Learning aim B

 The Format And Conventions of Scripts 

 

Film script 

Click to access Black Panther 

Style 

The language used in the script is straight forward and gets to the point when giving directions for the actor for example the line “James opens the door and two Dora Milaje slowly enter carrying LARGE SPEARS. They eye N’Jobu.” The line direction leaves no room for improvisation or interpretation form both the actor and the director. Due to the film being non-linear the script has to put more effort in terms of context and making it obvious when there is a time shift. For example, there is a scene where prince T’challa is talking to his mother about the ceremony where he will be crowned king as we as his passed father the scene then cuts to the British museum in London. This is done in a professional direct way as it is written as “EXT. British museum-London-Uk morning.” The characters are presented as sophisticated and skilled as they present their abilities to do well in their sector whether that be fighting or coming up with ways to improve technology or come up with plans and this is seen when T’challa is challenged by M’baku for the throne and manages to defeat him even though at first, he was losing he manged to secure his place on the throne. Because this is a script and not a tv show there is not another script to compare it to meaning it does not have a house style. 

 

Content 

The base element s of script format are there as they have scene headers saying where and when the scene is taking place, actions telling the actors what they have to do, and they have transitions saying whether something is a flashback or not and having stage directions for the actors to follow like when something should be in a different language or different tone of voice. The script directions are straight forward and straight to the point but leaves some room for the director to take over and put his impute in like if there isn’t a set time of day. Since the script is the blueprint for the film it is important that the script has every piece of information it can so the director can carry out the scriptwriter's vision. The script needs to introduce characters give scene descriptions, show the dialogue as well as editing instructions that are important to the story. Due to the film being non-linear they have to put more effort into conveying the timeline shifts as to not leave the audience confused. However even though the film is non-linear it still follows a chronological order as it still has a setup a midpoint and resolution. 

 

Narrative structure 

Black Panther is a non-linear film. It shows the price of Wakanda fighting for his place on the throne and how the past has affected the present and why he has to fight for the throne using flashbacks and time skips. This movie is not a single stranded narrative has it follows up to seven different strands however we primarily focus on Prince T’challa (black panther) and his movements. In terms of the story, it has a three-act story as it follows the journey of the prince and his change in mindset from before he was king to when he was king and him having to fight for his place on the throne and finally securing it. However, the film is non-linear meaning the film is not presented in a three-act structure. The equilibrium of the film is when T’challa rebuilds the building in which his uncle died and him announcing at the UN that Wakanda will begin a cultural and technological exchange with the rest of the world. And this is because he had found out all the wrong doings from the past and decided to rectify them as this is what caused all the problems at the beginning of the film and why he had to fight to regain the throne as well as defend Wakanda from the rest of the world because they wanted the resources that they have and him having to think if he wants to return to the throne and stay being the Black panther which is all done in a non-linear structure. 

 

Genre 

The film is a science fiction (sci-fi) action making it a hybrid genre film about the prince of Wakanda T’challa also known as the superhero Black Panther must step forward to lead his people into a knew future and must confront a challenger from his country’s past to protect the advanced kingdom of Wakanda 

 

Meaning 

The films’ main theme is what it means to be black in both America and Africa as well as the rest of the world. As well as an African sovereignty, self-determination, and colonization as we seen when Prince T’challa  tries to repair the damage done from the past and protect Wakanda which proves to be a difficult feat to accomplish. The film follows up to 7 different stories while tackling the complicated themes head on. As seen when Prince T’challa get over the obstacles that prevent him from doing what he set out to accomplish through the challenges of colonialism, grief and female power which is deeply rooted in the African American experience. The film conveys the complexities and nuances of modern black life in the United States. These themes are communicated pretty well as we see T’challa deal with grief and how he eventually has to face it head on and that if you just push it away it has the power and ability to grow and consume you in the process as seen when T’challa thought that he was not fit to rule as he could not protect his father which ended up leading to his death as well as Killmonger as he tries to take over Wakanda and start war with the rest of the world because of what happened to his father which eventually leads to his death even though he was offered to be save by T’challa but says “Burry me in the ocean. Ancestors knew that death was better than bondage”. This makes the script effective because it can convey difficult topics head on whilst showing all the basic conventions of a script whilst also appealing to the target audience.  

 

Target audience 

The target audience for the film are people who are fans of Marval as well as the character of Black Panther which are usually young adults and teenagers between the ages of 16-34. The film is also catered towards the black community as most of the characters and cast are black as it shows the struggles and successes of being black. But I think that most of the target audience are people who want to watch the film, so they don’t miss out on the conversations about the film as well as the hype. 

 

Script format breakdown 

 

 

Tv script 

Click to access Euphoria (Pilot) 

 

Style 

The language used in the script is very descriptive but takes a long time to get to the point however it has all the basic conventions of a script as it has transitions such as “quick dissolve” and has slug lines such as “EXT. New York city- a sunny, cloudless day” and it has editing instructions such as “The Television clicks off. Plunging us into – black" and it has stage directions such as “As the camera dollies in on a therapist, hands clasped, a gentle smile. The script also has camera directions such as “Reverse dolly in”. All these conventions are helpful to the actors as well as the directors and other members of crew because it gives them an idea of what the scene is supposed to look like and gives them insight into how much needs to be done on set and how much should be left up to the editor. The script also describes actions in detail as the scrip describes the action as “A soft gasp of tears from LESLE, as rue looks up concerned” as the director is trying to explicitly trying to visualise what is going to happen on screen giving the actor less work with the delivery of the script on screen especially if the producer has a complete idea of the scene. As the show is mostly targeted to young adult and older teenagers the colloquialisms are very important to the show they can relate to the show. For example, when rue is talking to a character named Rando he says “for real, for real” this demonstrates their youth and their lack of professionalism, and this helps to quickly establish the characters and continue to reinforce their traits as they speak differently from each other as rue tends to speak with little to no colloquialism as she when she is narrating a scene “And I know it all may seem sad, but guess what? I didn’t build the system, nor did I fuck it up”. And as this is a series you can start to see a house style as the series progresses as you see that certain things are highlighted as it shows that different parts of the script were added to help assist the production crew. 

 

Content 

Being a TV script means that it doesn’t have space to make errors as it was a big project and had big expectations for it as it involved big time actors meaning it required extra information for special effects or other things such as venues even though the script may seem to have similar conventions to basic scripts it goes above and beyond the basic requirements of a basic script as it give detail about the actions the setting and the transitions as well as the camera shot and what it’s going to be of, and this is very useful as it is a drama about high school meaning these directions are very important as it also delves into complicated and hard to talk about topics such as drug use, overdosing, gender, sexuality, perfectionism, toxic relationships and mental health. The show is a non-linear multi stranded television series focusing on the lives of the main characters and her friends, the script does say what the characters should look like and in some parts, it says what they should wear however they don’t really have indications for props unless it is crucial to the scene so it gives room for improvisation for the director as well as the actors. 

 

Narrative 

Euphoria has a non-linear show that focuses on the lives of the main character her friends and the people she meets along the way. The has consistent flashbacks and follows a hectic fast paste to represent the lives of the youth and how it would feel to them but to as well keep the audience engaged and entertained as they will feel like if they look away, they will miss something  as it does not follow the traditional three act structure as it begins with the begging of rues life when she was a baby then it moves on to her drug use and her overdosing then it moves onto the party at McKay's house ending in rue meeting Jules. The equilibrium is of rue meeting Jules and becoming friends, but this is not the equilibrium for the whole series but just for the episode and they show this through the use of rues voice overs  

 

Genre 

Euphoria is a fictional teen drama that focuses on the lives of high school student as they grapple with issues such as drugs, sex, violence, identity and trauma and they do this through a non-linear non three act structure. 

 

Meaning 

Many themes are addressed through the first episode and take a serious but monotone view on the issues that are presented as it talks about drugs, overdosing, sexuality and trauma. Drug usage and overdosing it talked about as rue who is the main character has an addiction to drugs and had overdosed in the past causing her mother and sister to not trust her and trauma is discussed through it as rue’s mother and sister have trauma from her overdosing as well as Jules having trauma from her childhood from various things because she was unsure on how to approach her gender identity. These themes are pretty well communicated for example when they are talking about the drug overdose, they show it through a flash back and give detail as seen “RUE, unconscious, on the floor, splayed out in a pool of urine. She’s cyanotic. Her skin a faint bluish colour. And we realize the strange gurgling sound is her breathing stomach acid back into her lungs”. Each episode has to go into detail like this because it doesn’t focus on the same theme for too long and moves on each episode to focus on a different theme, but it will eventually return to the theme. 

Target audience 

Euphoria is a teen drama primarily aimed at older teens, young adults and mainstreamers as people may relate to the characters however it is more likely aimed at females as most of the characters in the show are female and the main character is female but because it is a multi-stranded show it does have a range of characters that we focus on each episode of different genders and personal identity. The age range is varied as the show shows more mature themes like sex, alcohol, drugs and trauma however it is based in high school attracting a younger audience, but it is on a streaming platform mostly aimed at 25–54-year-olds but the show is most catered towards 12–29-year-olds.  

 

Script break down 

 

Radio script 

Click to access How the Marquis Got His Coat Back 

 

Style 

The script has been written with a big focus on dialogue which is seen through the lack of building the soundscape as the writer has instead focused on giving emotional directions that influence the atmospheric sound. For example, the line “A beat. Richard takes a deep breath. He feels.... happy” is rather vague and ambiguous as it doesn’t really give any directions even though it is a stage direction however an atmosphere is created as it has a pause for dramatic effect and shows the feeling that needs to be created through the use of sound as the audience cannot see what is going on because it is on the radio. In some areas the directions are more specific and direct as seen when it says, “We track with the marquis as he moves on through the market”. This creates an image in the listeners head of what it would look like and sound like. The script does use colloquialisms as it is trying to present lower class people and showing how they are interoperated for example the term “bugger off” and “Mister jump the gun” is used which is a stereotypical British term that shows people's class. Although the character of marquis does not use colloquial terms often as he appears to be well spoken and articulate which could be used to show his class and that he is different from the rest of the characters and to show that he is the main character so the listeners can focus on him. There is no house style as this is a radio play and the script meets all the basic requirements of a script.  

 

Content 

The script contains many of the normal aspects of a script such as dialogue, character's introductions, directions but it does not have the transitions and stage directions or editing directions however because it is a play it has unique aspects such as FX directions that tell the sound crew/editors what sound should be heard or edited in it includes beats throughout that indicate pauses that the actors have to do however the instructions and directions in the script are limited giving the producer/director as well as the actors a chance to improvise and add somethings they feel that will suite the scene and if a description for the audio is given it is not full of detail and doesn’t give a full description of all that can be heard throughout the scene. The script also contains other things that are common to be seen in a script such as scene headers and where the scene is going to be set and the script has been catered towards the actors, so it is not filled with an overwhelming amount of information. The directions in the script are lacking as the scriptwriter has given only one-word directions such as “(yell)” and “(threat)” which only gives context than describing the action or tone or volume which should happen in the scene this lack of description allows the actors room for interpretation as well as room for improvisation. All the conventions of a script are important but for radio the most important is the dialogue and sound as without both because it would be impossible to convay the narrative without it. 

 

Narrative 

The story is shown through a linear storyline and follows the three-act structure as we follow a man named Marquis who is trying to get his coat back the first act of the play is Marquis asking around about his coat and meeting mushroom boy the second act is him being captured by the elephant man and escaping with his brother and then in the third act he ends up being captured once again by the sheep's and dogs and then he finally gets his coat back from the Shepard. The equilibrium of the play is that marquis gets his coat back and the disruption is that Marquis has gotten his coat stolen which makes him go on a journey to try and retrieve his coat and his capture by the elephants and sheeps is his attempt to repair as he is trying to resolve the problem which is the coat that he want back so desperately and then when he gives the letter filled with spores to the shepherd that has his coat he finally has his coat back  which is the main point of the play. 

Meaning 

The radio play is a fantasy-based play about Marquis trying to get his coat back which has an artefact in it which is extremely important to him the theme of the play is not straight to the point as it may seem as there is an aspect of love, fantasy and action. The play also focuses on homelessness in the dangerous unruly streets of London these themes are a side story to the main narrative especially to the theme of homelessness as the play focuses more on the story of the lost jacket and the dialogue rather than conveying the other themes as the other characters talk with lower-class accents which implies that they are some type of representation for the homeless, because the play is a fantasy it has a bunch of innuendos for example Marquis says “what remarkably blue eyes your owl has” which references back to the point in the play where the mushroom boy has blue eyes which insinuates to the listeners that the boy has been turned into an owl reinforcing the fact that it is a fantasy play and the use of the ambiguous language is used throughout the play which is due to it being a fantasy play but they do not use innuendos as the listeners would be confused as to what is going on in the play. 

 

Target audience 

Because the play is a radio drama the most likely age range for being the target audience is older people around the age range of 35-45 years old and since the main character and many of the ide characters are males the target audience is more likely to be male however there are many different kinds of representations in the play it can be catered towards a wide range of people. In terms of a secondary audience are people who are interested in radio and fantasy and are looking for something to put on the radio. 

 

Script breakdown 

 

Evaluation 

The formats for all three sectors are quite similar and all have the basic conventions of a script however the one with the most difference is the is the radio sector as it does not have transition lines and specific directions for the editing crew and the props crew and when it does give directions for the sound and direction it gives very vague instructions leaving them to interoperate what is meant by what is written down as well as  and gives a lot of room for improvisation unlike in the film sector as it very specific and detailed and get straight to the point just like in the tv sector however in the film sector it gives some freedom for improvisation in the editing and sound department as sometimes it won put what transition, camera angle/shot or sound should be used but the reason why the script is detailed for the film sector is usually because they are on a tight time schedule and cannot veer of it as they need to get the film done on time however in the tv sector it is detailed not only because they are on a time schedule but also because they usually have a low budget for each episode. The script that I found to be most effective is the tv script as it was detailed had transition lines and stage directions and was specific and let you know what type of prop, makeup and lighting is necessary for that scene and even put what type of clothes they need to be wearing if it’s necessary to know for the scene. However, I think the less effective script was the radio script as it didn’t have all the conventions for a script and gave very vague directions for the director and actors to follow which could lead them being unsure as to what to do for certain scenes which could delay recording time.