DA309 Lecture 4: The Writing Process - PDF

The Writing Process An excellent script is essential for a project's success. You may have some of the most beautiful and complex animation in the world; however, if the story does not work, chances are the show won’t either. The script progresses through several stages before it is ready for prod...

The Writing Process An excellent script is essential for a project's success. You may have some of the most beautiful and complex animation in the world; however, if the story does not work, chances are the show won’t either. The script progresses through several stages before it is ready for production. This process includes establishing and setting up the characters, their world, their conflict(s), and the resolution. Used as a tool for the writing team to help ensure consistency throughout the writing process sometimes called pitch bible, tv show bible a bible is the written concept that sets up the key element for a series description of the show, main characters, tone of the show, target audience used by casting director to select voice talent used by artistic crew to understand the tone of the show and how the characters and plots are intertwined Used in television and in some ways is similar to the seriesbible. Its purpose is to give the reader a sense of the show and to set up thecharacters; however, it is more fully realized than a bible. Like all scripts, it would follow some or all of the various steps outlined (Premise, Outline, Treatment) A paragraph or two that outlines the main story concept. Included are the main characters, the basic conflict, any complications, and how they are resolved A 12-year-old boy and his best friend, wise 28-year-old dog with magical powers, go on a series of surreal adventures with each other. More detailed version of the premise. It is generally a sequence-by-sequence breakdown of the story with a few lines of dialogue added to flesh out the characters, giving a project with multiple writers a sampling of the tone. In the outline, the flow of the action is spelled out. It is a good place to start at rather than going straight into script format since it is easier to change the structure of the story at this point. The number of pages ranges from 2 to 10 depending on the format being produced. The first draft fleshes out the story arcs, adding dialogue and action. First draft is given to the key creative staff on the project-usually the producer, director, and creative executive-for notes. A half-hour script is between 25 to 35 pages long. A feature script for an 80- minute film can be anywhere from 80 to 110 pages On series, the story editor may be responsible for inputting the notes after the second draft. In long form, it is very common for the script to go into production in segments while the rest of it is still in development. This is the stage at which final touches are completed on the script. Rarely is the structure of the script altered at this point. the feature script is never locked by the time preproduction begins, the reason being that the story is further developed by the collaboration of the director, the storyboard artists, and the scriptwriter the storyboard artist or, at times, a previs artist, takes a written sequence and visualizes the action and the goal here is to further improve the script Once production begins, the greenlit script goes through a number of stages. It needs to be constantly updated throughout the production process as lines and scenes are revised, added, and deleted. Each line of dialogue in the production script is numbered. Used during voice recording session as a reference tool this script is used to keep track of the recorded dialogue and the various takes the actor records typically all descriptions and scene directions are deleted, leaving only the lines of dialogue the director’s select takes are circled on the script and are given to the editor to cut into the track (referred to as circle takes) Once the storyboard is locked for production, the script is updated and conformed to match the storyboard. All changes or deletions are included in the conformed script. Conforming the script can be an ongoing process as opposed to a one- time step. shows the additional and replacement dialogue only. Used during post-production, the ADR script contains the lines of dialogue with their corresponding line number. very important that this script be created because it is needed for closed captioning and foreign-language dubbing because many changes can take place in postproduction, the final-as-aired script is conformed to match the actual as-aired or released version. ensuring that legal permission is obtained for details of the script the final script as a whole also requires clearance under the guidance of an attorney or legal affairs department, the earliest detail to clear should be the names of the main characters and locations