Task 3: Comparing scripts - LO1

Style and content:

Scripts are in many media products. Generally they are used as a guideline of what needs to be captured, or as an outline of the basic plan.

There are 5 main media products that use scripts, these are:
TV/Radio news shows, videogames, Films, TV/Radio dramas and radio talk shows.

Scripts use the font 'Courier' and the size of 12. This is used as the universal font for scripts as it is easy to read and is easily recognisable. There are many variations of the font such as Courier Prime, these are allowed.

Screenplays for TV, film and radio will include character descriptions in them, this is so the actors playing the different roles get an understanding of their character. For example in 'The Matrix' Hugo Weaving plays the role of 'Agent Smith' in which his character seems intelligent and calm for most scenes and speaks with good pronunciation. On the script for 'The Matrix' there would be a description of his character and the other ones in the film, this would allow the actor to prepare for the role he is fulfilling.

Although computer/video games often have a script similar to a screenplay or that of a TV/Radio drama, they also include a flow chart. The flow chart acts as a script for the events that will take place in the game that are initiated by the inputs from the user. In the flowchart, events will lead to other events based on the buttons pressed and some events will cancel or allow the opportunity for others. Depending on the complexity of the game, there will be a large or small number of factors in the flow chart.

In a screenplay or a script for a talk or news show, the characters and presenters sections are justified to the centre of the page, this is where Dialog should be placed.

Video games will feature a synopsis as part of the gameplay, this is so that the user has an idea of what is happening or what is going to happen, for example in 'Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare', once you start the game an introduction to the storyline takes place, this gives the user an insight and further understanding of the game.

Screenplays, news scripts and TV drama scripts often include stage and location directions. Stage directions are actions performed by the character or actor, for example if the actor was to move left in the film, the stage direction would be (ACTOR MOVE LEFT). Stage directions are particularly important as they outline to the actors what they need to do in terms of movement and interaction.

In a script or screenplay sound effects are always written in capital letters. They must be written in as few words as possible, for example, 'The car drove past fast, the car made a WOOSH sound' wouldn't be proffered to 'The car drove past fast making a WOOSH sound'. When a sound effect is written on script, it follows SFX:, for example SFX: the car makes an EXPLOSION sound.

In a screenplay or script the tone in which a person is speaking is referred to as 'mode of address'. If a person was talking with a serious voice they would have the mode of address would be teacher to pupil opposed to someone who was talking with a calm voice (parent to child mode of address). For example in the Rock and Rolla screenplay, Bertie speaks with a peer to peer mode of address, in contrast to this the presenter on the news show speaks with a teacher to pupil mode of address. On a script the mode of address allows the actor or presenter to prepare their voice and know what tone to use

In screenplays, there are two common narrative structures, these are a story and a plot. In most screenplays there are 3 acts, introduction, middle and conclusion, these often happen in chronological order.

In a script, 'V.O' means 'voice over', V.O is used when the speaker is not physically in the scene, when put into a script it is justified to the center of the page. V.O is often found in TV and Radio Dramas or synopsis in video games.

'SOT' means 'Sound On Tape', this is a short part of an interview (around 5 - 15 seconds), for example, SOT will be found in the script of a news broadcast as there will be vox pops or interviews in the show.

'NATSOT' is stands for 'Natural sound on tape', examples of this would be dogs barking, the sound of feet walking and wind. NATSOT is often found in screenplays, news scripts and TV and Radio dramas.

'N.I' is news item, there is no video support, this lasts around 30 seconds and is generally found only in news broadcasts.

'SILENT' means you can hear the presenters voice only with visuals, this is often used in documentaries and news broadcasts, the presenter narrates what is happening in the visuals, this appears on the script of a documentary frequently, an example of a documentary would be David Attenborough's 'Frozen Planet'.

Narrative strands:

There are 4 types of narrative strands, these are: Single stranded, Multi stranded, Linear and Non linear.

Single stranded:
Single stranded narratives are based on the first person. This gives a single perspective of the narrative. Single stranded narratives are often used in films, video games and documentaries, as there is usually just one focus, this could be 'Clark Kent' in the movie 'Man Of Steel'. Another example could be the main character in a video game, such as 'Niko Bellic' in 'Grand Theft Auto IV'. The final example of this narrative strand would be of the role of David Attenborough in one of his documentaries, such as 'Frozen Planet'.

Multi stranded:
Multi stranded narratives have multiple points of view or perspectives. The product can be based around a number of people or focuses rather than just a single one. Examples of products that use multi stranded narratives are radio or TV dramas and soap operas. In TV or radio dramas you see events from a number of perspectives and locations, for example, in Coronation Street the focus could be on 'Steve' in the pub for a few minutes but then switch to 'Ken' in his house and then change to around 10 more characters throughout the entirety of the show.

Linear:
A linear narrative strand follows events in a chronological order. The narrative has a beginning, middle and end. Most films, news broadcasts and dramas follow this structure. Such as the movie 'John Wick'. This follows a chain of events that happen over a period of time, each event follows the other and follows a chronological pattern. Video games also often follow a linear pattern as the user controls the character with the intention to fulfil a quest and reach the end goal, and example of this would be In 'FIFA 15' where you can control your team through a season and attempt to win the championship.
TV and news scripts won't have a narrative structure, instead they will have a running order. The running order consists of the different events that will take place during the programme. A flow chart of a video game would contain the possibilities for both a linear and a non linear narrative, the narrative would depend on the decisions chosen from the user. For example, in the game Prince Of Persia

Non - Linear:
Non linear structures or narrative strand follow events that don't happen in a chronological order The only media product that follows this structure are films, Quentin Tarantino movies are often under this structure. An example of a movie that follows this is 'Momento', in this film the events are flipped around so the beginning is actually the conclusion of the events, and the end is the introduction.

Genre:
'Fiction' means something is based on false events, that haven't actually happened.
'Non fiction' means something is based on genuine events.
An example of a product that is based on fiction is a screenplay, however some screenplays are based on non fiction. A documentary script will be based on actual events, therefore it will be non fiction. An example of a non fictional documentary is 'Wright Brother's Flying Machine'.
News scripts/shows are based on non fiction as they contain facts. The majority of Video game scripts are based on fictional events, however some are based on true events. Sports games generally include real teams, examples of these are NBA and FIFA.

Target audience:
Not all scripts/products have the same target audience. The video game 'Grand Theft Auto V' is targeted at people who are above the age of 18+, this is because of the violent/sexual/drug related themes that occur throughout the game. The majority of people who play this game are males, as they are more attracted to the themes in the game than females. These people will have some spending money (to buy the game/console) and will therefore be ABC1s. Similarly to this, the target audience for a a TV/radio drama such as 'The Archer's' will be ABC1s as they will have some disposable income to afford a radio or computer, however in contrast to the video game script, the people will be around the ages of 35+, the audience will consist of an equal amount of males and females as there are no themes that are gender specific. This is also the case for the majority of movie scripts. News broadcast scripts will not be gender specific, as they will include facts and normally no opinions. The target audience of this are people of all ages. Both ABC1s and C2DEs are the target audience of news shows, as the news/topics relate to them both.

Films in particular have an age rating given to them before the film is released. This age rating is also the target audience. For example, the movie RockNRolla is aged 15, so the target audience are people of the age 15 or above.