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.
Character plans
Character 1: Alex (son) who is 14 years old and lives with his parents and his little sister in their home in Plymouth (where they were all born and raised). His childhood was good, nothing dramatic ever really happened, his family just aren’t that close. He is fairly introverted as a person.
Alex is at school, in year 10 and doesn’t have many friends, just a couple of close ones. He plays a lot of video games in his spare time.
This character just wants to go home and get through the weekend without an argument. He is told that he has to make them both food so he does, not knowing the consequences
Character 2: Rachel (daughter) is 12 years old and lives with her parents and her brother in their home in Plymouth (where they were all born and raised). Her childhood was good, nothing dramatic ever really happened, her family just aren’t that close. She is not at all introverted, in fact very confident and loud.
Rachel is in school in year 8 and has lots of friends but constantly falls out with them. She likes to read magazines and ring her friends in her spare time.
This character also just wants to go home because she misses her friends (her mum took her phone away for the trip).
Character 3 & 4: Rob and Claire (parents) who are in their 40’s and live with their children in Plymouth. Both Rob and Claire were born and raised in Plymouth. Rob’s parents died fairly young so he had to live with this auntie and uncle and Claire had a pretty average working class upbringing, how whole family working in Plymouth docks. Rob is introverted and Claire is extroverted.
Rob works in an estate agents and Claire is a hospital porter. They have been married for around 20 years and they have a rocky relationship. Rob is very quiet and unmotivated whereas Claire gets irritated by his lack of enthusiasm for life. As to be expected Claire is the social one and Rob hates all his work friends, in his spare time he just looks at pictures of vintage tractors.
Both of these characters go out for dinner leaving the children who nearly kill themselves.
Characters 5 & 6: The couple in the caravan next door who discover the children, they aren’t really too relevant.
Narrative Planning
Firstly the narrative element that I am using for this idea out of the obligatory ones, is a beginning with an enigma. My screenplay will start with a flash-forwards to a moment later in the screenplay, the spectator having no context as to what is going on exactly. It will then jump back to the present and the story will unravel. In that sense this screenplay is non-linear because of the jump in time.
This screenplay will roughly follow the three act structure although it will end in a bit of a cliff hanger so for that reason it doesn’t completely resolve to the point that it was at before. Despite this lack of complete closure it will hint that things are looking up and that all is going to turn out okay. This screenplay would most likely be the journey narrative or the POV narrative as these fit best. It will probably be following the journey narrative as I feel this fits better.
In terms of theory I think there would be an element of Strauss’ binary oppositions with the two children, the boy being very introverted and the girl being the complete opposite. This wouldn’t be a major element, just a little side thing. The screenplay would follow a simplified version of Propp’s theory, the stages being much more subtle and coming after the flash-forwards. The first stage, preparation would be some sort of family argument which leads to the transference which is the family going on a weekend away and the struggle would probably be when the children are left on their own. The return would be the moment the man finds the children almost as its too late but he gets there just in time. There is no definite recognition stage as regarding to whether the situation returns to normal but the audience does get the sense that everything will get better.
This concept of a more subtle and simple narrative structure has been influenced by the films When The Day Breaks and Wasp. These films had a huge emotional impact which I feel was emphasised by the simplicity of the narrative plot.
I have now been working on some draught storyboards for the opening of my screenplay. This is what I have done.
Rosas Film Studies Blog 