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Script analysis
- 1. SCRIPT ANALYSIS TV Script:Stranger ThingsS1E1 Style: The style of the scriptismodernbecause the language usedinthe stage directionsandlocation descriptionsisverymodernandup-to-date withthe languagestyle.The style of the dialogueisalso modernbecause althoughitissetinthe 1980’s, it isstill up-to-date language thatpeopletoday wouldunderstand. Italsohasthe occasionallyswearing,whichismodernbecausepeople thesedays swearand thiswouldhelpthe actorsshow theircharactersbetterto the audience andshow their emotionsbetterforthe audience torelate toeasier. Content: The contentof the scriptis the firstepisode of the firstseriesof ‘StrangerThings’.The sectionof the scriptthat I have chosento analyse,isroughlythe first10 minutesof the episode.Itdescribesthe settingof whichisthe laboratory,andgrabs the audience’sattentionwithatense scene where a man istaken,howeverwe donotknowexactlyatthistime.It thenfollows withshowingthe main characters of the 4 boysplayinga boardgame whichiswhere the storybegins. Narrative: The script istraditional inthe factthat it doeshave a beginning,middleandend. If we lookat Propp’stheoryof havingcharactertypes,inthissectionwe dohave some.At the start, we have a villain,thatwe donotyetknowwhat or whoit is,howeveritisclearbecause of the man being killed/takenbyitat the start. We are thenintroducedto4 boys,whomare the maincharacters,so we presume theyare the hero’sor the helper’sbecausetheyare the mainfocusandwill endup havingsomethingtodowiththe strange thingshappening.Lateroninthe series,we wouldthen findoutthat theyare the helper/hero’sbecause theyhelpdefeatthe Demogorgonalongside other friends,familyandElevenandhelpgetWill back. Genre: Genre means‘type’or’category’that we wouldput a filmintosothat the audience caneasilysee whattype of filmtheylike best.However,some filmsnowadaysare amixture.Forexample,Stranger Thingsisclassedas a Science Fiction,Horror,Supernatural andPeriodDrama.Conventionstheyhave includedtomake thisobviousare the factit includestechnologyandexperimentsinalab,monsters and superpowers,andthe factit isset inthe 1980’s. Accordingto Buckingham, genre changesas societychanges.So,forexample,if StrangerThingsweretohave beenmade andreleasedinthe past,it may nothave had all the genre typesithas beenclassedastodaybecause of how society wouldhave seenitthenversusnow. Target Audience: I thinkthat the targetaudience forStrangerThingswouldbe ‘The Explorer’,onYoungandRubicam’s 4C’s model,because theseare people that’score needinlifeisdiscovery.Theywouldliketo discoverandfindoutnewthingsandby watchingStrangerThings,theywouldbe tryingtofindout whathappenedtoWill Byersandwouldbe discoveringnew thingsinthe seriesandfindingoutmore aboutthe time periodaswell.Onthe NRSScale,the audience wouldbe D – C1 because although theyare lowto mediumpay,the serieswouldalsobe enjoyableforadultsaswell asteenagers because the adultswouldhave beenaroundinthe 80’s andwouldmaybe bringbacksome memoriesaboutfilmsandtoysthatwere outthen.
- 2. SCRIPT ANALYSIS FilmScript: MeanGirls Style: The style of the scriptismodernbecause of the language inthe dialogue,stage directionsand descriptions,isveryup-to-datewithtoday’ssociety.Aswellasthe filmhavingdialogue,italsohas some narrationoverthe top, withthe maincharacter ‘Cady’talkingaboutherprevioushome in Africaand alsoabouthow she feelswhenincertainsituations.Havingthisasan addition,helpsthe audience understandmore withwhatshe isgoingthrough. Content: The script istellingusthe storyline of the filmandwhatishappeningin the filmbyusingthe characters dialogue andstage directions.InMeanGirls,a 15 year oldgirl has movedfromAfricaand goesto a newschool and triestofit in,howevershe hasalwaysbeenhome schooledandthere are the three ‘meangirls’of the school whichmakesitharderto fitin.the sectionIhave pickedto analyse isaboutthe first10 minutesof the filmof whichCadyisgettingreadyfor herfirstday at school and talksaboutherprevioushome andlife inAfrica.The scriptdescribesthe charactersand settingsandhelpssetthe scene. Narrative: The script istraditional inthe factthat it has a beginning,middleandend.A traditional 3act piece wouldinclude overcoming conflict,andinthisfilmshe does,therefore itistraditional.If we lookat TzvetanTodorov’snarrative theoryof the factthat everystoryhas 5 pointsinorder,the 5 points being;anequilibrium, disruptionof equilibrium, recognitionof disruption,anattempttorepairthe damage and a newequilibrium,the filmdoes have all these aspects.The equilibriumbeingthe beginningwhereshe ishappywithschool,the disruptionof the equilibriumbeinghernotfittingin at school and ‘the plastics’beingmeantoeveryone.The recognitionwouldbe herandherfriends realisingtheyneedtodosomethingandthemgoingthroughwiththeirplanisthe attemptto repair the damage,leavinganewequilibriumwhere everyone getsonandishappy. Genre: Mean Girlsisclassedas a teenfilmandcomedyandthiswouldbe because of itbeingsetina school, whichteenagercanrelate to,and itincludescomedybitsthroughoutthe filmsothatthe audience don’tgetbored.If we lookat RickAltman’sgenre theory,he arguesthat‘there isnosuch thingas a ‘pure’genre anymore’,andhe wouldbe rightinthiscase and manyothersthese days.Today,all filmsare classedasseveral genres,andthatisbecause if we stuckto justone,the story wouldn’tbe as interestingforthe audience towatchthan if ithad several,sothattheycouldget a more wider range of people watching. Target audience: The target audience wouldbe teenagersaged14-16 because of itbeingsetat school,howeverI thinkthat olderteenagersaged17-19 mayalsoenjoyitbecause theymayhave justleftschool and theycan relate tothe characters.Because of thembeingteenagers,onthe NRSScale,itwouldbe D/E because of themgettingloworno income. Withthe 4C’s model,theywould‘The Mainstream’ because these are people whoneedtohave routine intheirdaily livesandthe charactersinthe film alsodo because of goingto school everydayandso theywouldrelate tothemmore.
- 3. SCRIPT ANALYSIS Game Script:Dragonshard Style: I wouldsaythat the script ispartlymoderninthe fact that to helpthe audience understanditbetter; the directionsof howtoplay are writtenup-to-date fortoday’ssociety.The dialogue and descriptionsof charactersandsettingsare lessmodernhoweverbecause of the game beingsetin mediaeval timesandtherefore the settingsandcharactersneedtofitin withthattime zone inthere appearance anddialogue. Content: The script showsthe storyline of aworldcalledEberroninwhichthe DragonKhyberfoughthissister Siberysandshatteredherbodytopieces.Khyber’sbrotherEberron,andthentrappedKhyberoutof anger,howeverthiscreatedthree partsonEberron’sworldinwhichone createda stormand the game continuesintryingtorestore the world.The part of the scriptI have chosento analyse isthe first10 – 15 minutes,where thisshowsanopeningsequence of the game introducingsome of the characters andthe beginningof the story. Narrative: The script istraditional inthe factthat it isa 3 piece act that overcomesconflict.If we lookatRoland Barthesnarrative theory,he statesthata narrative canbe brokendownintofive rulestohelpthe audience make sense of itbetter. The codesare:Action,whichreferstothe fightingandchase sequenceswithinthe story,of whichDragonshardhas.Referential,whichisthe informationand explanations,of whichthe game hassothat the playerscanplaythe game easily.Semantic, referring to the characters, inwhichthe game alsohas so the playerscan know more aboutwho theyare playingasand feelingmore involvedwiththe game.Enigmaisa narrative devise thatteasesthe audience bygivingthemapuzzle tofigure outsothat it delaysthe endingpleasurably,and Dragonshardhas manypuzzlestosolve throughout.AndfinallySymboliccode where itreferstothe connotationsof signstohelpthe playerunderstanditbetter,of whichthisgame alsohas. Genre: The genre of Dragonshardis slightlydifferenttoyourtypicallyfilmandTV genres.Dragonshard’s genresare classedas Real-timestrategyandRole-playingvideogame.Thiswouldbe becausethe game consistsof figuringoutpuzzlesandcomingupwithstrategiesandtakingupthe role of a character. I thinkthatthe game couldalsobe classedas actionand fantasybecause of the fighting scenesandmagical creatures. Target Audience: I thinkthat the targetaudience wouldbe aged12 – 16 because of the fantasygenre appealingmore to youngerviewers.Onthe NRSScale I thinkthe game wouldbe forD/E because the children/teenagersplayingthe game wouldhave low ornoincome.Onthe 4C’s model,Ithinkthat theycouldeitherbe the Explorerorthe Succeederbecause the people playingwouldbe discovering newthingsandwill wantto complete the game.
- 4. SCRIPT ANALYSIS Radio Script:The GoldenBowl Style: I don’tthinkthat the scriptis modernbecause itissetinthe past.The book wasreleasedin1904 so the language backthenwouldhave beendifferenttotoday’ssociety.Onthe radioversion,the script showsthe dialogue tobe writtentostill gowiththe era itis set,howevertheyhave changedsome wordsthat people these daysmaynotunderstand.The descriptionsof the settingshowever,are writtenwithup-to-dateliterature andtherefore have aslightmodernstyle. Content: The story isset inEnglandand goesthat an ItalianPrince,Amerigo, issettomarry an Americangirl, Maggie, an onlychildof her widowedfather.The prince hadpreviouslyhasarelationshipwith anotherAmericangirl, Charlotte, howevertheycouldnotfollowthroughwiththe marriage because she isnot wealthy. Maggie andCharlotte have beenfriendssince children,butMaggie doesn’tknow that charlotte waswiththe prince once.Charlotte andAmerigoenduphavinganaffairand Maggie becomessuspiciousandmakescharlotte marryherfather.Itendswithcharlotte happilywiththe fatherand the prince happilywithMaggie. Narrative: The script istraditional inthe factthat it isa 3 piece act that overcomesconflict. If we lookat TzvetanTodorov,we can see that thisstoryfollowshisrulesof adisruptionof equilibriumandfinally repairingandhavinga newequilibrium.Inthiscase,the prince comingacrossa past loverand wantingtobe withheragain,and theneverythingreturningbacktonormal where everyone is happy. Genre: The story isclassesas a fictionnovel;howeveritisalsoclassedas a drama inthe filmversion.This wouldbe because the storyhasconflictinpeople everydayliveswhichwould be classedasadrama intoday s society. TomRyall arguesthatgenresare recognisablethroughehuse of repeatedgeneric codesand conventions.Forexample,how dowe know thata horrorfilmisa horror film?Bylooking at thisscript froman oldstory,we can see how or if the conventionshave changedforadrama. Target audience: I thinkthat the targetaudience wouldbe aged22+ because itis an olderstorythat the older generationmightunderstandthe language better,howeverthe storylineisstill quite popularwith teenagers.Onthe 4C’smodel Ithinkthat theywouldbe the resignedbecause these are olderpeople withunchangingvaluesovertime andmostpeople todaystill thinkthataffairsare bad.Onthe NRS Scale,I thinkthatthe audience wouldbe E – C2 because these are people thathave low orno pay and alsomiddle aged peoplethatdohave a good income.