Even though I missed the lesson due to illness I took the free time and brainstormed some possible ideas for my script. I'm currently playing with social realism and kinda reacting to the conventions of the movement which ironically is how the movement started. I figured it would not only be realistic to film due to the abundance of interesting natural locations within north London but also it keeps the cost down and allows me to focus on character over aesthetics. I re-watched Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank along with the more traditional A Taste of Honey by Tony Richardson. A few scenes in particular convey not only the desperation of the characters situations but also the possibility of hope and the beauty of the locations. These are both important to think about when writing;
Fish Tank - Mia goes for a walk
A Taste of Honey - Jo & Geoff visit a graveyard
Last weeks brief asked us to use memory to relive an incident that made us feel a strong emotion. I chose to use an early memory involving my little sister Sarah. It was the first time I remember being strongly self aware and thinking about others to the extent that I behaved differently.
Memory by Tom Stock
I remember not liking the fact that I had a baby sister. I remember hating her because she had stolen not only mummy and daddy’s love, but also my old baby toys that had suddenly become interesting to me again. Sarah didn’t help herself though as she had an awful wail, that only reinforced my hatred for her, always cried and had the most putrid nappies. I recall finding it strange that someone so disgusting was dressed so prettily. I remember being roughly four and my sister one. Mummy had taken us into town and as normal Satan was wailing her head off in a pink frock. I remember standing in the square, by a small kid’s park, beside Mummy with Sarah in her buggy. It was mid afternoon and there were only a few people walking by us and the shops all around. It was noisy but not scary and I recall it being a bright white day, though this may be added texture. Mummy had just told me off for some reason so I decided to leave her and my sister to be annoying together and wandered away. I think I must have walked into a shop or bumped into her because suddenly an old lady asked me where my Mummy was. I remember she smelt of lavender and bad breath and that I wasn’t scared because she reminded me of my Nanny. I stubbornly pointed to Mummy and Sarah because I knew she was going to take me to them. She turned and saw them and then asked me if that was my sister? I said yes. Then she replied to me, ‘I bet you love your sister so much that you deserve a sweetie’ and before I knew it I was overcome with such pride to have a sister that got me sweets that I screamed at the old lady, ‘My names Thomas and my sister is called Sarah and I love her loads and loads!’ I ran back to Mummy and gave my sister a big kiss (naturally she started crying) and then ran back over to the old lady who gave me a humbug which I quickly spat out. I’m told that for the rest of the day I kept running up to strangers in the hope they would give me sweets. I don’t recall if any did but Sarah’s had all my love and attention since.
Keeping memory in mind will explore some of the aspects of my working class background that may appeal to an audience. Issues surrounding race, class, sexuality all make interesting subject matter though that could be applied to anything that counterbalances the norm.
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Brief for Week 5
Write a short (2 to 3 page) scene, in screenplay format, which involves two characters, and which includes a reversal of status between them – one starting high and ending low, the other vice versa. The shift does not need to be large, so long as it's clear, and the scene doesn't have to involve spoken dialogue, although it can.