Summertime Request A

Running head: RESPONSE 1

RESPONSE 2

Derek Underhile 

DB 1

COLLAPSE

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The evolution of the writer continues to be a topic of discussion even in the 21st century. From the dawn of time, people have been moved with passion to write down their experiences with the material and immaterial world.  From these experiences, true and fictional stories have been created that capture audiences’ attention allowing them to transcend from the ordinary to the extraordinary.  Yet even with modern technological advances resulting in the television, mobile devices, and the computer, the science of story has changed very little.  The Freytag Pyramid still serves as the best structure for communicating stories although the sequence is debated (Zak, 2015).  Zak (2015) observed that the brain functions around story structure and that the climax is the hinge for connecting the beginning and ending of a story. However, he concludes that the order in terms of rising and falling action, doesn't matter in relation to the climax.  There is much more to be considered in Zak’s research, but suffice to say the structure of story hasn't changed much. 

 

Writing for Television, Radio, Internet, Broadway, or Movie often means adhering to the specific writing rules that govern each medium.  As such, two audiences emerge: the visual and audio audience.  The visual audience however can be separated into two sub-audiences of stationary viewers and live audiences.  One of the first things that should be considered by writers, before they can solve the issue of tension between isolation and audience, is to consider which medium the script is intended for.  There are basically 6 mediums for which stories are communicated and require a script.  The visual mediums include Television, Internet, Movie, and Broadway or Theater.  The audio mediums are Radio and Podcasting.  Once the audience is established the script writer can focus on crafting a script.  

 

Crafting a script includes considering the demographics and psychographics of the intended audience (Hilliard, 2014).  Demographics refers most commonly to the gender and age of an audience while psychographics refers to habits, attitudes, and desires of an audience.  If a script is intended to reach a broad audience, Hilliard (2014) suggests steering clear of controversial subject matter.  Writing a controversial script for broad audiences usually results in negative reviews and risks never being picked up by a broadcasting company.  This is not to say that controversial subjects don’t have their place, but rather that niche markets are better suited for controversial subjects.  Controversial scripts are commonly found in Radio, Podcasting, and select Television and Internet mediums.   

 

Another important strategy to keep in mind is making sure that each word and scene are important and significant (Hilliard, 2014).  This is especially true for visual audiences.  A script designed for Radio and Podcast may include long dialogues between characters without much mentioned in terms of the surrounding elements.  In contrast, Television and Movie scripting rely heavily on visual elements.  Every little detail in a visual scene must be carefully crafted to communicate its importance to the overarching narrative.  I mentioned earlier that visual audiences can be divided into stationary and live audiences.  Television, Movie, and Internet scripts are for stationary audiences because the focus of attention remains on the screen.  Scripts designed for live audiences include directional change of focus.  In other words, the audience’s eyes may be directed to one part of the stage and then redirected to another area for some intended purpose.  

All these elements must be cognizant for script writers as they consider their audience and writing in isolation.  Before writing it helps to actually visit and interact with the places so that an accurate description can be created and therefore accurately portrayed to the audience. 

 

References 

 

Hilliard, R. L. (2014). Writing for television, radio, and new media (11th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. ISBN: 9781285465074.

 

Zak P. J. (2015). Why inspiring stories make us react: The neuroscience of narrative. Cerebrum: The Dana Forum on Brain Science.

Roberts, J. (n.d.). E-book:Writing for Strategic Communication Industries. Pressbooks. doi: https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/stratcommwriting/chapter/media-writing-skills/

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Doshi, T. (2020, March 25). Writing Through Wordlessness in a Time of Isolation. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://lithub.com/writing-through-wordlessness-in-a-time-of-isolation/University, W. (n.d.).

Scholarly Voice: Objectivity. Retrieved March 25, 2020, from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/scholarlyvoice/objectivity

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