Over the past trimester, I have particularly enjoyed working on the 'Writing for Television' Unit and feel that I have developed some useful skills. When joining the course, I had hoped to learn more about the skills and techniques needed to write a successful screenplay, and, after completing this unit, I feel that I have gained those skills and have a greater understanding of the topic.
When beginning the final project for this unit, it was important to consistently refer back to what we had previously learnt. For example, how to create and develop ideas, and how to successfully format a script. When writing my script, it was important to have a clear balance of dialogue and action to ensure that the scene flowed smoothly. My original intention for my final script was to create a comedic scene with elements of slapstick. It was essential that I referred back to this idea in my script, because the scene was very action heavy. Most of the comedy was portrayed through action, instead of dialogue, so it was important to note this in the script, because these aspects could be overlooked and misinterpreted if the script was being directed by someone else. Furthermore, I feel that I was able to use the professional conventions of script writing in my own script, such as starting each new scene description with either 'INT' for interior, or 'EXT' for exterior, and starting a new line for each line of dialogue. By doing this, my script was able to resemble the layout of a professional screenplay. It is also important to consider your target audience when writing scripts. For example, if you were to write a script for an infant television show, you would use short, simplistic dialogue, and rely more so on the visual action. However, if you were to write a drama series for an older audience, you could use longer, complex dialogue. The Target Audience for my script had a wide age range, as, when conducting research, I found that a large variety of people are able to enjoy slapstick comedies, but if I was to narrow down my Target Audience, it would mainly be aimed at younger people.
If I was to complete this task again, I would like to build on my script as a whole. I would create more interesting characters and build on the scenario and dialogue. However, I have enjoyed studying the Writing for Television unit and feel that it will prove to be very useful in my future work.
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