Tag: film

Pitch Experiment

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These are my findings to this week’s screenwriting exercise:

Andy, 20

  • Male, half Filipino and half Maltese
  • Born of a middle class immigrant family in the Western Suburbs
  • University student studying Public Relations with a casual job in a music store
  • He has olive skin, dark hair and brown eyes. He is tall and lean with a swimmer’s build but has no interest in sports
  • Andy enjoys watching films and has an extensive knowledge of its history. He also has a liking towards jazz music. He is a homosexual and is currently single.
  • He used to have a strong relationship with his mother, until she couldn’t accept her sexuality. He has always been distant from his father who used to travel a lot for work. He is an only child.
  • The most important thing for him in the world is to escape the suburbs and to make a career for himself in the city. He dreams of being a ‘suit’ and socialising with other upper-middle class singles who are on top of their careers.
  • He loathes the idea of being a mixed race and always neglects to mention his Asian heritage. The idea of being an immigrant irritates him, when all he wants is to fit in.

Bec, 28

  • Female, Australian
  • Born of a wealthy upper class family based in Brighton, currently located in Windsor
  • Working as a bartender at a Cabaret bar in Fitzroy
  • She has rose blonde hair that has been cut harshly close to the roots and piercing blue eyes that are the first thing anyone notices about her. She is pale, heavily freckled and of average height
  • She is brash and uncaring for what other people think of her, all she truly cares about is fulfilling the idea of being “herself” even though most of what makes her who she is, is to spite her parent’s privilege. She hates anything remotely political (her parents were in media and politics) and her only true passion is diving.
  • She’s always been in a terrible relationship with her absentee parents, but is always in contact with her little brother, whom she adores terribly.
  • Even though her birth name is Rebecca, she refuses to be called so.

“A man and a woman are sitting across from each other at a small table in a dimly lit restaurant.”

BEC is having dinner with her mother at a cheap Chinese restaurant. She hadn’t seen her mum for at least two months and it is going terribly. Her mother, as soon as they sat themselves, begins asking her about her work and plans for the future and if she was in a relationship. To Bec’s agony, her mother claims that she should find herself a partner, as she is already twenty-eight and one night stands would not cut it. Bec spies a nervous looking man on the other side of the room sitting on his own. To spite her mother, Bec leaves the table to approach the man, and sits across from him with intentions of picking him up.

ANDY, surprised at Bec’s appearance begins to question her when his father arrives at the restaurant, late to their dinner. His father assumes that Bec is Andy’s girlfriend. With kicks under the table and invisible finger jabs, Andy introduces her as Sasha, his long time partner, and makes up stories about their past. Bec goes along with it, amused. Andy’s father stands up to order his meal and Bec questions Andy. He confesses that he fears he was summoned by his dad to confront him about his sexuality and how Bec must continue pretending to be Sasha. Andy claims that his father would excommunicate him if the pastor found out he’s gay and his dying mother’s heart would break. Andy’s dad returns to the table and asks Bec about her childhood. At this moment, Bec’s mother stands up, throwing cash at the table and approaches the company. She exclaims that “she’s had enough of this childish pettiness, Bec!” and leaves the restaurant. Confused, Andy’s dad asks her who the woman was and why she had called her Bec. Bec is speechless, unable to reason and Andy proclaims that he has news to share to distract his dad. Stumped, Andy reveals that Sasha and he were engaged. Andy’s dad stands up, exclaiming that his wife should meet their future daughter-in-law, he and Bec leaving the restaurant arm in arm.

Writing for Film, Filming for Writing

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This semester, and coincidentally also the final semester of my course, I’ve chosen to take a class in screenwriting. The idea behind this class and the play on words for its name, is that those who are in Media 4 (like me) would be tasked with the writing aspect of production, which the students from the Creative Writing course would be in charge of. This is, in a way, ironic considering my background in making short films that stems from my days in high school. But my motive behind choosing this class is not to take the easy route (if there’s such a thing in university), but to correct any wrong practices I have when it comes to writing, as well as to perfect my craft in the best way possible. Even though I may not necessarily see a path in front of me towards the direction of a film career, I believe that this is an exceptional method for me to hone my skills in subtlety and emotive expression through writing. By utilising the references that I have through my tutors, Paul and Jasmine, I can hopefully increase my capacity to write against constraints like time and client demand, whereas my past written work have all just been for me. 

The prospect of collaboration with both people in my class as well as students from the Creative Writing field also sounds appealing. This is certainly something to look forward to in the real world (or for us Media 6 students, in a couple of months), particularly within the creative field. Hopefully, in conjunction with my Media 6 course, I would be able to open up to my colleagues and make connections that I can count on in the near future.

What now?

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The impending end of my tertiary education looms ever so closely. Tomorrow morning, at 8 AM, I must to race to book down the class times I want against my university classmates, and this has only made me realise even more how close I am to the finish line. Years of my life spent studying have made me reliant on this autonomy, and even though yes, I excelled most of the time at school, it was something that also inhibited me as a big fish in a small pond. It seems like only yesterday that I worried over meeting people and making new matches in university. Three years have just flown past and I must once again make decisions for myself that will ultimately, affect the rest of my life.

At this “end”, also makes me reminisce of my “beginning”, or I guess you could say the journey itself. The last “end” that I faced, after graduating in VCE, I was in the same situation picking out which passion of mine I wanted to call my career (just as I am, now). For growing up, I had been one of those creative types who sought to redeem my physical incoordination and failure to meet social expectations through expression of art, whether visual or performance. I invested myself in music and drama, visual communication and design, film-making, and even dabbled in history which fuelled the source of inspiration for my writing. I thought a Bachelor of Communications (Media) at RMIT was more than suitable for me, in fact, it was dare I say, perfect for me? It was creatively expressive enough for me that I could continue to write and make short films and other experimental media material that built up my portfolio, with the reputation as a course that would potentially lead to many possibilities. Yet here I am, once again shattering my freshman illusions that at my graduating year I would already be working part time, as an unemployed almost-21 year old student with a half-creative half-technical degree.

What’s even more depressing is that with my return from Montréal, I am left without my past job in retail, an empty bank account and a reliance on my parents. And I hate having to rely on my parents. But I recognise that I am not the only one in this position. Other people probably have it harder than me, when I should be appreciating what it is that I possess and have already accomplished. Like the apparent 90-100 other Media students graduating at the end of 2015, I’m just going to have to compete for that dream career, whatever and wherever it is. Here’s hoping that what I’ve done will be enough to push me through, because I will not settle for less.