Here I am going to be discussing my intial ideas for my screenplay

Rough ideas to be developed:

My first idea: My first idea incorporates social realist elements and is focusing on a group of young people, maybe of a lower income background. The narrative element that I will be using for this idea is a single character being developed throughout the film. The main story would be based around a “business venture” (the purchase and distrubution of a drug of some sort) suggested by a friend in the group. The main character which the story is following is very reluctant but is dragged along with them and runs the risk of getting in trouble as a result. I would like this film to contain an element of dark humor as I think it fits well with social realism. I have taken inspiration from the social realist films I have studied, This is England and Trainspotting.

My second idea: My second idea will include a narrative which portarays a conflict between two people, more specifically girls in primary school. What the dispute is over exactly will never be referenced as such but it will be stupid whatever it is. I would like this one to have some comedic elements aswell because I feel like that would be fitting, especially knowing that young children do and say funny things. I think it would be funny if in the photos the girls looked like they werent ment to be in primary school anymore, sort of much bigger with clothes that barely fit. I don’t know whether this is allowed but I would quite like to look into animation/drawings for my photos instead.

My third idea: For my third idea I would like to incorporate an enigma in terms of the narrative element and I would like to base it around a family dispute of some sort leading to a weekend away which goes wrong.

Finalising My Initial Planning

Idea 1 planning:

Who- The characters in my first idea would be a group of friends from a lower income background, the protagonist being one of the group of friends. There would be around three or four friends in this group, the main protagonist being the “good” one who doesn’t want to take part in the drug based money making scheme.

Where- The location of this would be non-specific but around council estates and generally urban environments. Might have to go to Bristol or Plymouth as they are close bigger cities which have more access to these sort of environments. It would never be in someone’s house, to show the lack of family support and that they are always out on the streets. 

When- It is going to be set in the modern day because I feel that this will be easiest to put across the themes and events as I have more experience of this.

What-The characters will just be normal and hanging out at the beginning before one of the group decides that they want some extra money for whatever reason (haven’t completely decided what yet), meanwhile the spectator will be getting to know and aligning with the one of the characters much more than the rest. One of the girls will suggest buying some drugs and distributing them in order to get money and all of them (even the extremely hesitant protagonist) will get dragged into it. Towards the end the police get involved and there is a comical chase scene however in the end all it is good because one of the characters accidentally throws the drugs into the river.

Why- This happens to show that the girls deserve a second chance and they learn from their mistakes.

Idea 2 planning:

Who- Two girls in primary school, year 6 most likely. They look like they are way too old to be in primary school which is part of the comedic element, they are both equal in terms of protagonists.

Where- It would be set in the playground of a primary school (I don’t know if this would be possible so it could just be a park) and that would be the only location. The whole of the story would conclude in this same location to show the insignificance of children’s feuds.

When-This idea would also be set in the present day or earlier in the 2000’s as it would be easier for me to relate to from personal experience.

What- The girls would have some sort of conflict that arises during their break time, my ideas so far, which are stereotypical reasons for arguments in primary school, are 1, they swapped something (like a hair clip or small toy, something little children keep in their pockets) and now one of the girls wants it back and it starts a fight. The other idea (which comes from my personal experience of primary school) is that all the girls are sat in a long line plaiting each others hair when the girl at the back of the line gets fed up and pulls the hair of the girl in front of her. This dispute will be resolved in the duration of the break time as it is very petty and silly and children don’t tend to hold grudges. As a spectator you would see a narrative which portrays a conflict between the two central characters. The whole point of the narrative is that it is very shallow in terms of the context and that it is completely inconsequential. This is part of the comedic element.

Why- This happens to show how these little disputes and arguments aren’t the end of the world and friendship is better than fighting. I guess you could say it’s a metaphor for something much bigger.

Idea 3

Who- For this idea the main characters are a partially disjointed family who are trying to get closer again. That means there are the two parents and two children, a boy and a girl who are both in their early teens (maybe one is 12 and the other is 14). I would say that the mother is the main protagonist as she is the one who is trying to bring the family closer once again. The father is shown in a similar way to the children, uninterested and unmotivated.

Where- This idea would be set in two main locations, their house and the caravan that they go to on holiday in somewhere like Cornwall. It would not actually be filmed in Cornwall but that is besides the point.

When- This would probably be set in the 90s or early 2000s as I think that is an interesting aesthetic and time period which not much is set in. It wouldn’t be too hard to research as it is fairly recent, some of it from my own experience and then I could just talk to family members etc.

What- This short film would start with an enigma, the first part being in the caravan with the children sat doing teen things, just minding their own business. Their parents would not be present in this part of the film as they had gone out leaving the older child in charge of making them food on a disposable barbeque. You would start to see the children getting restless and hungry and lighting the barbeque before a shot of it starting to rain. The story would then go back to the beginning, in their house, the family arguing and the mother suggesting a holiday and it would just carry on in a linear order from this point to the moment the children decide to bring the barbeque inside because of the rain, not knowing the dangers. The parents would come back and both the children would be passed out and it would end there although it would be suggested that they aren’t dead.

Why- This would be to show that family is important and you should be present and appreciate the time spent with those around you    

The idea that I am most likely to use is my third idea because I feel that it has the best narrative plot in terms of something happening but it not being too extreme that its unbelievable and hard to conclude within the words I am restricted to.

The film would start with an enigma, the first scene in a caravan, the children sitting and minding their own business before the older child gets up and turns on the gas cooker to make some food, maybe some pasta or baked beans (something simple). All this time there is no dialogue or musical score, just diegetic sounds. You then see the children eating the food before a straight cut to the stove, the sound of the gas the only sound. 

Then there would be a jump cut back to the present, the scene starting in medias res with the mother and farther arguing. The mother then suggests a family holiday so they can all spend time together. Next we see them in the car, all in silence. Once they get there the mother suggests that they play a card game as a family. They all play and it all seems very boring. Eventually the mother suggests going out to get some food but the children say that they can’t be bothered so that causes a brief argument before the mother says they can just stay behind and make their own food, and gives them a tin of baked beans. There is then a scene of the parents in some tacky restaurant just idly chatting away when the scene from the beginning is repeated, there are straight cuts between the parents and the children in their different locations, the children now appearing to be asleep on the sofa. There is then a cut to the people in the caravan next door talking to each other because they can smell gas. The man looks around his caravan but finds nothing, he then leaves and goes to knock on the caravan next door, the families caravan. He gets no reply so looks through the window and sees the children lying on the sofa. He opens the door and is hit by a wall of gas. He runs in and grabs the children and lies them on the grass before calling the ambulance. This is when it cuts back to the parents, paying the bill and getting up to leave. The narrative then just carries on with them until they get home and see the people around their caravan. It would end here with a shot of the children lying in the grass but still breathing.