The Power Of Writing

For the most part, we've all watched Anchorman, a movie made about a San Diegan anchorman who is stuck in the 60's way of thinking. There is one scene that honestly can make me laugh, even on the darkest of days. It is where Ron Burgendy's female opponent, Veronica Corningstone, happens to rewrite the script on the telepromter to humiliate Ron ON AIR!


In our book, chapter 2 has everything that we need to know about scriptwriting. How to communicate effectively, making sure everything is accurate, keeping the point of view in mind as we're writing the script for a commercial, and using proper language as well as punctuation. I NEVER knew how much detail was behind scriptwriting. Whenever I watch TV, go to a movie or even turn on the radio.. I just assumed that the talent is the person who comes up with everything that is coming out of their mouths...and now I know... that it is the writer's talent shining through the speakers mouths!


In class on Tuesday, Dr. King gave us a challenge: To listen to the way people talk at McConn or in our dorms...and I did just that. Yesterday morning before our scriptwriting class, Alex "Barbie" Canfield and I went to McConn to get a coffee and an impromptu cookie. It was there that I counted the "um's", "like's", and "you know's" in various conversations around us. In one case, there were two girls that were working behind counter that were obviously talking about their problems that happened the night before. From the 2-3 minutes that I was standing there I heard 10 "um's", 15 "likes" and 3 "you know's". WOW! :) I never really noticed how much our generation uses these words in just a simple conversation.


I also have also been thinking about how I used to work at McDonalds (yes, I worked at McDonalds...the worst 3 years of my life), and I remembered how my bosses always reminded us to use "suggestive selling". That means whenever the customer has finished their ordering we would politely ask "Would you like to try our special today? We're selling 2 apple pies for a dollar today!". In radio and even in television, I've found out that for commercials.. you kind of need to use the "suggestive selling" approach as well as the use of colorful animation through visual and/or audible effects. For commercials, the radio industry uses sound effects to make the listener imagine what's going on... like a door creaking or a door slamming. On TV we're able to see the object itself and see how it looks, it's size, and the reaction that other people have had using the product.


Well kid's... that's what I've thought about most all week! TTFN...Ta Ta For Now!!! <3 Glenda