How to Write a Script for a Documentary:
Before You Begin Shooting

• RESEARCH! Once you’ve settled on your Idea time to start digging. Leave no rock left unturned.


• Create a List. Based on your research, start creating a list of potential characters/interviews, basic storylines, areas of potential conflict and emotion. Ask yourself, “what’s at the heart of this story and how do I “show” that visually?”


• Get Style. Decide the look, feel and style of your documentary. Search web videos or watch TV for ideas. Netflix is a great resource for documentaries.


• Write a “shooting script” (pre-script/outline) – Often with documentaries, the script can’t really be written until after the footage has been shot and you start piecing the story together based on what you “discovered” with your camera. However, writing an outline at the beginning can be an invaluable guide to point you in the right direction, especially to be able to look back as a reference when the chaos of shooting can get you off track. There WILL come that moment in the process when you say, “What was I thinking!?”


• Get Creative. Think about some unique and creative ways you can spice up your movie and give it that "Wow" factor.
  

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How To Write a Script for a Documentary:
After Shooting is Complete

The very nature of the documentary is that it is “unscripted”. It is meant to capture some aspect of “real life”. Then it is up to the you (the writer) to take the messiness of real life and create some kind of story.

As the scriptwriter, you will need to examine all the “unscripted” & “raw” footage and create some sort of structure out of it.

It will seem daunting at first (you WILL feel overwhelmed at some point), but think of it as putting together a great big puzzle. It will look like a jumbled mess at first, but bit by bit, the big picture will begin to reveal itself as you mix and match the various pieces. How to write a script:

1. Transcribe your footage – This may seem like a tedious and boring task at first, but TRUST ME, you will thank yourself in the end. This is where you begin to "log" and categorize the various "pieces" of your puzzle.


2. Review the BIG picture. What are the main elements (characters and plots) that have surfaced through shooting process that create the tapestry of your overall story. What are the key “moments”?


3. Create Scenes. Take these “moments” and divide your documentary into mini-stories (scenes) that, together, create the documentary.


4. Build a Roller Coaster. Take these scenes and begin creating a “Roller Coaster” ride for your audience. What kind of “ride” are you taking them on? Think about the powerful moments in your story and how to write a script to build up those moments.
   
5. Villain and Hero. Another important part of scriptwriting is determining the villain(s) and hero(s) in your story. A hero/villain can be a person, thing or event. (A tornado can be the villain).


6. BEGINNING, MIDDLE and an END. Of course, every story has a beginning, middle and end. If you can outline your story in these three general categories, then you can begin to fill in the details.


7. The Ending. If you have a lot of footage and information to work with, a simple way to clarify how to start building your script is to think about how you’re going to END your documentary. Everything else leads up to that.


8. Start Strong. I cannot express enough the importance of how you START your documentary. This is when you “hook” the audience and set the tone for the entire program. The beginning of your film should:


• Establish the “core message” of the documentary (this often includes a specific “incident” that is controversial or offsets the balance of forces in some way).


• Create curiosity -- set up the “problem” or “issue” in the most compelling way possible to tantalize or grab your audience’s interest. Create a situation that makes the audience ask, “Why is this happening?”


9. What's in the Middle? It’s easy for scriptwriters to get “lost” in the middle (body) section of the script. Just keep asking yourself, “does this scene/story or information move the story forward and lead to the ending conclusion?” Don’t get attached to any particular footage or information. If it doesn’t fit, leave it OUT. You can always put it in the “Bonus” or “Deleted Scenes” section of your DVD. :-)


10. Script Template. Finally, once you have a general outline of your story, begin building your script using a 2-column script template: one column for audio, one column for video.

Writing Radio News

How to Write Radio News Scripts

Introduction Learning how to write news for radio broadcasting can be a challenge because it is a format that has its own rules.

First and foremost, radio news scripts are written for listeners, not readers or viewers.

Follow these basic guidelines for writing a radio news script:

Know that radio news writing is aimed toward the listener, so the writing should be clear and simple. No words that are difficult to pronounce, nor require a dictionary to understand.

Step Two Write an outline.

Determine the key elements of the story. These are the essential components. Ask yourself: Who? What? Why? Where? When?

Step Three Write a tease. This will be used with other teases to whet the appetite of the listener before the news is aired. This should not be longer than a sentence.

Step Four Write a lead sentence. This is used to grab the listener’s attention. Be concise and accurate with your lead.

Step Five Write the body. Include all necessary facts, figures, and main points. Radio news stories are typically 100 to 300 words, based on the amount of time dedicated to the story. 100 words equates to approximately 30 seconds of airtime.

Step Six Write a story conclusion. This should be no longer than a sentence or two that sums up the key points of the story.

Step Seven Format your script in accordance with basic radio script guidelines which may vary from radio station to radio station.

Step Eight

Fact-check the script and review your grammar.
Present the script to a copy-editor that might find mistakes you overlooked.

Overall Tips & Warnings
• Keep it fresh. Repetition is the most common error made in regards to leads and teases in radio news.
• Some of the basic radio script guidelines include:
• All copy should be typed and double-spaced.
• Date the first page of the script. Indent all paragraphs.
• Don’t use semicolons and write out abbreviations.
• Use underlines for emphasis and dashes for long pauses.
• Avoid technical terms or jargon that will go over the heads of the public.
• Fact check. Your journalistic credibility is at stake, so don't be careless.
• Limit the amount of figures you include. Too many numbers become confusing.
• Keep sentences short so the reporter can take a breathe.
• Use the active voice. "He jumped the hurdle" instead of "The hurdle was jumped by him."
• Write in the present tense for immediacy. That is, instead of "The citizens of Old City will vote today" try "Old City citizens are voting."
• Be objective in your writing, do not editorialize or add personal or philosophical comments. Stick to the story.
• Never plagiarize. Writing that you claim to be your own should always be your own. If not, you invite the possibility of litigation. 

Types of Radio Programs

TYPES OF RADIO FORMATS

Do you remember the programmes you have heard on radio. Try and recall some of them. You may have heard the names of radio stations, from where the programmes are broadcast. Many of you would remember Vividh Bharati, AIR FM Gold or some private commercial station.You may also remember the time being mentioned and what programme you are going to listen to. These are called announcements.

Announcements have been traditionally made by people who are known as announcers. The commercial radio channels may call them Radio Jockeys (RJs) or anchor persons. Before you learn about the different radio formats, you must know the ingredients of a radio format. As you know most of what is spoken on radio is written down. As you have already learnt that what is written for radio is heard and is referred to as ‘spoken word’ as against the ‘written word’. But the spoken words on radio is written down or what is generally called ‘scripted’.

A Radio format can be split into three parts: They are:-

(a) Spoken Word or Human Voice

(b) Music

(c) Sound Effects

All radio formats have the above three ingredients. So let us first classify the spoken word format.

SPOKEN WORD

1. Announcements : These are specifically written clear messages to inform. They can be of different types. For example station/programme identification. These mention the station you are tuned into, the frequency, the time and the programme/song you are going to listen to. As mentioned already you find in today’s commercial radio channels, these announcements have become informal and resemble ordinary conversation. There can be more than one presenter in some programmes like magazines.

2. Radio talk : The radio talk probably is the oldest format on radio. There has been a tradition in India and Britain to invite experts or prominent persons to speak for 10 or 15 minutes on a specific topic. These talks have to go through a process of being changed into radio’s spoken word style. Over the years, these long radio talks have become unpopular. Instead, today, shorter duration talks are broadcast. Of course, you can listen to these talks only on public service broadcasting stations.

3. Radio interviews: Have you ever interviewed anyone? Probably yes. In the media, be it the newspaper, magazine, radio or television, journalists use this technique of asking questions to get information. There can be different types of interviews in terms of their duration, content and purpose.

Firstly, there are full fledged interview programmes. The duration of these may vary from 10 minutes to 30 minutes or even 60 minutes depending up on the topic, and the person being interviewed. Most of such interviews are personality based. You might have heard of long interviews with well known people in the field of public life, literature, science, sports, films etc.

Secondly, there are interviews which are used in various radio programmes like documentaries. Here the interviews are short, questions specific and not many. The purpose is to get a very brief, to the point answer. Thirdly there are a lot of interviews or interview based programmes in news and current affairs programmes. Have you heard such interviews on radio? With phone-in-programmes becoming popular, you might have heard live interviews with listeners. These interviews have been made interactive. There is another type of interview based programme.

Here generally just one or two questions are put across to ordinary people or people with knowledge on some current topic to measure public opinion. For example when the general budget or the railway budget is presented in the parliament, people representing radio go out and ask the general public about their opinion. Their names and identity may not be asked. Such programmes are called ‘vox pop’ which is a Latin phrase meaning‘ voice of people’.

You have to be very inquisitive and hard working to be a radio interviewer with good general awareness and communication skills.

4. Radio discussions :- When you have a problem in your family or with your friends, don’t you say “let us discuss?” Yes we do. Through a discussion we can find out a solution to problems. In any discussion there are more than 2 or 3 people and then ideas can be pooled to come to some conclusion. In radio, this technique is used to let people have different points of view on matters of public concern. Radio discussions are produced when there are social or economic issues which may be controversial. So when different experts meet and discuss such issues, people understand various points of view. Generally, these discussions on radio are of longer duration-say 15 to 30 minutes.

Two or three people who are known for their views and a well informed senior person or journalist who acts as a moderator take part and discuss a particular topic for about 30 minutes. The moderator conducts the discussion, introduces the topic and the participants and ensures that everyone gets enough time to speak and all issues are discussed.

5. Radio documentaries/features: If you see a film in a movie hall, it is generally a feature film, which is story based and not real. But there are also documentary films which are based on real people and issues. A lot of programmes you see on television are educational and public service documentaries. Radio also has this format.

Unlike documentary films, radio documentaries have only sound – i.e. the human voice, music and sound effects. So a radio documentary is a programme based on real sounds and real people and their views and experiences. Radio documentaries are based on facts presented in an attractive manner or dramatically. Radio documentaries are radio’s own creative format. The producer of a documentary needs to be very creative to use human voice, script, music and sound effects very effectively. Radio documentaries are also called radio features.

6. Radio drama: A Radio drama or a radio play is like any other play staged in a theatre or a hall. The only difference is that while a stage play has actors, stage, sets, curtains, properties movement and live action, a radio play has only 3 components. They are the human voice, music and sound effects. Radio of course uses its greatest strength for producing radio plays and that is the power of imagination and suggestivity. For example, if you want to have a scene in a radio play of a north Indian marriage, you don’t have all physical arrangements made. All that you have to do is to use a bright tune on the shehnai and excited voices of people to create in a listeners’ imagination, a wedding scene. The voice of the actors, music and sound effects can create any situation in a radio play.

7. Running commentaries : If you can’t go to see a football or cricket match in a stadium, you may watch it on television. But for that you have to be at home or at some place where there is a television. But if you are travelling or outside, then you may listen to radio for a running commentary of the match. A commentator would give you all the details of the match such as the number of players, the score, position of the players in the field etc. So by listening to the running commentary, you get a feeling of being in the stadium and watching the match. The commentator needs good communication skills, a good voice and knowledge about what is going on. Running commentaries on radio can be on various sports events or on ceremonial occasions like the Republic Day Parade or events like festivals, melas, rath yatras, swearing in ceremony of ministers, last journey (funeral procession) of national leaders etc. Today radio running commentaries especially of cricket and other sports can be heard on your mobile phones.

8. Magazine programmes : You are familiar with magazines which are a form of print media. They are published weekly, bi-weekly, fortnightly or monthly. There are general magazines and magazines for specific readers. These magazines could be for children, women, youth or on health, sports, science or music. If you open any one of these magazines, you will find articles, reviews, features, photo features etc. Radio also has magazine programmes like those in the print media. A radio magazine is broadcast at a particular time on a particular day of a week or a month.

That means it has periodicity. Similarly it has plenty of variety in contents. Some or many formats of radio are included in a radio magazine. These may be talks, discussions, interviews, reviews, music etc. Likewise, the duration of each programme or item in a magazine programme also vary. Another characteristic of a radio magazine is that it has a signature tune. A signature tune is an attractive piece of music which is specific to a programme. It can be like the masthead (title) of a magazine. A magazine programme also has a name and one or two presenters or anchor persons who link the whole programme. In the beginning, the titles of the day’s programme will be given by the presenters after the signature tune. They also give continuity and link the whole magazine. Magazine programmes are generally broadcast for a special or specific audience. As the name suggests, a specific audience refers to listeners with specific needs as mentioned in the beginning. 

9. NEWS: Among all the spoken word formats on radio, news is the most popular. News bulletins and news programmes are broadcast every hour by radio stations. In India, only All India Radio is allowed to broadcast news. Duration of news bulletins vary from 5 minute to 30 minutes. The longer news bulletins have interviews, features, reviews and comments from experts. 

Turning Your Ideas into a Radio Play

Ten Tips for Writing for Radio

Turning your ideas into a radio play

1. Grab the audience from the start

Don't take too long to get started into the main action of the play. Some of the plays we read had a great opening scene, but didn’t push forward the story enough through the rest of the play. Some plays we read were more like novels and used too much narration.

Radio Drama thrives on strong narratives. Whether you’re writing a tragedy, a comedy or a play to change the world, a great storyline will keep your audience listening. However, don’t make the story too complicated with too many themes, characters and plotlines, or the listener will get confused. 

2. Write about something that is personal to you

Think what you are trying to tell the world. Why does your play matter? Write about something personal to you – write about a world you know. This is your chance to tell the world something about your world and what’s important to you. Or, if you don’t want to write about a world you know, bring what you know to the world you write about.If you want to write about an historical event, think about how you are going to tell the audience something new about it.

Good drama is not simply about one idea but about what happens when two ideas collide. Fifty-three minutes gives you a lot of time to develop your plot and your subplot. 

3. Vary the pace and length of your scenes

A radio play which has five ten-minute scenes, each set in a dining-room, is likely to be less effective than a play which varies its scenes and settings. Using a variety of backgrounds, scene lengths and sound effects will usually make the story more effective for the listener. 

4. Make sure the structure keeps them listening

Think about beginning, middle and end and your play. Think about what will grab the audience in the first ten pages and then, as the play unfolds, why they should keep listening. Then think about how the situation in your play develops and changes through the middle of the play and then how it is resolved. Check that that doesn’t that feel predictable. Use the element of surprise! Audiences can begin listening at different points throughout your play, so you need to think about what will hook them in throughout the story and then what will keep them listening to the end?

5. Get under the skin of your characters

Get to know them really well. Each will have their own individual speech mannerisms. Don’t have them all speaking in your tone of voice.

Aim to have up to six key characters - but please don’t have main parts for children as these are very difficult to cast. You can also have some small ‘doubling’ parts that only have a few lines each and can be played by the same actor who ‘doubles’ roles.

6. Express your characters between dialogue and interaction

If you want to have one central character, think about how you can express character through dialogue and interaction with other characters, rather than them talking out loud to us for long periods. Fifty-three minutes of listening to one voice, even with the best actor in the world, is tricky to sustain! So, if you want to say that Nnedi has a difficult relationship with her mother, write a scene where they have an argument, rather than putting it in Nnedi’s narration. In the same way, show us moments of action and don’t report them: this is more dramatic (and therefore more interesting).

Don't have characters telling each other information they already know. Even if this seems to be furthering the plot - characters should speak to one another.

7. Use the four building blocks - speech, sound effects, music and silence

If you haven’t written your play specifically for radio, please re-work it for radio – and remove references to stage, film or video. If you’re thinking of submitting a stage play you’ve written, it’s worth going through it to make it radiophonic. Some things just don’t work on radio. For example: “ Matt shakes his head”, but you could change it easily by giving Matt the line ‘No’. Watch our video on Special Effects and Sound for more tips on this.

8. Express the visual elements in a subtle way

Think about how to express visual elements of your play in a subtle way to help the audience imagine the story you are telling. If you have a very visual idea that you want to write about – perhaps a fantastical creature – think how, without visuals, you can make the audience understand who or what is speaking. For example, if a butterfly appears and starts talking – how are the audience going to understand that it’s a butterfly? It can work, but you’ll need to find a way to establish this clearly, using sound only.

9. Concentrate on your presentation

Script readers (and play competition judges) are better disposed towards neatly-typed, professionally presented scripts. Type all directions and sound effects in capital letters (e.g. HAMLET’S GARDEN. HAMLET IS DIGGING FOR POTATOES.) and dialogue in lower case. Leave a space each time a character speaks.

10. Enjoy writing your play

If you enjoy it, the chances are that other people will too.

Your synopsis

If you’re not able to write your story down in a short synopsis, it means you haven’t quite worked out what the story is – so keeping working at it until you have. Try to write it in one sentence too. A synopsis is a description of the plot of your play, not an artistic “statement of intent”. Sometimes as you write, the story may change, so check when you’ve finished that your synopsis reflects your play.

And remember ...

• Read the rules carefully - you need to abide by these or your play will not be considered

Use the entry form - download this from here.

• Your script will be disqualified if you do not send with it a completed entry form and synopsis

• Do not send your only copy. Manuscripts are not returned under any circumstances.

• Do not send us amendments or further drafts once your play has been submitted.

• Do not send cassettes, CDs, videos or sheet music with your play - it is not necessary at the entry level and they cannot be returned to you.

Writing a script for a radio news package

Writing a script for a radio news package

Keep it short and simple

Radio journalists need to be able to pick the best, most newsworthy audio clips, and write clear and informative scripts that introduce the material they have collected.

The script is what makes sense of the sounds. It is the framework for your story. It brings together the most important elements, and helps your audience understand the significance of the points made by the people you have interviewed.

It’s not just about sounds; it’s about words, too.

The script should be written in simple, short sentences. Try to use everyday language and terms your audience will understand. It should not contain any complicated concepts that could confuse and distract.

Use everyday language and avoid complex concepts

Use the script to introduce the audio

The script should offer the audience introductions to the audio you are including. It should tell the listener what’s coming up without repeating the words they are about to hear. Don’t summarise too much; you should not take away from the power of the clips in your piece.

If you have good clips you need good scripted links

Grab the attention of the audience

You are crafting a tease to material that is designed to make people stop and listen. The language should be in the active tense. The most important information must feature in the first few sentences. However, the quality should be consistent throughout, and the script must not tail off at the end.

The script has to be good from start to finish

Your opinions don’t matter

Your script should be factual, without comment or descriptive words. Don’t try to attract listeners by including your own emotions. That’s not your job. Those who listen to your radio package will make their own decisions about the power of the information you are broadcasting.

You are not paid to add comment

Deliver a complete and fair report

Your script should weave together all the elements you have gathered for your story without suggesting that any one is more important than the other; that’s for the audience to decide, not you. You have a responsibility to set out the information in a way that doesn’t lead or mislead.

You should never construct a radio news package to make a personal point

Scripting before interviewing

Some journalists choose to draft a script before they have conducted the interview. That’s fine as long as the journalist retains an open mind and does not orchestrate or stage-manage the interviews to fit into the structure they have planned.

Always be ready to change your script if new information comes to light

Scripting after interviewing

Some journalists prefer to listen to the material before they write their script. This approach can lead to a fresher sounding piece. However, it can also lead to confusion if you have too much material and no idea how it is going to be edited and scripted together.

Writing down a script outline will help when you are editing the audio

Fact-checking

Check every fact that you are including in your script. Also check what has been said by those you have interviewed. Just because somebody seems to know what they are talking about doesn't mean that they are telling you the truth. Decide whether your fact-checking has raised any issues that need to be covered in the script.

Be prepared to do further research if needed

Editorial ethics

Check your script against the editorial ethics of objectivity, impartiality and fairness. Do not give undue weight to one point of view. Most of the people you interview will have strong points of view – you wouldn’t be interviewing them if that were not the case. However, your script needs to be fair to all.

You must be objective in your selection of clips and your choice of words

The beginning

Start the script by addressing the main point made in your introduction. Later in the script you can add context and analysis to try to help the audience understand the issues raised by those you are interviewing. But start with a crisp and sharp introduction that highlights the main points.

Start with the news angle and add context later

The ending

Always end your script with a fact and not a vague line such as "we will have to wait to see". Your audience wants information, not clichés. Consider asking your interviewees what’s likely to happen next and summarise their expectations in your last paragraph.

Avoid vague final words and always end the piece with facts

Does it make sense?

Read the script back to yourself. Have you left any gaps? Do you need to do any further research? Check it with a colleague. A second pair of eyes works for radio scripts as well as print - of course, a second pair of ears helps, too, so check your choice of audio as well - you might have missed a more important clip.

If your script doesn’t make sense to you it won’t make sense to the audience