unit11: Scriptwriting for media products

Brief

I was asked to create the script for my Unit 41 short film called After7/7, a story about how a young religious boy in Britten overcame his fears, it shows his path to get to where he is now and what gave him the courage to get there. I used real examples of scripts to help me do this, Scene 4.9: The room with a book (computer game script), Graphic5.1 A broadcast (TV news broadcast), Channel 4 documentary about eating disorder script and a radio drama script. I then got feedback from a client to help me improve my script.

Target audience

My target audience are 17 years old male but because I don’t have any actual graphics in my script that will harm anyone younger, I will aim for a 15 years old and over audience. For example in scene 9 of my script I had to show that one of the characters dies so instead of showing him getting stabbed I decided to go with the grocery bags falling and his hands hitting the floor with a voice over of the protagonist telling the audience how he dies get the point across without using any harmful graphics, this is called an enigma code. I went for a male audience rather than a female audience because the story is told from a male’s perspective, it shows his struggles and how he faced them, carl rogers (ideal self) I’m also aiming at an audience with a social grade of a B/C1/C2 who would have a medium disposable income, the places in my script are all in low income areas to show that the characters weren’t privileged and to show their struggles even more, this will help the audience connect with the characters and almost feel their struggles.

What the client likes and dislikes/ how can I improve and why it's important

From the feedback I got back from the client I found out that in order to improve my script I had to add the volume and bass to music and the parenthetical instructions of the dialogue to add more effect to the scenes. This is important because not only would it help the audience understand the narrative better, it would also help the actor understand how deliver each line.

Overall the client liked my script, she thought the storyline was really powerful and that it showed the struggles of teenagers in Briton finding their voice who have religious believes that isn’t always seen in positive ways. She also liked how the story is told from the protagonist’s perspective rather than news as it usually would.

Content of the script

The script language is written in both a formal and informal way. The character talks to the audience like they are having a peer-to-peer conversation but at the same time he's trying to inform them about an important subject that isn't talked about enough. Having both informal and formal text appeals to the audience because the majority of the audience I am aiming at are quit young and I find that younger audience are not that interested in educational things in there spare time but rather more chatty fun things, so this way it would be entertaining but also educational. The house style is set out like shooting script to make it easier to understand when filming the short film. The script includes the location and time of day at every new scene, under that in the left corner it has the shot type, special effects, camera angles, camera movement, camera direction and transition for shots. Under that it has a little description about the scene, what the characters are wearing and the set out. In the centre it has the characters name and their dialogue. The only thing I think I have missed off is the pitch of music and the way the character would deliver their lines. Setting out the script like this helps the director, actors and editor job much easier. It shows them what to do in each scene/ when the next scene is, camera work and how to perform the scene.

Legal and ethical issues

According to the BBFC rating of films, my short film should be appropriate for children under 18. The BBFC say that a film that portrays violence, illegal drug use, dangerous acts or explicit images of sexual activities, which may cause harm to public health is only suitable only for adults over 18. My short film doesn’t show or include any of these acts making it suitable for a younger audience.
The main way viewers under 18 may be protected from any harmful and offensive material is through the appropriate scheduling of programming. 9pm watershed is the crucial point in time where materials that are not suitable for children should not be broadcasted. After the watershed is when these programmes would usually be broadcasted, parents are expected to take responsibility for their children’s viewing. My short film would be suitable to broadcast at 8pm because it is suitable for an audience over 15 but it also has a strong message aimed at young adults. This way both target audience would see it.

Because I will be using music in my short film I would have to obtain permission from the publisher who own copyrights in a song in order to use that song. For example at the start of my short film I want a soundtrack from Spooky Black’s album to play in the background and in order to do this I would have to get in contact with him throw email to gain permission. I would have to use ASCAP to find the contact information for the music publisher. This is important because this way my short film wouldn’t be taken down or fined of copyright

There won’t be any labels in the short film, but if there were I would have to get permission from all copyright owners. I would also have to get permission from the actors and privet land owners using a release and consent agreement, this gives me exclusive permission to record, edit and distribute my short film with there name, voice, or land.

I will be using 5 different locations in my short film. 193 Wensley St. (house) I will be using different locations in the house for example attic, stairs, living room and front door, Wensly St. bus stop, local shopping centre, city centre train station, and Sheffield general cemetery trust graveyard. All the places I will be filming at are public so I would be able to film there freely except for the graveyard, I will be calling them up to ask for permission to film at their location.

The script is based on a real story that quite a few people have gone through, I’m trying to create a positive message so I think this would prevent slender, to make sure it doesn’t offend anyone in any way I will be double checking the film and removing/changing anything that would be seen as adhered or slander.