Scripts indicate

• what lines actors are to speak
• how the lines should be spoken (shout, whisper)
• when actors are to enter and exit the stage
• what actors are to do as they speak (action)

Capitalized headings show the location of a scene.

Words in italics and brackets (smiling) are not to be read aloud. They describe props, costumes, or an action a character should perform.

Dialogue, which is the words spoken by the actors, provides information about

• characters (people depicted in the play) to let the audience learn how they think and feel 
• setting, so the audience learns when and where the story occurs
• plot, which is the chain of events that occur during the play

are used to help the audience understand where the action is occurring. Sets can include backdrops or furniture such as paintings, desks, computers, and balloons. Props can be used by actors. For example, a student may carry a pen and notebook.

How does the style or format of a script differ from that of a story or storyboard?

Below are film terms used in the script that you will need to understand.

1. Dolly– a wheeled platform that keeps pace with a car or bike on which a special camera is mounted
2. Doctored version – to make an image different in order to trick or deceive
3. Push In – the camera physically moves towards a subject
4. Reveal – a reveal shot starts out of view of your subject. It does not show the full set. Then, the camera moves to focus on the point of interest. The viewer now sees something else, that changes the point of view entirely, sometimes for the worse. For example, a reveal shot at the introduction of a movie comes after a high angle view of the mountains and a river, and finally drops down to focus on a person.
5. Voice over – narration in a documentary or film