The Final Record of a Film
It’s crucial to distinguish an as-broadcast script from the original screenplay. The screenplay is the blueprint for the film, full of scenes that might have been cut and dialogue that was improvised or changed during filming. The as-broadcast script, in contrast, is the final, definitive record of the film exactly as it was finished and delivered. It is a meticulous, verbatim transcription of everything heard and seen in the final version.
A Critical Delivery Document
Creating this script is a painstaking process done in late post-production, and it’s a mandatory item on almost every distributor’s deliverables list. It serves several vital functions for global distribution:
- Foreign Language Dubbing and Subtitling: This script is the primary source document provided to translators around the world. It gives them the exact dialogue and, crucially, the precise timing for where each line should appear as a subtitle or where a dubbed line of dialogue should be spoken.
- Closed Captions and SDH: It is used to create closed captions for the hearing impaired. The script includes not just dialogue, but also descriptions of important sound effects (e.g.,
[ominous music swells],[glass shatters]) and identifies the speaker when they are off-screen. - Archival and Legal Purposes: The as-broadcast script serves as the final legal record of the film’s content for copyright registration and music licensing clearance.
- Accessibility Services: It is the foundation for creating audio description tracks for the visually impaired, as it provides a time-coded map of where dialogue-free moments exist to insert narration.
The format is highly specific, usually a multi-column document where each line of dialogue is tied to a start and end timecode, accurate to the exact frame.