Planning essay: Will Robinson

Planning essay

Will Robinson

To start of I decided a film would be a good option for me to make, I thought comedy would be a good possible genre to research into as I have experience of writing comedy scripts in drama.

I searched comedy in dictionary.com and it came up with.

1. a play, movie, etc., of light and humorous character with a happy or cheerful ending; a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion.

2. that branch of the drama which concerns itself with this form of composition.

3. the comic element of drama, of literature generally, or of life.

4. any literary composition dealing with a theme suitable for comedy, or employing the methods of comedy.

5. any comic or humorous incident or series of incidents.

So I started by looking at a great comedy film called Ferris Buellers day of. I have watched this film a few times and i loved how good the charecters are. You get to know them all and its fun to see how they act. In the first 5 minutes you get a very good idea of the character Ferris Bueller, with lines like ("The key to faking out the parents is the clammy hands. It's a good non-specific symptom; I'm a big believer in it..."). You immediately take a liking to this laid back character.

Next I looked at a film called american pie, which i also really like for similar sort of reasons. Teen boys can easily relate to the characters this makes it funny. It is also very easy to predict which makes you laugh a lot. I have began to start a real liking to teen comedies and i was thinking about using this theme in my film.

I started to to think about the soundtracks used in american pie and how it fitted really well. The film is based in america and made for teens so they chose american teen music, its important to choose the soundtrack well.

Third Eye Blind - "New Girl"

Tonic - "You Wanted More"

Blink-182 - "Mutt"

Sugar Ray - "Glory"

Super TransAtlantic - "Super down"

Dishwalla - "Find Your Way Back Home"

Bic Runga - "Good Morning Baby"

Shades Apart - "Stranger by the Day"

Bachelor Number One - "Summertime"

Goldfinger - "Vintage Queen"

Bic Runga - "Sway"

Loose Nuts - "Wishen"

The Atomic Fireballs - "Man with the Hex"

This is the list of the soundtracks used in American pie, all very american teen based bands, in an american teen movie.

By now I was starting to think a lot more about the actual film ideas, and i thought a twist in the opening would be a cool idea. So it starts with a slow blurred opening calming music and when the artistic blurred opening similar to the start of crash, and then after the credits the blurry artistic part of the opening comes into focus and you realize what you have been looking at as beautiful and calming is something like a student setting up some dodgy prank.The kind of start that confuses the audience at the very start and makes them wonder "Am I watching the wrong film?" and then as the blur comes to focus the soundtrack completely changes and the mood switches very fast.

I also started to play with the idea of a monologue o get to know the main character a bit better, similar to the one in Ferris Buellers day of.

I thought it would be a good idea to get a bit more research into teen comedy movies, I watch the opening to coach carter, the music starts of rapping very well suited to the charecters big black basket ball players playing basket ball most of the opening. The new is being filmed there that makes you think what is happening is of importance. There are two scenes going at the same time in this opening one of the basket ball game and the other what looks like someone with something to do or maybe just a fan with it getting to the game in a rush. Then they join into one scene, which is effective I think. A fight starts out in the basket ball teams and Samuel L Jackson looks in a bit of distress when this happens, then it goes to a scene with the team arguing in the changing room.

Around here I started to think about the main story plot for the opening, i have divided it to 3 sections so I can work out the soundtracks to them.

1. Blurred artistic credits

2. Focus to a student from in trousers down pointing his bum outside the gate acting stupid the public acting stupid.

3. Main character walks past speaks to the kid setting up the prank and ends up running away.

4. Main character arrives home and speaks to camera about school as he takes of his coat and shoes, and does normal getting home activities.

This is a basic plot for my opening, I have decided around here I have to start writing the script soon.

So just before I wanted to write a script which I could look at when writing a story board it had to follow what I had wrote in my basic plot. This is what I came up with its in my blog, just before storyboarding.

Guy: Hey Toddo, come hear.

Todd: Oh you alright.. buddy?.

Guy: Don't touch me, now i know your ways and if you end up leaking my plan to anyone, your stuffed!

Todd: Stuffed?

Guy: Yea gone, dead or anything else you want to call it.

Todd: Ah alright well i will be off then.

Guy: Don't you even want to know what i'm doing?

Todd: Not really... sorry

Guy: Well I will lift this sign and then, this is the best bit, i will release my buttox *grins*

Todd: Ah alright, no homework clever... but i don't there's a need to reveal yourself like that

Guy: Your wrong, I am the Guy, the Guy isn't wrong.

Todd: You spelt homework wro *gets interrupted*

Guy: There he is go, run fast, faster white boy!

Todd: *runs girlishly of scared to get in trouble*

Guy: Im ready

Then he gets home and has a monologue explain about his school, what's write in it and what's wrong.

*Todd walks in kitchen takes of blazer sees that there's a letter on the table for job* *Cross's fingers runs upstairs grabs his lucky blanket, takes a deep breath opens it slowly then whips it out*

Todd: (Very british way) Shit...

Todd: thats the 6th job thats declined me, i don't know what it is, i have the grades. I just cant keep my cool in the interviews.

*Goes to scene of him shivering outside the interview room, then someone calls Mr. Todd Howard then he passes out and falls of his chair*

*Back at home in the kitchen*

Todd: I'm getting a bit bored of this every day routine *filmed from the fridge as he grabs out a cheese string*

Todd: you know it is hard being Todd Howard, its a wicked world for a your average day geek, brain box or dork, *pours some milk* ah calcium you may be able to make my bones stonger and up to a suitable and safe level but i'm pretty sure you cant cure a broken heart and all the sadness and pain that comes with it.

Todd: *Turns around trips over dog spills milk*oh fuck (very british, similar to the way parole officer says it)

Todd:*Stands up wipes his clothes* Bloody dog

By now I thought it would be useful to get a bit of experience filming so I made a couple films one called Frisbee movie the other called the chase, I learnt a coupe things from them one being you have to carefully use zoom or even moving the camera left or right without it looking bad. I also learn about the 180 rule and how you cant cross it. I used a camera called the Canon XL2 which can give of a very professional feel.

The target audience for my opening is British teens, so they can relate to my characters.

For part 1 I will blur some trees going in the wind and then it focus in to part 2. I have decided to film at a school for part 2, because its base at a school, not sure what school just yet though. For part 3 (Todds monologue) I was planning to film in my kitchen or just anybody’s kitchen.

For my characters I need to choose my actors well, age is not a problem for my characters because the actors will be my age so I can just ask my friends to act out, I will find a big one for Guy and small long haired glasses boy for Todd.

For the props I have to make a no homework sign for Guy to hold and find an envelope for Todd to open.

For the costume I have thought guy should have a sleeveless top and jeans, and spiky hair. For Todd a neatly dressed young boy looked like he has been dressed by his mum.

music and other sound,

I will have two tracks for my soundtrack one for the intro (part 1) I have chosen an electro chilled sort of sound to give a nice feeling with the blurriness, then it switches to part 2 (prank being set up) then I am using a kooks track called the king and I. I think it will fit well and its British and aimed for teen so that’s another plus.

text you intend to use.

The text I am using will vary from part one to part 2 onwards, something very neat and electric for part 1 and on wards it will switch to something that will suite the soundtrack well.

The challenges I foresee are persuading the actors to play these roles and managing to make it look good when they do it.