How would your format a news clip?

[Deleted]

My story deals with some actual events that happened in Los Angeles. To add some impact to a few scenes I would like to include a few news clips.

If I include the news clips, how would that be formatted? Would that be STOCK. as in stock footage?

Is this a bad idea? Should I just write it as a voice over instead?

Ideas, thoughts?

My Brain Hurts

[songswithoutwords]

Hiya, no idea how to format it.

I think the idea is a good one though. Better to use news footage than to do a voiceover. Show rather than tell, y'know? As long as you leave it AS IS and in context.

Reason I bring that up is, if I remember correctly, a Bill Clinton speech in the Rose Garden was taken out of context when inserted into the movie Contact, and that caused a stir.

On the other hand, news footage relating to the Apollo 11 landings has been used all over the place, to great effect.

The potential problem is getting permission from the owner of the footage. Not sure how that is handled but precedent shows that when the script is good, the producer does it.

Some stuff to think about here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_%28film%29#Bill_Clinton_and_CNN

[Deleted]

Thank you for the feedback.

I have found the clips on YouTube and I would keep them intact.

I completely forgot about those scenes in Apollo 13. I will look up the script and see if I can glean some useful tidbits.

Links to Apollo 13 script appear to be broken. Grr.

[echenry]

Mybrainhurts,

Lemme restate your question.

Goal: put a series of news clips in a continuous sequence in a movie script.

E.C.'s idea:

EXT./INT. LOS ANGELES - SERIES OF SHOTS (NEWSREEL FOOTAGE)

Event #1

Event #2

Event #3

INT. or EXT. SCRIPT'S NEXT SHOT HEADING


Mybrainhurts, here's E.C.'s rationale of how I came up with that:

1. EXT./INT. : Specifies some of the newsreel footage is from outside. While some of it's inside.
2. LOS ANGELES : the subject of all the shots.
3. - SERIES OF SHOTS : describes the type of shot used in this sequence.
4. (NEWSREEL FOOTAGE) : an additional descriptor in the time of day field which specifies that each following paragraph of description that follows in the series of shots is from previously filmed newsreel footage.
5. Event #1, Event #2, Event #3 : 3 separate paragraphs of description as to what's being seen on these 3 separate events all of which take place in Los Angeles.
6. INT. or EXT. SCRIPT'S NEXT SHOT HEADING : the shot heading call-out for your next scene.

If you wanna add voice over narration, I would format each scene individually; separate shot headings for each event, all of which end with the additional descriptor in the time of day field: (NEWSREEL FOOTAGE)

Hope your brain hurts a little less now. Screenwriting can be a little tricky. Hope you have some good reference books on hand. They help...

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

[Deleted]

Thank you E.C.

I think I see where you are going with this.

This only brings up another question. How would anyone else reading the script understand what the newsperson says? If I am only writing a paragraph to describe what is being seen on the screen, how will anyone know what is being spoken?

Let's say I want to include this news footage (Not the footage I am using, but you get the point) : www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaJapSwYLcc

From :55 - 1:45. Would I need to then write out both the description of what is happening and what is being said by the reporter?

In the footage I want to use, a lot of the impact comes from both the pictures as well as the spoken word.

Still digging through my reference books but I haven't found anything specifically on how to format something like this.

[scottmyers]

If you're talking about something on a television set:

*************************

INT. HOUSE - DAY

Jake presses a towel against his bloody forehead, his clothes trashed. He flicks on the TV --

ON TV

News footage of a phalanx of police personnel, charging a throng of protesters:

NEWS REPORTER (V.O.)
It was a peaceful protest until...

The police fire GUNS into the crowd... protesters SCREAM and scatter --

NEWS REPORTER (V.O.)
...police opened fire, shooting rubber bullets
into the crowd.

ON JAKE

His tongue licks at his bloody lips --

JAKE
Bastards.

*************************

Basically you have to 'cut in' on the conveyance of the news piece (in this case a TV) and provide enough description to get across whatever is important about the news piece.

That's one approach.

[Deleted]

Thank you Scott.

I would prefer to have the actual news footage shown, but maybe I am asking too much. I am sure someone else in the file making machine would change it anyway. I will play with it and see what reads best.

Thank you everyone for the input.