Evaluation Questions for the Script Draft 2

-  Have You Paid Respect to Screenwriting Conventions?

With screenwriting conventions, such as having it in the right font, and size for the page, i have followed it in that respect. I made sure when writing this script i followed the industry standards for writing a script. The program online Celtx, helped me to do this in the way that it auto-formatted the page when i selected certain inputs such as ‘Scene Heading’ or ‘Dialogue’, it spaced the page and moved the text around appropriately for it to be presented effectively.

-  How Does The Script Adhere to the Guiding Principles of the Ten Point Plan?

Title - Is to be confirmed.

Genre/Tone - Social Realist/Drama Hybrid

Setting (Time & Place) - Set in a school setting, mainly in a sixth form centre.

Main Character - Luke, a teenager who follows the ‘metalhead’ culture, which is shown within his mise en scene of costume, with jeans, band t-shirt and long length hair.

Want/Need/Obligation - His want is to be accepted by others for who he is, and his obligation is to stand up for this belief.

Opposition - Luke’s opposition, is the group of social accepted youths, shown once again by their mise en scene of all of them having the same or similar hair cuts, wearing similar clothing, a lot of it branded, for example chinos, polo top and a pair of vans shoes.

Catalyst for Change - Is when the group of youths ‘attack’ Alice, (the secondary character, who is from a sub-culture of the metalhead movement, once again shown by her costume and make up design, who Luke has a particular interest in) with a sandwich.

Climax - Is when Luke finally gets up to intervene in the ‘bullying’ and takes Alice outside whilst being followed by the group.

Resolution - When Luke gets his ‘revenge’ on the group by getting his friends to pelt them with various items of food.

And the Audience Feels... (Theme) - Better and happier within themselves, seeing that people can have self-belief to be able to stand up for themselves.

-  Does Every Scene Reveal Something New?

INTERIOR - SCHOOL LOCKERS - DAY

In this scene our main character Luke, encounters secondary character, Alice for the first time, and he takes a particular interest in her.

Luke and Alice’s relationship is revealed as significant to the plot.

The costume of both character’s reveals to the audience what they could be like as people.

The indication of theme is shown through Luke’s interest in Alice as a teenager who is interested in the opposite sex, which is a very real theme related so social realism.

INTERIOR - SIXTH FORM CENTRE - DAY

In this scene Luke is ridiculed by his ‘peers’ but he brushes it off and eventually the group move the focus of their ridicule to Alice.

It is revealed to the plot that Luke has dealt with this before and that he is unfazed, where as when the focus is shifted to Alice it starts to effect Luke’s position on the ‘ridicule’.

The audiences understanding of the characters is furthered by Seeing how Luke is a self strong individual through his actions, whilst Alice is an emotionally weak character as she can’t deal with the ‘ridicule’.

The theme shifts back in to social realism but in a different portrayal of the dark side of being a teenager and having to deal with bullying.

FLASHBACK SEQUENCE - INTERIOR - TOILET - DAY

In this scene it shows Luke being bullied by the same group of Youths as in present day.

It is revealed that Luke has gone through this abuse before and how he feels about it.

The audience finds out that the Youths are a particularly violent group, whilst also seeing that Luke used to be in a similar position to Alice at one point.

The theme still stays around the social realist ‘bullying’ theme although it brings in a bit more of a drama feel as the actions of the characters become more dramatic themselves.

INTERIOR - SIXTH FORM - DAY

In this scene we see Luke move across the centre to get Alice and lead her away from the abuse but the group follow them.

It is revealed to the audience that Luke has a plan for the group.

The audience finds out that Luke cares about Alice enough to put himself in a dangerous position and that the Youths like to abuse people enough to follow them as if it’s a sport.

The theme now stays at social realism but veers off more towards the dramatic side of the theme now.

EXTERIOR - PIAZZA - DAY

In this scene Luke’s plan for the Youths is revealed.

Luke’s plan is revealed and carried out, resolving the conflict for now.

The audience comes to a full realization of how much Luke cares for Alice, and how other people feel about the ‘bullying’ issue.

The theme is extremely dramatic in this theme but still carries the thematic undertones of social realism.

- Does the Narrative Progress Cinematically and With Minimal Dialogue?

Over the whole script there is only seven lines of dialogue. The whole first scene is literally pushed forward via use of different camera angles such as wide angles to establish the setting then a close up pan of the main character Luke, following his look and style and then revealing his interests within his locker. This is the same with the secondary character Alice but it follows Luke’s line of vision to specific parts of her appearance such as in her locker, revealing how she has similar interests to him, and then close ups on parts of her face such as her smile and eyes. Certain visuals have been used to further progress the story such as when Alice is hit in the face with a sandwich. It is a pivotal point in the story so when grouped with sound, it has to represent that. Therefore it will have a slight thud when it hits her, and maybe a period of dead silence and then a rush of sound, to show how she feels inside her mind.  Items of the mise en scene, specifically the costume have been used symbolically but mainly to represent what the character is like for example; Alice, is part of the ‘emo’ subculture, so will be wearing mostly black clothing.

How Engaging Is the Protagonist? Is the Antagonist Convincingly Portrayed?

Luke is a rather engaging main character is the way that he as a character is mysterious in personality and state of mind. This draws in the audience in a way that they want to find out more about the character as the short progresses. The antagonist(s) in the form of the group of Youths, is portrayed very convincingly, in the way that there is an ‘alpha’ male leading the group, and he is the particularly violent one of the group, with the rest following his actions after he has acted first, just like a stereotypical teenage group.

Is There a Clear Tone? Is It Consistent Throughout?

There is a clear tone of social realism at the start but this eventually becomes more and more dramatic throughout the short for example the ending scene or resolution, where the group is pelted with food, becomes extremely dramatic. But the underlying thematic tones of social realism are constant throughout. The two are useful together because they interchange making this a hybrid.

Is Tension Created and Built Effectively?

Tension is created in the way that the verbal abuse, and physical abuse, is built up and built up from childish, petty insults to rising aggression, which turns violent in the form that Alice is hit in the face with a sandwich.

What Kind of Setting Are You Establishing? Is/Are the Space(s) Allowing You To Effectively Encode Your Mise En Scene With Semantic Pathways Through to Your Macro Ideas?

 I am trying to create a school sixth form/college setting in my short, the location I have chosen to use is based within my school’s sixth form which gives me the realistic feel needed for a social realist short, which therefore could also show how the audience the ‘new age’ teens.

Does the Story Contain Key Themes and Issues That Relate It To Wider Social/Media Contexts?

It contains key themes of ‘bullying’, ‘acceptance’ and ‘self respect’ along with issues related to teens. These issues can be related to the wider, teenage media contexts such as teenage media along the lines of magazines, blogs, social networking and other ‘new age’ forms of media.

Are There Opportunities in Your Story To;

Create Specific Representations of Social Types, Groups, events or Places?

In my short the main character is part of the metalhead culture, and Alice is part of the emo sub culture. These two representations allow me to portray specific representations of those social types. It’s also applicable to the supporting characters in the group of youths, who fit a social stereotype of a socially accepted teen. Also due to the shorts portrayal in a sixth form it allows for the representations of a typical school setting and therefore also allows for the supposedly ‘typical’ representation of teenage bullying.

Establish Cultural Meaning Where Those Representations Articulate Specific Messages and Values That Have Social Significance?

The issues of ‘new age’ bullying and social segregation shown in the short, show the audience how and what teens can go through and the effects it can have but also how to stand up to it and have self strength and reliance.