Italian for - A moment in film


We were assigned by Steve Coombes to find one moment in a film that we are passionate about and explain why we like it and what makes us want to write like that. 


The moment I have chosen is from the film "The Pianist" by Roman Polanski. Screenplay written by Ronald Harwood, based on a true story from Wladyslaw Szpilman¨s book. It is one of my favorite films and ever since I saw it, it is one of those films that has remained with me, and its a story I will always remember. 

- - - -

The moment I want to accentuate in this film, struck me right away as we were assigned this task. The reason this moment were the one who spoke to me as a special moment, is because I could remember the vulnerability, and at the same time victory in this particular scene. 
To be able to write such strong scenes, so exciting and emotional and at the same time real and lifelike... That would just be amazing. Simply because you can clearly see, that here, it is all about the show not tell. The way the writer has managed just that is incredible.


Wladyslaw Szpilman, played by Adrien Brody, is a Polish-Jewish pianist and musician. who has in this scene just about survived getting through world war II, in the Warsaw ghetto. He has been through loss, terror, starvation, fighting his psyche, pain and countless different states of emotions. 


As he has been hiding out in some abandoned buildings, the last period of the war, he one day set off to leave these buildings. The war seems to be over, he is finally free, he can finally return back to a normal life. You can see the glimmer of hope in his eyes, as he takes in some deep breaths of fresh air.


What happens next, is that there is a group of people and some soldiers walking down the same street he¨s placed at. Out of nowhere one of the women starts yelling. They think he is a german solider because he is wearing a german coat. 

The moment;
So fragile, so pure and in one moment so happy and free. Yet the next, out of nowhere he is attacked by these soldiers fighting agains the germans. He¨s about to lose everything he has fought so hard for. His freedom.


//Sources of information 

//All images from google.com


- - - -

As a part of preparation and development towards our story-telling project, we are so lucky to have writer Steve Coombes as lecturer a few days the next couple of weeks. This is a golden opportunity, where Steve himself will be looking at our drafts and provide us with comments on it, to help us to improve our stories.

Steve Coombes have been a professional screenwriter for about 25 years, and holds so much experience and knowledge when it comes to writing screenplays for tv- and film. I feel very lucky to be in the position where I can harvest from his knowledge, and to hopefully, be able to develop my writing-skills.


Here is a summary of what we went through with Steve yesterday.
- - - - 

Screenwriting

- Put as many moments as you can into your screenplay, if you have at least five moments, you then have a screenplay. 
- SHOW DONT TELL, you have to show your story, not tell it. This is why it is a "showbiz" not a "saybizz".
- The audience is who decides if its good or not. 

The six steps 
from idea to the final script = production of the film or television show

1. Pitch
2. Treatment
3. Bible - 70 pages long
4. First draft script - 60 pages long
5. Green light - start shooting
6. Writing the script

Moments

The moments in a screenplay are key to a good story.
It is important to have moments you can label, and know where they are in your story. A good idea is to use your own moments, and think of them as you create your idea.

TV- history

- Hill Street Blues, changed the tv industry, it was the first good series in America.
And worked as a revolution where they went from bad programs like boxing, porn etc. who no one watched. To good programs.
- In America the shows are run by the writers, whereas in Britain did not have that revolution and the shows were run, and still are by executives.

- HBO - American cable channel
- Had a lot of money, but wasn't going anywhere, or doing any good.
- HBO had become known for having hardcore porn and boxing.
- They wanted to use their money to improve their name and reputation.
- Their first good show was the Sopranos.
- The next good show HBO did is called "The Wire".

Good to know

A story is like a ball. In the end you have to catch it. Use as many balls as you are capable of throwing in the air at the same time, as long as you can catch them by the end of the script.

- Entropy - Complete chaos
  A story has to have a risk.

When it comes to structure of the story, you need a beginning, middle and end. Usually it is smart to know your ending, because you will then always be able to catch the ball in the end. But you also need to choose a timescale. Does the story go over hours, days, weeks, months a.s.o?

- Be careful of going into detail about the characters backstory.
  Tell what happens next, not what has been. The audience wants to be able to form their own opinions of the characters. Dont tell, show.

POV - Point of view - Find out which point of view the story is being told from. One point of view, or several points of view?

Scene - should have the same setup as a joke. Beginning, a bit in the middle, punchline and end.

Act - A "stolen" term from theatre, where in tv this means, "a commercial break".

Plot - What happens

Story - What is significant


- - - - 

After the lecture with Steve, I feel like I got the last bit of information to be able to sit down and start my planning fully. We had already gone through the setup of a story in our unit-brief, but all the other information were like the last pieces to the puzzle. Now I feel prepared and ready to make the "puzzle" complete thanks to all the little pieces of information and briefing we have gone through the last two weeks. 



// All Images from google.com


A Film By Christopher Nolan
- - - - 

Quick facts: 
- Mystery Thriller
- Duration 113 min
- Nominated for two oscars
- Another 52 wins, and 44 nominations
// IMDb \\


FADE IN:
1 INT. DERELICT HOUSE - DAY <> 1
A POLAROID PHOTOGRAPH, clasped between finger and thumb: a
crude, crime scene flash picture of a MAN'S BODY lying on a
decaying wooden floor, a BLOODY MESS where his head should be.







 // Manuscript - gregorymancuso.com.pdf

























It is here,  at the beginning of the film, we get introduced to the main character. As viewers, we also get presentated to one of the key elements, used as a tool and red thread throughout the film. The polaroid photographs.



















We watched Memento at lecture this Friday, as a part of our first unit - Story telling. I found this film to be very interesting. Already from frame one, the director manages to catch the viewers attention. Which is crucial as to getting the story told, and at the same time capture the audience. It quickly drives of to be a story you cannot switch off before you have seen how it goes.











What I like about this film is the overall completed style and cinematography. The way it portrays the main character and storyline, by using simple but yet powerful measures, to express the theme, conflict and feelings. The color palette used, is carefully chosen, and I like the way this binds the expression and how this makes the story reach out with its message.



I also really like the way he has used black and white scenes, to create contrast and as a "throwback"effect. These things are what inspires me, to be aware of how I can, as Christopher himself has, create my own recognizable style of storytelling, use of cinematography and overall aesthetic expression.















A lot of Nolan¨s films tend to be quite dark or action filled, such as in, Batman Begins, Insomnia and Inception. They all represent the genres of mystery, action and romance, and the way he uses storytelling to present and visualize these genres are pretty amazing. If you take a look at some of the films he has made, it is clearly that you can see Nolan¨s personal expression through his films.















All in all, I see Christopher Nolan as a great director, and I love the way he often uses nonlinear story-telling to really underpin his stories, style and creativity as a director. MEMENTO is really an intense and at times a confusing film to watch, therefore the genre of mystery. At the same time, a very entertaining and exciting film to see. 



















//All images from google.com






3d9880a875fdef7c73036913c23adb33.jpg



memento-22.jpg



600full-memento-screenshot.jpg



memento_01_dvd.png





// Sources of information: 















            

          

          

        


          

        






















" The Meeting "



During our first unit, our project evolves around story-telling. We are challenged to write and develop an original 10-page dramatic screenplay, and then to translate aspects of the screenplay into a moving image form.













The project is split into two creative pipelines.







Part 1: The screenplay



Title and idea should be derived from the starting point of "the meeting". 



Main focus on the meeting of two main characters.



Part 2: The visualization and re-write



Using the script as the blueprint, the choice is between two moving image forms. 



A 2 minute long trailer who's purpose is to "sell" the entire story, or the opening two minutes of the screenplay. 















// Image from google.com














            

          

          

        


          

        























- - - -





Characters:    Minor Celebirty



                       Political Activist



Location:       Nightclub





- - - - 







Who are the characters? 



Minor celeberty: 

- Natalie

- Female who takes care of her apperance.

- Has long luxurious golden brown hair.

- Curvy and fit

- Tanned skin

- Mini role/mini series

- Sitcom/comedy-drama called "Life of the Unicorns"

- Her role was the blonde dumb girl, and the media eventually branded her as being as her character in real life.

- When she became famous, she abounded her family to live the sweet life.

-ended up losing her job after being shamed for allegedly saying something about a political leader.

- Now working as waitress in a club.















Where does she come from?



Her family home was a smal, tight cramped home. Had the golden chance to gain fame and fortune. Which led to her having more to lose.









Political Activist: 

- James

- Tall, slender, good looking (- Which allowed him to be excused for his wrong doings)

- Has his own political talk show

- Formal Style

- Snobby look to his face

- Sometimes shames celebrities for their political views

- He is the cause for the once famous celebrity losing her job and getting a bad reputation

- He doesn¨t realize the struggles of the people he shames.









Where does he come from?



Comes from a high class background and have wealthy parents.





Why are they meeting?



- They are meeting by chance

- He is there for a drink with friends from work

- Recognizes her













Goal 



The goal is for James to have a change in heart, after seeing the damage his work can cause. 



The goal for Natalie is to finally find lousier and move on on her family and career. 







Conflict



James is unaware of the consequences that was caused after he shamed Natalie. After Natalie recognizes him as she serves him in the club, she begins to act erratically and makes him aware of the downfalls he has caused. James is unable to answer her questions and gradually feels guilt and shame.







Change



Tv host, James, changes as a character because he realize the severity in his words, and acknowledges that he has been blind to other people and their feelings. Goes from being self-centered to become more openhearted.







Natalie learns to gradually let go of her bitterness and all the hatred she has built up towards James. She eventually tries to get her life back on track, and to fix her relationship with her family.


















            

          

          

        


          

        




















Hi,



Im Ida, and this year I am starting my Television Production studies at 

UCA - University for The Creative Arts. I am really excited, and cannot wait to move into Uni, get to know the city of Rochester, meet loads of new people and last but not least, get started on the study I have chosen. To you guys at home, I will miss you loads <3 But its not too long until we¨ll see each other again. After all, the trip back home ain¨t too far.



During the last month or so, I have been working on my UCA summer project, and I have been looking forward to showing it to you! 






 

Frame by Frame from Ida Frank on Vimeo.

 



Frame by Frame - There are 25fps, frames per second, in a film clip. This is basically a presentation of me, simply frame by frame.



















        

      










Television by Ida Frank. Powered by Blogger.

























- Ida Frank -



- Ida Frank -









About me



- Studying Television Production at UCA - - University for The Creative Arts -   Contact: televisionbyidafrank@gmail.com







Social



vimeo

follow me on twitter

instagram







Archive