Major Project Unit- Inspiration from "The Shining."

Whilst scripting Ascension, the kind of atmosphere set pieces would create was something I wanted to focus on heavily, particularly with the scenes taking place at the Lodge in the Scottish Highlands. The kind of atmosphere I wanted to create was similar to the atmosphere created in Stanley Kubricks film adaptation of Stephen Kings; "The Shining."

As seen in the above photographs, the location of the haunted hotel in the Shining is actually a very scenic one, and would probably be described as some kind of winter wonderland, if not for the horrific goings-on at the place. The use of snow and fog creates the illusion of a very small, enclosed (almost cozy) area which is the kind of atmosphere I wanted to capture and use in my own location for Ascension.

I wanted to play with the idea of a very beautiful, scenic, grotto-esque type area being made dangerous, and inescapable, and so during the creation of my script and describing the scene, I made sure to pay special attention to the description of the snow, and the enclosed nature of the area, such as mentioning "glistening frost" "hanging lights" and "snow that covers the place like cake icing."

I feel that the idea of having such creepy, dangerous occurrences in such a scenic and beautiful area adds its own effect and definitely adds a sense of fear and unknown to the story I am trying to tell.

Major Project Unit- How to Write a Treatment Document

I have begun to thoroughly research the ways in which a treatment document is written, which I hope will allow me to create a much more entertaining and informative treatment document for episodes 3,4, and 5 of Ascension.
I began my research by first finding out exactly what a treatment document is, what it's intended use is, and what aspects make up the document. I came across this website; http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/how-to-write-a-treatment.html which I feel was a suitable starting point for my research into this subject.

Something that the website points out is that a good way in order to test out whether a particular concept or idea for a visual piece works, is to create a treatment document before even beginning to create a  script itself, something I did not do for episode 1,2 and 6 of Ascension.  Although I do not feel that my work has suffered as a result of not doing this, I feel that if I had created a treatment document to form the basis of my project's beginning, there is a great possibility I would have been able to carry out the script-writing segment of my project much faster, as I would have already had a carefully structured story template which I would be able to base my work off of.

In terms of what exactly a treatment is used for, I have spoken with several screenplay writers and media practitioners in the past, and so I have learnt first hand exactly what the purpose of these documents are. Treatment documents are usually created BEFORE a script begins to be written, and is used to pitch an idea for a film/series episode or concept or idea before a script has been written. Since there is never a guarantee a series like the one I am creating will get commissioned, there are benefits to creating a pilot episode, and then treatment documents for the remaining episodes, as treatments are significantly quicker to write, and as such, if a pilot episode doesn't get the green light to be commissioned, the screenplay writer will have more time to create a fresh pilot episode or a new series that WILL be commissioned.

Once I had a clear idea about what a treatment document would be used for, I decided to check out exactly what aspects should be included in a treatment in order for it to fulfil its intention. The website suggests that the following should be included in a treatment;

Of course, the aspects listed here for "what should be in the treatment" are what should be used in a short or feature length film, but some of these aspects could be included in a treatment written for an episode of a series too.

The next stage of my research will be to begin looking online for treatment documents that have gone on to be commissioned, and check them out for any recurring themes or writing styles that I could incorporate into my own work.

Major Project Unit- Planting seeds for the Final Episode.

I have recently begun scripting Episode 6 of Ascension, which will bring the story to its conclusion. However, something I noticed was that the format of the series (showing only one characters flashback per episode) made the final episodes plot come seemingly out of nowhere.
The final episode revolves around Stanley's plot of scuppering Dreizer's plans to steal a supply of Diamond Ore from the Falklands and going MIA. However, during the scripting process, I noticed that this elaborate subplot comes seemingly out of nowhere, without much prior explanation in episode 6.
Therefore, I decided to revisit some previous scripts I have written for previous episode and insert certain lines which would elude to what episode 6 would be about, so that this plot wouldn't be so out of place and out of nowhere.
For example, in Episode 1, Alex's father; Alexander now speaks with Alex about how he has had to negotiate with another mining company (Blackwater Mining Co.) for the rights to mine natural gas in the Falkland islands, but has had to postpone any mining activities, as Blackwater has discovered a vein of diamond ore in the Falklands, which they are mining and leaving in the care of the Royal Marines to be brought back home.
This plants some seeds for why Dreizer is in the Falklands (to steal the diamond ore) and also explains why the Royal Marines have access to the diamond ore supply, as they are the ones that are supposed to be bringing the ore back to the UK on Blackwater's behalf.

I am hoping that by adding this subplot, the story of episode 6 won't be so out of place, as several of it's plotpoints will have been alluded to in previous episodes.

Major Project Unit- Larry's Dialogue

Something that has been brought up a few times when receiving feedback for my scripts is the fact that Larry's dialogue doesn't quite make much sense. Not so much, WHAT he is saying, but HOW he is saying it.
I intended for Larry to be depicted as a bit of a country bumpkin, living in Scotland. However, the dialogue I have given him suggests that he is more American than anything.
In order to combat this problem, I have begun to investigate Scottish sayings and slang that I hope to incorporate into my script to make it seem more realistic and believable.
The website I have been using to do this was found after a simple google search; http://scotlandwelcomesyou.com/scottish-sayings/

I have managed to change a few of Larry's phrases and mannerisms to better suit his Scottish dialect. Here is an example of the way his dialogue has changed;

The original dialogue for Larry.

The Scottish-ized version of Larry's dialogue.

 I am hoping that the changes I have made for Larry will allow for him to have a much more realistic and believable character, as well as make him stand out more from the ways the other characters speak and act.

Major Project Unit- Researching potential Networks and Timeslots.

Whilst writing my scripts, I have begun to research potential networks that "Ascension" may be suitable for being shown on. Originally, I had anticipated the American network, AMC due to its history of providing productions with high budgets (something Ascension would require) and the success the network has had in it's promotion and distribution with previous series such as Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and Mad Men.

It quickly became apparent however that I could reduce the required budget for my production, and allow myself more creative freedom if I were to change the stories location to England, and in turn choose a British network for my series to be shown on.

I immediately began to to think of other British networks that show programmes in a series format, and thought of the BBC.

BBC is generally known for it's very traditional, family orientated programming, but has also been known for it's dramatic programming (such as it's popular soap, Eastenders) and content that could be considered not at all family friendly (such as Torchwood, which contains a lot of scenes featuring strong language and some sexual content.)

It is also no secret that the BBC is a very high-end, big budget network, which would definitely be able to afford the kind of budget required for the filming of Ascension, and as such, it appears that the BBC would be a perfect fit for the kind of Network my series screenplay could be submitted to. 

Something else I began to consider was the kind of timeslot I could aim for. The benefit of a much later timeslot is of course the fact that I would be able to be much more creative with my content, such as including strong language and violence if necessary. 

However, a later timeslot also has it's downside and restricts the reach that my series would have, as a large percentage of my potential audience (specifically children and people who wouldn't be awake for late night programming) would be lost. Therefore the issue becomes a compromise between having more creative freedom, and the practicality of wanting to reach a much wider audience.

 

At this point in time, I believe the prospect of getting a later timeslot with more creative options on the content in my series is a very attractive one, and it is something I am seriously considering aiming for.

The ability to have more violent scenes and stronger language (in order to add effect where neccessary) is something I think Ascension would benefit from, and therefore I will be continuing to write for this timeslot.

In the past, BBC has had programs that have occupied a 9pm timeslot (namely Torchwood) that have been successful enough to spawn further seasons, and as a result I feel that the kind of timeslot I am aiming would not have too much of an effect on the amount of viewers my series would sustain.

Major Project- Draft 2 Script Feedback

I have just received feedback for the second draft of the first episode of "Ascension." I was very happy with the advice and critique I received, and I feel that I am on the correct path to producing a very viable, strong screenplay.

Ascension Episode 1 Draft 2

Some ideas I have had about how I can improve my script and make it seem more realistic involves the characters of Mitch and Jairo. In this draft of Episode 1, the character of Mitch has already gone to the lodge with Alex, and Jairo has yet to arrive.
I have been thinking that perhaps this was an unwise choice, and that it should in fact be Jairo that is already at the lodge, and Mitch who arrives late.
In the series, Mitch is "the devil" in Alex's ear, and his drug dealer. Alex's original reason for leaving for the lodge at all was to attempt to recover from his new cocaine addiction, and spend time with his friends. I feel that inviting Mitch to come and stay with him would defeat the purpose of going to the lodge in the first place, and therefore wouldn't make much sense at all.

I also believe that the introduction of Mitch later in the series would allow for a great cliffhanger. Imagine for example if Alex already establishes that everyone has arrived (Cindy, Stanley, Jairo and himself,) and then there is an ominous banging on the lodge door in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard.
Not only would this add atmosphere and a sense of fear of the unknown, it would also give Mitch more of a personality through his actions, having appeared at a gathering he wasn't invited to, purely to flog drugs to Alex.

I will continue to develop this script alongside the scripts for the other episodes.

Major Project Unit- Developing a Scriptwriting Identity and Critical Analysis of my Own Work

Something I have noticed about my script-writing style, is that it seems very forced and cookie cutter. Although I believe my confidence with writing description and believable dialogue is improving, I think there are several ways that my script language and stye could be improved, in order to create a much more personal and interesting read.

During the course of my research, I came across a script for an episode of LOST, and found that the descriptive language and stage instructions seem much more informal compared to the kind of instructions and directions I have written in my own script.

The above script excerpt contains some elements that make it seem much more chatty and conversational when compared to my own work. Strong language in the stage directions and the inclusion of words and phrases that go against the "Do not script something you cannot show onscreen" rule make the script much more humanized and informal.

This got me thinking about my own work. After re-reading some of my scripts so far, it seems that my scripts are very impersonal, and almost robotic in nature- in terms of the directional and descriptive language used. Although I disagree with some of the ways the writers of LOST have written their scripts, I understand that it is simply a different writing style to my own.

It was interesting investigating other people's scripts, especially those that were used to create actual television products, as a lot of them were incredibly different in style, which suggests to me that there is no particularly right style in which to write a script, and that the style in which a script should be written should simply be done in a way that appeals to the commissioner/ producer or whoever is looking to purchase a script.

Although I have seen several scripts adopting this more informal style of writing, I think it would be beneficial for me to retain some sense of formality in my own scripts in order to appeal to a much larger percentage of potential commissioning possibilities.