What’s the difference?
This question needlessly vexes many writers. Some have been told that spec scripts look dramatically different from production drafts.
They don’t. They shouldn’t. Except in a tiny handful of specific ways.
First a couple of definitions. A spec script is one that is written speculatively, rather than on assignment for an employer such as a production company, network or studio, in hopes of later selling it to someone who will shoot it. A production draft is a script that has reached active preproduction or production.
The primary audience for a spec script is the buyer. Or, more precisely, the reader who works for the buyer, either a producer or a network or studio executive. Agents, directors and actors are also primary readers of spec scripts. Spec scripts should be written with this fact firmly in mind. The spec script is meant to be read, and should be written in such a way that it is a delight to the reader’s eye. That means as few shot headings as possible, simple shot headings, economical direction, and only rare parenthetical character direction, camera direction, sound direction and scene transitions.
But, except for the fact that a production draft is being read by many more people in a greater variety of disciplines because it is being shot, all of these things are equally true of the production draft. The production draft should contain a minimum of shot headings, each as simply worded as possible. It should be written economically. Parenthetical character direction, camera direction, sound direction and scene transitions should be kept to a minimum. For all of the same reasons.
In fact, production drafts are rarely anything other than spec scripts that have been purchased, rewritten again and again, polished, rewritten some more, and, here’s the big, stinkin’ difference, have had scene numbers added beside each shot heading. At no time does the writer sit down and type additional shot headings or transitions or anything else into the script to turn it into a production draft. In fact, until cameras start rolling, no one knows which draft will be the final, or production, draft.
During production, individual shots — wide shots, medium shots, two shots, closeups, and so on — are hand-written into the script by the script supervisor. Dialogue is often improvised or rewritten on set as it is being shot. These changes don’t get typed into the script.
Script changes are made, it is true, during shooting, for scenes yet to be shot. As pages are revised during preproduction and production, those pages are printed on colored paper, page numbers are “locked” (read all about the changes a script undergoes during production in the chapter “The Evolution of a Script from First Draft to Production Draft”), and asterisks are typed in the right margin to indicate the locations of changes. Writers don’t need to worry about this stage of a script’s development. Production offices handle these changes in feature film production. Writers’ assistants handle them in television production.
The bottom line for writers is this. Put your film or television story on the page in a way that is easy to read and visualize. Keep all technical references to camera angles, sound effects and scene transitions as spare and unobtrusive as possible. Serve the imagination of your reader. But don’t be afraid to call for a camera move if you have a compelling reason to do so. Or to indicate important sounds. Or to add essential character direction parenthetically in dialogue. These are all tools of the script writer. Don’t cheat yourself out of using them because someone has made an absolute pronouncement against them. Professional writers use every tool in the box. They use them smartly. They use them for good reasons and to exquisite effect. They use them with restraint. But use them they do.