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The Art of
the Blueprint
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I remember reading
the screenplay of Witness for the first time. It had won the Academy
Award® for Best Original Screenplay six years earlier, and I was preparing to take a
class from its co-author, William Kelley. Right from the opening, where the Amish
folk are walking through grassy fields to attend a funeral, the scene descriptions are
masterfully drawn and so succinct that I still marvel at them. The dialogue
throughout is crisp and simple. Nothing stops the flow of the action or the unity of
effect.
I still think of that script when I write, and I
remember what William Kelley said about it: “It’s not literature, it’s just
a blueprint.” True, it may not be Moby Dick or A Map of the World,
but it did win an Oscar, and that certainly bumps it several notches above a production
outline.
Kelley wasn’t disparaging his work. He
was making a point. No matter how good the story you create, how interesting the
characters or how clever the plot, it’s not a decent script unless it maps out how
the production team can bring it to the screen. He hammered away on the importance
of script mechanics, on giving directors what they need to “see” a story,
without overwhelming them with minute details.
I’ve tried to carry that lesson from
screenwriting to scriptwriting. I’ve experimented with script formats and
features, asked producers about what they need and what they like, and, of course,
produced several of my own scripts. The result is the two-column format that I use
today, and this is what it includes:
- Numbered Scenes and Subscenes
in bold type two point sizes larger than the body of the script. Scenes are the
building blocks of the show. They should be easy to locate and all their elements
clearly identified.
- Camera Moves and Transitions
in italics. The descriptions chart how one image becomes another.
The italics are so the camera operator or D.P. Can easily pick out what he needs to know.
- Audio Spaced to Scenes.
Narration, music and sound effects located directly across from their corresponding
visuals. There is no other way to demonstrate the planned timing of shots.
- Time Code for Existing Footage. Window dubs enable a conscientious writer to be picky about
both content and visuals. Identifying selected scenes in the script passes that
advantage along to the producer and the editor.
- Transcriptions of Existing
Interviews. Script reviewers want to see the full text of interview bites
right in the script. Producers need it to accurately estimate B-roll requirements.
I ask clients to provide me with transcriptions on disk and charge extra to do
extensive transcriptions myself.
- Scripted Graphics.
Transitional effects, titles, graphics beds, SFX and technical illustrations should
be described in enough detail that the client, the producer, and the graphic artist can
“see” them. There is no other way to know if they will work, if they are
affordable, or if they fit the planned style of the show.
- Notes and Endnotes.
As many as are needed to explain choices, offer options, alert reviewers and the
producer to potential problems, and raise questions to be answered in the revision stage.
Notes should always include an estimated TRT for the finished show.
- Complete Scene and Graphics
Breakouts. Word processing makes it relatively easy to create lists of scenes,
props, graphics, characters, archival footage, and the rest–all with page numbers.
These breakouts are indispensable not just for navigating the script but for
budgeting, production planning and delegating tasks.
If you’re a producer, every script you pay for
should have these basic elements. They may not make a script sexy, but they sure
make it easier to produce, and that can’t help but take some of the heat out of your
busy summer.
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