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Intermediate

To Script or not to Script

By "LAERTES"

A script is as essential to a cine-camera as the film itself; it is the directive
-Ala+ puts the material in the viewfinder and controls its use; it is indivisable
with the conscious thought "What am I taking with this camera". A script
should start as a simplo thought cycle written on any scrap of paper; it can be
enlarged with d tail or it can remain purely simple. It formulates the screen
resultant. In a world wh r the Cinema can assist our daily lives by making us
think, the script is th nucl us of a great socialogical aid.
Yet one still he rs th plaintive cry that writing and using a script spoils the
pleasure of' spontan ous cin -work and as a final discouragement, it is adde·d with
much aplomb that a cript brings complications and worry. It is not the in-
tention here to embark on the motion "should a happy camera owner try to
improve his filmic stand rds" but to challenge the word "complications". Con-
sider the following ex mpl .
The cine camera m n goes on holiday with his family, and gives a little
thought to the results h would like to see on the screen; his three points are:--

1. Family rnv ox.pectantly at the sea-side (Mood-excitement);
2. They relax in their various ways (Mood-pleasure):
3. They regr +fully leave for home (Mood-wistfulness).

Now add simple det II :
I. Family arriv t boarding house, carrying cases, buckets and
spades; looking excited.
2. Shots of family walking along promenade.
3. Shots of moth r knitting and relaxing from everyday chores.
4. Shot of fath r asleep in deck-chair.
5. Shot of kiddi s making sand-castles.
6. Shot of family leaving boarding house, carrying cases, looking
rather sad, but quite fit and rejuvenated.
The above six points r a script-they constitute a complete cine happening.
With titles and a little d xtrous editing it may even win a cine award; in any
case it will provide lasting pleasure to the family and friends. Where, then, is
the so-called complication, where is the drudgery that removed the enjoyment
of cine snap-shotting? Th six points could be compiled on the train journey-
six small points, six shots nd a small film is created that can be shown with pride.
Consider now the type of film that the average amateur does or could
attempt. The main he dings are FAMILY-TUTORIAL or FACTUAL. The
examples given, howev r, are but a few of the many, into which the various
types may be sub-c:fividod.
Page Five