Writing

Consolidation journal

AC1 – informing ideas

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To begin with I was quite overwhelmed with the idea of writing a script. This was something I haven’t done before and therefore had no previous experience. In lesson, we looked at emotional memory. This was where we think back to a time where we felt a strong emotion and use that to make an authentic and realistic script. I thought about people that I knew in my life. I looked at their qualities and traits and used them to create my main character: Tammy. I had to focus on 4 key points, background, fears, flaws and desires. Once had something for each point, my idea started to come to life. Another key section I focused on was the character development. In my script I had to ensure that there was some sort of conflict within the plot and have a story arch.

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Additional research

When I felt I was having a writer block, I often turned to my peers for support. I had them read my character bios so I could see it from another perspective. I also used the internet to see what my script was lacking. Alongside this, I looked into the film ‘the Florida project’ and did some character analysis on Bobby ( https://boaacademy-my.sharepoint.com/personal/tanya_thomas_boa-stageandscreen_co_uk/Documents/the%20florida%20project.docx ) This helped me understand what sort of points I needed to include with my own character. Another piece of research I did was looking into the naturalistic dialogue of the programme ‘normal people’. In this research I learnt how authentic dialogue allowed the reader to feel raw emotions and connect to the characters in a deeper sense. Here is a link to my assignment where I researched a script with naturalistic dialogue. research into naturalistic acting.

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AC2 – problem solving

What were some obstacles I faced?

A main obstacle is faced was time management. I had to create my first draft by a deadline. At this point I was still working on my character bio, and I found myself falling behind. I wanted to make sure I handed my draft 1 in on time so I set a designated time where I would work on finishing my bio and start my draft after school. Setting time allowed me to get back on track and I was able to finish my draft 1.

Working on Draft 1

Starting draft, one felt quite easy to me. This was because my character bio was written in a lot of detail, so I found that it made my work flow a lot better. I made sure to think back to my brief which was writing a NATURALISTIC scene. I had to think about what I would do if I was in that situation. I wrote my script based on my perspective.

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Feedback

Miss Tugwell had a one-to-one feedback session with me where she read through my script. She said that my stage directions and description of the setting was well written however I needed to expand on the backstory as it didn’t quite make sense to the reader. I found this very helpful as it let me understand what I had to improve on from another perspective.

Collaboration with peers

As this was an independent project, I did the work myself however there were times where I asked my peers for support. For example, I had my classmate read through my script and give me feedback on the positives and any improvements that had to be made. He told me where he saw the story going and what he thought of the dialogue. This allowed to identify and errors within my work and to change them.

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AC3 – technical skills

Technical software

To write my script, I used the software TRELBY. This was free to use, and it was simple. using this helped my work look professional and it made it easier to work rather than working on a word document. 

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AC4 – professional roles and reflections

Processes I used

One of the main processes I used when writing my script was the key points of structure. I ensured my script had an inciting incident, plot and climax. As it was a 5-minute script, I didn’t want to rush it and try put a whole story in, so I decided that I wanted my script to finish on a cliff hanger. Another process I used was blurting. This is where you write down notes on anything that you can think of. This can be very random but once you have a good set of ideas, it helps to unravel a story.

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Professional scriptwriters

A professional scriptwriter I looked as was Richard Linklater. He is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was nominated for 5 Oscars and worked on the film ‘boyhood’ for 12 years. From this research I was able to learn the importance of naturalistic scriptwriting as it explores the complexities of human behaviour and society as well as portraying the unfiltered aspects of life. Here is a link into my research of the film ‘Boyhood’ where I investigate authentic and relatable acting: boyhood character analysis

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Roles I played

Two roles I played was being a script writer and a reader. I had to create my own script as well as reading my peers work and supporting them by giving feedback. Through this I learnt how to give constructive criticism and receive it.

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AC5 – communication skills

Communication as a group

When working with my class, I tried to give feedback in a way that will help them improve their work. I focused on 4 different types of feedback: directive, contingency, attribution, and impact. Directive focuses on telling someone what you think about their work but as a statement, e.g. I think your script needs to be more detailed. Contingency feedback warns them about a future issue they could come across if they continue something. Attribution focuses on a positive of the work and how it makes the work better. Finally, impactful feedback describes how an action made affects the work positively or negatively.

I also used the ‘feedback sandwich’. This was where I would give a positive comment, followed by constructive feedback then once again affirming the positive comment. This makes sure the feedback isn’t harsh but also helps the person to improve their work.