Module 6

Can a contractor build an office building without being able to understand the architect's blueprints? Not likely.

In the somewhat the same way key production personnel must be able to understand scripts, especially the nuances in good dramatic scripts, before they can translate them into productions.

A comprehensive guide to scriptwriting is beyond the scope of this course. However, when you complete this module, you should understand the basic elements of scripts and even have a good start on writing one. (Remember: the most traveled route to producing is through writing.)

"Excuse Me, Mr. Brinkley..."

Many years ago, while dining in a Miami restaurant, a TV production student of mine saw David Brinkley, one of the most experienced and respected network anchorpersons of all time.*

Although you can learn the basics of writing here or in a good book, you can become a good writer only by writing.

Doing lots of writing.

Most successful writers spend years writing before they start "getting it right" -- at least right enough to start making money consistently.

In a sense, initial failures aren't failures at all; they're a prerequisite for success.

Thomas Edison said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."

By another definition, a genius is a talented person who has done all his or her homework. These modules constitute the prerequisite homework involved in success.

Keep in mind that writing for the electronic media is not the same as writing for print. Those who write for print enjoy some advantages their broadcast counterparts don't have.

For example, a reader can go back and reread a sentence. If a sentence isn't understood in a TV production, however, the meaning is lost -- or worse, the listener is distracted while figuring out what was said.

With the written word, such things as chapter divisions, paragraphs, subheadings, italics, and boldface type guide the reader. And the spelling of sound-alike words can indicate their meaning.

Things are different when you write for the ear.

In order to deliver narration in a conversational style, you don't always follow standard rules of punctuation.  Ellipses...three dots...are commonly used to designate pauses. Often, complete sentences aren't used, just as they aren't used in normal conversation. In broadcast writing an extra helping of commas provides clues to phrasing.

Although this may be inconsistent with proper written form and your English 101 teacher may not approve, the overriding consideration in writing narration is clarity. This entails making it easy for an announcer to read, and making it easy for an audience to understand.

The way we perceive verbal information also complicates things.

When we read, we see words in groups or thought patterns. This helps us grasp the meaning.

But, when we listen, information is delivered one word at a time.

To make sense out of a sentence we must retain the first words in memory while adding all subsequent words, until the sentence or thought is complete.

If the sentence is too complex or takes too long to unfold, meaning is missed or confused.

Of course, through proper phrasing and word emphasis a narrator can go a long way toward ensuring understanding. This gives the spoken word a major advantage over the written word.

Broadcast Style

Writers write video scripts in broadcast style. With allowance for sentence variety, video scripts use short, concise, direct sentences.

You should also be aware of ▲some common mistakes, such as the difference between further and farther and less than and fewer than.

Of course, the English language is constantly changing. Things which were deemed "wrong" at one point can eventually come into regular use and become accepted. (For example, in the preceding sentence "which" should actually be "that," but this is another case where things have been changing.)

"Close proximity" is becoming accepted, even though proximity means close, so it's actually redundant. 

"There are less concerns about good grammar in advertising" should be "fewer concerns." Fewer relates to things you can count; less to things you can't. 

In writing your scripts, remember that the active voice is preferred over the inactive or passive voice. Nouns and verbs are preferred over adjectives, and specific words over general ones.

Facts must be taut, verbs strong and active; a script should crackle.

Avoid dependent clauses at the beginning of sentences. Attribution should come at the beginning of sentences ("According to the Surgeon General...") rather than at the end, which is common in newspaper writing. In broadcast style, we want to know from the beginning who's doing the "saying."

The classic reference on writing clarity and simplicity is a little 70-page book called Elements of Style. Even many seasoned journalists keep it handy.

A recent book on punctuation is Lynne Truss' and Bonnie Timmons' Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Who would believe an instructional book on a mundane subject like punctuation could make the New York Times best-seller list? But as the saying goes, "It's not what you say but how you say it" -- something that's especially important in writing scripts.

Ten Newswriting Guidelines  

With a bit of help from Ms. Debrah Potter of RTNDF, the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation, here are ten guidelines for writing news:

1. While making sure you bring the most interesting and surprising elements to the forefront of your story, don't give away everything right at the beginning.

Maintain interest by spreading these "nuggets" throughout the story. And try not to let the lead-in to the story steal the thunder from what follows.

2. Use the active voice: subject, verb, and object.

3. Remember that nouns and verbs are stronger than adjectives and adverbs. Don't tell viewers what they should be feeling by using adjectives, especially shopworn adjectives, such as "tragic," "amazing," and "stunning."  If the story's facts don't make such things obvious, you might want to examine your approach.

4. Avoid jargon; use well-known terms. For example, your audience probably won't know what ENG and B-roll mean.

5. Include defining details, such as the make of the car and the type of trees being cut down.

6. Write (tell!) the story as if you were trying to catch the interest of a friend.  Try mentally to follow up on the phrases, "Guess what...," or "This may be hard to believe, but...."

7. After you write something, set it aside for at least ten minutes and concentrate on something else. Then go back and review the story with a fresh perspective.

At that point it may be easier to catch and eliminate unnecessary words and phrases.

8. Read the story aloud (not under your breath).

Rewrite:

• sentences that are too long
• tongue-twisting or awkward phrases
• phrases that could be taken two ways
• long titles ("The 18-year-old, College Park Central High School  sophomore...")

9. Don't rely on the sound track to tell the story or explain the video. The basic idea should be obvious from the video. At the same time, the audio and video should complement and strengthen each other. (See the section below.)

10. Screen the complete audio and video story (package) as a "doubting Thomas." Have you made statements that could legitimately be challenged? Your clearly stated and verified facts should silence any rational critic.

Correlate Audio and Video

Keep in mind the basic guideline of correlating (relating) audio and video because viewers are accustomed to having what they see on the screen relate to what they hear -- generally in the form of dialogue or narration. (Note that the intentionally long and complex sentence you just read is not be appropriate for broadcast style.)

If viewers see one thing and hear another, things get confusing.

Even though you want audio and video to relate, watch out for the "see Dick run" approach where the audio states the obvious. If you can clearly see what's happening on the screen, this can get downright annoying.

Although radio drama had to slip many things into the dialogue to tip off the listeners to what they couldn't see ("Emma, why are you staring out the window?"), this is hardly the case with TV, where you can see what's taking place.

The trick is to write slightly off the pictures. This means that, while you don't describe the pictures, your words aren't so far removed from what is being seen that you split viewer attention. This technique involves a delicate balancing act.  

Information Overload

With more than one hundred TV channels available to viewers in some areas and millions of pages of information available on the Internet, to name just two sources of information, one of today's biggest problems is information overload.

In TV production the goal is not just to unload information on viewers. To be successful you must engage your audience and clearly communicate selected information in a manner that will both enlighten and possibly even entertain.

We can absorb only a limited amount of information at a time. The average viewer has  preconceptions and internal and external distractions that get in the way.

If a script is packed with too many facts, or if the information is not clearly presented, the viewer will become confused, lost, and frustrated.  

Lost vs. Bored

Not only is the amount of information you communicate important, but also the rate at which it's presented.

In information-centered productions, give the viewer a chance to process each idea before moving on to the next.

If you move too rapidly, you'll lose your audience; too slowly, and you'll bore them.

The best approach in presenting crucial information in an instructional production is first to signal the viewer that something important is coming.

Next, present the information as simply and clearly as possible.

Then, reinforce may points by repeating them in a different way -- or with an illustration or two.

Here are seven general rules to remember in writing for television. Some of these apply to instructional productions, some to dramatic productions, and some to both.

• Assume a conversational tone by using short sentences and an informal, approachable style.
   
• Engage your audience emotionally; make them care about both the people and content of your production.
   
  
• Provide adequate logical structure; let viewers know where you're going, which concepts are key, and when you're going to change the subject.
   
  
• After making an important point, expound on it; illustrate it.
    
  
• Don't try to pack too many facts into one program.
   
  
• Give your audience a chance to digest one concept before jumping to another.
   
  
• Pace your presentation according to the ability of your target audience to grasp the concepts.       

Video Grammar

Some people say that, unlike writing, video and film production don't have standardized grammar (e.g., conventions or structure).

Although video has abandoned much of the grammar established by early filmmaking, even in this MTV, YouTube era we can use various techniques to add structure to formal productions.

In dramatic productions, lap-dissolves (when two video sources overlap for a few seconds during the transition from one to the other) often signal a change in time or place.

Fade-ins and fade-outs, which apply to both audio and video, can be likened to the beginning and end of book chapters. A fade-out consists of a two- or three-second transition from a full signal to black and silence. A fade-in is the reverse.

Fade-ins and fade-outs often signal a major change or division in a production, such as a major passage of time. (But "often" is a long way from "always.")

▲Traditionally, teleplays (television plays) and screenplays (film scripts) start with a fade-in and close with a fade-out.  

Script Terms and Abbreviations

A number of terms and abbreviations are used in scriptwriting. Some describe camera movements.

When the entire camera is moved toward or away from the subject, it's referred to as a dolly.

A zoom, which is an optical version of a dolly, achieves somewhat the same effect. A script notation might say, "Camera zooms in for close-up of John" or "Camera zooms out to show John is not alone."

A lateral move is a truck. Note the illustration on the left.

Some terms designate shots.

Cuts or takes are instant transitions from one video source to another. In grammatical terms, shots can be likened to sentences where each shot is a visual statement.

The cover shot or establishing shot are designated on a script by "wide-shot" (WS) or "long shot" (LS). Occasionally, the abbreviations XLS for extreme long shot or VLS for very long shot are used. These all can give the audience a basic orientation to the geography of a scene (i.e., who is standing where) after which you'll cut to closer shots.  

On small screen devices or in the relatively low-resolution medium of standard-definition television (SDTV), this type of shot is visually weak because important details aren't easy to see. Film and HDTV (high-definition television -- often just stated in production as hi-def) don't have quite the same problem.

Cover or establishing shots should be held only long enough to orient viewers to the relationship between major scene elements. (How close is the burning shed to the house?) Thereafter, they can be momentarily used as reminders or updates on scene changes as reestablishing shots.

TV scripts are usually divided into audio and video columns, with shot designations in the left video column.

So that you can see how some of these things come together, here are some sample scripts.

Simple video script
Dramatic film/video script format
Commercial script
News script

Television and film scripts are available on the Internet for study. (See the section on Internet Resources at the end of this module.)

You'll find the following shot designations relating to people:

An LS (long shot) or FS (full shot) is a shot from the top of the head to the feet.

An MS (medium shot) is normally a shot from the waist up. (To save space, we've used a vertical rather than a horizontal format in this illustration.)

An MCU (medium close-up) is a shot that includes the head and shoulders.

A relatively straight-on CU (close-up) is the most desirable for interviews. Changing facial expressions, which are important to understanding a conversation, can easily be seen.

XCUs are extreme close-ups. This type of shot is reserved for dramatic impact. The XCU may show just the eyes of an individual. With objects, an XCU is often necessary to reveal important detail.

A two-shot or three-shot (2-S or 3-S) designates a shot of two or three people in one scene.

The term subjective shot indicates that the audience (camera) will see what the character sees. It often indicates a handheld camera that follows a subject by walking or running. Subjective camera shots can add drama and frenzy to chase scenes.

We sometimes indicate camera angles, such as bird's eye view, high angle, eye level, and low angle on scripts. 

A canted shot or  Dutch angle shot (note photo on left) is tilted 25 to 45 degrees to one side, causing horizontal lines to run up or down hill.

Although scriptwriters occasionally feel it necessary to indicate camera shots and angles on a script, this is an area that's best left to the director to decide.

Even so, in dramatic scripts you may see the following terms:

• camera finds: the camera moves in on a particular portion of a scene

• camera goes with: the camera moves with a person or object

• reverse angle: a near 180-degree shift in camera position

• shot widens: signals a zoom or dolly back.

We use a number of other abbreviations:

• EXT and INT:  exterior and interior settings
   
• SOT (sound-on-tape): The voice, music, or background sound is from the audio track of a videotape.
    
• SOF (sound-on-film): This is not much used anymore.  Even if a production starts out on film, it's converted into a video recording before being "rolled into" a production
   
• VTR: videotape, videotape recording. Video and audiotape have now been largely replaced by computer disks and solid-state memory
   
• VO (voice over): narration heard at higher volume than music or background sound
   
• OSV (off-screen voice): voice from a person not visible to the audience 
  
  
• MIC: microphone (pronounced "mike")
   
• POV (point of view). Dramatic scripts may indicate that a shot will be seen from the point of view of a particular actor.
    
• OS (over-the-shoulder shot): The picture shows the back of a person's head and possibly one shoulder with the main subject in the distance facing the camera. This is also designated as O/S and X/S. 

• ANNCR: announcer
  
  
• KEY: electronic overlay of titles, credits or other video sources over background video
    
  
• SFX or F/X (special effects/visual effects): audio special effects (audio FX) or video special effects; altering normal audio and video, generally to achieve some dramatic effect

With this basic background, we'll turn to some "bottom line" considerations in the next module. 

*After a 50-year career in broadcast news, David Brinkley died in June 2003, a few weeks before his 83rd birthday. He and his TV news co-anchor, Chet Huntley, are credited with establishing the popularity and credibility of TV news in the United States.  Along with Walter Cronkite, it's generally agreed that they were able to set a standard for broadcast news that for various reasons subsequent newscasters haven't been able to match.

Mr. Brinkley had to give up covering presidential candidates because he was so recognizable that when he accompanied the candidate, more people would gather around him than the candidate.

Noted for his sage observations, he once pointed out that history provides many examples of generals seizing power and putting journalists in jail. But it provides no examples of reporters seizing power and putting generals in jail.

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Internet Resources

A free, comprehensive computer scriptwriting program is available here. You can also find free demo programs of scriptwriting and general production software on the Internet at bcsoftware and screenplay, among other places.

The site offering the widely used Final Draft scriptwriting software also has a forum where scriptwriters and aspiring scriptwriters can register and exchange ideas and information.

You can find many writing tools for both professional and aspiring writers at The Writers' Store in Los Angeles.