19/9/11

We started off today's film class with individual presentations on the script ideas we had for our Film Noir unit. During the first half of the lesson, half the class presented their ideas to the rest of the group. Most of the ideas included classic Film Noir elements, such as the characters, plot, and genre. Most of the ideas presented focused on the theme of crime and thriller. Austin Wan's idea was especially interesting, presenting his working title 'The Spouse', which has a few twists in the story and also interesting character development.

We were then given a powerpoint presentation reviewing the genre and concept of Film Noir, along with an introduction of script writing and how a story is structured in a film. The basic structure of a film has a beginning, middle, and an end. The set-up includes the who and where of the story; the conflict includes the what (the obstacles the protagonist has to overcome); and the resolution includes the why (consequences are spelt out). Character development was also discussed in the presentation and we found out there were a few elements a character needed to be successfully conveyed in the film. Traits (the kind of person the character is); needs (what the character's problem is); and faults (what the character lacks). Without these elements in a character, there will be no story.

Miss Rosati then introduced us to a game in which the plot points and turning point of a story is revealed. 5 people were asked to sit in a row and tell the story of the '3 Little Pigs'. The person sitting at the beginning of the line would be asked to start off the narration of the story. Once reaching a significant point in the story, or a plot point, a transitional word would be used to transition into the next section. The person sitting in the middle of the 5 people would then reveal the turning point of the story. This exercise was particularly interesting as it revealed to the group a whole new concept in film and also revealed the hidden structure in a successful film. We repeated the similar exercise with the story of 'Little Red Riding Hood'.