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1 Two Column Script PDF

The document provides guidance on writing a two-column script for video production. It explains that the left column should contain only video instructions written in all caps while the right column is for audio details. Each row should contain one shot and be as detailed as possible. Common audio and video transitions are also described.

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lorein.xu
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241 views18 pages

1 Two Column Script PDF

The document provides guidance on writing a two-column script for video production. It explains that the left column should contain only video instructions written in all caps while the right column is for audio details. Each row should contain one shot and be as detailed as possible. Common audio and video transitions are also described.

Uploaded by

lorein.xu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Writing a 2-column script

Two-column script

• Helpful means of organizing shots and


video

• ALL VIDEO information goes in the left


column

• ALL AUDIO information goes in the right


column

• Be as detailed as possible

• Use the ‘table’ function of your word


processor to create a 2-column table
Video Audio

• VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS • The audio portion of


ALWAYS GO HERE. the script goes on
• BE AS DETAILED AS the right hand side
POSSIBLE. and is double
spaced.
• VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS
ARE IN ALL CAPS.
• Descriptions and
actions should be
written in normal
caps
Video Audio

• 2-COLUMN FORMAT • Any additional


TIP: CREATE A 2- directions should
COLUMN SCRIPT BY be listed in
USING THE TABLE parentheses before
FUNCTION IN YOUR the copy.
WORD PROCESSOR.
• CHOOSE A 2-COLUMN • Also, indicate who
TABLE WITH 15-20 is speaking:
ROWS. ADD ROWS AS narrator,
NEEDED. character, etc…
Video Audio
• EACH BOX IN THE • (Special
LEFT COLUMN SHOULD instructions
CONTAIN NO MORE include details
THAN A SINGLE SHOT about the audio:
e.g., UP, UNDER,
ESTABLISH)
• EACH SHOT MUST
EXACTLY MATCH THE • Example___________
AUDIO (Theme music up,
establish, then
under)
Narrator: Water,
the single most
important element
on earth.
Video Audio

• ALSO IN THE LEFT • Be as detailed as


COLUMN: SPECIFIC possible with
VISUAL DIRECTIONS instructions, music
(CUTS, DISSOLVES), and sound effects
GRAPHICS, TITLES, • Write out
SPECIAL EFFECTS, everything just as
• Lower Thirds (NAME it is meant to be
AND TITLE). spoken aloud.
• Keep script
conversational
Sample Script Page

VIDEO AUDIO
FADE IN ON AERIAL SHOT – MCL field (MUSIC FADE IN: MCL HYMN )
1 with school buildings on the
background.
DISSOLVE TO L.S. – Students (MUSIC CONTINUES)
2 wearing different uniforms of
their intended professions.
CROSSFADE TO M.S. – Dr. Vea (MUSIC UNDER)
3 talking in an interview DR VEA: “MCL is the number one
school in CALABARZON…
CUT TO L.S. – Engineering (MUSIC CONTINUES)
4 student(s) in performing DR VEA (CONT’): …We provide our
simulations in the laboratory students with state-of-the-art
facilities…
DISSOLVE TO L.S. – MMA student(s) (MUSIC CONTINUES)
5 in the auditorium control room DR VEA (CONT’): …to make sure that
working on a production they learn hands-on skills…

DISSOLVE TO L.S. – Architecture (MUSIC CONTINUES)


6 student(s) in the drawing room DR VEA (CONT’): … That will help
presenting her/his plates then in their future professions.
Scripting notes
• Narration, dialogue should be as
conversational as possible and appropriate
for the characters

• Strive for natural flow and read copy


aloud once written

• Contractions, informal verbiage acceptable


if appropriate for topic
Scripting notes

• A great deal of information can be


communicated in seconds or minutes. So,
you have to write it as detailed as
possible.

• REMEMBER: 1 box per shot


Font: Courier
Size: 10

• Audio elements must match the actual


visual you want the audience to see.
Scripting notes

• TV is a visual medium, don’t be afraid to


exploit this and create visually
stimulating messages.

• Music and sound effects are also of


incredible importance, use them when
appropriate.

• Just like advertising, one key goal is to


“break through the clutter”
Production Elements

• Dialogue
• Action
• Standup (speaking to camera)
• Soundbite (Interview)
• Voice-Over with B-Roll
• Graphic Tag
5 most basic shot sizes that you
will use:
Close-up (CU)
• The close-up is one of the most common shot sizes
in cinema. It’s used when you want to highlight
the facial features of your character without any
other distractions in the shot. A typical close-
up shows the character’s face from their forehead
to their chin. However, there’s room for some
variation.
• An extreme close-up (ECU) goes further, often
showing nothing more than the character’s eyes.
Think of a classic Western in which two
characters stare each other down before a duel.
This shot draws the viewer’s attention to facial
features and expressions that would be lost in a
wide shot.
5 most basic shot sizes that
you will use:
Medium shot (MS)
• The medium shot or mid shot is somewhere between
a close-up and long shot. A typical medium shot
shows the subject from their head to their waist.
It’s close enough that you can still see their
face, while also including some of their body
language.
• You might use this shot when a character is
carrying an object or pointing a gun. Or, if
they’re sitting at a desk, you can show them
writing in a book, while avoiding wasting
valuable screen space on their feet or their
knees.
5 most basic shot sizes that you
will use:
Long shot (LS)
• A long shot is in some ways the opposite of a
close-up. It shows the character’s entire body in
frame, from their head to their toes. This gives
the viewer a better sense of the subject’s
surroundings, and conveys information that would
be lost in a close-up.
• One variation of this shot is an extreme long
shot (ELS), in which the character is so far away
they’re nearly lost in the frame or obscured by
their surroundings. Think of a character riding
off into the sunset, getting smaller as they get
further away from the camera.
5 most basic shot sizes that
you will use:
Single, two shot, three shot
• Another way to categorize a shot is by the number of
people in the frame. We call this a single shot,
a two shot, or a three shot, depending on how many
people are in it.
• Typically, you’ll combine this with one of the other
shot sizes we’ve already looked at. For example, you
might use a two-shot close-up for a scene of two
characters kissing. Three characters in an office
might call for a medium three shot.
POV
• Finally, there’s the POV or point-of-view shot. This
is used when you want the viewer to see what the
character is seeing or feel what they’re feeling. It
can be a static shot or you can combine it with one
of the camera motions that we’ll look at later.
Audio and Music transitions

A fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the


level of an audio signal. A recorded song or
music may be gradually reduced to silence at its
end (fade-out), or may gradually increase from
silence at the beginning (fade-in)
• You can write in on your script A.V. as:
(MUSIC FADE IN) or (FADE IN MUSIC), (MUSIC
FADE OUT) or (FADE IN MUSIC)
• (MUSIC FADE UNDER) or (FADE UNDER MUSIC) –
Meaning, the music gradually fades until it
becomes just a subtle background.
• (MUSIC CONTINUES) – Is written when the music
continues to another shot or transition or
scene.
Audio and Music transitions

Sound effects (SFX)


• effects that are imitative of sounds called
for in the script of a dramatic production
(such as a radio show) and that enhance the
production's illusion of reality.
• a sound other than speech or music made
artificially for use in a play, movie, or
other broadcast production.
You can write it in you’re A.V. script as (SFX
MOVING CAR) or (SFX: MOVING CAR)
Now its time to write!!!

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