Documentaries and other informational videos, such as the college reunion memorial, consist of scenes that may or may not include actors. Such shows usually have little or no dialog and often have a voice-over narration. The camcorder documentarian frequently performs double duty as the narrator. The two-column video format script serves the informational video production. The left (video) column contains descriptions of the shots and the right (audio) column contains the words spoken by actors or narrator as well as descriptions of music and sound effects.

While you can use it for dramatic material, this format is especially well adapted for videos and television shows that consist of a variety of shots with narration overlaid. It's easy to see the relationship of words and pictures; the words come at the same time that you see the pictures that are immediately to their left. Create this format as follows:

• Place video descriptions in the left column, single-spaced.
• Place accompanying audio descriptions in the right column, double-spaced.
• Type video descriptions and spoken lines in upper- and lower-case.
• Type the following in all-caps:
• Location descriptions.
• Transitions.
• Camera directions (i.e., PAN, ZOOM).
• Music and sound effects.
• Type the speaker identification in all-caps and underline. Place directions for delivery in parentheses.

There is one other script format that you may want to consider. The corporate teleplay format combines elements of the two preceding formats. Most of the script is written in film format, but any off-screen narration goes into a narrow column on the right side of the page.

To visualize scenes, you might consider making a storyboard in which a drawing of the expected visual represents each shot. Written remarks amplify the drawings: dialog or narration, camera moves and so forth. The storyboard helps make it cheaper and easier to solve your visual problems on paper before you ever break out the camera.

Some storyboards are works of art in themselves, with beautiful watercolor or computer-art pictures. But this is not necessary (unless you have an ample budget or budding artist in the family). Simple sketches with stick figures or nose-on-an-egg faces are fine. Feel free to include arrows to indicate movement. A long pan may consist of two pictures, showing the beginning and end of the pan, with an arrow connecting them, showing the direction of the pan.

Since each shot requires one or more drawings, you don't usually see storyboards for long projects. They are common in the development of high-end commercials but are too time-consuming and expensive for lengthy productions. However, you might want to use a few storyboard scenes to work out something that is difficult to envision or to explain to another crew member.

The time you spend creating a script or a storyboard is recaptured when you're under the pressure of shooting. You have already solved your creative problems and can concentrate on technical details. So next time you're on the set or at an event and everybody is looking to you to tell them what will happen next, you can whip out your trusty script or storyboard and take charge.

Gene Bjerke is a professional scriptwriter and author of the book Writing for Video

[SIDEBAR]

There are many computer programs that can ease your scriptwriting chores. These range from about $150 to $900 and have a variety of features. See the March, 1997, issue of Videomaker for a comparison.

But for basic scriptwriting in either film or video format, a good word processor will do the job if you know how to go about it. For example:

• Film format scripts. If you have a basic familiarity with your word processor, you should be able to create film format scripts with no trouble. You will quickly be able to create a handful of macros or styles (depending on your word processor) that will speed the process considerably.
• Video format scripts. Writing scripts in two columns and keeping everything together is a bit trickier, but you can do it. Just follow these guidelines:

• WordPerfect. The secret to writing video scripts in WordPerfect is to use its Parallel Columns with Block Protect feature. This keeps the video and its associated audio together through any number of changes and edits. Just make sure that you place only one shot and its accompanying audio in each block. You can even create simple macros to automate the formatting as you change from one column to the other.
• Microsoft Word for Windows. Writing video scripts in Word is easy if you use the Table feature. Create a table that consists of one row and two columns. You can set the spacing for the Video column to single-space and the Audio column to double-space. Then start writing.

To move from the Video column to the Audio column, just hit [Tab]. When you have written the accompanying audio, hit [Tab] again and the program adds a new row beneath the first one. Continue like this to the end of the script. Put just one shot and its audio segment in each row.

In either of these programs, you can add automatic scene numbering if you wish. Check your manual for details. In Word, make sure you set it up to insert only one number per row.

With a little practice, you can be knocking out scripts with either of these common programs as easily as writing a letter home.

Breakhead Sidebar: Script Abbreviations

• BG Background
• CU Closeup
• ECU Extreme closeup
• EXT Exterior scene
• type=box>FG Foreground
• FS Follow shot (pan)
• >INT Interior scene
• LS Long shot
• MCU Medium closeup
• SFX Sound effects