Script Writing &Story Board Designing

SCRIPT WRITING & STORY BOARD DESIGNING

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© Rahul Kushwaha, Integrated Management College, New Delhi

STUDY NOTES


INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT COLLEGE 634/258, Lane No.3, West End Marg, MB Road,

Saidulla Jab, New Delhi-110030 Ph.:- 011-40608090

http://www.imc.edu.in/


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INDEX

Topic Page No.

Part 1

(Introduction to Scriptwriting, screenplay and teleplay Scripts are elements) 03 –21

Part 2 (Scriptwriting for both short film) 22 –35

Part 3 (Scriptwriting for feature film) 36 -42

Part 4 (As student develops their own script) 43 –43

Part 5 Introduction to storyboard) 44 –51

Part 6 (Steps of storyboard writing) 52 –62

Glossary 63 -79


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PART 1

The basics of scriptwriting

The first thing that you need to remember about scriptwriting is that a script is more than just the dialogue and interactions between the characters. A good script has to have all of the directions for the characters included in clear, concise steps... if a character named Bob is supposed to be wearing a certain color of coat, you need to be able to tell it from the script. The same goes for any actions, emotions, and sometimes even the looks of the characters... while not everything needs to be accounted for within the script, anyone who reads the script needs to be able to get a feel for what the work will look like without actually having to see the work. A scriptwriter needs to be careful, however, not to put too much information in the script. After all, the character is going to be portrayed by a live person (except in the cases of animation or puppetry, but even in those cases there are people involved somewhere)... it's that person's job to truly bring the character to life. If the script dictates every single move that they make, then they have little or no chance to doing a successful job. Capture every important detail in the script, outline the setting and the look of everything at the beginning of the scene, and trust in the actors to be able to interpret the characters on their own. Another consideration that must be kept in mind is the format of the script. Many beginning scriptwriters think that they can get noticed by doing their own thing, creating their own format as they go along. Unfortunately, they're right in a way... actors, directors, and script readers do tend to notice scripts that ignore standard formatting procedures. The problem is that they notice that the scripts are different than what they're used to working with, so unless the content is exceptionally good then they're likely to pass on the script without even really looking at it in depth. Even if they accept the script, it's likely that they'll get a rewrite of the script before proceeding too far with it. The best advice for a beginning scriptwriter is to get ahold of a few scripts and read through them... get a feel for how much information is good and how much it too much. Buy a copy of a book on script formats, and maybe some scriptwriting software to help you to write your script. Most importantly, though, stick with your ideas and your dreams... after all, only you can truly make them come to life.

There are three bodies of a script: Headings, narrative and dialogue. Each of these has three points to remember.

Headings: 1. Master scene headings which include:


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a) Camera location - EXT. (exterior or outside) or INT. (interior or inside)

b) Scene location (LOCAL RACE TRACK)

c) Time (DAY or NIGHT)

2. Secondary scene heading

3. ―Special headings‖ for things such as montages, dream sequences, flashbacks, flash forwards, etc.

Narrative Description:

1. Action

2. Character and settings (visual)

3. Sounds

Dialogue: 1. The name of the person speaking appears at the top, in CAPS.

2. The actors direction (AKA parenthetical or wryly). Try to avoid these as much as possible. Both the director and actor will appreciate it.

3. The speech.

Putting all this together you should come up with something that looks like this:


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Scriptwriting Activity

In this activity, students fill in the blanks to create the script. It can be used by beginning

(or low-intermediate) level students . Note that while students can "check" their

answers, there are many correct answers. They can print the script and bring it to their

teacher when finished.

Purpose: To give students practice in writing scripts.

Use of Scriptwriting

Scriptwriting can be done individually, in pairs, or in groups. Scriptwriting helps students focus on register, adjacency pairs, vocabulary in context, and fluency. A script can be edited and re-drafted to focus on the writing process. The added benefit is that the students can perform their script when it is completed.

An easy way to engage students in the learning of new vocabulary is to have them create very short scenes in which they dramatize certain concepts. Aside from practicing newly learned vocabulary, students can focus on specific grammar features. Likewise, students may write scripts for scenes that focus on specific pronunciation issues.

Action Meaning and Definition 1. A process or condition of acting or moving, as opposed to rest; the doing of

something; exertion of power or force, as when one body acts on another; the effect of power exerted on one body by another; agency; activity; operation; as, the action of heat; a man of action.

2. An act; a thing done; a deed; an enterprise. (pl.): Habitual deeds; hence, conduct; behavior; demeanor.

3. The event or connected series of events, either real or imaginary, forming the subject of a play, poem, or other composition; the unfolding of the drama of events.

4. Movement; as, the horse has a spirited action. 5. Effective motion; also, mechanism; as, the breech action of a gun. 6. Any one of the active processes going on in an organism; the performance of a

function; as, the action of the heart, the muscles, or the gastric juice. 7. Gesticulation; the external deportment of the speaker, or the suiting of his

attitude, voice, gestures, and countenance, to the subject, or to the feelings.

http://esldrama.weebly.com/hot_potatoes_scriptwriting.html


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8. The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted.

9. A suit or process, by which a demand is made of a right in a court of justice; in a broad sense, a judicial proceeding for the enforcement or protection of a right, the redress or prevention of a wrong, or the punishment of a public offense.

10. A right of action; as, the law gives an action for every claim. 11. A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds;

hence, in the plural, equivalent to stocks. 12. An engagement between troops in war, whether on land or water; a battle; a

fight; as, a general action, a partial action. 13. The mechanical contrivance by means of which the impulse of the player's finger

is transmitted to the strings of a pianoforte or to the valve of an organ pipe.

Scene Headings

A Scene Heading, also known as a Slug line (from typesetting days), tells the reader where a scene takes place. In other words, where are we standing? Where do we put the camera? Look at some of the examples below:

Description

EXT. JIM'S HOUSE, PATIO - NIGHT

INT. CONNER AEROSPACE, CONNER'S OFFICE - ESTABLISHING

INT./EXT. WALKER FARMHOUSE, KITCHEN - CONTINUING

SPACE MISSION 6 H.Q., 1900Z - SUNLIGHT

These might look very different to you, but notice the sections of the Scene Headings and they'll start to feel the same.

The Scene Headings start with an indication of whether you're inside or outside. INT. means "interior." EXT. means "exterior." Sometimes you might want to use EXT./INT. if, for example, a scene starts outside and moves inside, or INT./EXT. if it moves the other way. You don't need to use the combination descriptions. It's just as likely you can start the scene EXT. JIM'S HOUSE, OUTSIDE and, at the appropriate time, the scene changes to INT. JIM'S HOUSE, INSIDE

The next part of the Scene Heading tells where you are, generally. In other words, at a house, in a building, at a park, etc. The key here is the generality. As you reuse these, you want to be consistent. That is, don't refer to Jim's house as "JIM'S HOUSE," "JIM JONES'S HOUSE" and "MR. JONES'S RESIDENCE." You want to keep this consistent so the reader can easily know where you are in general terms. If your script is in production, you want these to be consistent so the production manager can easily find and schedule all the scenes that take place at that location. Believe me, the last thing


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you want is a Production Manager or Assistant Director screaming, "What do you mean this is supposed to be the same location we were at last week? We tore down the location we were at last week!"

Formatting of scene headings

The first thing you may have noticed is that Scene Headings are uppercase... ALWAYS.

Next, you may have noticed that the INT or EXT is followed by a period. Occasionally, you'll see other punctuation like a colon or a dash or no punctuation. Don't do this unless you know that the person who is reading your script expects something other than a period.

The spacing after the period is also up for debate. Two spaces after the period is common and accepted. One space is also okay. This one's more up to your aesthetic sense than industry rules. Use whichever you like best unless you know that the expected reader prefers one or the other.

The general description is usually separated from the specific location description by a comma. Again, rarely, you'll see something else, like a dash. Don't do this unless the reader expects it.

Similarly, the punctuation before the time indicator is most often a space, a dash and another space. Sometimes you'll see no spaces, sometimes you'll see two dashes, sometimes you'll see no spaces and two dashes. Not to sound like a broken record, but use the former unless you know the reader expects something else.

The margin settings are 1.5" from the left edge of the page to 1" from the right edge.

You want to keep your Scene Headings to one line, if possible. If you need a Scene Heading that takes two lines, try to break up the text at one of the natural break points: between the general and specific locations, for example. You do not want to break a Scene Heading so the time indicator is the only thing on the second line.

Finally, you would like to have 2 blank lines before each Scene Heading. Yes, this will make your script longer than if you had only 1 blank line preceding the Scene Heading and, yes, 1 blank line is acceptable. Two blanks looks better and also makes the script read faster. So, if you can, use 2. If you have to, to keep the script from being too long, use 1. As always, if the reader expects something specific, give it to her/him.

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/Size_Matters.htm


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Character Name

Definition

Couldn't be more obvious, the Character Name element is where you indicate who's talking.

Description

Not much to say, except that you want to be consistent. Don't call a character MR. JONES in one part of the script and DAVE somewhere else (with Scriptware, it's easy to check to see if you've done this; you just look at the Character List and see who's on it... then you can change the wrong ones with just a keystroke or two).

If you have two characters speaking simultaneously and saying the same thing, you can make a character name out of both of their names. For example:

BOB AND RHONDA

Wait! Stop!

Giving your character the ―right‖ name can often be a big piece in the puzzle of making your character feel like a real person. For example, if you have a one man war machine who is killing people left and right don‘t call him Bob Smith. No offence to anyone called Bob Smith but it‘s not a name with brings to mind an unstoppable force.

Whenever you create a character you should have a strong feeling on what he/she is all about. What qualities and characteristics do they possess. I‘d like to step outside the media of film and look at the world of video games. The naming of characters is often given a lot more thought in video games (especially RPG‘s) than movies or TV. In particular I‘d like to look at a series of games called Final Fantasy.

Not only are the stories rich and focused but the characters are deep and interesting. Part of this is in the naming of the characters. Final Fantasy VII was lead by Cloud Strife. He was physically strong, yet mentally weak with a brooding nature. He had a whole cast of allies who fought against the main antagonist Sephiroth.

Sephiroth was a genetically enhanced soldier who believed himself to be the son of an alien God, and therefore in line to take over the world. The name Sephiroth is based on the teachings of Kabbalah. In Kabbalah there are ten Sephiroth, which are ideas, attributes and concepts one must realise to reach their inner Christ. This of course relates to how Sephiroth wants to become the next God.


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Of course all these names are all well and good but rather outlandish. While that may be fine for the fantasy/sci-fi genre the names would seem overly odd in a more realistic setting. The idea is good but needs toning down.

If you have a female character who is quiet and full of dignity the name Emily Lincoln immediately pops into me head. This is down to personal experience (general character research), every woman called Emily I know has these personality traits. Lincoln of course comes from Abraham Lincoln, the very picture of dignity.

One thing to consider in naming a character is their ethnic background. If you have a character that is Irish-American then surnames like Mahon, McMahon, Flaherty and O‘Neill spring forward.

Also you want to be careful is having too many characters with the same first letter of their first name. You don‘t want a cast of characters called Adam, Alice, Anita, Allan and Aretha. Try and mix it up instead. Unless both names seem perfect for the character don‘t have any character sharing the same first letter in their name. This sets them all apart and make them seem more individual.

Finally the internet is a great tool in naming characters. There are plenty of baby naming sites out there where you can put in character keywords such as ―fighter‖ and ―strong‖ and come out with a list of appropriate names and their meanings.

Screenplay Page Breaking

Never end a page with a Scene Heading. The ONLY time this is acceptable is if another Scene Heading or Shot follows. (An example would be an Establishing shot and then an interior scene heading.)

Never start a page with a Transition. Automatically place Continued: notations when it breaks an Action paragraph or

a Dialogue. Never end a page with a Character Name line. At least two lines of Dialogue if

there are that many (including a Parenthetical, if used) must follow. Never end a page at a Parenthetical. Dialogue MUST follow. If you have Dialogue, a Parenthetical and then Dialogue again, break the page

BEFORE the Parenthetical.

Screenwriting: Understanding Page Breaking

When it comes to making page breaks in screenplays, screenwriters can't simply follow the formats of fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. Page breaks in


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screenwriting involve a bit more work, and screenwriters must follow all the screenwriting protocols even when it comes to page breaks.

Step 1: Using Page Breaks in Screenwriting When screenwriters make a page break in screenplays, oftentimes a shot or

even a scene is not completed. Yet, while most people know when reading a standard manuscript that they simply just have to turn the page, screenwriters need to alert their audience that the scene is not finished.

To do this, screenwriters must use the direction (CONTINUED) in order to let readers know that the scene or shot is still continuing. The format for the direction is parenthetical around the word, and the word continued in all caps just like above. This direction must be placed in the lower right-hand corner of the script.

For an example, see below:

JOSEY

It's time to go.

(CONTINUED)

Step 2: Inserting a Page Break in Stage Direction Stage direction explains what a character should be doing while they are

speaking certain dialogue. But, when a page break happens during the middle of a stage direction, screenwriters should only add the break after a complete sentence.

If the last sentence is not complete, screenwriters should move that sentence to the next page and stop at the end of the previous sentence. To alert that reader that the stage direction is continued on the next page, the screenwriter again has to use the (CONTINUED) direction.

Step 3: Inserting a Page Break After Dialogue Screenwriters should try to avoid breaking up dialogue. If they must, however,

screenwriters again should only break up the dialogue at the end of a complete sentence. Yet, screenwriters have to do something different when it comes to dialogue.

When a screenwriter has to breakup dialogue, they need to add the (MORE) after the dialogue, and this needs to be formatted about four inches from the left-hand side of the page. The direction needs to be directly underneath the dialogue, and the direction (CONTINUED) also needs to be used at the bottom since the scene is continuing.

Further, on the next page, screenwriters need to add the direction (CONT'D) after the name of the character's name. And, this direction needs to be on the same line as name.

For an example, see below:


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JOSEY

It's time to go.

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

______________________________page

break_____________________________________

JOSEY (CONT'D)

I wish that I didn't have to.

Short Lines

Short Lines, or Forced Line Breaks, are used in Action and Dialogue for certain types of emphasis.

Once in a while, it's necessary to write dialogue with a series of SHORT LINES. One example might be if your character is reciting poetry, or singing a song.

Description

Short Lines look like this:

STEVEN

And now, New York Haiku by Steven Sashen,

Zen Poet.

(reading a poem)

The East River.

A Frog Jumps in.

OUCH!

The Short Lines are the Haiku (okay, it's not really a Haiku). Notice how the lines end before the normal right Dialogue margin. This is a common use of Short Lines, poetry, lyrics, etc.

In Action, Short Lines are usually used to separate different bits of Action without creating new Action elements. So, the normal version like this:

Simmons walks up to the safe, making sure he isn't

followed by the other troopers.

He turns the dial.

Click.


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He turns it the other way.

Click.

versus the Short Line way:

Simmons walks up to the safe, making sure he isn't

followed by the other troopers.

He turns the dial.

Click.

He turns it the other way.

Click.

Short Lines are not that common and some people don't like them for anything other than things like lyrics.

Formatting

Short Lines are just Action or Dialogue that end before the normal margin and have no extra blank lines before them.

Titles or Opening Credits

In some scripts you read, you'll see this notation:

BEGIN TITLES or BEGIN OPENING TITLES followed by END TITLES or OVER OPENING CREDITS followed by END OPENING CREDITS. An example:

FADE IN:

EXT. KEY WEST MARINA - DAWN - ESTABLISHING

Sailboats, yachts, and cabin cruisers all bob up and down in the warm blue

water.

EXT. BEACH - DAY

BEGIN TITLES

as hundreds of young, perfect bodies of college age kids frolic during spring

break.

Opening Movie Titles

Only the most important and head people have been mentioned, who most of the time appear in the opening movie credits, but in total there can be hundreds of people

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/action.htm

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/dialogue.htm


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involved, and all of them are very important for the process of producing the film to keep going forward.

The First Opening Movie Credits - Introducing the Film

The first film credits that appear are the names of distribution companies presenting the film, like Universal, Paramount, Warner Brothers, Columbia, New Line, Disney, etc

Then some familiar or not so familiar names of studios and/or production companies

Then some movie credits go straight to the title of the film and leave the rest as end credits, and others would also include the names of the producer(s), director and stars before the title

Opening Movie Credits - The Lead People in Film Production

The rest of the opening credits, if not left for the end, would show some kind of variation of the following:

The Stars: All the big-name actors. They are the ones who make people want to go to the movies, so just the fact that they are part of the film, makes it a lot more valuable

Other Cast: Actors who have played other major roles next to the stars Casting by: Person in charge of casting all the characters who have not yet been

cast by the producer and maybe the director, and in charge of all the auditions Costume Design: Person responsible for what the characters wear, especially

important when it is a period piece. It helps give the characters their own personality. Works closely with the Director, the Production Designer and the DP to be on the same page as in the look of the film

Music by or Music Design: Person(s) in charge of the music, and when it's playing in the background of a scene, it helps bring out all the emotional tension of what the characters are going through. If a scene is violent, it makes it more violent, if romantic -- more romantic, etc

Editing: Person in charge of putting all the footage together. Good editors can bring something new to the film, but just as it can make the film better and even save bad scenes, it can make the film horrible even if the footage is great; that is why editing is so important

Production Design: Responsible for the complete look of the film, including sets, dressings, props and costumes. Helps the director get inspired and with the DP they control how the movie feels. Responsible for hiring art directors and also works closely with the Location Manager

Director of Photography (DP) or Cinematographer: In charge of how the film feels and looks in terms of light; contributes his own vision and is part of the big

http://www.suite101.com/content/end-credits-order-in-movies-a247092


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decisions as in what colors are the sets and the costumes, how many extras are in a scene and more

Visual Effects and/or Special Effects: In a visual or special effects loaded movie, these movie credits would also appear with the major people producing film, since this particular movie is all about special and/or visual effects

Executive Producers: These are the people with the money. They are the ones who finance the film. Without them -- no film. They can make executive decisions but generally have no creative power

The Last Opening Movie Credits -- The People Who Start the Whole Process

Sometimes these next three people appear at the beginning with the stars, if not, then they are the last opening credits to show:

The producer or producers: Everything starts with the producers. They are the people that put everything together, hire the creative team and other key people, and are involved with the film from beginning to end, from pre-production to post-production. They pay all the costs and arrange for the film's distribution. The Line Producers hire all the key technical personnel, constantly monitors the numbers in the budget and knows which ones cannot change and which could be modified Written by or Screenplay: The person(s) who bring the blueprint for the whole process. The ones who first determine the story, the events, major images, the characters and the dialogue. Writing for film is very different from any other writing, because the final or shooting screenplay is not the final product, it's the beginning The Director: The person responsible for communicating a vision of what is written in the script. He works with the writer, producer and designer in pre-production and establishes the staging of the action, designs the shots and guides the actors in their performance. And in post-production he works with the film and sound editors. After the producers he is the most involved person in the entire process of the film from beginning to end.

Screenplay Title Page

The TITLE PAGE has specific information on it. Type it in the same font as your script,

Courier 12. It should not be on special paper, no graphics - it should just contain only

the following information:

Centered on the page, vertically and horizontally - The title of your script in bold type if

possible

Two lines below that, centered on the line - Written by


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Two lines below that, centered on the line - Your Name (and co-writer, if any)

In the lower right hand corner your contact information (include agent or email address)

In the lower left-hand corner you can put Registered, WGA or a copyright notification.

The Good, The Bad, The Thin

Written by

Fatty Turner

Title Page

The title you choose for your screenplay is obviously rather important.

Ideally the title of a script should be an expression of something fundamental about the story or the theme or the characters. The best titles always find a way to express the heart of what a screenplay is about.

All that said, you should not get overly attached to a title. For starters many times your title may change based on a revelation in your story as you work through it. Or a movie might come out using the same title or something very similar. Or some exec might decide they don‘t like it or they‘d prefer something else (this should only your problem).

Another issue with getting too attached to your screenplay‘s title is the Title Registration Bureau. The Title Registration Bureau is a Hollywood title registration program which is part of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). This allows members and studios to register titles for future use. All the members agree not to use registered titles. So there is a chance your title is already registered and therefore not available for use by any producer or studio associated with the MPAA.

There are also questions regarding Copyrighting and Trademarking of titles. My understanding is that you cannot Copyright a title, but Trademarking a movie title is possible in a situation where the title of the movie takes on a life of its own or if there are there are sequels, such as ―Star Wars‖, Die Hard‖, ―Harry Potter‖, etc. (For more information you should consult a reputable legal expert.)

Title Format

Title page format for a screenplay is super simple (and you should keep it that way).

The ―TITLE‖ of the screenplay is centered in the middle of the page.


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Underneath the title you will place appropriate credits, such as: ―Written By‖, ―Screenplay By‖, ―Story By‖ or you can just use ―by‖ (this option keeps it real simple).

―Written By‖ would be used by a screenwriter or writers who developed the entire story and wrote the entire screenplay.

―Screenplay By‖ would typically be used in a situation where other individuals contributed and its not entirely clear who will ultimately get full or partial credit. Perhaps other writers were involved, or you‘ve done a rewrite of another‘s screenplay. Maybe another individual contributed to the story.

―Story By‖ would be used to credit a specific individual or individuals who developed the story, but did not write the screenplay itself.

―Based On‖ would be used to credit another story, book, novel, etc which the script is based on.

Contact Info

At the bottom LEFT. You must include CONTACT INFORMATION!!

A contact name, phone number, address, email, etc. If someone likes your script and wants to talk with you, they need to know how to reach you. Some people include that it‘s registered with the Writers Guild or U.S. Copyright Office (I personally don‘t think this is important info at all and you should leave it off).

Also, don‘t list ―Draft #‖ or ―Revisions by‖ or anything like that, those designations are for production drafts. If anything, just place the date inconspicuously along with your name.

Most screenplay software will automatically format and print the Cover Page for you. So this is all academic anyhow.


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(Title page)

Continued and Revisions

Scene continued

When a numbered scene is split across pages, (CONTINUED) appears at the bottom of the prior page, and CONTINUED: appears at the top of the subsequent page. This continued indicator appears along with the number of the scene being continued and a bracketed count of how often the scene has been continued thus far, e.g. 107 CONTINUED: (2). The number is usually omitted when it's equal to one.

Dialogue continued

When dialogue is split across pages, (MORE) appears below the portion of dialogue on the first page, similar to a parenthetical but indented the same as the character's name. On the subsequent page, the remaining dialogue is headed by the character's name, which is extended by an abbreviated continued indicator, e.g. JOHN (CONT'D).

When a character speaks more than once consecutively, with only action separating the speeches, (continuing) parenthetical can be used in the subsequent speeches. (continuing) parenthetical are positioned the same as standard ones: below the character's name and indented from the dialogue. Some writers indicate consecutive


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dialogue by including (CONT'D) beside the character's name (the same as for dialogue split across pages). Many writers choose not to indicate consecutive dialogue at all.

Dialogue continueds apply to both spec and production scripts. They are mentioned here because of the confusion that arises over the many uses of continued.

Revision marks

Script revisions are marked with asterisks in the right hand margins of the revision pages. When many revision marks are present on a single page, or within a single paragraph or scene, the marks may be consolidated into a single mark. For example, if all the lines in a given passage of dialogue are marked, the marks can be consolidated into a single mark appearing alongside the name of the speaker above the dialogue. In the case of scenes, this single "consolidation mark" appears alongside the scene header. For pages, the consolidation mark appears beside the page number.

The revision slug

A slug (header) appears at the top of every revision page, aligned vertically with the page number. The revision slug typically includes the date the revisions were circulated, the color of the pages in parentheses, and usually, the name of the production or some other descriptive information. Every set of revisions is distributed along with a title page that includes a list of the revision slugs for every set of revisions distributed thus far.

Header Text + Do's & Don'ts

Header

Another element of the production draft is the HEADER. A header occupies the same line as the page number, which is on the right and .5" from the top. Header information is printed on every script page. Information contained in the header includes the date of the revision and the color of the page. The header of the production draft of a script might look like this:

Headers & Footers

A header is a line or two of text and/or graphics that appear on every page or every

section of a document. A footer is the same, except that it appears at the bottom of the

page. In Word you set up a header and/or footer by clicking on View, then

Header/Footer, then entering the information you would like to have appear. Use

headers and/or footers for any page numbers, dates, and/or repeating titles. Then when


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you make any changes to the document, the page numbers and other information will

adjust automatically.

Do's and Don'ts

Do's

Do proofread your script. Spelling is very important. Don't trust your spell checking program, it may miss grammatical errors and won't have some terms in its built-in dictionary.

Do get someone else to proofread your script. A fresh pair of eyes will often catch something you continue to miss.

Do get the best photocopy you can. No one wants to read a dirty page. Do use good quality brass brads to bind your script. Acco #5 brads are the best,

because they are long enough to fit through the entire thickness of your script. Solid brass brads (as opposed to brass-plated brads) are preferable.

Do register your script with the Writers Guild of America but don't forget to copyright it as well. A WGA registration expires quickly, while a copyright is good for decades.

Do send a one-page (or less) cover letter with your script when you send it out. Make the letter short, concise and to the point. There are books and articles on the subject, but basically they simply want to know what the script is about and where to reach you.

Do follow the rules unless you KNOW a darn good reason not to.

Don'ts

Don't create a fancy Title page with giant fonts, colored letters, etc. A Title page has title and screenwriter's name(s) in the middle, and your contact information (address, phone number) at the lower right hand.

Don't put a quotation on the title page. Most likely, no one but you will care. Don't put a date on your script, or the draft version. Don't put blank pages in the script to set things apart. Don't put a second page with the quotation that tells the theme of your

screenplay. Don't do a page of character descriptions and back story. That's a convention

from the theater that is inapplicable in Hollywood. If your script doesn't tell that story, you're in trouble.

Don't include any illustrations, no matter how cute you think they are. Don't put the script title on the first page of the script. Don't use more than two brads, but use three-hole paper. Brads are used in top

and bottom holes only. Don't use colored paper or anything but 20 pound 3 hole punch paper.

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#register-of-copyrights

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#writers-guild-of-america


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Don't expect to have your script returned to you. Send it out, let it go. If a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) is specified, include one. Then relax; a lot of people will have sent scripts to the same company.

Screenplay Manuscript Format

Hollywood production companies are much pickier about manuscript format than your average Literary Manager. Don't use the format of a published screenplay. Be careful in using the screenplay manuscripts on the shelves of your local library. These will nearly always be shooting scripts. They'll be full of specific shots, camera movement and angles -- the sort of thing accomplished screenwriters don't waste time on. The tip-off that you've got a shooting script in your hands: each shot is numbered down the left margin. Here's the format by the numbers, courtesy of the folks who bring you the Oscars . . .

Top Margin: 0.75" - 1.0" Bottom Margin: 0.5" - 1.5" Description

o Left Margin: 1.5" - 2.0" o Right Margin: 1.0"

Dialogue o Left Margin: 3.0" o Right Margin: about 2.3"

Character s.d. o Left Margin: about 3.7" o Right Margin: about 3.0"

Other Script Formats

So far we've mostly discussed submission or spec screenplays. The same elements used in a screenplay are used in several other script formats. Only measurements and format vary here and there.

MOW - Movies of the Week DTV - Direct TV Movie Hour Episodic TV Show

These formats are almost identical as the format of the spec screenplay. However, these scripts are broken into ACTS that are delineated within the body of the script. An act covers that part of the story that takes place between the commercials. Hence, an ACT BREAK is a commercial break.

http://www.vcu.edu/arts/playwriting/litmgrs.html

http://www.vcu.edu/arts/playwriting/charsd.html

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#act


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When a MOW Act begins, note it this way:

ACT ONE

When an Act ends, note it this way:

END OF ACT ONE

MOW or DTV scripts usually have 7 acts. When a MOW ends, note it this way:

THE END

A MOW will also have a (roughly) three- to eight-minute "teaser" that begins the story, noted this way:

TEASER

A Teaser is not usually noted with END OF TEASER. Rather, the scene simply ends and a new page begins where Act One starts. A one-hour episodic script will also have a Teaser, albeit a shorter one than a MOW.

A MOW will also have a similar (but shorter) "Tag" scene at the end that caps off the story and keeps your audience riveted by the television until after the next set of commercials. This is usually not delineated as such.

A one-hour episodic program usually has 4 acts.

Page numbering is continuous for both forms.

Teleplay

A teleplay is a television play, a comedy or drama written or adapted for television. The

term surfaced during the 1950s with wide usage to distinguish a television plays from

stage plays for the theater and screenplays written for films. All three have different

formats, conventions and constraints.

The term 'television play' is a partial misnomer. Although the earliest works were

marked by television drama drawing on its theatrical roots, with live performances

telecast from the television studio, a shift towards shooting on film occurred in the late

1970s, utilizing techniques and working methods common in the cinema, but use of the

term has persisted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_play

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_%28theatre%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplay


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PART 2

Dialogue

Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in North American English[1]) is a literary and

theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two

or more people.

We can define it also as ―a particular passage of conversation in a literary or dramatic

work‖.

Parenthetical

A Parenthetical is a direction to the Actor about how to read the Dialogue.

Description

Here are some samples of dialogue with Parenthetical:

BOB

(sarcastic)

Of course I love you.

MARTHA

(trying not to

explode)

Can't you be serious for once?

(a beat, then)

Wait, who are you?

Here are some bad Parentheticals:

MIKE

(reaching for gun to

shoot the alien)

Stop!

HARRY AND SALLY

(they keep arguing as

they walk out the door)

Am not. Am too. Am not. Am too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatrical

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversation



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What makes the second examples "bad" is that they're describing Action, not giving information to the actor about reading the line. In other words, proper format asks you to not do this:

ZEKE

I don't think you should stay

(he cocks his shotgun)

We don't want you here.

but instead do this:

ZEKE

I don't think you should stay.

He cocks his shotgun.

ZEKE

(continuing)


Notice the "continuing" Parenthetical above. You put those in when a character's dialogue is split by Action (or, sometimes a Shot.). Some studios insist on these, some insist you don't use these. So, again, I would use them unless I had a specific reason not to.

If you had other Parenthetical direction to add, you would put it after the "continuing" like this:

ZEKE

(continuing; calmly)


Formatting

Parenthetical margins are 3" from the left and 3.25" from the right. If a Parenthetical takes up more than one line, indent the lines after the first 1 character so that the text on all of the lines start in the same vertical column.

Extension A filename extension is a suffix to the name of a computer file applied to indicate the encoding

convention (file format) of its contents.

An Extension is a technical indication about a character's Dialogue, placed to the right of the Character Name. For example, an indication that the dialogue happens off screen


http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/DialogueSplit.htm

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/shot.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substring

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filename

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_file

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_format


http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/Character_Name.htm


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or as a voice-over. An Extension is not a place to tell the actor how to read the dialogue or to indicate some action happening on the screen.

Description

There are a couple of standard Extensions: O.S. and V.O. "O.S." means "off screen" -- the character is physically present, but not visible on the screen (behind a door, under a bed, etc.). On TV shows, you'll sometimes see O.C. (for off camera) instead of O.S. "V.O." means "voice-over" -- the character isn't on the screen but we hear the voice (a narrator, a voice on an answering machine, etc.). This is called a voice-over, because the actor records her/his voice at a time other than when the scene is being shot and the voice are placed "over" the scene. It's still a voice over, though, if the actor records her/his voice and the recording is played back as the scene is being shot.

DR. JOSEPH (O.S.)

Hey, someone let me out of this freezer! WALLY (V.O.) That was when I knew... plug in the freezer!

Formatting

The Extension is uppercase and enclosed with ( )'s. There is one space between the end of a Character Name and the opening parenthesis of an extension.

Shot Transition

A film transition is a technique by which scenes or shots are juxtaposed. Most commonly this is through a normal cut to the next scene. Most films will also include selective use of other transitions, usually to convey a tone or mood, suggest the passage of time, or separate parts of the story. These other transitions may include dissolves, L cuts, fades (usually to black), match cuts, and wipes.

Dissolve -dissolve is a gradual transition from one image to another. In film, this effect is created by controlled double exposure from frame to frame; transitioning from the end of one clip to the beginning of another.

In video editing or live video production, the same effect is created by interpolating voltages of the video signal.

In non-linear video editing, a dissolve is done in software, by interpolating gradually between the RGB values of each pixel of the image. The audio track optionally cross-fades between the clips. A dissolve effectively overlaps two clips for the duration of the

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_%28film%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_%28filmmaking%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolve_%28film%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L_cut

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fade_%28filmmaking%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_cut

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wipe_%28transition%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_video_editing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-linear_video_editing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB


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effect. The lengths of the two scenes can be adjusted by trimming, which, if desired, can change the original durations of the scenes before the dissolve was added.

The cut and the dissolve are used differently. A camera cut changes the perspective from which a scene is portrayed. It is as if the viewer suddenly and instantly moved to a different place, and could see the scene from another angle. Obvious hard cuts may startle the viewer. For that reason, a dissolve is often used in continuity editing to "soften up" jump cuts or similar cuts.

L cut- also known as splits edit, is an edit transition from one shot to another in film or video, where the picture and sound are synchronized but the transitions in each are not coincident.[1][2] This is often done to enhance the aesthetics or flow of the film as L cuts allow the audience to see context (either before or after) of speaking rather than simply the speaking itself. Without L cuts, a conversation between two people can feel like a tennis match.[3]

L cuts are also used to hide transitions between scenes. They can be very effective in editing dialog scenes shot with a single camera using multiple takes. The ability to cut the picture/video separately from the sound/audio allows the sound from the various takes to flow smoothly, even though the picture cuts are at different places. In longer shots, this allows the editor to use the picture from one take with the sound from another take if the dialog reading is better.

The name of the cut refers to the shape of the cut pieces of the film[4] - the audio track is cut somewhat after (or before) the last frame of video, resulting in roughly L-shaped film ends, as the video and audio parts of film are in tracks, one below, one above, on the film itself.

Fade- as it relates to film, is the process of causing a picture to gradually darken and

disappear, or reverse. Often known as a "fade out" or a "fade in".

Match cut- is any cut that emphasizes spatio-temporal continuity.[1][2] It is a cut in film

editing from one scene to another in which the two camera shots' compositional

elements match, helping to establish a strong continuity of action – and linking two

ideas with a metaphor.[3]

Wipe- It is often acknowledged that using a wipe, rather than a simple cut or dissolve is a stylistic choice that inherently makes the audience more "aware" of the film as a film, rather than a story. For example, George Lucas is famous for the sweeping use of wipes in his Star Wars films, which help evoke a kinship to old pulp science fiction novels and serials; he was inspired by a similar use of wipes by Akira Kurosawa (as can be seen in The Hidden Fortress).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuity_editing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_cut

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_editing


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L_cut#cite_note-0



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L_cut#cite_note-Cassidy-3


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darken

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disappear

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_cut#cite_note-Purdue-0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_cut#cite_note-Purdue-0



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_cut#cite_note-filmjournal-2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_%28filmmaking%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolve_%28film%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lucas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Kurosawa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hidden_Fortress


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The very earliest examples of a wipe are seen as long ago as 1903 in films like Mary Jane's Mishap by George Albert Smith.

Wipes also can be used as syntactic tools, but are often frowned on.[citation needed] Some examples are:

An iris wipe is a wipe that takes the shape of a growing or shrinking circle. It has been frequently used in animated short subjects, such as those in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon series, to signify the end of a story. When used in this manner, the iris wipe may be centered around a certain focal point and may be used as a device for a "parting shot" joke, a fourth wall-breaching wink by a character, or other purposes.

A star wipe is a wipe that takes the shape of a growing or shrinking star, and is used to impart a sense of "extra specialness" or "added value." An example of the "star wipe" can be seen in the Guiding Light opening sequences of the 1980s. This convention was considered overused during that time period and is now generally thought to be somewhat out-of-date. The use was parodied in Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters.

A heart wipe is a wipe that takes the shape of a growing or shrinking heart, and is used to impart a sense of "love" or "friendship." The heart wipe is still used in wedding, graduation, and bar mitzvah videos, among others, as it has now passed from stylistic into the realm of standard convention, though many people consider it tacky.

A matrix wipe is a patterned transition between two images. The matrix wipe can be various patterns such as a grid, stars, etc.

A clock wipe is a wipe that sweeps a radius around the center point of the frame to reveal the subsequent shot, like the sweeping hands of an analog clock. Because of this similarity, it is often used to indicate that time has passed between the previous shot and the next shot.

The most common uses of the wipe effect is the "Invisible Wipe" where a camera follows a person into another room by tracking parallel to the actor. As the wall passes in front of the camera, the editor has the option of using a wipe to be able to choose any other matching take of the same scene. It is also commonly used in quick camera pans in action sequences, to make a cut invisible. Such wipes can be impossible to see in the finished film. A good example of this wipe can be seen in the movie Das Boot when director Wolfgang Petersen uses it to pan between two occupied u-boat pens, even though they had only one u-boat for filming.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Jane%27s_Mishap

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Jane%27s_Mishap

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Albert_Smith_%28inventor%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntactic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_subject

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looney_Tunes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looney_Tunes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrie_Melodies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_wall

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guiding_Light

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_Teen_Hunger_Force_Colon_Movie_Film_for_Theaters

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_mitzvah

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clock

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Boot

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Petersen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-boat


Page 27 of 79


Some extremely effective (and expensive) wipes were used in the otherwise very low-budget Laurel and Hardy short film Thicker than Water. For each of the scene changes in this film, either Laurel or Hardy or both of them would seize a curtain or some other object at the edge of the frame and move it across the screen. The opening frames of the next scene were optically printed onto this object, so that—when the object entirely filled the screen—the movie had "wiped" the last shot of the previous scene and begun the first shot of the next.

Act Numbers

The Act Number indicates what Act you're in. It can indicate the beginning of a new act or the continuation of the current Act. Act numbers are usually only used in Sitcom or Play scripts.

Description

Act Numbers look like this:

ACT II

ACT THREE

ACT 4

The numbering style you use depends on both your taste and/or the style in use by the show for which you're writing. In other words, if you're writing a "Murphy Brown" script, use the numbering style that they use (more about this in Give 'em what they want

There are a couple of other acts that don't have numbers but, instead, have names. If you have these, there will be no more than one before Act 1 that might be called TEASER, COLD OPENING, or PROLOGUE. There might also be one following the final act called EPILOGUE or TAG. In a sitcom, a teaser, or cold opening takes place before the first commercial break and the tag takes place after the last commercial. Both of these parts of the script don't have anything specifically to do with the story and could be removed from the show (which is often what happens when a show gets syndicated so that the syndicators can squeeze in more commercials). The prologue and epilogue occupy the same place at the beginning and end of the show, but are an integral part of the story. See what the show's standard for using these are before you decide you need to use them.

Some shows only want you to put the Act Number on the first page of a new act. Others want you to put it there and on the first page of each new scene within the act (see Scene Numbers). Typically, there is only one scene in a Prologue, Teaser, Cold Opening, Tag, or Epilogue.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_and_Hardy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thicker_than_Water_%281935_film%29

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/Give-em.htm

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/Scene_Numbers.htm


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Similarly, some shows want you to indicate the ending of an Act by typing something like:

END OF ACT 5

END OF TEASER

That would be the last line of the page, then, the top of the next page would be the next act.

Formatting

Act Numbers are uppercase. Center them horizontally on the page. For a new act, put the Act Number 2" from the top of the page. Start each new Act on a new page.

The End Of Act indicator is also centered horizontally and uppercase. Put two blank lines between it and the last line at the end of the act.

If a show uses letters instead of numbers for each act, it typically will not use certain letters. Most commonly, shows will not use the letters "i" or "o" because the capital versions of those letters look too much like the numbers one and zero.

Scene Numbers

The Scene Number indicates that you're starting a new scene. Scene numbers are usually only used in Sitcom or Play scripts (in film scripts that are in production, the Scene Heading will be numbered, but that's a different story -- see Numbering?).

Description

Scene Numbers look like this:

SCENE II

SCENE THREE

SCENE 7

SCENE P

The numbering style you use depends on both your taste and/or the style in use by the show for which you're writing. In other words, if you're writing a "Cybill" script, use the numbering style that they use (more about this in Give 'em what they want.)

Sometimes you will repeat the Act Number above the Scene Number like:

ACT V

SCENE 2

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/Numbering.htm

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/Give-em.htm


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Then, the next scene is:

ACT V SCENE 3

Some shows start renumbering the Scenes for each act, others let the Scene Numbers just continue to add sequentially. For example, this: ACT SIX ACT SIX ACT SEVEN

SCENE D SCENE E SCENE F

versus:

ACT SIX ACT SIX ACT SEVEN

SCENE D SCENE E SCENE A

Like you would with Act Numbers, sometimes you will indicate the end of the Scene by putting END OF SCENE X at the end of the previous scene.

Formatting

Scene Numbers are uppercase and centered horizontally. If the Scene Number follows the Act Number, put one blank line before the Scene Number. Otherwise, put the Scene Number 2" from the top of the page. Start each new scene on a new page.

If a show uses letters instead of numbers for each scene it typically will not use certain letters. Most commonly, shows will not use the letters "i" or "o" because the capital versions of those letters look too much like the numbers one and zero.

If you have more than 26 scenes, start numbering from the 27th like this: AA BB CC DD EE FF, etc.

If you use an End Of Scene indicator, put 2 blank lines between it and the last line of the previous scene.

When both an Act and a Scene end, just use the End Of Act indicator.

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/Act_numbers.htm


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Dialogue Paragraphs

Dialogue Paragraphs create the effect of a pause in a Character's Dialogue.

Description

There are two circumstances where you see Dialogue Paragraphs. The first is a simple pause in a Character's Dialogue. The second is when a Character's Dialogue is interrupted by some Action.

In the first instance, a Dialogue Paragraph just looks like a blank line tossed in the middle of the Dialogue. It looks that way because, that's what it is. Like this:

COMMANDER

You, over there with the scanning beam.

Get me a reading on the solar flare.

And you, with the sexy underwear on under

your suit. Get into my ready room!

The second instance is just like the first, but includes some Action in between the pieces of Dialogue, like this: COMMANDER

You, over there with the scanning beam.

Get me a reading on the solar flare.

A beautiful cadet walks by. And Commander uses his x-ray

scope.

And you, with the sexy underwear on under

your suit. Get into my ready room!

I can't say do or don't use Dialogue Paragraphs, or do use the first kind but not the second, or vice versa. Dialogue Paragraphs have been popping up more and more lately, but they're still very stylistic. So, as always, use your best judgment, based on the effect you're trying to create and the expectations of your readers.

Formatting

Simply toss a blank line or an Action element in the middle of the Dialogue. If you have an Action element splitting the Dialogue, make sure there's one blank line before the continuing Dialogue.




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Script Styles

Below is a listing of the most common script formats in use today. This document will be dealing with Feature Film/Television Movie of the Week which are very similar but the others are distinctly different. Their attributes complement the needs of production distinct to the medium, the working style of the actors, and production personnel:

In this document:

Screenplay / Feature Film Television Movie of the Week

Not addressed:

Stage Plays and Musicals Sitcoms (3-camera, 1-camera, tape and film) Soap Operas/Daytime Television Audio/Visual Scripts/Dual Column Multimedia

Scriptwriters for any of the above formats will present their work in either of the two variants below depending on whether they are trying to sell their work or have sold it and are working in the production part of the process.

Submission Scripts

AKA a Spec Script. This is a script written without being commissioned or bought, on the speculative hope that it will be sold. This overview will favor the philosophies of spec script writing which is to say, 'stay out of the way of the collaborative process'! The do's and don'ts you'll see here will reflect this philosophy.

Shooting Scripts

Once a script is purchased, it often goes through a series of rewrites before it is put into production. Once that happens, the script becomes a 'Shooting Script' or Production Script. All the scenes and shots of a shooting script are numbered and each scene and shot are broken down into all the component pieces required to film it. The production assistants and director can then arrange the order in which the scenes will be shot for the most efficient use of stage, cast, and location resources.

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#feature-film

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#movie-of-the-week

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#play

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#musical

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#situation-comedy

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#soap-opera

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#audio-visual-script

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#multimedia

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#submission

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#spec-script

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#shooting-script

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#production-script

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#production-script


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Since feature screenplay format is the most popular form of script today, we will begin by exploring that layout. Later, we'll discuss the other formats, building on what we've discovered here.

A general comment about script formatting: Although a certain format has become more and more standardized in recent years, there isn't ONE way, ONE set of margins, ONE style. There is a RANGE OF CORRECTNESS. All the software program formats and measurements fall within this range.

Types of Script Writing

Script writing or, more commonly, scriptwriting can be broadly defined as writing the dialogue and relevant directions for a production. As scripts are used for a variety of purposes in a number of settings, there are specific criteria or formal structures that are often unique to a given type of script. For example, a screenplay for a film might include camera specific terminology---such as pan, zoom or deep focus---that would not appear in the script for a play. Screenplays Screenplays are scripts written specifically to be produced for a visual medium, such as

film or television. For the most part, screenplays are fictional in nature and designed to

tell a story. Screenplays typically include a variety of information including setting,

dialogue, camera instructions and may include editing instructions. It should be noted

that most screenplays are not produced as written. The director, production crew and

even the actors may all directly or indirectly alter the script during production, reports

Screenwriting.info.

Playwriting

Plays are productions that occur live, on a physical stage rather than the metaphoric

stage of film or television. Like a screenplay, a play script includes dialogue and

directions. According to Script Frenzy, a play script will include stage and scene

instructions, as well as provide character names and descriptions.

Audio Drama

Scripts for audio dramas share a number of components with screenplays and the

scripts for stage plays, often sharing terminology. There tends to much more extensive

use of the so-called narrator to provide third person perspective than in other fictional

scripts. The dialogue is also different in that it includes more descriptive language about

the surroundings to help establish setting, reports crazy Dog Audio Theatre. Instructions


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lean toward the necessary audio components that need to accompany a given scene

and may also give direction to the voice actor about how a line should be delivered.

News Scripts

While appearing natural on screen, most news anchors are provided with scripts to read

via Teleprompters. News scripts tend to be bare-bones affairs that provide informational

content. The components of the script the anchors do not read aloud generally include

directions for the production staff about when to run a clip or to cut to a live anchor in

the field.

Other Scriptwriting

Other types of scriptwriting include producing story/dialogue for video games, education

films, online content such as podcasts or marketing materials and even commercials.

These scripts tend to follow the same general patterns as plays, audio dramas and

screenplays.

Script Length

The average feature screenplay, traditionally, is between 95 and 125 pages long. In Hollywood these days scripts generally don't run longer than 114 pages. Comedy scripts are typically shorter, dramas longer. There are, naturally, variations. You could be writing an action-packed film where your description takes only 10 seconds to read, but will take 45 seconds of film time. Here's an example:

Cpl. Owens sheds his pack and picks up the machine gun. He runs from doorway

to

doorway, dodging enemy fire while shooting back, until he reaches the church

bell tower.

Screenplay Page Properties

The Rules:

Screenplays are traditionally written on 8 1/2" x 11" white 3-hole punched paper. A page number appears in the upper right hand corner (in the header). No page number is printed on the first page. The type style used is the Courier 12 font. The top and bottom margins are between .5" and 1". The left margin is between 1.2" and 1.6". The right margin is between .5" and 1".

The extra inch of white space on the left of a script page allows for binding with brads, yet still imparts a feeling of vertical balance of the text on the page.

http://www.ehow.com/hobbies-games/

http://www.ehow.com/education/

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#header

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#courier-12-pitch

http://www.screenwriting.info/glossary.php#brads


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The Courier 12 font is used for timing purposes. One script page in Courier 12 roughly averages 1 minute of onscreen film time. Experienced readers can detect a long script by merely weighing the stack of paper in their hand.

Writing Tip:

If you had a script full of scenes like this, you could come up with a short script in total pages... but that doesn't mean when it is filmed it would be short. By the same token, another writer could write the same scene and have it take up half a page. It just depends on the writing style of the individual writer.

125 page scripts are considered on the long side for a screenplay. Length is a very important component of the script. When you turn in a script to a producer, the very first thing s/he will do is fan through the pages and look at the last page to see how long it is. It doesn't matter if you've written the most incredible screenplay ever, if it's too long they may refuse to read it.

The Industry's aversion to long scripts is due to economic considerations. Films under two hours mean more showings per day in a theater, which means more revenue for the exhibitor, distributor, filmmaker, and possibly even you, the screenwriter.

When you realize your script is long and have to start cutting your work, keep in mind that if a scene can be removed and the story continues to work, that scene wasn't necessary. EVERY SCENE should not only move the story along to its conclusion; it should be an integral part of the path to the climax.

Script length: the debate rages on...

Budding writers continually ask, "What if my feature script is only 70 pages?" Um, 70

pages, for a feature screenplay? Nope, sorry, too thin. If you adhere to the minute-per-

page rule (which isn‘t all that accurate), then you‘re gonna have a movie that‘s an hour

and ten minutes long. Not even Woody Allen cuts ‗em that short! Besides, if you send a

70-page script to an agent or producer, they‘ll label you as a rank amateur. When you‘re

trying to get a career off the ground, that‘s the last thing you want. An intriguing, well-

told story (for a feature-length screenplay) typically has peaks and valleys and twists

and turns. It‘s difficult including those things in a swiftly told story. So if thin scripts are

your thing, go ahead and write short films. Nothing wrong with that. Just don‘t pass ‗em

off as features.

So why is your script so short?

Flip through the script. How‘s your action to dialogue ratio? Is it a little heavy in the ol‘

chit-chat department? I find that many budding scribes rely too heavily on dialogue to


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tell their story. Not too long ago, I did a critique on a horror screenplay that was 98

pages – and 95% of it was dialogue! Screenplays are not about dialogue, dialogue,

dialogue. Screenplays are about actions. They are about people doing things. Things

are happening. This is why we call them moving pictures. If the writer of that 98-page

script had bothered to sufficient directions/actions, he would‘ve ended up with 130-

pages...and that‘s waaaaaay too long for a typical horror script.

So no, 70 pages ain‘t gonna cut it for a feature. You‘ll have to bring up that page count

at least another 15-20 pages.

In a previous blog (3/26/07), I offered page counts suggestions for various genres. I also

discussed the one page = one minute of screen time "rule." If you haven‘t read that

particular entry, I suggest you do so.


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PART 3

Dialogue Split by Action

When a character is speaking and then there's some Action and then the character continues speaking, you indicate the continuation like this:

DR. STRANGE

This will be my crowning achievement!

Life from life. Reincarnation while

in the body.

Zelda enters.

DR. STRANGE

(continuing)

Never again will death be feared. I

have bested the universe.

Zelda slowly reaches for the power cord to Strange's

machines.

DR. STRANGE

(continuing; sobbing)

Why couldn't I have been just one

month faster, poor Eliza, my love?

Notice that if you have a continuing indicator and a Parenthetical, you put the continuing first, then add a semi-colon and a space, then type the Parenthetical.

In TV and Sitcom scripts, the continuing indicator is placed as an Extension and abbreviated CONT'D, like this:

DR. STRANGE

This will be my crowning achievement!

Life from life. Reincarnation while

in the body.

Zelda enters.

DR. STRANGE (CONT'D)

Never again will death be feared. I

have bested the universe.

Some people don't use continuing indicators. If you know you shouldn't use them, don't, otherwise you'll be fine if you do.


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How to Format Dialogue in A Film Script

Writing a good script is one thing - but writing a professional-looking script is another. However good your ideas are, you'll never make it to Hollywood unless you master the basics of formatting and laying out your dialogue properly. Watch this Video Jug film for our handy guide to the basics or formatting dialogue in a film script.

1. Step 1: Introducing a character

When a character first appears in your script, their name should appear in capitals in the narrative text. From then on, they can be written in normal lower case text, except when their name appears as a cue for dialogue.

2. Step 2: Character cues

When a character speaks, you must write their name in capitals approximately 4.2 inches from the left-hand edge of the page. Do not centre it. Most characters will have names, but if a character you are introducing is a functional extra, they will be called something like POLICEMAN or SHOP ASSISTANT to reflect their role.

3. Step 3: Actor's Direction

Directions for the actors are also known as 'parenthetical' as they appear in

brackets. The main purpose of actor direction is to help the actors interpret

the script as they read through. They are frequently used if the tone of the

delivery is in contrast to how it's written. They are also useful to indicate to

whom a line is being delivered.

They are written in lower case, in brackets and are often positioned between the character cue and the dialogue. Sometimes they also appear within a portion of dialogue. They should be placed half an inch to the left of the character cue, so they remain distinct from what is to be spoken, should be 1.5 inches wide and wrap to the next line where necessary.


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4. Step 4: Setting out dialogue

Dialogue fits into a column 3 inches wide, which begins 3 inches in from the left-hand edge of the page. Dialogue is placed beneath the name of the character that is speaking, and should be single-spaced. If you want to denote a pause between words within dialogue, use the word 'beat' (in brackets) for a short pause and 'double beat' for a longer pause. There are two ways of doing this: 1. Leave a line and write (beat).

2. Embed the (beat) within the text.

5. Step 5: Don't split words or lines across pages

Never split a sentence of dialogue across two pages, and never split a word across two lines by using a hyphen (unless the word is naturally hyphenated) - it makes your lines hard to read. If a line looks set to over-run the end of the page, end that page with the sentence before and begin on a new page with the next line.

If a section of dialogue spoken by a single character crosses from page to the next, many writers like to indicate this by using (MORE) at the foot of the lines on one page, and the name of the character speaking followed by (CONT'D) on the next.

6. Step 6: Combining action and dialogue

If a description of action breaks up a character's dialogue, leave a blank line, then write the action taking place. Then skip another line, and continue the character's dialogue. If the description is shorter than one line then you don't need to repeat the character's name, unless you feel that clarity is threatened.

Remember to start your action description 1.5 inches in from the left hand edge of the page, as it's part of the narrative, or scene direction.

7. Step 7: Unusual dialogue

Don't worry - you don't need to be multilingual to include foreign languages in your script from time to time - write the line in English, but indicate the language to be spoken as a parenthetical beneath the character cue. You can also use parenthetical to indicate voices filtered by a phone or radio.


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Emphasis in Action

When you write your Action, there are times where you will capitalize certain words or phrases for emphasis. For example:

CARL BANNER shoves open the glass door. It hits the wall And the glass SHATTERS.

The sample above shows the two most common uses of capitalization.

First, when you introduce a character (the first time you type his/her name in Action), capitalize the name. Only capitalize the name the first time you use it, not every time.

The second capitalization indicates a Sound Effect. The glass "shatters." The reason that Sound Effects or SFX (see Abbreviations) are capitalized is to alert the production people to the need for the sound effect. That's why emphasizing sound effects is optional and, frankly, I don't recommend it unless, of course, you know that the reader expects it.

A much less common use of capitalization is to emphasize camera directions. Because this falls WAY into the realm of ...doesn‘t direct it, I really suggest you not do this unless you know it's expected. Just so you understand what I mean, here's a sample:

As the circus caravan continues, we FOLLOW the sad

clown and ZOOM IN to SEE that it's really Mrs. Clearson

in disguise.

Abbreviation

An abbreviation (from Latin brevis, meaning short) is a shortened form of a word or

phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the

word or phrase. For example, the word abbreviation can itself be represented by the

abbreviation abbr., abbrv. or abbrev.

Montage and Series of Shots

A montage is a series of small related scenes, grouped together. A montage example you'll be familiar with is the "falling in love" montage where we see shots of our glowing

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/Abbreviations.htm

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/Show_it.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrase


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couple at the amusement park, looking over the ocean, feeding each other dinner, dancing in the rain and, finally... well, you know. Often montages are silent scenes that have music or some other sound over them.

A Series of Shots is similar to a montage, but takes place in one location during one piece of time. Think of a chase scene when you see a car racing through the street, then a baby carriage wheeled across the street, then the cop chasing the first car, then the first car narrowly missing the baby carriage and the cop car having to stop to avoid hitting it.

Montages and Series of Shots are formatted the same way:

MONTAGE OF THE UFOs LANDING

A) The ship settles on the Washington Monument.

B) Humans are rounded up into Candlestick Park as more

Ships land in the parking area.

C) An African tribal leader chats with one of the aliens.

SERIES OF SHOTS

A) Police swarm the Federal Building.

B) Ambulances swerve into the driveway.

C) SWAT teams aim their guns.

Just to note, the first line "Montage of..." is a Scene Heading. The first line of "Series of Shots" is a Shot. The other lines are Action elements. You could just say "MONTAGE" without the "OF THE UFOs LANDING." Whether you add the extra description is up to you.

It's also optional whether you, at the end of a Montage or Series of Shots, add an Action line that says:

END MONTAGE

or

END SERIES OF SHOTS

If you write the Montage or Series of Shots well, it's obvious when they end, so I would avoid the ending indicators.

Supers - Titles, Signs, etc.

A Super is something that is superimposed over another thing. Sub-titles are supers. But, for your purposes, a Super is more likely some descriptive text like a time or location or a translation.

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/Scene_Headings.htm

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/shot.htm


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Supers are written with Action elements... For example:

INT. PENTAGON, WAR ROOM - DAY

SUPER - 10:15 Zulu, Present Time

The council gathers around the table.

What this means is that when we cut to the War Room, the words"10:15 Zulu, Present Time" will appear on the screen over the image of the council gathering.

Another example:

Marty looks at the sign which is in Arabic.

SUPER - Do Not Enter. Death Penalty Enforced.

MARTY

This must be the place.

He walks in the door.

Titles

Some writers like to indicate when the film's title sequence should start and end by writing:

BEGIN TITLES

END TITLES

My opinion? Don't bother. Let the director decide where the title sequence happens.

Phone calls and Intercuts

Intercuts are when we switch back and forth between two or more scenes quickly and repetitively. Most often we see intercuts when characters are speaking on the phone and we jump back and forth between them.

Sometimes intercuts happen with scenes that are related by time, but not dialogue, like when we see someone dismantling a bomb and cut back and forth between that person and the people in a safe place who check their watches, waiting for him. Intercuts have also been used in time travel situations.

All you want to do is start the intercut and let the director decide how to do it. Like this:

EXT. HWY. 57, PHONE BOOTH - DAY

Jessie runs into the booth and quickly dials a number.

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Intercut with...

INT. MULDOON'S OFFICE - DAY

Muldoon grabs the phone almost before it rings.

MULDOON

Yea, what' up?

JESSIE

He's here! Hurry!

Often the intercut will end at the next Scene Heading. If you want the intercutting to end in one of the locations you've been using, just reuse that Scene Heading. So, to do that by continuing the above scene, we get:

MULDOON

We got you, Jess. Just leave

the phone off the hook and hide

out till we get there.

JESSIE

Okay. Please hurry!

Jessie drops the phone so the receiver dangles. He runs

away.

MULDOON

(to his assistant)

Get a trace on this. Fast!

EXT. HWY. 57, PHONE BOOTH - DAY

A gloved hand hangs up the phone.

So you can see that when the Action refers to Jessie dropping the phone, it's obvious that the director will have to cut to that location. But we really emphasize the return to the phone booth by adding the Hwy. 57 Scene Heading.

Realize, of course that you can have a phone conversation without intercutting. The scene takes place in one location and the person on the other end of the phone talks in voice-over.

Two characters speaking at the same time

When two characters are speaking at the same time, use Dual-Dialogue.

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/Scene_Headings.htm

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/Extension.htm

http://www.scriptwritingsecrets.com/DualDialogue.htm


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PART 4

As student develops there own script


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PART 5

Introduction to storyboard

What is story boarding?

Thinking the story through -visually- using various camera angles, composition and sequencing to shape meaning

A drawn series of rectangles with accompanying text that represent the photographs you will need to show the story of How Stuff Is Made

For our purposes, the visualized photograph in the final essay is in relationship to a text. How can we create a dynamic interaction between the word and the image?

Why storyboard?

Everyone is familiar with media bias. Often times it is a lot easier to identify biases in words. What does it mean visually?

When photographing, there are choices that you'll make that are for the most part intuitive and will work just fine. These choices are what you choose to include in the frame or not, where you place the camera in relationship to who and what you are photographing. "Bias" is also reflected in the editing process, what you include or not in the sequence of images, in the final visual essay. The point is no matter what your photographs are saying something neutrality is a not possible.* How can we have a bit more control over what our photographs individually and in sequence communicate, so that our choices are intentional?

Frequently narrative stance is the accidental result of other concerns...

Time. By thinking through your choices of how to frame beforehand you will be able to walk into the manufacturing location with a shot plan Won't necessarily have time to make the kinds of framing decisions that would contribute to meaning and the overall production value.

― Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence, including website interactivity.‖

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illustration

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_picture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_graphic

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The storyboarding process, in the form it is known today, was developed at the Walt Disney Studio during the early 1930s, after several years of similar processes being in use at Walt Disney and other animation studios.

Origins

The storyboarding process can be very time-consuming and intricate. The form widely known today was developed at the Walt Disney studio during the early 1930s. In the biography of her father, The Story of Walt Disney (Henry Holt, 1956), Diane Disney Miller explains that the first complete storyboards were created for the 1933 Disney short Three Little Pigs. According to John Cane maker, in Paper Dreams: The Art and Artists of Disney Storyboards (1999, Hyperion Press), the first storyboards at Disney evolved from comic-book like "story sketches" created in the 1920s to illustrate concepts for animated cartoon short subjects such as Plane Crazy and Steamboat Willie, and within a few years the idea spread to other studios.

According to Christopher Finch in The Art of Walt Disney (Abrams, 1974), Disney credited animator Webb Smith with creating the idea of drawing scenes on separate sheets of paper and pinning them up on a bulletin board to tell a story in sequence, thus creating the first storyboard. The second studio to switch from "story sketches" to storyboards was Walter Lantz Productions in early 1935 [1], Harman-Ising and Leon Schlesinger also followed suit by 1936, while by 1937-38 all studios were using storyboards.

One of the first live action films to be completely storyboarded was gone with the Wind. William Cameron Menzies, the film's production designer, was hired by David Selznick to design every shot of the film. Many large budget silent films were also storyboarded but most of this material has been lost during the reduction of the studio archives during the 1970s.

Storyboarding became popular in live-action film production during the early 1940s, and grew into a standard medium for pre visualization of films. Pace Gallery curator Annette Michelson, writing of the exhibition drawing into Film: Director's Drawings, considered the 1940s to 1990s to be the period in which "production design was largely characterized by adoption of the storyboard". Storyboards are now an essential part of the creation progress.

Introduction Depending on the nature and scale of your operation, you might be skeptical of the idea

of storyboarding programs. It can be time-consuming and if the product development

time is short (as in TV or Radio news programming) then who has time to produce a

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_Pictures

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_Pictures

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation_studios

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_Feature_Animation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Disney_Miller

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Disney_Miller

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Little_Pigs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plane_Crazy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboat_Willie

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboat_Willie

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Lantz_Productions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storyboard#cite_note-0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harman-Ising

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Schlesinger

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Schlesinger

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_%28film%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pace_Gallery


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shot-by-shot plan of how the end product should look and sound? But if you are in film,

commercial or TV magazine and documentary production, dealing with large

multidisciplinary production teams who may be split between different sites, then careful

planning is essential. Storyboarding plays an important role in these areas in providing

everyone, including the client, if there is one, with a common point of reference, to verify

and validate structural and content elements. The same is true in multimedia

production, perhaps even more so since teams in this area are still in the process of

developing a common cross-disciplinary language and, with development tools still in

the process of evolution, experience is not always there to draw on when it comes to the

incorporation of more obscure design elements.

Multimedia authoring tools such as HyperCard and Macromedia Director have already made an impact in storyboarding for more tradition media such as film and commercial production. Their use in storyboarding multimedia productions is even more appropriate and can lead to faster production times and fewer design problems to overcome in later production stages. The major assumption in the recommendation of this approach is that the designer is fluent in the authoring/storyboarding tools. Without this fluency, it makes more sense to pursue alternative, more traditional, paper-based storyboarding techniques.

So what is a storyboard? A storyboard is an expression of everything that will be contained in the program -- what

menu screens will look like, what pictures (still and moving) will be seen when and for

how long, what audio and text will accompany the images, either synchronously or

hyperlinked. Typically, storyboards may be written documents and off-the-shelf

storyboard pads for TV and video formats, adaptable for multimedia, are available. For

me, the storyboard expresses, in one way or another, everything that can be seen or

heard or experienced by the end-user of the multimedia program. It's more than a test-

of-concept model, and just short of the final product specification document.

Multimedia Storyboarding Tools The illustration at the top of this section is from a storyboard produced using HyperCard

on the Mac. It shows some screens in an interactive program for the teaching of Home

Economics which was commissioned by the Design Council. Each storyboard page

actually contained eight such illustrations in B&W.

It was produced by the interactive designer, to use in communicating what was required to the interactive programmer and to the graphic designer. This example of a storyboard

http://adrianmallonmultimedia.com/designguidelines/author.htm

http://adrianmallonmultimedia.com/designguidelines/filmtv.htm

http://adrianmallonmultimedia.com/designguidelines/filmtv.htm

http://adrianmallonmultimedia.com/designguidelines/shelf.htm

http://adrianmallonmultimedia.com/designguidelines/shelf.htm

http://adrianmallonmultimedia.com/designguidelines/spec.htm

http://adrianmallonmultimedia.com/designguidelines/largehe.htm

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doesn't give any feel for the interactive structure of the program -- that was expressed separately in a flowchart diagram, cross-referenced to the storyboard screens, to avoid having to work with large wall-chart diagrams. But from this storyboard, the team could decide on screen text-fonts, screen layout, image size and resolution, and do the sums necessary to calculate the file-size of the application to ensure it would fit on the target distribution medium (in this case a high-density floppy disc). These decisions were made before the programming and final artwork stages to avoid having to go back to the content-definition team to ask for re-writes then.

The Advantages of Storyboarding Storyboarding need not take the considerable time that some think it does, depending

on how one goes about it. And there are significant advantages to be considered.

It helps catalyze feelings about the feasibility of the program idea. If the storyboard looks wrong, the program will too.

Omissions may be spotted as a result of producing the storyboard. There is a document which everyone can point to as a common point of

reference, enabling the design team (which includes the client) to say, 'Yes, that is what I meant', or 'No, we've a problem here'.

The storyboard helps focus on the total content of the program, both from the point of view of the overall size of the program, and in discussing user interaction times.

Problems may be spotted from the storyboard which may have proven more costly to correct at a later stage.

A detailed storyboard can save time in writing project documentation, e.g., in the production of the product specification document.

Advanced planning can result in templates for the content-writer to work with. This speeds up the content-writing process and makes the production of the storyboard itself so much faster.

Measuring the true effectiveness of storyboarding is, of course, problematic. There is a

lack of data from commercial developers, and questions must be asked of the reliability

of what data is available. Few developers are keen to admit, or even measure, the costs

of program revision arising from weaknesses in planning, -- increased costs being

added to the client's bill or absorbed as acceptable loss of profit by the developer. But if

storyboarding has a role to play in the design process then studying how to go about it

the right way must influence product design; indeed, I would argue that, for complex

multimedia products and in extended working teams, detailed storyboarding is essential.

http://adrianmallonmultimedia.com/designguidelines/heflow.htm

http://adrianmallonmultimedia.com/designguidelines/wall.htm

http://adrianmallonmultimedia.com/designguidelines/reportwr.htm

http://adrianmallonmultimedia.com/designguidelines/content.htm


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Interactive Storyboarding

With the increased power and ease-of-use of present multimedia authoring tools, interactive storyboards are now possible. An interactive storyboard is a working version of the program but produced in an easily adjusted form to material to be added and adjusted without requiring any deep-level programming. Used in conjunction with other design and production documentation (the treatment, flowchart, product specification and individual team-member production briefs), it adds greatly to the development team's understanding of its objectives by providing a common point of reference to illustrate the structure and feeling of the projected software program from the end-user point of view.

An interactive test-of-concept model and an interactive storyboard will differ principally by their level of completeness and also by the purpose for which each is used. The test-of-concept model is produced when the design is at a plastic stage and is an aid to thinking about the problem and arriving at better and best solutions. Thus there may be several test-of-concept models before a final design is fixed on. But once the final design is fixed on, effort should be concentrated on fleshing out the model by developing the content in a detailed way along each of the program's branches and in each of its sections. The storyboard will define largely what needs to be written, what graphics need to be produced, how best to apply transition and other computer effects, and the information playback load on the target-computer delivery system imposed by simultaneously accessing diverse media-types.

If the product is an innovative one, the production of the interactive storyboard should precede the production of the product specification document which enables the prototype to be constructed. This ensures a deeper level of reflection and testing of the methods by which the content is to be delivered before committing to the relatively more expensive production of a prototype. If the program type is not innovative, however, and simply the reapplication of proven strategies and techniques, interactive storyboarding is still of value. In this case, it may occur after the production of a product specification in both instances, it will serve in as an aid in drawing up the briefs which must be produced separately for software, graphics, and film and sound-engineer team members.

The speed with which storyboards and working models can be created means that it is unimportant whether or not the final software is to be written on the same platform as the authoring tool, although if the final production itself is to be produced using only an authoring tool then it is, of course, desirable to plan and design using the same tool.

A screen from an interactive storyboard is shown in Figure 5 (an example from the program flowcharted in Figure 4). Pathways can be tested through the material to investigate the look and feel, the consistency and ease of use, of the program, even

http://adrianmallonmultimedia.com/designguidelines/author.htm


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before the complete screen text (if any) has been added. The top-left-hand part of the screen represents the viewing area to be presented to the end-user. On a 14"-screen, typically, this is all of the storyboard that would be viewable to allow visual impact and cursor-interaction movements to be assessed. On a larger, 16"-screen, say, a wider range of information fields relevant to different parts of program research and production comes into view. The program can be customized to conceal those fields which are not relevant to a particular development team member for the sake of clarity. Print-outs are then made, which, along with statements from the interactive designer, document clearly and exhaustively the extent of a program and the detail of what needs to be completed.

Using Interactive Storyboarding to Speed-up the Content-

writing Phase

Content writing is an unpredictable phase at best. The unpredictability arises from uncertainties which are inherent in any creative process. Where the content writer and the designer are one-and-the-same there are fewer problems, but this is not often the case. A further problem area is where the client is also the content expert/writer. In such instances, forcing the client to keep to project deadlines can be problematic since development teams' internal scheduling requirements will often be invisible to the client. Anything that can be done to speed up the content-writing phase is to be welcomed.

What I tend to do is to create first a test-of-concept model for a program in HyperCard. The test-of-concept model helps focus attention on the overall form and approach of the program. This is then extended in functionality to act as a template for the content-writer. A storyboard of every screen in the resource is produced, with blanks to be filled in by the content-writer. These screens can be printed out to allow the content writer to pen in their contributions. Much more interesting and productive is when the content-writer is confident enough to write directly to the storyboard in its interactive form. This involves the content-writer sitting in front of the template version of the program, referring to a printed flowchart which illustrates the overall structure. The writer navigates through the program as an end-user would, with access to all program sections and levels. The writer then clicks on open text fields on the screen to enter the text to appear at the appropriate part of the screen.

The advantages of the technique, which allows content to be composed within an interactive template, are several. First of all, it ensures a systematic approach to the content-writing phase of any project. Secondly, a great amount of time is saved in inputting the text which would otherwise have to be transferred from paper to word-processable form, and then passages and captions cut and pasted to the appropriate part of the interactive program. Thirdly, the technique is useful in motivating the writer by their deeper involvement in the design process. It also ensures that people are


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writing with the constraints imposed by the output screen in mind,--avoiding too much text on a screen, say, and making sure that the text-size is readable. In this manner, the writer Õs attention is directed to every detail on every screen which concerns them, and potentially serious omissions are avoided. Finally, the technique can greatly facilitate the localization of the program for foreign language markets, since problems of text-translation which affect screen layout are immediately identified in translating directly to given screen areas.

Using Interactive Storyboarding to Speed-up Report

Document Production

A well-produced, computer-generated storyboard can also reduce the time required to produce a product specification document and production briefs, which will differ in each case for programmers, graphic artists, film crews and sound engineers but which require accurate visuals to effectively communicate specific points. As already mentioned, interactive storyboarding enables decisions to be evaluated at an early stage on screen text-fonts, screen layout, image size and resolution, and facilitates the calculation of the file-size of the application. Once these decisions have been made and incorporated into the storyboard, storyboard screens can be output to print in expanded templates which allow briefing notes to be attached to each screen. Again the argument applies, that an integrated design approach to program modeling and documentation will benefit and speed development.

The Advantages of Using Storyboards For Animators to Make Films

Mapping out the whole concept of your animation can be done easily with Storyboards. Once you've finished your initial script, storyboarding your idea is the next phase in the process. By means of planning your cartoon in organized steps, you can previsualize each and every shot, each line of dialogue, and factor in other important elements, such as background and special effects.

Traditional storyboarding for animation is really a long winded process that needs customized artwork for each frame. However, technological innovation is turning it into simpler for modern day animators to obtain their ideas onto finished storyboards. Digital software for storyboarding provides built in, quick artwork that creates professional, polished storyboards simple and pleasant.

Previously, animators would need to cut out photos or sketches and paste them onto paper, incorporating in written dialogue along with other information about each part of the production. With new storyboard programs, all this tedious job can be done on a


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computer, without the traditional problems and hassles...

With digital software, you can focus your attention on different parts of your script, dealing with whatever elements you like. The software is made to work with the creative mind, providing ways to prompt and direct your efforts for a cohesive outcome. Storyboard Artist is an in-depth, layered programs, that features everything you need for a rich, dimensional effect! Adding in new characters and tweaking background, voiceovers, and music, are now simpler as clicking a mouse. If you're tired of storyboarding "by hand", and want to focus your creative energy on the production itself, storyboarding software can take a lot of weight off your shoulders.

If you're worried about the expense of computer software for storyboarding, rest assured it will pay for itself. Paying for artist services will become unnecessary, which will save you time and money, right from the start. Plus,you will be able to convert your storyboards for easy viewing on the Internet. The best programs offers easy conversion to Flash Media, and the also adjust your storyboards for optimum viewing on an iPhone.

If you're interested in getting clients interested in your animation, creating digital storyboards can send a message of competence and professionalism to animation studios, video game companies, and so many other sources of work and income.

Custom graphics can be done easier with the use of software that integrates with handy tools, and awesome vector drawing tools that allow your personal style to shine through.

Create professional storyboards with ease using Cartoon Animation Software like Storyboard Artist and Storyboard Quick by PowerProduction. View Free Demo here: Storyboard Artist and see it for yourself.

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PART 6

Steps to Storyboard Writing Using a storyboard to plan your project keeps everything organized. Without a storyboard, you can quickly become lost in the maze of separate files, links, graphics, and other media elements that make up an effective presentation. It is a good idea to make a storyboard for each slide that you create in your presentation. The following steps will guide you through the storyboarding process. 1. Define the title and objective of your project. 2. Choose the presentation topic. 3. Identify major subtopics. 4. Determine how you will link all the information. 5. Decide what graphics and images you will use (.jpg and .gif files). 6. Decide what other media you will use such as music or video files. 7. Plan how to navigate through the project (e.g., buttons, hyperlinks, slide by slide). Storyboard Template

Use the following template to sketch how the project‘s topics link to one another.

Created by:

Project Title Objective

Project main topic

Subtopics Create a Multimedia Presentation Use the back of this page to plan the structure of your Presentation. Provide lines to each slide showing how they link together.


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Create a Multimedia Presentation Storyboard Use the Storyboard to plan the content and layout of your presentation. Keep track of the media that you are using for each slide.

Presentation Title

Presentation Author(s)

Media Description File Name

Graphic

Graphic

Graphic

Other

Other

Media Description File Name

Graphic

Graphic

Graphic

Other

Other

Slide Title:

Include:

Slide Title:

Include:


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Topic-

The subject of a speech, essay, thesis, or discourse.

A subject of discussion or conversation.

A subdivision of a theme, thesis, or outline. See synonyms at subject.

Linguistics. A word or phrase in a sentence, usually providing information from previous

discourse or shared knowledge, which the rest of the sentence elaborates or comments

on. Also called theme.

Timeline-

Time Lines can run horizontal or vertical. Choose the type of card you would like to

make below.

There are two type of timeline-

Horizontal Time Line

Vertical Time Line

Sketches-

A sketch is a rapidly executed freehand drawing that is not intended as a finished work. A sketch is a quick way to record an idea for later use. Artist's sketches primarily serve as a way to try out different ideas and establish a composition before undertaking a more finished work, especially when the finished work is expensive and time consuming. Sketching sharpens an artist's ability to focus on the most important elements of a subject and is a prescribed part of artistic development for students. If in oil paint it is called an oil sketch.

Dry media such as pencil or pastel are often preferred due to time constraints, but a quickly done watercolor study or even quickly modeled clay or soft wax can also be considered a 'sketch' in the broader sense of the term. Graphite pencils being a relatively new invention, the artists of the Renaissance could make sketches using the expensive method of a silver stylus on specially prepared paper (known as silverpoint), with results similar to a modern pencil sketch, or, more cheaply, using charcoal, chalk, or pen-and-ink.

http://www.answers.com/topic/subject

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_paint

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_sketch

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watercolor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modelling_clay

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverpoint


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Contrary to popular belief, artists often use erasers when drawing; the eraser may be used to remove rough construction lines, or to soften lines for visual effect. The most commonly used eraser for pencil drawing is the kneaded eraser, which has a soft, sticky surface that enables the artist to lift the graphite or charcoal from the drawing surface without smudging. White plastic erasers can cleanly erase line work, but tend to smudge heavy shading.

The sketchbooks of Leonardo da Vinci and Edgar Degas are two examples of many done by famous artists which have become art objects in their own right, although many pages show more thoughtful studies rather than true sketches.

The ability to quickly record impressions through sketching has found varied purposes in today's culture. Courtroom artists are usually sketchers. Sketches drawn to help authorities find or identify wanted people are called composite sketches. Street performers in popular tourist areas often include artists who sketch portraits within minutes.

A sketch method of reproducing photographs is done with a photographic enlarger in a dark room. The negative image is projected on the paper where the sketch is to be done. All the light shades are penciled until the paper is all the same shade.

Color Scheme-

A color scheme is the choice of colors used in design for a range of media. For example, the use of a white background with black text is an example of a basic and commonly default color scheme in web design.

Color schemes are used to create style and appeal. Colors that create an aesthetic feeling when used together will commonly accompany each other in color schemes. A basic color scheme will use two colors that look appealing together. More advanced color schemes involve several colors in combination, usually based around a single color; for example, text with such colors as red, yellow, orange and light blue arranged together on a black background in a magazine article.

Color schemes can also contain different shades of a single color; for example, a color scheme that mixes different shades of green, ranging from very light (almost white) to very dark.

Use of the phrase color scheme may also and commonly does refer to choice and use of colors used outside typical aesthetic media and context, although may still be used for purely aesthetic effect as well as for purely practical reasons. This most typically refers to color patterns and designs as seen on vehicles, particularly those used in the

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eraser

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Degas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Study_%28drawing%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_composite

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photograph

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_%28photography%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_%28color%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_%28color%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Default_%28computer_science%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_design

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesthetics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_%28color%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_%28color%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_%28color%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_%28color%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicles


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military when concerning color patterns and designs used for identification of friend or foe, identification of specific military units, or as camouflage.

Color schemes are often described in terms of logical combinations of colors on a color wheel. Different types of schemes are used.[2][3][4]

Monochromatic color scheme

A monochromatic color scheme consists of different values (tints and shades) of one single color. These color schemes are easy to get right and can be very effective, soothing and authoritative [5]. They do, however, lack the diversity of hues found in other color schemes and are less vibrant.

Analogous color scheme

Analogous color scheme

Analogous colors are colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel. Some examples are green, yellow green, and yellow or red, orange and yellow. Analogous color schemes are often found in nature and are pleasing to the eye. The combination of these colors give a bright and cheery effect in the area, and are able to accommodate many changing moods. When using the analogous color scheme, one should make sure there is one hue as the main color.

Complementary color scheme

Complementary colors are colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel, such as blue and orange, red and green, purple and yellow. Complementary color schemes have a more energetic feel

The high contrast between the colors creates a vibrant look, especially when used at full saturation. Complementary colors can be tricky to use in large doses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identification_friend_or_foe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identification_friend_or_foe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camouflage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_wheel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_wheel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_scheme#cite_note-1


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_scheme#cite_note-Feisner-3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monochromatic_color


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AnalogousColors.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AnalogousColors.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complementary_color


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Split-analogous color scheme

A color scheme that includes a main color and the two colors one space away from it on each side of the color wheel. An example is red, blue, and violet.

Split-complementary color scheme

A color scheme that includes a main color and the two colors on each side of its complementary (opposite) color on the color wheel. These are the colors that are one hue and two equally spaced from its complement. To avoid fatigue and maintain high contrast, this color scheme should be used when giving PowerPoint presentations, or when using a computer for an extended period of time. Additionally, certain colors should not be mixed, like red and green. Colors that should be used are red/violet and yellow/green.

Triadic color scheme

A color scheme in which 3 colors of equidistant distribution on the color wheel are used, e.g., red, blue, and yellow.

Tetradic color scheme

Tetrads (or quadrads [4]) are any four colors with a logical relationship on the color wheel, such as double complements.

Neutral color scheme

A color scheme that includes only colors not found on the color wheel, called neutrals, such as beige, brown, and gray.

Accented neutral color scheme

A color scheme that includes neutral colors, like white, beige, brown, grey, or black, and one or more small doses of other colors. Eg.brown and beige with blue, gray and black with red

Warm and Cool Color Schemes

Warm color schemes do not include blue at all, and likewise, cool color schemes do not include red at all. For example, a color scheme that includes "warmer" colors may have orange, yellow, and red-orange in it. "Cooler" colors are green, violet, light blue, etc.

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Text Attributes-

You can set the font and paragraph attributes of text. Font attributes include font family, point size, style, color, letter spacing, autokerning, and character position. Paragraph attributes include alignment, margins, indents, and line spacing.

For static text, font outlines are exported in a published SWF file. For horizontal static text, you can use device fonts instead of exporting font outlines.

For dynamic or input text, Flash stores the names of the fonts, and Flash Player locates identical or similar fonts on the user‘s system. You can also embed font outlines in dynamic or input text fields. Embedding font outlines can increase file size, but it ensures that users have the correct font information.

When creating new text, Flash uses the text attributes that are currently set in the Property inspector. When you select existing text, use the Property inspector to change font or paragraph attributes, and to direct Flash to use device fonts rather than embedding font outline information.

Fonts FontSize FontStyles HTMLStyles Font Color Paragraph Indent Spell

Fonts

1) A font is a type of style for text. To select a font or use a different font on your particular text opens up Dreamweaver.

2) Next type in something in the workspace area, or select something you have already written.

3) Once the text is selected go to Text and down to Font.

4) Another window will then pop up when selecting font. Here it gives you the options of selecting a different kind of font. Place your cursor over top of the font

http://www.developingwebs.net/dreamweaver/textattributes.php#Fonts

http://www.developingwebs.net/dreamweaver/textattributes.php#FontSize

http://www.developingwebs.net/dreamweaver/textattributes.php#FontStyles

http://www.developingwebs.net/dreamweaver/textattributes.php#HTMLStyles

http://www.developingwebs.net/dreamweaver/textattributes.php#FontColor

http://www.developingwebs.net/dreamweaver/textattributes.php#Paragraph

http://www.developingwebs.net/dreamweaver/textattributes.php#Indent

http://www.developingwebs.net/dreamweaver/textattributes.php#Spell


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which you want to choose and click once. This will then make the text you had selected into its new font.

Font Size

1) To edit the font size or to change the font size once again go up to the top of your screen where it says text.

2) Click on text and scroll down to Size or Size Change. Both of these will increase the size of your font.

3) Choose which ever choice you prefer to change the size of your selected text. Once clicking on a selection you will be atomically taken back to the workspace are, but your font size will now be different.

Font Styles

A font style is what the font is going to look like. It is similar to a regular font but basically lets you edit the font that is already there. Examples of font styles are Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Teletype, Emphasis, Strong, ect.

1) To access these options go to the menu on the top of your screen where it says text.

2) Click once on Text and scroll down to what says Styles.

3) Another menu will appear to the side of Styles, here you can choose any of the options on the list. Some examples of styles which you can select are shown below.

HTML Styles

A html style are shortcuts which automatically format certain text areas such as Caption, Copyrights, Headlines, Fixed Widths, ect.

1) To automatically get these formats select text on the top of the main toolbar.

2) Scroll down to HTML Styles.

3) Another menu will appear, here you can choose any of these fixed heading.


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4) This can save you time, by using these formats which are automatically built in to Dreamweaver.

Font Color

1) To adjust the font color view the text toolbar.

2) Scroll down to Color, and click once.

3) A panel or window will show up will many different colors.

4) With your text still selected click on the color of your choosing and click okay/select.

Paragraph Alignment

1) To make the paragraph align either left, right, or center view your text toolbar.

2) Scroll down to Align, and hover your mouse over it.

3) Another window will pop up to the right side of it, with three options. Left, Center, Right.

4) Click on the option you prefer. Once you have clicked on your option it will be shown in the workspace in Dreamweaver.

Indent & Outdent

Indent- To space a paragraph and or sentence about five spaces ahead of the

rest of the paragraph and or sentence.

Outdent- To un-space a paragraph and or sentence about five spaces back to align them evenly.

1) To complete either of these tasks select Text on the top of Dreamweaver program.

2) Scroll down to either indent or Outdent, click once.

3) In the workspace below it will show the Outdent, or indent.

Spell Checking


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If you have typed an entire document and you would like to make sure you have

spelled everything correctly follow these simple steps.

1) Select the Text toolbar.

2) Scroll all the way down to the bottom to the last option, which displays Spell Checking.

3) Click on this, it will the run you through the process of checking all of your words to make sure everything is spelled correctly.

Audio-

Audio is sound within the acoustic range available to humans. An audio frequency is an electrical alternating current within the 20 to 20,000 hertz (cycles per second) range that can be used to produce acoustic sound. In computers, audio is the sound system that comes with or can be added to a computer. An audio card contains a special built-in processor and memory for processing audio files and sending them to speakers in the computer. An audio file is a record of captured sound that can be played back. Sound is a sequence of naturally analog signals that are converted to digital signals by the audio card, using a microchip called an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). When sound is played, the digital signals are sent to the speakers where they are converted back to analog signals that generate varied sound.

Audio files are usually compressed for storage or faster transmission. Audio files can be sent in short stand-alone segments - for example, as files in the Wave file format. In order for users to receive sound in real-time for a multimedia effect, listening to music, or in order to take part in an audio or video conference, sound must be delivered as streaming sound. More advanced audio cards support wavetable, or recaptured tables of sound. The most popular audio file format today is MP3.

Camera Angle-

The camera angle marks the specific location at which a camera is placed to take a

shot. A scene may be shot from several camera angles.[1] This will give different

experience and sometimes emotion.

shot makes the subject look powerful or threatening. A neutral shot has little to no

psychological effect on the viewer.

A head shot is a photographic technique where the focus of the photograph is a

person's face. Headshot is essentially the same as portrait. However, headshot is an

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_camera

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scene_%28film%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_angle#cite_note-Pincus-0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-angle_shot

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutral_shot

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photograph

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait


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image that portrays people as they are and is more of a 'mug shot', however simple or

stylized it might be. Whereas, a portrait will often 'portray' the person with elements of

his life, such as his work, interest, etc.

A high angle shot is usually when the camera is located above the eyeline.

With this type of angle, the camera looks down on the subject and the point of focus often get "swallowed up" by the setting.

High angle shots also make the figure or object seem vulnerable or powerless.

High angle shots are usually used in film to make the moment more dramatic or if there is someone at a high level that the character below is talking to.

A low-angle shot is a shot from a camera positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere

below the eyeline, looking up.

A Bird's eye shot refers to a shot looking directly down on the subject. The perspective

is very foreshortened, making the subject appear short and squat. This shot can be

used to give an overall establishing shot of a scene, or to emphasize the smallness or

insignificance of the subjects. These shots are normally used for battle scenes or

establishing where the character is. It is shot by lifting the camera up by hands or by

hanging it off something strong enough to support it. For a scene that needs a large

area shot, then it will most often likely to be lifted up by a crane or some other sort of

machine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_%28film%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Establishing_shot


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Glossary

A Page A revised page that extends beyond the original page, going onto a second page. (I.e. Page 1, 1A, 2, 3, 3A)

Abbreviations Shortcuts used in scripts such V.O., O.C.

Above-the-line In film, those costs that occur before filming, this includes salaries of the talent and creative team (director, producer, screenwriter), plus any rights required for adapted scripts. Sometimes, above-the-line can also refer to the people included in the above-the-line payment category.

Act A large division of a full-length play, separated from the other act or acts by an intermission.

Act/Scene Heading Centered, all CAPS heading at the start of an act or scene. Act numbers are written in Roman numerals, scene numbers in ordinals.

Acting Edition A published play script, typically for use in productions in the amateur market or as reading copies. Often has a list of prop list or set design sketches.

Action The moving pictures we see on screen. Also, the direction given by a director indicating that filming begins.

ad lib Dialogue in which the characters or actors make up what they say in real time on the movie set or on stage. From the Latin ad libitum, "in accordance with desire."

Against A term describing the ultimate potential payday for a writer in a film deal. $400,000 against $800,000 means that the writer is paid $400,000 when the script is finished (through rewrite and polish); when and if the movie goes into production, the writer gets an additional $400,000.

Agent Submission A method of play submission, in which a theater requires that a script be submitted by a recognized literary agent.

Alan Smithee A fictional name taken by a writer or director who doesn't want their real name credited on a film.

Angle A particular camera placement.

Approved writer A writer whom a television network trusts to deliver a good script once hired.

Arbitration


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Binding adjudication by members of a Writers Guild of America committee regarding proper onscreen writer credit of a movie; arbitration is available only to WGA members or potential WGA members.

Artistic Director A theater company's chief artistic officer and usually the last stop before a play are selected for production.

Associate Artistic Director An artistic officer of a theater company, frequently a director and often second to the Artistic Director, integrally involved with its artistic decisions.

At Rise Description A stage direction at the beginning of an act or a scene that describes what is on stage literally "at rise" of the curtain, or more commonly in contemporary theater, as the lights come up.

Attached Agreement by name actors and/or a director to be a part of the making of a movie.

Audio/Visual Script A dual column screenplay with video description on the left and audio and dialogue on the right, used in advertising, corporate videos, documentaries and training films.

b.g. Abbreviation for "background" (i.e. In the b.g., kids are fighting).

Back Door Pilot A two-hour TV movie that is a setup for a TV series if ratings warrant further production.

Back End Payment on a movie project when profits are realized.

Back Story Experiences of a main character taking place prior to the main action, which contribute to character motivations and reactions.

Bankable A person who can get a project financed solely by having their name is attached.

Beat A parenthetically noted pause interrupting dialogue, denoted by (beat), for the purpose of indicating a significant shift in the direction of a scene, much in the way that a hinge connects a series of doors.

Beat Sheet An abbreviated description of the main events in a screenplay or story.

Bill The play or plays that together constitute what the audience is seeing at any one sitting. Short for "playbill."

Binding


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What literally holds the script together? As a writer submitting your manuscript, you might use either brads with cardstock covers or one of a number of other pre-made folders (all available from The Writers Store).

Black Box A flexible theater space named for its appearance.

Blackout A common stage direction at the end of a scene or an act.

Book The story and the non-musical portion (dialogue, stage directions) of a theatrical musical.

Brads Brass fasteners used to bind a screenplay printed on three-hole paper, with Acco #5 solid brass brads generally accepted as having the highest quality.

Bump A troublesome element in a script that negatively deflects the reader's attention away from the story.

Button A TV writing term referring to a witty line that "tops off" a scene.

Cable A cable television network such as HBO or cable television in general.

Cast The characters who are physically present in the play or film. These are the roles for which actors will be needed. When we talk about a role in a stage play as being double-cast with another, it means that the same actor is expected to play both roles. This happens in film as well (e.g. Eddie Murphy), but only rarely.

Cast Page A page that typically follows the Title Page of a play, listing the characters, with very brief descriptions of each.

Center (Stage) The center of the performance space, used for placement of the actors and the set.

CGI Computer Generated Image; a term denoting that computers will be used to generate the full imagery.

Character Any personified entity appearing in a film or a play.

Character arc The emotional progress of the characters during the story.

Character name When any character speaks, his or her name appears on the line preceding the dialogue. In screenplays, the name is tabbed to a location that is roughly in the center of the line. In playwriting, typically the name is centered, but with the advent of screenwriting software that automatically positions the character name


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correctly, it has become acceptable to use a similar format for character names in stage plays.

Cheat a script Fudging the margins and spacing of a screenplay on a page (usually with a software program) in an attempt to fool the reader into thinking the script is shorter than it really is.

Close Up A very close camera angle on a character or object.

Commission A play for which a theater company gives playwright money to write, typically with the understanding that the theater will have the right of first refusal to premiere it.

Complication The second act of a three-act dramatic structure, in which "the plot thickens," peaking at its end.

Conflict The heart of drama; someone wants something and people and things keep getting in the way of them achieving the goal. At times, the obstacles can be common to both the hero and villain, and the ultimate goal a laudable one for both parties.

Continuing Dialogue Dialogue spoken by the same character that continues uninterrupted onto the next page, marked with a (cont'd) in a stage play.

Continuous Action Included in the scene heading when moving from one scene to the next, as the action continues.

Copyright Proof of ownership of an artistic property that comes with registering your script through the United States Register of Copyrights.

Copyright Notice Placing Â© Your Name on the Title Page of a script.

Courier 12 pitch The main font in use in the U.S. by both publishers and the Hollywood film industry.

Coverage The notes prepared by script readers at literary agency, film production company, theater company or script competition. Coverage is typically divided into three sections: plot synopsis, evaluation / discussion of the quality of the writing, and a recommendation that either passes on the script or kicks it on to the next level. Typically, coverage is for internal use and almost never shared with the writer.

Designer Theater professional whose job it is to envision any of the following elements in a play: costumes, sets, lights, sound or properties.

Development The process of preparing a script for production.


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Development Hell The dreaded creative death malaise that occurs when the development process lasts too long.

Dialogue The speeches between characters in a film or a play.

Direct Solicitation When a theater contacts a playwright or his agent about submitting a script. Theaters that use this method typically do not want the playwright to initiate the contact.

Direction, Stage Direction (See Stage Directions in Revised above.)

Director In a stage play, the individual responsible for staging (i.e. placing in the space or "blocking") the actors, sculpting and coordinating their performances, and making sure they fit with the design elements into a coherent vision of the play. In a musical, there will typically be a separate musical director responsible for the musical elements of the show. In a Dramatists Guild contract, the playwright has approval over the choice of director (and the cast and designers). In film, the director carries out the duties of a stage director and then some (e.g. choosing the short list), with considerably more say-so over the final product.

Downstage The part of the stage closest to the audience, so named because when stages were raked (slanted), an actor walking toward the audience was literally walking down. Called "Down" for short.

Draft A version of a play. Each draft of rewrites/revisions should be numbered differently.

Dramatists Guild of America The professional organization of playwrights, composers and lyricists, based in New York.

Dual Dialog When two characters speak simultaneously

Emphasized Dialogue Dialogue that the playwright wants stressed usually identified with italics.

Establishing Shot A cinematic shot that establishes a certain location or area.

Evening-Length Play A play that constitutes a full evening of theater on its own (a.k.a. Full-Length Play).

Event What precipitates a play? For example, Big Daddy's birthday is the event in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Exposition


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The first act of a dramatic structure, in which the main conflict and characters are "exposed" or revealed. Also, any information about the characters, conflict or world of the play.

EXT. Outdoors.

Extension A technical note placed directly to the right of the Character name that denotes HOW the character's voice is heard. For example, O.S. is an extension that stands for Off-Screen.

f.g. Abbreviation for "foreground" (i.e. In the f.g., kids are fighting).

Feature Film A movie made primarily for distribution in theaters.

Film Festival A festival of short and/or feature-length films shown over the course of between a few days to a few weeks. Festivals are places for films and filmmakers â€―particularly in the case of independent films â€―to gain exposure and critical buzz and, in many cases, distribution. Perhaps the two best-known festivals in the world are Sundance and Cannes.

FLASHBACK A scene from the past that interrupts the action to explain motivation or reaction of a character to the immediate scene.

Font The look of the printed text on the page. For screenplays, Courier 12 point is the standard (a fixed font which in practical terms means that an l or an m, although the m being wider, occupy the same width of space). For stage plays, while Courier 12 point is often used, Times Roman and other proportional spaced, clearly readable fonts are also acceptable. (Proportional spaced fonts make adjustments for skinnier letters; text usually takes less space.) â€―this has been edited.

Formula More commonly used in the world of film than for describing the stage, it usually refers to a "sure-fire" method of structuring a script (i.e. it must include certain elements and arrive at a certain ending). For example, there have been a slew of movies where a group of misfits are thrown together and ultimately become the David that slays Goliath on the athletic field (e.g. The Bad News Bears).

FREEZE FRAME The image on the screen stops, freezes and becomes a still shot.

Full-Length Play Also known as an Evening Length Play, a play that constitutes a full evening of theater.

Genre The category a story or script falls into - such as: thriller, romantic comedy, action, screwball comedy


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Green Light A project OKed for production.

Header An element of a Production Script occupying the same line as the page number, which is on the right and .5" from the top. Printed on every script page, header information includes the date of a revision and the color of the page.

Heat Positive gossip about a project on the Hollywood grapevine.

High concept A brief statement of a movie's basic idea that is felt to have tremendous public appeal.

Hip pocket A casual relationship with an established agent in lieu of a signed, formal agreement of representation.

Hook A term borrowed from songwriting that describes that thing that catches the public's attention and keeps them interested in the flow of a story.

In the Round A type of theater space in which the audience is, usually in a circular configuration, on all sides of the playing area.

Indie A production company independent of major film studio financing.

INT. Indoors.

Intercut A script instruction denoting that the action moves back and forth between two or more scenes.

Intermission A break between acts or scenes of the play to allow for set changes, and for the audience to go to the bathroom, stretch and buy concessions.

Interrupt When one character cuts off another character's dialogue, sometimes marked with a ... but better marked with an em dash (--).

Left On stage, the actors' left, assuming they are facing the audience. Short for Stage Left.

Lights Fade A common stage direction to end a scene or an act.

Line Reading When a director or playwright gives an actor a specific way to perform a line of dialogue.

Literary Manager The artistic officer of a theater in charge of at least the first stages of reviewing scripts for possible production. She may have dramaturg responsibilities as well.


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Literary Office Usually headed by the literary manager and often staffed with interns and in-house or freelance readers. Typically the place to direct script submissions and inquiries.

Locked Pages A software term for finalized screenplay pages that are handed out to the department heads and talent in preparation for production.

Logline A "25 words or less" description of a screenplay.

Lyrics The words that are sung by characters in a musical.

M.O.S. Without sound, so described because a German-born director wanting a scene with no sound told the crew to shoot "mit out sound."

Manuscript A script before it has been published.

Manuscript Format The ideal submission format in the United States and in a number of other countries, with character names centered and CAPS before their dialogue, and indented stage directions.

Master Scene Script A script formatted without scene numbering (the usual format for a spec screenplay).

Match Cut A transition in which something in the scene that follows in some way directly matches a character or object in the previous scene.

Miniseries A long-form movie of three hours or more shown on successive nights or weeks on U.S. television networks.

Montage A cinematic device used to show a series of scenes, all related and building to some conclusion.

Movie of the Week Also known as an "MOW," a movie made primarily for broadcast on a television or cable network.

Multimedia Writing and filmmaking encompassing more than one medium at a time which, script-wise, usually refers to CD-ROM games or Internet-based programming.

Multiple Casting When an actor plays more than one character.

Musical A play in which songs and music are an integral part of the dramatic structure.

Musical Numbers Page


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A page in a musical script, usually following the Cast Page, that lists the musical numbers, divided by act, and the characters that sing in them.

Notes Ideas about a screenplay shared with a screenwriter by someone responsible for moving the script forward into production, which the screenwriter is generally expected to use to revise the screenplay. A similar paradigm exists on stage, with notes coming most often from the dramaturg or director. A key difference between stage and film is that the playwright still owns his script and has final say on revisions. Writer can hire consultants to receive feedback (notes) to help improve the script, prior to submitting it to an agency, production company or theater.

Numbered Scenes Numbers that appear to the right and left of the scene heading to aid the Assistant Director in breaking down the scenes for scheduling and production.

O.C. Abbreviation for Off Camera, denoting that the speaker is resident within the scene but not seen by the camera.

O.S. Abbreviation for Off Screen, denoting that the speaker is not resident within the scene.

Off Short for offstage. Typically written as (off) next to a character name when a character speaking dialogue is offstage while she speaks.

One-Act Play Technically, a play that has only one act, but in more common usage, a play that is not an evening unto itself but instead usually runs no more than an hour. A common arrangement is to produce three half-hour long one-acts on the same bill.

One-hour Episodic A screenplay for a television show whose episodes fill a one-hour time slot, week to week.

Opening Credits Onscreen text describing the most important people involved in the making of a movie.

Option The securing of the rights to a screenplay for a given length of time.

Package The assembly of the basic elements necessary to secure financing for a film.

PAN A camera direction indicating a stationary camera that pivots back and forth or up and down.

Parenthetical Also known as a "wryly" because of the propensity of amateur screenwriters to try to accent a character's speech -- as in BOB (wryly) -- an inflection to a speech


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noted by a writer. Of course, in stageplays, all stage directions (at least in Manuscript Format) are in parentheses, but "directing off the page," as it's often called, is equally frowned upon.

Pass A rejection of a property by a potential producer or an agent.

Pitch To verbally describe a property to a potential buyer in the hope it will be bought.

Play Sometimes known as a stageplay, it's a production which is meant to be performed on stage in front of a live audience.

Playwright A person who writes stage plays.

Playwriting The craft or act of writing scripts for the stage (i.e. the live theater).

Points Percentage participation in the profits of a film.

Polish In theory, to rewrite a few scenes in a script to improve them. In practice, a screenwriter is often expected to do a complete rewrite of a script for the price of a polish.

POV Point of View; a camera angle placed so as to seem the camera is the eyes of a character.

Producer The person or entity financially responsible for a stage or film production.

Production Script A script in which no more major changes or rewrites is anticipated to occur, which is used day by day for filming on a movie set.

Professional Recommendation A method of submission in which a writer may submit a full script if it's accompanied by a theater professional (typically a literary manager or artistic director, though sometimes a director is acceptable as well).

Property Any intellectual property in any form (including a play or screenplay) that might form the basis of a movie. In theater, usually called a "prop," an item (e.g. a gun, spoon, hairbrush, etc.) that can held by one of the characters.

Proscenium A type of stage in which the actors play opposite the audience, from which they are separated. Most high school auditoriums are prosceniums.

Published Play Format The format typically found in an Acting Edition, meant to save space, in which the character names are on the left and stage directions occur on the same lines as dialogue.

Query


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A method of submission in which a writer approaches a theater with a brief letter, accompanied by a synopsis and sample pages.

Rake A stage that is slanted so that as an actor moves away from the audience, he gets higher. Few contemporary theaters have raked stages. It's more likely that the house (i.e. where the audience sits) will be raked.

Reader (aka Script Reader) A person who reads screenplays for a production company or stageplays for a theater company and writes a report about them, often being paid per report.

Reading A "performance" of a play in which the actors are script-in-hand. It could either take place around a table (called a "table reading") or with some blocking or staging (a "staged reading").

Register of Copyrights The US government office that registers intellectual property (e.g. scripts), necessary prior to filing a claim for copyright infringement in court.

Release A legal document given to unrepresented writers for signing by agents, producers or production companies, absolving said entities of legal liability.

Resolution The third act of a dramatic structure, in which the conflict comes to some kind of conclusion: the protagonist either gets it or doesn't.

Reversal A place in the plot where a character achieves the opposite of his aim, resulting in a change from good fortune to bad fortune.

Revised Pages Changes are made to the script after the initial circulation of the Production Script, which are different in color and incorporated into the script without displacing or rearranging the original, unrevised pages.

Right On stage, the actors' right, assuming they are facing the audience. Short for Stage Right.

Romantic comedy Also known as a "romcom," a comedic movie in which the main story resolves around a romance.

Scene Action taking place in one location and in a distinct time that (hopefully) moves the story to the next element of the story.

Scene Heading A short description of the location and time of day of a scene, also known as a "slugline." For example: EXT. MOUNTAIN CABIN - DAY would denote that the action takes place outside a mountain cabin during daylight hours.

Screening


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The showing of a film for test audiences and/or people involved in the making of the movie.

Screenplay Contest A submission opportunity for screenwriters in which a group of readers (judges) select one or more winners from the entered scripts. Typically, contests require entry fees that may be as high as $40-$50, but can often result in prizes as high as $20,000 or more for the winner(s), as well as important exposure to agents and production companies. Some â€œfellowshipâ€• opportunities effectively function as contests (e.g. Nicholl), choosing a handful of fellows (i.e. winners) from the pool of entrants.

Screenwriter The most important and most abused person in Hollywood. The screenwriter writes the script that provides the foundation for the film, though it may go through any number of changes, both in the rewriting process before production, during production, and in the editing process afterward. While in the world of theater, there is usually only one playwright on any given play (or one collaborative team), in film there may be many screenwriters throughout the life of a project.

Screenwriting The art of writing scripts for a visual medium.

Script The blueprint or roadmap that outlines a movie story through visual descriptions, actions of characters and their dialogue. The term "script" also applies to stageplays as well.

Script cover What protects the script on its travels between the writer and its many potential readers. The Writers Store carries a number of acceptable covers.

Script reader (See above as Reader.)

Script Writing Software Computer software designed specifically to format and aid in the writing of screenplays and teleplays.

Securely Bound Script Typically, a stageplay contest's request that a script be more firmly bound than brads will do. Either it is literally bound, or it is securely held in a folder.

Set The physical elements that are constructed or arranged to create a sense of place.

Setting The time and place of a play or screenplay.

SFX Abbreviation for Sound Effects.

Shooting Script A script that has been prepared to be put into production.


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Shot What the camera sees. For example, TRACKING SHOT would mean that the camera is following a character or character as he walks in a scene. WIDE SHOT would mean that we see every character that appears in the scene, all at once.

Showrunner A writer/producer ultimately responsible for the production of a TV series, week to week.

Simultaneous Dialogue When two characters speak at the same time, written in two columns side by side.

Situation comedy Also known as a "sitcom," a normally 30-minute (in the United States) comedic television show revolving around funny situations the main characters repeatedly fall into.

Slugline Another name for the SCENE HEADING

SMASH CUT A quick or sudden cut from one scene to another.

Soap Opera Daytime dramas so named because they were originally sponsored by the makers of laundry detergent in the early days of television.

Spec Script A script written without being commissioned on the speculative hope that it will be sold.

SPFX Abbreviation for Special Effects.

Split Screen A screen with different scenes taking place in two or more sections; the scenes are usually interactive, as in the depiction of two sides of a phone conversation.

Stage center More commonly known as Center Stage, it is the center of the performance space, used for placement of the actors and the set.

Stage Directions In a stageplay, the instructions in the text for the actors (e.g. entrances, exit, significant actions or business) and stage crew (e.g. lights fade). Also, in a musical, the person who directed the non-musical elements of the show may be credited with "Stage Direction" to distinguish him from the Music Director, who will be credited with "Music Direction."

Stage Left On stage, the actors' left, assuming they are facing the audience. "Left" for short.

Stage Right On stage, the actors' right, assuming they are facing the audience. "Right" for short.

Stock Shot


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A sequence of film previously shot and available for purchase and use from a film library.

Submission Name for a script once it is submitted to producers or agents.

Suggested Setting A setting on stage in which a few set pieces or lighting or other technical elements take the place of elaborate set construction.

SUPER Abbreviation for "superimpose" meaning the laying one image on top of another, usually words over a filmed scene (i.e. Berlin, 1945).

Synopsis A two to three page, double-spaced description of a screenplay.

Tag A short scene at the end of a movie that usually provides some upbeat addition to the climax.

Technical Demands The extent to which a play requires specific lighting, sound, sets, etc. Plays with minimal technical demands are easier and less expensive to produce.

Ten-Minute Play A complete play, with a beginning, middle and end, designed to play in ten minutes.

The Business Show business in general; more specifically, Hollywood moviemaking and television business.

Thriller A fast-paced, high stakes crime story in which the protagonist is generally in danger at every turn, with the most danger coming in the final confrontation with the antagonist.

Thrust A stage configuration in which the playing area protrudes into the audience; the actors have audience on three sides of them.

Ticking Clock A dramatic device in which some event looming in the near future requires that the conflict reach a speedy resolution (hence, the ticking clock).

TITLE Text that appears onscreen denoting a key element of the movie, a change of location or date, or person involved in the making of the movie.

Title Page A page of the script that contains the title and the author's contact information.

Touring Play A play with minimal technical demands that is meant to be easily packed up and moved from one performance space to another.

Transition


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A script notation denoting an editing transition within the telling of a story. For example, DISSOLVE TO: means the action seems to blur and refocus into another scene, and is generally used to denote a passage of time.

Treatment A scene by scene description of a screenplay, minus all or most of the dialogue.

Tweak A minor change made in a scene or portion of a screenplay or a stageplay.

Unsolicited Script A method of script submission in which the writer sends the script, without prior contact, to the theater or production company. Some theaters allow this, most don't-and very few film production companies, for liability reasons, can read unsolicited materials.

Upstage The part of the stage farthest from the audience, so named because when stages were raked (slanted), an actor walking away from the audience was literally walking up. Called "Up" for short.

V.O. Abbreviation for Voice Over, denoting that the speaker is narrating the action onscreen.

WGA Signatory An agent, producer or production company that has signed an agreement to abide by established agreements with the Writers Guild of America.

Workshop A developmental "production" of a play, with a significant amount of rehearsal, but with less fully realized production values (e.g. set) than a full production.

Writers Guild of America Also known as "the WGA." The main union for screenwriters in the United States, with chapters in Los Angeles (WGAw) and New York (WGAe).

Script Terms and Abbreviations

Although scriptwriters sometimes feel an urge to indicate camera shots and angles on a script, this is an area that's best left to the judgment of the director.

Even so, in dramatic scripts you will often see the terms camera finds indicate the camera moves in on a particular portion of a scene; camera goes with to indicate the camera moves with a person or object; reverse angle to indicate a near 180-degree shift in camera position; and shot widens to signal a zoom or dolly back.


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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. Even so, many Directors of Photography feel that compared to a dolly, a zoom is somewhat artificial looking. To indicate either one, a script notation might say, "camera zooms in for close-up of John," or "camera zooms out to show that John is not alone."

When a lateral move is needed, the term is truck (note the illustration above).

In film, both the dolly and truck movement are often referred to as tracking shots. Sometimes you also see the term moving shot to indicate that the camera moves in

some way during the course of a scene

Shot designations for films include:

Long shot (LS) or full shot (FS). With people, this is a shot from the top of their heads to at least their feet. (To save space we've used a vertical rather than a horizontal format for this photo.)

A medium shot (MS) is normally a shot from the waist up.

A medium close-up (MCU) is a shot cropped between the shoulders and the belt line.

A close-up (CU) is the most desirable to catch changing facial expressions, which are important to following a conversation.

Extreme close-ups (XCUs) are reserved for dramatic impact. The XCU shot may show just the eyes of an individual.

All of these designations can also apply to objects, as in "close-up of toaster shows toast popping up."

A boom shot, jib shot, or crane shot refer to high-angle shots, typically with the camera moving.

An establishing shot is a wide shot (WS) or a long shot (LS). This type of shot gives an audience a basic orientation to the geography of a scene—who is where—after which


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there should be cuts to closer shots. Thereafter, establishing shots can be momentarily used as reminders or updates on scene changes—where people have moved in relation to each other, etc. In this context they are called reestablishing shots.

A master shot is similar to an establishing shot, but this term is generally reserved for the special needs of film. Once master shot action is filmed the scene is generally shot over again from different camera positions so that there are shots (especially close-ups) of each actor. Dialogue, and actor reactions and movements are repeated each time the camera is repositioned.

These scenes are referred to as coverage. Often, numerous takes (filmed sequences from the different camera positions in the coverage) are required before a director is satisfied.

With film just one camera is generally used. However, since the camera is stopped and repositioned between takes, when the scenes are cut together during editing, it appears that there is a continuous flow of action and several cameras were used.

Documents

Script Writing &Story Board Designing