SCRIPTS
What do you want in a script? That depends on what you're going to use it for. If you have to learn the lines and do the acting, you'll need the lines plus indications of what moves you'll have to make and where you'll have to go. If you're the audio person, you'll want a clear indication of how many mikes you will need, where you will need to place them, and what other sound sources you will have. As a director, you'll need all that information, plus indications of what camera is doing what.
So somehow we have to pack all that stuff into one form.
I say "one form," but there is no standardized form every one follows. Some characteristics are common to all scripts, but the variations are endless. That's true of television in general; nothing is set into a rigid pattern. The best way to judge whether or not an approach is right is whether or not it works.
So what I'm going to say about scripts is a guideline to follow.
Once you have the guideline down pat, feel free to improvise, to change, and to improve.
At the top of the script will go some information about time, date, writer, etc. This varies a great deal from place to place, but it ought to include the title of the script, the time length, the date, the airing date (if known), and the writer's name. Other things included might be the sponsor, the advertising agency involved, the program name, and so on. The heading will look something like this.
Title: A Long Day Time: 14:30 Date: 1/14/77 Air Date: 1/22/77 Writer: Smedley Sponsor: P & G Next will come a brief indication of what the set looks like and what significant action is involved. This helps the director know what to plan for and lets the audio person know where s/he has to place mikes. The directions might run something like this.
Two men in L.R., one in chair, one on couch.
Man on couch moves upstage left to desk.
Then we get into the major portion of the script, and from here on, the script is divided into two parts. The column on the left is for video information, and the one on the right is for audio. After all I said about no hard and fast rules, this page division can almost be said to be such a rule. Perhaps some where there is a station which doesn't use this left-right division, but it's pretty unlikely. So let's assume that script division is one thing you won't change.
The right column is for audio and includes directions, spoken lines, music, and whatever else is heard. There are a couple nonaudio things which get thrown into this column because there is nowhere else to put them, but we will get to them later. Suppose the show starts off with music. The identification of the music source goes into this column. It may be a record and get identified by album name, side, and cut number. It may be on a cart, and the name and number of the cart will be shown. It may be reel to reel tape, and the cut number will be given, and so on. Somehow the sound source has to be identified. Also, the audio person has to know what to do with the music. Does s/he fade it up? Does it start out full? So some directions will be given explaining what the sound does.
MUSIC: ("SUNSET SCENES," SIDE 2, CUT 3. UP FULL, ESTABLISH, THEN UNDER.) We can tell by this that the music is on a record, an album entitled "Sunset Scenes," that the selection is on side 2, and the selection is the third cut on that side. We also know the music starts at full volume, plays long enough to make sense as a theme, then is reduced in volume. So next we would expect something else to come in over the music. Suppose it's an announcer giving a welcome to the show.
THEN UNDER.)
ANNCR: It's time now for another episode of "The Couples." Here we again identify the sound source, and then we give the lines to be spoken. Notice the difference in spoken and non-spoken information. To make things easier for the actors, the announcers, and anyone else who has to read this script on the air, we make a difference between the spoken and non-spoken parts, and the easiest way to do that is with capital letters and small letters. Whatever is not to be read is written in all capitals. Now let's suppose the action is to start. What do we do with the music? We have another couple lines of instructions.
another episode of "The Couples." George seems to be concerned.
MUSIC: DOWN AND OUT. FRED: It seems to me . The music fades out altogether and the actors begin. Once more we identify the sound sources (by using their names in capitals) and separate the read from the non-read.
If there are stage directions for the actors, they get thrown into this audio column. These directions might be: "(FRED MOVES TO THE DESK.)" or they might be: "GEORGE: (WITH CONCERN) Now Fred . . . ." In any case, they go in capitals.
Notice also that directions get separated from the identification of sound sources by being put in parentheses. That way the audio person can spot all the sound sources s/he has to deal with by scanning through the script looking for all capitals out of parentheses. This speeds up figuring out what mikes s/he needs, what channels s/he needs on the board, etc.
Let's switch over now to the video column and catch up with the audio column. At the beginning, when we have music for our audio, we need some picture on the screen. It would be logical to assume we start out with a title, so let's assume that.
T.C. MUSIC: ("SUNSET SCENES," SIDE (The Couples) 2, CUT 3. UP FULL, ESTABLISH, "T.C." stands for "title card," but that doesn't mean such a card will always have a title on it. That's a general name for a card with something on it which will be shot by a camera. That something may be a picture, a name, a price, a title, or any of a number of such items. And it gets called a great many things-title card, art card, flip card, graphic card, camera card, and so on. I arbitrarily chose the name "title card," so that's what my "T.C." means. Beneath that abbreviation, in parentheses, is an indication of what's on the card. The indication may be exact, as in this case, or it may be a general description of what's there. A general description is necessary when the T.C. has a picture-"woman posing in fur coat." Notice that this bit of video information goes directly across from the portion of audio it goes with. As the music starts, so does the picture. It stays on till the audio changes to Fred saying his first line.
Cover (George & Fred)
FRED: It seems to me . .Then we have new video directions. The abbreviation "Cover" is short for "cover shot." That means to show every thing that's important in the shot. In this case, according to the directions under "Cover," that's George and Fred. Later on, we get a close-up of the two actors, and that will be indicated in the video column like this.
CU (George)
GEORGE: Now Fred, she wasn't . . Now that we have an idea of the basic elements of a script, let's look further at this one and see what else may come into it.
T.C. (The Couples)
MUSIC: ("SUNSET SCENES," SIDE 2, CUT 3. UP FULL, ESTABLISH, THEN UNDER. ANNCR: It's time now for another episode of "The Couples." The party's about to begin, but George seems to be concerned.
Cover FRED: (LOOKING OUT WINDOW) I (George & Fred) hope Helen gets back before the first guests arrive.
GEORGE: I'm sure she will, Fred. She's never late.
CU FRED: (SMILING) Yes, you can (Fred) always depend on Helen.
CU GEORGE: (WITH CONCERN) But (George) what if she is late just this once? How will we explain that to the guests?
Cover FRED: (MOVING TO DESK) Maybe (Fred & George) she left us a note saying where she went. I'll look in the desk.
T.C. ANNCR: We'll be back to the (The Couples) exciting action right after this word.
SOF SOF: :30 (Has your (Sunshine Soap) skin . . . . be sure you pick up the beauty bundle of Sunshine Soap today.)
First of all, notice the script is double spaced. Sometimes, it's even better to triple space the copy. That makes it easier to read and easier to mark up when you make corrections or indicate changes. The only parts not double spaced are the explanations under the video directions. Next you notice the video column doesn't give the director any indication of how to get from shot to shot. Generally a script won't. If transitions are important, or as the writer or producer acquires more control over how the show is done, directions like "Dissolve to . . . ." or "Box wipe in . . . ." will appear. But a director is expected to be able to get from shot to shot without help, so quite often the listing is simply of what shot follows what. For example, on this script the director would probably fade to black after Fred says he will look in the desk and then fade up on the title card.
From there s/he would cut to the film.
What new information does the video column have? Those abbreviations. CU is close-up, and SOF is sound on film. Silent film is generally indicated SIL. You also have the length of the film-in this case, thirty seconds. I've put it in the audio column here and not in the video column, but it fits equally well in either column. Where it goes depends on the habits or preferences of each individual station. There are a lot of other abbreviations. Most are obvious if you think about them. ECU or XCU both mean extreme close-up. LS is a long shot. MS is medium shot. Some samples are illustrated in Fig. 84. But when T.C. is listed, there is no other indication of the size of the shot because the only way to shoot it is so the screen is filled. Now how about the audio column? The only new thing here is in connection with the film. The source is identified (SOF), and all that in parentheses is part of what is said. No one, neither the actors, the director, nor the audio person, needs to know every word on the film. But several do need to know what the first few words are and what the last ones are. We know from the video column it's a film about Sunshine Soap, but there are dozens of different films it could be. By having the first few words, we will know instantly if we are running the right film. If not, then there's a problem to work out, but if it's the right film, we also want to know the ending words. Sure, we have the time of the film, but it's often easier to listen for an ending cue than to watch time. So for any recording, whether on film or videotape, the script should have the time, an indication of content, a few words as an in-cue and several words as an out-cue. The more words you can give as an out-cue, up to a limit of about a dozen, the better off the director will be.
Fig. 84 Various shots
When you come to the end of a page, never split a sentence.
Even if you have to end with the bottom third of the page empty, never split a sentence. Try not to split a paragraph or a speech if you can avoid it. When you come to the end of a line, never split a word. At the end of a page, put "(MORE)." no more to be said about that.
(MORE) At the top of the next page, put an indication of what the script is about and a page number.
"Couples" Page 2 Sometimes you will find the second page listed as ADD 1, the third page as ADD 2, and so on. That's just an indication of the addition of one or two to the first page. Since the numbers don't match the actual number of pages, this is not my favorite form, but it is commonly used.
At the end of the script, and centered like (MORE), put a symbol to indicate you're through. The most commonly used symbols are -0-, ### # #, -30-, MSS, 00000, and sometimes even -END-. This script form is used for commercials, dramas, musical reviews, situation comedies, talk shows, and every other sort of show except one-news. News shows have a particular script format like no other, so let's see how it differs.
The major difference is that everything to be read is in CAPITALS and everything not read is in normal upper- and lower-case letters. The reason is to make it easy for the news person. News copy comes across wire machines like AP or UPI in all capitals. If a newsperson is on the air when a fast breaking story hits the wire machines, the copy will be ripped off the machine and slipped onto the desk while s/he is on the air. If it matches the look of the on-air script, s/he will be less likely to falter and stammer on the air and sound foolish. So news scripts are typed in capitals to match the wire copy.
Another common difference is that instead of identifying the newsperson each time, since s/he generally doesn't change from night to night, the video column will just list "Live On." Live On IN THE WAR TODAY, THE WEEKLY REPORT OF PROGRESS WAS ISSUED . . . . Notice too that the audio column doesn't list the news caster's name. If there are two anchor-people, this won't work, and they will be individually identified in the video column.
Smith AND WAS RELEASED. Jones BUT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE Still, though, the names do not appear in the audio column.
That's a reverse situation in news copy.
The end symbol like "-O-" is used at the end of every news story, not just at the end of the script. This helps the news people know how to emphasize sentences while reading. Also, only one news story at a time goes on a page. A news story may run to several pages, but if it finishes at the top of the third page, never put another story on the bottom of that page.
That's because the newsperson and director have to confer and make changes over an intercom system in the very short bits of time while a commercial is running or a news film is on. It's faster and more certain to say "Kill page 3" than to say "Kill the story at the bottom of page 3." A particular T.C. also appears in news scripts quite often, and sometimes in other scripts. That's the super T.C. Slide PRESIDING AT TODAY'S ( Wilson) CONFERENCE WAS FRED WILSON, Super T.C. PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN (Wilson) ASSOCIATION OF . . .
Fig. 85 Identification in news
In this case, the basic picture is of " Wilson." Another camera will shoot a black card with white lettering " Wilson" on it. As you know, that can be matted or keyed over the picture. So the total picture you get is illustrated in Fig. 85. Obviously, this "super T.C." idea can be used over a film, a videotape, a reporter in the studio reading his copy, and all sorts of other shots. But a super T.C. is always a bit of white lettering on a black card.
News also uses chroma key quite a bit. Generally, a particular camera will be the only one which can be used for chroma key effects. So the script will have to indicate when the news person turns to the other camera as well as what goes into the chroma-key shot. It may be listed like this: (Turn)
Chroma AND IN IRELAND TODAY, THE (Map-N. Ireland) GOVERNMENT REPORTED A SERIES OF . . . Because all scripts are to be read, you will want them clear for easy reading. So if a word is hard to pronounce, especially a foreign name, you will often find a pronunciation given right in the script just like this: ". .. and Prime Minister Cholmonde ley (CHUM-LEE) announced . . . ." Also, because you are writing to time and because you will get in the habit of judging time by the amount of copy you write, it's safer to write out all numbers, especially in commercial copy. That more closely approximates the time it takes to say the numbers. If your copy is full of "$1.98" and "only S3.49," and you write only a half page of copy, you may still find it takes longer to read this than a normal full page of your copy. Even write out the numbers for something like "Born in nineteen fifty-three, he . . . ." Following are two sample scripts containing a great number of the situations you will be faced with. The first script is the normal dramatic variety, and the second is a news script. If you come upon a situation you don't find handled here, remember the point of a script is to convey clearly what needs to be done. Figure out a common-sense, plain way to write it.
Title: Puttmobile Time: :60 Date: 1/15/77 Sponsor: Putt-mobile Writer: Brubaker First set is Mary sitting in chair, John on arm.
Plain background. Second set is car on shiny floor with varied colors lighting up background.
Cover (Mary & John)
Cover MUSIC: ("FANFARES," SIDE 1, CUT 2. HOLD UNDER.) MARY: Have you heard about the new Puttmobile? JOHN: It's all new for this year, with all the features you're looking for.
MUSIC: (FADE OUT.) MARY: The grand sweep of its (Puttmobile) design is sure to please.
(MORE) Puttmobile Page 2 From front bumper to rear lights, it's all new this year. (WALKS INTO PIC AT HOOD OF CAR.) These energy CU absorbing bumpers protect you (Front bumper) from damage for anything up to ten miles an hour.
MS JOHN: And at over ten miles (John & rear of per hour, they help hold car) damage down to a minimum. This helps hold down your insurance costs.
SIL :08 MARY: Here you can see the (Car hitting wall) new Puttmobile demonstrating how safe it is. Notice there's no damage at all to the car.
MS JOHN: And surrounding the (John in driver's driver are all the controls seat) and protections he could ever want. This shoulder belt (PICKS UP BELT) will help keep you in place no matter what happens. And up where the driver can see everything, the Puttmobile has instruments Slide to tell you how well your car (Instrument Panel) is doing. There's even a gauge ECU to tell you when the oil is (Oil gauge) low! (MORE) Puttmobile Page 3 Cover MARY: But don't just take our (Mary, John, Car) word for it. Listen to these satisfied owners.
VTR VTR: :09 (It's probably the (Bald Man) finest . . . you get what you pay for in a Puttmobile.) Slide CART: :07 (This is the (Woman) easiest . . . my driving safer and more enjoyable.) SOF SOF: :08 (I feel safer • • • (Man & kids) for a big family, it's ideal.) Cover MUSIC: (REEL 4, SIDE 1, CUT (Mary, John, Car) 1. UNDER AND HOLD.) JOHN: You'll be just as satisfied as these people were when you own a Puttmobile.
(TURN AND PRETEND TO TALK WITH MARY.) Super T.C. ANNCR: Drop in soon at Jones (Jones Bros. Brothers Puttmobile and look Puttm.) at the ideal car. You'll be delighted! MUSIC: (UP AND OUT.) West Virginia mine 15 Jan. 1977 Bell Live On THERE'S BEEN ANOTHER MINE DISASTER TODAY IN THE HILLS OF WEST VIRGINIA. IT ALL BEGAN WITH THE MORNING SHIFT COMING TO WORK AT UNITED COAL'S NUMBER SEVEN MINE. (Turn)
Chroma THE MINE IS OUTSIDE TWO (Map showing town) WHISTLE, WEST VIRGINIA AND IS THE ONLY INDUSTRY IN THE LITTLE TOWN OF TWENTY-ONE HUNDRED. AT EIGHT THIS MORNING, THE NEW SHIFT WAS ARRIVING FOR WORK. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT IS REPORTED TO US BY JEFF BELSKY OF STATION WSAB IN HUNTINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA. VTR VTR: 2:02 (As the first men (Belsky) arrived . . . .trying to Super T.C. rescue the trapped miners for (Jeff Belsky) over ten hours now.) Live On THE EXACT CAUSE OF THE EXPLOSION IS AS YET UNKNOWN, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO TALK TO A COMPANY SAFETY ENGINEER ON THE PHONE THIS AFTERNOON. HE GAVE US HIS OPINION ON A POSSIBLE CAUSE. (MORE) West Va. Mine Page 2 Slide Cart: 1:03 (It's possible the (Engineer) engine . . . of course we Super T.C. won't know until an (D. N. Perkins investigation is completed.) Mine Engineer)
SIL :24 (Outside Mine)
Slide (Engineer)
Live On DICK MELODY TALKED TO SOME OF THE FAMILIES OF THE TRAPPED MINERS, AND HERE IS HIS REPORT. SOF SOF 1:41 (This sort of (Melody interview) disaster . . . can only stand by and pray now. Dick Melody at Two Whistle, West Virginia.)
-0-
As a director, what do you do with these scripts? Obviously, they will work as a guide for what to show on the air, and they will let you know what should be coming up next in the way of sounds. You'll want to make various marks on these scripts to remind yourself what to do when. The more you have written down on the script and the more you do automatically, the less you have to think about during the show. That leaves more of your mind free to concentrate on how to overcome the mis takes that happen, or how to get from place to place more smoothly. You'll have enough going on around you without having to figure out all over again when to give time cues or where you had decided to cut to another shot. So let's talk about some ways to mark up a script.
For many scripts, you won't need to write in anything about the content of individual shots. That's done for you with some thing like "CU (Fred's face)." You may, however, want to write in sometime to indicate a slow dissolve or a cut or a corner wipe. A symbol will work better than words as the script al ready has enough words on it. You can make up your own symbols, but something like directly above a direction like CU might mean "cut to a close-up." A symbol like * is used in film for dissolves, and you might find it handy. Drawing a box wipe is probably the best bet for that symbol F . In commercial scripts, I've found it handy to mark right in the copy at the point I want to change shots. That's because the commercial copy is often written with only vague relation to the visual elements. So I've done something like this.
Slide Or you may want to choose (Evening Dress) from the large and elegant collection of couturier styles for evening wear. Set off that sparkling dress with the proper Slide accessories, the evening (Ev. bag & shoes) bag, and the right shoes. No outfit is really complete until . . .
The change ought to come in the middle of a line, so I put half a box over the word where I change to the next slide. In this case, I dissolve to the next slide because the copy needs the slowness and lack of abruptness of a dissolve.
Until you know your preparatory commands so well that you are calling them by habit, you may want to write them and the commands of execution into the script. Eliminate them as soon as you can, though, for the script's sake. It gets jumbled.
But one command of preparation you may want to retain. If you are going to a videotape, and you must have a six-second roll to get up to speed, you may want to mark a spot in the copy where six seconds comes and write in something like "roll VTR." All of this will get you from shot to shot at the right time and in the right way. How can you be sure that the shots are there? If you think you might forget to ask a camera to move to a new shot, or if you think the cameraperson might forget to make the move, even though you have rehearsed forty-seven times, you may want to write in on the script something like "Camera 2 move to the two shot." This might be abbreviated on the script as "2-2 shot," which would be enough to remind you to give the command.
You will want to have some indication on the script of which camera gets which shot, as well as reminding yourself to tell a camera to move. Let's take the situation of the "2-2 shot" and see how to indicate the camera numbers.
CU can't go wrong with this (Electric Skillet) wrapped in that special paper 2 -- and given to that special person on your list. And it comes with our famous two-year guarantee.
MS MARY: I know I'd like one, (Mary) John, and so would any woman.
\ 5Wer Christmas is so much nicer
- 2- 2, with a present from Brown's Department Store.
Cover JOHN: So come in soon.
(John & Mary) Remember, only forty-eight more shopping days till Christmas.
-0
The camera numbers go in the video column near the description of the shot. Write them in with pencil if you can. That way you can change around the order and not mess up the script with scratch-outs. If you want to take a camera on a particular word, as we did here with Camera 2, you can indicate exactly where with a half-box over the word.
A good deal of your directing may be commercials and news. These can be the staples of many stations. So you may find it convenient to make marks at the bottom of a page indicating whether there is more on a following page or if it's the end. I know I've talked about symbols like "-O-" but only in reference to that one topic. Suppose you are directing a station break with three commercials in it. Each commercial has a "-O-" at the end to indicate that one spot has no more pages of script.
But you may have more spots to follow. So you may want to adopt something like an arrow to show there's another spot.
An arrow with a couple lines in front of it can indicate that's the end.
You may want to adopt marks very like those shown in Fig. 86 in marking a news script to indicate where the commercial breaks come. An arrow with a couple lines at the bottom of the page on both your script and the newsperson's will indicate that's where the break comes and s/he is to stop reading.
Fig. 86 Director's marks
Any special audio cues or changes you may want to under line in the copy. That makes them stand out even more than the capitals they are typed in do. If you have special things you are doing with audio, you may want to write them into the video column rather than jumble up the audio column further.
But it's generally smart to run at least an arrow from the audio column out to your extra command so you won't overlook it as you follow down the audio column.
Don't keep your eyes glued on the script, however. Tele vision is a visual medium so you have to watch the monitors.
Take a glance at the script, run your finger along with the copy so you have a rough idea where the place is, but don't follow every word. You will soon learn to listen, hear three or four words, and scan a page to pick them out. You'll do that fast enough to keep up. Know what the last words are on the page so you'll know when to go on to the next page. But keep your eyes up.
You now have the script with its markings, the films and slides loaded on the film island, the carts and records in the audio person's hands, the cameras ready to go, and the actors on the set. How do you know when to start? Where do commercials go? How much time do you have? This and dozens of other questions are answered by a glance at the daily log.
TV LOGS
Logs are the road maps prepared by the traffic department. They tell exactly what events happen at what times throughout the entire broadcast day. Because of that, everyone involved in production ends up regularly looking at the log. Engineers check to see what videotapes are to be played and when, film editors look for films and film numbers, announcers see when breaks come and if anything is to come from the announcer's booth rather than from audio carts, and directors check to see what commercials come up and whether they are live, or on tape, or on film. After the day is finished, the log goes to the accounting department, which uses it to bill sponsors for the commercials which ran. Much later, at license-renewal time, the FCC looks at certain days' logs to see how the station has performed. Obviously, the log is quite useful and valuable to the station, so we need to take a closer look at it.
Suppose you are directing an afternoon talk show, done live from your studios. What information must the log give you?
First of all, if you are directing the break before the show begins, you will need to know exactly when the preceding show, a soaper named "Life and Happiness," ends. Then you will need to know what commercials go into the break. So the log will start something like this: Life and Happiness 3:58:58 Boch Oldsmobile 3:59:28 Stop & Shop Supermarkets 3:59:58 ID 4:00:00 The Virginia Douglas Show But you need more information than this. You need to know if the Oldsmobile spot is live, on film, or on videotape. Probably it's on VTR. But which one? So you need a number. There's also a possibility the announcer will have to say something at the end, so you need to know where the audio comes from. You'll have two columns, one for video and one for audio. The FCC will also want to know what sort of announcement this is-for pay, for free, as a public service, and so on. A separate column will list the type of spot. Below is an example of a typical log entry.
Title Audio Video Type Life and Net Net Net Happiness 3:58:58 Boch VTR #4 VTR #4 CA Oldsmobile 3:59:28 Stop & Shop F #38 F #38 CA Supermarkets Anne. Tag S #12 3:59:58 ID C #7 C #7 ID 4:00:00 The Virginia Live Live Var.
Douglas Show
The video column lists what's going on (VTR for videotape, F for film, S for slide, L for live, etc.), plus an identification number (videotape #2032, slide #42, etc.). The audio column lists where the sound comes from (for example, from the film with a tag live from the announce booth over a slide at the end of the spot). In the column for type we are told these are commercial announcements (CA) or public service announcements (PSA) or station identifications (ID) or whatever. All the abbreviations will be explained on the bottom of the page.
Because things don't always go the way they should, the log also has room to list comments and to list the actual time any event goes on and goes off. That way, if everything gets delayed by a machine malfunction, but still goes on, the right time can be listed along with an explanation for the delay.
Furthermore, the spots listed within a show itself aren't listed with a time.
4:00:00 The Virginia Douglas Show Milady's Frocks Thompson Jewelers D & H Drugs Etc.
These come whenever the hostess pitches for them, so no set time can be given. So the log has to have a place to list when they ran. The on and off columns allow for that. You will, in addition, have a column listing the length of spots so in situations like this you can tell how long they should run. On other spots, you could subtract the times listed for when the spots run, but here that maneuver is impossible, so the log will provide a run-down of all lengths, just to make sure everything is covered.
These are the major categories any station needs on a log.
Some stations may want other columns for specific purposes, like a column for checks by the official log keeper (generally the booth announcer) to verify that spots ran, or a sign in-sign off column for announcer changeovers, but these columns pro vide at least the minimum of information needed.
A companion to the log is the book. Every event on the log also has a page in the book repeating some of the information and giving even more. The book is intended primarily for the director and the announcer. Let's look at that film spot for Stop & Shop Supermarkets. It has a booth tag over it, but how is the announcer supposed to know what to say? S/he will have a page in the book like this:
Stop & Shop END CUE: (:20) (. . . YOU CAN Film #38 :30 DEPEND ON.) Slide #12 ANNCR: Save this week on Stop (Logo) and Shop's special on round steak. Be sure to stop at Stop and Shop.
-0-
Now the announcer knows what to say and when (after twenty seconds and the end cue), and the director knows how to end the spot. The film can't just run out, the announcer has to read his copy. If a particular slide were to be matted over the end of the film, it would have been listed, and described, with a phrase like "140 a lb." and directions like "Over film." The log gives only a number; it's the book that tells you "This week, 490 a lb." That's a good double check in case the number gets mistyped on the log. The director checks his slides before going on the air, so he can spot possible errors.
So between the book and the log, both prepared daily by the traffic department, everyone in the station knows what to do and when to do it. If any changes have to be made, they must be made in ink and dated and initialed because the log becomes a legal document once it's finished. After all, the FCC uses it to check on what the station's doing, and the accounting department uses it as proof that commercials really did run. The log and the book are not only useful, they are essential.
Now you have all the materials assembled for a show.
What you need next is a director to make things happen.
DIRECTING
So the day arrives when you have to walk into the control room, put on a headset, and tell everyone on the crew what to do and when to do it. You are the director! You know you have to tell two camerapeople what shots to get while giving information to the floor manager to pass on to the talent, while telling the audio person what mike to hit or what record to start, while telling the technical director (T.D.) how to go from one shot to another while watching fifteen monitors, while . . . . How will you ever have time to follow the script? To listen to what the actors are saying? To check on the next slide? To figure out how much time is left, and so on? Every member of the crew has a lot to think about, but as the director, you will have to cover your own concerns, plus everyone else's, and sometimes come up with answers before anyone else realizes there is a problem. That's what the director is faced with, but how do you handle it all? Let's set up a sample situation and see just what the direc tor has to do to make it work right. Suppose you're directing a local talk-variety show. The host has just pitched by saying "We'll be right back after these messages." You have to run a :30 film commercial, a :30 live studio spot, and a :30 VTR spot with a live announcer tag, then get back into the show. You have a band in the studio for the show and it plays music as you leave for the break. The film spot has a three-second roll (check the end of the Projection section), the live spot has two close ups, a cover, a music bed, a price matted in at the end, and all the audio from the booth announcer. The VTR spot has a store name matted over the last seven seconds, has a six-second roll, and has a booth tag. Then it's straight back to the host. His show is over at 5:28:30, so you'll have to tell him how much time he'll have left after the spots finish. No one else will be talking on the headsets, so here is how it goes.
Host: We'll be right... Director: One, zoom out. Two, break for your close-up. Stand by to roll the film, and stand by to hit the film sound.
Host: back after these messages. (Music starts.) Director: Stand by to fade to black. Stand by to hit the film.
Roll the film. Fade to black. Take the film. Hit the sound.
(Director starts the stop watch and notices real time on the wall clock. It is 5:13:38.) One, break for your close-up.
Plus 1:30 (length of spots) is 15:08. From 28:30 is 13:22.
Tell Bob (host) he'll have almost thirteen and a half coming back. (S/he checks monitors to see if shots are right-they are.) I'll want a matt of that slide (the price) over two at the end of this. Music cued? (Audio says yes.) Seven seconds left in the film. Ready booth. Stand by to cut to two. Ready to bring music under. Take two, music under, booth. (S/he resets the stop watch. S/he looks at the script to see when the next shot should come.) Ready to dissolve to one. Dissolve to one. Two, break for your cover.
Ready to dissolve to two. (S/he checks the script again.) Dissolve to two. Ready to dissolve in a matt of slide over two. Stand by to roll VTR. Dissolve in effect. Roll VTR. Ready to bring music up, then down and out. (Announcer finishes reading.) Bring music up, down, and out. Hit VTR. Hit sound. Change slide. (S/he resets stop watch.) One, break for cover of Bob. Two, break for close-up of guest.
Stand by to cut to matt of slide over VTR. Ten seconds left.
Ready booth. (Floor manager relays ten-second cue to host.
Cut to effect. Booth. Stand by to fade to black. Stand by to fade up on one and stand by to open Bob's mike. (Floor manager gives a stand-by cue to the host.) Fade out, up on one, open his mike, and cue him.
It's over. The host is back, the spots ran, and everyone knew what to do. The director controlled eight other people, gave each of them the information s/he needed just as s/he needed it, and kept the pieces together as a unified whole. The director's language was quite specific, with few extra or wasted words. Some preparation beforehand made things easier; s/he had rehearsed the shots for the live spot so each cameraperson knew what s/he was to get. The director and the audio person had checked out the record which was to be used for music in that spot. S/he had gone through the slides before the show started to see they were in the right order. But let's take a closer look at what s/he did, because it still seems pretty miraculous that everything worked.
Let's start with the language. The crew won't do anything until s/he tells them to, because they assume s/he knows better than they what needs to be done, so they don't want to risk a mistake by doing something s/he doesn't ask for. So s/he has to tell them precisely what to do. But s/he wants them forewarned, so s/he starts off with a "ready" command, or a "stand by" command, before s/he gives the "action" command. That is, s/he says something like "Stand by to cut to one" so that the T.D. gets ready to punch the right button and so one's cameraperson gets a steady shot. Then s/he can say "Cut to one" and both the T.D. and the cameraperson are set to give the director what s/he wants exactly when s/he wants it.
The exact language isn't important. S/he can say "Stand by to ..." or "Ready to . . ." or "Prepare to . . ." or anything else that works so long as s/he warns everyone rapidly and accurately.
With very few exceptions ("Change slide."), a ready command always precedes an action command.
Keep the commands short because you don't have much time, and be sure they are accurate. If you say "Ready to go to one," your T.D. can dissolve or cut or even fade out and fade back up on one. But if you say "Ready to cut to one," there's no doubt what sort of transition you will get, unless your T.D. goofs up. Likewise, if you say "Stand by to start the audio," you may get the record when you want the cart or the studio mike, and the sound may fade in instead of starting full. If you say "Stand by to hit the cart," everyone knows what s/he should hear. There's also a concern of accuracy in talking to camerapeople. Don't say "One, get me a better shot." Tell that person to dolly in or tilt up or pan right or whatever you think will work. In talking to camerapeople, start out by giving the camera number, so they know who you're talking to. "One, pan left. Two, break for a cover shot." Don't confuse pan and tilt.
A good cameraperson starts tensing the right muscles at the first sound of a command. "One . . ." A particular canneraper son's ears and brain perk up. ". . .p" s/he gets ready to go left or right. ". . pan up." The muscles get confused and reaction time is slowed. If s/he's on the air, you'll miss a bit of the shot you wanted. Say, "One, tilt up," and you'll get faster, slicker, more professional production.
Having said all this about language, let's go back to that spot break and follow the director's conversation. S/he knows, by the host's comment, that a break is coming up.
HOST: We'll be right...
DIRECTOR:
One, zoom S/he has camera one on a close-up of out. the host and tells that camera to zoom out to a cover shot so s/ he'll have a little time to get everything going.
Two, break for your Camera two has been on a close-up, close-up, of the guest and needs to be told what the next shot will be, so s/he says it is a close-up and the camera- Stand by to roll the film, and stand by to hit the film sound.
HOST: back after these messages.
DIRECTOR: Stand by to fade to black.
Stand by to hit the film.
Roll the film.
Fade to black. Take the film. Hit the sound.
One, break for your close-up.
Plus 1:30 is 15:08.
From 28:30 is 13:22.
Tell Bob he'll have almost 13 and a half coming back.
person knows to go over for a shot of one of the products being sold in the upcoming commercial. The director and the camerapeople have run through this spot before the show, so both camera people know what to get.
Next, the director tells the projectionist to get ready to start the film and tells the audio person to be ready to hit the film sound.
Automatically, the audio person will kill other sound sources, such as the music coming over the mikes in the studio.
S/he tells the T.D. to stand by to fade out from the studio, then cut directly to the film. At this point, s/he has warned the audio person, the T.D., the camerapeople, and the projectionist.
These are the "ready" commands.
Now come the "action" commands.
Because the film has to roll before s/he can take it, s/he calls for that first.
Then a fade, a cut, and a sound cue.
S/he has to know how long the film will run, so as soon as it starts, s/he starts the stop watch. That way s/ he'll know when the :30 is up. S/he also checks the time on the wall clock, and tells the other cameraperson where to go next.
S/he quickly figures time cues and passes the information on to the floor manager so the host will know what he should do, and whether he should stretch or rush.
I'll want a matt of that slide over the end of this.
Music cued? Seven seconds left in the film. Ready booth.
Stand by to cut to two. Ready to bring music under.
At this point, s/he's no longer thinking about the film. S/he's worrying about the next event, which starts when the stop watch gets to thirty. This is always true. Once an event gets on the air, don't waste any more time on it. Go on to the next item. Even if what's on the air is wrong, go to the next thing. If something is wrong, and you are properly preparing the next item, you have something to go to which will cover the error now showing. You have to stay anywhere from three to thirty seconds ahead of what's on the air. If your time and air time match, you're in trouble. You have no idea where to go next. That next event is the live spot. It has two close-ups of products, then a cover of both, plus a matt, music, and the announcer reading the commercial copy from the booth. But take it one step at a time. The first shot is ready, as the camera broke for it way back before the film started running. The second shot is ready. A monitor check shows that, plus the slide for use at the end. The director has told the T.D. what s/he will do with that slide later on.
S/he asks audio about the music, and because they rehearsed earlier, audio knows what music s/he is referring to. Now the director knows the elements s/he needs are there, so s/he starts on the "ready" commands.
S/he warns the announcer.
S/he tells the T.D. what s/he will want.
S/he prepares the audio person. By implication of what s/he says to the T.D., the cameraperson on two knows s/he should get ready.
Take two, music under, booth.
Ready to dissolve to one.
Dissolve to one. Two, break for your cover.
Ready to dissolve to two.
Dissolve to two.
Ready to dissolve in a matt of slide over two.
Stand by to roll VTR.
Dissolve in effect.
Roll VTR
Ready to bring music up, down, and out.
Bring music up, down, and out. Hit VTR. Hit sound.
Change slide.
The time on the film runs out, and the "action" commands start. A shot, music, and copy.
S/he warns both the T.D. and Camera one of what's next.
S/he gets to the next shot, and immediately tells the now free camera two what to do next. One, of course, holds its close-up.
While that's on the air, s/he goes on to the next thing, and gives a "ready" command. To the T.D. and camera person s/he announces the transition to the next shot.
S/he gives the action command, and goes to the next item.
S/he tells the T.D. what s/he wants next and warns the projectionist about the upcoming VTR. S/he has to roll it six seconds before this spot ends so it will come up right on time.
S/he calls for the final shot in the live commercial, rolls the tape, then warns the audio person with a ready" command of what s/he wants to do with the sound.
The announcer finishes, the director calls for the music change, gets into the VTR, and uses "action" commands to do it all. Now s/he gives a command which needs no "ready" command.
"Ready" commands are to prepare people to react fast. With this slide off the air, it really doesn't matter how fast the reaction time is, so long as the next slide gets up within the next few seconds. If it were a slide change on the air, the director might indeed give a ready command, but off the air doesn't matter. That's true of off-air camera moves as well. Now we are into the tape spot. Next s/he worries about what happens at the end of the spot and afterwards.
One, break for cover of Bob. Two, break for close-up of guest.
Stand by to cut to matt of slide over VTR. Ten seconds left.
Ready booth.
Cut to effects. Booth.
Stand by to fade to black.
Stand by to fade up on one, and stand by to open Bob's mike.
Fade out, up on one, open his mike, and cue him.
S/he tells both cameras what shots to get.
S/he gives a "ready" command to the T.D. about the end of the VTR. Time cues, like other off-air activity, need no ready commands, so s/he just announces the time. This is a very important cue, however. Without this indication, the studio situation may not be in control so the director can come back to the host. Time is of vital importance in broadcasting, so treat it with respect.
S/he prepares the announcer.
After two "action" commands, the tape spot goes into its final part.
Three "ready" commands, one to the T.D.,
one to the T.D. and cameraperson, and one to the audio person, and the director's ready to hit the show again.
Four fast "action" commands in one sentence and the director is back into the show and already thinking of what s/he will do next.
Those eight people, the T.D., the two camerapeople, the audio person, the projectionist, the floor manager, the booth announcer, and the host, have all been told what to do one at a time and in a working sequence. They were, most of them, first warned to get ready and then told to start. The director kept them all in mind, plus checking scripts, clocks, monitors, and speakers. S/he worried first about the video portion of an event, then the audio. For example, s/he talked of fading to black, rolling the film, then hitting the film sound. For the next spot, s/he got the camera shots set first, then worried about the music and the booth announcer. S/he tried to give everyone as much preparation time as possible. S/he told the camera people where to go next as soon as they were freed from an on-air shot and as soon as s/he had time. That way they didn't finish a shot, hang around not knowing where to go, and then learn they had to get all the way across the studio in two seconds flat. There were gaps where s/he had nothing pressing for a few seconds, as when the film was running and everything was set for the second spot. So s/he used that time to figure the time cues.
Let's summarize what happened. S/he lives in the future- from three to thirty seconds ahead of what's showing up on the home screen. S/he gives "ready" commands to prepare every one to act. S/he gives "action" commands in order to get things done. S/he worries about video first, then audio. Orders are clear, short, and precise. S/he times accurately, and gives all necessary time cues. And s/he uses all of his or her senses totally.
That's the technical side of what the director does, but there's also a more creative side. Let's go back to that live spot with the two products and the cover shot and the matt of the price. Most likely, all the director is given is the copy to be read and the products themselves. How the spot looks on the air is pretty much up to the director. S/he can set the two items on a tabletop, shoot them, and let it go at that. If the table top is shiny, the engineers may have to take the shading down so far you can't read the labels. Or the labels might be turned away from the cameras. Or the background may be so busy you barely notice the products. Or, if the background's plain, they may be so close to it that their shadows get as much attention as they do. Any of a dozen other things may be wrong.
Strange as it may sound, anyone can learn to give the commands necessary to get through a break like this. Some directors may be a bit better than others, but anyone who can walk through a door and chew gum at the same time can master the sequence of commands. The appearance on the air is what distinguishes a good from a bad director. The appearance of a live spot like this one is a giveaway to the skill and value of the director as more than just a button-pusher. A director who consistently uses the shiny tabletop is rapidly picked out as a second- or third-rate director. S/he won't go far. S/he will end up directing the 6 A.M. sign-on news or the Sunday afternoon public affairs panel show. The good director, on the other hand, handles all the commands easily and in good time, plus having an attractive setting for the spot, covering the shiny tabletop, and getting all the labels facing the cameras. S/he will consistently produce clean, attractive commercials. S/he will have well-composed, informative shots during the live show. S/he will have an ear for the right music for the right mood. S/he will have a feel for when to pause and when to hurry. In other words, s/he thinks about the content, not just the outer form, of the material s/he puts on the air.
For example, if that live spot is for perfume, s/he may use a bit of gauze and some flowers (use plastic, as the camera can't tell the difference) to surround the bottles. Softer, gentler lighting is called for, plus perhaps a colored spot hitting the background. The music should probably be a soft, romantic instrumental with lots of strings. On the other hand, if the products are aerosol sprays for athlete's foot and the copy speaks of locker rooms, the music may be of marching bands, the lighting will be harsher, the cans may sit on some artificial grass, and a football may rest in the background. It's the director's awareness of the different appeals of these products that creates different spots even though the basics-two items on a tabletop-remain the same.
In dealing with people, the director is aware of the com position of the pictures too. S/he knows s/he needs to leave a bit of space above a person's head, but if s/he goes in very tight, s/he should chop off the top of a head rather than the chin. S/he knows that when a person is looking to the side of a picture, s/he should leave a bit more space in front of the face than behind. That's called "leading" the face. S/he knows that one rule to follow is, "Show the viewer what s/he wants to see when s/he wants to see it." S/he therefore cuts a split second before an object is named or shown. If the detective mentions the dagger, the cut is to a CU of the dagger just before the detective says the word, so the viewer sees it when s/he wants to see it. S/he knows a dissolve can be part of the effect in a dream sequence. A dissolve can also be used to indicate to viewers that something else at a different location is happening at the same time. Cuts generally show something within the same area, like a shot of the eavesdropper behind the curtain in the same room where we have been watching a conversation. The director, then, worries about composition and effect as well as the mechanical process of getting shots on the air. And this worry lasts as long as s/he directs. S/he develops a sharp eye for the composition and form of shots, and constantly thinks about how to better the productions. Walking in the control room that first time and starting to tell a crew what to do is only the beginning of the constantly changing demands on a director's abilities.