I am about to start work on a Mocumentary style short, think Reno 911 style.  So it calls for the occasional fake interview. My question is how would this be formatted? Would I just simply write that Bob looks in the camera and then write what he says?

If this has already been answered I apologize but I couldn't find anything... All help is greatly appreciated.

I would acknowledge that the character is indeed looking into the camera. Maybe introduce the character with a SUPER of his/her name.

~Zack~

Another thing those style shows do is incorporate the person asking the questions like Trailer Park Boys. The camera crew becomes a character.

In one episode one of the crew guys got shot and another Ricky kept getting tangled up in the wires.

Leaving Tasmania - A Documentary has good examples of how to this effectively.
http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?m-1242875447/

Phil's Pugumentary is an excellent sample of a mocumentary.

I wrote one two years ago for NYCMM contest called THE BIG CHEESE (it's here somewhere). It failed in the competition because I did have the "documentary" crew part of the script.

just my $0.02

Pia, was the crew behind or in front of the camera?

During interviews, the character talks to the character (or to the man behind the camera).  As the camera is a part of the cast, you would include camera angles and such in the script.

I hope to submit Pugumentary to SS this week, which shows how a mockumentary is written.  In the meantime, you can also look at Documentary Killers, a dramatic mockumentary.


Phil

Hey guys thanks for the quick response, You have helped alot and I will check out the scripts you mentioned.

I have had this short planned out for awhile but could never wrap my head around how to properly execute those scenes.

I wrote a mockumentary TV series last year and had the same problem, but I found these scripts from a sitcom called The Office that solved the problem for me in a very intuitively way.

I hope they can be useful for you as they were for me:

http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/office,the-emailsurveillance%5B2%5D.pdf

http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/office-carpet,the%5B2%5D.pdf

And good luck with your project!

Quoted from Grandma Bear Phil's Pugumentary is an excellent sample of a mocumentary. I wrote one two years ago for NYCMM contest called THE BIG CHEESE (it's here somewhere). It failed in the competition because I did have the "documentary" crew part of the script. just my $0.02

http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-short/m-1185508808/s-new/

X-Files, Season 7 - "X-Cops"

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~gjm5xx/transcrp/scrp712.htm

I only found the transcript, but it may help.

Michel

Since you do have characters breaking the fourth wall, it would be acceptable to write that the characters look directly into the camera. The key to this and everything else is to write what you see like someone transcribing the final movie while sitting in the theatre.