Unknown_User12
Account Closed
So I'm not one to do a scripted series very often, but I had a very good one that I ran by Shorewarz at Machinima, and he said to do a pilot of it. I wrote the script, but I feel my pacing is very off. Any advice?
Script Reading
- Thread starter Unknown_User12
- Start date
Symph
I'm a dude with a face and I know how to use it.
Memorize the script. Spend as long memorizing it as you can, get it to where you can more or less recite it easily without looking. Now get away from the script, either sleep on it or just occupy time with other things. Come back, and recite the script without reminding yourself of anything, and improvise in the sections where you forget exactly what the script says. What SHOULD happen, is you won't remember every little word or phrase, but the main jist and the important concepts will be there, and you will basically be reciting a script, but naturally and with real emotion.
Unknown_User12
Account Closed
Thanks for the tips, I'll try them out. I'd love to sleep on it, but I need to have the pilot episode in by tomorrow to Shorewarz so I'm a tad rushed for time, on top of editing the video itself.
Tarmack
Rhetorical Porcupine
I know this is a bit late. Didn't see this thread before.
Most of what I do is scripted game news (this helps with SEO too as you can load the script as captions). I will attempt to impart what I can.
When doing a read, I don't feel it's necessary to memorize it. Most script reading for broadcasting (radio, etc.) is done with no prior knowledge of the script. You already know the content because you wrote it, that should be sufficient.
Record the full thing. You can do this in multiple takes. Perhaps just record a small paragraph at a time. Editing these together afterwards is as simple as cutting out silence.
As you go along, you will encounter stumbling blocks. Words or phrase combinations that sound wierd or are hard to pronounce in tandem with one another. Edit these as you find them, you won't remember them all later.
Practice breathing from the diaphragm. The easiest test for this is when you breath in. Your stomach expands out, but your shoulders don't move. If your shoulders move, you're doing it wrong. This allows for a greater amount of air in the lungs and thus a longer time before you have to take another breath, meaning more words.
You cannot get a good feel for pacing until it has been recorded. Also, ensure you're not equating pacing with speed, but consider that increasing the speed can impact the pacing as it lessens the duration of less exciting segments.
Once you've recorded the whole thing, listen back to it 4-5 times. Keep notepad open so you can note where there are weak parts in the script, parts that are boring or don't flow well.
Make adjustments to the script and then record it again.
As time goes along, you will get better and be able to gauge the pacing from just the written word. You'll also know exactly how long you have to write for a particular length of video. For example, my series Feature Creep is fairly rapid. The speed equates to 1 full page, Calibri font size 1 in MS Word and will get me 2 minutes and 30 - 45 seconds, leaving just enough room for intro/outro.
Most of what I do is scripted game news (this helps with SEO too as you can load the script as captions). I will attempt to impart what I can.
When doing a read, I don't feel it's necessary to memorize it. Most script reading for broadcasting (radio, etc.) is done with no prior knowledge of the script. You already know the content because you wrote it, that should be sufficient.
Record the full thing. You can do this in multiple takes. Perhaps just record a small paragraph at a time. Editing these together afterwards is as simple as cutting out silence.
As you go along, you will encounter stumbling blocks. Words or phrase combinations that sound wierd or are hard to pronounce in tandem with one another. Edit these as you find them, you won't remember them all later.
Practice breathing from the diaphragm. The easiest test for this is when you breath in. Your stomach expands out, but your shoulders don't move. If your shoulders move, you're doing it wrong. This allows for a greater amount of air in the lungs and thus a longer time before you have to take another breath, meaning more words.
You cannot get a good feel for pacing until it has been recorded. Also, ensure you're not equating pacing with speed, but consider that increasing the speed can impact the pacing as it lessens the duration of less exciting segments.
Once you've recorded the whole thing, listen back to it 4-5 times. Keep notepad open so you can note where there are weak parts in the script, parts that are boring or don't flow well.
Make adjustments to the script and then record it again.
As time goes along, you will get better and be able to gauge the pacing from just the written word. You'll also know exactly how long you have to write for a particular length of video. For example, my series Feature Creep is fairly rapid. The speed equates to 1 full page, Calibri font size 1 in MS Word and will get me 2 minutes and 30 - 45 seconds, leaving just enough room for intro/outro.