Research to Script
In preparation for writing my own short story/film I need to research others' work.
Firstly, I have identified my story type to be The Rites of Passage or coming of age, I looked on short film websites to try and find a film that was of the same story type. Using the website shortoftheweek.com I found a short film called Worlds We Created which fits into the same story type as mine.
Short Film Analysis
https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2013/11/26/worlds-we-created/
Worlds We Created - 10 minute short film
The setup of the film is the audience being introduced to the main character - a young boy with a very active and vibrant imagination. It is very clear that the child is a fan of space and astronauts - having a telescope and spaceship in his room and watching space shuttles taking off on the TV. Act 1 ends with the little boy going around someone's house to play with the 2 other children - this shows perfectly how the film is focussed on the little boy as when he passes his mother her dialogue can be heard but then as he continues into the house is fades out.
The confrontation of the film is showing the 3 boys play make believe - the main child being an astronaut and the others being a soldier and a cowboy. During this section of the story their imagination takes control of their play believing they are setting off grenades and shooting each other however it shows how their imagination sometimes gets in the way of reality with the main child getting a nose bleed and Act 2 ending with another child falling out of a barn onto the floor below. It looks bad for the child who fell, who is on the floor not moving but as the 2 others run away his foot starts twitching. There is very little dialogue in the movie with it mostly being background music that accompanies what is happening on screen, the dialogue that is shown is out of focus and not important to the story.
The resolution of the film shows one child being found in the woods by a police officer with the main child running all the way home and continuing his imaginative world by him climbing in his spaceship and attempting to escape the world and reality of the child falling but no matter how much you imagine another world, reality is always there and is always going to make its presence. The boy realises that he cannot use his imagination to hide anymore and needs to grow up and face the world for what it is and what happens.
Despite the little dialogue you can clearly see the character of this young boy and the development he undergoes throughout the film. He starts off as a vibrant child thinking the world was his playground and that nothing could stop him and his imagination however by the end he has seen some of the worst things the world has to offer and how cruel reality can be.
Research for my script/story
Synopsis: A group of exchange students are faced with a problem
when their home country suffers a political coup and ceases to exist, leaving
them stranded in a foreign airport with invalid passports, no money and nowhere
to go. The only way to they spend their time is to find out more about the
people they thought they knew everything about.
It will show the coming of age and rites of passage as they are currently at one point and need to progress to the next - while doing this they learn more about their friends and how life can easily change without you realising.
I made a story pyramid for my story - I have 6 main characters but if I were to choose the dominant main character and for the purpose of this pyramid I chose Quinn.
Luggage in Limbo
Quinn O'Leary
Driven, Nerd
Deserted, Uncomfortable Airport
Political Coup Government Overthrown
Foreign Country, Bored, Unable to Leave
Secrets come out, Argument, Trust, Friendship, Betrayed
Talking, Understanding, Thoughtful, Idea, Experimental, Possible Return Home
Characters
Braden O'Malley:
Braden is a 16
year old male, who is quite tall and average, he is well kept - shaved and his
hair is maintained but not really styled doesn’t look to much like his sister,
despite them being twins. He walks at a normal pace and presents himself well,
holding himself up and not slouching. His typical wear is dark jeans or
trousers with a plain t-shirt and coloured shirt over top.
Braden is very quiet and timid,
especially compared to his sister who is loud and outspoken. Braden surprises
everyone when they find out he is close friends with the school’s Gaelic
football player Patrick. Braden is very much interested in music and plays for
the school.
Bree O’Malley:
Bree is a 16 year
old female, who is on average build and size; she does not look much like her
brother. She keeps her hair plain and down, taking care of it but not caring too
much for styling. She wears makeup everyday but nothing fancy or time
consuming. She walks quite quickly with a long stride and is always on the go.
She doesn’t have the latest most expensive clothes but she enjoys her clothing
and has a relaxed preppy style.
Bree is a smart confident girl who is very quick to make comments and jokes about everyone in the group especially her being best friend Kira, who isn’t always the brightest, and Patrick. She is friends with lots of people around the school and her bubbly friendly personality is known by everyone.
Patrick McGinty:
Patrick is a 16
year old male, who is quite tall and athletically built. His hair is often
covered by a hat – baseball cap or beanie and shaving isn’t high up on his list
of priorities. He walks with a slight swagger as he likes to think he’s better than
others. He is always in sportswear, tracksuit bottoms or shorts and a range of
hoodies and jackets of either Adidas or
Nike.
Patrick is one of the school’s best Gaelic football players, he’s overconfident with his looks but never his ability on the pitch – he’s strong and fast and someone you want on your team. He helps and stands up for the people he cares about and those who care about him, once beating up another kid for making fun of Quinn. Despite his achievement on pitch his work in the classroom has always suffered, he gets distracted quickly and bored quickly and was too confident to put his hand up for help. Braden realised this and quickly began tutoring Patrick, they formed a strong friendship and he soon began hanging around the O’Malley’s.
Kira Mulligan:
Kira is a 16 year old female, who is tall and slim. She has long hair and takes pride in making is look nice through different hairstyles. She has very good eyebrows and is never seen without make up and will get up early just to make sure her eyeliner is on point. She walks with a long stride, quite quickly, and holds her head up high. She has the latest clothes and will always overdress for everything and makes casual comfy clothes look good.
Kira is Bree’s childhood best friend and
Quinn’s next-door neighbour. She may not be the brightest, taking things a
little too literally and sometimes speaks her mind too much but she was the one
who brought the group together. Before, it was just the 3 of them Bree, Braden
and her – Braden always felt like the tag along twin brother until Patrick
joined the group. Kira is known as the ‘pretty one’ and it would annoy her but
she strives for the popularity it brings her and the numerous party invites
too.
Quinn Mac Loughlin:
Quinn is a 16
year old female, who has a small build. She always wears her hair in a ponytail
and wears glasses. She normally walks at a slow pace but with others is
constantly trying to catch up, she holds herself by closing in herself. She
wears simple jeans and t shirts and is never seen in a skirt or dress.
Quinn is the smart nerdy one of the group who always seems to have a plan and answer for everything. She has high expectations for herself and takes pride in her schoolwork, before moving into the house next door to Kira, she was a lonely bookworm who was only recognised in the library, and by her foster brother Diarmuid. She worked alongside Braden with tutoring Patrick, especially when they were trying to keep it under wraps so no one would find out. She is thinking of going into law or psychology at university.
Quinn is the smart nerdy one of the group who always seems to have a plan and answer for everything. She has high expectations for herself and takes pride in her schoolwork, before moving into the house next door to Kira, she was a lonely bookworm who was only recognised in the library, and by her foster brother Diarmuid. She worked alongside Braden with tutoring Patrick, especially when they were trying to keep it under wraps so no one would find out. She is thinking of going into law or psychology at university.
Diarmuid
O’Leary:
Diarmuid is a 16 year old male, who is of average build,
he takes care of himself by shaving, he will style his hair if he is going out
will often leave it un styled for casual events. He walks at a normal pace and,
standing tall but slouchy at times when he’s tired – which he often is. He has
a casual style and will often repeats the same outfits every couple days, but
not so that it’s predicable.
Diarmuid is the foster brother of Quinn, kept a secret from everyone in the school for fear of people finding out the family’s history. He often seems like the outcast of the group since he has no label, or not one that he’s willing to share; he’s had a troubled life and his personality reflects this – he’s quite guarded and will try not to take sides nor start conflict.
When it comes to casting I will use colour blind casting, this is where I will cast character roles with no specific agenda as to their race or ethnicity. The only characters that race and ethnicity will affect is the characters of Braden and Bree, who are siblings and therefore need to be the same race but do not have to look alike.
Diarmuid is the foster brother of Quinn, kept a secret from everyone in the school for fear of people finding out the family’s history. He often seems like the outcast of the group since he has no label, or not one that he’s willing to share; he’s had a troubled life and his personality reflects this – he’s quite guarded and will try not to take sides nor start conflict.
When it comes to casting I will use colour blind casting, this is where I will cast character roles with no specific agenda as to their race or ethnicity. The only characters that race and ethnicity will affect is the characters of Braden and Bree, who are siblings and therefore need to be the same race but do not have to look alike.
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