Content

The script mainly consists of lines and stage directions. Dialogues, monologues, and narrations all use spoken words, and in operas and operas they are often expressed in libretto. Stage directions in a play are narrative instructions written in the playwright's voice. It includes an explanation of the time and place where the plot takes place, a description of the characters' image characteristics, physical movements and inner activities, an explanation of the scene and atmosphere, and requirements for scenery, lighting, sound effects, etc.

In the history of drama development, scripts appeared roughly when drama was formally formed and matured. The development of ancient Greek tragedy from a primitive Dionysian ritual to a complete performing art was fundamentally marked by the emergence of a number of tragic scripts; Chinese dramas and drama scripts of the Song and Yuan Dynasties are the most conclusive evidence of the maturity of Chinese drama; The maturity of Indian and Japanese classical drama is also marked by a number of handed down scripts. However, there are also some relatively mature drama forms that do not have scripts, such as some farces in ancient Greece and Rome, early improvisational comedies in Italy, some oral repertoires in Japanese kabuki, and song and dance skits and short comedy skits in the Tang Dynasty in China. plays, as well as modern pantomimes, etc.

The most important thing about the writing of a script is that it can be put on the stage for performance. The drama text is not considered the completion of the art, it can only be said to be half completed until the stage performance (i.e. the "performance text") The presentation of the final art. Literati throughout the ages have also written scripts that were not suitable for stage performance, or even impossible to perform at all. This type of drama text is called desk drama (also called study drama). The more famous ones include Wilde's "Salome" and so on. A good script can have the dual value of being suitable for reading and creating outstanding stage performances.

An original script that can be performed on the stage still needs to be appropriately modified to meet the actual needs of different stages and different performers. Therefore, stage workers will Modify a script that is different from the original work and has detailed notes indicating how a certain paragraph in the script should be performed. Such a script is called a "promptbook" or "performance book" or "script" (promptbook) British pronunciation: ['pr?mptb?k] American pronunciation: ['prɑmpt, b?k]). In addition, the script is a complete performance script. There is another kind of simple stage performance script that only has a short plot outline. The actual dialogue and performance mostly rely on the actors to perform on the spot, and this kind of script is called "screenplay". ".

The script mainly consists of character dialogue (or lyrics) and stage cues. Stage cues generally point out the character's tone of voice, movements when speaking, or characters entering and exiting, scenes or other effect changes, etc.

Structure

A longer play is often composed of many different paragraphs, and in different types of plays, different units are used to distinguish paragraphs. In Western drama, "act" is generally used as a large unit, and under the "act" it is divided into many small "scenes". China's Yuan dramas use "Zhe" as the unit, while Nan Opera uses "Exit" as the unit, which represents the order of actors' entry and exit. After the creation of the Ming Dynasty literati, "Exit" was changed to the more complicated "Exit". ". The structure of a script can generally be divided into "beginning, development, turning, ending, and ending again". Of course, the structure will change depending on the screenwriting skills. Strip structure

As we all know, the traditional drama structure is an artistic means of organizing dramatic conflicts and arranging plots based on themes and characters. It is an important part of drama creation and structures the script according to the laws of drama. Since life itself develops rhythmically and regularly, the structure reflected in dramatic conflicts must be in the form of a plot chain of beginning, development, climax, and ending caused by conflicting actions, that is, inheritance, transition, and connection. Arranged in chronological order. The characteristics of this structure are reflected in the division field. The whole play is composed of one scene after another. Several scenes make up the whole play, and each scene has a small scene, and several small scenes form a big scene.

Since the traditional drama structure is based on the development of dramatic conflicts, it also indispensable that there are two opposing characters and a central event that run through the meridians of conflict and opposition. Therefore, it develops vertically and may be called a strip structure. Block structure

Block structure, as the name suggests, its plot develops horizontally, which is very different from the strip structure that develops vertically. There is almost no obvious big plot in the whole play, because it is not based on external conflicts, but is structured based on the characters' conscious activities. There are also some plays in which there is no story with a beginning and an end, and there is no relatively complete plot. Not to mention the characters who are in conflict and opposition to the end. Some are just a few slices of life or a few sets of irregular plots. These plays have no causal dependence between scenes and are very irregular in structure. However, they are "dispersed in form but not separated in spirit", and there is a very particular and inevitable internal connection between paragraphs. Usually there are no scenes and acts, so it is called a play without scenes. This is formed by different subject matter and ideas of different writers.

There are currently two popular forms of block structure:

1. Prose structure. This dramatic structure is similar to the structure of prose, a genre of literature. This type of drama does not have a complete storyline or highly concentrated conflicts. Everything unfolds naturally and ends naturally. It not only emphasizes the documentary nature of life, but also emphasizes the authenticity of emotions, focusing on expressing the true emotions of the characters. It only selects a few seemingly scattered aspects to write about things and people, but it can achieve "the form is scattered but the spirit is not scattered". One of the structural characteristics of this type of drama is that there is no necessary dependence between scenes; the second characteristic is that there is no strong climax and ending; the third characteristic is that there is no complete storyline and a central event; the third characteristic is that there is no complete plot and a central event. The fourth is to develop horizontally according to the chronological order of life itself. "Flashback" is rarely used and it belongs to a chronological structure.

2. Psychological structure. The dramatic structure of this type of play is a form of structure based on the characters' conscious activities. It is different from the strip structure and the prose structure in terms of narrative method. The latter two are generally carried out in chronological order. The psychological structure is based on the changes in the characters' psychological activities, interweaving the past, present and future. Therefore, it is also called time-staggered structure. Its characteristics: First, it focuses on expressing the character's inner world and analyzing the character's inner emotions to achieve the purpose of portraying the character. It doesn't have a complete story, or even exciting conflicts, let alone waves of drama***. Even the chronological order is irregular, more about the characters’ consciousness activities. Second, pursue narrative subjectivity. Layout and tailoring by interweaving reality and the past. The reason why this structure does not follow chronological order, interspersing the present and the past, and allowing the audience to understand it, is based on the principle that the characters' psychological activities (memories, associations, dreams, etc.) are not restricted by time and space. . Format Scenery Script

Scenery script is often used in the creation of TV scripts. It can also be used in movies. However, the movie is shorter, so using a scene script can better highlight the intuitive feeling of the movie script.

The main scene (scene) script is in the following format:

1. Beginning

Which episode (act)

There are mainly two types of openings.

Which scene (act), place, time, characters.

For example: the first scene, by the small lake, morning, Zhang Ying, Wang Jing

Scene (act) number, exterior/interior and indoor/outdoor, location, time

For example: 23-1 (sometimes one scene is divided into several small scenes, sometimes not divided), outside, Xuanyue Gate of Wudang Mountain, day

2. Scenery

The appearance of the scene and the location of the characters can be introduced or not. The decision should be made based on the situation. If an introduction is needed, simply explain it with the image of the picture.

3. Actions

For action descriptions, triangles were often used in the early mainland, and triangles were added before the actions. Later, it spread to Hong Kong and Taiwan, and many scripts in Hong Kong and Taiwan also used triangles. For mainland China, square brackets and curly brackets are used, and sometimes no symbols are added, just in the corresponding position.

The position of the action description can be above or below the character's dialogue, depending on the order of the character's speech.

4. Dialogue

Dialogue mainly includes intermittent dialogue and continuous dialogue. The character's expression, perspective and other cues can be expressed in brackets.

Intermittent dialogue:

For example:

Fang Keke (a little unhappy): I have to hug her even if I can’t.

Hua Yu: Haha, okay, Coco said I can hold you for as long as you want.

Fang Keke (satisfied): That’s pretty much it.

Aunt: Keke, you are such an adult, why are you still acting like a child? Your brother can’t even hold me down.

Continuous dialogue:

For example:

Fang Keke (unhappy): Got it. (Muttering quietly) Wordy.

Huayu (to aunt): It’s okay. (The other person is Keke) I didn’t notice it just now, but Keke is almost as tall as me. I guess she will become Keke to protect me in the future. Storyboard scripts

Storyboard scripts are also called storyboard scripts, storyboard scripts, storyboards, storyboards, etc. They are mostly used in movies, but can also be used in TV series. Because TV has many storyboards, so in TV scripts Not common.

The popular meaning of storyboard script is that it is a script that is storyboarded after scenes are divided. Most of them are storyboards (painting storyboards, and the draft can express the meaning. For complex scenes, a storyboard painter can also be hired. , with the advancement of computer software technology, this process is gradually not too important. You can directly form the storyboard to the dynamic preview), dynamic preview (visualized 3D dynamic storyboard, use software to test, mainly used in complex movements, many virtual scenes, and special effects (Movie themes such as fairy tales, adventure, science fiction, drag racing, etc.) and scripts (filming scripts or completed scripts, also known as form storyboards) are used as the basis and preparation.

The main processes of storyboarding are: text storyboarding, table storyboarding, painting storyboarding, dynamic storyboarding, and post-production special effects storyboarding

Text storyboarding: suitable for beginners Starting out is mainly for screenwriters or directors. Beginners or writers who have just changed careers as screenwriters and directors who have never produced a work of their own. If they want to win steadily, they can first adapt the literary works they get into text storyboards. Then formulate the storyboard.

Table storyboards: Suitable for those with experience to start, mainly for directors or screenwriters, who have completed many works and have a certain foundation of imagination, and can directly adapt literary works or scripts into table storyboards.

Painting storyboard: It is usually the beginning of original animation production (the beginning of adapted animation is similar to that of film and television), and it is also a step in film and television production. It is mainly a matter for the storyboard artist or director (a director does not necessarily have to be a painter, individual excellent storyboards are basically directors with art majors). It is indispensable in animation and contemporary film themes (themes with simple actions and almost real-life shooting), but in fantasy films, it has gradually become less popular due to the technological advancement of dynamic storyboards.

Dynamic storyboards: mainly matters for dynamic storyboard artists, special effects teams, and post-production companies. For animation, dynamic storyboarding software such as Photoshop and Flash is basically used, and for film and television, dynamic storyboarding software such as Previz (abbreviation for Previsualization) is basically used. The Previz production team must ensure that the work can be realized during shooting, know how the shots will be realized, and be proficient in the film language to provide suggestions to the actual shooting team. However, no amount of preparation can replace the demands of those actual shots. Filmmaking is a natural art form, full of unknown challenges. Dynamic storyboarding is to help solve potential problems and stay one step ahead of the camera crew.

Post-production special effects storyboarding: mainly matters for the special effects team and post-production film and television companies.

After the real shooting was over, in post-production, the original fantasy theme was very expensive, and everything needed to be replaced with green screen synthesis. Currently, you only need to use a real-time camera tracking system (such as SolidTrack) to preview the shooting effect of the work in advance, simplifying the huge project of post-production special effects. Solid Track can integrate Previz assets into live footage. By shooting the real picture, the real picture is deduced into a three-dimensional picture. Through the real-time video shooting, a three-dimensional venue is obtained, the camera is matched to the picture in real time, and then the real camera posture recorded by the tracking is given to the rendering platform to match the three-dimensional Characters, three-dimensional backgrounds, or real people, this is a process in post-production. After perspective matching, the imported avatar looks like it's standing next to a live-action actor. Extensions of the virtual scene and placeholder effects can also be added in the Previz stage. All content added in this stage can be quickly operated and adjusted, saving countless time and energy in the subsequent production process.

The following are the main text storyboard script styles:

Add brackets {} in front of the action or scene to indicate scene distinctions and shots, etc., and remain unchanged to explain the scene distinctions. Unchanged; refers to empty shots, voice-overs, trademarks, subtitles, launch titles and other information. Most of them emphasize that it is not the shooting scene itself, but the synthesis of multiple scenes and post-production special effects. The bottom right is basically the transition method of the storyboard.

For example: the original storyboard script of "The Legend of Lingxianxia". Classification

According to the scope of application, it can be divided into: drama scripts, movie scripts, TV series scripts, animation scripts, micro-movie scripts, micro-animation scripts, novel scripts, cross talk scripts, sketch scripts, etc.

According to the subject matter of the script, it can be divided into comedy, tragedy, historical drama, family ethics drama, thriller drama, etc.

There is also a kind of script that mainly pursues literature and is not for performance, or is not suitable for performance and lacks action. It is called "desk drama" and "study drama". Many romantic poets and writers in Europe in the 19th century created many poems in this dramatic form, but they can only be read and not suitable for performance. Therefore, in drama creation, the playwright must understand the stage and performance, and should handle the literary and stage nature of the script well in the creation of the script. Because theatrical performance is the ultimate goal. A drama without performance and audience is not drama at all. Copyright ownership

The ownership of script creation is automatically obtained and registered. In China, according to the provisions of copyright law, a work automatically acquires copyright when it is completed. The so-called completion is relative. As long as the object of creation meets the statutory conditions for the composition of a work, it can be protected by copyright law as a work. Apply for registration through the China Copyright Protection Center and the registration departments of the competent departments of provinces and municipalities. The ownership of copyright in the form of digital works can also be registered through third-party registration centers run by various associations or supported by a trusted third party that can prove the filing and storage time of the work. Institutions can also choose to integrate various digital copyright technologies and public copyright certification and protection platforms supported by trusted third-party groups such as timestamp notary offices and notary mailboxes to conduct independent certificate storage and first-release smart certification to obtain the ownership of works. Preliminary proof, when necessary, through judicial appraisal, to enhance the legal efficiency of the evidence is the core guarantee. This method has been popular in many European and American countries for many years. Notes on creation

1. Don’t turn it into novel writing

Script writing and novel writing are basically different. The creation of scripts mainly uses words to express a series of pictures, so We want people who read the script to be able to immediately think of a picture when they see the text, bringing them into the world of animation. The novel is different. In addition to writing pictures, it also includes lyrical sentences, rhetorical techniques and psychological descriptions of characters. These rhetorics should not be used in the script.

2. Don’t lack action arrangement

If it is not required by the plot, there should not be too much dialogue in the script, otherwise the whole story will become incoherent and the lack of action will appear to the audience. It felt like listening to an audiobook, so boring, that the show became a "soap opera". You must know that it is written in film language, not literary language.

A script that is only suitable for reading but not for watching is not a good script. Therefore, for an excellent movie script, the fewer dialogues, the stronger the image and the greater the impact.

For example, when writing about a person talking on the phone, it is best not to let him sit by the phone and just talk. If the plot requires it, you can ask him to stand up, or take a few steps while holding the phone, or add some actions that people usually do when talking on the phone, so as to avoid the dullness and monotony of the picture.

3. Do not create too many subplots

The plot is outside the main line. It is not appropriate to arrange too many sub-lines, nor is it appropriate to arrange more than three main lines. When there is more than one main line, just To reduce the corresponding side lines. For example, "Tian Long Ba Bu" uses three alternating main lines, without sub-lines. Instead, sub-lines are added to the main line in order to carry out the plot, and finally a major main line is chosen to end the plot.

When writing a script, if too many details are written, there are many characters in the details, and many scenes are interspersed, which complicates the story, the audience may not understand it or the author. What theme do you want to express. If there are many important characters in a movie at the same time, and there are many stories between the characters, it will be impossible for the audience to distinguish the storyline of each character in a short period of time. The first script

Generally regarded as the history of Chinese drama, the play "Uncle Thomson's Cabin" adapted from the novel "Uncle Thomson's Cabin" by the American writer Mrs. Stowe and performed by the Chunliu Society in Tokyo in 1907 is regarded as the history of Chinese drama. It marks the beginning, so "The Record of Black Slaves" is China's first drama script. The script was adapted by Zeng Xiaogu, one of the founders of early Chinese drama. Zeng Xiaogu participated in four performances of Chunliu Society from 1907 to 1908, and played a leading role in all aspects of screenwriting, performance and stage art. Among them, his role was based on Amon's character in the third act of "La Traviata". The father is the most successful. At the same time, he made significant processing and re-creation of the script of "The Record of Black Slaves". This play reflected the national thoughts of the oppressed people who flourished under the persecution of imperialism. In terms of art, it was the first time that the script of a drama was adopted. form, this is considered to be China's first drama script.

The five-act play "The Record of the Black Slave" describes the story of the black slave Zhe Erzhi who was loaned to another person by his master. After he invented a machine for others, he was hated by the original owner, so he was recalled and suffered severe abuse. His wife and children were slaves of another serf owner. Because the owner wanted to pay off the debt with the slaves, they faced the tragic fate of being separated from their mother and son. Later, they all escaped, fought their way out of the siege, and were reunited. The play shows the spirit of resistance of the oppressed and is very realistic in its ideological content. The method of splitting scenes in the play, the use of dialogue and action to interpret the story, and the stage image that is close to real life, all show that China has begun to establish an unprecedented new drama form, that is, the drama art form that was later named.

Films from various countries basically start with documentaries and then develop into feature films with higher narrative requirements. In this process, people learn how to shoot movies from the nearest art form, such as drama. The script is an important film creation process borrowed from drama. Like other countries, the first Chinese movies, even feature films, did not have scripts, only something similar to a shooting outline. By the early 1920s, with the birth of the first feature film "Yan Ruisheng", a more detailed "script" than an outline appeared, that is, a prototype of a movie script written in classical Chinese, which included the basic plot of the movie, the main characters and their action, plus subtitles.

The first relatively complete film script in Chinese film history was published in 1925, exactly 20 years after the birth of film in China. It is a historical drama "Shentu Family" written by Hong Shen and published in the January-March issue of Volume 22 of "Oriental Magazine" that year. The story of the script is based on the legend of Shentu, the martyr girl of the Song Dynasty. It is divided into seven sections and 592 scenes. It basically breaks the style of stage play scripts, and uses shots and scenes as combination units. It also uses professional terms such as "fade in", "fade out", "melt in", "close-up" and other scene changes and shots. ;The script is followed by explanations of film terminology written by him.

This script was said to have been created for the "China Film Production Company" where Hong Shen worked at the time, but was later unable to be put into production due to financial reasons. Despite this, it has become the pioneer of Chinese film script style, with milestone significance. It has also become a new style of film literature, which can be used for filming, publishing and reading.