Designing the Visual World through: (examples)
- Characters
- Situations
- Location/sets
- Scenarios
- Atmosphere
- Colours
- Costumes/hair/make up
- Props
= Lord of the Rings
- Language
=
- Music & Sound effects
=
Some tips:
Who are you writing for?
-----------------------------------------
Use non-humans for new story:
Hero - Jack >> Nerd
Heroine - Jill >> Ms Sunshine
Villain - Alex >> (male/female - up to you)
Comic Relief - Bob / Cherry >> (male/female - optional)
Characterization: (you tell me who they are, what they are like, let me get to know them - using your script)
- Special Voice, behaviours, actions
- X-Factor
- Item (eg Mr Bean's green mini, teddy bear)
- Cliches / Stereotypes
- Antagonist / Protagonist / Supporting
Storytelling techniques: (must use at least 1 type, you can mix as well)
- journey / quest or goal-achievement / education
- rivalry / testing
- discovery
- love
1st version draft for Ex1
“5:55
pm,” I took a peek at my mobile phone’s digital clock. “Five
minutes left, and I am still three stops away from my destination!”
An
important event awaits me when the clock strikes 6’o clock sharp. A
candlelight dinner at in Marina Bay Sands with my sweetheart whom I
have not seen since a year she left for her studies abroad.
“I
am definitely going to be late.” I thought furiously to myself, and
wishing I had left home earlier – even 5 minutes earlier would have
been good enough. My fingers began to fiddle with the train metal
pole in an impatient and random manner. “If only the train could go
faster…!”
As
I mentally countdown to the minutes till 6, the familiar voice
recording started playing through the crowded train.
“Next
stop, City Hall Inter…”
I
knew what station was next even without the recording telling me so –
it is probably something that one will automatically learned after
riding through the same train line for the last 10 years. But
something was amiss this time round. Why did the recording stopped
halfway during its broadcast?
As
sudden as I asked the question to myself, an almost too-clear of an
answer was delivered in face value.
Teeeiii……
The
sound of a now dead power source, which was then quickly followed by
the absence of the usual running noise of the air conditional system.
Total darkness blanketed the entirety of the train which had ceased
movements.
“Wha…
what happened?”
“Black-out?
Train can black-out?!”
“Mommy!!”
Voices
filled with a mix of fear and anxiety erupted from all possible
corners of the train. I merely stood among the voices of the people I
could not see; not knowing what to do myself. My mind could only
thought of the much awaited dinner that awaits me outside the doors
of the train that I was now stuck desperately within. I took some
time to process and make sense out of the sudden turn of events.
The
emergency back-up lights, as dim as they were, were now activated.
And this made things even clearer – we were facing a real
emergency incident. Something that has never happened for as long as
24 years in Singapore history, and I am freaking
caught in it!
“So
hard to breathe…”
Indeed,
I could feel the air getting heavier, as well as my breathing. But
that was to be expected, with hundreds of us passengers being
entrapped in a closed area with barely any ventilation. We need to
evacuate quick, or risk getting suffocated. However, what could we do
except wait for outside help to come?
CRASH!!
The
noise of what sounded like the shattering of glass. Has help arrived?
No…
Someone had instead decided to use an on-board fire extinguisher to
smash a glass panel of the train’s door. I don’t know who that
was, but I… no, we probably felt grateful for such an action, as
rash as it may be, for it help ease our discomfort even if a little.
I
don’t know how much time had passed since then, but eventually the
train staff reached us and led everyone out of the halted train. Of
course, the whole lot of us had to still make our way through the
train tunnels on foot to reach the outside, but I was not bothered by
this. All it matters that I was finally out and free.
A
crowd of people flooded through the exit passage, and just when I
thought my crisis was over, an all too familiar vibration shook
through the inner walls of my jeans pockets. I was so caught up with
the entire ordeal that I have not taken the time to use my phone
earlier.
And
at that very moment I knew what other trouble was awaiting me.
Exercise 1 (2012)
1 Sentence Pitch:
- key character
- key motive
- situation
- conflict (main)
Synopsis:
- story overview (1 - 2 paragraphs summary, double-spaced)
Character bio:
- relates to the story
- backstory
- traits
- motivations
Treatment/storyline:
- max 500 words
- write for a screenplay
- 3 act structure
Presentation Board: (1x A4 board, use template)
- title + 1 sentence pitch
- graphics / illustration
- story concept
- characters
- storyboard (brief)
Research:
- newspaper clippings
- magazine articles
- blog
Reflection:
- reflect on story concept and research process (2 - 3 paragraphs, double-spaced)
- key character
- key motive
- situation
- conflict (main)
Synopsis:
- story overview (1 - 2 paragraphs summary, double-spaced)
Character bio:
- relates to the story
- backstory
- traits
- motivations
Treatment/storyline:
- max 500 words
- write for a screenplay
- 3 act structure
Presentation Board: (1x A4 board, use template)
- title + 1 sentence pitch
- graphics / illustration
- story concept
- characters
- storyboard (brief)
Research:
- newspaper clippings
- magazine articles
- blog
Reflection:
- reflect on story concept and research process (2 - 3 paragraphs, double-spaced)
Class Exercise: Mind your Language
Character Study: "Mind your Language"
1. Write the 1-sentence pitch/summary for the pilot episode
"A group of adult students of various nationalities and cultures enrolled in an English language class, and along with a new English teacher, misunderstandings and hilarity ensue.
2. Do a quick character list
Chung Su Lee is a Chinese lady from China, and holds a job as a secretary in the Chinese Embassy. She is shown in episode 1 as someone fiercely loyal and patriotic to China and Chairman Mao. She appears to always be holding a red book titled "Quotations from Chairman Mao". Su Lee carries a straight and serious expression throughout her appearance in episode 1.
Jeremy Brown is the new teacher boasting a credential of B.A. Hons from the University of Oxford. He is put in charge of the new English class and is later seen at the end of the episode to be nearly driven insane by the students' antics. Seemingly ordinary personality.
4. Plot out the 3 act structure
- Setup:
Introduce the students' occupation and nationality briefly to the viewers. Most of the students have minimal to no level of proficiency with the English language.
- Confrontation:
The inclusion of Danielle, the attractive young woman from France, attracts the attention of a few of the male students, especially Max and Giovanni. Their rivalry to compete for Danielle creates a sense of conflict. Other smaller conflicts involve disputes and hatred of a national level, between Ranjeet and Ali, as well as Su-Lee and Taro.
- Resolution:
Jeremy attempts to control the mayhem in class, but without avail. He quickly wraps up the first lesson and escapes the classroom after dumping a homework assignment onto his students. The first episode then ends leaving the viewers in suspense on whether Jeremy can continue to cope as their teacher while maintaining his sanity.
1. Write the 1-sentence pitch/summary for the pilot episode
"A group of adult students of various nationalities and cultures enrolled in an English language class, and along with a new English teacher, misunderstandings and hilarity ensue.
2. Do a quick character list
- Jeremy Brown - English teacher
- (Ms) Dolores Courtney - Principle
- Ali Nadeem - from Pakistan
- Giovanni Capello - from Italy
- Maximillian Andrea Archimedes Papandrious - from Athens, Greece
- Taro Nagazumi - from Japan
- Anna Schmidt - from Germany
- Ranjeet Singh - from India
- Jamila Ranjha - from India
- Juan Cervantes - from Spain
- Chung Su-Lee - from China
- Danielle Favre - from from France
Chung Su Lee is a Chinese lady from China, and holds a job as a secretary in the Chinese Embassy. She is shown in episode 1 as someone fiercely loyal and patriotic to China and Chairman Mao. She appears to always be holding a red book titled "Quotations from Chairman Mao". Su Lee carries a straight and serious expression throughout her appearance in episode 1.
Jeremy Brown is the new teacher boasting a credential of B.A. Hons from the University of Oxford. He is put in charge of the new English class and is later seen at the end of the episode to be nearly driven insane by the students' antics. Seemingly ordinary personality.
4. Plot out the 3 act structure
- Setup:
Introduce the students' occupation and nationality briefly to the viewers. Most of the students have minimal to no level of proficiency with the English language.
- Confrontation:
The inclusion of Danielle, the attractive young woman from France, attracts the attention of a few of the male students, especially Max and Giovanni. Their rivalry to compete for Danielle creates a sense of conflict. Other smaller conflicts involve disputes and hatred of a national level, between Ranjeet and Ali, as well as Su-Lee and Taro.
- Resolution:
Jeremy attempts to control the mayhem in class, but without avail. He quickly wraps up the first lesson and escapes the classroom after dumping a homework assignment onto his students. The first episode then ends leaving the viewers in suspense on whether Jeremy can continue to cope as their teacher while maintaining his sanity.
2012 - Story & Scriptwriting
What makes a good story?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Premise
What if
Why not?
- Characters
- 3-act structure
- Clear and proper language use
- motive
- resolution
- conflict
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Premise
What if
Why not?
X-FACTOR Class Exercise
Practice 1-sentence summary with the examples below:
Story 1: Character driven story, e.g. Mr Bean.
Story 2: Story driven by a location.
= A convenience store in King's Road looks like your average shop during the day, but when full moon is abound, it becomes the gateway to a fantasy world no one can imagine.
Story 3: Story driven by an item.
= Darren accidentally gets a hold of a pencil that transforms anything into tangible form by drawing with it, and now a mysterious group of men are out there to get him.
Story 4: Story driven by a situation.
= Josep gets into a tight and weird spot when he wakes up one day with a corpse next to him, and the murder weapon in his hand.
Story 5: Story driven by Character's motive(s) or conflict with another Character.
=
Story 6 - 10: Combination of above points for your stories.
= Catastrophe
Story 1: Character driven story, e.g. Mr Bean.
Story 2: Story driven by a location.
= A convenience store in King's Road looks like your average shop during the day, but when full moon is abound, it becomes the gateway to a fantasy world no one can imagine.
Story 3: Story driven by an item.
= Darren accidentally gets a hold of a pencil that transforms anything into tangible form by drawing with it, and now a mysterious group of men are out there to get him.
Story 4: Story driven by a situation.
= Josep gets into a tight and weird spot when he wakes up one day with a corpse next to him, and the murder weapon in his hand.
Story 5: Story driven by Character's motive(s) or conflict with another Character.
=
Story 6 - 10: Combination of above points for your stories.
= Catastrophe
Stationery Boy (1st Draft Script)
Fade In:
ACT One
SAMANTHA in A FIX
Scene – School classroom interior, day.
SAMANTHA is looking through her pencil case for a stapler, but soon realizes that she left it at home. She then turns to her friend Amy whose seat was next to hers.
Samantha
“Oh drats! I forgot my stapler again. Can I borrow yours, Amy?”
Amy
“You know I don't have one. Go ask from him instead.”
AMY replies, but in a non-nonchalant way, without lifting her eyes off the paper she is drawing with.
Samantha
“Him?”
“Eh, but I am not sure.....” [voice trails away]
Samantha
[In thoughts] (Sigh. Amy should know very well that I am shy about speaking with the guys.)
(Never mind. It's alright. Come on Samantha, you can do this! He is a fellow classmate after all, so how difficult can it be?)
SAMANTHA gathers her courage, and prepares to move.
Fade Out:
Fade In:
ACT TWO
SAMANTHA PLUCKS UP HER COURAGE
SAMANTHA moves a few desks away from hers, as she slowly approaches the seat of 'him' – the STATIONERY BOY. Her movements become more robotic as she gradually breaks down in nervousness.
Samantha
“Was the classroom THAT big? Why does it feel like a long distance to his desk?”
[Camera focus on SAMANTHA as she finally meets eye to eye with STATIONERY BOY]
Samantha
“Erm... ah... I... err...”
Stationery Boy
“.....?”
Samantha
[flustered] (NOOO!!! I don't even know his name. I messed up! I so want to disappear right now...)
Stationery Boy
“Do you want me to staple that for you?”
Samantha
“H...how did you know?”
Stationery Boy
“Heh, I kind of guessed it.” [points at the stack of paper SAMANTHA is holding onto]
“And since no one really talks to me besides borrowing stationeries, haha...”
STATIONERY BOY takes the paper and staple them together. He then returns the stack to SAMANTHA without saying another word.
Samantha
“...Thank you.”
Fade Out:
Fade In:
ACT THREE
SAMANTHA SETS HER RESOLVE
The scene shows SAMANTHA already away from STATIONERY BOY's desk. She continues to move further away, but her mind is in deep thoughts.
Samantha
(I thanked him already... so why is there still a strange sense of emptiness within me?)
SAMANTHA turns her head back to look at STATIONERY BOY. He sits at his desk, with the air of loneliness around him.
Samantha
(He looks... so lonely. And I...)
[Moment of silence]
(I should talk to him once more! I haven't even properly introduce myself. Yes, this shall be my first step to discard my old, shy self!)
SAMANTHA goes back to STATIONERY BOY's desk; this time with confident strides. She faces him.
Samantha
“Erm, thank you again for just now.
I am Samantha, and it might sound a little strange coming from a classmate, but could you tell me your name?”
Stationery Boy
[awkward smile] “It is Tracy. Quite the girlish name, don't you agree?”
Samantha
“N...no, not at all! Tracy... [smiles] I hope we can get to know each other better from now on, Tracy~”
Fade Out:
The End
ACT One
SAMANTHA in A FIX
Scene – School classroom interior, day.
SAMANTHA is looking through her pencil case for a stapler, but soon realizes that she left it at home. She then turns to her friend Amy whose seat was next to hers.
Samantha
“Oh drats! I forgot my stapler again. Can I borrow yours, Amy?”
Amy
“You know I don't have one. Go ask from him instead.”
AMY replies, but in a non-nonchalant way, without lifting her eyes off the paper she is drawing with.
Samantha
“Him?”
“Eh, but I am not sure.....” [voice trails away]
Samantha
[In thoughts] (Sigh. Amy should know very well that I am shy about speaking with the guys.)
(Never mind. It's alright. Come on Samantha, you can do this! He is a fellow classmate after all, so how difficult can it be?)
SAMANTHA gathers her courage, and prepares to move.
Fade Out:
Fade In:
ACT TWO
SAMANTHA PLUCKS UP HER COURAGE
SAMANTHA moves a few desks away from hers, as she slowly approaches the seat of 'him' – the STATIONERY BOY. Her movements become more robotic as she gradually breaks down in nervousness.
Samantha
“Was the classroom THAT big? Why does it feel like a long distance to his desk?”
[Camera focus on SAMANTHA as she finally meets eye to eye with STATIONERY BOY]
Samantha
“Erm... ah... I... err...”
Stationery Boy
“.....?”
Samantha
[flustered] (NOOO!!! I don't even know his name. I messed up! I so want to disappear right now...)
Stationery Boy
“Do you want me to staple that for you?”
Samantha
“H...how did you know?”
Stationery Boy
“Heh, I kind of guessed it.” [points at the stack of paper SAMANTHA is holding onto]
“And since no one really talks to me besides borrowing stationeries, haha...”
STATIONERY BOY takes the paper and staple them together. He then returns the stack to SAMANTHA without saying another word.
Samantha
“...Thank you.”
Fade Out:
Fade In:
ACT THREE
SAMANTHA SETS HER RESOLVE
The scene shows SAMANTHA already away from STATIONERY BOY's desk. She continues to move further away, but her mind is in deep thoughts.
Samantha
(I thanked him already... so why is there still a strange sense of emptiness within me?)
SAMANTHA turns her head back to look at STATIONERY BOY. He sits at his desk, with the air of loneliness around him.
Samantha
(He looks... so lonely. And I...)
[Moment of silence]
(I should talk to him once more! I haven't even properly introduce myself. Yes, this shall be my first step to discard my old, shy self!)
SAMANTHA goes back to STATIONERY BOY's desk; this time with confident strides. She faces him.
Samantha
“Erm, thank you again for just now.
I am Samantha, and it might sound a little strange coming from a classmate, but could you tell me your name?”
Stationery Boy
[awkward smile] “It is Tracy. Quite the girlish name, don't you agree?”
Samantha
“N...no, not at all! Tracy... [smiles] I hope we can get to know each other better from now on, Tracy~”
Fade Out:
The End
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