how to write a psa script that doesn't suck

that doesn’t suck

How to write a script

P.S.A

- F C C

“public service announcement (PSA), which is any message promoting programs,

activities or services of federal, state or local governments or the programs, activities or

services of non-profit organizations.”

B E F O R E YO U S TA RT W R I T I N G

KNO W W H AT YO U WA NT T O S AY

- R OBERT ALT M A N

“I don’t think screenplay writing is the same as writing — I mean, I think it’s blueprinting.”

Author

You are not making art, you are building a credible world, piece by piece. Every detail needs to be present and accounted for This is a blueprint, if there needs to be a door, write in a door. On a side not, Altman was notorious for throwing out scripts and letting his High paid, Hollywood actors ad lib. You can’t, stick to the script

4 S E N T E N C E S — 1 / 2 PAG E

W R I T E A BR IE F

Author

This is an outright grab from the world of commercials. This document is used in advertising firms and it’s often called a “Creative Brief” there are plenty of books to help you write one if you aim is to make gobs of money, but there are also tips on how to research and develop the “Brand of what you are trying to promote.

M A N AG E E X P E C TAT I O N SGE T T H E DE TA I LS

Due date

for text

for visualsRole definitions

M A N AG E E X P E C TAT I O N SGE T T H E DE TA I LS

Design requestsApproval process

I D E N T I FY YO U R A U D I E N CE

W R I T E T O CO MMU NICAT E

this guy

this lady

these folks

Author

Face it, not everyone is going to care about your message. But I’ll bet someone does, and I’ll bet you kind of already know where they might be, Don’t waste your time trying to make everybody love you, go where your audience is, speak to them in their language. Understand what motives them.

A U D I E N C E TA K E AWAYW H AT DO PE O P LE NE E D T O KNO W?

YO U O N LY G E T O N ES INGLE CA LL -T O -ACT IO N

AVO I D L I E SL I BRA R IA N I NF O R MAT IO N E XT E NS IO N SY NDR O ME

R E A S O NS T O M A K E A P. S . A

Things to remember while writing a script

Boosts attendanceMakes you look goodPublicizes a little known serviceDocuments a time or place

S C R I P T A L L O F T H E W OR D S


that guy

Author

Think you can pull great, cohesive prose from the top of your head?You are making everybody’s job harder.If you do decide what is right for the message, your editor will have to.

S C R I P T E V E RY T H I N GThings to remember while writing a script

Author

A script isn’t just the words your actors say.If this seems overwhelming, remember that this is a small world you are creating. Good PSAs are short 30, 90, 120 seconds. Practice minimalism.

R E A D YOU R WOR DS OU T LOU D


Author

The words you write are not for paper. They will be heard and only then understood. It is worth the extra effort.

- W I LL I A M S HA K ES P EA R E

“Brevity is the soul of wit.”

Author

The average 30-second video was viewed 85% of the way through, while the average 2-minute video was viewed on average 50% of the way through.Wistia http://wistia.com/blog/does-length-matter-it-does-for-video

W O R DS PE R M I NU T E RAT I O


Length of PSA 10 sec 15 sec 20 sec 30 sec

20-25 30-35 40-50 60-75# of words

W R I T E F O R T H E S H O O TThings to remember while writing a script

Author

Imagine your limitations and work within them. Try to envision the resources you have on hand, this includes access to public domain material, settings, potential crew, access to graphic elements. Bear in mind time restraints and remember the more complicated the script the longer the edit.

S H O O T F O R T H E E D I TThings to remember while writing a script

Author

Stick to the script and the pay-off comes during the edit. Time wasted in-camera= the heartbreak of scanning through extra shots, multiple takes and superfluous cut aways.

• 3. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c21944

• 5. Library of Congress hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.11271

• 6. "Mark Muir Mills" by Thomas J. O'Halloran, U.S. News & World Report Magazine - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ppmsca.03109.. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mark_Muir_Mills.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Mark_Muir_Mills.jpg

• 8. "Douglas Fairbanks at third Liberty Loan rally HD-SN-99-02174" by Paul Thompson - Downloaded from http://www.dodmedia.osd.mil/DVIC_View/Still_Details.cfm?SDAN=HDSN9902174&JPGPath=/Assets/Still/1999/DoD/HD-SN-99-02174.JPG. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Douglas_Fairbanks_at_third_Liberty_Loan_rally_HD-SN-99-02174.JPEG#mediaviewer/File:Douglas_Fairbanks_at_third_Liberty_Loan_rally_HD-SN-99-02174.JPEG

• 9. "Suffragettes, England, 1908" by Not given - The New York Times photo archive, via their online store, here. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Suffragettes,_England,_1908.JPG#mediaviewer/File:Suffragettes,_England,_1908.JPG

• 10. "Tage Erlander 1960-tal" by Unknown - Ericssonkrönikan. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tage_Erlander_1960-tal.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Tage_Erlander_1960-tal.jpg

• 14. Danny Kaye in Unicef Commercial, 19/Apr/1955. UN Photo/MB

• 13. This image is a work of a Works Progress Administration employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain (17 U.S.C. §§ 101 and 105)

• 15. Meyer London, The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/kheel

• 18. "Filming scene TheGirlsOfTheRange 1910" by William Selig - [1]. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Filming_scene_TheGirlsOfTheRange_1910.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Filming_scene_TheGirlsOfTheRange_1910.jpg

• 19. File:Colonel Frank Capra (right) of the US Army Signal Corps confers with Captain Roy Boulting of the British Army Film Unit on the editing of the film 'Tunisian Victory' in February 1944. D18377.jpg D 18377 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums.

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c21944

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.11271

http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/kheel

how to write a psa script that doesn't suck

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