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Writing Media Program Scripts

Never describe pictures. Do not say, "This is the car we drove." "Isn't it a beautiful place?" "In the market, you can buy bananas, mangoes, and pineapples" (three pictures of fruits). If pictures are described and there are 150 pictures in the presentation, the result is 150 stories. It takes an extremely talented public speaker to make such a presentation interesting. The more common result is boredom or worse. The preferred format of script writing is to have a single story and choose pictures that illustrate the story, rather than show pictures that have more than one story. How does one know if he has accomplished this? If the script can be read (or listened to) all the way through without any pictures and it makes perfect sense, then it is a successful script. If it can also move, challenge, and excite people without any pictures, then it is also a good script. The addition of good, quality images that describe the elements of the story will then make it a very good script.

The main reason that more missionaries fail to use this method is that it takes a great deal of work. But of all those who labor and persevere, none have ever been sorry for the extra effort.

How does one begin? First, remember that all missionaries have a story and that story is worth telling. Second, remember that the chosen audience has an automatic interest in the story itself. Unless the presentation of the story is poorly done, the audience will almost always be supportive.

It is important to know that the media production does not need to include all of the details that should be reported to the supporting church. To determine what information should be in the script, first make a list of all the things that the church needs to know. The list should then be divided into two parts. First, put into one category those things that are of a visual nature: the look of the country, people, and culture; the way they live; the work of evangelism; and the building of a church. Second, put into another category items that are not necessarily visual nor easily visualized, like testimonies, personal lessons from God, and personalized interaction with your audience. Both an audio-visual program and personal, face-to-face contact with the audience are important. If the media program is kept to a length of 10 to 15 minutes, in almost every case the missionary will also have enough time to have personal contact with the audience.

What are the actual steps in a production?

An important factor in any media production is to give it a name or theme. Threading a thought throughout the program not only makes the program easy to follow and grasp the elements of the story, but it will usually help the audience remember the story for a long time. Examples of themes from actual presentations are given at the end of this article.

At this time, the story should be written without any reference to specific pictures. Simply assume that pictures will be found to illustrate the script after it is finished. When the script is finished, estimate the running time of the finished program by performing the following steps:

Next, choose the images that will illustrate the script and then assemble them in the proper order. In general, the pictures should not be chosen to match individual words so much as to illustrate the general thought of the sentence or paragraph. The images can be personal pictures or slides, ABWE library pictures, pictures from books and magazines, graphics images (text, maps, clip art), or digital images from CD-ROM. The time on the screen for each picture should average four to five seconds (twelve to fifteen per minute). Continuous narration is not needed. If a short statement will suffice for a subject that needs several pictures, then a narrative pause is warranted and the music can carry the audio portion of the program at that point.

Sample Themes for Media Programs