This lecture discusses moving forward with the second act of documentary scripts. Students are expected to have a clear storyline with a beginning, middle, and end by the end of the course. An effective script provides structure for flexibility as research continues and facts emerge. The script acts as scaffolding to build the documentary, as it is easier to sculpt a story from scripted material than unstructured footage. The scripting process involves ongoing revision as weaknesses emerge across acts. Research and script writing occur simultaneously, and new information may change story elements or reveal a stronger opening/ending. An effective script has a beginning, middle, and end and focuses on character, conflict, and change.

1. JRN 572 - Researching & Writing
the News Documentary
Rich Hanley, Associate Professor
Lecture Twelve

2. JRN 572 - News Documentary
Overview:
• This week we move to the second
act of your script.
• Again, the expectation at the end of
this final phase of the course is not a
fully realized shooting script, with
transcribed interviews in place.

3. JRN 572 - News Documentary
Overview:
• What you want to show at the end of
the semester is a clear storyline, with
a beginning, middle and end.
• In short, the outcome of the draft
script at the end ought to be this:
• “I have a story, and here’s the
evidence of that in script form.”

4. JRN 572 - News Documentary
Overview:
• The written draft will show the story
but details may shift as the recording
commences and new facts come to
light.
• As noted earlier this semester,
research continues into a story until
the documentary is locked.

5. JRN 572 - News Documentary
The Script:
• Some producers/writers/directors
think the best approach to
documentaries is to just go out and
record stuff and find the story in the
footage.
• Good luck with that, according to the
BBC.

6. JRN 572 - News Documentary
The Script:
• “The key thing in TV is always
‘preparation, preparation,
preparation’. If you go out shooting
willy-nilly, then in the edit you’re
going to come a cropper." – BBC
producer/writer/director Lizzie
Faulkner.

7. JRN 572 - News Documentary
The Script:
• Faulkner and other
producer/writer/director pros follow a
process where the draft script is
created even as research continues.
• It seems counter intuitive, but the
script provides a structure that
encourages flexibility because the
story elements are visible in a story
format.

8. JRN 572 - News Documentary
The Script:
• The draft script is the scaffolding or
infrastructure on which factual films
are built.
• Without it, new information or
insights become part of a blob of
material that is difficult to sculpt into
a story in a reasonable amount of
time.

9. JRN 572 - News Documentary
The Script:
• It’s important to note that the process
of scripting is actually one of
revision.
• In other words, the composition of
act two means that act one ought to
be revised as weaknesses emerge in
the narrative and so forth.

10. JRN 572 - News Documentary
The Script:
• The same holds for act three.
• That act will include the final
destination of the documentary – the
ending.
• That means acts one and two will
need revision to finesse the
information in narrative form.

11. JRN 572 - News Documentary
The Script:
• It is possible with the proper
preparation (i.e., research) to
determine the ending even before
act one is written.
• But the process of writing may
change that destination in some way,
so revisions to the original narrative
are a natural part of the process.

12. JRN 572 - News Documentary
The Script:
• In fact, you may find after running
through your material in draft form
through three acts that the opening
you thought was good when first
written may not be strong enough to
match the ending.

13. JRN 572 - News Documentary
The Script:
• Moreover, new information may
emerge, because as noted many
times, the research continues up
until the film is locked.
• A new image or anecdote, could
provide a stronger opening or deeper
backstory or stronger expository
information for the voice-over.

14. JRN 572 - News Documentary
The Script:
• That underscores the need for a draft
script that has a beginning, a middle
and an end even if the research is
continuous.
• The script is a critical organization
tool that puts in filmic form the story.

15. JRN 572 - News Documentary
The Script:
• In terms of a self-analysis of the
narrative strength or weakness,
always focus on the three C’s:
character, conflict and change.
• And ask yourself in each part of the
process whether this is a film you
would want to watch.