;fi

Sei l'rvsiter

VYnitllng lor iiiiralarncarsi; N4[ecj]ln

A seireempltay or scnlp tis abiweprint fbi. 'profuaatngu rn"otion-plcture" Screenpllays anp

either aCaptations fron'r previous works (surela as a novcl, pJlay, TV-slhow, or slnont story)or onginal worlis. .\ scrcenplayTiiTils trreirnir it serirpt ill 'lliil;,lri it is lllolc s1p,oc;ificalny {iurgotccn

at th.e visriraX, narrative afts, sueh as film and television, wl'lereas a scnipt aanr invollve a

Yt'lweprirrt al't'whul happcns" in a conti,r:, alr ar.,rilvod.i:;slr,'rsn1l., arr tliileatricall p,{ay arne11 otllfrrer

" bl'"lep:inted " creations.

Ttrte mLa.jor eomponents of a sereenplay arc g€lion @dialqgue, wirila tllae "action" being"what we see happening" anC "dialogue" buiolg **ha,t tine aTdffiaters say". llJlae elaaraeters,

when first inkodriced in the sereenpnay, nnay also be desanihed visuLallJly. Scn'eemp)lays

diflfer fl:om tr:aditionatr lliteratllre cculrvcu,lliieuls iila rxvlti'ys cllescriil[rocll hcllow; l]l,trwa:vrlr,

sereenplays ntay not involve emrotion-rella'tecr ciiesarrip'ilorns a,r,tril orllheLr aslpccts of rlJhe stony

that a:re, tn faclL, visual within the end-p;rodulct.

A serip/;writcn is a pcrson whc wntes scripts for m,ovies, plays, ileJlevision, comedy

shows, pciitieal speeehes and other;oresenta'rions. Seiriptr*n'iting is noriahly diffenent ftoan

witillg novels in its brevify: thc ar/e,:age ;fu.lI-length ifuat:ui:e movie se;reernplay is between95 and i25 pages.

TIC_qas;c @iitrerences bctn /ecn _ryery!_oi@g_r-mnqdlA

trt's diffieurlt,io eomc aeross a tDerscr" wno's ma..de a gccd frirn of a baLcjl senipt. Tlhe fotlndatlon of a

t;roduee: a rctt af iinue, etergy artd irrtpc(e.rlt1,y, :3xsv,s, .

Scrip'tv,lnttng tnvaives vrsuanisation anc;;u'fi.ir,g it i,n v'rorcls axx pe.pe,(. V/lhile one neecl rnot he a{ihakes:sea.re or V/ordswo fth or e'verr lFraneis ':}arJan, iti cioes re,quire an aspinimg seripliwrlten to be

wenl-reaci" updtated alldl wenl-infomred" Ar good vocaburiary amd tLle ahilliiry to tlhink creatlivelly alldwrite shoffi but effeetlve scntenecs p:aekeeil lviiih rrneaning are tlhe hasie requinenaents of a

scniptwri'rer.

While pointing out'rhe dif,f,erences in'anlirrg for print, radio and tenevrsioll, tllrris see'tion wilil layrJ,o'wn ite func-a.rr'ente,i r:rinci^;\es involvec, :.'r, vr'";':::.i; ic': ':iir sCr?;e;1fi.

Le[ us begin 'uitk a srmall exe,eise.',llzitcin awrirnet tirme nev/s hulle'rin" ]R.eeond the atldio of ttlae

first three stories in the bulletin on your iapc ieeorcer. 'ihe next morning, connparre the sto,nies youhave neeor.ciied wirth iihe stories printeci inr. ,ihe newsrcaper. lFLilntlhroi", folldi a slhaalt olr- tpapen tvertioalllly

and write dcwn what ycu iear froyni'ne:,z.pe::cccrd,si cn thc ieift I'land sidc of the page. Copy tX'le

first two 'paragrapks af 'the story f,ro,rn Toir r;o:'vvsparter o:ir 'r;he riglht hand slde. Rcad bolrih of trnenn

alouC. 3c you c-bserve a differenee :n tne';tzy'.7,e lr.evlsicri a,neihor/ncporte,r s,poke a;n'd tlrenewspaper TeLDor$\er: \\)t'ote? lflhat's b'er::irL::l 'llt'c r'rlr.rr'l'./;rrrrrt:lnlir sproiKc lklr yourr c{rrs. Bult rlX'ro

newspaperf retporter wrote tne s{tory .for ycrii 3yc" 3:c,"::s c:l tolevisl'on are Jistened lo and seen.Stonies in a newspaper arc yead. Thatis the dlf',ri.er.-enec.

lnlext, tunc ini:"o a fuJk slh.ovr o;: a fr,iom-:oa.se'a sitcvt r>::, 'r.cle yislon anC observc how the host speaks.Tlney spealk as iiitihey ane tallking to ycu" ilhey sroeak the ilangt-nage you speak. lfhat's beeause theywant you to unrdenstand wlnat they ane saying in one go. llil you don't understand a sentenee orwond in a newspaper, you can read it omce again to uncle;rstand it. tsut o;n television, that's not tl,leoase. llhenef,one, wtaat's said on televislon has to be elear, has to be in a language that's easy tounderstamd. Imrfaet, you.jrr-rstl have to he a.hle tc speck the trangu.age being spoken on television. Torr.nmdenstand wiflat's wnittcm in a newstoaper, you need to know hcw ta read.

So, when you wnite fon video you wnnte infornnally. Vou vrzrite colloquially. You write as if youane addlnessi ng e,ack pejrsoni sitfr.ing ir,, f;:oni of ':";rc ':e'!<:vis j,.-:i sei.

R.ead the fiollowing exarmpJle. Notice tlae difFcrenee rn wntlng for a newspaper and wrrting fortelevisiom"

youn irearcleli llecrJls rlo inwgine w]hat's wii-lttell. 'll';ittr.t:tiio:ie, youi wilX need'to rJescribe the blue sky, .

tihe gneyish irylhite enoulds, tl,le pink lori'uses aLnci collourfi-il iballcons. When your reader goesthraugh

tlne above D,assage, he wiil inaagine tlhe situaticin. iBrut on tenevisiona, you doil't write so iong. Youl

woulllcl -justs,rrolvtlhe'lushg;ieen''gar: en,tlne"-5;ue's[<y.enithe"pink'lotusesandsoon. You

orany ,w;iite 'to supplcmenri what you sho,w. Wnei yctl v.rrite fior television, deseribing what you see

wou-rnd be ncdl'undant. lli,rsrlezLdl, onrr: wo'ulllC s,ripnlentenX. tl:,e ,zisuals with othcr inforrnationthat.

viewens canmot penoeive. jl'lhe narnes of the clailir:en anrJ tl'le garnes tleey are ptraying and whzJ"

tsohhy is gonng tlhnouglh would be irnportant. So, yrou fii! in on those details. T'his means tlnat

,wlaile a ne\ /spalper wnitcr ean go inarlo rlhe rnincjjs of ',ihe e harae ters, televisiorn requires you to

expnain rt. AJ a vlewen, one eannot go irrato the rnlnri af Bobby. Sin'lptry pult, ideas have to be

cornv,eyeC in terrnns of pic,turi"es- sotlncii ancii e-ctioii'rs-

ilt is a lt"rsh gneen ganclen. The siky rs blue and';hewater in the hig pondl in the rmiddle of,t;he ga.rden

ris refiieeting tlrlre greyish whi'ie cltoirds in the sky.

llhe ponncjl has piirrnk loturscs with, cnro:plcls ai,Nr.Le::

dancimg orn l.lh,oiin rllurllJl grocn Jlezi'zcs. Surlitglnx' t:;

fliltcnirn'g tJhnougl'l tJhe hig banyan tree near the

pornd. llhe childnem eould not ask for a bette: ca5v

to play. Eright yeltrow and ncd balloons aie

swaying in the ain cven as tlhc ehildren try tahond them dowm. '[inku, Pinkul anC Rinku are

playirag lWerry ga a'ownd.l\4e;rimeni is elca:iy iltlac ain.

JEohhy is sitting qulietly 'trmdlen the taanyan t:e:e

waitirng for his n'lother tc arrive. hle is rsrlla-osworried that lne will he punistrred fcn iosing h:s

favoulnite Tecrdy bear". ".

tiI't; 'tat:zfti,on l,trne tr'or sclrool children. ',1 ir;ku,Finkii and Rinku are having a whale of a timeplaying Iderry go round.Others are busy play)ng hide and seek. Butsome'rning seen?s to be worrying tsobby.Dossl"r- he have fiiends? Or is he worried thaihis ::c:r will punish him for losing his Teddylea.r?

Rememnhen the primciple: lDom't wmtc wlhat yorur sees whail yoru hesrn" lPnovidle imforrur,natiom

that vlewens cammot see, cammot hean.

Writing for video nequires a distinct language style. Being a medium whiela Ys keard and seen,

and not read,ttte language has to be simplc and eonversational. Long-winding sentenees and

complex words are difficutrt to understand sinee telcvisroll is a transicnrt nnedit"lm, i.e. vicwers see

the-progrannrne only once. Simple, shoft sentenecs, in aotive volee, witlnout complex words and

expression are ideal in television writing.

bfiow impavwmt ls tlne Scrflytt?Very irnportant. Different k:nds of pnograrnn'xes requine diffcnent appnoaehcs. Fietion nequines

elabarate ici"ipt work-right frorn carnera srnb'as; chanacilen n,overnents to dialogures. nf it is am

anchor-based slnow, rnost of it is written dovvn but gives the host a eertain freedom to adnib sonee

lines.

Therefore, a script helps in organising all produetion-relatcd inf,onaaation, establislaing a sllaow's

format, and reveal a show's content.

The ability to organise written n'laterial into a usable foinrnat is a speciatr talcmt alad nequines

practice andanunderstzndingof how asaript is used in production.

Writlng fon your audienceThe style, tone and cornplexity of a script for a ehildren's prognamnnne onn nnaking {inae hcst use ofhoiidays on Pogo Clnnnel will be different from the National Geog,aphic Ckannel senipt onnublear weapons. Cbviously, the "se of language and sfyle depends on the issue, the pnoduetionsituationandthetargetaudience.AseripT1vri66frfa@entirelydifferentfrom a script written for Yy'orld This Week. This is beeeuse eaeh of tlee progran'rrnnes tristed ahovehave different tar get audiences.

Tite cornposition of an audience is ancther in'ryartz,n't faetcr for the writer to eonsidcr. Forexarnple, a news story about a wandal tn a statc atrned at a |,acall avdience coutrd assuune that mostviewers are familiar with the chief minister, tke cabtnet n'rinisters and the surrounding charactersand events. T'he same story would have to be written qurite differently fon a raationan networkauldience, since the degree of famitriarity va,ries. A\ ilir{ilo nnone time will lrrave to he sper,nt pnovidingthe backgnound and the people invoived.

Every script goes thnough several revisions bef,ore ifinalisartiom. At scnipt my nequlirie nevisions forreasons of pnoblems with charactenisarlion or t:vcu soquurrcing. Orllhans nlay noquiint: ncvisilonsbecause the scriptwriter's imagination andthe budgets dcn't matolh. lin suole eases, it nraay have tobe rewritbn to atrtraw pr"odunction within the huclgot linrit.

Thinegs [o remembero Always research well before writing tlhe soruprt.o KeWthetargetaudience in mind.o Time your scripto .Always include all elements of a scnipt.*video, arudio

(diaiogueVcomrnentary/mu s iclso Lrnd effeets) and gnaph ics.

Video AudfloDense fonest witfta hirdsSupen: R.amganthittu tsird Samefiiary,

Sninamgapatmartm

rClosc inr clrn tlnc loirr-clls.

Close-urp of one of tnae swans.

Shofs of hinds fnuffier"ing and makimg

tnaennselives conrrrfonrtahle on hnanaches.

Cut to CUs otirbinds and hea,ks

Slow pan from lleft to nigllat onr tlae tnees.

lBincl settlimg on n hnamclh

Group of tounists watohineg the hineils iinorm a

distance. lfounists ehattirng up eaeh ottr'ren,

pointimg nrl rlllne hilnris,

NfS Fanlea.j S]harruma (FS) with his hinoeulans

and eanaera laarngirng on his shoulders waliking

down towarcls rllnre carTxera.

tsinds on hnanala

FS peeps tlanu hinoaullars

Chirping cf birds

V/O: \Winrtcrs are bittenly eotrd in Russia thistinae o-f the year.

lF!r.itter and ehirps'V/Q)'; {io,l"lharse birds xnigrata hero in seareh ofwo,t*u.,ri?t c Iinmates.

AmhlenecV/O: Cften, these birds travel up to 3000

ki{ornetnes in search of warmth.They stay naene for about fbur months and flybaele home.

Wlaen, tnrey are here, these birds beconae a

iourist ati:aetion.Not all of them are tourists, though.

Fankaj Sharma is an avid bird-wateher who

eolnes to the R.anganthittil sanctuary every

N4arel-r. I{e spends over two months clickinga\/ay. CnXy one out of thirty ate fit to

aeeompany his artieles that he regularly

rputhlishcs in N,{T'[JRE...

Scripts ean erflren be wnittem im tlae splicpage fbmlat on fiiee eoiinmercian fihn fomaat. Fdere is an

exampne of a senipt in thc split-pagc foineat.

Writflmg Visual Dianies

One of tlae effeetive ways of leaming laow to write seripts is to learn to wT ite a visual

diary. Sinae TV writimg is more about writing for tlae ear,itis important thatwe know

visl..latr.desariptions of tlaangs al"ld cvents tirat we see around us. This enables us to

visualizc our 'stories' bc it for fiction or nora-fiction. Whitre learning to write visual

diaries heltps in visuanization, orLe rnust renaenaloer raot to unite such descriptive passages

wnaen writing for llV simee the viewer can anso see a lot of infonnation on the screen.

ndeas fon visualization eofile from ohserving, nisfiemrag, readirtg, rememberingand writing

tnaem dowttr. lln short" naaintailaing a vistlan diary.

E

Read the fbilcwing exarnple of an entry in a visr:al diary. lihis entry has heen taken frona a diaryof a scriptwriter. (Courtesy: Mr. CYS Sarma, ls.Ai. Sc,lool r.Jniversity of tr{yderabad):

TItJe af tke enryt Why dfrdrn'tWakrabcallt ft.fna rdas>r? tThis slunr, lillienli shlnrs, is rl ciogx'assim5l; siglllt. 1l'llrra: srluurrtl lll,r>usos nulcl llrulitls.." Mklmy

houlses have tin doors. We ean't see dctails anyway; it's too dlarlk fon tlhat. llhere is

blapk frlth on the pafik-a purddie of dnain waten night in the rniddie of the snulm.

You have to walk around thcnm if you <ion't want to step into it. Thene is alaotheropen drain, skirting onc row of,houses/l.luts.

The houses look unpainteti. As you walk through ttae slurn, you can hear, in thedead of the nighg the slight rumble of tnaffie on tlne laighway in tnre distance. Theyare all sarne, these houses...even Kaka's house is.just nike tlee othen houses. It'ssrnall and has a window set hrgh. n-nke a window of a pnison celn. The doon is madeof cheap wood. A largish fonn, naale hy ttre looncs of it is walking towands dae door.There's sornething suspicious about tlae way it rnoves. fts head turns this way andthat, as if to check if anyone was nortieiiilg. l'iher,.l it opens tlhe door quietly, withoultmuch effiort and goes in.

The intrurder surveys the roorn. Jl-lie is narge,, darkislh and weans a loose-fittingtrousers and a dark shirt. T'he only souree of liglht in tlae noonn is a hed-lamp. lfwotlnings strike you about the room. It's neat and bane. 'lfhenc is a snaatrll wooden tabne

set against the wall and propped on it is a ftarned picture of Kanl Nzfianx. Direetiyabove the picture, nailed to the wa.ll is the ned hamnraer-and-siekle fnag"

The int'uder moves ahead. F{e pushes the Coor ln tlac far eonner of tlais smanl roonra

and enters Kaka's beclrocm.

This roorn is even snr,allcr tnan';ire otler. A e ilothes hangen, a wantr-cloek wlhose faoeyou can't see in the dark. Kaka rs sl.eening on a maftness on lihc fToor. .A erinasonsheet covers the mattress. Kaka is thin, iefinitetry. IF{e's elad ira a nungi. lfnae intrudenbends over lKaka, Kaka's face ts gaunt arnci lhis hrr:athimg steady. The intnuder putsone hairy hand into his pockot ana d.ravr:; out a grLrn fitted wittn a silieneen.

Kaka wal<es up with a start. )H[e's opening his mouth to slaout, yoLl t]aink, wlaen theintruder ftresthe first shot into V,aka's chest. Thene's a hnief spit of a sound andblood starts oozing from Kaka's ehest. Kaka lets out a weak ffinoan. The intnudenelamps hls left hand on Kaka"s mouth anci fi;res the secoL'ld shot" ttrais tinae throulgl.lKaka's tluoat. Spitfine and sitrcnec. Kaka gungles hlood and life chhs out of taim.ll'he intnuder straightens ulp to checJr l,,ris work as nae shoves ttrae gunr haok into thepocket. K.akais dead. There- is biood ani!\el,'ralitr,,Amd hlood menging into Kaka'scrimson bedspreat.

The intruder stares at Kaka bnie1itry, 'cu.rns and wanks into the nivillg noonn. We eannow see his f,aee paftialny. lFic's encan shaven, tlnin nips set in tfTeslny dank faee. Flle'swearing shcil-frarne gnasses. He stops hriefly ncan Mlanx's pietune alad stanes at it.F{e then :pens the door careftilJiy, slowly. llt mrakes a eneaking sound as it opens. ntis silent outside but for tne cistant nlritbie ofl tu"affic. T'hc illtruden walics out. F{elooks baek onee at his vietiir's l,louse, 1itrnen, expently skintimg tlae drain puddnes hewaiks away into the night.

"llar ln iurnrrry 11 0, jl 996; ll 0" 11 l,i ;sr,,rmr "

You winn notice tlhat the diar"y gives a llot of detai{s and uses slhort sentenees. nt's written in presenttemse and you get a sense that the event is happening rzoNr. One ean begin with shorter visualdianies arad then pnoeeed to wniting longer ones.

Thinlk of a 'ehildnen's p-ieilie '. Quiekny wnite',down ttre wonds that you associate with a qlmp.You nnignlt write 'cannpfine, tent, sleeping hags, water cans, bedspreads, lush green mountaini,water fatrns' cte. Of course, yoLn won't ignore peopne affiending ttre carnp. You have just drawn up a'mind maap' fon the visual dialy.

Next, think of a mar, ative; a story of sonts. What if'sorneone suddenly disappears? Why did hedisappear? \il/hcne did he disappear? V/lhat is tXne reaction of the other peoplei you wondJr why ithappened amd thintr< of diffcrent reasons. nf youl"ask yoursonf questions about the words yot/tewrittem when yoLl thought ahout 'camp', sonme story ideas rnay start forming. Always keep youreyes and ears open fon ideas, and keep a noteboofi< laandy to wnitc them down the minute youthink of,theml.

lEefone windimg up, let's do a necap on the pninciples:

o Write lflon the ean. Cheok itFwll'lat you are wniting sounds right to your ear.o Wnite shont senteraees. ,&oid eor,aplex words and phrases.o [f you ane convinced about tl'le writing, comvert the diary entry into shots and scenes.

S-$erylb-asrd

.A sequence of ineages and amotations for aaartoon, emtmation or video dtawnonpaperor rendered rimr the conmlpnnten'. Storyboards are previews of,the final version and tjrpicallyaontain nnoclcups rather than final art and images.

i"i

)

:

Wnurtrmg for frctiorrr

@byeetflves:

o [bevel]ap a p\ako Wnlte epfisode bneak-upso Devre0op ckaraatens andl ururruirre: cliatfiai;rg1,t;tatr;

o . .lFaumtatyaur ecniipts

{n the previotrs sections, you neannt how to writc seriiotis fon teilevision news and doculruaentaries.

You leamt that a script is a document rihat outiines every aural alad visuan element required to tenl

a story. Fiction scripts go a step ahead and include behaviounal elenaents too. Since many peopleare involved in the making of,a prograrutntre, a senipt nnLust comfonrmr to stanadands so that alll pensonrs

related to the programme understanci iri conncctly. 'll-]his s,cctioul thnows nigil-rrl orn the pnincipJlcs

involved in writing seripts fon fiction and ithe standard iflonlmats usecl in the industry.

Youl would have seen episodes of tele'rision series sueh as ti,le onanipresemt 'K' senies, on tlaeir

coilnterparts on regional language ehannens. What dici you notlec? lflaey have been on ain fon

years now! Every day of the week, a new episoCe elfterrtpts to snlstaim dle viewers' intenest. Sonne

swcceed; othewvise, they wouldn'tbc ort air for suetrl a trong tinae now!

IVriting a seript for a 20-minute doeumentary itseXf is no eakewalk. Jlmagine how painstaking itmust be for scriptwriters of these soaps to write senipts for so neany episodes and for so naaray

years! Cne needs to cultivate special skills to wnte those innunnenahlc episodes alld yet be ahne {ohook the viewers. trf TRFs fall for a series, tPre :first one to take the btralne is the seniptwriten!

One has all the time inthe world to wnte a rnovte scnipt, lBut tenevision is a rnonsten that gobblesup programmes on ahalf-an-hour basis! Deadlines keep ctraasing the seriptwniter. tsy flie tinae lae

has completed scripting five episodes for the weei<, the elhannel is alneady hunggy for tnac next fliveepisodes! rffhile nobody expects classics at tnaat pace, ttrney do expeot some contieauity, sonnecaherence and ssrne rnavernent in &c story. 'lllhis l'r,lca,ns l.lhat you canmot have a 'writen's hnoon<.'.

Not only do you have to chulrn cut scrupts, your aiiso ihave to rnake tllaerm intenestling. Aladinteresting between two commeroial breaks. l3lse, viewcrs willl shrlft charnrnels; viewerslnip(Television R.ating Foints) for your soap witrX funl anal soon yoLn might llndl youlnsenf senrding outresumes again! 1

\Mhateven be the flction genre, television seriptwntens deciole on a storyline alld hegim expandlmgon it. llhey begin writing sequsncet; frtr cvo,ry tc;r;, r,-rillriitlos (to hnr:irli< fon connrrieroiar,ls) amcll rnahetkern interesting cnough for the viewe;: to neturn to the soap aften ttr'le bneak. .A very intenesting'break'in the middle of a sequence willtheneforc bc wasted. nn il.le naiclst of all this, the pnodulcerof the show tells you that aparticular ckaraate'r has to he'knoclced olilthe story' beoar.lse s/he'shad problems with the actor. Depending how irnpontant the characten is, the ston'y line may itsenfchange. The scriptwriter has yet anotl'ler tasn< oli'l haradl T'he seniptwriten must be aneft enough tohandie such eventualities and make necessan-y changes in the soript. T'his caltrs for utlarostfamiliarity of skills.

Whateven the maodc of deXivery-TV or "veb strearning--the prlmary task of the soripwriter is totetrl a story arad tell it effeetively" To tunl a story ef'ribetively, lihe seniptwriter takes sevenal triberties.JFon exannple, a llV seniptwniter ean write abcut ary period be it 1857 or 2330. He ean ercate'places', 'ctaanactens' and 'situations'. lHlis chanaetens cani mnove rlnorn Ftrydenahad to Switzenlaxxd ortfi.om .,{ustnalia to Kanyakumarri in ahout seconds! Lne can flashhack, flash forward or even tell the'cutrtrernt' story. llt is tlhis flexihillity th,at a seiriptvrriten us.es to his advantage.

lihe r,'novie seniptwniten lhLas very lliffine tlnrne (say abcut two trnouns) to tell a story that actr.lally ran

fbn ahout, say, eigfint yeans. iEutl a il-V sories writier rJo*sn'tfaco suehrest:rictions. ATV series canatifond tto take lts ti,rme r'rntri'odiucirng clna.nact,ers, estatrlisii'irirng tlnLe rminieu amd sornetirnes even tell thestoly ill neail tiinae" 'lltrrene lhave lbeesr insrlances in ii]he west where TV series have run for more than

30 ycnnsl Acttons pilavnnp, riiilcrcnt ckr,ru:'i<',:::; i:r' rhr: :;crie:; a.cfitally Syew up, becarne yanth,attainedl olcll age amd sorme evern dier,{i iiii a.'t"V sc.:ries (.;aiil hrol<i its viewers'attention it can go onand on if iit l<eeps tlhe produreeii's and the eho;nnel cwners haproy with good T]R.Fs and revenues.

Ithe hadc; cnmuryt

iEveny seneenpllay begins with a basie eone-^pt. tsasie ecneepts eome from ldeas. Ideas ean eorne

ftona vanious sources. llf a sitLlatioll has af:fueted you ceepiv, ii eould well be a good eoneept for a

senipt. ndeas eould genalinate in ycuir minc or eome froin letters to the eciitor eolumn in a

n€wspaper. llt eould even be a shcrt story ycu have read in a rnagzzine oi a nove]. You get

interesir,ei in iit a:ncil want to wriiie a sc:ilt.

iil.le nex.,i step woilld be to iivide the ecneent ;nfc a nu:lbsr of 'episodes'. To do that, cne musi

finst develiop the stoty. ll'hen w;rite 'what hapne:ls' in eaeh eciscde i,q about two to three sentenees

eaeh. [t's e;a|ned a singne-iiine break up. lif the story ycl have d.eveloped ean run into 45 episodes,

wnite o'i-lt si;np;il,e-Jlime hneak ups far eaci:r of tl:,e eplsocles. P'e:-nernher, when you break it up into

episodes th,e story mlust fTnove forward. ]ln the; cotilit'si., of 'rhese episocnes, cha.racters and tkeirnelationslai,ps wirth eaehL otlher muast he estahllsnledl. New el'lanaeters may eome in, some may fade

out, hgt the s'tony rTiust nnov.e lfonwand. Every episodle rnust have a beginning, a middle and end.

Wniting out epiisodes irn thiis liashion iis nonna.lly as the ittkire,e.-act n'rodel. Also rernember to have

oliff-hamgens at tlae end of eaeh aet tlnat will leave tlae audienees tlainking, "What'll happen next?"

nf youn episode hnealkup has heem ahtre to aotrieve this, you are on the track.

lFor cxarmple see tlae episode hneakup f,on Shyar,ir Beiaegal's tshat'at Ek Khoj. TTae break ups given

below aneoJiepisode one amd z$4 of tlre series tlaat was teleeast on Doordarshan. You will see the

scnipt o11'cpisqlclla ome a llittIc Iartlcn.

m,lpllSODE clNE: Bharat fufata Ki-[ci : lpandrt Nchru explains tlae nneaning of Mother nndia. How trndia

with all her inflnite eha.nm:l ared vanerry grew ,i.nponn l.lim. F{ow difficult was it for him or anybody else to

grasp the inJeas slhe emnhodied. [nd,ta vrat liV,e an a.nqnenn. i?^1lirnplest, an wkich layer wpan layet of thavfi$

irad nevenie hed heen inscribed.

trlpnsolDlE IFCIRTV *\r*, nnrligoReyoly;.lincha was a prosperous counfry ready fon industo'ialization.

nrasteadl as a delihenate policy of ttu ]Errtrsh, ]lndia regressed and becarne an agricuttural country. xn 19th

nenntlnry Benigal, a few'lEmgliishmaen tumed ta frrdigo t,rade and bwame Land\ords,l\ey set harsh tawns

ulnden wlaioh thein tenants'were eompelleci tc grow irdigo and sell it to the British at very iow prices.

Exasperated heyond nneasure, the oultivariors nebelled'

Whac nnakes a good story?

You rnust tnve begtn walnhing a scrics and l,'e|,t lrkc ncturnrnirng to {hc llV sat at axaatly tho sannetirne tlee next day. What is it that drew you fro the series? lfhe charactens, the nstory nine', the wayit has been presented or even may be heeause you cor.rld nenate to tlae series? \Mlay, fon exampnedid the audiences drop all their activity when R.annayan or fulaXgudi Eays were o]rn ain? \Mlay dopeople watch their repeat telecasts too? Why are they still watehing the 'K' series on Star Flws?For one, they could reiate to the seiies. Second, the comflict hetween chanacters. Youl winil see thatrnost successful series have strong eonfliicrts in them. Oull;renwlse so nxany f'arnily dlnalmas woullcim'tbe hits. ,A good seriptwriter creates plots alld eharaetens to eneato eonflliot flaat is intenesting.

..,|n/ r'i i r li' i'

lEevelap,frng the plot - tl p-pa'.r. '':' :' . { tt,

frl j'r'rr .

; ' ('\,

Once you laave the storyline on hand, it's inaportanll to tl'link eanefurlny ahout lnow yor.l wamt to tellthe story. Every story rnust have a polnt to naake. Tle nrlorc intenestirng it is the hctten. Whywould anybociy want to sit before a TV set if s/he ean grasp the story at the heginning on cvcn inthe middle?

-&e-plot is.ly!4lggh-Jbg-v=igrver9 to the g.e1!-e.g.,'T'nr*o*foo.,'uo writc a good plot, one nceds toconstantiy keep asking questions. "$,/net if tnc e,lar:aeten" did tlilis, on ttrrat?" "What if thishappened at night?" "What if the good rnara suddenly iiurns bad?" so on and so forth? Tnais hellpsintakingtke stary farward that is in,tcresting to v,ratr:h on thle scneen. Asking questions also nrrellps

you clevelop sub-plots that are the eornt:;r stolrre ol aiti,y '',, "/

soap,

nt is at this stage that your expericnee arad researeh henps. As a penson you wound havc gonet\wawgh ssvcraN cxpcrienccs in lif'c orh,aerd <>r rt;itI iiLborut otlhcn's expcniences. Sce ifrttr'ley can bowcven into your story. This lencis reani'ry to yoirr ehanacters. l'o rmake your story wonn<, thectr'laracters need to'be comf,ontabXe wi'fhltlhe ciionnanciis oi1'tlhe ipliot. Sonnetirmres it nmay so )happen tllra{the chanaeters werc fleshcd out too la'te in the pr,oeess, and iihe sollultioua unay be to clhange thecourse of events or alter the plot altagethar. Ewt it'rna"'t renden dle ehanactens lifuless. They rnightnotbe acceptsdby the audiences.

Let us ta<e tke exarnptre of lKakartrtnl Gkatir Gkriur i(,i. Cla,vtawsly, the story was modelect orniRannayana" A father with four sons, antr of tliaem very oheclient. llt's a neappy fzualiny. tsut then tlaenehas to be a conflict. This appears in the fonn of a ;fur,'lane ailtagonist. lFnorn thene onwands, tlaecourse of, the story changes en'iirrely. Tlae scripriwririer piitches anothen won-lam-Fanvatlai-- totackle the antagonist. Since it was feit '':-v1-. Dr.*^t^i war 'takireg tl'le story fonwand' arnd hninging inmore lfRPs, it was decided to nlake lher'rhe pnotagomist. lftrhefuforc, the entine story in tlne=seriesrevolves around Farvathi and her reiaiionship with elaraeiens that keep fiitting in and out of the

series. Whil.e lPanvathr and oonc mcmhers ortthe ifomily pnovide'thc pXot, the seeondary charaetensthat keep eoming in and out of the senles provicie what are known as sub-plots. Sub-plots arestonies within a story. lfhe strength of a series lics in hovr the scniptwriter can weave sub-plotswitthim surh-pilots witlhirn sn-nb-ipliotis to keep tliee story running. Sub-plots are equally irnportant to rhestory andi ttlhe series to netain the auclionces' initori'est.

NVriting 1fV soaps is, rlo douhf, a ecrnptrex pn"oeess, as eomplex as the plot itself should be. Thesurface nannattive has to he appealiriag: even wlhile weaving in sub-plots that only add to thesuspense amcl intenest of the viewen. lBveny n:anrative wiln have a beginning, middle and an end.1ffiaenefore, a typioal llV senies wil[:

o ]l'ake a sll,lont tinae to estahllisllrr tlhe oonc chanactens amd the milieu.o Develop oomfTiet on distr.rrbanoe in the status quc bef,ore interest begins to f1ag. A new

ehanacten entens tl'le scerae, does sometining nasff or something unforeseen happens thatcharnges tlhe life of tlae pnotagomists. 'll[nis ta]kcs cornsiderable tirne on screen.

o Give oomsidenabne tiame to eillaraaten response and development. F{ow the protagonistnespomds and reacts to the clistuinbance. F{ow the antagonist tries to hit back. This forms an:la.ion paft of tlae senies.

o Give sorne tinne fon resolutiom, wheire irn the pnotagonist overcomes the antzgonist or thedistunhing situatior/s.

Gnaphioaltry, a soap, when divided irnto episodes trooks sonnething trike this:

,Ar-an-a2-aS-azJ--lE-hlL-h2-h3-h4-h5*-C*cn-c2-a3-e4i-c5-e6-e7-48-e9-clO-D-dll-d2-ds-dl4-ds

whene A\,IE,C & D nepnesent establishrment, *cn'frtct, cha,raeter response z-nd developrnent and

nesolution nespeetiveiy. 1l'iiae alptaabets a1-a4. b1-b5, e i-e i0 and d1-d5 represent the sub-plots inwhich the cone chanactens conle in cor:ltac,i with a nunrber of other characters. It is these

intenesting suh-ptrots that nna"ke the stony interestiiig cven as the surface narrative is happening.

Cnce ffie 'sttrructune' is neadly, dle senfrptlviiiter rney wanli to.just introdulce a charaeter at b3 and

hning him/naen hack signifioantiy at e2 on evcn mention a eharaeter at bl but bring hirn at c3 inonden to nnance stolytelling nnone intoresting. Techniques iike suspense, flashback and flash-

fonwarrd aome in I'larady to give a twist in tlne tafle.

Fon exarimpne, you nnay want to l'ntnodluice eLchara-cter inb3 meant to be introduced in e2.bilaw tke

entn-y of the characten and lais nenationshiip wirih tlire eore chz'racters develops could be one part oftlhe senies nrnrnmiing panallllell tto wli'iiat's alrc,rrcllSr lhnpnening in h3. lltre conflict nray develop in h4 on

b5 hrurt thc pnotogorurist rrnay n<lspomd alldl ncilr.:t to [1i,rls cliraracten only in c4" Of'counso, yoLx cal) tryout a numhen of permutations and eornbimatioras, bult ttrae impontant thing to nernernber is to take

the story f,onwandl amd netairn the audiemee's intenest. The scheme becomes all the more complexwLnem tlhero arle fifi]ore sets of clhanactens.

Chanactclri <llelc,liopnrnen t a r;r d diia i1o,g,l,ire

lPlots eannot r"un hy tlaenaselves. T'lae5r need eharaetcrs, plaees, things, cvenxts and dialogue and a

host oif orlhen additions for thcrn to talice shape.

You ano tihc arrcllrriito<:rl olf'yorLrn scnilort urr,cii all Liiiro cfl.etiusnlts in it. Characters are the ones whicLr ien<l

life to youn seript. You rmust ereate eharaeters that;fit in'Ic yourstory. nf you really nnust use reai

4

peopie you lmow, then try to disgt"lise that person's identiry as mueh as possihne. Evely olaanaotcn

will have a nawte to hegln with. You can give nalmers ttrhat yonl ane conafortahle with hut tnaey

should also suit the ckarapter. After a|tr,,'ya'u\Nanti yoDtr arudjrt';mr:es to helieve tl,he chanaaten.

Normatrtry, stories have one or two pri"fi:inary elh.aracters, a lnramrdLfi.ln ,f uuo,r*tdluoy alharaicters and

many mimor clharactens. Frimary eharaotcns an'e usuanly '[)he pnotagonist and ilac antagonist;

secondary characters are those wtrao ane imr,aecliateiiy nelated to tnaenn. Nt{inon oharactens ean n<eep

flining in and out and are naosttry like 'extras'.

Many stories fail becaulse they oharaetcrs arc too flat and stcneofypican-poon, good hoy, nich ginn

who is who tkinks har fathsr's rnaney car\ cyan h,ury trova: cte. Goor.l chanactenization a:volkes a

range of, ernotions within the viewers. llf the wniter fains {ro naake us eane ahout tlae ehanaetens, nomatter hc.w i:genious the plot, it is likely '-: he nejected.

Relying on reahty can help a great dcan. Sincc no two people an"e simailar, charactens have toappear diffierent (unness it's a story of twins!). lBach one of us has our hLahits, tastes etc. Wllaine

appeaxances te!l half ttre story about thc eharaetcn, his aetlons neveall tlae othe:r hallf. 'lll,he writen callalso ulsc them to his advalltage to give a riwlst. nn faet, gone ane tlne days whcn a villairn tlsed tohave a rnole on his chin or arching eycbrows. A very well-gnoorned naay hc vely wioked in naftire

and create obstacies for the protagonist. T'nae things that tlaey cary with tlaena and thein laahits ann

rnar{'er. Ona repeatadly checks if slke':; Iod<eC the dooir', amotlner koeps shnulgging shou"lndelrs or

twitches the ehin! Yet another always stands witln his arnns erossed. .,\nd yet another has the laahit

of rubbing hiV her nose.

People wtth dtfferentbackgrownds and professions speak cliffrenentny. A nawyen doesm't spcane likea ternple priest. A very orthodox granny doesn't spea,k iike a supcr naodctr. Cne naay naave a lisp,artother may be too loud and yet anotlaer rnay only speak im raaonosynnahnes. ,Also hean in rrueind

other behavioral traits. Cne may pineh hisltlen ears a.rnder stness. Anotlacr is punctuan to the last

second and yet znoiher is very short-tempered! Ceeupation on the naek of it is allother kcyeonsidcration.

We are all pradu&s of sorno socialtzation pro(:.,ass. Crun ulphningimg, tlrle atmosp)heno im whioh wewere brought up, alt have a bearing on our pensonaliff. Even ouan ehanaeters wound have a laistory.For exarnple, why did thc son tum against the rnother? V/as he onpl.lalled by }aer when youllg?Why does tlie snother-in-law not talk about ffie etrdest son's death?.

So now you have characters to wonli witlh, lori:t then eir.s alli ]hrLLuman heiuags eitlhon rtotally good on

totally bad? Eaeh person has certain srlncngtl.ls and weaknesses. Mlost oftem, it is tliae wcakness ofa ckamcter that drives the story! Cne orf the wa5rs oil cieaning witla a elaanaetcn is to delayrealization of hislher weakness. Nornaalny, ffie pnotagonist ita tlhe senies is tlae one wlao faees aeornpnex sct of problerns. Use sorne obstacnes to bning out hoth strengths and wcakmesses. Givingyoar frrt)W&anwl e fsw obsWIeB $,Jony,N.hti vnry will hip,lirligllrl tJho clnarrut;tor fnilits yorur ,hrrLvo cl]losollfor hini/her.

Deai witla prirnary characters in depth, give sorne time (alld pnoblenas to solve!) to the seoondarycharaptnrs and just allow the minor ctr'taraoters to.jurst fnit im and out. lFllowever, carefully decidewhen your prirnary character faces cnisos. tsy the end of, the story, the pnotagonist naust }aavesurvived stu'nggtres and oven coffie seven'afl ohstaelles. When yoll have all these pieces in pnace,you'i! have a complex character that audienees witrl enjoy and remexllber.

Wn0tfrng Dnalogue

llet us hegin this pant of tlhe unit witla a senies of exeneises:o V/nite dowra youn oomv,ensatiom witin your friend/eotrieague or a relative over tfie day and

exarnime how yoLl spon<e dtnough the day. trt's ak-ay if you don't get every word youspoke.

o Cbserve how peopfle spealk in a ri"esiauirant or a shopping mall. V/nite dowl snippets ofttlein connvensatiom without lookir,ng veLry s,"rspie ious! You will neatrize that most of tlrenadom't even conalpnete a semtemcc.

o Aslk tlhe samne qulostliorl to rjlil tfirrt::nI pt;optro tffi/J-jito't"t.)'Jown thein resiponsos, '{'hey wiill all boditflfenerat. MIay he not in temas of

"rhre eonten[ bil; -i e way they speal..

o Reeond diffcnent 'lfV shows oil eiifferen'c g€nnrtes, say one episode each of a siteori'n, adtrarna, a tenefinma or even soap. Notiee how eharaeters speak diffierently in each genre.

o lR.ewri'ite tilae diailogr.les yonr ihave recordedil in your own sfyle. Notiec how different it isfnonr.l tiiae one teneeast. Do you trike ycurs beffer on the one telecast?

o llny to imtenollaange tJiee genne ar,rd rev.rritre {ne rnc.t: cf riialogue Ckange the setring, change -

the peopne's inttemt, and change; tlhe ton";. \(ou wttrl nottr:e that they dan't fi't in. The tone ofdialogule iFon a familly dranraa eannot fit into a s\tcar?,.

Story anad diallogure ane inextnicahny nelaterd. lJo srrory ce.n bi good enough withiout good dialogue"Siminanly, you nnnay have tnae snappiest *nianogrLle in tlae series but if the story isn't going anywhere,the senies is hound to be a fnop.

lfhe diationary/ says clialogue is ".A eonve:satic;i beivrreen f$/o or more persons". Therefcre, itreqt"lines at treast two people for a diaiogue. When cnly one person speaks, it's calied arnomollogule" MToiniologues alt'e used wlnen a einaraeter is in an inNrospective rnood. However, sornewnitens slnun nnomoilogures lllocannse" atltelr a t;inle, they can be boning. Eut a dialogule is a

eonversation ffiat eann gerxerate eonfliet. lDlalogues beeorne reCundant if expressions can do the

.joh. Diailogue slh,ould hourace back and f,artkbetvte,en tne; aha.racters. trf one chamrter keeps talkingantrthe tinne, rt winli lose "hounoe".

Good dialogue helps thnow liglat on the elaaraeter and -iurther the plot. .Action is a product of theplot. Dianogue is a produret of tlae elaanaeters. llhey need to spean< in order to take the plot funther.Whille sorne stonies ane aetio:n dnivem, nnost TV series are dlaiogue dniven. Wnaat one ehanaetersays to amotlhen" an'ld vice-vensa nesullts iirn cornlflliat. llt's the eonflict and the response to the eonflictand tlhe nesolurtiom that rnove tlhe storyv. lFllow a e f lanacter speaks depends on hisArer'ehanaotenizatiom'. Ohvior.lsly, a seiemtist wouldn't speak like a thug, or the mother wouldn'tspeale like a eoflnege-going ginl who's.just falien in love. Dialogues also corne in handy to provideimfommatiom, partica.llanly whcn intnoclueing eharactens or even in flashhaelc situations. It doessen've exposition, hut in very ratre oases.

R.epnoduced hcnow is an exeeqpt fnonn the vrenl-neoeived ancl eritically aeclaimed Bharat Ek Khoj,a senies hased on.fawalaanla]lNehru's Discovery of [ndia ciineoted by the eminent Shyam Eenegatr.

lElHi.AlR4\1t ielK IKIT{OJ hy Sftrynnrn l%entegt)t

IE a secl om ijarw ah a nila, I Nei'r ru' s iE]i S (CCVig IRV'Oic liNDIiA

trPnSODE, ONtr: BHIAlR.All MLAil.A X<ll "'.{11

Sepier borae. A large banyan

tree" The camera cxanes down

and dollies out after creditsto show its many hanging roots "

Movemr;nt, aonEittusa unEil vtrt rieq

a large group of villaqerssitting and waiting patientlyfor some one" Suddenly, some

people notice some one coming"

Most of them rise.

Opposite anqle: A bulfock cartis approachinq. On it is a

khadi clad figure wlth a Gandhi

cap "

Cut to crowd shouting slogans.

Bul I ock earE ha l. f,s , The. vi c:vt i :;

somewhat. observed by the heads

of the onlookers " Some are withvi-11age turbans. Some are bareheaded. There are women and

children too"

'I'he ficSure on tlrc buT.Ioc:k r:arL(still in the distance) standsup brings his hands together -in

a namaskar and t-hen qestures tothe peoplenotice it

to sit down. We

is Jawaharl,al- Nehru

TtuJineroorc> :n'ouis:ie e Sl'q(

erowd

Mair;rt-nra Ganclhj ki j;lj !

Jawahar.Ial Nehru ki jai!Hindustan zindabad! Bharat mata

ki jail Phir se bolo! Bharat

mata ki jai!

Dran of the enowd

Tlla;lnst'vt: Kisan moLhers and

sisters. It is good that you

are crying for the victory ofBharat Mata"

tsut what do you mean by thiscry Bharat mata ki jai? Who isthis Bharat Mata whose victoryyou"want? Come on I want you totel-I me" (To a man sitting in

(JN) " He begins to speak

Audience

MCU of some farmers

MCU of a farmer. PerplexedIook "

CU of JN"

MCU" Another aged farmer

volunteers an answer"

Tilt down to his rough hands

He scoops a bit of the earth"

CU of JN

Old farmer MCU

.IN CU

Another farmer stands up

tire fr:orrL)

You tel-L me. Who is BharatMata.

Su::eJ-y, .y'olr' must, know what you

are crying victory for? What isBharat Mata" Have you seen her?

Farmer: Pandit, Bharat Mata

means this dharti"

Our mother j.s the ctrood earth of.

this country

lNehru: What earth? The earth ofthis particular village? Allthe patches of earth in thisdistrict? The earth of thisprovince? Or the whole offndia ?

J!o.arr.*:Nu,r:r,-::: The earth in aIl ofIndia is Bharat Mata

JhT: Only the earth and nothingel-se? Not the rivers and

mountains of lndia as weLl?

En Fa:rroer: Rivers and

mountains, and forests and the

broad fields which give us ourJN in LS with farmers in front

: :l '1 i:rr: : ':

cTEq: Something more importantthan all- these... '

, ,i;r. l

' ' il'':

ItTIi Faraner: What is that? you.'r.l

tel] us... .''', .r,, .

''' ;ll "JIS: Bharat Mata is all of .theS,e,),. ,

things, tlvers, mountains/ : , . . '. :\

forests, broad fi.ld", the.'6'-44",,...' '' _:ai'r-'

around us and the sky above , ,,t,,,:,

. l.:,,but what are they all- without

t -:; it,i

food "

k

JIN: And what else?

nX lFamer: And what. else isther: ?

you and me? What countsul-timately are the people of '.,,,1

India, spre4d out all over, thisvast land. Bharat Mata isessentially these millions ofher sons and daughters " Victory,to her is vi ctory to all ofthem" You are all parts of tBharat Matai you are in a ,,.manner, yourselves, BharatMata ,'.

i:: l

iiir

tr. Wnite comvensationan ilaingurarge, evefi nf nt actnzLn'Js straccaio. RmA outyour dialogue and listnnto it. Evenn if a sinrgle wond sounds too lltenary, duirnp it and rewrite.2. \Vhen yonn are featuning olnanacters fnom dif,fenent negions, stetes, countries ete. take care of theaccerffi, dialeet. R.emernhen, a eharaeten frorn KenaXa doesn't speak Hindi like one from tsihar orUttar Fnadesh. Takimg cane of such featurnes lends reality to dialogue.3. Devetrop youn ear'. n-isten eanefiitrly to people talking in series on radio and televisidn.Theyspeak differentny. ,{lso take cane not to naake it too 'theatrieal'. Theatrical dialogue is boring onTVi R.ead conversations ira novetrs. T'hey sound diff,enent f,rorn those on television4.,Avoid sialag.

5. Don't nepeat dianogue, unless the eharaoterization dem'lands it.5. Keep youn speeches neasonahny short, maybe ahout two to thnee sentences maximum. You willsee a sea change in the way earlien wnitens wrote thein dialogue and how modem writers do it.7, Don't use too nnuch dielogue. Whene exprcssi<tns suff,ice, dialoguebe*amas redundmt,E. Diatrogue staoulld add new imfomnation. Do not repeat information that aviewer can already seeon the sctreenx on anneady knows. JFon exanaptre, your eharactens don't need to call each other bynarne in every sentence. Thene are otlaen ways of neminding the audiences the names of charactersnow aracl then.

lFormattfing the scnfpt

There is a panticurtrar way in wleich sonipts are written. Scripts eontain a nurnber of elements such

as Snug Lfrme, .Acfiorno Sceme ll{eardlfrnrrgs, Citis'us,cten Na,nne,, Mfianogwet Shof, 'lframafi{fion, AatNumhers, Sceme Nunmhens etc, n-et us see lnow each one of, thern is formattpd. The followingapplies to the aornnaenoian format (not the AV on spnit-page fbnelat).

{n a screenplay a slug ilf,me tells tile reader that ttae story has changed in location or time.nt tells the reader wtrere alad wlaen tF"e action appeals and the line comprises three parts:

o INT. on EXT'. - is the seene al'l Lnlied.or or exteior seene?

o Loaation - where cloes the aetion takes ptraee?

,o DAY or NIGF{T - what is the tirne of day?

trX.AN/ilPI.]ES

" nNT. WARIEHOUSE NnGiHlTo EXil" CCNT'IINIENTA.I ILCDG]S D,AY

Descniptf,om or Aatf,@m is what we see tlae elaaractens cicing on the screen. It describes visuallywhat is happening on the sereen. For examrple

Viknamn walks dlowm the connidon amol ilools,s lefri" iHie opems tllae bednoom and seeirng notlning inside,

scnatches lnis laead. Closimg the doon, ft,re wnili<s down t[,te connidon with a stupid expnessiom on his f'ace.

Sceme headlfimrg tells us where the seene is talking plaoe. Xt rnay also hint al where the camera is.

For exanapie:

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O]PT

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Stafli ane husy with their wonk Suddemny, Vlkram's doon opems suddeuuly amd he falls out withIlnood in his mouth"

Chanacten's m&me: Too obvious to warrant explanation. [f it is an off-soreen voice, rnention it'For example:

Viknann

lDon'it dio tlhnrt! Vou'va alneudJy nurlnrerdl r,nmy ofiilice!

O]R

Summanatha (O.S)

1fhene's mothing left to ruiu it! You've clorne maost of my.ioh!

Dialogue is everything said by the charaeters.

Vikram:l:

.vou krow , don't emjoy sayimg tlrls" But thcn, pleasc...

llt's beconning diffictrittrt f'on moe to sunvivc nlke this"

lPanemthe'aiaal is an instruction to the aeton lnow to detiver tiile dianogue

Surnnanatha (sancastlc and hiftimg lRa-nnu on the head)

Cf course Il love you. tr love mny burffalo too!

Shof is the description that teltrs us wlnerc thre f'oous is, on is shifting to

C{J oli tenephone" nt nimgs amd stops abruptny,

l}atits Vfrlknalrra

Tnamsntloul indicatcs the shift &om one shot to another. Sorne of tlae eonnnxon tnallsitions nised areCUT TO, DISSCN.ME TO, F.ADE NN, FADE O{JT, WNPE T'C.

Viknamn iloolks at tlhe ellepihamt. Cluii'jlO

MIS ollellepi,hault tnumnpetiirilg ilur agorny C[Jll T0)

,A\tn nro ur s lLqrce o 1i' Vii lhrra rnn. ZOO Ml ll NliC} I\\.11 (C'U,

IDIISSOLVE lIO

Vfr lkrnr mm pl1,myfl im g wiittlh relloplhnnrnt

Dum[ aoiiurmmrm dfialogue is used when two ehanactens tan]e sirnultaneously.

VTIGA&I

TaII ma ! TeLl" m@ yolr l-ove u,re !

TenI :me becauge ucy hrear:rb ispourndianE arndl caLn' t bera:e t]he

sung>6na@ any lonEer. S'n} dror.\ar; if you tel-l me you don't love--" m@. lfhe r+orld r+i-lJ- come 4ca -an

eald, X'Il" " "

Sumalattra

Stop rt. (paueal " $&ogt 1,8,ViXcraml (pause).

(Louder)Vikrnm! Stop it!

V{trat, nade you think, I'I1 loveyou\ WhaE da you h.ava f;.ha.t

I'11 love you?You rdy to ru

exF,. ...-.t.. . -... aJ. iptas t -.r, -----.,/.---.5Qproc{uoalrrs arnla,{ riinectbrs do fio[ fouch ,a s0iri11][ unXcss it is pnt-tponly formattecl, oven lf it is a elassie.

o Mlake sure your soript is printeal frorn eomaputen. Tirese days it's easy to print in any

llmdian lamguage. Coirmposi;ng youLr scripts ofrr a computer helps you in more than'aneways. Jlt llemds stnuciturne to youn sen'iipt; is eesier to rnake corrections if,you have a softcopyoni yoLulr oorvrlpulter. Uso orany wilite color papen folorintouts.Douhfle-spaoe your script. Use a f,ont and stze that ean be easily read. Font size 12 is

eonalt|ortable to neadi. Do aaot use too rnany italieized words in the senipt. {.Jse btraek inkomily.

lLeave at least one ineh nnangin on alll the f,our sides of tho page.

Wnite the nnanne of tlhe senies on tlhe treft kand side of avery page. Do not forget ta insart

page numahens.

Mlake sune tlae episodes laave heenn clirvided imto seencs. Nfention the nurnber of eaeh seeree

om the tlop.

lfhe eover.page strnould neeessanily aover" infonnxation like the narne of the series, the total

innnrnnhcn of episodes, tlhe marnne ancn ncicliross of tlhe atrtlaor.

,\llways pnoof read youn seniipri. Do rnot give away seripts to produeers/direetors withou't

eheeking fon naistaltes.

Mlake at neast two good eopics of tl'le senipt. Frodueers/directons are busy bodies and tend

to nose 5,oun senipt. Yotl naust have annotlaer eopy ready if needed.

Sunnmnfimg up

o

o

lfV soap wnitens ane comstantlly rwonking egains''l ciendlines.

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o Scriq{s start aff wtth ats'astc concep'(. /';rn irlqa gcnm,imates in his mairnd amd tlho wniter goes

on to expand on that idea.o The story is then divided into'episodes'. Eaeh episodc is ti,len.nepnesentcd in terrns of a

smal! paragraph.o { story with a conflict rnafi<es interesting viewing.o lfhe plot is the rnain plan of youn story, dle emgine that drives ffie story fonwand om coun'se.

Sub-ptrots are stories within a story. Weaving sublolots demands skills arnd they areequally important to the story and the seni'es.

o Every series plot should necessarily have an estalblishment, confliot, chanaoten responnse

and development and rcsalutxon.o Characters lend life to youn scnipt. Vou naust create claanaatens that fit into youn stoly.

Stories have one or two priman'y claaraetens, a handful of seeondary charactens arad nnany

rninor characters. Every chanaeter must appcan diffenent.o No story can be good enough without good dialoguc. Dialogue becomes redundant if

expressions can do thejob.o Dialogue is used to further thre piot andl nnirron tlhe characteno Elernents of a fiction script incXude Acrtic'rn, Scene llllcadings, Characton Narnc, Dialogurc,

Shot" Transition, Act Numbens, and Scenc Nnamhens etc.o Dual column dialogue is usod when two ckaraaters tann< simunhraeoulsny.o Make sure your script is properly f,onnrratteci bcforc denivening it.

Kepruorois

o trpisode bneaik-unnr: ,All that happens in an episode in aibout a panagnaph. Atrso aalledl

single-line break up.o lPlot: Refers to the senies of events that give a story irls meanimg alad cffect.

Pl"tmany and Secomda:.ry reharaetens: Frimary ehar,"aeters imt: usuanny the protagonist aLrld

tke antagonist; seconciary charaetens are'rhose wtr'lo ane immecliateny nclated to thcr,n"

o Mimon alhanactens: Keep fli'rting in and oult otf ttr'le senies