2013 Post 6- Group Work

I now have a better understanding of how to write a script and so my group and I have selected from our loglines which short film we will develop.

Our chosen logline: 'While the rest of the world begins to lose their memories. A sole teenager starts to learn things about the world that they had never dreamed of'

Firstly, my group and I chose this as our logline to develop as it appeared the least complicated to film. The main character is a teenager, a demographic that my group and I can relate to and portray with relative ease; using locations and costumes that we are familiar with as we can understand the environment they are placed within.



Drama encompasses a mixture of emotions

We also believed the logline to be a good concept with the potential for adding subtle hidden symbols/meanings; we can be more creative and inventive when imagining how to film people losing their memories, and the consequences of this.

We have decided that our short film would best be suited in the Drama genre, as this would highlight the serious nature of the world losing their memories and dramatise the main character's isolation.



The beats for our logline:
Beat 1: Environment introduced as an university dorm room
Beat 2: Main character introduced
Beat 3: Main character experiences newfound ability
Beat 4: Main character tries to ignore problem/ability
Beat 5: After gaining people's memories main character hurts himself trying to ignore them
Beat 6: Main character almost defeated by the absorption of memories
Beat 7: Main character rejected when trying to solve problem by letting people know
Beat 8: Writing down people's memories is the main character's solution

My group and I also created a mind-map for our initial idea, this helped us to gain a better understanding of our film by planning in smaller sections

2013 Post 5- Script formatting

In order to write my script I had to undergo research into how to format it. I discovered that there are different softwares where one can write scripts, you can use a scriptwriting software such as Final Draft or there are also typewriters and many writers work on celtex.com. This is an online site for scriptwriting and collaboration that provides software and services for writers on many devices; whilst online they can work with their production team on the same script.
You can visit the site here: https://www.celtx.com/index.html


I will be using Microsoft Word to write my script, in 12-point courier font as this is the standard font that can fit 10 characters per line. My script will require a minimum of 3 pages as each page is equivalent to one minute screen time.
There are three parts to any script:

Headings, for Master and Secondary scenes (these are only used when starting a new scene, they must be in capitals, underlined and should be followed by action):

• Include camera location in EXT(exterior) or INT(interior)
• Scene location in brackets
• Time MORNING, AFTERNOON, EVE, DAY or NIGHT
• Headings for montages, flashbacks, dream sequences etc

Narrative description(words should be used sparingly because film is a visual medium, and in present tense as you watch a film in the present):

• Action/Character movement(helps viewer imagine what would be happening on screen e.g 'looks intensely'. Aligned left)
• Visual (character and settings)
• Sounds

Dialogue(sharp and to the point as films are focused on action and use double spaces between dialogue and action):

• The person's name should be in capitals, aligned centre at the top(dialogue directly underneath)
• Speech(Justify this)

Example of text alignment from Jurassic Park screenplay

Below is an example of formatting when a shot/scene continues from one page to the next:


SKYLAR
           See, it's my life story.
                        (MORE)
        
                                              (CONTINUED)
        
-------------------------page break--------------------------
        
                                                 Page 23.
CONTINUED:
        
                        SKYLAR (CONT'D)
                 (parenthetical goes here)
           Five more minutes and I would have got
           to hear your best pick-up line.
        
                        WILL
           The caramel thing is my pick-up line.


CUT TO or FADE TO can be put in the bottom right hand corner with double spacing between this and the sentence above for scene transitions.

2013 Post 4- Beats

Beating is a Hollywood term for beating out an idea, a beat being when something occurs that moves along the plot. A short film will ideally have around 8-12 major ‘beat’s during the story so I have researched these in order to create my own for my short film. Below are examples of the type of Beats you may see in a film:

1. Introduces the environment the film will be set in
2. Introduces the main character
3. Introduces the problem
4. Shows how the main character chooses to solve the problem
5. The main character experiences a major set back
6. The main character is almost defeated
7. The main character rejects a solution to the problem
8. The main character discovers their own solution/or not

I looked at the beats in a short film called 'Paperman':

1. Introduces a train station as the environment and the film is set in a city
2. The main character is the man in the suit holding papers
3. The problem is introduced as the man not being able to reach the woman he met
4. His solution is to fly paper airplanes to her
5. The major set back is that the planes do not fly far enough
6. The main character is almost defeated as his boss tells him to stop
7. The main character does not want to stop
8. His own solution is to leave his job to follow after the woman but he loses her
9. The main character is almost defeated again as he gives up
10. The resolution is that the planes bring the two together in the end

From this I have planned the beats for my short film logline:

1. The environment is in the Swedish mountains
2. The main character is introduced
3. Introduces the problem being that Pappa is stranded
4. His solution is to try to start the car
5. The major set back is that the car does not start
6. Pappa is almost defeated by the harsh weather and wild animals
7. He does not want to give up
8. Pappa discovers he can follow the star at night
9. The resolution is that the star leads him safely back home to his family

Post 3: Characterisation

In order to understand characterisation in films I researched the conventional Protagonist and Antagonist:

Protagonist: Usually the main focus of the narrative, the character who plays the largest role in the story, although the protagonist and main character may be played by different characters. Traditionally they were male and a hero-like figure but this has changed as film has evolved to incorporate strong female characters, such as Beatrix Kiddo from the 'Kill Bill' movies.

 

Antagonist: The opponent to the protagonist, they are the opposing force in the plot and often represent or create obstacles that the protagonist has to face. Traditionally, there would be a clearly defined antagonistic force, or villain, and a hero that would have to overcome them. Occasionally the antagonist is not always the villain and their goal is simply to oppose the protagonist.

A clearly defined Hero and Villain

From my logline I have tried to define my protagonist and their antagonist:

'Led by only a star, a traveller tries to return to his child.'

My protagonist is a passionate Swedish photographer, nicknamed 'Pappa', he is middle-aged and married who adores his daughter.

I collected images of what I imagined my protagonist to appear like, his daughter and where he would live
 

I find my character is similar to Janusz Wieszczek, from 'The Way Back' film, as they are both suddenly thrown into finding their way through dangerous terrains.

They both have a similar sense of determination and will-strength but my protagonist is driven by his need to reunite with his family, in this way he is also similar to the character Maria Bennett from 'The Impossible' ,although he has the stars to guide him home.

My antagonist would be the perilous, mountainous area and wild animals that puts my protagonist in danger.

This is an example of my 'antagonist', the frightening force of the mountains

I created an interview with questions designed  by myself and a colleague to help me better  my understanding of my protagonist and  create answers that would develop his unique voice:

Interviewer: What is your name, age and nationality?
Protagonist: I'm known as 'Pappa' by my adorable little girl, I'm 45 years old and Svenska(Swedish) and proud!

Interviewer: What does your daily life consist of?

Protagonist: For my photography I get up very early, before my bebis(baby) girl has rose, and head out on location. I'll spend the whole day and often a good part of the night out there, getting the shots I need. My wife, bless her, takes care of things at home and I only get to spend time with them a few days a week.
 

Interviewer: What is important to you in life?

Protagonist: My family. Without a doubt, I would be nothing without them, my daughter means everything to me.

Interviewer: What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Protagonist: Haha! This is hard...my weakness might be my daughter, but she and my wife are also my strength.
 

Interviewer: You live in a quiet area, is this because of preference or for a reason?
Protagonist: Actually I used to live in a city; there I met my wife. She wanted to re-locate to a smaller area so we ended up in a village much further away, it is gorgeous here, my daughter loves it. I prefer the quiet here and there is some beautiful scenery.
 

Interviewer: Have you travelled much in your past? As a photographer, you must have?
Protagonist: I have not been a photographer all my life, only since I moved to the village have I taken it seriously. I used to go camping in the south but I have never travelled outside of Sverige(Sweden).
 

Interviewer: Why photography? What section of photography to you specialise in?
Protagonist: I enjoy capturing moments of happiness and beauty and a camera lets me do this. Recently I have loved taking landscapes, especially in the snowy mountains and forests.

 

I also researched Vladimir Propps Theory of Narrative wherein he formed a selection of character types from folktales. His list of types, however, can also be seen in films and characters can fulfil more than one type:

The villain—struggles against the hero

The donor—prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object

The (magical) helper—helps the hero in the quest

The princess and her father—gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father can not be clearly distinguished

The dispatcher—character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.

The hero or victim/seeker hero—reacts to the donor, weds the princess

False hero—takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.

This list I found from this website: http://www.ealmanac.com/3114/numbers/the-seven-character-types-of-vladimir-propp/

 

If I were to apply Propps theory to my characters, my main character would be the Hero, the Donor the daughter as she wishes upon the stars for his safety, the Helper the stars, the Princess the main character's family and the Dispatcher and Villain the mountainous environment; it created and enforces my character's problem against the elements.