Film or Screenplay

I have been debating a lot over the past few weeks as to whether I will be creating my own film or writing a screenplay, and I have weighed up the pros and cons of each option.
Creating an actual film is something that I always love to do because it gives you a finished product and a sense of achievement once it's finished. There is also so much more creativity that a screenplay can't convey in a film, for instance, the actor's own take on the script and their individual performance...
However, writing a screenplay also has it's benefits. For instance, more so than with making a film, a screenplay gives you complete creative control of the story in terms of characters, setting and props, whereas often with making a film you are limited to the resources that you are already able to get your hands on.
Upon weighing up both the positives and negatives of each option, I have concluded to write a screenplay. I think this will give me more creative freedom and space to write my idea exactly the way I would like it to be, without having to worry about the constrictions of the locations, actors and crew that I have available to me. With this I will also be creating a storyboard where I will be taking photos of the camera angles that I would like to use if I were to actually make this film.

Dialogue

In the lesson today we reflected on the effect of dialogue in scripts and how dialogue can shape audience response. We looked at three extracts from different screenplays and compared how the dialogue had been presented for different situations, one from The Full Monty, one from Good Will Hunting and one from Fargo. From this, I learnt that dialogue should always

• have a clear function in the story, so should develop the plot or the characters 
• relate to what is being shown onscreen
• should reflect the personality of the character that is speaking
• be used to deliver what the action and visuals can't
• not repeat information that has already been made aware to the audience, unless this has a specific part in the story

All of these elements have helped me to mould my own dialogue for my characters and has given me more confidence with writing it.

Narrative structures

Narrative is an extremely important element of film, since it serves the basis of the story being told - it is about the content of the story and the from in which the story is told. Narrative can be shaped and twisted in lots of different ways, with different theorists proposing different ideas about it, but a general three act structure is often widely accepted as the best form for a story to follow, both in literature and in film.

The first act of the three act structure is widely known as the Set Up. In this act, the main characters in the story are introduced as well as the world that they live in and the confrontation that is going to drive the story forwards. This is often initiated with an inciting incident, that really begins the plot of the story. The Set Up should also have a strong hook - this means that it should get the audience member watching excited, and interested to see what happens next. It should end with the first plot point, where something might happen that completely changes the course of the story.

The second act is often called the Confrontation. This is the middle act, and is usually the longest, taking up half of the screen time. In this act, many different events should happen, but it is often difficult for the writer because the characters and conflicts are all established. The plot has to keep moving forward and not get boring. In this section, the stakes for the characters should rise, and by the midpoint, the protagonist should have a clear goal. This act often introduces subplots to keep the story interesting. It should also have a second plot point, which throws the narrative into the third act.

The third act can be called the resolution. In this act, we have the final confrontation, and the conclusion of the aftermath. It is usually the shortest act but also the most intense. During the resolutions, loose ends should also be tied up to create a satisfying ending to the film.

Vladimir Propp believed that in Russian folklore, there were 31 functions that appeared in each story, creating a narrative. These had variations within each story, but the basics of the structure was usually there in some form. He also resolved that there were 7 broader character types that most stories included - The Hero, The Villain, The Dispatcher, The Helper, The Princess (or prize), The Donor and The False Hero.

Claude Levi-Strauss examined the idea of narrative by looking at binary opposites in stories, for instance good and evil. Instead of looking at the linear arrangement of plot points, he focused more deeply of the differences between themes.

Tzvetan Todorov found that in many stories, the narrative starts out in a state of equilibrium before something disrupts this state, and that this begins a chain of events that drives the story forwards. The story is then only resolved when that state of equilibrium is re-achieved, or alternatively, a new one is created. In many ways this is similar to the three act structure.

Roland Barthes thought that audience members coming from different perspectives when viewing the story should be able to create different meanings for the narrative by looking at it from specific viewpoints and with different background experiences. He also said that narratives are interwoven with five codes that encourage one to maintain interest in a story - The Hermeneutic Code, The Proairetic Code, Th Semic Code, The Symbolic Code and The Cultural Code.

The narrative of a short film will clearly take a different shape to a feature, purely because it is shorter. Most, however, still take on the idea of the three act structure in some way, but just in a much more condensed manner. Characters are often stereotypes or ones that are relatable, since there isn't as much time to develop them, and there may not be all of the character types that longer narratives may have - it would most likely have one to three of these character types, or sometimes none at all. Subplots would also be disregarded, since for a small space of time all of the action will want to be focused on the main plot of the story.

Slap review

Slap is a short film made in 2015 and was directed by Nick Rowland. It is about a boy who feels comfortable wearing makeup but he hides it from his friends and family. He grows up in an area of England where it seems as though being like him is not very well accepted, especially since he is involved in the very typically masculine activity of boxing and his father seems to be very into this. One day he puts the makeup and dress on but his friend is getting chased because he is gay and Connor feels that he has to do something about it. He fights the homophobic guys and they and the friend see that he is in makeup and a dress, so he has no choice but to reveal himself to his friend. The friend, although surprised, seems fairly accepting of everything and he tries to understand what Connor has been going through. He goes to a fancy dress party, and decides to go to it in his dress and the makeup that he has been practicing. His friends all think it's a bit strange, and when his friend tries to kiss him in the bathroom he ends up being outed to all of the people at the party. His girlfriend reacts really badly and starts shouting. It ends without a resolution, and we don't know what happens after he starts boxing again - all we know is that he is angry and probably very upset.

The genre of this film was labelled as coming of age, but a genre that might fit it better would be social realism. It had a gritty feel to it that made it seem quite realistic in terms of mis en scene and the films general atmosphere. The costumes and sets also made the film seem quite realistic, with the characters wearing everyday clothes and living in fairly average looking houses, seeming to be from a working class background. A lot of the camera work in this film was hand held, creating a closer and more intimate relationship with the characters, and again giving it the realistic feel. A lot of the sound was diegetic, without much music to take away from the action onscreen and take away the sense of realism. The acting also played a huge part in this film, because the subject matter was quite striking and could be seen as controversial.

If I was going to take any element of this film into my own work, it would probably be the idea of addressing a certain topic that deals with social issues, or problems that teenagers face. I also enjoyed the realism in this film and might take this into my own work.

Over Review

Over is a film made in 2015 and was directed by Jorn Threlfall. It was a true crime drama about a man who fell out of a plane trying to immigrate to England. However, the narrative is shown backwards, so the last thing we see is the climax of the story, which actually takes place at the beginning. We begin by being shown an empty street at night, which is very quiet and deserted.  It looks completely tranquil, as though nothing of note has happened there in a while. As the film goes on, we are taken through the day that has previously happened, being shown the same street at different times. We soon start to realise that something really has happened there, but as an audience menever we just don’t know what that thing is. Instead, we get clues as to what has happened, for instance, we see some flowers have been laid to show that someone has died and we see some evidence bags of clothes, gloves and a torch. This keeps the audience guessing about the crime that was actually committed. At a later point in the film, but an earlier point in the day, we see police involvement, but still are not told exactly what happened, keeping a viewer engaged with the plot and this one event that has happened.

When the final event does happen and a man falls from the sky, it is so quick and so sudden that it has a huge impact for a moment, giving the audience a huge shock. However, since the street is so quiet and empty, and no one has woken up yet, it feels almost anticlimactic, since it was so quick and if you blinked you would have missed it. This emphasises the title and the horror of the situation - the man’s life is over so quickly, and nothing else happens. No one even knows. This makes it even more somber and moving for the audience when we find out that it is a true story.

The Mis en scene used is very realistic and relatable, since you could imagine this street in your own life being anywhere, which again makes the event that happened even more shocking. Many wide shots are used, which distance you slightly from the scene. It is as if you are really there, watching this scene play out from a distance. The editing is also very slow, with barely any cuts being made apart from a new time of day being revealed.

I might use the elements of realism that this film used in my own work, and try to replicate and mundane everyday life to create a more relatable atmosphere for an audience. I might also take elements from how the film was structured, using timings to play a part in the narrative.