This week I stumbled across a few interesting ideas from Mcgee; he says that all stories are essentially the same: the Quest, and that between the 'slice of life' and the 'sure-fire commercial hit' lies a story worth telling. Obviously a requirement for the assessment is that our idea can be filmed with the facilities and equipment available to us. Sadly this means no Godzilla like imaginings should be appearing in my script but it's worth keeping in mind that balance is important; sometimes the most despairing situations are resolved in funniest ways (The Silence of the Lambs macabre “I’m having an old friend for dinner” springs to mind).
This weeks brief is focused on the character of someone interesting we know but others in the class don't. I have done character biographies for past scripts and find them a useful tool when gauging reactions and shaping my chosen details into a realistic persona.
CHARATER BIOGRAPHY
name: Jessica Blyth
age: 24
family: Nicole (Mum), Martin (Dad), Holly (Eldest Sister), Emma (Middle Sister)
where they live: Lives with Holly & Alex (Partner) and their son Oliver
how they survive: Works in BHS Colchester in the underwear department.
what do they most want in life: To be able to afford the life she desires
what do they most fear: Never having a long term partner and all that comes with it.
In the lecture we discussed primary emotion and it's use as entertainment, to link people through universal common experiences and to teach, advise or warm others. It's useful to be aware of how powerful situational emotions like compassion, love, guilt, lust, jealousy can be. In the seminar to convey how important a memorable incident is to a narrative we each told the group an memory that was in some way emotive. People told the usual first day at school, along with more intriguing recollections about giving birth, kayaking and fist fights. After we had to remember as many as we could individually. The exercise was effective in highlighting how everyday events become memorable if told by a good storyteller. It's the details that make a character resonate with an audience not just the obstacles they overcome, this creates depth. As Chatman states in Story and Discourse, "The horizons of personality always recede before us."
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Brief for Week 4
Recall an incident that made you feel a strong emotion (happy, sad, angry, afraid). Consider how it looked (colour, shape, size, etc), sounded (resonance, tone volume, etc), smelled (strength, quality, memory, etc), tasted (texture, quality, temperature, etc), felt (texture, sensation, temperature, etc). Think about your point-of-view of the situation at the time. How do you now see it? How did the incident change you? In 300 words, recount the incident chronologically. Do not analyse it but recount it in words: show, don’t tell.