Stages of Documentary Scriptwriting

Published by Emil Abraham,


The script is also, often, the most underrated aspect of the documentary process. Often, preparing a script beforehand can make the difference between a bad film and a good film. Or, at best, a good film and a great film.
There are two stages of documentary scriptwriting:
  1. The Pre-shoot or Shooting Script
  2. The Post-shoot Script
A pre-shoot or shooting script is like carrying a map when you set out on a road trip. It is a conceptual map for your shooting journey. It consolidates research and outlines the film’s story, providing a visual guideline for the shoot. It uses the same format and elements as a post-shoot script and can be as comprehensive or generic depending on the information available to the scriptwriter at that stage.
A shooting script should not be confused with a shot list. A shot list is a production tool which contains shot numbers, descriptions and transitions along with production details. Even though some director-scriptwriters often combine the shooting script and shot list, the two are separate entities. A shooting script rarely delves into detailed aspects of production unless integral to the story. It is more conceptual in nature; descriptive, but leaving room for interpretation.
The post-shoot script is the final version of the shooting script. This is often a modified or re-written version of the shooting script and is created between the shooting and editing processes of the documentary. The post-shoot script combines conceptual elements along with audiovisual information gathered at the production stage and may also include any new knowledge gathered along the way. It then weaves it all together into a cinematic story, which is used by the filmmaker to edit the documentary. The post- shoot script often includes descriptions of shots and actions and is quite comprehensive.
Again, the post-shoot script should not be confused with a paper-edit, which contains detailed shot and production information. Even though the two are often combined by director-scriptwriters, they are separate entities. The paper-edit is a tool for the editor to cut the footage and includes elements like time-counters, tape numbers, shot in-points and out-points etc. The script is conceptual and descriptive of action but should leave some room for creative interpretation at the editing stage.
Both the pre-shoot and post-shoot scripts are time-specific versions of the same entity. The same elements and technique can be used to create both depending on the amount of information available at that time.

A script is a guide or first battle plan, the best device for getting the film under way on the basis of the information known at the time of writing. However, in reality it is only a best-guess guide to uncharted territory. It states where you want to go and suggests what seems, initially, the best route. New possibilities may be discovered while shooting. Strange characters may turn up, and marvellous unexpected events may happen even in the best-planned film. In each case, you may need to drastically revise your thinking about both the film and the script. You may find yourself re-evaluating sequences, throwing some away, adding others, and even re-ordering some of the main acts.
Another frequent problem is that theory does not always match reality. The script that looked so appealing on paper may not work when the material is assembled. You may find, for example, that the whole rhythm of the film is wrong or that it is overloaded with information. At that point, the script must be adjusted, and again, sequences may have to be dropped, cut, or reordered. In most cases, this can be done relatively easily, and the script can be altered to accommodate the changes without damaging the essential structure and message of the film.

Film Stages (Production Process)
In order to understand the problems involved in the script, it helps to visual- ize the entire production process, which is outlined below. In a pre-scripted documentary, the film will probably go through the following stages:
1. Script development
  • The idea and its development
  • Discussion with commissioning editors, sponsors, or funding agencies
  • Preliminary research
  • Writing the proposal (often the second item)
  • Discussion of proposal
  • Agreement on budget
  • Research
  • Writing the shooting script
  • Acceptance and modification of script (At this point, the writer can relax slightly, but only slightly, as he or she will probably be highly involved throughout production stages as well.)
2. Preproduction (based on script)
3. Filming
4. Editing
  • The visual edit based on a revised editing script
  • Editing sound and laying in narration from an approved narration script
5. Final lab work for films or on-lining for videos
(The final order of work varies slightly when you are working in video.)

The 'Evolving' Script
What can sometimes be confusing is that the word script is used in half a dozen different ways and may mean something entirely different depending on where you are in the production. You will also hear the words treatment and outline bandied about, adding to the confusion. In reality, it is all quite simple, and the script stages proceed as follows:
  • The idea
  • The treatment, or outline
  • The shooting script
  • The editing script
  • The narration script
The idea. We know what that is. It is the sharp concept, the raison d’être, that underlines the whole ¤lm structure.
The treatment, or outline. The treatment, or outline, is basically a brief sketch. It suggests an approach and tells the overall story of the ¤lm. Its typical aim is to clarify the purpose and progression of the ¤lm with the funding agency.
The shooting script. The shooting script is the approved master plan. It usually has a fairly full description of all the visual sequences and an accompanying outline of the ideas to be discussed in the sequence or some tentative narration. As its name indicates, this script also suggests to the director what to shoot and will be used to make a daily shooting plan and a proper budget. As mentioned earlier, it also helps the cameraperson de- termine what special camera and lighting provisions have to be made.
The editing script. The editing script (visuals) may be either the same as the shooting script or something radically different. Normally, the di- rector sits down with the editor after ¤lming to review the material al- ready shot (called "rushes," or "dailies"). If the director decides to drop, add, or modify a sequence, he or she will probably draw up a new script or set of notes to guide the editor. This is what is called the editing script. What must be emphasized is that during editing, the rushes, not theory, must guide the ¤lm, and this material may necessitate many departures from the original script. Hence, the occasional necessity to formulate a special editing script.
The narration script. This is not really a script but rather the ¤nal nar- ration text that has to be read over the visuals. In most current-event or biographical documentaries, the shooting script contains only a rough guide to the main ideas of the ¤lm. The writing of the exact narration is usually left until almost the end of the process, when all the visual mate- rial has been locked into place. However, even in ¤lms where a full narra- tion has been written at an early stage, it is not unusual to see major changes being made in editing, necessitating a new narration script when the editing is almost complete. (Recording and laying in the narration track is one of the last stages in the editing process.)