Major Project- Working Titles and Justification for "Ascension".

I have been thinking a lot about what to refer to my series as for it's working title. My original ideas were "Coming Home", "Going Home" and "Homecoming" and "A Wolf Amongst Us", but there were several problems with these titles, which I will discuss in this blog.

Coming Home/ Going Home/ Homecoming-
The problems I found with these titles were that they are about coming home, and this title seems to be mostly aimed towards the character of Stanley, (who is returning to the UK after a period of time in the Falklands) and none of the other characters.
This usage doesn't really fit in my opinion, as although Stanley is a pinnacle character in the series, he is by means not the ONLY main character. Therefore it doesn't make much sense to me that the title would be named only for him, and none of the others.

A Wolf Among Us-
This was a title I thought up when originally coming up with the idea of a group of friends meeting, with one of them being a potential serial killer. The title is a sort of metaphorical hint of things to come, and can relate to all the characters. The "wolf" in this case is Stanley, and the "Us" are the other characters, Mitch, Cindy, Alex and Jairo.
I ultimately decided not to go with this title for several reasons.

1. The title suggests that Stanley is immediately guilty, and is definitely a serial killer, which goes against what actually happens in the series (as it turns out Stanley is innocent.)
2. There already exists a video game with this same title which has something to do with werewolves, and there is a possibility my series having this title could be misinterpreted as having something to do with the video game. http://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/250320/
3. The title doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. For me, a good title is something that can be brought up in conversation and not sound out of place. For example, I just can't imagine someone saying "Are you watching 'A Wolf Among Us' tonight". To me it just sounds out of place. Ideally, a one or two word title would be used for this series.

The title I have ultimately decided to go with is "Ascension". According to the dictionary, the word "Ascension" means, To Ascend to a higher position, or Rise.

I think in relation to my story, this could be taken and interpreted in several ways.

1. It could relate to the physical act of all the characters "Ascending" to the North of the UK to Scotland.
2. It could relate to the characters "Ascending" to the mountain where the Fairwether Lodge is.
3. It could refer to the characters striving to "Ascend" to a better life, as none of the characters are particularly happy with the lives and positions they find themselves in before reuniting.

I also like that Ascension is an easy, short title which can be easily remembered. It also doesn't refer or relate to any character in particular, and instead can be related to the entire situation as a whole, with the characters "Ascending" to new heights. It could also be interpreted in a way by the viewer that I haven't considered.

UPDATE 19/3/2016
During a recent investigation into the Falkland Islands and the surrounding areas, I discovered that there is actually a Task Force Base on the way to the Falklands called "Ascension Island". Although this doesn't really have anything to do or add to my story, I just thought it was a strange coincidence that there was a link between the name of a Military base and the title of my screenplay.

Major Project- Selecting a Location for the Fairwether Lodge

Recently I have been putting some thought into where I could have the location of the Fairwether Lodge. Having changed my location from America to the UK, I have come across several problems. The first is that the UK is considerably smaller than the USA. I wanted the location of the Lodge to be somewhere isolated, somewhere it could be reasonable for someone to get lost at, and the mountains of Massachusetts in America, and the original fictional "Crystal Hills" location fit this criteria.

Moving the location to the UK brought up the problem of isolation. Being a smaller location than America, it is significantly harder for someone to get lost, or not be able to make it back to civilization. This is where I thought of having Scotland as the location of the lodge.
Although Scotland is a different country to England, where all the main characters come from, it is still attached and it is therefore reasonable to think that the main characters could realistically make it to Scotland.

Another major aspect of me choosing a location, was how realistically a person could be stranded at that location. The original mountain setting of Massachusetts meant that it would be very unlikely a stranded person would be able to make it through the sub-zero weather, down the mountain (without being attacked by animals or frozen to death) and back to civilization. However, the Scottish Highland location does fit this criteria.

I spoke with a classmate; Alex Barker (who has lived in Scotland) about whether or not the Highlands were remote enough for my story scenario to take place. And after doing some research on Google maps and speaking with him, it seems that the Highlands are a massive collection of fields that span many many miles. It would seem that finding a way around in the Highlands (especially in winter and blizzards) would be a very difficult task to do without a vehicle.

Alex also informed me that there are several mountainous regions in Scotland, which would be a fantastic replacement for the mountains of Massachusetts which I originally had the story set at.
Therefore, due to it's isolation and beautiful scenery, I have created a fictional region in the Scottish Highland called "Lochwood Hills", where the main segments of the story will take place.

Major Project- Character Outline & Backstories

Below is an outline of several key characters that I am developing for my Major Project series.

Stanley Bradshaw
Stanley is a member of the Royal Marines who grew up in the town of Kettering in the UK. He has a strong sense of justice, and will do whatever it takes to protect his friends and family. At an early age, Stanley decided that he wanted to protect his country, and decided to join the Marines immediately upon leaving secondary school.
Stanley has the ability keep cool under pressure, and is relatively laid back in all aspects of life. Despite being in the Marines, Stanley hates the idea of killing and will often try to resolve a problem without resorting to violence.
During his time in the Falklands, Stanley discovers that one of his superiors; Sergeant Dreizer is plotting to murder all of the Marines in his platoon in order to illegally export a supply of gold from the Falkland's mines. Stanley is too late to prevent the massacre, and instead only manages to wound Dreizer, who tells Stanley that it is he that will be blamed for the murders due to being a junior officer.
Stanley remembers receiving an invite to a reunion with his friends in the Scottish Highlands, and decides that it would be better for him to go there and try and lay low, avoiding the military police until he can decide what to do.

Mitch McKenzie
Mitch was raised by his mother and step-father. His step-father was an incredibly violent alcoholic, who would often beat Mitch and his mother. As a result, Stanley grew to be a very violent, temperamental person who would take his aggressions out on the people around him at school. A racist and sexist, Mitch was generally found bullying person that he thought to be inferior.
The one constant in his life was his love of Football, and Mitch strived to one day play professionally. One day Mitch manages to secure a long sought-after try out with Tottenham Hotspurs F.C, which Mitch hopes will be the thing to pull his life out of the gutter and give him a sense of self-worth.
However, a few days before the try-out, Mitch has his ankle broken by his Step-father, and has to undergo ankle fusion surgery- meaning he will never be able to play football to a professional standard again.
Homeless, Mitch comes begins to dabble in the sales of drugs, most notably cocaine, and he manages to make a reasonable living out of it. However, Mitch hates selling drugs, and decides to visit the work-place of his old school-friend Alex to try and get a job at the London based Fairwether Energies.
Discovering that Alex is under a lot of stress however, Mitch sees the opportunity to profit and benefit, and becomes Alex's personal drug dealer. Mitch develops a pseudo-friendship with Alex, and operates as "the devil in his ear", often pretending to be Alex's friend in order to keep him on cocaine, and drain him of as much money as possible.

Alex Fairwether Jr.
Alex is the only son of the immensely successful Alexander Fairwether,  the CEO of Fairwether Energies. Alex never wanted the life of a rich person, and demanded at a young age to be treated just like everyone else, attending a public school, and wanting to eventually leave and get a regular job. However, his father had different ideas.
upon leaving secondary school, Alexander Fairwether begins to attempt to mold his son in his own image, and educate him on the ways the family energy business is run. However, the constant pressure of having to live up to his fathers excessive expectations, and having to learn about something he had absolutely no interest in made Alex eventually turn to drink and drugs with influence from Mitch McKenzie.
Eventually, his father discovers his substance abuse, and promptly disowns Alex, who moves to the Fairwether families abandoned mining lodge in the Scottish Highlands in an attempt to go "cold turkey."

Cindy Parker
Cindy is a determined, and intelligent young woman. The only one of the ground of friends to attend university, Cindy excelled and gained an undergraduate degree in Accountancy at Cambridge University. This in itself was a particularly awesome feat, as Cindy's overprotective father was extremely reluctant to allow Cindy to leave the comfort of Kettering in order to travel and live in a different part of the UK.
upon graduating, Cindy moves to London in order to take a job as an accountant for a large corporation. However, upon arriving, she discovers that she is merely being used for menial jobs around the office, and is actually being paid less than the men in the office that are working on the same level as her. Cindy is also the victim of several sexist remarks, and becomes very unhappy with her workplace.
On one particularly bad day, Cindy comes across a letter she received from Alex Fairwether, inviting her to come and stay with him at his families lodge in the Scottish Highlands. After some deliberation, she quits her job and promptly heads out to Scotland.

Jairo Adebayo
Jairo was born in the village of Malawi in south-east Africa, but at an early age was sent to England by his family, who wanted a better future for him. He is a particularly good natured person, always smiling and very optimistic about life. This is despite Jairo having horrible experiences dealing with racism at the hands of Mitch McKenzie and others since coming to England. His optimism makes him very approachable, and as a result, Cindy, Alex and Stanley immediately accepted Jairo into their group.
After secondary school, Jairo found employment at a building site, where he faced severe racial bullying from some of his work-mates. As a result, he became quite depressed and felt alone, especially with with a lot of his friends having moved away to different parts of the country. he therefore jumps at the opportunity to attend a reunion with his old schoolfriends at the Fairwether lodge.
He hopes that by reconnecting with his friends, he won't feel so alone.

Ivan Dreizer
Dreizer is the main Antagonist of the series. he is motivated only by money and is a ruthless killer. Dreizer travels the world, taking part in wars and conflicts wherever possible in order to take advantage of vulnerable areas to extort money and steal valuable resources.
How he has survived so many conflicts is due to his toughness, and the fact he is incredibly wiley, often manipulating the others into doing his bidding. Dreizer has no problem fighting alongside one army one day, and then switching sides if it means he will profit. In basic terms, Dreizer's only loyalty is to himself.
Dreizer learns of a gold mine that has been discovered in the Falklands Islands, and decides that he can gain access to military controlled areas in the Falklands by joining the Royal Marines. Once there he devises a plan to murder every last member of his small platoon, and secretly steal the gold for himself, faking his death. However, his plan is scuppered by Stanley Bradshaw, the only survivor of the massacre, who manages to wound Dreizer and escape the Falkland's islands.
Dreizer survives his wound by radioing for help from the Royal Marines, and subsequently is too weak to return and collect the gold from the Falkland mines, effectively losing out on his original plan to steal the gold and run. As a result, Dreizer becomes fueled by blood-lust and a need to get revenge on Stanley, and sets out to find the man that cost him his loot.

More back stories and details about these characters will be explored during the series, and by the end of the series, I hope to have developed them much further. I have chosen the characters to be the way they are so I can explore certain themes in my series, including racism, sexism, revenge, bullying and other aspects of day to day human life.

Major Project-Study Group Meeting with Sam McKeown

Today I met with Sam Mckeown, a fellow student who is also creating a series script for his major project. The idea behind this meeting was that it would give us an opportunity to share some of our ideas with each other, and also share some potentially useful information sources with each other that we have found over the course of the research stage of our script writing.
We discussed the stories we have developed thus far, as well as the kind of themes and atmosphere we want to portray through our scripts, and I felt that this really allowed for a deeper exploration of potential story routes we could each go down.

We briefly discussed the idea of genres, and Sam suggested that I think very carefully about the genre label I give my series. At the moment, I have classed my series as a Drama series, but Sam suggested that the drama label may not be enough of a descriptive way to describe my series, as there are several action sequences I have planned as well, which could in fact make my series a Drama/Thriller.
I think it is important that I fully understand the genre I will be writing for before I begin to create my script, as I will then be able to write in a style that suits whichever genre I pick.
Not having a clearly defined genre will mean I will not have a set standard of writing to follow, meaning my series may end up suffering from a "confused identity", which one episode potentially being extremely humorous, and the next being incredibly dark and serious. This could potentially be confusing for a viewer, and as such, I feel that investigating the genres of Drama and Thriller should be a priority for me, as I will then know whether I am writing for a drama, thriller or mixture of both.

We have decided to meet often in order to discuss more ideas, and the stages we are at in our projects. I have already agreed to submit the first draft of my first episode to Simon on the 1st of february, and so me and Sam have decided that we will also provide each other with a copy of the others script, so that we can critically analyse each others work.
I feel that it will always be useful to have as many eyes as possible repeatedly checking out my work, as I feel the more feedback I can get, the better my work will become.

Major Project- Researching The Falkland's Conflict

In order to fully understand the falklands conflict (which plays a heavy role in my story) I have decided to research the event online using several different sources. The first, which I believe will be extremely useful in terms of finding out exactly why the conflict took place is a book called Power and Military Effectiveness: The Fallacy of Democratic Triumphalism by Michael C. Desch, and in particular one chapter entitled "Democracy and Britain's Victory in the Falklands War."

I have yet to fully read this book, but from briefly reading this chapter and scanning a few vital details about Britain's role in the retaking of the Falkland's Islands, I believe it will be a very useful source for me to investigate and gather information from in order to help me write about situations in the Falklands with absolute authenticity.
The book details some very important details, such as how exactly the British Army managed to overcome the Argentinian army with similar weaponry and a similar amount of soldiers despite being 8000 miles away from home, and it also details some effects the war had on Britain back home, such as the British victory securing the reelection of Margeret Thatcher, who was the PrimeMinister at the time.

I have also been checking out some documentary film pieces, including this documentary; The Falklands War- The Untold Story.
This documentary contains many accounts of the war from the points of view of people affected by the war, and should be a fantastic source for me to collect information on exactly what kind of effect the war had on the different types of people that were directly and indirectly involved at home and abroad. What I learn from this will allow me to further develop each character's attitude, particularly people's attitudes towards Stanley, who will have been a soldier returning from the Falklands.

I will continue my investigations.

Major Project- Changes to Project Based on Feedback

Today I met with Simon and discussed the stage that my project is at, and received critical feedback.
Here are a few suggestions that were made;

• Due to the duration I had given for each episode (25 minutes) I should consider creating my script for a network other than AMC, potentially a British network where program durations around this time are more common.
• Potentially change Stanley's Vietnam story to one revolving around the Falkland Island disputes, which would allow for the story to take place in the UK.
• Change the location of the Mansion the friends meet at from Massachusetts to the Scottish Highlands. (Still a remote area, and still accessible from England.)
• Change the time period the story takes place in from the late 1960s-early 1970s to late 1970s-early 1980s to fit the time period the Falklands invasion took place in.

After some deliberation, these changes to my story and format would make my program much more viable if it were to actually be created. I am a UK native, and have close friends and relatives that grew up in the 1970s and 80s, and as such, it would be easier for me to get an idea of what life was like back then in the UK, and use that knowledge to add a sense of authenticity to my story.

Of course, changes will have to be made to how certain events play out, but I believe I will be able to change my storyline to accommodate this new direction certain aspects of my project will be going in.

My new areas of research in order to write with full authenticity of the new time period my piece will take place in is;

• What were fashion trends/ popular culture like in the late 70s/ early 80s?
• What were the attitudes against people of different races?
• What are the effect of cocaine addiction? (In order to gauge what effect addiction would have on one of my characters.)
• What UK networks could accomodate my 25 minute, 6 episode series?

Major Project- Script Flashback Format Research

I plan for flashback to be a major factor in the series I am scripting, and a lot of the characters backstories will be showcased and shown through the usage of them. One problem with this is that I have never worked with flashbacks before in any of my scripts, and as such I have little to no idea about how to actually format a flashback in a script.
Since I plan for flashbacks to play a major role in showing key-moments in my story, learning to script and format them is something I need to pay careful attention to.

I managed to come across this site: http://www.scriptologist.com/Magazine/Formatting/Flashbacks/flashbacks.html which gives a very brief example of how a flashback should be scripted. The format looks quite solid and workable, and after trying it out in my Final Draft Software, I found it to be a very useful and straightforward way of getting the point across that the scene described takes place as a flashback.

With this in mind, I decided to check out a famous script in order to check if this technique was effective in scripts that were actually used on big budget film productions. I came across this script for Quentin Tarantino's film; Resevoir Dogs: http://seai.uniroma1.it/sites/default/files/dialoghi%208%20SCENA%201-SU%20YOUTUBE%20RESERVOIR%20DOGS%20TIPPING%20SCENE.pdf

and came across this particular page which shows the beginning of a flashback occurring.

Something I was a little confused about was the fact that this flashback sequence begins with the heading; CUT TO: as opposed to FLASHBACK TO:
I believe this is just Tarantino's choice of wording, as the scene shown in the movie is most definitely a flashback.
I think I will continue to use the FLASHBACK TO: header in my own script, as I have discovered that when I input this into my script, the scriptwriting software Final Draft automatically places the text to the right, similar to the area the CUT TO: header is placed in the Resevoir Dogs script. This to me suggests that the software recognises the header as the beginning of a flashback sequence.

This formating technique is something that I think will be very useful for defining flashbacks in a simple, easy to understand manner in my script, and it is a technique I will definitely be using a lot during the script-writing process.

Major Project- Story Outline & Some Areas of Research

I have recently begun refining my story idea, and creating characters and situations that I believe would be the interesting for a television series. The series is set in 1970s America, and revolves around the idea of a group of friends reuniting after a period of time at a lodge in the fictional mountainous region; "Crystal Hills" in Massachusetts. Upon arriving a snowstorm occurs, preventing any chance of the characters being able to safely make it back to society.

They also discover that one of the friends; Stanley- a former U.S Marine is subject of a nation-wide manhunt and has been accused of committing a massacre killing many Vietnamese villagers and fellow marines during his time at war. The series will revolve around the idea of the characters having to deal with being essentially trapped in a the middle of nowhere with an accused murderer, with mistrust being the main theme.

A lot of character development and story background will take place through the usage of flashbacks, in the same vain as the television show LOST. The hope is that the way viewers feel about the characters and situations at the start of the series will be completely different to the way they feel about them at the end.

Some things I have to consider when creating the overall story is the time period that the story takes place in. Since the series takes place during the Vietnam war, it is essential that I get a  good understanding of what life was like back then, including how people spoke and dressed, and what kind of things were in popular culture at the time.
I plan on investigating this using the internet, watching videos from that time period, and making careful notes about the kinds of phrases that were being used, what kind of trends were being set, and especially how people spoke to each other. This should allow me to create a sense of authenticity in my script if I can create dialogue and situations that seem realistic for the time period.

Since a lot of the series takes place as a flashback in South Vietnam from the point of view of Stanley as a Marine, it is also important that I review what life would have been like for someone serving in the Vietnamese war, and the kind of experiences they might have had at that time. In order to do this, I have been reading the book Vietnam At War by Mark Bradley, which details some of the more gritty experiences people went through during the war using documents that have been recovered, including the make-shift diary of a Vietnamese medic who was caring for injured Vietnamese villagers and soldiers.
The book has fantastic descriptions of the actual living conditions people were going through in South Vietnam, and has such descriptions of the unsanitary sleeping and crop-growing conditions they had to endure, which will come in handy when I want to describe locations in my script.
There are also depictions of the hostile America/Vietnam relationships, which I could reflect in my actual storytelling.

I also discovered that there are several films that could be used to show the brutality of the war, including Platoon and Full Metal Jacket, both of which take place during this war. It would be worth me watching these two films and looking at how the set pieces look, as well as checking out the actual production scripts for these films, so I can see exactly how they match up with the films, and use the same kind of descriptive words for scenes in Vietnam in my own script.

Major Project- New Idea and Selecting a Format/Network

I have decided to pursue my interest in purely being a scriptwriter for my major project, and as such I have decided to visit an idea I had for a television series many years ago that I believe would be suitable for me to undertake in a major project capacity.
The reason I have selected a television series as the format I want to work with, is because I believe that I will be able to fully flesh out and explore the characters I am creating better with this format. A feature length film could work, but I would be very restricted with what I could show in a certain amount of time if I were to choose to work with this format.

My main aim with this project will be to create and develop characters that are truly likable, and relatable for a viewer. I want them to evolve realistically. A major problem with my previous script "Inoculum" was that characters would often not react in a realistic fashion to certain situations, and I believe this was because of the short-film format I had given the film.
If I had chosen to script a feature length or series, I believe I would have been able to create a much more realistic set of circumstances and characters that react accordingly. This is the beauty of choosing a series this time around.

The main story I want to tell, is of a group of old high-school friends that are unfulfilled in their lives, and decide to reconnect with each other to reminisce about happier times. They plan to do this by spending time at a secluded mansion in Crystal Hills, a beautiful mountainous region in Massachusetts, USA. During their time there however, they discover that one of the group of friends is on the run, and has been accused of murdering many innocent people in their time with the U.S Marines. Not only that, they are currently armed. Not only that, a freak snowstorm has hit the mountains, and there's no way back to civilization and no way to contact help!
The relationship and distrust between the old friends will be the driving force in the series, with emphasis being put on the friends discussing how they came to be in this situation, and whether or not they can trust the accused murderer.
Flashbacks will be a major factor in the creation of this series (much like the critically acclaimed series; Lost) and will be used to showcase the characters developing attitudes and history accordingly.

With the ideas I have, I believe that this project would warrant a big budget for it's production, and would follow the same kind of drama style as other high budget American series like Game of Thrones, Prison Break and Lost.

A network I believe would suit my idea is AMC, a network famous for it's series Breaking Bad, Mad Men and The Walking Dead. These series have all ran for several years and allowed for massive development and evolution of each of the characters that appear in them, and have become cult classics in mainstream media with massive fan followings.

Viewer's develop a sense of kinship with the characters and everytime a characters motivation changes or a character dies, viewers always have a massive opinion about it. No moment seems at all wasted or out of place.
This care and dedication to characters is the same kind of treatment I would like the characters I create to have and I hope that characters motivation will change throughout my series. A massive reason I am using the series Breaking Bad as an example and main motivation for what I would like my series to be like, is its depiction of characters that blur the line between good and evil, something that I would like to reflect in my own.

I currently plan to have 6 episodes in my series, with each episode being around 25 minutes long. I believe this is enough time for me to tell a coherent story and have a coherent amount of development in each episode enough to keep the viewer wanting more.
As of now, I have a working title; "Coming Home", but it is very likely this will change multiple times throughout the development of my project, as the "Coming Home" title only seems to relate mostly to one particular character, not the entire group of friends, and after all my main intention for this series is to make each character just as important as the last.