Transcript The Center-Column Format

How To Write A Video Script
TV, Film & Digital Media 2015
Objective
 Students will learn the four scripting formats and scripting basics.
Agenda
 A Script is A Blueprint of Your Video
 Scripting Basics
 Font
 Quick Reference Guide
 The Four Formats
The Treatment Format
The Center-column Format
The Full-page Format
The Two-column Or Split-page Format
 General Information – The Process
 Glossary Of Scriptwriting Terms
A Script is A Blueprint of Your Video
 Just as an architect’s blueprint is the foundation for the construction of a
building, so too is the script for shooting a video. As the writer, you are
essentially the “architect” of what will be shot and recorded by the camera.
A video script is a chronological run-down of scenes, shots, action and
dialogue specifying who is saying and doing what, and when they’re saying
or doing it. Each page of the script represents roughly one minute of screen
time. Most shorts run from three minutes to twenty minutes in length,
which gives you somewhere between three to twenty pages of script,
accordingly.
Scripting Basics - Font
 Font is always Courier, always size 12. The reason for this particular typeface
is that Courier characters have the same size, so an estimation of how long
the finished movie will be is more accurate, as each page should equal a
minute of screen time.
Scripting Basics - Quick Reference Guide
 Font: 12 point courier
 Spacing between dialogue and action (two lines)
 Left margin 1.5''
 Right margin 1.5''
 Tab for left dialogue margin 2.5''
 Tab for right dialogue margin 2.5''
 Capitalize these elements:

All camera instructions

All sounds, including music

All character names the first they appear in a description/action line

Every word in the header

The speaker's name, above each line of dialogue
Scripting Basics - Four Formats
 The Treatment Format
 The Center-column Format
 The Full-page Format
 The Two-column Or Split-page Format
The Treatment
Format
Four Formats - What Is A Treatment?
 A detailed, scene-by-scene summary of the story
 Serves as an extended outline for those developing story
 Treatment stage is when all involved may agree upon story structure, tone,
message, and selling points
Four Formats - The Treatment Format
 This technique works well with testimonial, documentary and any other
kind of impromptu production.
 Most commonly used to make music videos.
 This type of script is actually nothing more than a general description of
your video's content, direction and style.
Four Formats - Length Of Treatments
 Short Films, no dialogue
 Half the length of film (1 page for every 2 minutes)
 Short Films, with dialogue
 Half the length of film (1 page for every 2 minutes)
 Short documentaries
 No longer than the proposal (3-5 pages)
 Feature film

30 pages, MAXIMUM
 Covers all major turning points, detail s sequences, summarizes objective for each scene,
10:1 ratio—major turning point for every 10 pages of script should be 1 page of treatment
Four Formats - Treatment Format Conventions
 Write the story: No interruptions, No embellishments
 Use active verbs

Action verbs are verbs that specifically describe what the subject of the sentence is doing.
Once a week, Tom cleans the house.
 Passive verbs are verbs that specifically describe what is being to the subject of the
sentence.
Once a week, the house is cleaned by Tom.
 What we see on screen should be conveyed in paragraphs without
indentations
 Hit [return/enter] twice between paragraphs
 Avoid Dialogue
Four Formats - Treatment Format Conventions
 Characters are introduced in CAPS, followed by age in parentheses

JOHN (22) flags the BARTENDER (50s). Orders a drink. John toasts the bartender.
 Describe only what is seen and heard on camera—no desires, emotions, or
thoughts of characters
 Write in third-person, present tense
 Narrative form
Treatment Checklist – Clear Concept
 MAIN IDEA IS ARTICULATED
 WE GET WHAT STORY IS ABOUT
 THEME IS DEVELOPED
 A MESSAGE TO THE STORY, ELEVATING THE CONFLICT
 THE THEME IS A PREMISE THAT STRUCTURES THE NARRATIVE
Treatment Checklist – Plot Has An Arc
 CLEAR BEGINNING, MIDDLE, AND END
 PROTAGONIST, GOAL, ANTAGONIST PRESENT
 STAKES FOR CHARACTERS ARE CLEAR AND MATTER
 CONFLICT IS RESOLVED
Treatment Checklist - Character Has An Arc
 AVOID STEREOTYPES/CLICHÉS CLEAR AND LOGICAL MOTIVATIONS/GOALS
 OVERCOMES ISSUE/WEAKNESS
 CHANGES FROM BEGINNING
Treatment Checklist - Descriptive Writing
 DESCRIPTIVE WRITING
 LIMITED TO WHAT IS SEEN AND HEARD
 NO CHARACTER DESIRES/EMOTIONS
 NO CAMERA DIRECTIONS
 ACTION DOESN’T MERELY LIST PLOT POINTS
The Treatment Format - Heading
 1. Head the Scenes
 Each scene of the treatment should be numbered and have a heading that specifies its
location, or where the action takes place.
 Detail whether the scene takes place in an interior or exterior location and whether it is
day or night.
 The heading should be written in capital letters.
For example : 1 – EXT. GARDEN – DAY
 The first thing you need to specify is the scene number. Then, write down
the location (interior or exterior), and finally add whether it is day or night.
The Treatment Format - Characters
 2. The Characters Only Act
 In the treatment format, the characters are not described. They are defined
by their actions.
 Nor do they speak, unless there is a significant fragment of dialogue in the
story. In that case, you can enclose it in quotes.
 EX: The RED QUEEN exclaims: ‘Off with her head!’.
 In addition, the character names always appear in capital letters. You must
include their age in brackets the first time you mention them.
 EX: ALICE (7) and the RED QUEEN (40)
The Treatment Format - Language
 3. Use Technical Language
 The treatment is not a literary text but a practical document, so do not
dwell on descriptions, details, metaphors and dialogues. Just list the actions
that take place in each scene.
 Verbs are always in the present tense (as in a literary script) to show that
the action is in process.
Treatment Format Example
 1 – EXT. GARDEN – DAY
 ALICIA (7) and her SISTER (12) are sitting in the shade of a tree with their
textbooks. ALICIA doesn’t pay much attention to the book: she’s distracted.
The RABBIT runs around the tree and exclaims: ‘I’m late! I’m late!’ ALICIA
looks at him with surprise, whereas her SISTER doesn’t even realize he’s
there.
Treatment Format Used for Story Analysis
 Once the treatment is finished, it should present the locations, the
characters, the time span, and the story structure at a glance. You can use it
to decide whether your characters evolve at the pace they should, whether
the time span is appropriate or whether the plot is well structured.
Add Notes
 In some cases, a treatment is all you need to shot your video. In others, the
treatment will just serve as a preliminary stage to the writing of the first
draft. In this case, you can add comments and notes that will later help you
write your script.
Treatment Format Example
Out of the Darkness
 1 - INT. BEDROOM - DAY
 SIMON wakes up. He doesn’t know where he is or why he’s there. He can recall fuzzy
memories of a formal party, shaded faces, and little else. His memory is almost completely
gone.
 Simon doesn’t know what to do. He emerges from the hotel he woke up in and realizes he
is in Paris. So, he goes to the police to report his issue.
 After waiting at the station for an hour or so, still trying to recall what happened, the
detective comes out with an officer and says that he is under arrest. Confused and
surprised, SIMON fights his way out of the station, discovering that he has immense
fighting capacity.
 After escaping the police station, SIMON leads the Parisian police on a wild chase through
the city.
The CenterColumn Format
Four Formats: The Center-Column Format
 This scripting style works well for any project that has to follow precisely
planned dialogue or narrative, but needs to remain open to creative
interpretation by the actors, camera operators and director.
 It uses a narrow center portion of the page for scripting and leaves plenty of
room on either side for later notations by the rest of your creative team.
 This type of script is designed to communicate general ideas, while leaving
the specific methods of presentation open to the actors and crew.
 This type of script presents character names in all caps and stage directions
in parentheses. The margins are wide to allow handwritten notes by the
crew.
The Center-Column Format - Header

Generally, you will begin your video with a FADE IN, after which you must introduce the
scene location and time with a Header, also called a Slug Line, written in all caps.

Examples:

INT. BELLAGIO – NIGHT

EXT. CENTRAL PARK – DAY

INT. DAVE'S KITCHEN - DAWN

EXT. PIER - DUSK

EXT. and INT. stand for “Exterior” and “Interior” respectively, meaning whether the scene
is set outdoors or indoors.

If you have a scene that involves a mix of both types of location, use the one where you
think the camera would shoot the scene from. For instance, if you have a scene of a
father in his living room observing his children playing in the yard, you should use INT.
LIVING ROOM because the active character is doing the action inside his living room.
The Center-Column Format - Header
 For the time of the day, you only need DAY, NIGHT, DUSK, or DAWN.
 There’s no need to be specific with the actual hour. If you need, for some
reason, to specify the hour, write it in the description lines.
 Don’t forget to make how this fact is known obvious to the reader / viewing audience.
 Is it said by one of the characters?
 Is there a clock on the wall?
 Maybe someone’s watch?
Example: The Center-Column Format
The Center-Column Format - Action
 Following the Header we have the Action and Description line, where you
describe the scenery, characters, and their actions. Unlike what you see in
novels and short stories, in screenplays the action is always in present tense. So
instead of writing “John pulled out his revolver and fired” write “John pulls out
his revolver and fires.”
 Descriptions should be kept to a minimum. Something like “A dark, cluttered
bedroom.” is better than “The bed is a mess. Books clutter the floor. The closed
window lets no light in. It’s dark.”
 Lengthy descriptive passages with too much detail are frowned upon. From the
example above, you could use the second description if the bed, the books, and
the window were relevant to the story. Also, this longer passage would work if
you’re introducing a location visited often throughout the script. If it is a onetime-only location there’s no need to go overboard with detail. Use restrain and
common sense. Write as if you were reading someone else’s script, and you
only want what is relevant.
The Center-Column Format - Dialogue
 When a character speaks, write his or her name in the center of the page,
using upper case letters. Minor characters are often named after their
profession or a trait or both, like Tall Professor or Geeky Tech. The dialogue
follows under it in a central column under the name.
 EX:
AURORA
It's sunrise.
The Center-Column Format - Dialogue
 Occasionally, parentheses are used between the name and the dialogue to
give extra information on how a character feels or the way he delivers his or
her lines. Parentheses should be employed sparingly only when the
information is not obvious.
 For instance, consider the following dialogue:
VICTOR
(whispering)
Can you keep a secret?
The Center-Column Format - Transition
 In scriptwriting, the term “transition” refers to how one scene shifts to the
next, therefore transitions either precede the Header or finish the script.
 The most used transitional notations are cut to, fade in, fade out, dissolve
to, cut to black, and cut from black.
 As a screenwriter, you have no idea what the director's plans for the scene
will be. Avoid specifying transitions. Let the director figure it out.
 If you are the screenwriter working alongside the director and responsible
for the shooting script, then this is a different game. You should convene
with the director and reach a consensus about which transitional device
best fits each scene.
Example: The Center-Column Format
The Full-Page
Format
Four Formats - The Full-Page Format
 This is a complete format that moves the project from one scene to the
next, painting a descriptive chronological picture of the video's sights and
sounds.
 Each scene has a number and each one usually begins with a description of
the setting, then follows with descriptions of the action and dialogue.
 This format is the one most often used for television production because it
works well with dramatic (as opposed to instructional or documentary)
projects.
Example: The Full-Page Format
Four Formats: The Two-Column
(Split-Page) Format
 This is the most common approach for producers of television commercials
and training videos. The page consists of two columns; the video description
is on the left side and the audio description is on the right side. It's easy to
read and makes perfect sense at a glance.
Example: The Two-Column Format
GENERAL
INFORMATION
– THE PROCESS
Master the Standard Script Format
 Scene and shot descriptions, in CAPS, flush left.
 Action, also known as narrative description, is in upper and lower case
(Sentence case) and is written in short paragraphs — also flush left.
 Dialogue and narration, as well as the characters speaking it, are tabbed and
positioned down the middle of the page, flush left from of the tab. Names
of characters speaking are in caps and dialogue or narration in upper and
lower case.
 Other designations such as “FADE IN” and “CUT TO” are also in Caps, and
placed flush left and flush right, respectively.
Start Concepting With A Brief
 Focus on your goals, topic, and takeaways when developing your brief.
 A brief doesn't have to be fancy, nor does it have to follow a specific formula,
but there are several key questions every questionnaire should include to craft
an effective video script.
 What’s the goal of this video? Why are we making the video in the first place?
 Who are we making this video for?
 What’s our narrow video topic? (The more specific, the better. For example, if
you’re in the house painting business, you might choose a topic like “buying the
right paint brush”).
 What are the takeaways of the video? What should viewers learn from watching
it?
 What’s our call-to-action? What do we want viewers to do after they’ve finished
watching the video?
Write Your Script
 Write in plain, conversational English.
 Make it thorough.
 Differentiate the main narrative from B-Roll, text
overlays, and voiceover using different formatting.
 Script every word.
 Make it brief.
 Use a script template.
Do A Table Read
 Now that you know how to write a script, it’s time for a table read -- the
part where you practice bringing that script to life on camera.
 Why practice? Because some words look great on paper, but once you read
them aloud, they just don’t sound right. The table read is where you really
get to fine-tune the tone and nix anything that sounds too proper, too
improper, too robotic, or otherwise inappropriate for the message you aim
to convey.
 When it’s time to shoot, use a iPad and a chair as a teleprompter.
Glossary Of Scriptwriting Terms

Close up (CU) - A close view of an actor or object.

Cut - An instant transition from one scene to the next.

Dialogue- Phrases spoken among actors.

Dissolve- A transition in which one scene fades into another.

Documentary - An essay-style video that provides commentary on its subject matter.

Establishing Shot - An opening, wide-angle view that shows the overall setting of a scene.

Music Bed or Music Under Low-volume - Music that accompanies voice over or dialogue.

Narrative - Spoken information that sets up the mood or context of a scene.

Needle-drop - Sound Same as sound effects.

Pan - The left-to-right or right-to-left rotation of a stationary camera.

Scene - A video event which takes place in one location or accomplishes a single dramatic
purpose.
Glossary Of Scriptwriting Terms

Script - A piece of writing designed to guide actors and technical staff through the video
production process.

Setting - The time and place in which a scene occurs.

Shot - A single, continuous run of recorded footage from a single camera.

Sound Effects (SFX) - Special sound enhancements to the audio track which do not occur in the
live recording.

Talent - The people who appear on the screen or in the narrative voice-over of your production.

Tilt - The up-and-down rotation of a stationary camera.

Truck - The sideways movement of a camera, usually accomplished with a dolly.

Voice Over (VO) - Voice heard without the speaker appearing on screen.

Wide Angle - A shot that makes the main subject a small part of a larger setting.

Zoom In - To move the camera's viewpoint from a wide-angle to a close-up shot.

Zoom Out- -To move the camera's viewpoint from a close-up to a wide-angle shot.
REVIEW
 Objective: Students will learn the four scripting formats and scripting basics.
 Agenda:

A Script is A Blueprint of Your Video

Scripting Basics
Font
Quick Reference Guide
The Four Formats
The Treatment Format
The Center-column Format
The Full-page Format
The Two-column Or Split-page Format

General Information – The Process

Glossary Of Scriptwriting Terms
ASSIGNMENT
TURN YOUR 3 – ACT SHORT INTO A SCRIPT
 Review the four types of scripts gone over in this powerpoint.
 Select one the best suits your 3-Act Short.
 Indicate the type or scripting format you have chosen at the top of your
script with your name.
 Write your script.
 PAY STRICT ATTENTION FORMAT.
 Check for typos! RESUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED!