Journal – 8/21/13

1. Journal – 8/21/13 • For one of these films, describe in 100 words or less what the plot is about. (Hint: You don’t have enough words to describe every scene so focus your answer on the elements of each movie’s beginning, middle, and end.) • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone • Jurassic Park • Toy Story • Finding Nemo

2. Everybody Loves Raymond 6.1 “The Angry Family” • What was the “story”? • What was the “plot” • Could this episode be completely understood on its own or do you feel you needed to have seen prior installments to know what was going on?

3. The Author, the Audience, the Message

4. The Author and the Audience • Think of some of the writing you do every day. A text message or email you write to your best pal is different from a note you write to your grandparents, a love note you pen to a new boyfriend/girlfriend, and worlds apart from a essay or term paper you turn in for an academic grade. Why? Because you understand your target readers’ expectations of the content you’re putting together.

5. Journal • What subject(s) do you feel you know really well? How could you use this area of expertise in a short film? • If you’re writing about a subject you’re totally unfamiliar with, what resources are available to you to ensure the accuracy of your facts?

6. Social contract • How do you want to be treated by me? (Mme Suarez) • How do you think Mme Suarez wants to be treated? • How do we want to treat each other? • How will we treat each other in times of conflict?

7. Bridging the Gap • Apply this same analysis to the script you want to write. As deeply personal as a story may be to you, an audience won’t share the same kinship unless you can bridge the distance between your mindset and theirs. That’s why “universal” plots – those employing themes that are applicable to any era, setting, or population – cast a wider net of appeal than “regional” tableaus that only have meaning to a select few.

8. Universal Regional

9. Tone and Mood • Tone is the reflection of a writer’s attitude (especially towards his readers), manner, mood and moral outlook in his work. • Mood is the general feeling or atmosphere that a piece of writing creates within the reader. Mood is produced most effectively through the use of setting, theme, voice and tone

10. Knowledge = Credibility • How many times have you heard the advice, “Write what you know”? Much as you may prefer to plunge into exciting topic pools that are way over your head, there’s only so much faking that can successfully float your story from start to finish. The more knowledge you have on a subject – whether it’s from hands-on experience or extensive study – the better your story will hold up to scrutiny.

11. How many goofs can you spot? A murder has taken place in the middle of a posh restaurant. After assembling all of the diners and wait staff and asking whether anyone saw anything unusual, the Police Commissioner notices a cigarette lighter on the floor near the victim. He picks it up. “Does anyone know who this belongs to?” he asks. “Oh, it must have fallen out of my pocket,” replies one of the diners. The Commissioner casually hands it back to him and announces to the group, “Our dispatcher will be calling each of you in a couple of weeks to get your statements. You might not want to leave town.”

12. Journal 8/26/13 • From the following three films, take the lead character from one, the main conflict of another, and the setting of a third. How would you weave together these respective elements to create a “new” story. Who would this film appeal to? • 1. Titanic • 2. The Hunger Games • 3. Jurassic Park

13. The Message of the Film • Every story – no matter the medium – creates an experience for its target audience. • The effectiveness of a message is based on its delivery of one or more three values: intellectual, emotional and aesthetic.

14. Intellectual • An intellectual value is one that appeals to the mind through sharing a philosophy, conveying knowledge or passing some form of moral judgment.

15. Emotional • An emotional value is one that arouses the passions of your viewers and causes them to laugh with joy, weep with pathos, or reminisce about lost loves, happier times, or missed opportunities.

16. Aesthetic • An aesthetic value appeals to the senses, incorporating lush landscapes, eye-popping special effects, catchy music, or surrealistic imagery.

17. The Message • Think of some of your favorite movies. What did you feel while you were watching them? How did you feel when they were over? Why do some of these films linger for years while others are forgotten five minutes after you leave the lobby? • For a story to create a lasting impression, it has to begin with the writer feeling enthusiastic about his or her idea and exploring the best methods to convey that enthusiasm to other people.

18. Homework – due Friday 8/30 • Go to different locales and describe a scene that is intellectual, a scene that is aesthetic, and a scene that is emotional. 100 words each.

19. Homework – due Monday 8/26 • Choose a TV show that you have never seen before and watch one episode of it. - Who are the characters? - What was the central problem in the particular episode you watched? - Could this episode be completely understood on its own or do you feel you needed to have seen prior installments to know what was going on? -What was the story? What was the plot?