Working with the script

…writing and recording a script that bridges everything together.. (part 6 of the e-book)

At the time you start writing the script; your own links, you already pretty much know what your final piece will be about. You must create an effective workflow that makes sense to you, but generally speaking, I would expect you to have most of the other audio edited at this point. It might not be finalised and honed, but it is in a rough form of what it will be in the end. That’s purely because while you can’t guarantee that the material you have recorded others saying or doing makes sense when mixed, your own script will bring things together, clarify, summarise and generally help you to make a point.

Writing a script; something you will read out loud is quite different from writing an essay. It’s different from writing most things actually. The text you are producing must be something that sounds natural. Have you ever heard when people have written their public speeches word by word and it sounds like they are reading it for the first time, when making a mistake saying, excuse me, and then continuing the reading? That is exactly how you are not supposed to write a script. You are supposed to modify your writing to match the way you speak, not the other way around.

Use shorter and punchier sentences to write the script. Find ways of efficiently expressing your thoughts in a nice and clear way. Don’t worry much about unnecessary big words as this really isn’t about trying to impress anyone with your endless vocabulary, or even word games. The script serves a different purpose. It exists for everything else to make sense and bridge the gap between different interviews and spaces. Unless you are one of the few famous film documentary makers the average people know by their name, you are not the star of your documentary. Not even if you are a character in it as a participant, observer or explorer of some kind. Actually, even if you are one of the famous documentary makers, you still shouldn’t be the star of the show. Also, if you are one of them, I am flattered that you are reading this, and struggle to understand why you would.

The script also is something that gives the feel to your work. Since it ties things together, it also is the only thing that is really consistent. Whether you have the interviews to support the point you are making or you supporting the point that the interviews make, your script; the voice-overs are usually what gives your piece its style more than any other speaker. Of course there are other stylistic devices and in a while, we’ll talk more about editing, but on the talk based content, in most cases it is you who have the greatest impact on how the package will feel like.

I learned the script writing in live radio. As a presenter I used to write a script that had pretty much every word I said out loud written down. Initially, they didn’t sound very natural, but because I also afterwards listened to every link I had done that day, I managed to improve my writing. It is by listening to yourself recorded that you not only get used to your own voice and how it works, but also to how you speak. After two years of me writing down all of my links, I found all of my writing being influenced by it, and I had to learn again how to write just for text. That in itself is hardly your goal, but you should probably try to keep both ways in your active toolbox.

One of the mistakes I hear often, especially in the news, is repeating what the interviewer says. Actually, since the order is usually first the link and then the clip, the journalist makes the interviewee sound like they are repeating what has just been said.

Have you ever heard something like this:

Voice over: … and the opposition leader says that she disagrees with the decision the government has made with the strongest possible terms.

Interview clip: I disagree with the decision the government has made with the strongest possible terms.

I wish I didn’t hear something like this quite so often as I do. Not by professional journalist any more than from the students. And it’s not always as clear and word for word, as there are varying degrees of bad writing. Still, none of them are good.

A good script links interviews and other audio seamlessly together. It gives the flair to the final work and its function is to take the content forward to a direction that is coherent and meaningful. You can use scripted voice-overs to introduce the interviewees, to introduce the questions, to provide commentary or facts, but you can also use it to summarise. Many people you end up interviewing are very smart and professional on their field, but not necessarily on the field of effective communication. They can really slaughter a great point to the degree that it makes no sense for you to use it. Or they can talk for an hour, but you can afford to allocate them four minutes in your piece.  In the cases like these, you can easily have a good solid interesting clip you have edited and write script that says: Mrs X also mentioned that the other concerns are a, b and c. Usually, you are able to say things in a clearer way and get to the point quicker. This kind of summarising enables you to keep your work easier to follow, more straightforward and it allows you to use the minutes you have to say much more.

If you have been at an event such as demonstration or anywhere that would be worth describing to the listeners, you can record something as things happen, but you can also do this afterwards by writing it down on a script as it happened. It might lack the sense of realism and urgency that recorded when it happened a link would have, but it can be more reflective and you can really consider what were the important elements that should be covered.

It’s a fine line between writing commentary and writing opinions. You can reflect on the material you have used, you can link ideas and make conclusions, but I would really advise you to stay away from giving opinions. Especially in a news story. In a human interest story you can consider them, even use sparingly especially if you, as a journalist, are part of the journey that is being followed. Then it is particularly appropriate to tell how did things make you feel and use your opinions as a sounding board to what the general thoughts may be, but even that is separate from giving your opinions as the truth.

If you have political or religious views, be particularly careful. There are things that you may view to be true and righteous and therefore appropriate as evidence in themselves, but others may have very different views. The best case scenario is that everyone who doesn’t agree with you will discredit anything you have said and the worst case scenario is that you offend them. Offending people is always  a tricky thing; it can’t always be avoided, so should it happen, make sure it’s at least for good reasons.

There are some technicalities to write a good script. Most of the time when we open our word processing software on the computer we get the default setting: Times New Roman on the font size 12 and single line spacing. As useful as that may be for the average document, it doesn’t do much for the script writing. If you work for different media organisations there might be specific rules and standards, but whatever script you write, use a bigger font size – I use 18. Use a font that is easy for your eye; Times New Roman is not bad for that, and especially if you write for someone else, but even if it is for yourself, rather use a double line spacing as that allows notes to be made and generally creates a sense of clarity.

On top of the general rules, I personally like to use a lot of space. Unfortunately, when the script is printed, it’s not very environmental, but it makes me feel less hurried and helps me to emphasise every part the way it must be emphasised. I use a lot of dots and write a separate paragraph for everything that I conceive to be even a slightly separate thought.

It is my personal habit that I use the dots to signify the length of break I want to take. Few dots is just a small break but more dots I write, the longer gap I intend to have. That gap is a stylistic device I use to emphasise. This might not be something that makes much sense to you from my script, but I know exactly what it means. You will, no doubt, find your own ways to write for yourself. When you write for other people, you must take into consideration that they can’t read your mind, but also that they don’t necessarily use the same words as you do naturally or that their way of speaking is very different. When writing for others you might need to be more general. Unless, of course, you know and understand exactly the way they use language.

After all this work, you’ve got a script in your hands. That in itself is not the final product – you still need to record it and mix with other content. For now we are dealing with recording.

If you can, make sure you have enough time booked in the studio and that you are comfortable with the equipment. Basically many of the principles I talked about earlier with recording on location apply here as well, although the setting is calmer. Try out different ways and think about what is the purpose of your piece. Should you sound serious, curious or hilarious? Emotional, thoughtful or cold? Having written the script, you’ll have a clear idea, I am sure, what it is that you need to do.

Listen back to your recordings and make sure that every word is pronounced correctly and the flow is as you need it to be. Try things out; maybe a pause here and there and things like that. Or how about even longer break to really emphasise and give the listener some time – or rather – force them to think.

One thing that you can always keep in mind when working with a script, whether you are writing or recording, is that this is where you have the most control. You don’t have to rely on anyone and unless you have limited access to the studio facilities or far too little time in your hands, you can keep on rewriting and rerecording until you are happy.

And what if you don’t have an access to the studio? For whatever reason. There are many DIY ways to record with just a microphone and recorder. I am not getting into them in any detailed way, but let me just say that a makeshift studio acoustics can be achieved with soft things; pillows, mattresses and fabrics and many people even record underneath a blanket. It gives you a better sound quality and excludes many noises from outside, although, of course, it is not necessarily a very comfortable experience otherwise.

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