LO1 Task 3 - Analysis of scripts.

A) Style and Content

What type of LANGUAGE is the script written in? formal? Informal? 

What is the HOUSE STYLE of the script? Font style? What does it look like?

What is included in the script? Does it have acts (drama script)? What are the layout conventions? What is the mode of address (peer to peer, parent to child, teacher to pupil)?

All scripts are written in what font and size? 

Screenplays (TV/FILM/ RADIO) will have character descriptions. Why? 

Why would a computer game script also include a flow chart? 

How will presenter’s/characters sections be set out? Give descriptions 

Video games will feature a synopsis as part of the game play. Why? 

What type of scripts have stage/location directions? Give some examples of SD’s. Why are they important? 

How will sound effects be presented on a script? 

What does mode of address mean? 
Three types of mode to address
Peer to peer- This is very informal, slang would be used an.
Public to Teacher - This would be a lot more formal and there tends to be an element of learning with this.
Parent and Child - This would be more informal however, this would depend on the context. If there are providing something for the child for example advice the language may be quite formal.

What are the common narrative structures in screenplays? Give examples

All of the scripts that I have are written in formal language and this is down to the context of the scripts. All of these scripts should be in size 12 font and it should be written in Courier however, only one out of the four scripts follow this house style which is the 'Flash Gordon' script. It is important that it is written in 12 point Courier because it is a fixed pitch font whereby all the characters and space is exactly the same width. It is designed this way so that one page equals approximately one minute of screen time. Three out of the four scripts are set out in the conventional way and this is because those three require additional instructions. The American horror story, Jason Bourne and F.E.A.R scripts all have information about the location and this is so that when it comes to filming the directors and the film producers know where to film.

When it comes to the Video game scripts the designers use this information so that they can create the scene needed. All of this information is justified to the left of the script. All of the character names are in capitals and are to the left of the script along with what they have to say.

In some scripts the speech in italic and this is more for practical reasons not everything on the script would be for the actors so isolating the sections of the script make it easier for them. On the right hand side of the script there are the transitions and this for the camera work and the editing decisions. These are instructions for the editors on how to move onto each scene. For the Flash Gordon script, since that is for radio there is only one section which is the speech. It doesn’t need a description of the location or and transition you wont be able to se any of that. for this script all of the text is to the left. With the news broadcast script there are no names of the people, instead it is left as presenter A, B, or C so when it is decided who is doing what segment there names appear under A, B or C. Each report is split into items and are labelled as 'item 1, item 2' with the letter of what presenter is doing the segment.

   For all four of my scripts the mode of address is peer to peer, the samples of my scripts are of conversations between two people who seem to have no special connection. With the American horror story it is between a patient and a doctor, with Jason Bourne it is between the spy and a stranger. The other two are the same.
When looking at Video game scripts, there are usually in the form of flowcharts, and this is because many games have different ways that they can be played so you have to create scenes for each scenario. However with the F.E.A.R sample that I have the that isn’t the case, some games have only one way of playing the game so there isn’t need for a flow chart. This usually happens in racing games or in a minority of action games. What is usually very common for video game scripts is that they will have a synopsis at the start of the script. When creating a video game things like the script are made in the pre production stage they will often need to include a lot of information so that people who are further down the production stage know what needs to be done to complete it. The synopsis is a good way for everyone else to have an understanding of what direction to game should go in.
Most scripts like the ones for the ones for films and TV shows have stage directions and is do that the actors know what they should be doing as they say their lines. With the American Horror Story script, not only do the stage directions indicate what the actor/character should be doing it also tells them what the character should look like:

For some scripts like the radio one there will have sound effect on the script. With the Flash Gordon one they are labelled with what it is. Music is labelled as music and any sound effects are labelled SFX. However on some scripts this information is included in the description of the location and you wont tend to see it again until the next scene.
The mode of address is how the character speaks to the audience and there are three types, which are Peer to Peer, Pupil to Teacher and Parent to Child. With the American Horror Story script the mode of address between Dr Day and Vivien would be Pupil to Teacher. Normally the language used for the Pupil to Teacher is very formal and this is because there is usually an element of learning with this. In this script Dr Day is explaining to her what her problem was and giving her advice on how to better herself. This is different to the Jason Bourne script as this one is more of a Parent and Child. With this one person is the dominant one with the other one being more passive. In this script Marie is the more dominant one as she is try to comfort Jason who is in distress. The language is quite formal and this is because Marie is giving advice to Jason and this tends to be the case when there is an element of learning. In some cases Parent to Child can be informal as there is a personal relationship between the pair so the tone of the conversation would be more relaxed. The different with this script and the Flash Gordon one is that their two different types of mode of address as there are three people in this example who have two different conversations. The first one is between the Flash and Dale and this is Parent to Child, Flask is the dominant one in this case as he is the one who is caring for Dale and it taking on the role as the leader. The other conversation between Flash and Zarkov is Pupil to teacher with Flask now being the passive one and this is due to Zarkov being the main antagonist, since Zarkov is professor so the language between the two in very formal.

  B) Narrative Structure

-       How is the content put together? Single stranded? Multi – stranded? Linear, non- linear)

Out of my four scripts three of them are considered to be single stranded which are the American Horror Story, Flash Gordon and the Jason Bourne script. With the American Horror Story, the main protagonist is Dr Day who is the GP for Vivien. With a single stranded script having one protagonist means that the audience can feel empathy for the character as they can follow their onscreen life more closely. However in this instance the main protagonist is seen as the villain as he is trying to sleep with his patient and end the relationship she has with her husband. This creates a hatred for the protagonist as it goes against what the audience wants for the character. Comparing this to another single stranded script like the Jason Bourne one, the audience empathises with the protagonist as he is sen as the hero of the film. This makes the character more favourable to the audience so when anything happens to him that affects him in a certain way it also affects the audience. This level of connection between the character and the audience is with multi stranded scripts like the F.E.A.R script because there are more than one protagonist. It takes time for the audience the build a connection with the character so the less amount of time a character has the hard it is for this to happen. With the news broadcast script they have a running order, all news scripts start with the breaking news of the. The other reports are placed below that and are ranking in order of importance. The script will always go back to the breaking news from time to time, this is also done with the weather segment as there are constant update with the weather.



C) Genre 
Out of all of the example scripts four of them are fiction as they are created for the purpose of entertaining people. Most people prefer fictional material as it is a form of escapism for them away from some of the demanding responsibilities people may have. However not all fiction scripts offer escapism, one example of this is the F.E.A.R script. This is a horror so it is more for a thrill, people mainly look for escapism to experience something soothing and pleasant. This is different compared to the news broadcast script as that is non fiction, these scripts are educational and are based on true facts. The main purpose of these kind of scripts is to inform and/or educate the audience.  

D) Target Audience

Some of the example scripts have a similar target audience and that is down to the genre of the script. For example the target audience for the American Horror Story and Jason Bourne would be the same. 70% of the target audience is male with the other 30% being male. They would be in the age range of 18-24 and this is because the age restrictions for both these productions are both 18+, this doesn’t mean that younger people won’t watch it but it is only meant for people above the age of 18. The social grade of the target audience would be ABC1, this is because people in these classes would have enough disposable income watch the films and there sequels. The American Horror Story is a Netflix series so you would need a subscription to keep up with the series. Both of these would both be targeting the American populace as they are both based in America and are only available on the American version of Netflix. For the Flash Gordon script, the target audience would 80% male and 20% female and they would be in the age range 14-21 with the NRS grades being ABC1, C2, and D. It can reach a wider audience because it is on the radio; the majority of the population has access to a radio so spending power would not be an issue here. The intended target audience would more likely be for people in the UK as it is an English production also; it was only made available for radios nationwide so people in other countries would not know about it. For the F.E.A.R script the intended target audience would be 70% male and 30% female with the age range being 18 - 24. Gaming is very male dominant so 90% of the games that are released are aimed towards males and with regards to the age, a lot of the content in the game is suitable for adults as it is quite violent. Their intended target audience would also be international, most of the games that are released are made for international release and that is because people all over the world have console that can play the game. For the news broadcast script the target audience would be 50% male and female with and are in the age range of 16 - 50, the NRS social grade would be ABC1, C2, D. The news broadcast would have a wider target audience because the content on it is important and it affects a great number of people. Many people use the news a means of surveillance, whereby they can observe the world around them. Also, news comes in many forms to make it easily accessible anyone who wants it. The geographic of the target audience depends on the type of news broadcast. Some news broadcast like ITV calendar would be regional as that is mainly for the people of Yorkshire. ITV lunchtime news target audience would be nationwide as it includes news from across the country. However, with BBC news that would be international as that reports on news across the world.