is not in the location.
A new slugline for every line. That is what INTERCUT is for. Alternating headings every two lines doubles the page count of the scene.
(into phone) on every cue. Once establishes it. Repeat it only when the character turns from the phone to someone in the room and back.
Explaining the technology. Nobody needs to read that she taps the green button. Answer, talk, hang up.
Forgetting the call ended. If Ben is (V.O.) for a page and then walks into the room, something has to say the call is over and he has arrived.
Writing the absent side as action. Ben tells her the car was found is a summary. If the audience hears it, it is dialogue; if they do not, leave it out.

Because a call splits one character's lines across two treatments, it is easy to lose track of who is carrying the scene. Run the draft through the free character line count tool to see how many lines each side of the call actually has. If you are drafting the scene on a phone yourself, Zen Writer for iPhone places cues, extensions and parentheticals as you go, and the formatting hub covers every other element you will need around it.

Frequently asked questions

Is a phone voice V.O. or O.S. in a screenplay?

V.O. A voice coming through a phone arrives from another location, which is what voice-over means. O.S. is reserved for a speaker physically present at the scene's location but outside the frame, such as someone in the next room.

How do you write INTERCUT in a screenplay?

Slugline both locations, then write INTERCUT - LOCATION A / LOCATION B on its own line, or INTERCUT WITH: as a transition. After that, alternate dialogue freely without new sluglines until the call ends or a fresh scene heading appears.

Do I need to write both sides of a phone conversation?

No. Writing only one side is a standard method, and often the strongest, because the audience reconstructs the missing half. Use it when the other end is unimportant or when withholding it creates tension. Write the unheard half privately so the heard lines make sense.

How do you format a FaceTime or video call in a screenplay?

Treat it as a phone call. Establish the device in action, then tag the remote character (ON SCREEN) if they are visible on the device or (V.O.) if they are only heard. Use INTERCUT when both locations need equal weight.

What does (into phone) mean in a screenplay?

It is a parenthetical that tells the reader a line is spoken into a phone rather than to someone in the room. Use it once at the start of the call, and again only if the character switches between the phone and a person present.

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Zen Writer positions character cues, (V.O.) extensions and (into phone) parentheticals as you type, and lists every INTERCUT in the scene navigator.

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Screenplay Formatting

How to Format a Phone Call in a Screenplay (4 Methods)

How to format a phone call in a screenplay: the four methods

Method 1: one side of the call only

Method 2: both sides heard, one location, caller as (V.O.)

Method 3: INTERCUT between two locations

Method 4: (FILTERED), speakerphone and voices in the room

Video calls, FaceTime and split screen

Common phone call formatting mistakes

Frequently asked questions

Ready to turn this idea into a screenplay?

Continue reading

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