Script, rundown, run of show, guide, game notes, whatever your producer or director calls them (see below for our use of the words listed above), you need to have an idea of what you’re looking at along with what else is going on. I’ve worked with teams that create one script that everyone works off of and other teams where they’ll print 5-8 different packs for each game. The latter absolutely baffles me because it adds more time to the overall job because many of the places I’ve worked with that do this, use Word and Excel, and they don’t use them together.

A couple of places I’ve worked, utilize an internet-based system which have evolved into Shoflo and it’s a pretty good system. There’s a lot of cool toys but they may or may not be as functional as you hope for. Personally, I prefer pen and paper but the “Private Notes” column in Shoflo allows me to put down some notes but you can’t really edit the actual script.

When producing events myself, I will go with one script so we’re all working off the same script. Here’s why. It’s simpler. You work on one script, you make sure everything is updated on that script, and you’re good to go. Once you start adding other documents, every change you make becomes exponentially more work. So if you have three documents, make one change and it can need to be reflected up to three times.

Personally, after many years of working with Word and Excel, I’d developed an excellent spreadsheet in 2015 that I used for several different events and brought it with me to pro sports. My first year, they preferred Google Sheets which didn’t allow me some editing features, but I also had to create 8 different reports to print out everything that was needed. Based on feedback from end users and a change in management, that number went from eight to two. I print a master sheet for everyone, and a script for the talent which is in a bigger font. They get the full script and I’ve had to answer the question as to why many times. Below are many of the questions that people have thrown at me over the years along with their reasoning are below along with the responses that were tested during the development.

Feedback Received and the Answers:

• Why do you have one script? Not everyone needs to know everything on there so only give them what they need.
  • So everyone knows what is going on and can work ahead. Sometimes it’s hard to hear what the announcer is saying but if I have a script I can follow along. It also cuts down on the work (see below).
  • As the video board op, that means I’m ready to activate the next video, or the next slide, or active LEDs when needed. It also allows me to not accidentally jump ahead a line or two which happens quite a bit when you’re hit with a long list. Things can run together when looking at 20 cells stacked on top of each other versus 8-10 with spacing.
  • As the P. A. announcer, I know what to expect on the video board by using my confidence monitor. You have a confidence monitor so as the announcer you can see what’s on the video board. If the video operator puts the wrong slide up, I can make that change quickly
  • As a host/emcee, it’s still good to know if a video is going to appear before or after what I’m talking about so I can adapt accordingly in my preparation. If you don’t have it on there, I’m probably going to have to write it on the script. Yeah, there are pieces I don’t need, but I’d rather have more information than less.
  • As a DJ, I want to know what the reads are because I might have some music that works with what’s being talked about. Simply putting “bed music” or “instrumental music” is not going to cut it to a good DJ. We want to find the right song for the right piece all the time…every time.
  • As a floor director, all of the above apply. If you give me one sheet that lists what’s going on and someone has a question about it, I may not fully understand then I have to ask a question on headset and that increases traffic. Game crew do a great job of disseminating the information they need to know.
  • As the person writing the script, if I move an item off the Excel rundown, I need to make sure I reflect that on the talent script in Word, the DJ script in Word, and the PA script in Word. I also need to make sure I update the tab or workbook (do it all in Excel in one workbook rather than creating a new file for each piece in Excel and a new folder for each game) in Excel for the the game crew, the CG operator, and the build lists for LED boards and video board. Which brings up the question, why would you have essentially eight different items to update, when you could do it with one Excel sheet? Sometimes we create more work than we need to and having run many events at many different levels, having one workbook to create your scripts is necessary. If done in Excel, you can actually create other reports for others who need it using Macros (we’re working on creating a few of those to further update the sheet). With most companies now moving to cloud-based systems, the director will be able to update the script from anywhere and print them out.
• Why don’t you have a one-sheeter for everyone to work off of?
  • Simple, there are too many elements involved. Simply writing “PA BLOCK 1” and “VIDEO BLOCK 2” doesn’t help with the set-up of what’s in those blocks. When running the content, you want to have the order of that block so you can look ahead to be prepared. If you’re running the video board and waiting to be told what to run next, you’re not going to be as quick and the show won’t be as seamless. Small awkward pauses can occur.
• Look at all the paper you’re wasting, do you think about that?
  • Yes, as a matter of fact I do and any script not used goes into the recycling bin. That’s also why even though my personal electronic script tracks potentially thousands of items per element, only those that are needed for that show are seen. And I know that most will make notes on their script. If they don’t, they have something to fall back on that they can carry with them. If I need to make a late change because someone didn’t show up, it’s much easier to talk on the headset so all can write it down in their notes their way so they can make the change. If I update it on a screen, then everyone has to go find it and make the changes. That can take some extra time to get done, that’s not going to be effective in a fast-paced environment.

Terms to Know

• Script: the entire show from start to end with every element that will and could happen.
• Arsenal: the drop-in videos you could potentially use. This includes back-logged features you’ve run, pump videos, highlight videos, etc.
• Rundown/Itinerary: a brief, one-page document with a general run down of the game. This typically has general timing of events, nothing specific.
• Run of Show: This document is similar to the Script but is a more condensed version without much explanation and typically eliminates any PA or talent reads.