Scripts / 361STEP 6: Proofreading—Checking the Details
Once the script is complete, reread it for accuracy. Ask yourself the following
questions:
-^ Have I made typing errors that will confuse the technical director or on-the-air
talent?
- Are^ words^ spelled^ accurately?
- Have^ I^ included^ phonetic^ spellings^ for^ difficult^ words?
- Is^ the^ script^ free^ from^ grammatical^ and^ usage^ errors?^ [See Part IV for rules and
examples.]
-^ Finally, is it easy to read, both for the on-the-air talent and the technical director
who must oversee the camera work? Hint: Never continue a sentence from one
page to the next. It can cause the on-the-air talent to misread the script.
Polish your script using these preceding questions.
SAMPLE TELEVISIoN SCRIPT
The following sample represents a portion of a full-length script. It shows most of
the significant characteristics of the genre.
Speech: Another Shawnee Team
Video Audio
OPEN WITH FILM CLIP OF
TEAM RECEIVING TROPHY
AT AWARDS ASSEMBLYNARRATOR (VOICE OVER): And the team with the
most points, for first place in the divisional speech tour-
nament... Shawnee Senior High School!
CLOSE SHOT OF STUDENT
WITH TROPHY(APPLAUSE; CHEERS; 6 SECONDS)CUT TO CLOSE SHOT OF
TEAM PRESIDENT AND ZOOM
IN TO CLOSE-UPSTUDENT TEAM MEMBER: Hi! Welcome to Shawnee.
I’m Robin Oaks, president of Shawnee Senior High
Forensics Team. We love winning, but more than that,
we love the challenge, the preparation, and the stimu-
lation of good competition!
CUT TO MALE AND FEMALE
WALKING HAND-IN-HANDEvery one of us has gained new friends in area
schools and some of the friends have become...
really good ones!
DISSOLVE TO BOY LEANING
AGAINST DOOR, BACK TO
CAMERASure, we work hard, practice a lot, and (SLOWLY)
sometimes we even lose. But doesn’t everyone, at least
sometimes?