True Grit ***

 

"The tale of a headstrong 14 year-old girl named Mattie Ross who employs a gritty, rambling, old marshal to help her on a journey to find the man that killed her father."

And it was all right. Not the type of western I'm used to seeing, but it was all right. Funny at times, but rambling the next, with long dialogue; it's difficult to understand what Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) is saying most of the time, although his sarcastic comments see it through. It was lacking drive (which was found mainly through dialogue), in my opinion, especially towards the end. I did like the costumes, the mise-en-scene and the settings, overall it was beautifully shot.

Matt Damon was Mr La Beef (LaBoeuf) a dandy Texan ranger, who kept turning up occasionally to provide some comic relief opposite Cogburn, and as a helper. Even Barry Peppers (Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan, Seven Pounds) stars; spitting a lot and wearing sheep legs.

I loved how it snowed pretty much from beginning to end, although, very pretty  :)

Rough Pitch for 'La Meeting'

 After 3 hours...

  

"Discontent with reality, a paranoid teenage girl becomes quickly guided by a quirky, sociable individual with no limits."

A Starting Point

'The Meeting'

My Brainstorm...

• Vampires
• Reality vs Imaginary
• The Mind- psychology issues, seeing is not always believing
• Nothing is as it seems
• Insecurities in teenage girls
• Railways
• Murders
• Never knowing one of your parents- to have them appear unknowingly in the future to guide you
• Being watched over by something supernatural 

 The Story

A young, lonely, insecure girl collides with someone at dusk whilst walking home from school. Running, panicked and confused, they confess that they have found a body in the forest, they also claim they are something other than human. The stranger quickly involves the girl in their world, and she is easily lead.

The girl naturally attaches herself to her new 'friend'; finally feeling as though her life has meaning to it. She is willing to protect the relationship by ignoring the guidance and worries from the people she foolishly believed didn't care about her. 

The mysterious character reappears each day after school; someone for the girl to look forward to, her own risky adventure, the attention she never had. Until, another body is in the woods and the stranger thinks they are responsible. They then reveal who they truly are.

The girl is lonely, isolated from others. She has her own world now and doesn't look back. Determined to help her friend and leave her old life behind, she is prepared to run away without any doubts. As they arrive at the train station, the truth is revealed. The girl is desperate to carry on believing, but will she have the strength to overcome this?

To be continued...

Queuetopia

A pre-writing stage, using newspapers for inspiration for story ideas; Jo and I came up with this: 

The Idea

A 10-minute film about a queue of people, from all walks of life. Queuing is a way of life, everybody queues and everybody waits; in shops, theme parks, doctor's surgeries, the list can go on. And when we queue our minds wander, we think about our hopes and wishes and our life choices. 

 The Story

Midday in a bustling town, ordinary people are joining a queue in a Post Office. As the characters are waiting we look at their thought processes and listen to their dialogue as some make life-changing decisions. The tension builds to an ultimate ending where they are each put in a life or death situation as a threat enters the building. 

The Theme

Life is precious, it can all end in a second. We all take a personal journey through life and obstacles need to be overcome in order to find self-satisfaction. 

The Characters

Angry Man  He is highly irritable and nervous, about to threaten the lives of everyone in the building by withholding a dangerous weapon. His intentions are unknown, but he has his own reasons for his actions.

Old Woman  An out-spoken, grumpy old woman with traditional values. She has little respect for younger people and does not embrace new technologies. With strong opinions, she finds satisfaction in voicing her judgements to herself and to others around her. 

Mother  She runs a hectic life chasing after her two young children, whilst hanging onto a social life. Her husband has become even more distant as her focus and attention is given to caring for the children. This has worn her down emotionally and physically to a point in which things need to change; she must confront herself to find peace.

The Boy  A student from South Africa, studying in England. He is reserved and intelligent; he shares a close relationship with his sister back at his home. He develops a crush on the girl in the queue and he is determined to catch her glance so he may get the courage to talk to her. 

The Girl  Has recently started sixth form at a local school, she has a dazed and confused mind full of odd thoughts and music. She has not found her true identity yet, or her independence. 

Other Characters  These include couples and professionals, making deliveries as part of their jobs or to connect with relatives and friends. A particular character makes a choice to change careers as they dislike their current job.

'Spaced' Continued...

A Synopsis

Spaced is an exciting sitcom set in Northwest London in the present day. The story begins when two quirky twenty-somethings, TIM and DAISY, meet in a cafe whilst searching for a flat. Considering both of their circumstances, they decide to share a flat; however, in order to get the flat they want, they need to convince the landlady, MARSHA, that they are a young professional couple.

Tim is an aspiring comic book artist, although he is also afraid to sell his work. He moved into the flat because he was recently dumped by his girlfriend for another man. Tim is a lovable child-like character but can also be grumpy. Daisy is an fun, emotional, self-deluded adventurist who is an aspiring writer. She gained a third at university but likes to think she is mildly intelligent. Like Tim, she is a fantasist. Daisy is in a long-distant relationship with her boyfriend but there is an underlying romantic connection between herself and Tim.
   
Other characters include Tim’s best friend MIKE. Mike aspires to join the British Army, he is protective of Tim and overeager to carry guns with him. Mike is illogical, idiotic, and unlucky; he and Tim act immature when together. Marsha is the odd alcoholic landlady. She has recurring feuds with her daughter,  Amber. She is an emotionally scarred heavy smoker who is obsessed with talking about herself. She has a slightly awkward sexual attraction to her other tenant, BRIAN. Brian is the other tenant who lives downstairs. He is a pretentious artist driven by pain, anger, fear and aggression. He is a weird, quiet and mysterious character. We also meet Daisy’s best friend TWIST, who likes to think she knows about fashion by constantly remarking on Daisy’s look, but only works in a Dry Cleaners. She is a ditzy blonde and can be clumsy and a liar.

The settings are localised, with bars, cafes and shops, although, the series is primarily based inside the cramped flat in which the characters live. The style of the programme is dynamic with quick-editing, unusual angles, pan shots and animation sequences to represent the chaotic lives of the characters and their colourful imaginations. The series is full of pop culture references and black comedy; centred around dependent relationships, growing emotionally and enjoying life in a twisted, dysfunctional way.

'Spaced'

Pitches, very important to sell your idea ;)

     So here's mine for 'Spaced':  

"A fast-paced dark comedy, set in a flat in Northwest London, about two twenty-something dreamers pretending they're in a relationship."

    And, if you don't fancy that, here's 'Dexter':

"A surreal drama following the life of a blood splatter analyst living in Miami and killing murderers under the guidance of his dead father."

 

A day in the life

And my first ever blog :) Writing this whilst watching 'Six Feet Under' on the new and incredible  Sky Atlantic channel ;) 

Today, I was part of the amazing girl power group of the class filming a 3 minute clip titled 'That's Life!'. A short comedy/drama (shall we say?) of an unfortunate messy-headed woman whose just having another one of those days. The day began with a camera workshop, then after that we started filming! Bearing in mind that every shot had to be in the order that it would appear, strictly NO post-production allowed. Thankfully, it was well-received; complimented on it's seamlessness and it's comedic story... especially that bit y'know where's she's trying to dry her coffee-stained shirt under a hand dryer :S  

Lovely day, cant wait to start the next project :)