1. jwilliams
   Member

   Okay, here's one more big question I want to ask everyone who is doing a Family Experience. I may be opening a can of worms here, but I ain't afraid...

   If you could change ONE thing about Family Experience Curriculum/Scripts...what would it be.

   Now, when you answer, I would love some explanation to your answer. Don't just say,"It needs to include more llamas." Explain to me why it needs more llamas and how you see incorporating them. If you have already started incorporating llamas into your production, let us know how.

   Okay, that example was a little weird, but you get the picture.

   And remember. Tell me the ONE thing you would change. Not TWO. One.

   I look forward to hearing from all of you. You guys rock.

   Posted 2 years ago #

2. Angela McCann
   Member

   Ok the ONE thing (and it is the only thing) is to have it the entire document flow in sequence rather than list the segments followed by the script. Here's why:

   The actors only need the skits while the tech guys want it all and in order. So many times we start rehearsal and the words "what page are you on" causes a 5 minute digression. When we give everyone the whole script as it comes, well, it's not in order - and I've explained how the tech guys feel about this.

   So, now we take the time to sequence each script by just cutting and pasting. Round about January I really don't love cutting and pasting.

   In the big scheme of things it's not a big issues but you asked.

   oh! I can say what I wouldn't change, right? Well, any time we've ever changed something or changed the order of segments we always decide it was a mistake. Now we are going into year 4 and no one ever mentions messing with the script because of the disasters that have ensued.

   Posted 2 years ago #

3. fomchurch
   Member

   I second Angela - I too struggled to keep our tech guys unconfused on how to follow the script. We ran it weekly at my previous church, and I think it took about a year before they got how to follow it. I think a full start to finish script as it will happen would be good. I too like the flow of the production...any time we changed it up or cut something out, I never felt like it was as good that week.

   So if I think of something else, can I still say it since I basically repeated Angela's??

   Posted 2 years ago #

4. jwilliams
   Member

   Very interesting. So, you guys are wanting a script for your tech crews that just goes straight thru? Is that what I am hearing you say? Interesting. At the church i worked at, we always had to reformat and add in lighting cues and things to our scripts and then would print them off as well. it is tedious. It would usually take up half of one of my days during the week (we did our production weekly).

   Hmmm....I need to think about that.

   Don't know if it would help to know this, but we write everything using a program called Final Draft. It's an awesome script writing software and really cuts down on formatting time when adding transitions and cues. It's expensive....but very helpful. OR, you can go to celtx.com and download their free scriptwriting software. Takes a while to figure out how to use, but it's awesome as well for reformatting and adding tech cues.

   Posted 2 years ago #

5. ginapdd
   Member

   In response to the issue with the tech guys, I'd like to share an idea that might help them with the flow of the script...we have used a website called Planning Center (www.planningcenteronline.com), which is designed for churches to plan out their services. We've used this program not only to plan Sunday services, but also to create a service plan for the flow of a Family Experience. The program is web-based and is set up so you can write cues and notes for your tech guys to know when to turn on and off lights, when to cue music, and you can label the "segments" on your plans so your tech guys are able to see the exact flow/order of the FX. It's simple to create and then you can just print it off and hand it to your tech team each time you have an FX (also your plans are saved in the program, so rather than creating a brand new one each time you have an FX, you can easily move some things around on your original plan, change up the cues, add different songs, and you have a new plan for the next FX...once you get the hang of using the program, it cuts down TREMENDOUSLY on prep time and would eliminate the cutting and pasting of the script too). Most of our tech guys only had to go by the cues that we put on the Planning Center sheet, so they didn't even have to have the actual script to look at. Others (who did like have the whole script) followed their service plan from Planning Center, and also had a copy of the actual FX script. Since the service plan showed them how the script flowed, they could easily refer to the real script, but without having to ask "now what page are you on?" By following the service plan, they could see what segment we were doing and what segments were coming up next.

   Posted 2 years ago #

6. hopekids
   Member

   I so would love a start to finish script. We just started doing FX on Wednesdays, plus doing Sundays and the edititing takes longer than needed in my week. And learning a new program right now or buying one is really not an option. A full script would be huge!

   Posted 2 years ago #

7. fomchurch
   Member

   Follow up to what we are now doing...Now that we have done several productions at my current church, what has worked well for us is actually pretty simple...

   I use the first part of the script that outlines the segments. I delete all the text except for the title of the segment. I then list the people involved in that segment for mic purposes as well as what songs are sung in the music segments. I then leave a lot of blank space for the tech crew to write their own notes on as far as video, sfx, lighting, etc. Seems to be working pretty well for us and keeps things pretty simple.

   Posted 2 years ago #

8. arathbone
   Member

   I agree with ginapdd we started doing our tech scripts in planning center and it has helped tremendously. It's easy to setup and has been easy to follow for our tech guys. I would also add that a complete script would be nice because sometimes things like the landing etc.. are in the front and you have to go looking for it separately.

   Posted 2 years ago #

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