STORY TELLING UNIT: "The Meeting" Video Blog 1

STORY TELLING UNIT: "The Meeting" pre writing

 Title: “The Meeting”

Genre: Drama/Romance

Location: Medway, Kent

The Idea: Opening yet another rejection letter Eli finds himself in the heart of the recession unable to get a job. Struggling to pay his bills and his rent he finds rescue at the bottom of the bottle, he stumbles around the high street of Rochester. On the verge of passing out he is approached by a girl in a pink hat who offers to help him home.

Eli wakes up the next morning in his bed with no recollection of how he got home or in bed for that matter. He finds a note saying “You’re welcome” which just adds to the mystery of how he got home. Hung-over he goes to a café and a girl in a pink hat catches his eye. Unable to recall where he knows this girl from he sits alone in the café. She sees Eli and walks over to him and introduces herself expecting Eli to know who she is.

Throughout their meeting Eli and Alexis talk about how she helped him home the night before and tell each other stories about their lives, their past and what they want for their future. Such as Eli looking for work, Alexis’ car crash she was involved in when she was younger and Eli’s parents who refuse to help him in any way. Alexis constantly tells Eli to keep trying for a job and to not let it get the better of him. Things can only get better. As he is about the leave the cafe he gets the courage to ask Alexis if she would like to meet again the next day.

Eli is awoken the next day by his buzzer when he gets to the door there is a bundle of letters scattered on the floor. Opening the letters which are a mixture of bills and rejection letters one in particular catches his eye and he quickly rips open the envelope and reads the letter that is inside. To his amazement it is an acceptance letter for one of his top priority jobs. In the ecstasy of the moment Eli runs up the stairs and phones Alexis. While on the phone he pours out the left over’s of his booze into the sink and tells Alexis to get ready and meet him at the café in one hour. Eli gets into his car with the acceptance letter in his hand to show Alexis. On the drive to the café Eli still can’t believe his luck. He has a job and has met a girl that he likes. Everything is finally fitting into place for him. He takes another quick look at the letter taking his eyes off the road for a split second. Everything goes black. The sound of screeching breaks and crushing metal is heard.

Theme: Live everyday like it’s your last.

Characters: Eli in his early twenties is another victim of the recession. Trying to find a job in a jobless market he is struggling to pay his rent and bills. Unable to get any support from his family and rejection letter after rejection letter Eli has turned to drink to help with his pain.

Alexis a free spirit in her early twenties is a happy, fun loving, quirky and impulsive individual who would do anything to help anyone. When she was younger she was involved in a car crash and has been living off the money she received ever sense she turned eighteen. She does a lot of volunteer work for charities.

Setting: Present day Rochester In a small café and in Eli’s flat.

STORY TELLING UNIT: "The Meeting" story development

With today's lecture I realised that even with my revised version of "The Meeting" that it would still be a struggle to fit the whole story into 10 minutes. So I went back to the drawing board and have managed to slightly change the story to make it a lot more achievable in 10 minutes by making the story more about the writer and the meeting only lasting a couple of hours in one day. I also changed the main characters name to Eli as I noticed there was another story in the class with the main characters name being Sidney. My third change for "The Meeting" can be seen below.

 When Eli, a young writer in his early twenties struggling with writers block and trying to get his previous book off the ground, opens yet another rejection letter he hits rock bottom. Finding rescue at the bottom of the bottle, he stumbles around the high street of Rochester. On the verge of passing out on a bench Eli is approached by a girl in a pink hat who offers to help him home.

Eli wakes up the next morning in his bed with no recollection of how he got home or in bed for that matter. He finds a note saying “You’re welcome” which just adds to the mystery of how he got home. Hung-over he goes to a cafe and a girl in a pink hat catches his eye. Unable to recall where he knows this girl from he sits alone in the cafe. She sees Eli and walks over to him and introduces herself.

Throughout their meeting Eli and Alexis talk about how she helped Eli home the night before and tell each other stories about their lives, their past and what they want for their future. Such as Eli's writers block, Alexis’ car crash she was involved in when she was younger, Eli’s parents rejection of his writing career. As their meeting progresses and they get to know each other better. The story of Eli’s career is quickly develops in his head he suddenly realises that Alexis is his muse. Needing to immediately write it down Eli jumps from his seat in the cafe and kisses Alexis on the cheek and runs towards the door. When he gets outside he decides to takes a leap of faith and runs back into the cafe to ask Alexis out. 

STORY TELLING UNIT: "The Meeting" story development

After much thought I have decided to change the start of my story from Sid losing his job to him being a struggling writer who is annoyed and fed up of getting his manuscript rejected. I have also changed the time scale of the whole story from a couple of months to one major week before jumping ahead two weeks at the end. By doing this I believe it will make my script more achievable in a ten minute time period. 

STORY TELLING UNIT: "The Meeting" development

Today I got a very exciting e-mail. I got given the go ahead from local Kent record label tinrobotrecords.co.uk/ stating that I can use their band The Zoo Community Jazz Band for a song for my short film. They have also stated I can also use the same band for my trailer. All they asked in return was that they and the band get credited in the film. 

STORY TELLING UNIT: "The Meeting" development

After getting some feedback from Simon about my first story for "The Meeting" I took his advice and developed it into more of a story.

When Sid gets fired from his job; losing the only thing he had left in his life, he hits rock bottom. Finding rescue at the bottom of the bottle, he stumbles around the high street of Rochester. On the verge of passing out on a bench Sid is approached by a girl in a pink hat who offers to help him home.

When Sid wakes up the next morning in his bed with no recollection of how he got home or in bed for that matter. He finds a note saying “You’re welcome” which just adds to the mystery of how he got home. Hung-over he goes to a cafe and a girl in a pink hat catches his eye. Unable to recall where he knows this girl from he sits alone in the cafe. She sees Sid and walks over to him and introduces herself.

They immediately hit it off and decide to meet up every weekend at the same cafe. They meet up every weekend for a couple of months and quickly fall in love with each other.

One day Sid is in the cafe alone waiting for Alexis who never shows. Upset Sid turns to his old ways and goes to buy a bottle of vodka. But at the last minute he decides not to go back down his old path and to face the problem head on. He travels to Alexis’ home to find out why she never showed up. When Alexis lets him into her home she reluctantly tells him that she is pregnant. Expecting Sid to be mad she is taken back when Sid celebrates his joy of finding out the news that he is going to be a dad.

STORY TELLING UNIT: "The Meeting" development

My first idea for "The Meeting"

When Sid gets fired from his job; losing the only thing he had left in his life, he hits rock bottom. Fighting depression after his parent’s death three years ago, he can’t seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Numb and alone in a dirty dark flat Sid tries to commit suicide by taking an overdose. Staring at a photo of his parents he lets life slowly slip away. Sid’s best friend and roommate Max finds him passed out on the sofa just in time to save him from the brink of death.

During Sid’s recovery Max can’t take it anymore, he is a nervous wreck always worrying about Sid. On a whim Max decides to take Sid away on vacation for a couple of days to a small town outside London. Secretly, Max wants to keep a closer eye on Sid. But unfortunately for Max, Sid is having none of it and when they arrive in Rochester Sid walks off leaving Max to book them into the B&B alone.  

Walking through the town centre Sid comes across a quirky little cafe and decides to go in for a coffee. When he walks through the door a girl wearing a bright pink hat catches his eye. Sitting drinking his coffee Sid can’t stop staring at the girl and she turns to look at him. Embarrassed Sid quickly looks away hoping she hadn’t seen him staring at her. Luckily for Sid she did see him and without saying a word comes and sits in the chair opposite him. For the first time in years Sid smiles. 

STORY TELLING UNIT: "The Meeting" development

I have decided to film my whole script for "The Meeting" and I am going to edit and finish it on the side to make my first short film. Coming from Belfast I want to use local unsigned band from Northern Ireland to be the soundtrack to my film and for the song in the trailer. I created an account on a Northern Ireland music form chordblossom.com and made a topic stating what I was looking for http://chordblossom.com/messageboard/topic/426-songs-needed-for-short-film/ By the end of the day I have already had four submissions from bands already which is amazing!
Two of the artists have stated they would write a song specifically for the film. I want 3/4 songs for the whole film one of which is going to be my own band. I have stated that there will be no payment for being in the film and all the artists so far have been happy with this as being in the film and credited is payment enough.
I am looking forward to this collaboration as it will benefit both me and the artists that get involved. 

STORY TELLING UNIT: "The Meeting" research

Here is a short film I found on Youtube. Its by a new director called Mathieu Ratthe and the short film is called "LOVEFIELD"
He tells the whole story in just over five minutes with very little dialogue but still manages to shock the audience with an amazing ending!
I love this short film and it has given me some more insight into making short films.


Everyone check this out!

STORY TELLING UNIT: Pre writing practice

Today we got put into groups of two. I was put into a group with Jonny. We had to come up with all the information for the story by practicing pre-writing to make the story full and the characters more realistic.
This was our attempt

Title: Race

Genre: Drama/Action

The Idea: Set in London 2018, the government has set forth an act to separate all races into different areas in which they are not allowed to leave. The penalty is death. 


Daniel and Nikki are a happily married couple until they get separated due to the act. In the heat of the moment Daniel swears he will see his wife again. After Daniel gets transferred to the “White District” he quickly becomes friends with another man; Matthew who has also went through a similar experience. Secretly meeting underground in London Daniel and Matthew create an army to fight back against the government in order to get back to their families and restore order. In a desperate attempt for freedom, Daniel and Matthew’s army devise a plan to attack the government. This turns into a full-blown riot against White District and the government.


Unknown to Daniel and Matthew the other districts have also created secret armies and when they see the images on the news they break out and join in the fight for freedom. As Nikki watches the news in shock she sees a familiar face and breaks down in sadness unable to do anything about seeing her husband Daniel being beat to death by the authorities. Through the monumental riot the world see what Britain has come too and the government is forced to step down, Nikki continues in her husbands footsteps and takes control of the fight to restore order.

Theme: It takes one person to truly believe in something worth fighting for but their message never fully gets across until someone dies for their cause.

Characters: Daniel – White British male ex army in his 30's. Daniel is a hardworking, brave individual who loves his wife, and wants to have a family. He left the Army after finishing his last tour of Iraq where his brother was killed.

Matthew – White British male in his 20s. Matthew was adopted at a young age by a family of a different race and was separated from them when the new government came into power. Matthew is a smart individual who has just finished university-studying Law.

Nikki – Black British female who is married to Daniel. Nikki is very protective over her husband and wanted him to leave the army before he actually did. Nikki is an experienced midwife and good with kids, she also wants to have a family.

Setting: London 2018, the BNP have taken over the government and forced all races living in Britain to be separated into different Districts around the country according to their skin colour. 

STORY TELLING UNIT: "Spaced" synopsis

Strangers “Tim” (Simon Pegg) a struggling comic book artist and “Daisy” (Jessica Stevenson) a wannabe journalist, cross paths in a Cafe in North London. After meeting they find out that they both are looking for a new place to live. Tim is looking for a new home after splitting with his girlfriend and Daisy wants to leave the house full of wasters she currently lives with. They meet every day in the cafe looking for new homes in different newspapers, magazines and advertisements until they find the perfect home. But there’s a catch, “Professional couples only.” Tim and Daisy decide to pretend to be a couple in order to try and get the flat.

On arriving at the flat for the viewing Tim and Daisy meet Landlady “Marsha” (Julia Deakin) an older woman who is a lot younger at heart than her actual age. After the viewing Marsha accepts Tim and Daisy’s story and agrees to let them rent the flat. Tim and Daisy quickly move in with the help of Tim’s best friend “Mike” (Nick Frost) an army fanatic who cannot join the British Army due to a retina injury he received by Tim egging him on to jump from a tree.

 

During the move Tim comes across one of his neighbours “Brian” (Mark Heap) a psychotic artist who lives in the flat under Tim. The group of five soon become close friends and all sit at Tim and Daisy’s table sharing stories of each other’s lives over some drinks and a couple of cigarettes. Creating what will soon become a continuous setting throughout the series.  

 

“Spaced” is a thirty minute long, seven part series situation comedy which also brings in elements of drama, romance and surrealism into each episode. It follows five twenty somethings through their everyday life of trying to get by and their relationships and life adventures. Throughout the series a lot of pop culture references come into play, showing links to television shows, movies and sci-fi comic books such as “Scooby Doo”.

 

The fashion, music and the references to cannabis throughout the series reflect the late nineties era in which “Spaced” is set, giving a realistic feel and touch of the time to this surreal series. Throughout the series we see the characters go through a lot of different scenarios that allow you to see more of their personalities in their own individual stories that exist alongside the major story, making it more interesting.

 

Bursting with new young talent, director Edgar Wright is as unique and individual as the series itself. Combined with the writing of Simon Pegg “Spaced” is new, fresh and unique.

 

STORY TELLING UNIT: "Spaced" The Pitch

“Spaced” is a thirty minute sitcom based on five individuals who live in a flat, who get into mischief involving romance and life adventures.

Diary 02/02/12

Today was our first proper day in uni that wasn't an introduction! We got given a brief to make a 3 minute film in 3 hours. We got put in teams I was with Dave, Tory and Mel. We came up with the idea to do a drama/horror. We made a really good team and we worked really well together. We were faced with a couple of problems during filming, the main one being time management as we ran out of time towards the end. Through this short assignment I learned a lot about shooting and making films/TV shows and how to become better at structuring a shoot.