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#REDIRECT [[Improvisational theatre#In film and television]]
'''''Retroscripting''''' is a term for two techniques used in [[movie]] and [[television]] programs, pre- and post- production.
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==Plot outline==
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A retroscripted [[Screenplay|script]] contains a [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] outline and leaves dialogue deliberately vague for interpretation by the actors through [[Improvisational theatre|improvisation]].<ref name="Cheryl">{{cite web|url=http://www.5minutesformom.com/22145/podcast-with-cheryl-hines/ |title=Janice ( May 21, 2010) "Chatting with Cheryl Hines", 5 Minutes for Mom.com |publisher=5minutesformom.com |date=2010-05-21 |accessdate=2014-04-29}}</ref> It gives [[Realism (dramatic arts)|realism]] and [[characterization]] to dialogue, and is regularly employed in the [[improvised situation comedy]] genre. In this respect it is very similar to the historical medium of ''[[Commedia dell'arte]]''.
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Contemporary examples of television shows using this technique include ''[[Home Movies (TV series)|Home Movies]]'', ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'', ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]''.<ref name="Cheryl"/> ''[[Reno 911!]]'',<ref>[http://www.avclub.com/articles/ben-garant-and-tom-lennon-of-reno-911,14064 Kyle Ryan, "Interview: Ben Garant and Tom Lennon of ''Reno 911!''" (February 21, 2007) ''The Onion'']</ref> and ''[[Rick and Morty]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buzzfeed.com/justinabarca/8-fun-facts-about-dan-harmons-new-animated-show-rick-and-mor|title= Justin Abarca, "8 Fun Facts About Dan Harmon’s New Animated Show Rick And Morty" |publisher=Buzzfeed.com |date=2013-11-22 |accessdate=2014-08-09}}</ref> as well as films by [[Christopher Guest]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Peter Canavese |url=http://www.grouchoreviews.com/interviews/191 |title="Christopher Guest & Eugene Levy—For Your Consideration—11/10/06" (2006) ''Groucho Reviews'' |publisher=Grouchoreviews.com |date= |accessdate=2014-04-29}}</ref>
Some other films that have contained retroscripted segments are ''[[Friday Night Lights (film)|Friday Night Lights]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theenvelope.latimes.com/env-cover-3-30may30,0,516856.story |title=Deborah Netburn, "Emmy Awards: 'Friday Night Lights', The free spirit" (May 30, 2007) ''Los Angeles Times'' |publisher=Theenvelope.latimes.com |date= |accessdate=2014-04-29}}</ref>'', ''[[The Blair Witch Project]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kaos2000.net/interviews/heatherdonohue/heatherdonohue.html |title=Heather Donohue "Blair Witch Project" (August 14, 1999) ''KAOS2000'' |publisher=Kaos2000.net |date=1999-08-14 |accessdate=2014-04-29}}</ref> ''[[Paranormal Activity]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://heatvision.hollywoodreporter.com/2009/10/qa-paranormal-activity-star-katie-featherston.html |title=Jay Fernandez, "Things that go bump include pay" (Oct 26, 2009) ''The Hollywood Reporter'' |publisher=Heatvision.hollywoodreporter.com |date=2014-04-25 |accessdate=2014-04-29}}</ref> ''[[District 9]]<ref>[http://www.ecr.co.za/kagiso/content/en/east-coast-radio/east-coast-radio-news?oid=374781&sn=Detail&pid=5884&District-9-wows-audiences "District 9 wows audiences" (1 September 2009) East Coast Radio, Durban, South Africa]{{dead link|date=April 2014}}</ref>'' and some of the films of [[Robert Altman]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digitalcontentproducer.com/mil/features/video_filmic_hd/ |title=Michael Goldman (Aug 26, 2006) "Robert Altman: Filmic HD," Digital Content Producer |publisher=Digitalcontentproducer.com |date= |accessdate=2014-04-29}}</ref> who was known as an actor's director and referred to a screenplay as merely a "blueprint" for the action.<ref>Jan Stuart (2003) ''The Nashville Chronicles: The Making of Robert Altman's Masterpiece'', Limelight Editions, ISBN 0-87910-981-5, Reviewed by Bill Chambers, A Film Freak Central Book Review [http://www.filmfreakcentral.net/moviebooks/nashvillechronicles.htm]</ref> The director [[John Cassavetes]], sometimes known as the "father" of independent film, used retroscripting most notably for his films [[Husbands (film)|''Husbands'']] (1970) and [[Faces (film)|''Faces'']] (1968), although he employed the technique to some degree in most of his films.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/Directors-Bu-Co/Cassavetes-John.html |title="Cassavettes, John", Film Reference |publisher=Filmreference.com |date= |accessdate=2014-04-29}}</ref> British director [[Mike Leigh]] is known for his method of extensive improvisation with his actors to develop characters and dialogue around a premise. [[Stanley Kubrick]] employed retroscripting in his film ''[[Dr. Strangelove]]'', incorporating [[Peter Sellers]]' [[ad-lib]]bed lines into the script.
==Re-recording==
Retroscripting can also refer to the practice of recording new or unscripted dialogue over a [[live-action]] or [[cartoon|animated]] program. It may be done for a number of reasons:
*To capitalize on a late-breaking news story or [[scandal]] and make the episode current,
*To censor potentially troublesome or possibly insensitive dialogue. An episode of ''[[Desperate Housewives]]'' suffered this fate following the passing of the [[Pope John Paul II|Pope]]. A line was redubbed from, "You have to hand it to the [[Catholic]]s. They know how to do grief better than anyone," to, "You have to hand it to Gabby and Carlos. They know how to do grief better than anyone."
*An actor has repeated trouble with a line or word. In [[A Private Little War (TOS episode)|an episode]] of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'', according to [[William Shatner]], his fellow actor [[DeForest Kelley]] had trouble pronouncing an alien creature's name. The creature's name was "Gumato", but Kelley kept saying "Mugato". The monster eventually became officially known as the Mugato.
*To make late changes to the script. In [[The Battle (TNG episode)|an episode]] of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', [[LeVar Burton]] and [[Brent Spiner]] originally said the USS ''Stargazer'' was a [[Constitution class starship (Star Trek)|"''Constitution''-class" starship]], but in post-production, it was decided to show a previously unseen class of starship. The dialogue was re-dubbed with the words "[[Constellation class starship (Star Trek)|''Constellation''-class]]," partly due to the similarity of the words ''constitution'' and ''constellation''.
==In comics==
Retroscripting is similar to the "[[Marvel method]]" of script writing developed by [[Stan Lee]], wherein a rough plot outline is given to the artist to draw, and dialog is added after the artwork is completed. The technique was developed by Lee because the high number of titles he was writing concurrently prevented him from being able to write full scripts for each one.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://comicbooks.about.com/od/glossary/g/Marvel-Method-Definition.htm |title=The Marvel Method Comic Book Glossary Definition |publisher=Comicbooks.about.com |date=2014-03-04 |accessdate=2014-04-29}}</ref>
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Narratology]]
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