follis@marlin.UUCP (01/01/86)
A few weeks ago, I requested information about a script formatting
program using nroff. The response was underwhelming, I received one
request for a summary of the information which I had obtained.
Since I had a need for such a program I started to work on it and
the following sample text is the result. Jane Zeer of the Computer
Science Corporation here at N.O.S.C. was invaluable in advising on
the capabilities of the -me macro of the nroff processor.
The script format turned out to be a compromise between the
single column script of the theatrical style and the double column
of the industrial format. It works satisfactorally and is easy to
modify as desires change. Its features include auto scene
numbering, page numbering, dating the various revisions and scenes
will not be broken at page breaks.
The following is the result of [% nroff -me -Tlpr header-script]
------------------sample text----------------------
(lines deleted)
NEW TITLE HERE
FR-LRO-#####
for
CLIENT NAME HERE
of
Naval Ocean Systems Center
Code ###
By
WRITER NAME HERE
SCRIPT VERSION
Printed on
11/26/85
(end of title page and start of formatted script pages)
NEW TITLE HERE
(lines deleted)
(1) From here on out it is your show! Precede the narration
with a .SC on a separate line and precede the action
description with a .AC, also on a separate line. The final
line of this file must be: .)b This is the body of the
narration for the first scene. The narration is placed in
this portion of the scene description and should be double
spaced for ease of reading.
This is the scene description,
called by the command .AC for
action. this is the area in which
the the action of the scene is
described. It should be single
spaced and indented to the middle
of the page.
(2) The use of the .AC is optional and is needed only if there
are action directions or other comments which need to be
separated from the narration.
(3)
Narration per se, is not necessary.
The .SC command alone will provide
the sequential scene number.
(4) The first step necessary is to copy the header file to a
file which you will edit to create your script text file.
Pick a filename which is descriptive of the project and can
reflect the various versions of your modifications.
% cp header-script filename
11/26/85 Page 1
------------------end of sample text-------------------------
The following is the header file which created the sample text.
-----------------------cut here---------------------
.po 0.5i
.ll 6.5i
.he ''NEW TITLE HERE''
.fo '\n(mo/\n(dy/\n(yr''Page %'
.tp \"This is the start of the title page.
.sp 2i
.(l C
NEW TITLE HERE
FR-LRO-#####
.sp 3
for
CLIENT NAME HERE
of
Naval Ocean Systems Center
Code ###
.sp
By
WRITER NAME HERE
.sp 3
SCRIPT VERSION
.sp 2
Printed on
\n(mo/\n(dy/\n(yr
.)l
.bp
.na \"This is the start of the script formatting sect.
.nh
.de AC
.nr ii 3i \"This changes the indent for the action
.ls 1
.ip \"This calls a block-indented paragraph
..
.de SC
.)b
.(b L F
.na
.nh
.nr ii 5 \"This changes the indent back
.ls 2
.np
..
.(b L F
.SC
From here on out it is your show! Precede the narration with a .SC
on a separate line and precede the action description with a .AC,
also on a separate line. The final line of this file must be: ".)b".
The narration is placed in this portion of the scene description and
is double spaced for ease of reading.
.AC
This is the scene description, called by the command .AC for action.
this is the area in which the the action of the scene is described.
It should be single spaced and indented to the middle of the page.
.SC
The use of the .AC is optional and is needed only if there are
action directions or other comments which need to be separated from
the narration.
.SC
.AC
Narration per se, is not necessary. The .SC command alone will
provide the sequential scene number.
.SC
The first step necessary is to copy the header file to a file which
you will edit to create your script text file. Pick a filename
which is descriptive of the project and can reflect the various
versions of your modifications.
.AC
% cp header-script filename
.SC
The next step is to edit the new file. Use any editor, but you must
first remove all these instructional examples and then replace the
CAPITALIZED WORDS with your specific information. If you are using
the vi editor, these example lines can be deleted by this command.
.AC
:44,$-1d
.SC
The final
thing which must be done is to format the script using the -me
macro of the nroff processor. The following syntax
will format the script and send it back to you.
.AC
% nroff -Tlpr -me filename
.SC
An alternative to this process is to save the formatted script in a
file which is ready for printing. Use a .p following the filename
to indicate that it is ready for printing.
.AC
% nroff -me filename > filename.p
.SC
This is the narration for the last scene. Note that the new script
material must start with a .(b L F and the last line of the file must
be .)b
.)b
----------------------cut here------------------------
I trust that this is not too naive for the USENET, but I thought
that it would be of some value to writers working on film and video
scripts.
####%# ihnp4 \
# # akgua >!sdcsvax!noscvax!follis
( p q ) decvax /
\ /\ / dcdwest / follis@nosc
@\ -- /@ ucbvax / May your paths be continuous
@@@@@@ Stan Follis