And here:
http://magazine.creativecow.net/article/save-this-script-by-john-morley-and...
I've used what I've learned from John's corporate scriptwriting book for years, so it is really a treat to be able to work with him on these, applying his lessons to some sample projects that may look familiar to some of you. Each new chapter will try to cover a different common problem when writing spots, promos, web features, training, etc.
Not everyone that comes here is a scriptwriter by official title, I know. But, corporate, government, non-profit, and educational institutions often employ "one-man (or one-woman) bands" that cover many aspects of production. Often, such multitasking producer/shooter/editors get handed some rough notes the clients mistook for a working script. Sometimes, it's less than that. Where can they go for some advice, or an example to model from?
That, I hope, is where we come in.
With some of our tips and discussions, I hope we can help you navigate thru tweaking and revising the script, or using it as a springboard for your own, better ones.
Not everybody gets to critique what they've been handed to execute, I know. To those people, at the very least, I hope we can give you a vocabulary of terms and tricks that will help you talk to the client, mine them for the real key points the script should have, and perhaps make them understand why something they think is easy or good may be neither. Followed by your great new idea for how to fix what they brought you.
So, I'm inviting you all to be partners in this with us. Just please be discreet when telling your tales or asking a question; use aliases and fake brand names or generics if you have to describe an example. Let's not put anybody out of work, while we're trying to help each other work better.
No, it's not another tutorial on how to operate some hardware or software. Here, we're using "wetware", i.e. what's between our ears.
It's my deep belief that no matter how much expensive video hardware you have on hand, and no matter the budget, without a good script as the foundation, you're not going to make a truly successful product. I usually work from very low budgets and I have to "make do" as far as technical resources. But it can amaze you, just how far you can go, despite those limitations, with the right idea and the means to express it in script form.
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