Script Treatment
Research Dossier
Annotations of a published script
Below you can see I have cropped the parts of the Being Human series 1 episode 1 script to show the parts which show good development of the character, good use of dialogue and good use of scene direction.
Good Development of Character- Inner Presence:
This action shows a good development of the character using the inner presence of that particular character. This snip it has describes kind of what is going on within the character as appose to on the exterior and has described part of the character very well.
Good Development of Character- Outer Presence:
This snip it shows a good development of the character using the outer presence this time. This snip describes what the character looks like on the outside and how the character first comes across to people.
Good Development of Character- Context:
This shows a good development of the character using the context this time. This snip describes what the world around the character is like and what is truly going on around him/her.
Good Use of Dialogue:
This snip it shows a good use of dialogue. This snip it uses a good use of dialogue because it doesn't over describe at the same time as under describe what is going on.
Good Use of Scene Direction:
This shows a good use of scene direction because it tells the actor/actress's where and how to act and also describing exactly what is going to be on a screen.
Examples of 10 minute short films
This short film called Victim is of the same genre as what I want my short film to be. the concept was well thought about and carried out and the fact that 'slenderman' is well known gave it an advantage. I like the way that they had put shots of the nature and landscape first as this is something I want to incorporate into my short film, I also liked the use of depth of field and good use of camera angles. The fact that there was no speech made the soundtrack more eerie which set the tone of the short and left the audience on edge about what was going to happen next.
Just like the first example of a short film, I chose this one as it fit the genre I want for my short film and I liked the concept; you can tell it was well thought out and they carried it out well producing an enjoyable short. I thought that the way they had filmed the first couple of shots outside of the house was a good idea as it made it look as if someone or something was watching them, it set the scene and gave the audience something to think about; who or what was it watching them? this is something I might want to incorporate into my own short. I also liked the fact that the actors were believable as this was an issue for me as I was searching for these shorts. I thought the use of silhouettes for the women and they birds was a good idea and it is also something Id incorporate into my own short film. I also liked the concept around the birds dying and it was well carried out, I also liked the fact that you don't actually see the murder, you just see the baseball bat roll and then the male laying on the floor covered in birds which leaves the audience wondering what actually happened and the fact the leave the short on a cliff hanger also made me enjoy this short more as it leaves that question about what happened next.
Audience Research
when writing my script I had to think what genre I wanted my script to be and what type of audience will my short will be aimed at. I wanted to make a horror but I didn't want it to be too conventional and be similar to many other horror films out already yet I still wanted it to be appealing to my audience so I gathered the data by sending out a questionnaire online. I asked basic questions such as asking if a film like this could appeal to them, what genres do they prefer etc. Below you can see some of the questions I ask in my research questionnaire and the responses I got back.
From my data I realized that the most popular genres among the teen demographic, mainly males who responded to this questionnaire, was Comedy, Horror and Action. My script will be of the horror genre however using this information I will incorporate comedy within the dialogue before 'horror scenes' occur as I do not want it to be a comedy/horror but I still want it appeal to this teen demographic.
Themes, location and characters:
When writing up my script I did take in consideration that I may not be able to make this as certain themes within my script such as the violence would be not impossible but improbable. My story isn't based in a specific area as it has no need to be specified however it will be mainly filmed indoors set within a average UK house. Some of the scenes will be set outside of the house and due to the nature of the script and time set I would have to let authorities know so that if passersby are concerned/worried it can be easily dealt with.
Small parts of my script such as at the beginning and the end will be set on a beach near a wooded area, This specific location won't that difficult to obtain as Links Hill/Gunton Warren in Lowestoft fits the location I want as it is right next to the sea front and has a large wooden area.Links Hill is often quite desolate apart from dog walkers however due to the time of day I would have to film at this location this wouldn't be an issue.
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| Links Hill/Gunton Warren |
The Idea for my script came from my own interest in horrors and psychological thrillers as well as my interests in serial killers. One existing text that is familiar to my idea is the film Triangle.
Triangle is a 2009 British psychological horror thriller film written and directed by Christopher Smith, and starring Melissa George and Michael Dorman. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2009. Melissa George plays a single mother who goes on a boating trip with several friends. When they are forced to abandon their ship, they board a derelict ocean liner, where they become convinced that someone is stalking them. When they reach the main deck, they can not find any passenger or crew onboard. Jess has the sensation of déjà vu and soon they learn that there is someone hunting them down, It is her. Further, Jess discovers that the only way to save the group and get out of the time loop is killing them all. It is similar to my idea as uses time loop as a theme and it is also similar within the genre I want mine to be, horror, psychological thriller.
One existing text that may of influenced my screen play was the serial killer John Wayne Gacy, Jr. (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994), also known as the Killer Clown, he was an American serial killer and rapist who sexually assaulted and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. Gacy was a respected member of his community, and often dressed up as a clown for children's birthday parties. But he also sometimes dressed up during his murders, putting on the guise of his alter-ego, "Pogo the Clown." After he was caught, the papers often referred to him as "The Killer Clown." This influenced my screenplays antagonist to be dressed in a costume that would be considered 'scary' such as the clown costume.
Another existing text that is similar to my screenplay idea is the film Edge of Tomorrow.
My characters are somewhat influenced by the characters in the British teen drama, Skins. However my characters are older.
Bibliography
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/being_human_s1e1.pdf
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1187064/plotsummary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1631867/
Hi Poppy.
ReplyDeletePlease finish this. Check the blog for the brief sheet on it.
Thanks.