Consortium Comics10/16/2009 05:54:27 AM
So what is this about?
Way back in 2005, I had this idea: Listeners would send in theirr own radio drama scripts about superheroes in a new Comic book world. Our acting troop would produce a monthly Audio comic and put it on the show regularly. We got a lot of interest and more than a couple of characters created, but no scripts. Since airing Blue Defender on the Sonic Society, there's been renewed interest. Maybe that was the ticket. I should have gotten my own scripts out there for people to help inspire? So here are the rules I developed way back when about the universe. I've included the character form here so folks can create their own if they are still interested. But have a glance at the rules first!
Consortium Comics Rules!
0. Submission Briefs
Consortium Comics Rules and Recommendations
So you want to write your own audio cinema script?
You've come to the right place!
We break down the basics here so, let's look at the parts of the submission process.
1. Come up with a great Concept
- Make your hero an original creation.
- Street level heroes are best.
- Shy away from Super Team stories
- Keep your hero's concept and dialog rated "PG"
- Keep crossover stories between Consortium Heroes limited
- Stay away from real people, organizations, and religions. We won't accept anything opening us to libel or slander.
Before Scripts can be submitted. You must complete the Character form so we can approve your hero!
3. Format your Script
- Follow standard "Indented Format" for Radio Drama
- Episodes must either be either one part or two parts.
- One part episodes are between 10-15 minutes (approximately 10-15 pages)
- Two part episodes must be submitted as one script with 10-15 minutes per part.
- No Prologue or Epilogue (We'll add ours. We have a narrator for that purpose.)
- Straight action. You may have some comedy, romance, mystery, horror and the like, but the genre is standard comic book hero fair.
- We take care of the music.
- Contemporary Earth setting.
- No Future or Past hero stories.
- No dimension hopping. No Outer Space. No Inner Space. No Quark Space.
- All heroes have only become active in the Aughts. (2000-2005)
- Don't Interfere with History.
- Sound effects NOT described through dialogue.
- Make each scene no longer than 2-3 minutes in length.
- Ground your hero in drama, even melodrama.
- Drive your scenes.
Submit your script!
1. Heroic Concepts2. Character Form3. Script FormattingHow to Create a Professional Looking Radio Drama Script
To accept your script, we'll need to have it fit the standards of typical "Indented Format" for Radio Drama.
To do this you can go one of two ways. You can:
i. Use Celtx. It's an AWESOME programme, totally free, and available for Windows, Mac and Linux. It's the tool I use to write in my scripts now (although originally Consortium Comics was made with a modified template I created for Final Draft 7.
or
ii. Follow the Standards below: Similar to the two-column telescripting style, the Indented format has become preferable for the most part to the old Blocked format.
Indented is beneficial because the writing material remains mostly clear and easy to read and often conforms more consistently to the standard of one page of dialogue = roughly one minute.
I personally find the single-space in Indented format easier for rehearsals than double-spaced dialogue, but that's a matter of preference.
A. Here are the basic RULES for Indented Format:
1. NAMES of characters are capitalized and placed eight spaces from the left margin.
2. NARRATOR is capitalized as is all the Narrator's dialogue and further indented an extra eight spaces (or 13 picas).
3. All dialogue from actors is indented similarly to the Narrator's dialogue from both left and right sides of the page (between 35-75 picas).
4. Sound effects are underlined and capitalized and indented. We use three different assignations for effects for Consortium Comics: SOUND, VOICE, MUSIC.
Examples below:
SOUND: CAR TAILPIPE BACKFIRING TWICE
VOICE: ATTENUATED THROUGH PHONE
MUSIC: BIFF STRAKER THEME MARCH
As you can see. SOUND describes any kind of non-vocal sound effects. VOICE describes different ways a voice may sound be attenuated, echoed, or muffled and MUSIC describes the use of theme, transitory or mood music.
Double-space between any Music cue or SFX (Sound Effects) or VFX (Voice Effects).
5. Triple-space the lines if you are presenting between lines of dialogue of different characters, or between dialogue and Effects.
6. Page One begins with the series title capitalized and centred on the page. It needs to be underlined and placed eight lines from the top.
7. Episode title appears three spaces lower at the eleventh line.
8. First actual line of the script begins seventeen lines from the top of the page.
9. Both Scenes and Acts are numbered in sequence of course and written in proper case and underlined.
10. Actors Directions or cues for the actor appear in Parenthesis and in capital letters and indented.
For more information about Radio Drama Scriptwriting, I hardily recommend J. Michael Straczynski's treatise on the subject "The Complete Book of Scriptwriting". It's entertaining and informative!
B. Episode Lengths:
Consortium Comic script submissions can be either ONE episode or TWO episodes submitted as one script.
This means you can either:
i. Submit one short about your hero that is 10-15 minutes (10-15 pages long).
or
ii. Submit one play in two parts that has two definitive episodes (beginning and ending for two parts) that is 20-30 minutes (20-30 pages long).
We cannot accept part one of part two simply because it is unfair to our listeners if something happens and you don't get to complete the second part. We want complete stories.
There is nothing stopping you from leaving your character with opening for further stories, and we encourage you to continue to write scripts for the heroes that inspire you- just be certain that each episode ends satisfactorily and the listening audience will have a sense that will want them to listen to more stories about your hero, but that you didn't leave them on the ledge waiting!
C. No Prologue or Epilogue:
We have in mind an arc for this series and we'd like to reserve the right to run our own Narrator to provide a couple of lines at the beginning and end of each episode to help build a back story for Consortium Comics.
You are welcome to have your own narrator as well, but PLEASE make it someone who is an actual character in the play- your hero, his/her sidekick, villain, or innocent bystander who is observing all this. Please no omniscient narrators. Keep them third or first person.
D. Comic Book Action
While we appreciate a mixture within a comic, Superman would be extremely different than a super hero comic if the entire series was about his love affair with Lois Lane. Furthermore, Batman in the realm of Cthulhu might be an interesting departure from his normal haunts, but it does not make for standard super hero fare.
Add in a variety of genres as supplements to the fact that you are ostensibly creating an ACTION story that has a familiar pacing and mood of most hero comic books.
A. Here are the basic RULES for Indented Format:
We have the incredible works of Christopher Moreno (famous for creating the Shadowlands Theatre theme music) working on our Consortium Comics theme, incidental and mood music. So don't worry about not being able to prepare music for us.
If however you have full and clear rights to theme music that you've developed strictly for your character. You may mail it to us at sonicsociety AT gmail DOT com and we will assess it for broadcast!
EXAMPLE OF A CONSORTIUM COMICS ACTUAL SCRIPT
BLUE DEFENDER
EPISODE 1- REBIRTH Scene 1- It’s a Living
SOUND: DOOR CHIMES. DOOR OPENS. (BEN RIDDELL- THE BLUE DEFENDER IS A 76 YEAR OLD MAN )
BLUE: You do your father proud son. You kept this place busy since her past. TOM: Well, I couldn’t have done it without you. You’re always here at 7:45. I can barely get out of bed at that time. No one ever comes before 8:30, why so early? |
4. Consortium World5. Compelling Scripts6. Submit Script