no18. SCREENPLAY & PRESENTATION

PRODUCING SCREENPLAYS & 
PREPARING YOUR PRESENTATIONS
ask jeannette if not clear!! 30/3/2012
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What is...

- 1 Sentence Summary

* a summary of what your story is about
* who is your story about
* YOUR STORY IN ONE SENTENCE
* story = key character + situation + motive + key msg 

- Executive Summary
* fast info for full production 
* info includes:
- title
- genre
- target audience
- target media / channel 
- target time slots
- language
- duration of screenplay
- 1 sentence summary
- production team / esp producer & director
- production schedule / timeline
- ideal actors/actresses for key role
- marketing potential
- research & background info (if relevant)
- etc etc 

- Synopsis (2-3 para)

* a summary story outline of your screenplay. you usually read this before you watch a movie or a tv show.


- Character Bios (key characters only) 
* character traits that will be used for your screenplay.
* sometimes back-story is included IF used in screenplay.

- 3 Act Structure

* a one page map of your story in point form
* if your 3 Act does not work, your screenplay will not work!
* use this to plot out your story beats
*****EXTREMELY USEFUL TOOL TO USE BEFORE WRITING THE STORYLINE/TREATMENT & SCRIPT***

- Storyline / Treatment

 * detailed description/story of how your screenplay will be presented if produced

* no dialogue needed

* use present tense

* write as if you are watching the screenplay from start to end of your show

Presentation Board

* this SELLS your story

* to use visuals and text to tell me what your story is about

* presenting your ideas, concepts & storylines

a presentation board can include:

- character design, if relevant
- programme look & feel
- storyboard (eg. opening sequence)
- story design & details

Storyboards

* storyboards are used to tell the production team how the screenplay is going to be produced
* a visual tool for all production team to see how they will be involved
* a visual tool to see director's vision and all cast/crew will work towards achieving the shots in the storyboard

Research & Background Info/Backstory

- this must be done according to subject / topic / genre 
- this helps story design / details, eg period dramas, costumes, dance moves, slang/language, props used, graphics style, etc.

Script Edits

- edit, edit, edit & more edits to improve your script!!
- delete all irrelevant words/scenes/info
- Every word in your script MUST move your story forward
- Every word counts in your script
- KEEP TO TIMING / DURATION OF SCREENPLAY
- focus on 1-sentence in your story

HAVE FUN WRITING!!

jt :)))

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CASE STUDY 29/3 & 30/3/2012 

STORY 

= KEY CHARACTER(S)

IN SITUATION(S)

TO COMMUNICATE A KEY IDEA/MESSAGE

1. FRASIER SEASON 1 EP1 
- PILOT "THE GOOD SON"


2. SEINFELD CHRONICLES
- PILOT (1989)

For CASE STUDY pls observe:

1. Character Development 

- how they introduce new characters

2. Presentation Style

- how do they present characters in situations

- genre

- style of presenting key ideas and key messages

3. 3 ACT - esp Act1 >> SETUP

- watch how they do it

4. Story is based on ... ?

- THEME (frasier - the good son)

- PREMISE (seinfeld - using a statement before telling story)

enjoy the show!

no17 ASSIGNMENT - what to hand up

ASSIGNMENT: (50% of total grades)

> use template

> follow brief in my blogs

> hardcopy/prints to me

> softcopy to blackboard

Deadline: 3rd April 2012 (tues), BEFORE 2pm

SUBMIT VIA BLACKBOARD ONLY

(NO PRINTED COPIES NEEDED)
LATE WORK IS CONSIDERED FAIL



CHECKLIST:

1. PRODUCTION FILE
- 1 Sentence Summary
- Executive Summary
- Synopsis (2-3 para)
- Character Bio (key characters only)
- 3 Act Structure
- Storyline / Treatment (max 500 words or max 1,000 words)

2. SCRIPT
- max 5 page script or max 10 page script 
- use correct format please

3. PRESENTATION BOARD
- max 5 A4 pages
(what is your story about? why will TA love it?)

below are examples of what can make your presentation board:
- character design, if relevant
- programme look & feel
- storyboard (optional. suggest storyboard of opening sequence)

SOFT COPIES TO BE UPLOADED 

IN BLACKBOARD 

BY Tues, 3 APRIL 2012 before 2pm

ALL LATE WORK IS CONSIDERED FAIL.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is...

- 1 Sentence Summary

* a summary of what your story is about. 
* who is your story about. 
* YOUR STORY IN ONE SENTENCE.
* story = key character + situation + motive + key msg
 
- Executive Summary
* fast info for full production 
* info includes:
- title
- genre
- target audience
- target media / channel 
- target time slots
- language
- duration of screenplay
- 1 sentence summary
- production team / esp producer & director
- production schedule / timeline
- ideal actors/actresses for key role
- marketing potential
- etc etc 

- Synopsis (2-3 para)

* a summary story outline of your screenplay. you usually read this before you watch a movie or a tv show.

- Character Bio (key characters only) 
* character traits that will be used for your screenplay.
* sometimes backstory is included IF used in screenplay.

- 3 Act Structure

* a one page map of your story in point form
* if your 3 Act does not work, your screenplay will not work!
* use this to plot out your story beats
*****EXTREMELY USEFUL TOOL TO USE BEFORE WRITING THE STORYLINE/TREATMENT & SCRIPT***
 

- Storyline / Treatment

 * detailed description/story of how your screenplay will be presented if produced

* no dialogue needed

* use present tense

* write as if you are watching the screenplay from start to end of your show

Presentation Board

* this SELLS your story

* to use visuals and text to tell me what your story is about

* presenting your ideas, concepts & storylines

a presentation board can include:
- character design, if relevant
- programme look & feel
- storyboard (eg. opening sequence)
- story design & details

Storyboards

* storyboards are used to tell the production team how the screenplay is going to be produced
* a visual tool for all production team to see how they will be involved
* a visual tool to see director's vision and all cast/crew will work towards achieving the shots in the storyboard

no16 STORIES - DM2C

ASSIGNMENT 

- Discussion 9/3/2012

Target Audience: 

Family

USE NON-HUMAN CHARACTERS

Hero - JACK >> NERD

Heroine - JILL >> MS SUNSHINE

Villain - ALEX (male/female - up to you) 
Comic Relief - BOB / CHERRY (male/female - optional)

1 SENTENCE SUMMARY:


Alex - 2 families, who dun like each other, want to keep a magical sunflower that happens to grow along the fence in their backyards.


Jeremy - Hamsters wants to find a way to get to the moon


Pratama - Nerdy alien Jack helps Jill retrieve (item) taken by a bully Alex so that she can take part in the dragon race competition.


Pei Ling - Jack and Jill fight against evil Alex to ... ????


JJ - Jack (an urban bird, duh dad) must find his lost egg before his wife comes back from the market (he doesn't want his wife to find out he has lost the egg)

Yasmin - Jack, brainy caterpillar (late bloomer) must find the best spot to turn into a cocoon so that he can be a butterfly like the rest of his friends, esp Jill (most attractive caterpillar) 


Mai - Jack and Jill wants to steal their neighbour's balloons to throw a party for their parents


Andrea - Jack (short beansprout) & Jill (short sunflower) must steal the photosynthetizer growth machine from Alex (short cabbage)


Darren - Jack (dark elf) & Jill (night elf) must stop Alex (thief - fairy??) from stealing their magic (eg magic can grow elf veg or alex's cow for strawberry milk)


Clement - Jack (chihuahua - geek) learns how to be as sunny as Jill (golden retriever - ms sunshine) to stand up (how?) to big bully Alexis (doberman - villain) in his own way


Gilang - Hungry Jack & Jill (birds) tries to steal corn but Alex (scarecrow robot) stops them every time (notes: see coyote & bugs bunny).


Serafina - Jack (sloth), Jill (hummingbird) and Alex (rhino - wants ALL the cheesecake) have to share Cherry's famous cheesecake during a tea party.



nicholas - Jack & Jill (honey bees) must compete (or work together?) with Alex (butterfly) to collect as much nectar as possible from a field of flowers.


josep - A dragon called Jill is forced to kidnap a princess (Cherry, comic relief?) to save her father, Jack from Alex, a mean witch. Jill ends up teaming up with the princess to save Jack.

Firdaus - Jack must beat champion Alex (does he cheat?) to win an exciting game competition to impress Jill. 

(maybe jill wins in the end? but dun have to put this info into the 1 sentence).

Mastura - Jill (bakes cookies?) needs Jack to help her sell cookies to earn more money to buy a tricycle but Alex (tmaybe he tries to steal Jill's freshly baked cookies?) gets in their way.

Badhriya - Jack (private detective hired by Jill's father) must catch Alex red-handed to prove that Alex (Alex is maybe engaged to Jill?) wants to con Jill of her inheritance... (pls let me know if this is what you might want to write). thanks!


Yiling - Jack (mouse) wants to steal Alex's (cat) cake for Jill (love interest)


Michael - Sprites jack and jill wake up from hibernation, only to realize that winter has not ended and that the forest is going to die unless they... (specific details here) ..... 

Darren - Elves jack and jill must work together to stop alex from stealing the magic (item) from their forest (zoom in to a specific place, world is too big lol).

Hariz - (using elements like water, ice and fire to animate is not too suitable for your kitchen story - better to be animating kitchen items like forks, spoons, plates, sponge, teacups, etc )

who have i missed?

>>> AKASH... lol where is your 1 sentence? as at 24/3/2012

no15 STORIES - DM 2L-3E-3K

ASSIGNMENT 

- Discussion 9/3/2012

Target Audience: 

late 20's to 30 somethings (25yrs-39yrs) 

CHARACTERS
Hero - ADAM >> HAPPY GO LUCKY
Heroine - SARAH >> FUSSY
Villain - RYAN / SAM (male/female - up to you)
Comic Relief - BEN / GWEN (optional)


1-SENTENCE SUMMARY:

DM3E

Jamayne- tbc

Stephanie - Adam (stroke/accident patient) wants to court Sarah (hospital doctor) but is stopped by Sam (sarah's best friend), resulting in Sarah's death

DM3K

Daniel - Sarah creates havoc at Adam (ex fiance) & Sam's wedding dinner


Guo Xing - Sarah must find out who she is when she wakes up with memory loss

Joel - Adam & Sarah (husband & wife) negotiates with terrorist leader Ryan to save a family in zimbabwe from being killed

Ming Xing- absent

DM2L

Wing Yan - A nameless soul, placed in Sarah's body, must figure out what her greatest sin is within a few days, or else it cannot earn a second chance to live again.

stella - absent

govin - Adam and Sarah work together to raise money to redeem adam's car for a championship race. (or else? does this story interest your target audience?)

htet - Adam has to choose between his long time girlfriend, Sarah, or his latest love interest, Sam.

hui ru - Adam whom came out from national services, struggled with job and his girlfriend Sarah, who is too fussy in everything that causes Adam could not take a break.

shu yu, victoria - Sarah gives up chasing Ryan to give her best friend, Sam, a chance to be with Ryan. (she also helps Sam to win Ryan over).

farhan - Sarah must find her way home (and has an adventurous journey) after a cab driver threw her out of his cab for being too fussy.
 
After a huge fight with Ryan (best friend), Adam has to choose between patching up with  Ryan or to court Sarah (whom ryan think is unsuitable for adam)

na'im - absent

faiz- tbc

stanley - tbc

eve - Adam must figure out what to do (kill?) with a creepy/mysterious (dangerous?) stranger, Ryan, who sneaks into his home and reveals that he knows Adam's darkest secrets

sufi - Adam travels back in time to save Sarah from being killed in a car accident

syamsul - After a car accident, Sarah suffers a memory loss, and must figure out what to do about her relationships with Ryan (husband) and Sam (lover).

riley- Adam must stop his father from excessive gambling so that he can clear his father's debts with loan sharks

yan hua - Sarah must accept a risky job (what kind of job? robbery? prostitution? delivering drugs?) to pay debts to loan sharks (by a tight deadline, eg within 3 days OR ELSE)

vimal - Adam must (achieve something) or else ...

no14. STORIES - DM2B

ASSIGNMENT 

- Discussion 8/3/2012

Target Audience:
DM2B - young adults - late teens/20-somethings
DM2L - 25yrs - 39yrs
DM2C - family

Key Characters:
Hero > Mario >> Loser
Heroine > Lucy >> Blond Bimbo
Sam >> Villain
Bob >> Comic Relief


YOUR STORIES IN 1-SENTENCE:


Aakanksha - Mario (loser/psychotic) frames Sam for a murder to steal Lucy away from him


Clement - Mario (medic/loser) saves Lucy (blond bimbo/ms universe) from her kidnapper Sam (terrorist/villain)


MK - Mario wants to make good pies to win over Lucy who is crazy about Sam and his pies


Dhan - Mario agrees to help Lucy become a high fashion model on the condition that Lucy and Sam stop bullying him


Alim - Mario needs to impress his boss, Lucy, to get a promotion


Daphne - Lucy is torn between marrying a rich man, Sam, and Mario (whom she is in love with)


Kyra - Mario must get his stolen chip from Sam before Sam hands it to the wrong hands (research needed for background info  - eg what is this chip and how it affects the story)


Rico - Mario and Lucy must escape from their captor serial killer Sam



Darren - Mario challenges Sam to a car race to impress (get her attention) and win Lucy's heart

Jinghan - Mario (famous actor) wants to prevent Lucy & Sam (news reporter) for exposing his secret (sewing) 


Yoshita - Mario, Lucy and Sam must work together in a project to prevent being fired (all three will get fired if project fails)


Li Bing - Mario (car salesman) must pull in car sales or will lose his job (how does losing his job affect him BADLY - eg loan shark, money to pay for a crucial operation, etc)


Randall - Mario wants revenge because Sam killed his family and tried to kill him (but failed)



Ivonne - Mario, Lucy and Sam, late for a hiking trip, must hurry together rejoin the hiking team.


Chyi Han - Mario gets Bob's help to (achieve something) while Sam and Lucy tries to prevent that


Maytha - Trainee chefs Mario & Lucy (want to achieve something) to impress Sam, their mentor (masterchef)


Maytha2 - lucy schemes to beat mario in a cooking contest so that her restaurant can earn an award.. (unfortunately, lucy is a blond bimbo - we dun know if she's capable of scheming successfully.)


Nadia - absent


Haoyang - absent

no13. Storyboards & Presentation Boards

note: the above visual tells us what the tv show is all about (like a presentation board).

STORYBOARDS 

& PRESENTATION BOARDS

are used to show your ideas in visuals/text.


Target Audience:
DM2B - late teens/20-somethings/young adults
DM2L - 25yrs - 39yrs
DM2C - family


Key Characters:

DM2B

Hero - MARIO >> LOSER

Heroine - LUCY >> BLOND BIMBO

Villain - SAM (male/female - up to you)

Comic Relief - BOB (optional)

DM 2L - 3E - 3K

Hero - ADAM >> HAPPY GO LUCKY

Heroine - SARAH >> FUSSY

Villain - RYAN / SAM (male/female - up to you)

Comic Relief - BEN / GWEN (optional)

DM2C - NON-HUMAN CHARACTERS

Hero - JACK >> NERD

Heroine - JILL >> MS SUNSHINE

Villain - ALEX (male/female - up to you) 
Comic Relief - BOB / CHERRY (male/female - optional)

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CLASS GROUP EXERCISE:
Think of a story to help advertise a product.
Do a Storyboard for a 30sec tvc (tv commercial) as well as a 1pc Presentation board.

2B - Fun Soft Drink (new brand/product)
2C - Condo for family
2L/3E/3K - Holiday Package - Beach Resort
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CASE STUDIES:

 

 

  

 

CASE STUDIES

Examples of Openings that tell you about the characters and the backstory...

OBSERVE: 

Who is the target audience for each tv show below?

Who are the key characters, what are they like?

What is the story & backstory?

The Six Million Dollar Man

Dexter's Lab

Demolition Man

Austin Powers

Powerpuff Girls

Johnny Bravo

Charlie's Angels - Pilot Opening Sequence

Charlie's Angels - full throttle

The Simpsons

Spongebob SquarePants

Desperate Housewives

Glee

no12. ASSIGNMENT - DM2C

ASSIGNMENT BRIEF FOR DM2C
DEADLINE: WK 13 
(START EARLY, FOCUS ON 1 SENTENCE)



Deliverables:
1. Production File (storyline 500words or max 1000 words)
2. Script (5 pages or max 10 pages)
3. Presentation Board (5 boards, A4)


Scope of Work:
= Suitable for ANIMATION
= Suitable for your FYP
= must follow this brief (see below)


Target Audience: 

Family

(what do they want to watch in a screenplay?
what issues/topics are they interested in?
what kind of genres & presentation style do they prefer?)

Genre:

ANIMATION (MUST) & (your choice)

Character Bios: (YOU MUST USE THE SAME NAME & STEREOTYPE TRAITS)

USE NON-HUMAN CHARACTERS
Hero - JACK >> NERD
Heroine - JILL >> MS SUNSHINE
Villain - ALEX (male/female - up to you)
Comic Relief - BOB / CHERRY (male/female - optional)


Add in other traits/info into your character bio, according to your story. Especially characterization below:

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

story-telling techniques: (MUST USE AT LEAST 1 TYPE, YOU CAN MIX AS WELL)
1. journey / quest or goal-achievement / education
2. rivalry / testing
3. discovery / coming of age
4. love / forbidden love
5. problem-solution / question-answer


building story design: (MUST USE BELOW)
premise - use a statement
concept - how do you want to tell your story? ref to: ministry of silly walks, spam, sample tvcs, etc.
theme - themes & issues relating to target audience
meanings - making sense > what is your key message

designing the visual world through: (OPEN)
characters
situations
location/sets
scenarios
atmosphere
colours
costumes/hair/make up
props
language
music & sound effects
---------------------------

Some Tips:
> Who are you writing for?


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CLASS DISCUSSION 2 March 2012 fri

1. TA: Family
What kind of topics are they interested in?



- comedy, drama
- parenting
- children
- teenagers & parents relationship
- family holidays


examples of family oriented shows:


freaky friday 
- mother-daughter relationship >> generation gap 
- understanding teenhood & adulthood


parent trap


the incredibles
- family responsibility/duty
- each member of family has a role to play
- conflict?
- experiences of each member
- internal conflict


finding nemo
- single parenthood/fatherhood
- independence of children
- internal conflict > to overcome
- friendship - dory (comic relief)
- father-son bond
- peer pressure (friends in tank)
- making friends - marlin - dory, sharks, turtles, whale
- making friends - nemo - friends in the fish tank


cheaper by the dozen
simpsons
parenthood
addams family 

monsters inc


shrek





2. Characters: 
What kind of conflicts do they experience?

USE NON-HUMAN CHARACTERS

Hero - JACK >> NERD

Heroine - JILL >> MS SUNSHINE

Villain - ALEX (male/female - up to you)

Comic Relief - BOB / CHERRY (male/female - optional)

JACK - NERD
- knowledgeable and loves to share facts
- UNCOOL?
- look nerdy >> wardrobe, hair/makeup
- usually gets bullied for being "weak?" / 'uncool"
- unattractive to a trendy person
- often ignored
- teachers LOVE him




JILL - MS SUNSHINE
- popular
- always happy
- chatty
- optimistic
- talks too much at the wrong time
- talks inappropriate topic
- naive (in what way?) >>> trusts people 
- happy at the wrong time




watch dexter's laboratory


(dexter & dee dee)

3. Situations/Motive:
What kind of situations can they get into?
Find that one motive to drive your story.



MURPHY'S LAW
what can go wrong WILL go wrong >> conflict & drama



HAVE YOUR STORIES BY WEEK 10!
> 1 sentence summary
> synopsis
> character profile/bio
(to discuss with rest of class)