Script and/or Video Editing

When writing a sketch, do you think it's better to write as much as possible, film it and then see what works and what doesn't. Or would editing the script tightly before filming be better?

I'm talking at an amateur level here, because I can imagine by the time you're Pro, there will be script editors cutting your work to pieces for you and you'll probably have the experience to know what works and what doesn't anyway.

I've never filmed a sketch before, is it really a lot of hard work, is it best to keep it as simple as possible?

By the time it comes to picking up camera you should know exactly whats going to be on the screen, either by script or story boards.

Editing is great fun though I can send you through some tips if you havent done it before.

Of course, I never thought about that. I'm not planning on filming anything, anytime soon, I was just wondering how tightly I should edit down my scripts.

Cheers though Gav.

As tight as possible, imagine your giving it to someone else to film. You need to comunicate everything that is vital on the page.

I have started doing read throughs, they are really good at weeding out weak lines that look really good on paper but just don't come across on screen so maybe that another thing you could look at

Edit edit edit! Script and video.

Got to agree with Gavin. The script should be trimmed as much as possible. Work out the best way to tell the story in a logical sequence of images. Film it, rough cut it, then start trimming out all the dead space at beginning and end of each shot.

One thing to bear in mind is that sudden inspiration can strike when you're filming, either a line is dying on its ass or a new line suggests itself. Film them and you can always cut them out if they don't seem so good at the edit.

Quote: SlagA @ December 9, 2007, 7:35 PM

One thing to bear in mind is that sudden inspiration can strike when you're filming, either a line is dying on its ass or a new line suggests itself. Film them and you can always cut them out if they don't seem so good at the edit.

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I agree completely. Often our scripts are very loose and basically consist of a very indepth 'edit sheet' with ideas, structure, character traits on. We then use this as an inspiration for filming but riff around a lot and ad lib during filming - a la Operation Good Guys, Curb etc. It helps the acting look naturalistic but - to be effective - you need to still have a strong 'written' framework with start and end points and information to get across.

With more traditional sketch, however, I guess it could be better to have a very tight script to stick to.