WCC COMM 119-Shooting Scripted Productions

1. CHAPTER 16:
SHOOTING
SCRIPTED
PRODUCTIONS
C O M M 1 1 9 : B R O A D C A S T P R O D U C T I O N

2. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
• Your book and our material is going to work from the
assumption that you’re shooting your SCRIPTED/DRAMA
PRODUCTION with a single camera – you may find
yourself in situations in which there are one than one
camera shooting simultaneously but, rest assured, the
basic concepts are all the same
• SCRIPTED/DRAMA simply means it is a fictional
production with actors, a script to follow, locations, etc. as
opposed to FACTUAL/NEWS which is, by very definition,
actual events being covered by a news crew

3. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
• SCRIPTED/DRAMA is also different in that it’s often shot
OUT OF SEQUENCE meaning scenes are almost always
NOT shot in the order we see them in the finished edited
production; for instance, the last scene in your TV show
might be the first scene actually shot in your production;
when scenes are shot has everything to do with
scheduling and availability and little to do with narrative
continuity
• As a result, it’s of vital importance that those involved with
the production have a clear understanding of how all these
pieces are going to fit together when all the shooting is
complete; if there is no clear understanding of this, it’s
quite likely the finished product will not be cohesive

4. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
• As opposed to shooting NEWS which is often immediate and reactive in
nature, shooting SCRIPTED/DRAMA productions offers you more
control in every respect and usually requires more people to be involved
which can include:
– PRODUCER: The person in charge of the entire
production; may or may not be on set
– DIRECTOR: The person in charge of the creative vision
and interpreting the script/storyboards, choosing the
shots, communicating with actors, etc.
– CAMERA: The person who works with the director to
find the best shots and to light them; may also physically
run the camera; the CAMERA-PERSON needs to be
certain the visual basics have been covered before
moving onto to the next shot

5. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
– SOUND: The person in charge of how the production
sounds and the recording of all the sounds on set; like
the CAMERA-PERSON with video basics, the SOUND-
PERSON needs to be certain the audio basics have
been covered before moving onto to the next shot
– PROPS/COSTUMES: The person in charge of what the
actors wear and what they use while in their scenes
– MAKEUP: The person in charge of making sure the
actors look the way the DIRECTOR wants them to in
regards to the scene in question; this can run the gamut
from ensuring a “natural” look all the way to an intense
“creative” makeup job to simulate injuries, old-age, or
even zombies!

6. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
– CONTINUITY: The person in charge of making sure the
shots and scenes will make sense when edited together
later; because most SCRIPTED/DRAMA productions
are shot out of sequence, this can be an especially
important job – for instance, if an actor is holding a glass
in their right hand for one shot or wearing their ball cap
backwards, the CONTINUITY person’s job is to make
certain they’re doing the same in the next shot, even if
that shot is not taken until minutes, days, or even weeks
or months later!
– SHOT LISTING: This person keeps a record of what’s
been shot and where everyone is in the current shooting
by following the script and paying close attention

7. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
– LOCATIONS: The person in charge of finding the places
where the shooting will take place; whether it’s a parking
lot, abandoned strip mall, suburban neighborhood
sidewalk, clearing in a forest, or any other “real” place
the director wants to use, the LOCATIONS person is the
one who scouts, submits, and confirms it for the
production’s use; if you’re lucky enough to have a
shooting space you’ve created yourself that’s called a
“SET” but most productions at the student level will use
LOCATIONS as they tend to be easier to get, not to
mention cheaper – as you can imagine, building a set
can be very expensive and time-consuming

8. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
REHEARSING: unlike NEWS/FACTUAL productions,
SCRIPTED/DRAMA productions have the opportunity to
rehearse before the camera rolls. Here are a few simple
ways to get better performances out of actors and a better
shoot out of your crew
– REHEARSING LINES: Actors need to know their lines
before your shoot begins; nothing drags a shoot down
more and discourages everyone involved than an
unprepared actor who simply doesn’t know their lines;
make sure you do all you can to ensure your actors
have done their part and are ready to go by scheduling
rehearsal time before shooting any scene

9. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
– CHARACTER PROFILES: Actors tend to do better work
when they have an idea of who their characters are
beyond just the words on the page by giving them
backstories and histories to draw on as performers; you
can encourage them by asking them to share those
backstories and histories with the director (but not
necessarily each other) prior to shooting
– CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS: Actors also tend to do
better work when they have an understanding of who
they’re interacting with in a scene as opposed to just
“the other actor” saying their lines; again you can
encourage this by having actors rehearse together and
share their insights on character relations with the
director

10. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
– PURPOSE OF THE SCENE: A good director will know
not only why the scene is being shot, but why it’s in the
script and what about it is important to the overall story;
this is valuable information the director needs to be clear
on so that can be shared with the actors who often need
motivation for a character’s actions and dialogue
– WHAT COMES BEFORE AND AFTER?: Actors should
also be reminded what has happened before and after
the scene they’re shooting so they can match their
moods and behavior appropriately; this is especially
important because so much of SCRIPTED/DRAMA
shooting is done out of sequence and it’s easy to forget
exactly where a scene is in the overall story

11. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
– LISTENING: A good director will know that actors need to
REACT to what’s being said to each other in scenes by other
actors as opposed to anticipating what’s going to happen
because they know the lines and action beforehand
– DON’T OVERLAP: Also remember this all needs to be edited
together so only have actors overlap their dialogue when
that’s exactly what’s required by the script; otherwise editing
can become a real nightmare
– GIVE GOOD NOTES: Remember that acting is not easy and
different actors require different styles of direction because,
just like in life, the best approach to good communication is
not “one size fits all” so be sensitive to actors and help them
give you what you want rather than be upset when they aren’t
delivering the performance you’re hoping for

12. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
–BLOCKING A SCENE: “Blocking a Scene”
means making sure everyone knows where,
when, and how the actors are going to move
during a scene – this is important for both the
actors and the crew as everyone needs to be
certain of what they’re expected to do both
independently and in response to the actions of
others; for instance, one of the last things you
want is to have a great take happening only to
have it messed up because your camera-person
didn’t realize the actor was going to move out of
frame

13. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
–CHOOSING YOUR SHOTS: When
deciding how to shoot a scene it’s
important to remember these basics
and to effectively use them whenever
possible and appropriate –
remember, it’s better to have too
much material than not enough
(within reason, of course, you will
have a schedule to adhere to)

14. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
–Establishing the Location: (have you taken
shots to establish where the action is?)
–Medium Shots: (do you have enough to
use when editing?)
–Close-Ups: (have you used them to
heighten intensity when appropriate?)
–Point-of-View Shots: (would shots like
these help tell your story better?)

15. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
–Moving Shots: (if you want the camera to
move, make sure there’s a good reason to do
so and not just because it “looks cool”)
–Camera Angles: (which angles are you using
and to what effect? Again, make sure there’s a
good reason to use them within the story as
opposed to using them just to be “different”)
–Depth of Field: (are you using this to
effectively tell your story and manipulate
viewer attention when appropriate?)

16. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
–Matching Shots: (think about the end product
– if two characters are having a conversation,
shoot their separate shots in a similar fashion
so they “match” when editing)
–Shooting Close Action: (if you’re shooting
some action – large or small - especially
close-up make sure you also shoot the same
action in a wider shot for possible use when
editing)
–180 Degree Rule: (remember not to cross
“the line” as discussed earlier this semester)

17. STORYBOARDING
–Using STORYBOARDS can be an effective
and powerful way to not only prepare your
production team, but to also prepare yourself
and generate new ideas and to clarify your
vision by literally drawing out what the shots
and scenes should look like, how they should
be blocked, how the camera should move,
etc.
–HERE’S A USEFUL AND FUN VIDEO
ABOUT STORYBOARDING

18. SHOT LISTS
– Looking at STORYBOARDS can be very useful when
coming up with your SHOT LIST
• A SHOT LIST is exactly what it sounds like, a list of
shots you need and/or want to be sure you get during
your shooting time - FOR EACH SHOT YOU SHOULD
DESCRIBE:
• Size of the Shot (Wide, Long, Medium, etc.)
• Angle of the Shot (High, Eye-Level, Low, etc.)
• Depth of Field (the FOCUS of the shot if
unusual/different in some way)
• Camera Moves (if any)
• HERE IS A VERY BASIC VIDEO ABOUT HOW TO
MAKE A SHOT LIST

19. CONTINUITY
–THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUITY: as we’ve
discussed, you may be shooting a scene in lots
of different ways and possibly over quite a long
time span but, when it’s edited together, the
viewer MUST feel like the whole thing has
happened in a manner of minutes or even
seconds
– HERE IS A VIDEO EMPHASIZING HOW IMPORTANT
FILM CONTINUITY IS USING GREAT EXAMPLES
– HERE’S A SOMEWHAT SILLY VIDEO ABOUT WHAT IT
LOOKS LIKE WHEN CONTINUITY IS SPECIFICALLY
NOT OBSERVED

20. CONTINUITY
–See Pages 177 – 178 of your textbook for
more about the importance of CONTINUITY
including;
• CONTINUITY OF COSTUMES & PROPS
• CONTINUITY OF ACTION
• CONTINUITY OF WEATHER
• CONTINUITY OF LOCATION

21. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
–Shooting for SCRIPTED/DRAMA productions
is vastly more complicated than shooting for
FACTUAL/NEWS and requires thoughtful
and thorough preproduction planning; the
bottom line is that EVERY SHOT IS
IMPORTANT and deserves attention and
planning otherwise why have it in the
production at all?

22. SHOOTING SCRIPTED/DRAMA
ASSIGNMENT & BOARD DISCUSSION
• There is no quiz this week so your
DISCUSSION BOARD work will count for 2
grades; a PARTICIPATION and an
ASSIGNMENT grade
• Go to WEEK #14 and participate in this
week’s discussion