Screenwriting essay

1. Exploring scriptwriting formats and conventions
MasterScene Script
The master scene script, also known as a 'spec script' is distinct from the shooting script as it does
not contain camera movements. A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-
commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have
the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio. but it
includes mostly dialogue and is just a speculation on what the film could become. One vital thing is
to remember that films are a visual medium and a writer needs to explain their story visually. Show
not Tell.
There are many elements of script formatting;
SCENE HEADING
One-line description of the location and the time of the scene. (EXT. WRITERS STORE- DAY)
CHARACTER HEADING- Indent: Left: 0.0" Right: 0.0" Width: 6.0"
The character’s name will appear above dialogue to show who it belongs to.
SUBHEADER- Indent: Left: 0.0" Right: 0.0" Width: 6.0"
To when I full Scene Heading is not needed.
ACTION- Indent: Left: 0.0" Right: 0.0" Width: 6.0"
The narrative description of the events on screen.
Only what’s seen and heard.
TRANSITION- Indent: Left: 4.0" Right: 0.0" Width: 2.0"
Film editing instructions
DIALOUGE- Indent: Left: 1.0" Right: 1.5" Width: 3.5"
Lines of speech for each Character
PARANTHETICAL- Indent: Left: 1.5" Right: 2.0" Width:
2.5"
Action or attitude direction for a Character
EXTENSION-
A note placed after Characters name to show how they
will be heard (O.S. Off screen/ V.O. Voice over)
MORES AND CONTINUEDS-
These are used between pages to indicate that character is still speaking.
Also Every page needs to be numbered and the font should be courier size 12.
I am going to analyse the elements and conventions found within the script of the Movie ‘Django
Unchained’ Written and Directed by Quentin Tarintino (2012).

2. From
the first
page
of the
script
we see
many conventions of scriptwriting, first of all we see that the script has kept to the industry standard
of courier 12 so it will be easily evaluated by potential studios or producers, the writers also
placed the page number on top of the page so that this analyse will be much quicker to see the run
time of the script with a minute of screen time is shown per page. This opening page doesn’t have
any diegetic dialogue but there is an Auctioneer shouting “sold” which we see in quotation marks.
The Scene Heading is to give a brief description of when and where the scene takes place, this
scene takes place outside (represented by EXT) and in the COUNTRYSIDE. We don’t get given
any exact time during the day but we are informed that it most likely takes place midday. This is
good way of setting the scene and also helps massively when planning to film the scene, where the
crew can take into consideration issues that may take place and finding a location that is a close
match to the idea from the writer. All the characters are established and are easy to identify on the
page as their names are CAPPED, this is very common convention of scriptwriting whereas most
Character’s First aPPEARENCE

3. scripts are expected to put the character’s name CAPPED when they first appear on screen.
Throughout the ACTION writing of the script a lot of planning of camera angles and shots can be
made, as the writer has put down details that need to in frame. “we can’t help but notice his back
which has been slashed to ribbons by Bull Whip beatings” is explaining that this detail of the
character is a core part of his story and it needs to be seen on screen is it can establish this character
even further. This script doesn’t just inform the crew of what needs to be put on screen but of what
the actors need to do on screen, as well as informing where props need to be or the importance of
mise-en scene in the film. This script is done exceptionally well as it tells you information through
visual storytelling and means that they are taking into consideration about the platform of media
this script is for. But that being said this master scene script also informs us on what the audience
will hear as the script sets a cue for when more non diegetic sounds will be heard such as “The
Operatic Opening theme” at the beginning of the 4th Action Paragraph. The way the writer directs
emotion through the scene through the way he describes the scene “with what seems to be like one
hundred and fifty slaves in a cell designed for forty” truly captures the inhumanity of the situation
and how many people in history suffered a lifetime of misery though acts like this and treat like
animals. This is because we are to sympathise with character and feel what he is feeling and the
claustrophobic environment of which we find our protagonist is meant to send a heavy flow anxiety
which paralyzes us in our seats, leaving a powerless and vulnerable to match the DJANGO’S.
Shooting Script
A shooting script differs in several ways compared to a Master Scene Script for a film. A Shooting
script is used during the production process of the film to help communicate the filming process to
all crew members and actors involved. The shooting script is essentially the film on paper therefore
it is a very important tool to deliver the Director’s vision to the crew along with storyboard and
floor plan. In a shooting script the director is breaking down the screenplay into shots, so it is kind
of another draft of the script written by the director, meaning the shots you write in the shooting
script will define the scene.
When producing a s hooting script there are three main aspects that need to be planned perfectly.
1. The Camera- What I mean by taking the camera into consideration goes from the type of
angle you want all the way to the type of lens you would like to use for the shot.
2. The Lighting- Lighting is a very important feature and aspect of cinematography, as lighting
and shots need to go hand in hand and work together to help drive emotion through the
screen. Also lighting needs to be checked to see if it goes with the theme and tone of the
film/ scene.
3. Characters- When thinking about characters you need to think about what are they doing
when and how they appear on screen.
How they will move in the frame and
where to. An actor is helping run the
narrative of the story through every
movement so it is vital that any
important movements made shall be
framed specifically. Taking into
consideration how the audience will
process the information of the actors
and mise-en scene that they will see.
In this example we can instantly see
there is a difference between a
shooting and a master scene script,
we see that this script has had camera

4. movements wrote on them for the production team to work off. This page tells the scene of two
individuals talking to one another, the director and other pre-production crew will plan what shots
will make this scene work the best and then they write it on paper. On the page we see a vertical
line with “ Dolly backwards” indicating to all the crew that the director wants the camera to be
moving on a dolly and then “two shot” informs how the two characters shall be seen and what type
of shot/angle the director wants.
After a shooting script has been widely circulated, page numbers are locked, and any revisions are
distributed on revision pages. Thus the production office might issue a revision containing new
pages. This avoids having to print and distribute an entirely new draft for every set of revisions,
which would entail crew members having to transfer all their handwritten notes to a new script. If
scenes on page 45 become longer, they will be continued on new pages 45A, 45B and so on; if the
scenes on page 45 are all eliminated, a new page 45 will be issued with the word "OMITTED" as
the absence of a page 45 might look like an error.
The effectiveness of a shooting script is undeniable, it saves time and gets all crew on the same
level and they all know what needs to be done, this in part saves time and produces less troubles in
production.
Video game script
Video game scripts can be wrote as branching narratives, where the gamer can chose which way
their story goes based on the decisions they make playing the game and going through the narrative.
A scene will be wrote to go down multiple paths depending on how you play and sometimes leading
to a different outcome all together, this is very effective in video games as this makes the player feel
more involved with the game due to the amount of interactive experiences that the game holds.
Games that employ linear stories are those where the player cannot change the story line or ending
of the story. Many video games use a linear structure, thus making them more similar to other
fiction. However, it is common for such games to use interactive narration in which a player needs
to interact with something before the plot will advance, or nonlinear narratives in which events are
portrayed in a non-chronological order This is also known as Nonlinear Gameplay.
The amount of time that has to go into a gaming script is an unfathomable amount but the payoff is
worth it in my eyes, I couldn’t find a script anywhere but I know a perfect example of how
Nonlinear Narratives are brilliant in video games. LA Noire is a game produced ‘Rockstar’, it is a
role playing game where you play as a detective in 1940s Los Angeles. You investigate crime
scenes and have to gather clues from the scene to then gain identities and ideas of suspects, which
you must then interrogate in any way you may please, choosing what you say to them and
depending on how you interact with the characters changes the way they act with you.
This type of scriptwriting isn’t just found in games, many films in the modern age are being
produced to where the viewer can decide on what the characters can do on the film.
LATE SHIFT- Late Shift is a live-action adventure game that asks for player involvement only with

5. regard to making choices. It tells the story of Matt, a
college student in England and mathematician to-be
who works as an overnight security guard in a
parking garage for some apparently very wealthy
residents. The lot is littered with expensive cars. It
looks like an easy job when Matt is spending his
time on the clock studying for class, but that quickly
falls apart when a car thief demands at gunpoint
Matt's involvement in procuring one of the sports
cars for a heist. In way over his head within minutes of the story, players are tasked with making
mostly binary decisions over the course of the game along the way to one of seven very different
endings.