STEP 5 The first draft of our script

Step 5: First draft:Playback Script

First Draft of Script

In our As year for our short introduction to a horror film we used a specialised scripting software called Celtx which sets out a script in a professional form. I found Celtx hard to use within my first year of media studies and the amount of time I put into learning how to use it appropriately has benefited our group within our second year.  I was able to produce a rough version of  a script within a day based on the final plot and the experience from my first year. Scripting plays a vital role in the making of the film as it is one of the key elements a crew must follow when making the film. The script is a step by step account of what dialogue is to come in each scene. During production in our As year we did not have our script at hand which affected our organisation and it resulted in us constantly changing the plot; this year we aim to follow the script accordingly in order to successfully follow the script. During the making of the script it was important for me to identify the key elements to it, the elements include: Scene title, the action, the characters, parenthetical and dialogue. It also consists of a slug line which tells the cast whether the scene is external or internal. The script I used as an aid for my script this year was a scene from a science fiction film ALIEN which goes into more detail of the spaceship and the sounds everything makes. I have omitted these directions from the script as most of our non diegetic sound will be added during the editing process.
Example of Alien Script:

FADE IN

        SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE:

        INT. ENGINE ROOM

        Empty, cavernous.

        INT. ENGINE CUBICLE

        Circular, jammed with instruments.
        All of them idle.
        Console chairs for two.
        Empty.

        INT. OILY CORRIDOR - "C" LEVEL

        Long, dark.
        Empty.
        Turbos throbbing.
        No other movement.

        INT. CORRIDOR - "A" LEVEL

        Long, empty.

        INT. INFIRMARY - "A" LEVEL

        Distressed ivory walls.
        All instrumentation at rest.

        INT. CORRIDOR TO BRIDGE - "A" LEVEL

        Black, empty.

        INT. BRIDGE

        Vacant.
        Two space helmets resting on chairs.
        Electrical hum.
        Lights on the helmets begin to signal one another.
        Moments of silence.
        A yellow light goes on.
        Data mind bank in b.g.
        Electronic hum.
        A green light goes on in front of one helmet.
        Electronic pulsing sounds.
        A red light goes on in front of other helmet.
        An electronic conversation ensues.
        Reaches a crescendo.  
        Then silence.
        The lights go off, save the yellow.

        INT. CORRIDOR TO HYPERSLEEP VAULT
   
        Lights come on.
        Seven gowns hang from the curved wall.
        Vault door opens.

        INT. HYPERSLEEP VAULT

        Explosion of escaping gas.
        The lid on a freezer pops open.
        Slowly, groggily, KANE sits up.
        Pale.
        Kane rubs the sleep from his eyes.
        Stands.
        Looks around.
        Stretches.
        Looks at the other freezer compartments.
        Scratches.
        Moves off.

        INT. GALLEY

        Kane plugs in a Silex.
        Lights a cigarette.
        Coughs.
        Grinds some coffee beans.
        Runs some water through.

                                 KANE
                  Rise and shine, Lambert.
              
        INT. HYPERSLEEP VAULT

        Another lid pops open.
        A young woman sits up.

                                 LAMBERT
                  What time is it.

                                 KANE
                         (voice over)
                  What do you care.

        INT. GALLEY

        Pot now half-full.
        Kane watches it drip.
        Inhales the fragrance.

                                 KANE
                  Now Dallas and Ash.
                         (calls out)
                  Good morning Captain.

                                 DALLAS
                         (voice over)
                  Where's the coffee.

                                 KANE
                  Brewing.

        LAMBERT walks into the kitchen.
        Pours herself a cup.

        INT. HYPERSLEEP VAULT

        Two more lids pop open.
        A pair of men sit up.
        Look at each other.

        INT. GALLEY

        Kane enjoys a freshly-brewed cup.

                                 KANE
                  Ripley...

        Another moment.
        And then the sound of another lid opening.

                                 KANE
                  And if we have Parker, can
                  Brett be far behind.

        Lid opening sound.

                                 KANE
                  Right.

        INT. HYPERSLEEP VAULT

        DALLAS looks at his groggy circus.  
     
                                 DALLAS
                  One of you jokers get the cat.

        RIPLEY picks up a limp cat out of one of the compartments.

The Script of our five minute film: