#script purposes

Script Purposes

Factual: Scripts for Documentary films/TV are usually based upon ideas for key scenes and the themes for the documentary and what the filmmaker wants to achieve and communicate to the audience. The script cannot be too specific due to the unpredictable nature of documentary filmmaking, this means that this initial script is will often be strayed away from as the production continues. Depending on the style of the documentary and the content there may also be narration scripts and scripts for re enacted scenes.

Scripts for News programmes must stick to certain rules in order to communicate the news to the viewer in an accurate and to the point way. There will be scripts for news presenters which will use short, attention catching sentences, will be written using present tense where appropriate and will contain accurate facts and figures. In relation to the use of figures, they will not be entirely specific as the viewer doesn’t need to hear every entire digit, for example £3,970,567 will probably be written as ‘close to four million’ in order to avoid needless digits which will take up time and lose the viewers attention. News scripts will also attempt to avoid cliched terms which have been written in articles time and time again. And finally, due to the large amount of time which needs to be communicated in a small amount of time, the dialogue will be designed to keep pushing the story forward and waste no time.

Entertainment programming: Entertainment programming such as quiz shows aims to entertain the viewer. They achieve this through the script by writing jokes for the host which are concise, fun, and humorous. As with many game shows, there will also be trivia questions which are scripted and there will be basic camera and editing direction in the script.

Live broadcasts: Scripts for live broadcasts primarily aim to be informative of the live event happening, such as sporting or music events. Because the events that will take place are live and cannot be predicted most of the dialogue (in a sports game for instance) is improvised by the commentators as the event is happening. Continuing with the example of a sport game, there will also be strict guidelines relating to when to cut away from the event and back to the studio, such as at half time.

Fictional: Fictional TV shows/ Films aim to  tell a story that entertains the viewer and the scripts are very detailed in order to achieve this through dialogue for actors, lighting, camera angles/movement and editing direction. Screenplays adhere to strict formatting rules which means crew and cast members will be able to easily read the script and understand what is required of them, for instance the character speaking will always have their name above their lines so the actor knows when their lines are.

https://www.writersstore.com/how-to-write-a-screenplay-a-guide-to- scriptwriting/

This article demonstrates the strict formatting that screenplays must stick to

http://flash.sonypictures.com/video/movies/thesocialnetwork/awards/thesocialnetwork_screenplay.pdf

Here is a screenplay that reflects and evidences the points i have already made and evidences the formatting that is used on screenplays.

Scripts for fiction are different to factual for several reasons. First of all a fictional script doesn’t need to stick to the truth as its main aim is to entertain and not necessarily inform the viewer. Scripts for fictional projects are also typically much longer and have been planned out in advance long ago to make sure production runs smoothly where as news scripts are written and then put into use very quickly. Also, scripts for documentaries are far less detailed than fiction scripts because of the unpredictability.

REFERENCES:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/production/article/art20130702112136074 

https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-write-a-news-script-for-tv-news-2315281  

Scripts come in many different formats, here are a few examples and how they differ and relate to each other. 

Factual - Factual scripts are more about serving up the correct information pertaining to the situation in which the script is covering. In terms of documentaries, for example Planet Earth, they would film what they needed to film, write a script with the information that was needed, and then have him read it out whilst watching over the footage filmed. This is very different to how most script and productions are worked on. But things like news would have a teleprompter where the news presenters will read off what is happening in the world. That tends not to include things like stage directions and/or actions, because its just focused on them getting out the necessary information. 

Informational - Informational scripts are similar to Factual in the same way they have to have all the information they want to put out correct, and have to make sure they do it in a way most people would understand. This is more in relation to things like Government information shorts, promotional shorts, things like that. This can also be used for advertising purposes like how an advert for car insurance will try to sell you the insurance by using the information on the insurance company in a fun or interesting way to grab your attention. 

Entertainment Programming - Quiz shows are a form of entertaining programming, and their scripts are somewhere in between fiction scripts and factual. They have scripted events and lines from the host, such as answers to questions, jokes, stage directions etc, but has the factual basis as the questions being asked need to have a definite factual answer.