LO1 : Examples of different scripts

Line of Duty script, Example of a TV script 

Love Actually script, Example of a film script

How many miles to Basra, Example of a radio play 

Maze Game, Example of a video game script 

LO1: Analysis of different scripts

Language and angle of script

In looking at scripts and the language used its very clear that they are specifically encoded in relation to their genre, purpose and target audience and the relating conventions, I will analyse and contrast scripts from a range of medias to demonstrate key elements that contribute to script conventions.

 Love Actually is a romantic comedy brought out in 2003, in the script we can see language elements and conventions of the film genre 'rom-com'. The opening scene to the film is started with a voice-over, the voice over narrates a lengthy introduction which engages a happy emotion as he depicts a scene of love which is accompanied by visuals to depict this.
Language in this opening monologue is semi-formal, the script depicts lots of pauses in the speech and has 5 hyphens throughout to emphasis the importance of these breaks, by adding in these dramatic pauses it creates the effect of contemplation and thought making the reader seem very knowledgeable and wise in the topic.

In the second scene we see dialogue between two main characters, we see a conversation consisting of questions from Peter, this consistent question layout of the conversation is done to create comedy as well as establishing the relationship the two men have. The questions cleverly develop as the conversation unfolds, this adding to the comical element of the conversation as well as developing a backstory and personality for both characters.

This scene contains very informal language being used such as words like 'kidda' and the topic of prostitutes that is briefly mentioned, the contrast of the first 2 opening scenes is done purposely to demonstrate juxtapositions to keep the audience engaged and interested in the changing stories.
The informality of the conversation is a very common element that allows the audience to engage with the characters due to it being a very common language tool to add dialect and abbreviate words to suit certain situations and relationships.

Another script that demonstrates this informal language between characters is the radio drama 'How Many Miles to Basra'; In terms of language its written from a very informal perspective, we immediately see language such as 'Bollocks' and dialect such as 'Give us a drag', this imperfect grammar is to represent the dialect of the character and is recognised as very informal due to the errors in the grammar. Ursula as a character is meant to be Irish, to properly give this idea of the characters background it's important for dialect and specific words that have Irish heritage to ensure that the listeners achieve the escapism that the show provides.

In opposition to the very informal language demonstrated in Love Actually and How many miles to Basra we also are shown in radio and tv that extreme formal language and abbreviations can demonstrate particular job types e.g the police/army/nurses
The Line of Duty TV script has very specific elaborated code related to the genre of the programme, the crime drama is heavily based around police officers therefore the jargon used is very specific to the UK police force, this is even more emphasised due to the speech in the scene being over radio communication. The repetition of the word 'copy' to emphasis the use of radio communication as this is a known word in police context with the meaning of understanding and acknowledging the previous comment.
By including this specific language in speech between the officers it makes the scene more believable and factually accurate, this building up the escapism aspect of the programme for the audience. The language in particular is very formal and in simple sentences this once again relating to the mode of communication, by speaking in such short sentences it connotes not only efficiency but importance of speed in the situation this alerting the audience of the situation of the scene.

The lack of conjunctions also adds to this theory, the absence conjunctions such as 'ands' and 'the' connotes to the time limit on the conversation and once again conforms to conventional communication across radio and between police officers.
The first scene is very mysterious and initiates a sense of intrigue for the audience, the lack of understandable information connotes that the audience is older as they are receiving gratification from the intellectual puzzle (Rick Altman 1999).

Similarly to Line of Duty the radio drama does also include this elaborated code to demonstrate army presence, by the radio show not having any visuals its even more important and emphasised.
The rest of the characters in this first scene are all soldiers as they are transporting Ursula, a news reporter through Iraq, this is clear that there is some military presence due to specific jargon used between soldiers. The clear acknowledgement of higher ranking soldiers such as '1530 , boss' demonstrates this dynamic in the radio drama, and especially in radio shows where visuals cant be used to demonstrate costumes army jargon is crucial.

The only script that is completely contrasting to the film, radio and tv scripts is the video game script, this script doesn’t have any set speech in this planning document and is focusing on a more action and response element. The video game script doesn’t have to be so heavily planned in terms of speech due to this script is the only one accommodating for such a high level of interaction from the target audience. Due to the audience actually physically playing the storyline this means that the dialogue isn’t as higher priority as it would be in a film script and instead the script for ‘Maze Game’ is instead a script based on the action that will unfold dependant on the decisions made by the player.

Format and Layout

In the format layout of all 4 scripts there are noticeable differences dependant on the type of media they are depicting, the conventional font for all scripts is courier and normally the font is either 12 or smaller, this due to the mass of information that needs to be applied to a script. 

Due to scripts being used by a huge number of people on a team it means that information relating to many different job roles is needed, in terms of a film script the number of job roles who would have to have access to that script is huge. Not only roles such as producer, director and actors need to read the script but so do cameramen, cinematographer, costume designer and sound technicians etc. because of elements such as timing and plot line that effect so many other job roles throughout.
Another convention that visual-based scripts that makes them unique is the character descriptions given on the scripts, this allows a brief background and personality of the characters, this brief description is normally placed when they are first introduced into the movie/tv show. This script direction once again gives direction not only to the actors but to the cinematographers and costume designers who also control how the characters are perceived.

A computer game on the other hand normally doesn't have these in-depth character dialogue or even a introduction and the script is a flow chart, this being a very contrasting to a film or even a radio script as they are mainly very word heavy scripts with masses of dialogue throughout.
Video games are a very different type of media however and the interactive aspect that is such a huge element to the media needs to be drafted into the scripts, this is done throughout the flow chart as demonstrated through the example, it allows different pathways to be planned in advance in anticipation of the user controlling the pathway of the game.

Dependant on what type of script looked at characters and presenters are portrayed very differently, normally in film/tv presenters are placed on the line above the dialogue in a differentiating font e.g bold or capitals, this slightly differing in radio where the name of the character/presenter is placed at the left of the dialogue however both of these formats are clear for the reader to follow and understand when reading.
In terms of a video game script the dialogue isn't the focal point of the script instead the most important element of the script is the actions of the characters. This means that characters are mentioned in the flow sections describing the characters actions this doesn't really allow them to be introduced like they would be in film or radio. In my script i am analysing characters that are referred to as character#1/ #2, this really emphasising the importance of the action rather than the dialogue or background of the characters.
Video games on the other hand do have a synopsis that normally features at the beginning of the game play this acts as a character description and gives a brief description of what has happened in the game storyline so far and what characters purpose and backgrounds are. This is not shown specifically on the script i am analysing but will be shown in the first flow chart segment 'initialise game'.

Scripts that have stage directions are conventionally visual this being due to the characters having to move around the scene to coordinate with their character and other requirements of the script therefore this has to be included into the script as a stage direction, any movement that characters make in a scene is encoded and written into a script, the specification of stage directions can depend on how structured a script is, in the script 'Line of Duty' the opening scene to the episode is heavily written with stage directions structuring the scene.


In radio scripts a vital element is the sound effects added due to it being an audio only media, the sound effects allow a large element of escapism even just listening to the show, to show the sound effects on a script however it is presented on a separate line, in the radio script 'How many Miles to Basra' we see the sound effects added with the initials 'F/X' and then followed with descriptions such as 'heat and constant buzz of insects', the sound effects are very clearly shown and emphasised due to their importance to the script.

Style 

The style of my 4 scripts are all differing in terms of narrative structure, narrative structure is how the story is told throughout the scene and the aspect of chronological placing of clips.
In the TV script 'Line of duty' we see a single stranded script, this being due to Arnott being the main protagonist of the script and the scene revolving mainly around him with minor other characters that are filling other dialogue around him. This is one of the most popular narrative structures due to it being easy to follow and allowing a character to build making them more likeable to the audience.

The script of 'Love Actually' is a multi-stranded script that focuses on a group of storylines that we see intertwine throughout, the fact that we are following not just a singe protagonist unlike the TV script but a group of characters throughout can be a fuller more confusing timeline but allows a lot more contrast and climax for the audience this making it a gripping script.

The radio programme 'How many miles to Basra' is another single stranded narrative, it follows the protagonist Ursula as she travels through the country, as a radio programme it is slightly easier to follow a single stranded narrative due to it being only audio if you had a big multi stranded structure the mass of voices could be confusing for the audience, this being similar if you had a non linear, as it would be hard to audibly demonstrate the jumps in time.

In terms of a video game the script is a flow chart this making it hard to initially see the narrative structure due to the lack of dialogue however the actions do depend on a linear strand that is chronological even with the unknown actions the player would take it would all be in a linear strand to allow the game to make sense.

Three Act Script 

In looking at Todorov's (1977) theory based round the narrative structure containing a beginning, middle and end, we see this appearing in so much media produced today but it has also been used by writers such as Shakespeare and Aristotle this demonstrating that the style is proven to be hugely successful throughout literature.
The three acts that the title eludes to are; a setup, a confrontation and a resolution, these 3 steps should make a full storyline and leave the viewer feeling content that the plot has been completed.
The first act is where we are introduced to the characters and this is normally where the genre is discovered and normally an inciting hook for the audience is revealed.
This plot device is seen in the 'Line of Duty' script, we are introduced to an immediate hook for the audience due to the sudden danger we are introduced too.

The second act is the largest portion, we are normally shown a growing climax with a clear midpoint where the protagonist decides a clear plan that normally incites a crisis towards the end of act 2,
The resolution normally resolves the crisis and restores faith into the protagonist as well as tying up any loose ends leaving the audience satisfied with the ending due to the feeling of conclusion this brings.
The resolution aspect of the three act script can be seen in the video game script example where we see a definite ending to the plot and the game is ended, this clearly demonstrating the resolution that ends the storyline.
The three act structure is used in many films such as Titanic, Silence of the Lambs and Thelma and Louise, this demonstrating the success of the structure, however it is also used in radio dramas and tv to hook and keep the audience entertained.