"Did you hear me...VALEDICTORIAN?" (Script Writing #2)

Jake and I hopped on another FaceTime call yesterday night and finished the first draft of the script, ahead of schedule! This time around, we were much more efficient with the way we shared the writing responsibilities; it seemed like we mentally knew when the other would take over. Not only did this allow us to finish writing it quicker, but also multitask, edit, or think about ways to improve our storytelling by revising the scenes we wrote on Monday. The scenes we wrote today discuss the main theme of our story and are meant to be thought-provoking for the audience. 

Once we were done with the script, we sent it out to the cast so that they had a chance to read over some scenes and get comfortable with their characters and their lines. Aside from our cast, which was more than glad to give us some feedback on the script, we also went to Tina for some feedback, specifically about timing. You see, when we timed out the script at the end of our call, our script was 9 minutes long; far over the 5-minute mark (which we were hoping to push just slightly). That’s why we knew we needed Tina’s input, to see what we could cut and double down on. 


After meeting with Tina and getting her opinion and feedback I sat in the auditorium at school editing the script with new revisions as Jake rehearsed for his show, “Rock Of Ages”, next week. Once I was done with revisions, I sent an updated version into the group chat and to copy the script to google drive. Finally, after two long writing sessions, we were done (for good this time). I’m so happy to present our final script. The script looks lengthy but it’s mostly due to the multiple instructions on framing, editing, and acting that the stage directions include. Getting the feedback really helped us rework the dialogue to better fit the purpose of the story and more effectively help to establish character, tone, and message. 

However, we still expect to change things on the spot during filming, that’s just a given because we don’t know what will happen and how we will need to adjust. This week is pretty busy and next week is even busier but this is coming together really well! I’m excited to go location scouting safari-style! Except without much scouting, and little safari… there are no lions or giraffes AND my safari clothes won’t be washed until Friday, so more like local-suburban-teen-adventure style!