How to write the script

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What do you want to say?

To think about your story, try to think in the following terms:

What’s the objective of the movie? What’s the question that you want the film to answer?

Your objectives

For example, for the movie, “The Father’s Heart,” the objective could be: to show that the essence of fatherhood is found in who God is (His identity defines the man).

Or: to show that the heart of a father (his strength, wisdom, and leadership) can only shine true when his love is based on God’s love.

Or: to show that fatherhood can be both the hardest job in the world, and the easiest job in the world, but either way, is also the most rewarding job in the world.

On the other hand, some example questions you want (the movie) to answer would be:

  1. What are the qualifications of an ideal father?
  2. In what ways does fatherhood mirror the love of God for us?
  3. How can “ordinary man” grow into an extraordinary father (“superman”) when he becomes the head of a family?

Be clear about what you to show in the story at all times, so that all your planning is aligned to it.

This objective will set the tone of the rest of the script, or story outline.

Your outline

Every story is made up of the beginning, middle, and end. A good one has a captivating beginning, an exciting middle, and a satisfying ending.

For me, a brilliant story mixes it all up and brings you on a roller coaster ride, with twists and turns, and unexpected dips and dizzying ascents, before blowing your mind at times, before landing you safely on your feet in the end. But that’s a guide for another post…

The filmmaker will impact the final edit, but the scriptwriter’s outline will dictate the content that the story will tell, and drive the logistics of how it will be implemented (i.e. the shooting, assembly, and editing).

For “A Father’s Heart,” the sample outline could be:

  1. Ching in his home with his family
    • Scenes at home with the kids
    • Scenes with the wife
    • Scenes doing domestic tasks
  2. Ching in his workplace with his colleagues
    • Travelling to/from work
    • Selfie at the desk
    • Work b-roll (computer, mouse, keyboard, mug, etc)
  3. Ching in his church with his leaders/pastoral group
    • Leading worship
    • Participating in a zoom meeting
  4. Ching in his room alone with God
    • Personal worship
    • Daily devotions

Make sure your outline is always aligned to your objective, so that you don’t stray away from your topic

What do you need from your subject?

In some cases, the story is driven mainly by the content coming from the subject. This is especially true for journalistic or documentary style testimonial videos.

In the best case scenario, your subject is a compelling genius of a storyteller, who knows their story so well that they need no guides, and can get it out perfectly and consistently in every take. #WishfulThinking #SomedayWeWillMeetThisUnicorn #ForNowWeDream

For this, it would be best if you have a list of questions so that the subject is always kept on topic.

If you have thought through your objective and outline, the questions should follow in kind. When in doubt, always go back to your objective and outline. Notice the redundancy of this paragraph. Objective and outline–if you don’t have them yet, go back to step one and write them down so that this part can be easier.

For our sample topic movie, “The Father’s Heart,” and if we will go with the outline above, some sample questions could be:

  1. Ching in his home with his family
    • How do you spend your time with your family during weekends?
    • Describe your routine and the things you and your family like doing.
    • Do you have some established favorite things to do with your kids?
    • How do you spend special time for your wife and marriage?
  2. Ching in his workplace with his colleagues
    • Do you have a separate mindset/character/attitude when you are at work and when you are at home?
    • Describe any similarities/differences when you serve in your work and in your ministry.
    • What is your proudest moment/achievement in your workplace?
  3. Ching in his church with his leaders/pastoral group
    • Are there any “fatherhood” principles or ways of leading that you sometimes bring into pastoral leadership?
  4. Ching in his room alone with God
    • What is your life verse?
    • How has your worship changed through the years, and through the different roles that God had led you to?

Please note that the questions above are samples only, and are still quite scattered, as they are not tied down to a specific objective as yet.

Try to keep on topic as much as possible. Do not be tempted to throw in all the questions that you can, considering that time is a valuable resource, and the more concise and focused we can make the script, the better it will be for the rest of the serving production team.

To be continued…

1 comment

  1. She can be so tedious right? So many words saying the same thing over and over again.

    Just write you know, and write from heart.
    Then after you’re done, just tear it all up

    Cause nobody wants to listen to that anyway.

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