I don't use scripts for every video but they are helpful in many instances. I'm curious if you use scripts, and if so, how do you use them?
I use Excel spreadsheets to create scripts as follows:
- Column A is shot number
- Column B is required narration
- Column C is brief description of on-screen visuals for that shot
- Column D is used for notes that may be helpful for a scene
Excel isn't required (Google "Sheets" is free) but I have it on my PC so I use it. Here is how I use it:
After I complete the script I group similar shots with yellow highlighting. In this way I know that when I shoot shot X, I should also shoot shots G and R because they all have yellow highlighting.
The tab at the bottom of the screen is for the version number. In this way, if I need to make changes to the script at a later date I can create a copy of the script, name it "V2" or similar, and away I go.
If I start shooting but don't finish in one day, I can easily highlight all sections that haven't been shot with different colors, highlighting, etc. The next time I open the script I can quickly see what shots are needed by looking at the different formatting of the text.
Let's pretend I complete a video based on script "version 1" and I send the video to my management for review. My boss comes to me a week later and wants a couple of changes in the middle of the video. I create a "version 2" of the script, modify only the shot description that my boss wants, and I use BOLD font for the change. Then, when I have a chance to shoot the modifications, I see "V2" is the latest version and I open it and look for the formatting changes I used to indicate "THIS IS NEW, DO THIS."
Do you use scripts, and if so, how do you use them? Do you use a different software program, such as Microsoft Word or other? Do you handwrite your shot list in a notebook? Or do you skip the script and just storyboard everything?