What's in a script? Examining the A/V script for a commercial shoot.

Much like a "shooting script" on a film set, the AV script on a commercial shoot serves a distinct purpose. On first glance the sheet will present columns labelled Audio, Video, and maybe another column such as Photo or SFX. Occasionally storyboards will be attached. Each scene is numbered in shooting order with details to ensure you get all of the needed conent for that scene. The Audio tells you what the talent needs to say or what sound effect is needed; Video tells the Director what shots are needed; etc.

Video segments are timed to ensure enough footage is collected to meet the spot requirement. This was made in Microsoft Word, but we don't recommend doing this.

Video segments can be grouped by location or actor availability, and are usually timed to ensure the correct amount of footage is recorded for the spot length.

Audio segments will include any narration to allow proper timing for filming. They also include if any music is included, as well as any spoken dialogue by the talent.

The more thourough your AV script, the more likely you are to ensure you have all of the needed scenes and sounds when it comes time to edit.

AV scripts begin with a client consultation as they describe what message they want to convey. Sometimes they have an idea or even a script already written. A treatment is written that may go through several itterations before being green-lighted. Then it's just a matter of organizing the scenes and prioritizing the shots. Of course changes can be made on the fly.

A sample AV script for Ohio home & Garden, created in Celtx.

Most script writing software includes an AV option, though you may be limited on how many you can write depending on the price. Celtx (www.celtx.com) and WriterDuet (https://www.writerduet.com) are two we use regularly that have free and paid options. Final Draft, an industry standard in screenplay software, doesn't currently offer an AV option. We've also created them by hand or used software like Adobe inDesign or Microsoft Word. If you have to share the file with others, be sure to convert it to a friendly format like PDF.

An unused AV script created on WriterDuet.

I'AMedia has over 20 years of experience in commercials, training videos, infomercials, TV shows and Film, even producing our own TV shows, Fishin' Ohio (2003-2005) and the Ohio Home & Garden show (2006-2008, which you can watch below.

Contact us to discuss your video needs, be it scripts, filming or post production at www.iamfilmco.com

The OHG show, produced by I'AMedia, ran for two seasons and aired locally on WSYX-6 and WTTE-28 in Columbus.