M1 script formatting

 Rules:

We are writing a shooting script- because of this is the most appropriate as we are including some specific technical intrusions for the director and the producers. A spec script is to secure the money whereas the shooting script goes onto the set and is used as a production document. 

The set standard script for the industry says that it has to include the slug line, action blocks, dialogue, the character's names have to be written in CAPITALS and all of the action blocks have to be in present tense. 

If the speech needs to be said in a certain way, parentheticals are used (between the speech and character name). The industry standard is a courier size 12 font as this makes 1 page equilivant to one minute of screen time so 20 pages is approximately 20 minutes.

Formatting: 

As shown in the diagram (see below), there are different industry standards for different things. One of these things is known as indentation which is all to do with alignment and where things have to be located on a page. 

1. Action blocks and Scene Headings are aligned furthest to the left (Scene headings must be all in capitals)

2. Dialogue is indented further in towards the middle and text is directly under it towards the middle left of the page.

3. Transitions are indented to the far right hand side. 

Type: TV episodic drama

Genre: Crime, supernatural

Angle of the Article: Written from a 3rd person perspective but follows the character Connor around. Occasionally, there are POVs from him. 

Non-linear: Sporadically there are flashbacks.

Single-stranded: Follows one person completing a single task. 

I have done this layout in my script as you can see below:

P4 Script first draft

 

My Script (1st draft)

 

                                                       My Script FEEDBACK (1st draft)

P3 Script Planning

 

P2 Developed Ideas

My first idea is when Connor swaps into the body of Keiran, one of the guys who initially broke into his house- he is forced to relive the burglary but he is the one orchestrating it this time. I took this idea forward as it would expand on the world I'm creating and would hopefully hook the audience (who's into crime shows) to continue watching. Additionally, choosing this would help me set the tone for my show- that it is has dark themes and doesn't shy away from showing violence in a realistic way. 

My second idea is the first body swap where Connor, after the first burglary occurs, wakes up in the body of his mother and finds out that he's reliving the same day over and over. Although I will have to write some build up beforehand so the pay off makes sense, this is an obvious choice as it sets up the entire theme for my show and hopefully expresses it in an interesting way so people will want to continue watching my show.