Text Types: Scripts (VCE SSCE English): Revision Notes

Text Types: Scripts

What is a script?

A script serves as the written blueprint for any performance-based media, including plays, films, television programmes, podcasts and other audio or audiovisual productions. Think of it as a detailed instruction manual that guides everyone involved in creating the final product.

Components of a script

Scripts contain far more than the words spoken by actors or performers. A comprehensive script typically includes:

Dialogue: The words characters speak during the production.

Stage directions: Instructions for actors about movement, gestures, facial expressions and positioning. These help performers understand how to embody their characters physically.

Technical information: Details about various production elements including:

• Set design and scenery descriptions
• Lighting requirements and changes
• Sound effects and their timing
• Music cues and selections
• Camera angles and movements (for film and television)

Setting descriptions: Information about where and when scenes take place, including mood and atmosphere details.

Learning from professional scripts

Using published scripts as mentor texts provides an excellent opportunity to develop your scriptwriting skills. Mentor texts are example works that demonstrate effective techniques you can learn from and apply to your own writing.

To get the most from script mentor texts, try comparing published scripts with their final productions. Find scripts for films or television shows you know well, then watch the production whilst following along with the script. This comparison reveals important insights:

• Changes during production: You'll often notice the final version differs from the written script. Actors might improvise different lines, or directors might edit scenes after filming.
• Creative decisions: Observing these differences helps you understand how scripts evolve through the production process.
• Formatting in practice: You'll see how professional writers organise their scripts for clarity and usability.

Writing your own script

Creating an effective script requires imagination combined with technical precision. You need to visualise what the final production will look and sound like, then translate that vision into a clear, usable written format.

These conventions exist to make scripts:

• Easy for actors and performers to read quickly
• Clear for directors and crew to interpret
• Professional and industry-standard

The key is clearly separating different elements: dialogue, stage directions, technical cues and setting information. Each element needs its own distinctive formatting so readers can instantly identify what type of information they're looking at.

Formatting conventions for scripts

Scene headings and settings

The opening of each scene uses a specific format to establish location and timing. Settings are written in capital letters to make them immediately identifiable.

INT. and EXT. labels: These abbreviations indicate whether a scene takes place indoors or outdoors:

• INT. stands for interior (indoor scenes)
• EXT. stands for exterior (outdoor scenes)

Stage directions

Stage directions describe action, movement and visual details. They're written in normal font (not capitalised or centred) and aligned to the left margin. This formatting distinguishes them from dialogue whilst keeping them easy to read.

Stage directions might describe:

• What characters are doing physically
• How characters are feeling or reacting
• Changes in setting or lighting
• Important visual details

Character names and dialogue

Character names appear in a distinctive format to help actors quickly find their lines:

• Names are centred on the page
• Names are written in capital letters
• The dialogue that follows is indented from both left and right margins

This creates a clear visual hierarchy that separates character speech from other script elements.

Voice-overs

Voice-overs—narration or thoughts that the audience hears but other characters don't—are marked with (V.O.) next to the character name. This tells performers and editors that the audio should be recorded or presented differently from regular dialogue.

CARLA (V.O.)
The day started badly and got worse. How I made it this far - all the way to fifth period maths - I'll never know.

Realistic dialogue

Dialogue in film and television scripts mirrors natural conversation patterns. Real conversations rarely involve perfect, complete sentences. People interrupt each other, trail off mid-thought, and speak in fragments. Professional scripts reflect this reality.

You'll often see:

• Interruptions: One character cutting off another mid-sentence
• Incomplete thoughts: Sentences ending with ellipses (...) or dashes (-)
• Informal language: Contractions, casual phrasing and realistic speech patterns

Key features and conventions summary

Professional scripts demonstrate these essential characteristics:

• Specific formatting conventions: Using aligned or centred text, italics and capital letters in standardised ways to distinguish different elements.

• Multiple information types: Including stage directions, music cues, sound effects and dialogue rather than just spoken words.

• Scene context: Often providing a brief synopsis of the scene or initial mood description to orient readers.

• Readability: Designed to be easy for performers and crew to follow quickly, with clear visual separation between elements.

• Consistent structure: Following industry-standard formats that everyone involved in production understands and expects.