Planning - Script for Preliminary Task

INT. OFFICE ROOM – MIDDAY

ESTABLISHING SHOT - HIGH ANGLE FROM THE BACK OF THE ROOM:

There is a businessman (John) sitting in a chair behind a table, dressed in a suit. He is waiting calmly for the man who killed his only son (Mac), for he has the law on his side of the argument and he knows they are watching Mac's every move.

MANY DIFFERENT SHOTS SHOWING JOHN SITTING, WAITING.

LOW ANGLE MID SHOT:

John checks his watch one last time and at this moment Mac starts to tentatively open the door.

EXTREME CLOSE UP:

Door handle turns.

POV:

Mac sticks his head around the corner of the door to see John. John motions for Mac to sit down.

POV: FROM CHAIR

Mac walks towards the chair and...

HIGH ANGLE OF WHOLE ROOM

Sits down.

MAC

So?

JOHN

So?

OTS OF EACH CHARACTER, SHOT REVERSE SHOT

MAC

So, why did you call me to come here?

JOHN

Because the police told me to...

MAC

What?! What do the police want with me?!

JOHN

Don't play this like you don't know what you did!

MAC

(Perplexed)

What did I do?!

JOHN

(Getting more agitated)

I'm not here to play games! You know what you did to my son!

MAC

(Looks even more confused, then the truth dawns on him)

You're that guy from the news! With the son that was kid-

And you think I did it?!

Why? How? When?!

JOHN

You know the answer to those questions! That's why you're here! To give US the answers!

MAC

But I didn't do it! And I don't even know how you think I did it!

JOHN

WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!

(Stands up and flips table out of the way - one shot at eye level and the other at a low angle)

WE KNOW YOU DID IT! SO TELL US WHERE HE IS NOW!!!

Mac is on the floor - utterly terrified.

JOHN

TELL US NOW! TELL US WHERE HE IS!!!

MAC

I... I'm so sorry... But I really have no idea where your son is...

Planning - Early Ideas for Preliminary Task

I have created this blog to document my progression when going through this Media Studies A-Level course. Through the AS section of the course, I will be taking on most of the roles myself - meaning that I will be: director, actor, cinematographer, producer, etc. when doing these projects. I will of course enlist the help of friends where appropriate and will also document their contributions to the projects on this blog.

For the preliminary task I will have to create a short sequence. In which a character opens a door, crosses a room, sits down in a chair and exchanges a few lines of dialogue with another character. I will have to demonstrate knowledge of the 180 degree rule, and show a match on action and shot reverse shot in my film.

I love the idea of experimenting a lot with this task because I have seen many other student's preliminary tasks and they are very similar. So I will write a short script, but won't actually create a shot list or storyboard as I like the idea of looking at so many different ways of doing simple tasks - and I cannot do that by simply coming up with ways in my head (I will have to get a camera and 'play around' with the same action a lot of times). Hopefully this experimentation will help me be more precise when approaching my main task - as I will have some favourite shot types and ways of showing simple things on camera.

I think this approach will be very useful when approaching my main task, however it will take a little time to do and I will not be able to practice creating shot lists or storyboards. The preliminary task will not by any means be a 'perfect film' however it will feature the techniques listed and will be a great stepping stone to creating my main task.

For the preliminary tasks I have had a lot of different ideas, such as: a secret agent being given orders to kill someone; a parent meeting a teacher about their son in school; a police officer interrogating a criminal; and simply a character meeting a friend for a drink. But I have decided to create a sequence where the protagonist has been accused of something illegal and is meeting the person that has accused him; the conversation gets heated and in the end the protagonist flips the table over and breaks down in tears.

This will show a match on action when he flips the table over and a shot reverse shot when the two characters are arguing. I will set to work creating the first draft of the script as soon as possible, then will enlist the help of two friends - one who likes to act for camera and another who can film it for me.

For my main task however, I have decided to go down the route of science fiction. This is because I (like a lot of us) enjoy films about very special people, and who are more special than superheroes or aliens or any other science fiction genre cliché? But to go with my experimental way of filming, I would like to shoot the entire 2 minutes without showing the protagonist's face - until the final shot that is. I want to do this because I feel faces just show the audience exactly what is happening, when I can show the audience what is happening in a less 'in your face' way (i.e. the way the characters walk, or the way they are standing, etc.). During the 2 minute opening, there will be a voice-over telling the audience a little about the character, ending with the last shot where the camera will tilt up to the protagonist's face and a cut to black for the final part of the voice-over (leaving the audience with an enigma of who the protagonist really is).

When I explain it, it may seem a little confusing. This is because some ideas aren't entirely thought out, and I find it hard to explain these thoughts in words - it will become clearer when I start to make more progress in the course.