1. Why is it important to know the target audience and the communication objective before you develop the concept and storyline for a script?

The target audience defines the people, demographically, whom you intend to watch the production. The communication objective states what you want to say to them. Without knowing and keeping a constant focus on both, you are only guessing about the potential impact the production will have.

2. What are a Concept, a Treatment, and  a Draft, and why are they important to the development of a finished script for television or film? 

A Concept is a concise explanation of the central idea for a script. Its primary functions are to get the writer to concentrate on the basic premise for the story and to entice the reader to ask to see a treatment or finished script. Concepts are promotional devices that help the writer sell the script and later can become a promotional hook for the finished production. A Treatment is a scenario or narrative outline of the story. Normally written in non technical language, Treatments are useful to sell investors on the script and production and to organize the story into scenes and acts so that the writer has a plan for the script. The Draft is the first attempt to put together a complete script. By getting feedback from every decision maker in the production on an early Draft, the writer can integrate all suggestions into the rewrite and move more rapidly to a finished script.

3. Compare the following Websites. How useful are they to the beginning scriptwriter? Give examples.

www.wga.org Membership in the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is mandatory for professional writers who sell their work to the motion picture and television industries. In addition, the WGA website has information about industry trends, legal issues, continuing education, and helpful tips for new writers. Perhaps the most valuable benefit is the script registration service that provides free copyright protection for members and non-members.

www.wordplayer.com Wordplayer uses a bulletin board setup that allows professional writers to post advice columns that can be helpful to new writers. The friendly atmosphere encourages writers with varying levels of experience to communicate and network with each other.

4. Why must you include action, camera angles, and camera movement in the video part of a script?

A TV script is part narrative and part instructions for the crew and performers. If the writer describes precisely what she/he sees, then there is a good chance that the director will shoot it that way. In some cases, like soap operas and sitcoms that use the same blocking over and over, the writer can cut back in this area and concentrate on the story and characters. But in general, the more visual details the better the script.

5. Compare the master scene and two column script formats, and explain the circumstances in which you would use each.

The master scene script is the most common script format for television and film entertainment. It can also be useful for commercials and other short productions. Based on a theatrical script, the copy reads down the page, video and action first followed by audio. A slug line identifies the scene at the beginning of each shot. Camera terms and character names go in upper case, and all dialogue is centered so it stands out from the rest of the script. There is considerable white space on the page to everybody room to make notes. Eventually, the writer or director numbers the shots to break the script down into a shooting script.

The two column script has video in the left column and audio on the right, with corresponding instructions aligned horizontally. Shots eventually get numbers, as above. Most often, you use this format for news, documentaries, and other live format television shows where the producer and director need to fill in visual details at the last minute.