Story Telling Unit: "The Meeting" Idea Update

After todays lecture about structure and story lines, I've decided to simplify my idea. I no longer want to try and fit a complex idea into a short timely removing parts of it, but instead develop a seemingly basic idea into something with a deeper storyline and a solid set of characters by adding content and detail to it.

My new idea is based on the relationship between a boy and girl ending, and shows how the boy deals with the emotion he feels the next day when he realises what has happened.

Carl, like most boys his age, likes to have a good drink on a night out. But Carl doesn't know when to stop. One night the alcohol takes over, making him blind to what he is doing as he turns on his girlfriend Jess, when she tells him to slow down. The pair begin to argue and step outside, where he grabs her by the throat and threatens her in an adjacent alley. Fearing what Carl will do to her,  Jess manages to shrug him off and screams its over in front of passers by on the high street. Carl plays the big man and tells her he doesn't need her out of embarrassment from being dumped in public and the pair go their separate ways. The next morning, hungover and now saddened by his actions, Carl trashed any memories he has of his relation ship with Jess, tearing photos in half and destroying presents she had previously bought him. He decides to get some fresh air and goes into town where he reflects on what happened the night before through a series of violent flash backs. His visions are interrupted as he bumps into an old school friend named Kat. the pair know each other well and once had a thing for each other that never turned serious. Kat instantly takes Carls mind off of his ex and the pair begin to laugh and instantly click. Time passes and the pair seem to reignite their previous feelings for each other and head for a bar where they can relax and spend some one on one time together. After a few drinks Carl swaps the alcohol for soft drinks, avoiding the person he becomes on too many nights out. Kat continues to get drunk and is all over Carl for the rest of the night. The two eventually leave and Carl offers to walk Kat home because of the state she is in. The two get less than a hundred yards before Kat drunkenly goes in for a kiss and tells Carl she loves him. Little does Carl know that Kat has a boyfriend named Dan and he has been waiting for Kat to leave since being spotted by a friend earlier on in the night. As the two kiss, there is a moment of silence between them as they gaze at each other and a bottle smashes across the side of Carls face. Dan grabs Kat and pulls her away leaving Carl on the floor in a bad way. Passers by eventually find Carl and call an abumlance. The bottle that blinded him from his aggressive drunken ways also blinded him physically.

Story Telling Unt: Research - Pearl Harbour

I recently watched Pearl Harbour (for the thousandth time) and thought that there was a great piece of story telling in which the visuals move the story forward rather than the dialogue. For example, there is no character asking questions on behalf of the viewer etc, but the viewer can understand the story progression as we watch the action and events. Most of the dialogue is "in the moment", such as the inspirational talk before the captain dies.



The next section also has sections of great visual story telling. (the hospital scenes - 2.57 onwards) The parts when we are shown, mass panic from both the injured and the professionals, multiple burnt black bodies and horrific injuries, we begin to see and hear exactly how the characters feel. Again. not through obvious dialogue or conversation, but through emotion, body language and visual effects.



This is one of my favourite films so have a watch and enjoy!

Story Telling Unit: "The Meeting" Ideas

Since starting the course I've been struggling to decide on the story line I will use for "The Meeting". I used www.thesaurus.com (basic I know) to look up words that were linked to the word meeting but didn't necessarily have a direct translation. Words like "clash, engage, bump into, brush shoulders, confront and get together" all gave me ideas that were not as obvious as the "boy meets girl" situation. I have four strong ideas that could fit into ten minutes and still tell a good start to finish emotional story (with careful planning!), however not all of them are practical for me to create in terms of location, situation and cast. All four ideas involve a character physically interacting with and meeting another character, yet all three are different in terms of the relationships between the characters, the reactions the characters have when they meet and of course the circumstances in which they meet.

My first idea: Adopted child tracks down and meets their birth parents in an attempt to find out the reasons  for their choice.

Second idea: An elderly man on his deathbed requests to see his son for the first time in over twenty years to try and makes things right before its too late.

Third idea: A house burglary takes place on a quiet street once the family car has left the driveway.  However, not everybody has left the house.

Fourth idea: An innocent man who was wrongly accused of a crime and served a ten year sentence for another mans actions, bumps into the real criminal and wants him to pay for ruining his life.

As I said these ideas could work and I have numerous ideas for the paths each journey could take, its just whether they are actually do-able in terms of making them look realistic with the resources I have available to me, such as locations and cast. If I tried to create idea number two and shot the scenes of the man on his deathbed in a random bedroom, the race against time and feel of desperation as he tries to contact his son wouldn't be as strong as if it was shot in a hospital with appropriate props and sound effects.

Its a tough choice but I'm looking forward to choosing one and cracking on with getting into deeper detail with the characters backgrounds and situations!

Stay tuned!

Story Telling Unit: Project Work and Research

Today we were given the task of creating an idea for a ten minute short film, using newspapers for inspiration and ideas. I was paired with Scott Fisher and together we created "Nekrofilija", from the headline "Russians blamed for Syrian bloodshed." We took two words and created a completely new idea based on a Russian necrophiliac. 

Nekrofilija

Genre

Horror/Thriller/Necrophilia

Idea

One evening, in his lounge, he is admiring the many photographs he has of a lady who he has had an unhealthy fixation with for years. After this, he spots her leaving her house, and quickly persues her out of sight. He finally gathers together what remains of his self confidence, and approaches her out of public view. After the briefest of exchanges, he receives an instant dismissal, and in a rage, he grabs her, she loses her balance, falls to the floor, lands awkwardly, and cracks her skull on the pavement, killing her instantly. By this stage, his instincts take over, and because of his mental instability, he treats this situation as their final goodbye and because of this, decides to make it memorable for him with an unforgettable act of passion and love. This becomes the start of a sick, twisted, and deadly addiction. 

Character

Male in his thirties goes by the name of Vladimir, loner, no friends, down on his luck, unemployed, parents died when he was young, he has a brother and sister who both live and work abroad and never contact him. He is tall thin and wiry, and distinctly dishevelled, which makes him incredibly unattractive to women. Never had a relationship, still a virgin, grew up in a rough area, bullied at school, severely lacking in self confidence and social skills. Resorts to stalking desirable women, on one occasion he takes it too far, the lady ends up suffering a fatal blow to the head, and he decides, because he is a virgin, he will turn to necrophilia for the first pleasurable experience in his miserable existence.

Theme

Deals with loneliness, desperation, seeking acceptance in mainstream society, how quickly an unhealthy addiction develops, necrophilia, bloke who is at the lowest point in his life, and in his desperate state, he stoops to an even lower low point.

Setting

Dark, secluded village in Northern Russia, in Vladimir’s flat, complete with photographs of the object of his desire, pinned up on the wall, and many letters stating his feelings for her that he has never had the courage to send. The blinds in the flat are always ajar, so that Vladimir is always able to catch a glimpse of her. The film is set in the mid 1990s. The flat is located in an area well known for it’s distinct lack of anything unusual happening – UNTIL NOW!!

By Scott Fisher and Sam Ellis

Story Telling Unit: "Spaced" Pitch

My first attempt at creating a pitch for Spaced was a lot harder than it looked. Having only a 25 word limit to fit a straight to the point, hard hitting sales pitch was difficult as we had brainstormed so many different selling points to the series and had to choose only the strongest. 


My first attempt:


Based in a contemporary suburb, "Spaced" portrays the surreal daily life adventures of five intertwined twenty-somethings, in a slapstick thirty-minute sit-com drama.


There are some points in my pitch that could be stronger, "contemporary suburb" is not exactly a huge selling point. Again, "Thirty-minute sit-com drama" could be re-phrased to sound much more exciting.


With this in mind, here is my second attempt:


Situated in a modern city precinct, "Spaced" portrays the surreal daily life adventures of five intertwined twenty-somethings, in a slapstick comedy drama, with a twist.