Unit 11: Scripting for Media Products: LO 1: Task 2 - What are scripts and examples from different media products

Features of scripts

Mode Of Address

Informal (Peer to Peer) = Chatty/Colloquial Language
Educational (Teacher to Pupil) = Learning, Teaches Information
Informative (Parent to Child) = Provides advice and guidance

Genre

Fiction - Fabricated Narrative
Non Fiction - Based on real events

Types of Narrative Structures

There are 4 different types of which a Narrative can progress:

Single-Stranded

Single Stranded Narratives solely follow one character's perspective and focus on their actions as the events occurring around them unfold. For example, in Film like Superman or a First Person Shooter video-game like Call of Duty.

Multi-Stranded

Multi-Stranded story line's follow the events of multiple characters in many settings; they often portray varied circumstances which may appeal to a wider audience range. For instance, soap opera's like Coronation Street depict many different types of characters with differences in age, gender, race and religion etc. This involves the audience a bit more as well, where we as the viewer know what will happen when two characters meet or enter a situation and we urge for that event to happen or not happen. For example, in a horror where follow the victim and the killer, the audience knows what will happen when the victim enters a room where the killer is hiding.

Linear

This means the story will run in chronological order, where you follow events as time progresses. Video Games generally use this structure, where you may play a character who has to complete a mission; such as in a Halo game.

Non-Linear

Non-Linear narratives run without logical order; it is a technique used in stories to give an intended meaning where audiences have to 'read beyond the lines' in order to figure out what is going on which provides greater interaction with audiences. An example of a film that employs this structure would be Pulp Fiction.

Script Examples
Film Script - An Officer and a Gentleman
Link: http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/officerandgentleman.pdf