Script Writing for Mobile: A Hands-On Workshop & Crit Room Stephanie Pau, The Museum of Modern Art Erica Gangsei, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Jun 24, 2015
Script Writing �for Mobile: �
A Hands-On Workshop �& Crit Room
Stephanie Pau, The Museum of Modern Art Erica Gangsei, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Hello.
Stephanie Pau Associate Educator, Interpretation & Research MoMA, New York
Erica Gangsei Manager of Interpretive Media SFMOMA
Why are you thinking of taking content-production in-house? a. I think I can save $ over an existing solution b. I have no budget to hire outside vendors c. I would like more creative control d. I want ownership of content e. I want to build up in-house skills f. All of the above
Let’s Warm Up!
Part I:�Tips for Scripting
Before You Begin… • CONSIDER CONTEXT & SETTING
o Is audio or mobile the appropriate medium in this instance? o Is the exhibit already media-heavy? Will there be a lot of ambient
noise? • WHAT OTHER GALLERY RESOURCES WILL BE PROVIDED?
o Check with Curatorial/ Education about labels, wall texts, and other in-gallery didactics/interpretation o Some redundancy is OK, but try to stagger resources and diversify
content
• DECIDE ON THE PRIMARY AUDIENCE
o Who do you want to target?
Before You Begin… • CHOOSE A MIX OF OBJECTS
o Baffling objects that require interpretation
o “Sticky” objects that visitors naturally want to know more about
o Stories that demand to be told • AVOID & PREVENT “BOTTLENECKS”
o Meet around the exhibit model, whenever possible o Think about skipping objects in high-congestion zones; spread content
evenly • AVOID INFORMATION OVERLOAD!
o What’s the total running time (TRT)? o 20-25 stops / 30-45 minutes TRT / 20-25% of objects on display
Step 1 • Content Audit
Step 2 • Interviews
(Actualities)
Step 3 • Review
Audio & Transcripts
Step 4 • Scripting
Step 5 • Script
Review
Step 6 • Audio
Review & Evaluation
• Take stock of what other interpretive resources will be provided • Dig into your institutional archives
o What media does your museum already own? o Library & Archives o Oral history initiatives o Documentation of public lectures & programs
o Repurpose existing videos and audio
Step 1: Do a Content Audit
o Research external catalogues
o Sound Archives o Library of Congress Recorded Sound Reference Center o California Library of Natural Sounds o Macaulay Library (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) o Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution o Skowhegan Lecture Archives ….and many more
o Historical Societies, Libraries, Archives, Documentarians & other Museums
Step 1: Do a Content Audit
Step 2: Interviews (Actualities) Choose your subject(s) wisely
o Will you interview experts, artists, writers, community members, storytellers, visitors, or…?
o Are they fluent speakers? Do you have a sense of their energy,
charisma, or natural storytelling ability?
o If you have time and resources to record multiple perspectives, do it
o Consider broadening your notion of "expertise"
Step 2: Interviews (Actualities)
o Do your homework beforehand, but don’t act like you already know the answers
o Don’t craft questions that answer themselves o Avoid questions that elicit YES/NO answers o Remind interviewees to rephrase the question
Q: “What did you eat for breakfast this morning?” A: “This morning I ate oatmeal, bananas, and tea.”
o Keep your interview session targeted
§ Ask about topics most relevant to the visitor § Ask about specific objects or topics
“INTERVIEWS ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS THE INTERVIEWER”
Step 2: Interviews (Actualities) • Transcribe with Timecode
• A time code is a time stamp inserted periodically in a transcript, normally
[HH:MM:SS]
• Helps you quickly locate words and phrases in the corresponding audio
• Preserve stutters, ums, long pauses, laughter, verbal ticks, etc. so you can be aware of them while scripting and editing; also preserves the character of one’s voice
• Very handy for licensing content
Step 3: Review Audio & Transcripts
• Listen to check the audio quality • Use quotes for emphasis, flow and drama; not just for factoids • If an interviewee says something with passion, find a way to use it • Let good quotes stand on their own; narration should frame, not
paraphrase However...
• At times your narrator can say in one sentence what
your interviewee says in three; replace meandering comments with concise narration.
Step 4: Scripting
The Basics Building Blocks Narrator The voice that frames the story Actuality The subject or interviewee; unscripted Ambient sound ("Buzztrack") Environmental sound, sound effects (sfx), score
Classic "NPR" (American radio doc formula) Narrator _____ ______ (20%) Actuality _____ ______ (70%) Ambient sound ______ (10%) The formula is functional and familiar, and there's something to that...
...But what other approaches are possible? Narrator (__%) Actuality (__%) Ambient sound (__%) Listen... Can you map the structure in this clip? What makes a program like Radiolab so compelling?
Does ambient sound = background? In only 1-2 seconds, ambient sound can: • Wordlessly evoke a mood. • Situate or transport the listener in time and space • Serve as an important source of information, or accentuate a point �So…be sure to insert music and audio cues as you write
“WORDS AREN’T THE ONLY TOOLS FOR TELLING A GOOD STORY”
Writing for the Ear • Script as you would normally
speak o No parenthetical clauses o One thought per sentence;
one breath per sentence o Use contractions o Active, not passive voice
§ Write in an order that answers "Who did what?"
o Short, simple sentences • As you write, read your
words aloud o Can you follow the logic? o Would a narrator be able to
read it in one breath?
"IF YOU WOULDN'T SAY IT, DON’T WRITE IT"
Writing into Actualities • Create the illusion of a natural dialogue between narrator
and interview clip • The interviewee should appear to finish the narrator's
thought
NARRATOR: Several staffers caught a good look at the moon rock. Jane Doe is with the museum's education department. She says the sight nearly scared her to death. �
� ACTUALITY: Well, I saw the thing comin’ out of the sky, straight for my Macbook. All these pieces cracked off and when they landed, I could see they were stray ideas....
Beware “Moon Rocks”! • "Moon Rocks”
"Alien" visitors from another script or story
• Consider moving non-essential information into sublayers (But beware excessive sublayers) • Find an alternate platform for far out "Moon Rock" segments: Podcast segments, blog posts, videos or audio slideshows, etc.
“ONE THEME PER SCRIPT, ONE THOUGHT PER SENTENCE.”
Length Alert! Shoot for 1-1.5 minutes; 2 minutes max 200 words = 90 seconds recorded Beware “Museum fatigue”
Length Alert! • Limit your script to "just in time"
information What's most relevant to understand here and now?
• Move non-essential information
into a sublayer (but sparingly) • And if you still can't tell the story in
1-2 minutes, how else could the story be told?
• Use image tracks sparingly, and only if they really add value
• Videos should be short ( < 1 minute)
DO DON’T Begin with what can be seen, and keep bringing the eye back to the work; encourage close looking
Undermine the act of seeing
Leave room for interpretation Over-determine or shut out the possibility of other readings
Conduct new interviews; delve into the archives (e.g. repositories like Archives of American Art; documentaries; other museums; public programs)
Tell the story only through scripted narration
Base your script around the actuality Predetermine what the story should be; ignore actualities that don’t support your thesis
Introduce multiple voices and perspectives. If they conflict, frame it as a debate
Suggest that there is a single authority on the subject
Allow for random access and meandering Script a single, linear path (“forced march”)
Step 5: Script Review
• Have a colleague read it aloud as you listen without benefit of the
script • Time your "walkthrough" reading to roughly estimate length • Listen while gazing at a photo of the object (or better yet, the real
thing) • Does what you hear ring true with what you see?
Step 6: Audio Review & Evaluation • Review audio on the same headphones or equipment as your
visitors • Listen on an open day in the galleries, preferably in front of the
work o Audio seems longer standing on your feet o Environmental noise may be more than you had anticipated o People also tend to wander as they listen
• Listen to your visitors
o You don't need a lot of money to do surveys or observation o Leave a comment book
Part II:�Group Crit
Let’s Give�Constructive �
Feedback.
Clark Art Institute�Williamstown, MA, USA
Case study: Artwork-specific audio guide stops
Average running time: 2.5-3 minutes per stop (as scripted) Audience: General Format: Random-access / Artwork-specific Delivery method: Initially, keypad audio device. Plans to eventually port to touchscreen devices with multimedia & layering capabilities
#435. A Street in Venice, c. 1880-82 John Singer Sargent (American, 1856-1925) Oil on canvas
#567. Cloud Study, c. 1821-22 John Constable (English, 1776-1837) Oil on cream laid paper, mounted on canvas
#435.
Part III:�Your Turn! �
Hands-On Scriptwriting�
Hands-On Scriptwriting STEP 1: CHOOSE YOUR INTERVIEW SUBJECT
o Divide into teams of two STEP 2: CONDUCT A 1-3 MINUTE INTERVIEW
o Every object has a story. Take turns interviewing each other about an item from your purse or bag, or something you are wearing such as clothing or jewelry
o Record using an iPhone, computer, or one of the provided devices o Practice active listening o Avoid YES/NO questions and observations posing as questions
STEP 3: TRANSCRIBE o Transcribe your interview with (rough) timecode
• AUDIENCE: What kind of visitor will be listening to your content?
• SETTING: What other gallery resources will be provided? • THE BASICS
o NARRATION: The voice that frames the story o ACTUALITY: The interview, or media from your content audit o SFX: Music or ambient sound to set a tone or dramatize a point
• WRITE FOR THE EAR o Script as you would normally speak o One theme per script, one thought per sentence o As you write, read your words aloud
• LENGTH ALERT! 200 words = approx. 90 seconds
Hands-On Scriptwriting
• WHAT’S WORKING?
o Is the script an appropriate length? o Is it written for the ear? o Are there Moon Rocks?
• HOW WAS THE PROCESS?
o Any take-aways from the interview and scripting process? o How would you apply this to your own museum?
CRIT TIME!
QUESTIONS?