media

1. Scriptwriting assignment L.A B
I will be analysing and evaluating different kinds of scripts and their purposes. Scripts are
written by scriptwriters and there are 3 main types of scripts; Master scene scripts, Shooting
scripts and Radio scripts. I will also be talking about gaming scripts.
Master scene script (MSS) - Juno
A master screen script is the standard form of script in the media industry, and the most
accepted. It’s designed so that producers or investors can read it clearly and easily compare
it to other scripts, or the standard. If everyone was coming in with different fonts and styles
of their scripts, it could easily get confusing for the investors. It doesn’t include camera
directions so it isn’t meant to be used for filming. A MSS Is split into three main parts; Scene
headings, narrative descriptions and dialogue blocks. I’m going to be analysing the ‘Juno’
script.

2. At the very beginning of the script, we are introduced with the location. This is called the
‘slug line’. The slug line always consists of 3 main parts. We are told it is external which
means the scene is taking place outside (If it was inside it would begin with INT. etc.), we are
told the exact location (centennial lane) and we are told the time (dusk). This is immediate
at the beginning of every scene, and the scriptwriter does this to communicate accurately
with the reader straight away so they know where this scene is set. Knowing the location
and feeling of a scene is very important when reading the script as it lets the reader know
the scriptwriters intent with the scene. The slug line is always capitalised so the audience
can establish fairly quickly the setting of the scene, and so that they know not to skip past it
– due to it being a film, how well the investor can visualise the storyline and setting in their
head could be the deciding factor to whether they invest into the production, so it needs to
be very clear.
Next is the narrative descriptions. Narrative descriptions are almost always positioned
straight underneath a slug line, this is to progress the story and set the scene further. They
tell the story of what would be playing out visually on the screen; it’s very important for the
scriptwriter to get specific details in like their clothing, their hair, appearance, their actions
etc.
This section is an example of a narrative description. Following the conventions of a MSS,
the characters are only described through their emotions and the actions they are doing in
that present moment. Characters names’ are also only referred to with a capital letter once.
This is so the reader an establish who a new character is, and so that once that character
has been introduced the script is not plagued with capital letters; it makes for a smoother
read for the investor. Anything that can not be seen or heard in the script should not be
included, this goes against MSS conventions. We are told that Juno is a ‘bedraggled
burntout kid’ however we are not told why as this is not relevant to the script, and the script
is wrote as if you were following along the storyline normally, rather than giving context
throughout. In this first narrative description, we are told where Juno is, how old she is,
what she is currently looking at and a little bit about her as a character. An MSS narrative
description is set out like this for a reason; they are formatted specifically to sell the story to
the investor. These conventions are effective and are put in place so it is as easy as possible
to be immersed and involved in the script, which is what the scriptwriter wants.
Screenplay’s are structured so that one minute of filmequates to one page of a script, so
the descriptions an actions of characters are very strategically wrote to equal one minute of
filming. This is why some narrative descriptions will be more extensive than others. This

3. convention is very helpful to scriptwriters as they can easily recognise whether their script
may be too short or long. A script that is too short would probably not be read by investors
as they know it is not worth investing in. The average feature length filmis 100-120 minutes
long so this is usually how many pages they need to produce.
Dialogue blocks is the speech of the script. They are composed of three sepearate parts;
Character’s name, wryly and dialogue. Character names are written in capitals so that they
stand out and it is clearwhois speaking,wryliesare usedtoindicate asubtextof dialoguethat
mightnot alreadybe obvious - wryliesare writteninlowercase.Theyare utlisiedtogive extra
informationtothe readerabouthowa line shouldbe deliveredandthe intentbehindit.Itdoesa
betterjobof expressingthe charactersemotionsandcanbe usedto show whenacharacter is
speakingfromoff screen,whichiswrote as(O.S).The arrowsare pointingtotwoexamplesof whata
wrylycan be.
Typical codes and conventions of a MSS –
 Font is always ‘Courier’ and size 12 for clarity
 Sluglines and character names for the first time are in capital letters to stand out
 Footers at the bottom right to indicate a scene is being continued onto the next page
is written as (CONTINUED.) and (CONT.) at the top left of a page to indicate it is the
continued scene.
 Voiceovers and Offscreen is shortened to (V.O.) and (O.S).
 No camera directions or shooting information in an MSS
 No third person use of the pronoun ‘we’.

4. Shooting script – There Will Be Blood
Shooting scripts share many of the same conventions as the master scene script does, for
example one minute of screenplay equates to one page of the script, the same size 12
courier font and the formatting of sluglines. The size and font of the script is very important
as it is the typical format for film industry scripts, it’s what makes them easily comparable
and therefore less of a hassle to read for the investors. They don’t have to waste their time
reading a script that they can just glance at and know it doesn’t fit the appropriate time
scale of a developed film, no matter how good the script may be. This is why it’s incredibly
important for any scriptwriter of any form to follow the appropriate codes and conventions,
to not only make the investors life easier, but to also make their script as nice of a read as
possible.
In comparison to screenplays and MSS, the shooting script are used to actually produce the
film/production. As you can see there is an example of a shooting script and after reading it
is easy to see the difference between the two scripts.Compared to the narrative description
of the characters in an MSS, the shooting script is a lot more structured; it shows how the
characters thoughts and emotions are portrayed into actions and focuses on how the scene
will plan out during production. Even though it shares a very similar format to the MSS, it is

5. a lot more developed in the way it features exactly how everything will pan out in shooting
and how the characters will be portrayed and what they do. Some evident examples of this
are the lines, “The MULE is pulling a cart filled with his prospectors supplies.” And “He hears
something outside the shaft-“. These two lines are cues that actors / the mule have been
written down and will follow during production. The shooting script is actually going through
the things the actors are going to do, their internal thoughts and reactions to things
whereas the MSS was explaining what we as an audience would see and hear on the scene if
it were to be visual. The description and cues of the characters only appear to save the
production team the time of deciding how each scene will look on the day of filming.
Another feature that the shooting script has that the MSS doesn’t is its use of camera
directions. This includes things like camera shot types, camera angles, background music,
framing etc.
The shooting script is extremely beneficial to the production crew, as it is basically just a set
of instuctions they need to maintain and follow. The filming crew don’t need to know how
the character needs to be acting, this is the directors job, so the shooting script that tells
them exactly what they need to shoot and how they need to shoot it is what they need to
follow. This means the conventions of the shooting script are extremely significant, as it is
what determines how they do their job.
Another very important convention of a shooting script is the use of scene numbers; whilst
they are sometimes present in MSS it is crucial they are added in the format of a shooting
script. Scene numbers are added to each scene in a script to categorise it into organised
blocks. The reasoning behind their importance is because scripts have hundreds of pages,
and it can be hard to keep track of how many pages or what you have filmed so far when
you have nothing to categorize it by. For example, if you are filming a horror it would be
irrelavent to tell the someone that theyre filming the ‘murder scene’ because in a horror
film this could be anywhere throughout the script. It would be confusing and in a project
such as making a film, you’ve got to be efficient and not waste time, therefor categorising by
scene numbers means everyone knows what is going on. It is an effective and efficient way
to improve communication and time management.
Radio Scripts – Welcome To Our Village
The radio script that I am analysing is a BBC comedy radio script. Radio scripts are made for
the purpose of an audio with no visual acting, this means almost the entirety of a comedy
radio script is formatted to include dialogue blocks and sound cues. The script I will be
analysing contrasts deeply with the two scripts I have just looked at; in a radio script, it is

6. unecessary to go into detail about the characters appearance’s, the techical cues of the
camera crew and the actions as there is no requirment for it.
There is obviously a few noticeable differences in structure when you compare the radio
script to the MSS and shooting script. The radio script is a lot more simplified, its not as
narrative focused like the MSS is however its not technicality focused like the shooting
script. A significant convention in this sector of the industry is the characters speech; quite
often a radio script will depend on the voice actors ability to convey the characters emotion
and feeling via their performance. The audience cannot see what the actor is actually doing,
therefore the script is prepared in the most descriptive and informative way possible. A
feature used for this are wrylines, which we can recognise from MSS features except in that
intance they are written in lower case. Wrylines show the actors how to deliver that line in
the way they want it to be percieved, for example comedic timing requirements or the use
of a sigh, cough or sneeze etc.
Radioscriptsdon’tneeda lotof narrative descriptiontosupportthe dialogue.Instead,radio
conventionallyusesthese lineswhichdescribethe musicorsoundeffectsthatneedtobe addedin
duringproduction.There isaspecificname of eachindividual soundeffectthatisinthat line,they
were likelymade usingfoleytechniquesorfroma libraryof soundeffectsthathave beensourced.
The inclusionof the name of the soundneededmakesthe editorsjobaloteasierandcreatesbetter
communication,itmeanstheyhave savedthe editorsalotof time duringproduction.The use of the
soundeffectsisaradio scriptstake on a narrative description;beause there isonlyaudiointhis
production,insteadof describingthe actionstoinvolvethe audience,theydescribethe soundsthat
supportsthe characters dialogue performance. Thishelpsthemgetaclearvisual intheirhead. A
clearvisual isthe goal forany script,so that the audience /investorcantrulyimagine whatwouldbe
happeningandputittogetherintheirhead.