Page 49 - Electronic Media

Television 49

Script format

The script format for documentaries and audio-visual presentations
which consist largely of voice-over matched to still or moving pictures
is different again and uses a two-column format which can be particularly
difficult to achieve in standard word processors, at least when it comes
to editing. According to the two-column script, there are three bodies
of a script: Headings, narrative and dialogue. Each of these has three
points to remember.

1. Headings:
a) Master scene headings, which include:

# Camera location - EXT. (exterior or outside) or INT. (interior or
inside)

# Scene location (LOCAL RACE TRACK)

# Time (DAY or NIGHT)

b) Secondary scene heading

c) “Special headings” for things such as montages, dream
sequences, flashbacks, flash forwards, etc.

2. Narrative Description:

a) Action

b) Character and settings (visual)

c) Sounds

3. Dialogue:

a) The name of the person speaking appears at the top, in CAPS.