Wednesday 27 November 2013

Research Dossier

Research Dossier for "The Shining Thames"

 
My short "The Shining Thames" first draft and awaiting feedback. In the meantime I am going to construct a research dossier to contain as much information as I can on my first draft and my understand of the conventions.

I wish to enter my short film into a film festival. I want to hit the main festivals such as Virgin Media Shorts. But I want to aim for less known festivals because this can increase my chances of winning and help the smaller festivals gain another entry. I want to enter the Norwich Film Festival Withoutabox. To enter this competition I need to pay an entry fee so this competition will be one of my last options, but it is close to home than the London based ones.  

 

Conventions Of A Standard Script

Rules that need following.

When writing a script I obviously needed to know what a formatted script looks like. I needed to know how a script is layed out and the conventions to make a real and professional looking script.
 
 
 
I have pointed out the conventions of the script above. I have mentioned why certain features are in that place. Scene, characters, stage directions etc. I am now going to analyse the page and point out features of the actual text itself with screen caps to assist.

To start lets have a look at the top of the page and work out way down. We see the title of the production/film and who wrote the script.




The first line has to be a hook, when someone is reading your script for the first time its important that they remember it. Having a powerful introduction that is memorable is key. The Luther script I picked begins with this.




This script opens with this line. It hooks the reader or viewer because it immediately makes you want to ask questions. Why is blood running down his temple?

Notice also how they make the it specific saying "temple" instead of just "head"




The stage directions and description of the character is specific which is important because it gives more information across the board. You get the costume team clear images in their heads. You also help the actors get into role easier.


The directions here point our what Carrodus does. They say that less is more and it this case its true. Rather than a verbal retort to a question the camera will just show him nodding. Its easier and makes a more interesting story.





This line shows character development. Its key to show how a character develops through dialogue because it feels more personal and draws the viewer in more.  Using characters dialogue to explain a back story is a good method to give a character more depth.


 
Making a character have single word dialogue can give a character massive development. In this case Carrodus here, his character using a single word answer shows him that he has power over Sugarman. Before this piece of dialogue Sugar spoke at least six lines of dialogue making Carrodus's reply give me this theory.  However, you can flip my idea and make Carrodus a weaker character than Sugarman. His lack of words could show fear within his response. He could be afraid to answer Sugarman's question therefore making it a short answer. 
 


 
Through this stage direction you can learn more about the character Jessica. You learn that she is a weak person and fears Carrodus.
 
 
Scene heading. This is not a costume in all scripts. But it can be used for organisation purposes.
 
 

 Shorts Similar To Mine

"The Anti-Social Network"





This is my first short film, I picked this because It has a light hearted feel but with a serious message behind it all. In my screenplay/short it begins with a happy tone. It decays into something more serious but still remains throughout.
 
I like how the story develops so quickly through characters choices and actions. The main character is slowly constructed through what other characters say along with the actions he does. Near the beginning he is at work and he calls over a fellow worker to share an image with them.
 
This shows he isn't just a Internet dweller and in fact has a social life. This is made more clear later on down the line with him being invited out for a drink. You can tell he wants to be accepted by others and wanted. He is asked whist he is up to, he lies and pretends he is out. Meaning he doesn't want people to think he is a loner.
 
The secondary character is the female to whom he goes on a date with. She is not shown until later on but she is complex within herself. She wants to get out there and meet new people and will go through a lot of complications to do so.
 
The light side to this story is comedy, the way he talks about Facebook is like its a job or even a person and the extremes this man will go when Facebook is down and even when its up he will miss work deadlines and procrastinate his way almost out of a job.
 
The serious message to this story however is that social media and all media in general can consume you and change you and pull you out of life into your own world. A world where likes are more important than friends. Making you lazy, missing work deadlines and portraying someone to which you are not.
 
To summarise then, the reason why I have chosen "The Anti Social Network" as on of my shorts is the deep message hidden by humour and a light hearted feel. It fits most with mine. My story about three teenagers day out and the banter that that brings with the hidden message that blood diamonds are still out there and more needs to be done like this.


 






My second short is "The Most Beautiful Thing" This short is a romantic comedy between two teenagers. One is a lonely boy and the other is a deaf girl.

I liked this short a lot. I liked the feel of the characters and how they are relatable. We feel for the boy and how we all want to fit in with everyone else to avoid ridicule or abuse even.

I enjoyed the story time frame, how we jump from place to place quickly. How we jump from day to day and we know this without any sort of indications. Mainly this is done through costume of the main two characters. When it comes to characters there is only two main characters but this isn't strong in the presentation. You get the feel of a mass group of students and almost feel apart of it.

The light hearted take on the school is refreshing. The short has a deep meaning behind it all however like most shorts I think. The key message behind this short is actually said at the end however.

The message is that the most beautiful thing in life is not what we can see or hear it's what we feel inside, In our hearts and I feel the directing and the whole making of this short had that message.

The development of the characters was done without dialogue. Within the first five minutes we know how the boy is lonely and wants to talk to girls. This is done without any dialogue. Say goes for the end when he is mad at the girl. Throughout the short we see him do the same mundane activities. At the start we see a gloomy looking boy who is on the train. After he has met the girl we see a more happier boy through the same shots. The train and walking around school. When he sees the girl with someone else we see a sadder boy on the train and walking around school etc.

This is a clever way to develop character. If we see a familar enviroment that the character inhabits we can how change easier.

To summarise "The Most Beautiful Thing" short film. Its a fantastic short film and I want to take the light hearted from it and attempt to write it within my script.




Audience Research

Finding my audience

when writing my script I had to come up with a genre. I had to come up with an audience my short will be aimed at. I like to stick to what to know, and as I am a teenager I wanted to make a short aimed at my age generation.
 
But I didn't want to just do the normal ad make a comedy aimed to teens. I wanted to make a balance between the humour and light hearted feel and the serious message much like "The Antisocial Network" short I mentioned earlier.
 
But I had/have to learn what teenagers around 15-25 enjoy watching. I needed to know that if they watched serious message related films and TV whats their favourite type and genre etc. I want to please the audience because they are the true judges but I also want to challenge what the believe exposing ideas and theories that are new to them.
 
So I gather the data by sending out questonaires online. I asked basic questions asking if a film like this could appeal to them. And using the data I had to come to the conclusion. As my screenplay was written before I start the main bulk of my research I tailored it towards my idea asking about blood diamonds as that is what my serious message is in the end of it.
 
From my data I realised that the most popular genres among the teen demographic was Horror, Drama and Comedy. I asked a question about what they know about Blood diamonds all answered yes meaning that the plot of my short story will make sense to the majority. This will help me when making me short because I will not have to go into too much detail about the origins etc.
 
 

London - The River Thames

Location Research







For my short I wanted to research into the setting to which my characters will be inhabiting. I had to recreate the world from scratch which was easier because my location London is a real place giving me lots of different mediums to gather information.

 
I choose London because London is a iconic location in my life and many others. It also holds the river Thames, the main focus and iconic location and image for my short. Tower bridge is such a well known location.
 
When researching my location I wanted to fin out facts about the River Thames in the hope to incorporate them within my short. I learned that there used to be a massive problem with the amount of waste that was dumped in the Thames but that has gotten better in recent years. I also learnt that the river was used for trade for a long period of time. Many boats with come in and out carry various goods from over seas.
 
I learnt that in some winters the river has report to have frozen. When the river was frozen people said they can look down and also see the bottom. This enticed me to use this somehow and use my diamonds and the water for some creative shots.





 
This is the route my characters are going to make to drop the diamonds off the bridge. From: London Charing Cross to Londond Bridge.
 
A majority of my short is based in a metro train station area so researching into the laws and regulations that would affect my characters in this world was important. I learnt that there are very strict codes and laws that have to be followed when getting into London. But as I dug deeper I found that getting onto trains from over places have less strict laws with your carry ons etc. So making the diamonds have a drop off point was the best idea to make this world seem authentic. I used the Transport For London official website and wikipedia to learn about the laws and travel routes etc. here and here

 

Character Research

What will they be like



 
When coming up with the characters it was obvious to me what age range I wanted them to be. Around 17-18. Coming up with the characters and giving them depth was easier due to the age range I choose. The main character is realatable because I drew on feeling and moments I have experienced as a teen myself aged the same age. This made the writing easier because I lived in this world. I have been in my characters shoes and that is something I feel you have to do to make convincing characters. The main character is Clark. Clark is the key character because at the end of the day he makes the decisions that cause the conflict and drama of my short. I took aspects of everyones lifes to make them relatable I took the feeling of being wanted and I took the feeling of morals and not backing down from what you believe in even if the odds are against you. This is make the character relatable because we as people strive to stick to our guns even if we don't Clark is an example of what that feels like. Therefore I didn't want Clark to lose out and get hurt by making these mistakes otherwise the image I would send to the audience would be a negative one and I do not want that.
 


The Theme Of Justice

Good guys will prevail in the end

The theme of my short in a sentence is that good will prevail no matter what size or shape. My character will come out of the story better off and more educated in life in general. I want the audience to take away that you should stick to what you believe in and don't let others change you for the worse. Learn from mistakes don't become them.
 
I researched into my theme, I wanted to know how people react to stories where the good guys come out better. I did this through my survey from earlier. The majority like happy endings but find that the endings should have twists and turns to them to make them more exciting rather than the good guy seems to "Dodge everything and get lucky too often"
 
So after taking the feedback I have incorporated this into my script adding a new twist and turn to the plot. The twist will give danger to the protagonist and hit him with the theme of sticking to what he believes which is what I want to do with my story. Through my questionnaires and surveys I worked out that 60% of my target audience liked a story where justice is served to the "bad guys" rather than the "good guys" losing out.
 
My personal take on the story from the start has been that the good guys will win at end. I wanted this to be shown in my script and all pre-production materials. Clark, the main character is a good guy in all aspects. He cares for his loved ones. He always want right rather than wrong even if its at his own expense. In the story he doesn't want to cash the diamonds in for himself. He wants to hand them in for the greater good. I draw on personal wants and needs. In life you want to be the best possible person you can be. Clark is the living in bodyment within a character to share these values and thats his role in my story. The other characters represent the polar opposite of him in that sense. Daniel is the opposite of Clark to show the viewer the strong points of Clark. Jenny is the half and half. She retains wanting right but still has some adventure in her.
 
 
Blood Diamonds
 
Blood diamonds are the main theme within my short. Blood diamonds are a serious and debatable topic. It is a risky move on my behalf to bring them into a light hearted environment with teenagers.
 
Blood diamonds are often called "War Diamonds" and are mined in parts of Africa and to other places and are sold all around the globe for profit. The reason the sellers make such a massive profit is because the people mining the diamonds are not payed. Most of the time the workers are captured and being forced to work. The name "Blood" in Blood diamonds comes from the workers being payed from with there own blood and sweat.

This is a very serious topic. And like I said before, I need to do the a lot of research on them to make my plot believable.

I researched into related media texts that would be similar to mine. I knew of one film called "Blood Diamonds" directed by Edward Zwick. It depicts live in these war zones and shows the story of a family torn apart from the blood diamond trade. I re-watched this film in order to familiarise myself with the serious problem which is blood diamonds.  This will help my writing be more believable .



 

Bibliography

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3 comments:

  1. EN Media24 June 2014 at 02:01

    Excellent work at high merit. Fuller presentation of audience research, and more on textual infulences needed for distinction.

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  2. EN Media24 June 2014 at 06:02

    A frequently excellent dossier. On dialogue you really need to explore inner presence, outer presence, and context. Could do with some more on textual influences toom but otherwise very thorough.

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  3. EN Media24 June 2014 at 06:05

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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