scenario, in film making, original idea for a film translated into a visually oriented text. The scenario plan gives the mood of each image and its relationship with the other shots in the sequence. The writer of the shooting script sets up each individual camera shot according to the camera directions that are given in the scenario.
(Read Martin Scorsese’s Britannica essay on film preservation.)
A detailed scenario—indicating the exact length of each shot, giving every word of dialogue, and describing all sound effects and the music to be used in each scene—is rarely used any more. It is generally written in master shots that include all the dialogue and visual action, permitting the director to stage it. A director may dispense with the scenario and direct the action according to his own concept of what best brings out the theme. Usually the director works with the scenario’s basic instructions and, as the filming progresses, adapts them to the evolving action.