LO1 Investigating elements of script.

    This is an analysis of various scripts or screenplays.

Style

    The style for the Pulp Fiction script is that it is a leading story, mostly dialogue that moves with the story. It lends itself well to the movie format as it is written in a third person perspective in terms of stage directions and camera movements, but all the dialogue from the characters are in first person perspective. The language gets its most informal in the dialogue, everything else is formal for the clarity of reading. The house style of Pulp Fiction fits most of the conventions that the film industry sets. The type of the script itself is Courier New as scripts used to be originally written on a typewriter. The formatting of this script fits the conventions of a screenplay rather than a shooting script. This is so that it reads more like a book than a guide for the producers.

    However the language throughout House of Cards’ script is inconsistent, the dialogue is very formal for the most part because of the characters speech. The language for description and technical varies between formal and informal. This differs from Pulp Fiction.  The house style of the House Of Cards script fits all the conventions of scriptwriting. The font used is courier new which is just a newer version of the font used for Pulp Fictions. The format of the script fits the conventions of a shooting script except that it doesn't include any camera work, this is similar to Pulp Fiction as both would be more likely referred to as screenplays instead of shooting script.

    The style in The Archers script is similar to both house of cards and Pulp Fiction because it follows industry conventions. The language throughout The Archers script is formal, even during the dialogue. This might be because of the formal nature of the drama. However the dialogue can often turn informal when dialects are taken into account. This formality change is a similarity with both Pulp Fiction and House of Cards. The house style of The Archers is industry standard for BBC radio scripts. The font is courier new, this font seems to be a common convention throughout all of script writings. The formats house style is very regimented as if part of a template. This could connote that as its a radio series the script format style has been perfected from repetition. The archers uses scenes just like a film although there are only a few scene changes throughout the script. These conventions of house style are a common similarity between the scripts as there is an industry standard to follow. The mode of address for this script is peer to peer as it is narrative based. The mode of address is similar to Pulp Fiction and House of Cards, this may be because all three are fictional works.

    The language used within the Hoop Dreams script is informal in parts due to its subject matter.This is because of the use of basketball colloquialism and idiom. However formal language is used throughout to be clear and help the audience understand. The house style of Hoop Dreams is similar to that of the archers in terms of layout of dialogue and similar to the films in the sense that it has been created in the courier font and in the style of a film script. It seems as though Hoop Dreams has been created in the form of peer to peer. This is similar of all of the other scripts I have looked at.



Content

     Pulp Fictions script has a lot of content. This content is mostly made up of dialogue, however there are camera directions for the audience and scene entrances and exits to help the audience see when the scene has closed. Pulp Fiction is peer to peer with its mode of address, this is because the film is telling a story, not informing or education the audience.

    The content of House of cards is both similar and different to Pulp Fiction. This may be because of the genre differences between the two but both are still fiction. The House of cards script is very rich in dialogue and screenwriting conventions, however similarly to Pulp Fiction, it lacks shooting conventions such as stage directions and camera work. Another similarity with Pulp Fiction is how much dialogue there is within the script. This dialogue is a necessity for House of cards because it allows for a complex narrative to be established.

    The content in the archers script is very basic, it mostly consists of dialogue, stage directions and technicals. The dialogue fills the majority of the script as its a radio drama, this dialogue is necessary for the flow of the drama. The stage directions are relatively minimal. This could be because radio dramas don't usually use acting stage directions as it is all audible content. There are voice directions so that the voice actors know how they must pronounce words.  This isn't similar to either Pulp Fiction and House of Cards.

    The content of Hoop Dreams is mostly dialogue. As Hoop Dreams is documentary there is a lot of narration and informative speaking. Due to the format of documentary there aren't any stage directions or descriptive. This makes it dis-similar to the other scripts I have looked at. There aren't any scenes or descriptions within this script as documentaries are mostly post-production pieces.


Narrative Structure

    The narrative structure of Pulp Fiction is very dialogue based. It is lay out in scenes which is paragraphed up into dialogue. Most of the scenes contain more dialogue than actions. Each scenario is introduced with and line stating where the scene starts whether it be interior or exterior. This line often includes the location of the scene, what is happening and what time of day it is (INT. VINCENT'S MALIBU (MOVING) – NIGHT). Each scenario is exited with a line stating where that scenario ended,  what is happening and the time of day (EXT. FRONT OF MARSELLUS WALLACE'S HOUSE – NIGHT). These scenarios often have smaller cuts to different perspective for the audience and these small scene changes are marked with a line stating the new location (Living Room).  There are also scenes that are titled for significance (THE GOLD WATCH) to show chapters. The narrative in Pulp Fiction would be non linear due to its natural storytelling.

    The narrative structure of House of cards is also very different the Pulp Fiction, this is because the narrative structure is simplistic in structure but complex in narrative. This is often common of a linear narrative as its a straightforward story in which the writers decided to make things more exciting and complicated through use of twists and story affecting events. The narrative would be a single strand narrative as the story unfolds towards a single ending, this can often be seen through the life an main character. For instance in House of cards the single strand story is told through the character of Francis Underwood.

    The content is put together in a multi strand narrative, this means that theres are many small narratives happening that make up a larger narrative. This is different to both House of Cards and Pulp Fiction, as both utilise the single stranded narrative. This means that the narrative is non linear. This is also different to the other scripts, this means that the narrative structure of both the House of Cards and Pulp Fiction have completely different narratives to The Archers script.

    In similarity to this is the Hoop Dreams narrative. The Narrative structure of Hoop Dreams is a leaner narrative that is telling a story which is specifically similar to how the House of Cards script is structured. This means it would also be a single strand narrative which is also very similar to House of Cards. This is narrative structure is common with documentaries because of the straight forward nature of the narratives.

Genre

    Pulp Fiction is a fictional story, as indicated by the name. The genre for Pulp Fiction is a comedy, crime and thriller film that has now been dubbed a Cult Classic. These genres are often used together in films as they go together well. Pulp fiction is now one of the most influential films of these genres.

    The genre for house of cards is political drama which is slightly different to the genre of Pulp Fiction as Pulp Fiction doesn't fit within the political genre.. This isn't the most common genre out there, this might be because of the difficulty behind the genre. Politics being a closed circle industry it makes it hard to accurately depict a story within politics. In comparison to Pulp Fiction the genres are similar in a vague way, both are dramas so they try to focus on the realism behind the media. However apart from this there isn't really any similarities between the two in terms of genre.

    The genre for the Archers is fictional drama. This is common for radio shows, as drama as a genre is easy to create within the radio medium. This is similar to the scripts of House of Cards and Pulp Fiction because both are dramas. However House of cards is a lot more serious in its narrative and  Pulp Fiction also has dark comedy.

    The genre for Hoop Dreams is sports biopic. This is because of the subject matter being basketball and a basketball player. This is a very popular genre for documentaries as of this current time. However in 1994 when Hoop Dreams was first released, it appealed to the masses as this genre wasn't hugely popular and common. The other scripts I have looked at, have very different genres and mostly focus of fiction.



Target Audience

    The target audience for Pulp Fiction is both men and women aged from 18- 45. Any ethnicity and of demographic A, B, C1. More specifically they will be huge film fans and have a passion for the art of film making.    

    The target audience for House of Cards is people aged 18 and over, both genders, any ethnicity although American or western in culture. These people would be fans of critically acclaimed television and films. This target audience is very similar to Pulp Fictions. This may be because they are both critically acclaimed. This culture is probably very common for a lot of western film and television because it installs western views within the viewer, for instance House of Cards is a dramatised depiction of the American political system so Americans will naturally be drawn to it.

    The target audience for The Archers is women aged 30-70, this is because these are the ages of people who will most likely be around to listen to a mid afternoon radio show. Any ethnicity but most likely English by culture. This is because the narrative is about countryside village drama that is typically British.
   
    The target audience for this documentary is men, aged 12-50 of any ethnicity but mostly american by culture. This broad age range is because of the subject matter being basketball and that this sport appeals to the masses. This target audience isn't similar to any of the other scripts I have looked at.