TV SCRIPT
Handmaids' tale
STYLE
Language is used in the opening pilot scenes of the Handmaid's tale to highlight and convey a growing tension and animosity that is building between the characters. It can be argued that this growing tension in the first scenes sets the tone for the rest of the script as it is clear something unfortunate is going to happen. An example where tension is shown in the script through the writers' directions is “JUNE (28) gets out. Carelessly pretty. On a normal day, she is feisty and capable. But today she is fighting panic.” The writers' directions are used to create a sense of panic within the scene and to show how June is supposed to be acting.
The writers' directions are being used in the same way a director's actions would be conveyed. Colloquial language such as swearing is also used in the scene. This is to reflect the challenging time panicked situation the characters are in. The line “But she isn't going to outrun them” shows how the writers' directions are almost telling the actors what to do and giving them hints to the next part of the story much like what the directors' actions should do.
The Handmaid's tale is intro perspective and nonlinear as it puts different narratives of Offred's past and present events together and focuses one her recollection of one event.
CONTENT
Scene headings, transitions, directors telling the actors what to do and dialogue with character names above them which are all conventions of a script are used in the Handmaid’s tale. The scene headings are used to communicate where the characters are what is happening in the scene.
The writer's directions are used to tell a story in the pilot script and the directions are also slightly informal an example is ‘she ran for her life’ which is hyperbolic as the actor is not actually going to run for her life, but it highlights what the writer wants the actor to convey.
The Handmaid's tale is nonlinear, so the 3-act structure is more difficult to identify here as it cannot be seen as clearly as a beginning middle and end as the story is a recollection of Offred's memories.
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
The Handmaid's tale is nonlinear and includes flashbacks and repetitions throughout the series. This impacts the narrative as flashbacks are designed to break up the chronological order of a scene and make the narrative more interesting and realistic as they allow the audience to connect with characters and engage with their storyline. The first scene presented creates tension in the narrative and sets the scene up for later in the show as June’s daughter Hannah is taken away and as audience members that are watching it creates a tense and panic filled atmosphere.
The Handmaid's tale is written in a non-chronological time sequence as the narratives are put together based on Offred's recollection of memories.
MEANING
Some of the main themes in the Handmaid's tale are gender roles and manipulation of power which is conveyed through Offred's use of storytelling and memories another key theme in the Handmaid's tale. Gender roles are clearly shown as a main theme in the tv show as the society they live in Gilead is extremely patriarchal this is shown in the script as in this dystopian fantasy all the women in society have been fired once they go to war. Manipulation of power is a key theme, and it is seen through higher officials in society the use of figurative language in the script shows the theme of manipulation. This is specifically seen when the commander uses his power to intimidate Offred into having an affair.
GENRE
The genre of this script comes under the categories of a dystopian sci-fi tragedy.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The Handmaid's tale is recommended for a target audience over the age of 13 as the story contains a lot of graphic scenes. It is also recommended to males and females with socio political interests because the show talks about ideologies, laws, and practices which links to the handmaiden's tale as the laws have completely changed, they also live in a society where the government state and church are combined which can encourage conversation with people who enjoy talking about socio political topics because the Handmaid's tale is all about how ideologies, laws and practices have changed and what is the repercussion of those changes which links to the handmaiden's tale as the laws have completely changed, they also live in a society where church and government state are combined this can provoke a discussion with male and female individuals who enjoy talking about socio political views.
This is a clear effective script.
SCRIPT ANNOTATION
TV SCRIPT
MODERN FAMILY
STYLE
Language in Modern family is used to convey a lighthearted and humorous tone. The show is filmed like a documentary therefore in the script there are a lot of camera cues and stage directions that the writer added in the script for the actors to be able to follow. For example, when Phil is talking to Claire before he delivers his next line the script says that he must “glance towards the camera.” This almost breaks the 4th wall between the audience and the actors as it is like Phil is directly speaking to us as audience members. There are many specific actor instructions underneath their lines for example Claire is “shouting out” so it specifically shows us this in the script the writer lines are showing how the actress is supposed to act and what she is supposed to do and say.
CONTENT
The same layout of a basic script is included in the modern family script there are scene headings an example is “EXT. SUBURBAN AMERICAN STREET – DAY" there are allows other codes such as (O.S.) which shows where someone is offscreen. The layout of the script is effective to show a comical narrative and it shows very clearly what a script should look like and adds extra instruction to show what actors should do.
Modern family is a multi-strand narrative that follows a 4-act structure in chronological order and the tv shows follows multiple different families all at once meaning there is no main character as the story circulates around 3 main families.
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
Modern family is a multi-strand narrative that follows 3 main families the Dunphy family, the Pritchett Delgado family and Cameron and Mitchell's family. The story follows their own 4 act structure. At the beginning there is an introduction to the Dunphy family and Luke is playing soccer. In act two of the narrative Cameron and Mitchell and the Pritchett Delago family are introduced and we can investigate both family's individual lives and in act two we see scenes like Luke and Manny playing soccer. In the middle of act 3 we see Jay, Gloria, and Manny in the mall and finally in the final act all the individual families come together to see Michael and Cameron's adopted daughter Lilly.
MEANING
Themes such as homosexuality, adoption and age differences are all discussed in the pilot episode of this sitcom. However, due to the comical tone of the show the issues surrounding these themes are indirectly discussed. For example, in act two when a lady in the wheelchair comes up to” Cameron and Mitchell and says Look at that baby with those Twinkies.” Mitchell responds and says “Yeah, it's funny, isn't it? Hilarious! This baby would have grown up in a crowded orphanage if it weren't for us "twinkies" and I'd think someone like you would have a little sympathy for people who are a little different than --.” However, Cameron slaps him as Lilly was holding the cake twinkies. This shows how the modern family indirectly uses humor to talk about serious issues and discrimination that people might face in this case homosexual couples and disguise these challenges with humor. This impacts the narrative as it creates a less serious tone and can still spread awareness of pressing topics without it coming off too heavy and keeping the lighthearted tone of the show.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The age rating for modern family is PG. They target a range of family types through their representation of different families as nuclear, same sex and couples with a large age difference are all represented in the show which will then intern attract people with similar types of families and encourage them to watch the show as they are being represented. Males and females from upper-middle class families may also be more inclined to watch this show as all the families that represented and featured in the show are wealthy and few economic problems.
SCRIPT ANNOTATION
FILM SCRIPT
Shaun of the dead
LANGUAGE
The language style used in the opening scene of the script Shaun of the dead is used to create a tense atmosphere and foreshadow that something bad is going to happen in the script. This is shown by the writer's direction on the script where it says ‘spooky noises. This immediately alerts the viewers that something is not right. This is a simple liner narrative as the main character Shaun only has one goal in mind which is to rescue his mum and girlfriend and defeat the zombies.
CONTENT
All the usual elements for a script are included in this script, however there is little writers' directions on the script. The narrative form being used is a linear narrative structure.
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
In the film Shaun of the dead, it is a linear narrative that focuses on the maturation of Shaun as he is trying to save his mum, girlfriend, and best friend from zombies. The play follows a 3-act structure. The equilibrium is Shaun is salesman who lives a regular life with his girlfriend. The disruption is his girlfriend breaks up with him and his housemate Pete gets bitten by a zombie and there is a zombie an apocalypse in London. The recognition of disruption is when they realize is when Shaun and ed realize there is a zombie apocalypse in London and form a plan to rescue his family however their plan fails. The repair is Shaun and Liz escape together however ed gets bitten by a zombie and so did Shaun’s mum and stepdad Paul. The new equilibrium is that civilization returns to normal with the remaining zombie killed or used for manual labor and ed is kept in Shaun's basement where they play video games. This impacts the narrative as it is a horror comedy so even though aspects of the script are supposed to be scary there is also a lighthearted tone surrounding the film.
Genre
Fiction horror/ comedy.
Meaning
Themes are responsibility, maturation, and friendship as throughout the narrative Shaun matures and works on his family relationships like when he makes peace with his stepdad Paul later in the script.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The main target audience for this script is aimed at males who enjoy the horror comedy genre. This is because the main character of the movie is an older male, and we see most events through his perspective. Also because of the horror elements of the film the film is rated 15+
SCRIPT ANNOTATION
Mean girls
STYLE
The language in mean girls is used for humor purposes and is intended to make the audience laugh. This creates a fun and lighthearted tone to the movie and highlights to the audience that this is meant to be a funny movie. The writer gives lots of special directions to the actors through the script this is seen when it says ‘Cady comforts her mother’ which shows the writer writing special directions for the actors to follow in the script.
CONTENT
All the basic elements that are in a script are used included in this script. However, there are also extra conventions used such as voice overs and flashbacks that occur quite regularly in act 1 of the script. The scene cuts away from the original narrative a lot to show other scenes related to what Cady is talking about. For example, when cady is talking about being homeschooled it cuts to a scene of a girl in the Harvard spelling bee championships. “INT. The Script Howard Spelling Bee.” It is a linear narrative as cady has one goal in mind making it through high school.
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
The script is a linear narrative that follows a 3-act structure. The beginning is about cady navigating through high school as she makes friends with “The Plastics” and Damien and Janis. The disruption is Regina (leader of the plastics) betrays cady. So, Damien and Janis decide to ruin her school life, however cady ends up turning into Regina. The recognition of disruption is Cady realizes this and tries to rectify her actions and get her old friends back. New equilibrium everyone is happy and school life is back to normal.
GENRE
The genre of this script is a teen comedy drama. Fiction.
MEANING
The main themes presented in this script are friendship and school life. This is directly shown in the script through Cady’s language and how she talks about her school life beforehand and how she is feeling about her new life. Friendships is also a common theme in the script a throughout the movie cady navigates through different friendships and a new lifestyle.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The target audience may be teen girls above the age of 13 who are just beginning high school/year 9. The script is targeted at a female audience as most of the main characters in the film are females and the main character Cady is a girl meaning we see the whole show from her perspective the female perspective. Teenagers interested in fashion may also like this film as throughout the film the girl's outfits and the colour pink are constantly referenced.
SCRIPT ANNOTATION
RADIO SCRIPT
BANG UP
STYLE
The style of the script is mostly focused on character dialogue as it is a radio drama about boys in prison. Dialogue is the most important in a radio script as stage directions are not used in the radio script, so we are solely reliant on the actors' dialogue to be able to tell us the story.
CONTENT
All the basic things of a radio script are included in this radio drama Bang up. However, because it is a radio script it has special conventions such as FX directions that tells the sound engineers what sound needs to be heard. There are scene headings and transitions in this script.
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
Bang up the radio drama is structured like a normal linear narrative with a storyline.
GENRE
Drama.
MEANING
The script is used to show and present life in prison for young teenage boys. The script shows the problems they face and how Emma the prison worker helps them and their family through their individual problems.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The target audience for bang up is 15+ teens as some of the dialogue used in the script is used to target as certain colloquialism used in the script is used to target a younger audience.
SCRIPT ANNOTATION
RADIO SCRIPTS
RUDY’S RARE RECORDS
STYLE
Rudy's rare records is a comedy and dialogue is used in the script to show humor.
CONTENT
It has all the script conventions of a regular script plus FX directions that tells the sound engineers what sound needs to be heard.
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
The script is structured as a linear comedy.
GENRE
Comedy
MEANING
The dialogue is used in the script to convey humor and a lighthearted tone to the script.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The target audience for this script is young adults.
SCRIPT ANNOTATION
EVALUATION
The formats in the film, tv and radio scripts are similar because of the conventions their scripts include. For example, they all have character dialogues and scene headings and the layout for all these sectors are similar.
They also differ because of the type of language used within each script sector. For example, FX directions are only included in radio scripts and not tv or film scripts.
In my opinion, the most effective script is the tv script, specifically the modern family script. This is because of the layout and the specific writer's directions the actors must follow, which makes the script easier to follow and understand for the actors and the audience members.
The least effective script, in my opinion, are radio scripts. This is because radio scripts have no writers' directions, and the storyline is hard to follow and not clearly written or shown through the script.
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