So it's time to begin writing/preparing our first major project and more importantly my first ever script. Of course I feel quite nervous as it is something I've never done before, however I couldn't wait to get started! To help with my planning, Simon allocated us a worksheet which included idea facts and sections based around my script:
Pitch Development Day: Idea Facts
Genre: (circle)
Comedy
Thriller
Drama
Location:
Primarily at Jacksons Field (located in front of Rochester UCA) however is introduced on Chatham high-street.Characters:
1.
Joe – A 17 year old boy who has grown up
in the suburban outskirts of Medway. Joe is portrayed in the upper class where
he lives with both parents whom work in London and attends a private sixth
form, studying his A levels. Although Joe is portrayed in a positive manor, he
is also aware of the violent gang members due to his cousin Tay being in a
gang. He is portrayed in my story to be a character whom is quiet and doesn’t
interact with the audience so that the climax of my story seems more dramatic.
2. Tay – Tay is a 19 year old boy whom has a very parallel life compared to
Tay, despite the two being related. He grew up in the inner town of Chatham
where he has grown up in a poverty-based and gritty surroundings. Unlike Joe,
Tay lives in the iconic council multi-story apartment with only his mother as
he has never known his father. Nevertheless, Tay is involved in the local known
gang where crime and violence is almost considered casual for the gang. Despite
this, Tay is portrayed in a more positive state compared to his other gang
members – he see’s morality in some cases and is considered to be quite
affectionate especially with anything which may affect his family.
Goal:
To reinforce the gritty atmosphere and
realism provoked in some areas of South East England by fictionalizing a modern
topic which most young people can relate to. This consists of showing the
importance of being a member of a gang and the harsh reality gangs can portray.
This is challenged by creating a personalized problem for one of my characters
(when Tay’s cousin Joe is put in danger) thus leading to the character being
put in a difficult decision which challenges his reputation as a gang member
and his self-conscience and morality. To generalize, I am focusing “The
Meeting” to be both metaphorical and literal – the literal meeting is Joe
meeting his cousin whilst being with a gang, and the metaphorical meeting being
the meeting of Tay’s reputation as a gang member and his morality to see
whether he helps his cousin or not.
Problem:
Joe is attacked and mugged by members of
Tay’s gang whilst taking a shortcut along a field to a party. Tay realizes it’s
his cousin and then helps Joe and attempts to get back his stolen phone and
wallet. A gang member called George then becomes angry due to Tay going against
the gang which eventually leaves to Tay getting stabbed by George.
Change:
The change in the story is the change of
morality of the character Tay from being a member of the gang to using his
conscience and helping his endangered cousin. This change also shows how gangs
can be serious to such an extent that it leads to violence and even death in
some cases, thus reinforcing the gritty nature of some gangs
The Idea:
The main idea of my story is to firstly
begin with a narrative that shows the juxtaposition of the two characters life
to show a parallel of Tay’s gritty life compared to Joe’s arguably ‘better’
life. Nevertheless, the two characters should meet so that the audience can
learn that they are related. This should be down Chatham high-street so that
the audience can familiarize with the location. After this, Joe is walking to a
party alone where he walks through Jacksons to take a short cut – this is where
the problem occurs. The ending of my story leads to Tay (whom becomes the
protagonist as he helps Joe from being mugged) to be stabbed by one of his own
gang members. However, the story finishes untold and the audience are not told
whether Tay survives from the stabbing or not.
Pitch:
A gritty hard-hitting drama focusing on the intense
battle of a gang member’s reputation against his morality to save his own
cousin from danger.
Carrying on from my first initial research and ideas, I will continue to work on my story/script which may lead to some changes in my work so that I can aim to make my first script draft efficient and to make it to my best standards!