Writers -
A writer would need a literary agent. The literary agent would help in all aspects of the writer's career in a way that they do everything from assisting the production to presenting the work to all publishers and maybe even theatres. The agent would typically get a percentage of the earnings of the writer. If I was a writer, I would like to have an agent because it takes some of the pressure off of me and would let me concentrate on the piece of work rather than having to split time and potentially wasting a lot of time.
BBC Commissioning Editor -
Lindsay Bradbury.
What she does - Identifies different media products in order to determine whether they should go on her publishers list. The commissioning editors earn their money by finding authors or responding to book proposal.
The BBC aren't interested. But maybe Warner Brothers are?
One of the senior members of the company would decide whether your short film will be adapted into a movie and this would be either an important director and agents surrounding them. There may also be decisions made from agents in general because they essentially scout potentially successful films. When I researched about this, I found that the main decision maker for Warner Brothers is Kevin Tsujihara.
How does stuff at Warner Brothers get green lit?
Usually, after the pitch of the film, the senior members of the company will have 3 or 4 meetings to discuss the film and then they will make a decision. It is rare that a film gets greenlit before a few meetings to discuss.
Warners don't buy it, but an independent film company do.
Independent film companies will generally buy the rights to the film and then set up their own crew and cast. The writers and other people involved may still have involvement but they generally hire others to take their place for certain reasons. One of the main reasons that an independent film company might keep the writer employed is due to the fact that they know exactly what the idea is and the best way to execute it.
Sometimes independent film companies will be worries about errors and omissions insurance. This is when the script is covered by errors and will stop the company getting sued for not following certain guidelines such as the quality of the final product. It will generally cover court costs and a certain claims amount stated in the contract. The independent film company will want to make sure that your script is covered incase there is any issues and therefore they would not have to pay out a large sum of money that could potentially bankrupt a small company (most independent film companies are small).
Showing posts with label Pat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pat. Show all posts
Thursday, 12 June 2014
Monday, 9 June 2014
Friday, 6 June 2014
Single Camera Drama Pre-Production
Proposal/Treatment - For my single camera production I will use a mixture of drama and thriller. My main storyline will be based around 2 people stranded in a small area trying to get to safety. My main characters will be teens and they will also not be equipped to fight themselves out of the area they are trapped in and need to make their way to a safe point before getting caught by the thing that is after them or stopping them leaving the area they are trapped in. After they reach safety, one of my main characters is going to start daydreaming and the other tries to shake him out of the trance. When this happens, I will have the daydreaming character 'wake up' and the whole thing would have been a dream.
How the production will be split -
1. The 2 teens return home just before dark to see something lurking near their house. After they see this they rush indoors and get away from the 'danger'
2. Strange things start happening around them and they start to get worried.
3. They panic for a while trying to work out what to do. They decide where to go and how to get there.
4. After going over their plan, they make a move towards a safe point.
5. On the way to the safe point they get chased and people jump out at them along the way.
6. They make it safely to the safe point and get away from the problem.
How the production will be split -
1. The 2 teens return home just before dark to see something lurking near their house. After they see this they rush indoors and get away from the 'danger'
2. Strange things start happening around them and they start to get worried.
3. They panic for a while trying to work out what to do. They decide where to go and how to get there.
4. After going over their plan, they make a move towards a safe point.
5. On the way to the safe point they get chased and people jump out at them along the way.
6. They make it safely to the safe point and get away from the problem.
7. One character starts daydreaming and gets 'woken up'
8. Whole thing was a dream and they get on with their everyday lives.
Location Reports -
Locations - Nathan's house, nearby field and the roads connecting the locations.
This is where the start of my SCD will be filmed.
This is the surrounding area to the first image. This area will be used throughout the rest of the SCD. The red circle towards the bottom is where the start of my SCD will be filmed. The red circle towards the top of the picture is where the ending of my SCD will be filmed. The line between the circles shows the route of where my actors will be going once they leave the house.
The only minor risks that I could come across throughout the planned route is the slight possibility of slow moving cars and some slightly uneven surfaces going through a pathway to the circle at the top of the picture. The roads that will be used for filming are mainly private and some are public but they are not near any main roads or motorways, therefore the roads would only be used by residents and not for cars passing through the area. This minimises the traffic around the surrounding areas. The uneven surfaces are natural ground (30-40 metres) and should not be a hazard in the way that I will be filming in that area. I will be filming mostly slow movements on the uneven ground so this risk is also minimised by small things such as the actors being careful in the way they move around in this small area.
Budget - £0, no expendeture due to free hiring of equipment and actors.
Relevant Research - Horror/Thriller Genre
- Made to be unsettling. I have used two teenagers staying at home and get targeted.
- Often overlaps with other genres.
- Often the victims are home alone, in my story the two characters are home alone.
Source - http://g321elizabethmcphail.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/horror-codes-and-conventions.html
- Include creative heroes that stop the 'villain'. I have used one of my characters to do this in my story.
- Sometimes the narrative presents ordinary situations in which extraordinary things happen. I have just used a regular day for two teenagers before they start getting targeted by something for no specific reason.
Source - http://www.slideshare.net/gueste004c90/convetions-of-a-thriller-film
Script -
As they are about to go indoors, they take a look behind them and see something in a bush. It does not look human and it looked like it was after them.
The object in the bush makes a grunting noise and starts to move forward. John and Simon quickly go indoors and shut the door behind them.
Planned shots -
Soundtrack Planning (intended techniques, list of required sound recordings needed, equipment and caballing needs, evidence of knowledge of appropriate sound levels etc.) -
For my soundtrack I will only use a few sound effects when it comes to emphasis on things such as doors closing and footsteps. When I am filming my SCD I will be using a shotgun microphone and therefore a lot of movements and sounds will be picked up accurately and will not need to be changed in any way. So far in my editing process I have not faced any issues surrounding sound that specifically need to be added in my soundtrack. I am going to use freesound.org for my sound effects. One major thing that I will be adding using sound is the presence of the mystery thing that is chasing the two main characters in my story because it is not shown straight to the camera and leaves everything up to the imagination of the audience. By adding these sound effects I hope to give the audience the impression that this mystery thing has power and if somebody was to be in contact or near it, they would have a lot of fear.
Final Production - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmLRNyFh6EU
Self Evaluation - After completing my production, I am generally happy with the outcome. I am happy with the overall feel of the project and in my opinion the storyline is easy to follow. The way the shots link together turned out fairly well with only a few issues that were eventually resolved.
If there was anything that I would have changed through the making of this short film, I would definitely be more organised when it came to getting actors as I had quite a few timing issues that ultimately led to me missing some shots due to rushing and not being able to have that much diversity when it came to locations. Although this was the main problem that I faced, it did not affect my progress much. Some things that I could have improved on is sticking closer to my script because although I did stick to it, I had to remove some parts due to either a lack of footage of the dialogue or not enough time to cover everything when I was filming. I also missed a few essential shots during the main time I spent filming such as shots connecting other shots well so I had to go back and do what I could to film these shots in the time I had.
I was happy with the overall product and the main things that I thought went well was the sound recordings on set, the soundtrack and how it fitted with the picture and my time management when it came to editing. I feel as though I had a reasonable amount of time for editing so I did not have to rush at any point and miss things out.
This is a selection of storyboard shots picked from random parts of my short film. I have shown my two characters both in different situations throughout the short film.
Characters -
John 17, Male, Average height, not very confident, fairly smart
Simon 18, Male, Tall, Slim, Confident, knowledgeable.
Simon 18, Male, Tall, Slim, Confident, knowledgeable.
The idea of my story is that 2 young adults get caught in a situation that somebody their age would not normally get caught into. The basis behind the story is that the two main characters in my story are just regular young adults going about their everyday lives when things around them start to become irregular. They hear rustling noises in the bushes outside John's house as they get home but choose to ignore them. When things start turning stranger after they entered the house, they decide to take a look out of the window, only to find that something is after them. They are surrounded in John's house and need to think of something to get themselves to the fields and to safety.
Location Reports -
Locations - Nathan's house, nearby field and the roads connecting the locations.
The only minor risks that I could come across throughout the planned route is the slight possibility of slow moving cars and some slightly uneven surfaces going through a pathway to the circle at the top of the picture. The roads that will be used for filming are mainly private and some are public but they are not near any main roads or motorways, therefore the roads would only be used by residents and not for cars passing through the area. This minimises the traffic around the surrounding areas. The uneven surfaces are natural ground (30-40 metres) and should not be a hazard in the way that I will be filming in that area. I will be filming mostly slow movements on the uneven ground so this risk is also minimised by small things such as the actors being careful in the way they move around in this small area.
Budget - £0, no expendeture due to free hiring of equipment and actors.
Relevant Research - Horror/Thriller Genre
- Made to be unsettling. I have used two teenagers staying at home and get targeted.
- Often overlaps with other genres.
- Often the victims are home alone, in my story the two characters are home alone.
Source - http://g321elizabethmcphail.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/horror-codes-and-conventions.html
- Include creative heroes that stop the 'villain'. I have used one of my characters to do this in my story.
- Sometimes the narrative presents ordinary situations in which extraordinary things happen. I have just used a regular day for two teenagers before they start getting targeted by something for no specific reason.
Source - http://www.slideshare.net/gueste004c90/convetions-of-a-thriller-film
Script -
EXT. Street, Early Evening. Just getting dark
JOHN and SIMON are walking towards their house and start to hear things behind them.
JOHN and SIMON are walking towards their house and start to hear things behind them.
JOHN
What was that? I think we are being followed lets go inside.
SIMON
I'm sure we will be fine we are only a couple of steps from home. Come on.
As they are about to go indoors, they take a look behind them and see something in a bush. It does not look human and it looked like it was after them.
SIMON
That is definitely someone looking at us!
JOHN
Stay here.
SIMON
Where are you going?
John leaves the room and goes to look out of the window near the door. As he puts his head to the window, he jumps back in horror and panics. He goes back to Simon in the other room and looks in shock.
SIMON
What's happened? Is something there?
JOHN
We need to get away.
SIMON
Why what's happened John?!
JOHN
It's there..
SIMON
What is there John? Talk to me!
John continues to not make any sense and Simon goes to the other room to have a look for himself. When Simon looks into the window there is nothing. Simon pulls the curtains across the window.
SIMON
You must be seeing things, nothing is there!
JOHN
I saw it, it wasn't human and it looked annoyed.
SIMON
Sit over there and calm down.
John and Simon walk to a table and John sits down. Simon walks into the other room and gets John a glass of water. Simon then hands over the glass and sits down next to John.
SIMON
Drink that.
JOHN
I've never seen anything like it Simon. It was like it wanted something from me.
SIMON
So it was just out there? Looking at you?
JOHN
Staring. Like it was angry. Check that it is gone.
SIMON
Okay.
Simon walks up to the window where John first looked and checks behind the curtains.
SIMON
There is nothing there I think we will be safe.
As Simon turns away from the window and walks back towards John, there is a loud bang on the window.
JOHN
It is still there, Im not making this up!
SIMON
Okay get away from the window!
John and Simon move away from the window and sit down at the table.
SIMON
What are we going to do? This thing is not human and knows we are in here.
JOHN
I don't know but we have to think of something or we will never leave this house!
SIMON
We could try running past and going down the road?
JOHN
It's risky but I don't think we have a choice.
Simon goes to the other room and searches through the kitchen cabinets trying to find something to write on. Simon takes a few pieces of paper out of the cabinet and takes them into the other room where John is still sitting.
SIMON
This is what we are going to do.
Simon starts writing on the paper quickly and roughly drawing a diagram of where the pair need to go. John is watching over the plans.
JOHN
It looks right but what can we do if this thing just chases us? It looks faster and stronger than we are, we wouldn't be able to get away!
SIMON
What choice do we have? We stay here, we definitely don't make it out and if we run we have a slight chance of making it out of here.
JOHN
Okay we have to run then.
Simon looks down at the paper and starts to explain to John what exactly needs to be done and where to go. Simon points at the paper a few times and John nods in agreement.
SIMON
Firstly we need to go out the front of the house because that thing is probably still in the garden.
JOHN
Okay but we would have to walk past the garden anyway?
SIMON
I know but if we are quiet enough we can go past without being seen.
JOHN
We don't know that for sure, it could have very good hearing and hear us running past!
SIMON
You have to trust me here, there is no other way we can go.
JOHN
I don't think we can do this.
SIMON
Come on we have no choice!
JOHN
Okay and what if it does see us?
SIMON
We have to move very quickly. Chances are we could get away we need to go.
JOHN
Okay.
John and Simon get up and leave the room. They walk towards the front door of the house and get ready to leave. The pair move cautiously out of the front door and start to walk away from the house.
SIMON
Come this way, keep watching around us.
JOHN
Be quiet it could be anywhere by now.
Simon and John continue to move cautiously up the road, they walk past the garden and the spot the thing that is following them.
SIMON
It can't see us here so we need to move quietly.
Simon and John sneak past and do not get seen. As they continue to move up the road, they get spotted and start to get chased.
JOHN
We've been spotted!
SIMON
Keep moving.
JOHN
It's getting closer.
SIMON
Down here!
Simon and John take a sharp turn and get out of sight. They crouch near some bushes and hide.
JOHN
That was close, do you think we are hidden here?
SIMON
We should be fine just wait a second.
The pair wait as the area goes silent. They look where they can see and there is nothing blocking where they need to go. They are not being chased any more and start to move slowly back on to the road.
SIMON
Okay we move this way and get to safety.
JOHN
If we just move and keep watching our backs we should escape.
Simon and John check for the last time if it is safe to move and once they confirm that this, they start to move further away from John's house. As they reach the end of the road, they seem to be safe and continue walking just to be sure. They walk to the nearby field and sit on the grass.
SIMON
Well that was an experience.
JOHN
It's fine we are safe now.
Simon doesn't respond to John and starts staring blankly forward.
JOHN
Simon? What you looking at?
There is still no response from Simon.
JOHN
Simon!
John starts to push Simon to try and shake him out of the state he is in and the shot switches to Simon laying on the sofa at John's house.
JOHN
Are you okay? You were shouting about something chasing you!
SIMON
Oh I must have fallen asleep sorry.
JOHN
Come on let's go we need to finish our project.
Simon and John leave the room as the camera fades to black.
Planned shots -
1. Fade in from black to LS of Simon and John walking. Camera behind pair.
2. Switch to front shot of walking. LS.
3. MS of the pair stopping still and spotting something.
4. POV shot looking at bushes.
5. CU of John talking.
6. MS of pair.
7. LS as pair walk further towards home.
8. CU as the pair reach the front door and stop to check behind them.
9. MS one characters turns back to open the door.
10. LS walking through door.
11. MS from inside showing pair walking through the door.
12. CU for speech.
13. MS showing John walk from Simon and leave to go into the other room.
14. MLS John opening door.
15. MLS John walking through to the other room.
16. MS Simon spectating.
17. MLS John walking up to the window.
18. Over Shoulder Shot of John looking through the window and stumbling away in shock from Simon's perspective.
19. MS Simon walking into the room to meet John.
20. CU Simon speech.
21. CU John speech.
22. MS Simon walking to other room.
23. ECU John head in hands.
24. MS Simon looking through a window.
25. LS Simon turning around and walking away from window.
26. ECU John still head in hands.
27. MLS showing both John head in hands and Simon re-entering the room.
28. MLS Simon walking to the window and drawing curtains.
29. MLS Simon leaving room again.
30. LS Simon getting glass and pouring a drink.
31. MLS Simon enters room.
32. CU John hands clenched and water put infront of him.
33. MS Simon sitting down next to John.
34. CU shots of both aspects of conversation. One shot of conversation focused on each character.
35. LS Simon checking behind curtains.
36. MLS of seating area with speech.
37. MS Simon with curtains behind as he turns back towards John.
38. CU Simon telling John to get away from the window.
39. CU John confused.
40. MS Simon angry telling John to hurry.
41. MLS Pair sit down other end of table, away from window.
42. MS of conversation.
43. MLS John in focus, Simon walks past into other room in background.
44. LS Simon returning with supplies.
45. MLS Simon sitting down.
46. CU Simon writing on the paper.
47. MS scene.
48. CU of each character in turn.
49. MLS of pair leaving the table and going towards the front door.
50. MS of pair opening the front door and starting to leave.
51. LS of pair walking out of front door.
52. MS of pair talking.
53. Mixture of CU for speech and MLS for movement as the pair move up the road.
54. LS of pair walking past garden and spotting thing.
55. CU of pair looking to sneak past.
56. Over The Shoulder shot as one character cautiously moves past.
57. LS as the other character moves past.
58. Shot from behind of the pair walking past camera.
59. Pair look behind them and look shocked at something.
60. ELS as pair start to run away.
61. MS as the pair decide to hide in the bushes.
62. MLS as they move into their hiding spot.
63. CU of speech.
64. MLS of the pair looking towards where they came from.
65. Camera changes to POV as it looks around the corner.
66. CU of speech.
67. MLS of pair moving back cautiously onto the road.
68. LS of pair walking away.
69. CU of speech.
70. Mixture of shots as the pair walk far away.
71. MS pair arriving at a field.
72. MLS pair sitting down.
73. CU John talking to Simon.
74. CU Simon staring blankly.
75. MS showing John pushing Simon.
76. CU Simon being woken up.
77. MS John. Speech.
78. MS shot. Simon sits up. Speech.
79. MLS pair. Speech.
80. MLS pair leaving the room.
Soundtrack Planning (intended techniques, list of required sound recordings needed, equipment and caballing needs, evidence of knowledge of appropriate sound levels etc.) -
For my soundtrack I will only use a few sound effects when it comes to emphasis on things such as doors closing and footsteps. When I am filming my SCD I will be using a shotgun microphone and therefore a lot of movements and sounds will be picked up accurately and will not need to be changed in any way. So far in my editing process I have not faced any issues surrounding sound that specifically need to be added in my soundtrack. I am going to use freesound.org for my sound effects. One major thing that I will be adding using sound is the presence of the mystery thing that is chasing the two main characters in my story because it is not shown straight to the camera and leaves everything up to the imagination of the audience. By adding these sound effects I hope to give the audience the impression that this mystery thing has power and if somebody was to be in contact or near it, they would have a lot of fear.
Final Production - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmLRNyFh6EU
Self Evaluation - After completing my production, I am generally happy with the outcome. I am happy with the overall feel of the project and in my opinion the storyline is easy to follow. The way the shots link together turned out fairly well with only a few issues that were eventually resolved.
If there was anything that I would have changed through the making of this short film, I would definitely be more organised when it came to getting actors as I had quite a few timing issues that ultimately led to me missing some shots due to rushing and not being able to have that much diversity when it came to locations. Although this was the main problem that I faced, it did not affect my progress much. Some things that I could have improved on is sticking closer to my script because although I did stick to it, I had to remove some parts due to either a lack of footage of the dialogue or not enough time to cover everything when I was filming. I also missed a few essential shots during the main time I spent filming such as shots connecting other shots well so I had to go back and do what I could to film these shots in the time I had.
I was happy with the overall product and the main things that I thought went well was the sound recordings on set, the soundtrack and how it fitted with the picture and my time management when it came to editing. I feel as though I had a reasonable amount of time for editing so I did not have to rush at any point and miss things out.
I used Final Cut Pro to make my short film and I encountered no problems throughout my time using it and I feel like my project was successful using Final Cut Pro to edit. I used freesoung.org for my sound effects and I am very happy with the way they turned out.
Storyboard
This is a selection of storyboard shots picked from random parts of my short film. I have shown my two characters both in different situations throughout the short film.
Thursday, 5 June 2014
Re-Writing Dialogue - Nigel Conversation
INT. SCOTT'S HOUSE, DAY
SCOTT and DAN are in Scott's house talking about Nigel and the plan to bring the Catacombs to life.
Scott gets up from his seat and checks that there is nobody around listening to the conversation. He then sits back down and speaks to Dan again.
Dan looks shocked and doesn't know what to say. He gets up and paces up and down the room in front of Scott.
SCOTT and DAN are in Scott's house talking about Nigel and the plan to bring the Catacombs to life.
SCOTT
There is a plan to bring the Catacombs to life. I found out about this when I was talking to my friend Nigel earlier today.
DAN
So what part do you play in this plan?
Scott gets up from his seat and checks that there is nobody around listening to the conversation. He then sits back down and speaks to Dan again.
SCOTT
This is a secret Dan. You can't tell anybody, I trust you.
DAN
You can tell me things Scott, whats wrong?
SCOTT
You might remember a few years ago when I was not at work?
DAN
Yeah I didn't have a clue where you were! No contact, nothing! Where were you?
SCOTT
I was running a few tests in a lab with Nigel. One thing led to another in these tests and it turns out that they gave me super powers.
DAN
That is insane, how am I meant to believe you? It makes no sense, is this how you can help with this plan?
SCOTT
Technically yes. With these powers we plan to bring the Catacombs to life, but you don't know about this. You cannot tell anybody, especially Nigel.
Dan looks shocked and doesn't know what to say. He gets up and paces up and down the room in front of Scott.
DAN
I want to know more about him.
SCOTT
Who?
DAN
Nigel, when did you meet him?
SCOTT
The main reason I was not at work for them few days is because I was at an Armed Forces convention. He was there too, we got talking and had a lot in common.
DAN
So it was there and then that he came up with this plan? Why does he want to do it anyway?
SCOTT
He has the same powers as me. I am the only person that knows. He got these powers from the same tests that he did on me a few years ago. He was serving for the army in Chernobyl and was made to do these tests, from which he gained the powers. He needed help, I could help him, thats how it worked out.
DAN
So you had no choice, he has dropped you in at the deep end?! I need to speak to him, this is madness.
SCOTT
It was my choice. I told you that you don't know about these powers and not to tell Nigel, just leave it.
Scott storms out of the room and leaves Dan with his head in his hands. After a few seconds, Dan walks out after Scott and calls him.
DAN
Scott we need to talk more about this come on!
SCOTT
I know how you feel, just leave it like I said!
Monday, 31 March 2014
Endings
The Shawshank Redemption -
What the main character wants - To keep his head down, but to get his sentence out of the way. Innocence
What the main character needs - To fit in and make his time in prison easier.
Triumphant Ending - The main character keeps his head down and out of trouble but manages to fit in with everybody and gets through his sentence well.
Transcendent Ending - He fits in well with everybody but doesn't manage to keep his head down. He gets in a lot of trouble and doesn't get his sentence easily out of the way.
Tragic Ending - He causes a lot of trouble and disruption between guards and other inmates. He does not get on well with anybody and has a lot of issues throughout his sentence.
Existential Ending - He keeps his head down and stays innocent but doesn't fit in with anybody. His sentence is calm but lonely.
My Idea -
What the main character wants - To use his powers to make a difference and prove to himself that he can achieve things.
What the main character needs - Confidence in his ability in all round situations. His confidence will be built throughout the story.
Triumphant Ending - Uses his powers correctly to make a difference whilst also building confidence.
Transcendant Ending - He doesn't make any difference using his powers but builds confidence in the process of using his powers to try and achieve something.
Tragic Ending - He doesn't change anything using his powers and loses all of his confidence in his ability.
Existential Ending - He achieves what he was aiming to do using his powers but he does not have any more confidence in his ability due to other things happening along the journey.
Triumphant Ending - Want and need achieved
Transcendent Ending - Need achieved only
Tragic Ending - Doesn't achieve need or want
Existential Ending - Want achieved only
What the main character wants - To keep his head down, but to get his sentence out of the way. Innocence
What the main character needs - To fit in and make his time in prison easier.
Triumphant Ending - The main character keeps his head down and out of trouble but manages to fit in with everybody and gets through his sentence well.
Transcendent Ending - He fits in well with everybody but doesn't manage to keep his head down. He gets in a lot of trouble and doesn't get his sentence easily out of the way.
Tragic Ending - He causes a lot of trouble and disruption between guards and other inmates. He does not get on well with anybody and has a lot of issues throughout his sentence.
Existential Ending - He keeps his head down and stays innocent but doesn't fit in with anybody. His sentence is calm but lonely.
My Idea -
What the main character wants - To use his powers to make a difference and prove to himself that he can achieve things.
What the main character needs - Confidence in his ability in all round situations. His confidence will be built throughout the story.
Triumphant Ending - Uses his powers correctly to make a difference whilst also building confidence.
Transcendant Ending - He doesn't make any difference using his powers but builds confidence in the process of using his powers to try and achieve something.
Tragic Ending - He doesn't change anything using his powers and loses all of his confidence in his ability.
Existential Ending - He achieves what he was aiming to do using his powers but he does not have any more confidence in his ability due to other things happening along the journey.
Triumphant Ending - Want and need achieved
Transcendent Ending - Need achieved only
Tragic Ending - Doesn't achieve need or want
Existential Ending - Want achieved only
Monday, 24 March 2014
Monster in the House Idea
Title - It's Following Me.
Genre - Thriller/Horror
Cast - Jennifer Lawrence plays Salle (Lead) and Sacha Baron Cohen plays Bobe.
Logline - Innocent widow Salle is living her everyday life when things start to go wrong. Things start to go wrong when her good friend Bobe leaves and has no contact after an argument. Is something following her or is this just a coincidence?
Genre - Thriller/Horror
Cast - Jennifer Lawrence plays Salle (Lead) and Sacha Baron Cohen plays Bobe.
Logline - Innocent widow Salle is living her everyday life when things start to go wrong. Things start to go wrong when her good friend Bobe leaves and has no contact after an argument. Is something following her or is this just a coincidence?
Golden Fleece Example
Title - Escape from the Forest of Death
Genre - Comedy Horror
Cast - A group of teenage friends on a summer holiday in a summer house in the forest.
Logline - On the verge of death, a group of teenage friends have to escape from the forest after their Kayak was destroyed miles downstream during a storm, leaving them stranded. They need to use their survival skills if they want to escape the forest, before it is too late.
Genre - Comedy Horror
Cast - A group of teenage friends on a summer holiday in a summer house in the forest.
Logline - On the verge of death, a group of teenage friends have to escape from the forest after their Kayak was destroyed miles downstream during a storm, leaving them stranded. They need to use their survival skills if they want to escape the forest, before it is too late.
Monday, 17 March 2014
17/03/14 Exercise 3
Debbie (17, Sarcastic, Trendy) -
Nobody wants you here, get out or ill make it happen.
Ive liked you for a while, do you feel the same?
This film is terrible why would anybody watch it?
Gladys (52, Bored, Educated) -
I would appreciate you exiting the venue immediately.
Ive got something to tell you, lets talk over afternoon tea!
Films are not like they were back in the day!
Barney (5, Cheerful, Confused) -
Oi blud give me back my shovel I know you have it
This grub is top notch
*Stares*
Dale Cooper (35, FBI Agent) -
I know you have my stuff, hand it back before it gets messy.
This food is better than a new tie on a monday.
Yeah I'm confused..
Nobody wants you here, get out or ill make it happen.
Ive liked you for a while, do you feel the same?
This film is terrible why would anybody watch it?
Gladys (52, Bored, Educated) -
I would appreciate you exiting the venue immediately.
Ive got something to tell you, lets talk over afternoon tea!
Films are not like they were back in the day!
Barney (5, Cheerful, Confused) -
Oi blud give me back my shovel I know you have it
This grub is top notch
*Stares*
Dale Cooper (35, FBI Agent) -
I know you have my stuff, hand it back before it gets messy.
This food is better than a new tie on a monday.
Yeah I'm confused..
Repetition Edit - Nigel Conversation
INT. SCOTT'S HOUSE, DAY
SCOTT and DAN are in Scott's house talking about Nigel and the plan to bring the Catacombs to life.
Scott gets up from his seat and checks that there is nobody around listening to the conversation. He then sits back down and speaks to Dan again.
Dan looks shocked and doesn't know what to say. He gets up and paces up and down the room in front of Scott.
SCOTT and DAN are in Scott's house talking about Nigel and the plan to bring the Catacombs to life.
SCOTT
There is a plan to bring the Catacombs to life. I found out about this when I was talking to my friend Nigel earlier today.
DAN
So what part do you play in this plan?
Scott gets up from his seat and checks that there is nobody around listening to the conversation. He then sits back down and speaks to Dan again.
SCOTT
This is a secret Dan. You can't tell anybody, I trust you.
DAN
You can tell me things Scott, whats wrong?
SCOTT
You might remember a few years ago when I was not at work?
DAN
Yeah I didn't have a clue where you were! No contact, nothing! Where were you?
SCOTT
I was running a few tests in a lab with Nigel. One thing led to another in these tests and it turns out that they gave me super powers.
DAN
That is insane, how am I meant to believe you? It makes no sense, is this how you can help with this plan?
SCOTT
Technically yes. With these powers we plan to bring the Catacombs to life, but you don't know about this. You cannot tell anybody, especially Nigel.
Dan looks shocked and doesn't know what to say. He gets up and paces up and down the room in front of Scott.
DAN
I want to know more about him.
SCOTT
Who?
DAN
Nigel, when did you meet him?
SCOTT
The main reason I was not at work for them few days is because I was at an Armed Forces convention. He was there too, we got talking and had a lot in common.
DAN
So it was there and then that he came up with this plan? Why does he want to do it anyway?
SCOTT
He has the same powers as me. I am the only person that knows. He got these powers from the same tests that he did on me a few years ago. He was serving for the army in Chernobyl and was made to do these tests, from which he gained the powers. He needed help, I could help him, thats how it worked out.
DAN
So you had no choice, he has dropped you in at the deep end?! I need to speak to him, this is madness.
SCOTT
It was my choice. I told you that you don't know about these powers and not to tell Nigel, just leave it.
Scott storms out of the room and leaves Dan with his head in his hands. After a few seconds, Dan walks out after Scott and calls him.
DAN
Scott we need to talk more about this come on!
SCOTT
I know how you feel, just leave it like I said!
For my repetition edit I have added some things to a few sentences to inform the reader/viewer of something. I could not change some of the lines because they are vital in getting more information so not all of my lines of dialogue give new information. The dialogue such as short questions like "Who?" cannot be changed because they are needed to get information in the next line. Apart from the few occasions where question could not be changed, the rest of the script gives information on each line.
Re-Written Nigel Conversation
INT. SCOTT'S HOUSE, DAY
SCOTT and DAN are in Scott's house talking about Nigel and the plan to bring the Catacombs to life.
Scott gets up from his seat and checks that there is nobody around listening to the conversation. He then sits back down and speaks to Dan again.
Dan looks shocked and doesn't know what to say. He gets up and paces up and down the room in front of Scott.
SCOTT and DAN are in Scott's house talking about Nigel and the plan to bring the Catacombs to life.
SCOTT
There is a plan to bring the Catacombs to life. I found out about this when I was talking to my friend Nigel earlier today.
DAN
So what part do you play in this plan?
Scott gets up from his seat and checks that there is nobody around listening to the conversation. He then sits back down and speaks to Dan again.
SCOTT
This is a secret Dan. You can't tell anybody, I trust you.
DAN
You can tell me things Scott, whats wrong?
SCOTT
You might remember a few years ago when I was not at work?
DAN
Where were you?
SCOTT
I was running a few tests in a lab with Nigel. One thing led to another in these tests and it turns out that they gave me super powers.
DAN
That is insane. It makes no sense, is this how you can help with this plan?
SCOTT
Technically yes. With these powers we plan to bring the Catacombs to life, but you don't know about this. You cannot tell anybody, especially Nigel.
Dan looks shocked and doesn't know what to say. He gets up and paces up and down the room in front of Scott.
DAN
I want to know more about him.
SCOTT
Who?
DAN
Nigel, when did you meet him?
SCOTT
The main reason I was not at work for them few days is because I was at an Armed Forces convention. He was there too, we got talking and had a lot in common.
DAN
So it was there and then that he came up with this plan? Why does he want to do it anyway?
SCOTT
He has the same powers as me. I am the only person that knows. He got these powers from the same tests that he did on me a few years ago. He was serving for the army in Chernobyl and was made to do these tests, from which he gained the powers. He needed help, I could help him, thats how it worked out.
DAN
So you had no choice, he has dropped you in at the deep end?! I need to speak to him, this is madness.
SCOTT
It was my choice. I told you that you don't know about these powers and not to tell Nigel, just leave it.
Scott storms out of the room and leaves Dan with his head in his hands. After a few seconds, Dan walks out after Scott and calls him.
DAN
Scott we need to talk more about this come on!
SCOTT
I know how you feel, just leave it like I said!
Feedback from peers about the change of Dialogue in both versions of this script -
Both the scripts are different. I do not prefer one over the other. I like them both but different parts in each script.
The way that you have changed these scripts is very good the newer conversation is more Superheroed.... Its now a word!!!
Sana:
This is a very thorough piece, you have gone into more detail and extended your dialogue. I enjoyed reading the second script more because it set the scenes more.
TOM:
USE Celtex
Good improvement on the rewrite.
Sentences are really long, i would shorten them to make them more realistic.
Myself -
In my opinion, the majority of the changes work well but some of them could be adjusted a bit more because they are too much like the original.
Monday, 3 March 2014
Nigel Conversation
This conversation is between Scott and Dan. Scott is a close friend of Nigel and is involved in the plan to bring the Catacombs to life. Dan is a very close, life-long friend of Scott and Scott has a lot of trust in Dan.
INT. SCOTT'S HOUSE, DAY
SCOTT and DAN are in Scott's home talking about Nigel and the plan to bring the Catacombs to life.
INT. SCOTT'S HOUSE, DAY
SCOTT and DAN are in Scott's home talking about Nigel and the plan to bring the Catacombs to life.
SCOTT
So earlier today, my friend Nigel told me this incredible plan to bring the Catacombs to life.
DAN
How exactly does this involve you?
Scott gets up from his seat and checks that there is nobody around listening to the conversation. He then sits back down and speaks to Dan again.
SCOTT
I trust you Dan. You cannot tell anybody what I am about to tell you. Do you understand?
DAN
What is it Scott?
SCOTT
Well basically, a few years ago, do you remember when I had that time off work?
DAN
Yeah?
SCOTT
I was in a lab with Nigel. We ran some tests and from these tests I have gained special powers.
DAN
So this is how you are involved in this plan?
SCOTT
Yes. But you can't tell anybody that you know this, especially not Nigel.
Dan looks shocked and doesn't know what to say. He gets up and paces up and down the room in front of Scott.
DAN
Tell me about him.
SCOTT
Who?
DAN
Nigel. How do you know him?
SCOTT
It was a few years ago at the Armed Forces convention I went to. He is ex-armed forces. We got talking and we just got along like a house on fire.
DAN
But why is he involved in this plan? What does he want from you?
SCOTT
He has these powers too. Nobody knows apart from me. He got them from the same experiment I got them from but in Chernobyl in his time in the Armed Forces. He wanted to test if it was that experiment that gave him the powers and I agreed to help him.
DAN
So he has dragged you into this? I want to meet him and talk about this!
SCOTT
Just leave it, it's my decision!
So he has dragged you into this? I want to meet him and talk about this!
SCOTT
Just leave it, it's my decision!
Scott storms out of the room and leaves Dan with his head in his hands. After a few seconds, Dan walks out after Scott and calls him.
DAN
Scott! Come on lets talk about this.
SCOTT
You've made it clear. Leave me alone.
Monday, 10 February 2014
Beat Sheet
This is how I will structure my story using the Blake Snyder beat sheet -
Project Title - The Catacombs are Alive
Genre - Superhero
Date - 10th February 2014
1. Opening Image (1) : The 2 main characters staring at a pile of bones on the floor underground in The Catacombs. The camera angle will show the emotions of both of the characters.
2. Theme Stated (5): Nigel wakes up and the opening image is seen as a dream in ways.
3. Set-up (1-10): We see that Nigel, the main character, lives alone and is widowed. His everyday life is shown to the audience and we get an insight into the main character and what he does everyday.
4. Catalyst (12): Nigel is at home and finds something strange in his garden. He goes outside to investigate and this thing (animal) jumps towards him and as he puts his hands out to save himself, a special power send the animal flying into the distance.
5. Debate (12-25): The days pass and Nigel wonders how to approach the situation and what to do about these special powers he has acquired. With no other choice, Nigel has to look online to see if there are any other stories that are similar to his. To his amazement, he finds a story from Scott. They meet up and discuss what is happening and sharing experience. They become great friends and discuss their mission.
6. Break into Two (25):
7. B Story (30): Throughout the weeks that followed, Nigel had some bad news. His son, in the army, had been killed in action and the mission has to be put on hold. Scott convinces him to keep himself busy by continuing with their mission.
8. Fun and Games (30-55): Nigel and Scott reveal their plan to the audience when they are discussing in private what they are going to do. During this period, Nigel and Scott take a couple of trips down to the Catacombs (underground private tunnels) to practice and experiments with their powers, only to discover that they had been doing damage that they had not realised. The trips to the Catacombs are interrupted a few times for Nigel and Scott to check on their plan and see how they are doing.
9. Midpoint (55): After one time down the Catacombs, Nigel and Scott go back to Nigel's house and finalise their plan, to bring the Catacombs to life.
10. Bad Guys Close In (55-75): On their next trip down to the Catacombs, they discover that their plan had already begun without them realising, the bones around the Catacombs had turned to skeletons and had come alive. The rest of this beat sees Nigel and Scott getting attacked and chased by the skeletons as the skeletons want to escape the Catacombs and the 2 main characters do everything in their power to stop them leaving.
11. All is Lost (75): Nigel (older character) is victim of the attack by the skeletons as Scott watches on helplessly from a few meters away. Nigel bleeds out after the skeletons are scared away by a noise from far away and Scott has a hard time dealing with his loss.
12. Dark night of the soul (75-85): Scott wants to avenge Nigel's death by ending the problem once and for all. He gets out of the Catacombs using powers and goes back to his house.
13. Break into Three (85): Whilst Scott is at his house, he decides on a plan to end the problem.
14. Finale (85-110): On his final trip to the Catacombs, Scott manages to use his powers to fight the Skeletons and blocks all entrances and exits to the area so that he can overpower the skeletons. Scott manages to break/kill all of the skeletons in the Catacombs and is left wandering around in the tunnels of bones.
15. Final Image (110): Younger of the 2 main characters walking past the same pile of bones as he did at the start, the camera will follow his movement until he passes the pile of bones and then zooms in on the pile as the character keeps walking away. The focus will move from the pile of bones to the character walking away in the background as the screen fades to black.
Project Title - The Catacombs are Alive
Genre - Superhero
Date - 10th February 2014
1. Opening Image (1) : The 2 main characters staring at a pile of bones on the floor underground in The Catacombs. The camera angle will show the emotions of both of the characters.
2. Theme Stated (5): Nigel wakes up and the opening image is seen as a dream in ways.
3. Set-up (1-10): We see that Nigel, the main character, lives alone and is widowed. His everyday life is shown to the audience and we get an insight into the main character and what he does everyday.
4. Catalyst (12): Nigel is at home and finds something strange in his garden. He goes outside to investigate and this thing (animal) jumps towards him and as he puts his hands out to save himself, a special power send the animal flying into the distance.
5. Debate (12-25): The days pass and Nigel wonders how to approach the situation and what to do about these special powers he has acquired. With no other choice, Nigel has to look online to see if there are any other stories that are similar to his. To his amazement, he finds a story from Scott. They meet up and discuss what is happening and sharing experience. They become great friends and discuss their mission.
6. Break into Two (25):
7. B Story (30): Throughout the weeks that followed, Nigel had some bad news. His son, in the army, had been killed in action and the mission has to be put on hold. Scott convinces him to keep himself busy by continuing with their mission.
8. Fun and Games (30-55): Nigel and Scott reveal their plan to the audience when they are discussing in private what they are going to do. During this period, Nigel and Scott take a couple of trips down to the Catacombs (underground private tunnels) to practice and experiments with their powers, only to discover that they had been doing damage that they had not realised. The trips to the Catacombs are interrupted a few times for Nigel and Scott to check on their plan and see how they are doing.
9. Midpoint (55): After one time down the Catacombs, Nigel and Scott go back to Nigel's house and finalise their plan, to bring the Catacombs to life.
10. Bad Guys Close In (55-75): On their next trip down to the Catacombs, they discover that their plan had already begun without them realising, the bones around the Catacombs had turned to skeletons and had come alive. The rest of this beat sees Nigel and Scott getting attacked and chased by the skeletons as the skeletons want to escape the Catacombs and the 2 main characters do everything in their power to stop them leaving.
11. All is Lost (75): Nigel (older character) is victim of the attack by the skeletons as Scott watches on helplessly from a few meters away. Nigel bleeds out after the skeletons are scared away by a noise from far away and Scott has a hard time dealing with his loss.
12. Dark night of the soul (75-85): Scott wants to avenge Nigel's death by ending the problem once and for all. He gets out of the Catacombs using powers and goes back to his house.
13. Break into Three (85): Whilst Scott is at his house, he decides on a plan to end the problem.
14. Finale (85-110): On his final trip to the Catacombs, Scott manages to use his powers to fight the Skeletons and blocks all entrances and exits to the area so that he can overpower the skeletons. Scott manages to break/kill all of the skeletons in the Catacombs and is left wandering around in the tunnels of bones.
15. Final Image (110): Younger of the 2 main characters walking past the same pile of bones as he did at the start, the camera will follow his movement until he passes the pile of bones and then zooms in on the pile as the character keeps walking away. The focus will move from the pile of bones to the character walking away in the background as the screen fades to black.
Monday, 3 February 2014
Diary Entries - Movie Idea
September 18th 1945 -
It is my 10th birthday. The World War has just ended and things could not be better. For the first time in years, I have woken up to all of my family waiting for me and the best thing was, my Dad was back from fighting in the war. Both my parents were home for the day and my brothers and sisters had nowhere to go, its like the day was all planned out for me and only me. It felt like there was nothing left to look forward to because I thought the war was never going to end and there would be nothing left to celebrate and enjoy, but today made me change my mind. I opened all my presents, I have sweets, new clothes and everything a 10 year old boy could ask for, I am feeling great and my life is finally starting to turn around. My dad, my biggest role model, was here and ready to celebrate. He has been fighting for his country and he has made everything ok for everybody, especially me and the rest of my family, its great to see him back. It is almost perfect, the only bad thing is having school tomorrow! oh well that can't be helped I guess! All that matters at the moment is that my family are all together to make today special for me, the war is over and I have all that I could ever ask for. I can't wait for the day I turn 16, join the army and be more like my dad, a hero.
October 18th 1987 -
Something today feels strange. Something big feels like it is happening in my life. I have served in the army for the past 36 years and I feel so happy to have helped everybody across the years and to help them have a more peaceful life but things feel like they need a change. I feel like I have served my time in the army and I need a rest, Im really considering retiring. I need to settle down with my wife and spend some quality time with my 10 year old son. I remember all them years ago how much it meant to me to have my father around, he was my biggest role model and it put a huge smile on my face whenever I saw him. I want to have this effect on my son. I have a strange ache in both of my hands, I don't know where it has come from but it started when I was serving in Chernobyl last year. This may be something small but it feels like I have some sort of power in my hands, not just strength, like something supernatural. It is probably just something tiny that I shouldn't worry about, the only thing I am worried about is seeing my family and most importantly, my son. I write this looking out the window of a helicopter flying over Germany on my way back to the UK, everything seems so perfect and I am so excited to see everybody, Im counting down the hours.
Peer Feedback - Dan Hewitt
It is my 10th birthday. The World War has just ended and things could not be better. For the first time in years, I have woken up to all of my family waiting for me and the best thing was, my Dad was back from fighting in the war. Both my parents were home for the day and my brothers and sisters had nowhere to go, its like the day was all planned out for me and only me. It felt like there was nothing left to look forward to because I thought the war was never going to end and there would be nothing left to celebrate and enjoy, but today made me change my mind. I opened all my presents, I have sweets, new clothes and everything a 10 year old boy could ask for, I am feeling great and my life is finally starting to turn around. My dad, my biggest role model, was here and ready to celebrate. He has been fighting for his country and he has made everything ok for everybody, especially me and the rest of my family, its great to see him back. It is almost perfect, the only bad thing is having school tomorrow! oh well that can't be helped I guess! All that matters at the moment is that my family are all together to make today special for me, the war is over and I have all that I could ever ask for. I can't wait for the day I turn 16, join the army and be more like my dad, a hero.
October 18th 1987 -
Something today feels strange. Something big feels like it is happening in my life. I have served in the army for the past 36 years and I feel so happy to have helped everybody across the years and to help them have a more peaceful life but things feel like they need a change. I feel like I have served my time in the army and I need a rest, Im really considering retiring. I need to settle down with my wife and spend some quality time with my 10 year old son. I remember all them years ago how much it meant to me to have my father around, he was my biggest role model and it put a huge smile on my face whenever I saw him. I want to have this effect on my son. I have a strange ache in both of my hands, I don't know where it has come from but it started when I was serving in Chernobyl last year. This may be something small but it feels like I have some sort of power in my hands, not just strength, like something supernatural. It is probably just something tiny that I shouldn't worry about, the only thing I am worried about is seeing my family and most importantly, my son. I write this looking out the window of a helicopter flying over Germany on my way back to the UK, everything seems so perfect and I am so excited to see everybody, Im counting down the hours.
Peer Feedback - Dan Hewitt
I think that this is a really good piece of work, i like the way you have divided the entry between both father and son, it gives the the perspective of the characters and it seems a bit emotional too because of the feeling of being away and the feeling of loss, overall very good piece of work.
keep it up :)
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