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Video and Film Script Writing

Is it a dream or a nightmare? You finally have it made--full production facilities for your project. The crew is looking at you expectantly, the talent is standing around waiting for direction, and behind you is a producer looking at all these expensive people and demanding to know what you are going to do. This is no time to be considering your alternatives.

Perhaps your vision is less grand. You turn on your camcorder in a room full of tenth-reunion college chums and realize that you have no idea what you should shoot.

Whether you're a professional working against a fast-running meter or you make video for fun, everything goes a lot easier when you figure out what you're going to do ahead of time. The two best tools for this are the script and the storyboard. It's true, some people can make videos with only a few notes written on the back of an envelope; but the more detail you have, the faster and easier production will go.

There are good reasons why successful videographers use these tools. First, they help you to organize and clarify your thoughts. Then they allow you to transmit your ideas to the other people who will be involved with the production. If you're going to edit in-camera, you'll know exactly what to shoot and how much. Finally, when you're on the set and everybody is looking at you, it allows you to take charge and look good.

A good script describes everything that the viewer will see and hear in the order it will be seen and heard. A script consists of words; videos consist of pictures. To visualize what they will shoot, many people use a storyboard. A storyboard consists of a picture that shows what the camera will see along with words that describe the s…