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The scripting process begins with an idea/concept outline. This is required to sell the idea to the producer/station/the entity that will finance the project. In the outline, it is necessary to mention the intended audience, format, length of the production, summary of the idea, along with an approximate budget requirement.
Once the outline is approved, the treatment or programme proposal has to be written. In the treatment or programme proposal, all the details given in the outline must be there. In addition, a detailed description of visual approach, locations, lighting, music, sound design to be used should be included. A detailed budget is also worked out and included in the treatment. This gives a more specific idea of the nature of production and its likely cost to the entity providing the financial support. When the treatment and budget is approved, a detailed script is prepared for use in the production process.
The details required for production team are the kinds of shots to be taken, camera movements, position and movements of the artists, whether indoor, out door, time of day, kind of transition from shot to shot, words of commentary/dialogue, music, sound effects. A well-written script will have all the information required by the crew to execute the production effectively.
After the treatment is approved, a production script with details like locations, shots are worked out sequence by sequence and shot by shot. It is important to remember to limit and identify the specific message one is trying to convey and to work with that framework to develop the script, This must happen in the early stages of scripting process such as the treatment. Once the specific idea and its elements are identified, it also possible to decide on the relative importance of each item and devote only the required amount of time in the programme to them. This planning saves time and expenditure as unnecessary shooting can be avoided.
There may be more than one script writer or even a group of five to six writers involved in generating the script depending on the complexity or time frame of the show (soap, for instance). In comedy shows, there may be specialist joke or gag writers who fill in the basic framework of the script which is written by someone else.
An important aspect of scripting for TV/video is the layout in which the information is set up. There are two styles used in this. One is the script format used for multi-camera studio productions; the other is the single-camera film style format. In either case, all production related information is set up in upper case, the rest of the information that is read to be heard is given in sentence case. It facilitates quick, at-a-glance reception of information for the crew and quick, efficient execution of production instructions. The terminology used in scripting is understood by all trained crew members.
A script is finalized after several story and script conferences where the ideas are thoroughly discussed for bringing clarity to the concept and to the production.
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Participants