filming and scripts

Dan7312

I’ve got a general question about how scripts are used when making commercials, indie or hollywood films.

Do the actors follow the script exactly or do they just use it as a guide an improvise as they go?

I’ve had some people, who like me are not in the business of making films, tell me that actors mostly improvise and just use the script as a guide. I’ve always thought that learning the script was always a big hurdle for actors and missing your lines would always cause a retake.


Thanks for any insight,
Dan

ziggy53

I think that it mostly boils down to the particular project and personalities involved.

In a major motion picture project, different directors and different actors have different views and needs for "sticking to the script". The writers are often involved when the story line doesn't match the images and scene possibilities, but the producers can also get involved if the budget stretches too thin, forcing some major changes which can include script changes.

It also seems that the bigger the project, the closer people stay to the script. The reasons can involve multiple locations and multiple "shooting units", and the need for continuity in the face of shooting out of sequence.

In some comic productions, comic genius and comic timing come into play, and the script may take a back seat as the scene comes alive with different takes (as evidenced in some outtakes reels).

In smaller budget pieces, indeed in a micro-budget indie movie, the script may be only half-baked at the start. The story line can evolve and even mutate as the project moves along. It's fairly common to see the writer/producer/director/talent/DP as the same person with different hats, and different realizations of the story emerge over time.

A few years ago I was reading about a relatively famous DP who described movie productions as "constant problem solving". I think that's true in any successful venture, but movie production which involves so many different problems which the public must never see would seem unique, so each project also has its own unique challenges, sometimes including a changing script and dialog.

Dan7312

Thanks Ziggy!

ziggy53 wrote: »

I think that it mostly boils down to the particular project and personalities involved.

In a major motion picture project, different directors and different actors have different views and needs for "sticking to the script". The writers are often involved when the story line doesn't match the images and .