I have been asked to write a script/episode for an American Courtroom series.
I have never written a script before - so any advice will be most welcome.
I have been asked to write a script/episode for an American Courtroom series.
I have never written a script before - so any advice will be most welcome.
All advice I've read and been given with regards to screenwriting (for film) is not to include camera directions at all and leave all that up to the director. These kind of cues usually appear in the shooting script and the director's shot list.
I'm not sure if the same is true for writing TV episodes (their format is different) but I imagine it would be.
I wrote a screenplay once for a VERY short film. It's a whole new kettle of fish from "normal" writing. All that "PAN TO LEFT", "SLOW FADE", "SOMEONE IN COURTROOM COUGHS".
A common piece of advice (not from me) on this forum is "show, don't tell". In script-writing, you have to tell EVERYTHING! Tell the actors where to move, the camera operators from which angle to take this shot and how far away, lighting and sound...
I'd bought a (2nd-hand) book on screenwriting, which was the only reason that I dared tackle the enterprise. Best of luck!
Google BBC Writersroom you can read actual scripts from several different series that are or have been on the television. The script is shown in full from page one onward. I did a script writing course and this helped me a lot. Hope this helps.