Scriptwriting Month Week 2- Considering your Audience


Is it already the second week?

Hello everyone and welcome again to another week of scriptwriting. We’re now comfortably in June (is it June already?) and really turning up the heat in new writing!

For those who have not yet read the first new article for this month, I guess I better recap as to what this month is all about. Scriptwriting is one of those forms of writing which although quiet on deviantArt, is actually much bigger than you think as a whole. From your favourite films, to the stage, even advertising has had some involvement of scriptwriting. This month is about boosting the enthusiasm and participation of writing in this form, with discussions on some of the principle elements that create a script. We are also hoping to educate, encourage and raise awareness of this form of writing.


Week 1

First and foremost I want to thank everyone who had participated so far. From favouring the news article, entering contests and offering general support and contribution, it has been really great to see so much community enthusiasm. I sincerely hope this continues through week two and beyond for the entire month!

Week 1 was essentially an introduction to the month ahead and discovered a little bit more about the mediums in which scriptwriting may be used. We also discussed the importance of character, and how the transition between the text and the actor is one of the most important factors in scriptwriting- an element which is not required in prose writing. This week will expand on this and complete to communication transaction between texts to actor to audience.

The reasons characters are so important to establish in scriptwriting, if not all writing is because a lack of character can fail a script. If your audience cannot connect to a character or find them interesting, your character will become bland and forgettable, and barely a 2D caricature. Finding out as much about your character before writing their words can be not only an exciting experience but will bring strength into their persona when you write them out. If your script was performed and the characters were not performed how your original intentions had them be, who is to blame? Did you as a writer communicate to the actor? These are just a few thoughts.

In fact, the monologue contest of week 1 really wanted to focus on the essence of character. 30 entries in just a week is amazing, and there have been some really successful elements in every entry. What is refreshing is those who have entered having never written anything like a script before, and they have taken the plunge to try something new. The deadline is literally an hour away, and whilst ^GeneratingHype shall be reading and judging, I shall place a list of all the entries in my journal for everyone to read once the deadline has closed. Even if you haven’t entered, there are some really interesting pieces worth having a look at, and who knows, they might inspire you to write a monologue too!



Week 2: Considering your audience

With any form of writing, there is an essential element that can often be forgotten and this is who you are writing for. For anyone looking towards publishing, you need to consider in your writing who is going to read your work and what they are going to learn and understand throughout the piece. When it comes to scriptwriting, there is actually a middle man involved, a communicator of your words to the audience. He is known as the actor.

As discussed in the previous week, the actor needs to be able to understand the context behind the words in your script. He needs to be able to grasp the character and make them real and present that creation to the audience. With a poorly written script, this could be a challenge, but with clever words the actor could give the performance of his life.

The audience are your ears and eyes to the scriptwriting experience. You are writing for them to let them in on the story you are telling them. Different styles and genres of writing may appeal only to specific groups and it is important to consider who you are writing your script for. Imagine if you were writing a play for young children? You wouldn’t write something with a lot of violence and swearing in would you? Or would you use simple language in a play written for lawyers? These may seem silly examples, but the point is valid.

The role of the audience is not only for them to enjoy your script. In fact the audience can be educated and learn from your words. Many drama theorists from Brecht to Stanislavski had huge interests in how the communication of the audience was important to deliver their message. Not every theorist saw theatre as a form of entertainment, and nor should a writer. Scriptwriting has the power to raise awareness, educate and let the audience get involved, provoking thought and understanding a point of view. Brecht especially took interest in his own plays managing to express his own Marxist beliefs and dislike for Nazi Germany through the power of scriptwriting.

The second contest in this month is about writing a 10 minute scene. It doesn’t have to be a conclusive play, but a significant moment of dialogue between two or more characters. Taking on board the discussions about character, we are now taking another element of scriptwriting which is about the audience. I would definitely recommend this time reading some of the existing deviations that have been recommended and even scouting through the ‘Theatre and Scripts’ category yourself and see what you find. A bit of reading may open up your own thoughts and interpretations of how this communication process works and how your writing should reflect it.

Contest 2: Write a scene involving two or more characters.


This scene is to be watched by one of the following audiences which you have to appeal to:

A group of women over 50
A group of Male offenders 18-40
A group of teenagers
A group of children under 8

Objectives: Consider characters, conflict, reaction and also the objectives of the scene and what each character wants etc. Also consider how this scene may appeal to your target audience. Please don’t forget other elements which are seen in prose writing, such as tension and pace.

Rules:

This scene must be no longer then 10 minutes long.
Must be written for performance.
Please only submit deviations written in English.
Please only submit one entry.
Please submit a new deviation. Any deviations that were submitted to deviantArt before the 9th June 2008 will be refused.
Send a link of your scene in a Note to `Beccalicious, entitled "SCENE" with a note of the audience you chose.
All Submissions must be received by Monday 16th June, Midnight GMT

These Scenes will be judged by `Beccalicious & *ninja-librarian

Prizes:

Winner:

Devwear Keychain and journal feature from `Beccalicious
3 Month Sub and journal feature from *ninja-librarian
3 month sub and journal feature from `conorschild
Shoutboard feature form ^Helewidis
Journal feature from *itzjusdrama
Journal feature from ~chugglepuff
Journal feature from *Memnalar
Journal feature from *poprocksandcharlotte

Second:

3 month sub and journal feature from `Beccalicious
Journal feature from *ninja-librarian
Journal feature from ^Helewidis
Journal feature from *poprocksandcharlotte


Honourable mentions:

Journal feature from `Beccalicious
Journal feature from *ninja-librarian
Journal feature from ^Helewidis
Journal feature from *poprocksandcharlotte


Resources


For even more resources and recommended readings, please check out the list in my journal.

How to write a scene in a script- some basic questions to help you consider what is essential to create your scene.

Stage Affair- Common Playwriting Mistakes- an interesting overview of the little things a writer might forget in playwriting
Bertolt Brecht- a biography of a drama theorist who wanted developed audience alienation and a look at his theories.


Existing Scenes on DeviantArt


The Family Business by :devthemodemhooplah:

A very recent and well deserved Daily deviation, where a family are testing perfection to the extreme.

FATHER: We don’t think you live up to our expectations for the job.

MOTHER: You haven’t even come close to meeting your quota for the fiscal year!

JUNIOR: What’s a fiscal?

FATHER: We feel as though you just aren’t being a team player. And we’ve decided, we’ve both decided, that we’re letting you go.

Blagged by *ebony66136

Possibly one of my personal favourite deviations on deviantArt and another well deserved DD. This piece shows how simplicity can really work in a piece to a fuller effect.

Con Man Blasted trains, eh? You’d think if this government can’t stop the bloody immigrants, they could at least give us a working Underground!

Traveller Yeah. Yeah, that’d be good.

Con Man Can’t complain though, can’t complain. Could have the bloody Tories back, eh?

Traveller Right.


Antigonus and the Bear by ~SimpleSimonPostman

When a man and a bear discuss philosophy...

Bear: Definitely not. And I don’t like food that philosophises with me either.

Antigonus: Why don’t you like literature, old Bear?

Bear: (pauses) It’s too neat. Maybe I’ll want the story to go one way but it won’t listen to me. Stories are like tough bits of gristle. You have to chew and chew until it decides to let you swallow it, by which time you’ve lost your appetite.

Antigonus: Hmm, I had wondered about that. It seems to me that some people live their whole lives in a story – as though they are following a line and letting it take them wherever it’s heading. I always condemned that kind of person… but supposing they’re right? If what this mysterious man told me, then that’s exactly what’s going on. We’re living in a play and there’s nothing we can do to change things. Isn’t that wonderful?

Bear: It doesn’t sound wonderful. If I could choose what I could eat and when I could eat, that would be wonderful.



Extras this week

There shall be a few interviews this week so keep your eyes peeled!

We have an ongoing poll which is contributing to the recommended reading list found in my journal. I encourage you all to send in your suggestions, and consider picking up those others have recommended.

Those wanting to know when the winners will be announced for contest 1, all I can say if give it time. There are a good few entries, and I promise you won’t be forgotten.

Thank you everyone!

`Beccalicious