Film Coursework

Derek known to his friends as southern boy is confronted by Derek a upper class child about why he hasn't been invited to Dereks party. EXT. Playground - DAY Derek Ya see it wasn't ma decision Chris Who made the decision, then? Derek Arnolds Chris Your party Derek Mam said the van would- Chris (cutting off) My mom can bring Derek (cutting off) Don't wanna put your mam Chris (cutting off) She will not mind Derek (cutting off) Last time Chris I didn't mean t Derek You clobbered him over his head with a blast Chris I was reloading Derek You thought you were Rambo. Your banned anyway. Mam says Chris What about... Derek Mom says you are crazy Chris What about this fantastic birthday present...  Through writing this I have learnt a technique of covering up the characters names to see if their dialogue is easily to distinguish.

Lesson today we talked about character development. We looked at examples from different films and the different ways of showing internal and  how visual storytelling is extremely important. Example of Character Development INT. RECORDING STUDIO NIGHT Follow a series of wires over junk food packets, torn sheet music. Tim rocks backwards and forwards - his black vans drum to an invisible beat, his hair once neatly combined is now ruffled. Eyes darting fast back and forth between the studio and his computer screen, his hands click furiously. Fatigue stricken face hidden behind a pirates moustache. His coffee lays untouched, his wife's number pops up on his phone. He doesn't pick up. I will make sure to include these points in the screenplay that I am writing.

Int. Jacks bedroom - night Inside a suburban house, JACK a teenager sits on the floor of his messy bedroom shuffling through songs on his IPOD. He shuffles through songs playing "Marijuana" - Chrome Sparks, "Mans not hot" - Big Shaq, "We Fear Dem" - Vybz Kartel & Popcaan Graphic match Int. ELEVATOR - day Jack presses his floor button music from his IPOD still plays mixing with "Elevator music" The elevator doors open and two STUDENTS climb in. The elevator continues down. "Elevator music" continues to play as Jack turns up IPOD volume. Miffed as it continues to do nothing. Two students continue chatting. They notice Jack. Student 1 You okay, man? Jack (Music still playing) Yeah yeah. The elevator reaches the ground floor, two students exit. Jack follows them. "Elevator music" continues to play as Jack walks down the Corridor. INT. Classroom - day A small class is in session. Jack sits a...

Int. Jacks bedroom - night Inside a suburban house, JACK a teenager sits on the floor of his messy bedroom shuffling through songs on his IPOD. He shuffles through songs playing "Marijuana" - Chrome Sparks, "Mans not hot" - Big Shaq, "We Fear Dem" - Vybz Kartel & Popcaan Graphic match Int. ELEVATOR - day Jack presses his floor button and takes out his earphones. "Elevator music" plays The elevator doors open and two STUDENTS climb in then the elevator continues down. Jack puts his earphones back in and CLICKS play. "Elevator music" continues to play as Jack turns up IPOD volume, takes one earphone and then the other out, presses forward and backward becoming increasingly agitated. Jack throws IPOD on ground. Two students look surprised. Student 1 You okay, man? Jack (Music still playing) Yeah yeah. I guess it's broken or something. Jack picks up his IPOD and slides it into his pocket. The elev...

Tzvetan Todorov - Narrativology All narratives share a similar 5 act structure 1. A state of equilibrium (All is as it should be.) 2. A disruption of that order by an event. 3. A recognition that the disorder has occurred. 4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption. 5. A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium Propp Character theory Created after reading thousands of Russian folk laws ABSENTATION: A member of the hero's community or family leaves the security of the home environment. This may be the  hero  themselves, or some other relation that the hero must later rescue. This division of the cohesive family injects initial tension into the storyline. This may serve as the hero's introduction, typically portraying them as an ordinary person. INTERDICTION: A forbidding edict or command is passed upon the hero ('don't go there', 'don't do this'). The hero is warned against some action. VIOLATION of INTERDICTION. The prio...

Over is a short film which is presented in reverse order. It is about a refugee who falls from a jet after being hidden in the plane wheel. It begins with an extreme long lengthy shot of the place of death. It then shows people walking past the place of death, with flowers on the roadside. Someone comments that they had no idea who left them. It then shows blood being power washed away through a close up. The use of slow panning to the right creates an uneasy feel. The use of extreme long shots causes the audience to feel removed from the victim. This mirrors politics at the time. Inspiration I think the use of extreme long shots and takes is interesting. The use of a reversed narrative is also interesting as it causes the audience to act like a detective. I think this concept works on longer short films, however I think the brief that we have been given is too short to successfully play with narrative conventions.

Standby is a fantastic short film directed by Charlotte Regan & a BAFTA Nominee. It focuses on the relationship of two police officers and is shot entirely in the car. It uses fast jump cuts to elide time. I really liked how it focuses on a simple narrative, which according to the Director who I met at an event the simple narrative allowed her to really concentrate on getting the technical elements perfect. It uses fast jump cuts and changes in mise-en-scene to elide time It has influenced the type of screenplay I am likely to write, as I think keeping the concept simple is important.