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Hi,
The University of Newcastle's (Australia) SMART program is a suite of contemporary demonstration-based science shows. I employ undergraduate science, maths and education students to present and, on occasions develop science shows. As such, I find scripting to be a very important issue.
Presenters need to be able to understand and learn a new show quickly as well as attend to the manifold practical aspects of the show.
I have also conducted some preliminary research into the most suitable type of script for demonstration-based shows (the most common form) and, after trying a variety of styles, have developed one that is like a movie story board.
Basically the 'script' is written across three columns, one page per demo/scene in a MS PowerPoint file. The columns are titled SAY, DO/SHOW and INTERACT. At a glance a presenter can pick up what the demonstration is about and how balanced it is. IE If there is a lot in the SAY column and very little in the DO and INTERACT columns it had better be a story/drama, otherwise it's probably going to be a very boring demonstration!
Depending on the style of the actual show, these storyboards can be rearranged to suit the particular audience/show (most of our shows are quite flexible, no two shows are exactly the same). I supplement these pages with a visual table of contents that can also act as a prompt sheet, and detailed list of equipment etc. This is all within one PowerPoint file. Using OLE, you can link to sound effects, visuals and movies from within the file. You can even narrate the file to help presenters learn the show!
I have used this 'script' design, in partnership with presenter training and rehearsal, with great success.
Feel free to contact me off-list if you want more info.
Regards,
Terry
___________________________________
T.W. Burns BE, JP
School of Mathematical & Physical Sciences
University of Newcastle NSW 2308 Australia
PHONE: 61-2-4921 5434 FAX: 61-2-4921 6907
E-MAIL: [log in to unmask]
WEB: www.newcastle.edu.au/smart
>>> [log in to unmask] 6/04/04 12:39:24 am >>>
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Dear all,
Firstly apologies from cross-posting.
I am hoping that this question is not going to sound stupid, but here
goes....
Is there a format one should follow when writing shows, such as science
shows using science demos/explanations/audience participation. Using the
type of software for screen plays etc doesn't really seem to be the way to
go since there is only one real scene, the demo area, and one character, the
science magician, which leaves me with questions for how to write in the
audience participation part. The show that I have written and used as part
of my PhD project, evaluating such shows as a promotion tool in second level
schools, was written in 3 column format, column one for Magician activity,
column two for the audience activity and column three for links to the
appropriate parts of the Junior Certificate Science syllabus. Furthermore,
since it was a live show, improvisation from the audience's responses etc
was a large part of it.
Does anyone have some suggestions for me in the form of direction for
reading or where I might read some samples of such scripts?
Thanks,
Elaine
Elaine Regan
Department of Chemical and Environmental Science
University of Limerick
Ireland
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