The storyworld of Deluge has taken shape in the form of a disaster murder mystery mini-series. The *atmospheria is detailed below:
Deluge is set in the newly established tight-knit Victorian town of Claranda during the 1860’s gold rush. The wealthy landowner, Mr. Hughes is murdered in his manor house that overlooks the town from the hilltop, while flood waters rage through the town’s mains street below. The townspeople take shelter from the rising flood waters by making their way to the Manor House, however soon find out that they are trapped in the house with a murderer, as flood waters and landslides threaten the remaining survivors.
During week 7 of the Another World studio, we will present our storyworld concept and any work in progress so far to a panel of screenwriting experts. I have decided to create a presentation that will immerse the audience in the world of Deluge, by juxtaposing written prose with an audio visual representation of the town, Claranda.
Prose
The prose aims to introduce the characters, and establish character hierarchies and answer the questions; Who holds the power in the town? and Who is apart of the town and who is not? I also aimed to introduce the tone by writing an action laden scene to emphasise a sense of urgency, which is inspired by the disaster genre. It was also important for me to establish the two inciting incidents, the murder of William Hughes and the impending flood and landslide.
Please note that I had to cut down the prose section in order to fit it into the 3 minute presentation.
Audio Visual Representation
The audio visual representation of the town Claranda aims to provide an immersive experience so that the audience would understand the mood and feel of the town. The video was created from a collage image complied in Photoshop, with the poorer people living at the base of the hill in rudimentary buildings, and the affluent Hughes manor house sitting high above the main town. I then added effects such as rain, lightning, fog and footage from a landslide in After Effects. I also mixed a soundscape of thunder and rain to further communicate the tone of the world. The video Deluge is below.
Reflection
The prose section could have been expanded to include the other characters in the world, including the wife and daughter of William Hughes, the town Blacksmith, David and his son the Junior Constable Murray. I also wanted to include a black sheep character, a prisoner who is in the custody of the Junior Constable. However, it was important to establish the prospector in a separate paragraph because he is an outsider to the town and does not have a relationship with anyone in the town (at that point in the storyworld). The prospector represents the taming of the Australian frontier and also a possible threat to the town. This character is different to the prisoner character because the prisoner is a known danger, as opposed to an unknown one.
I believe the prose did work in establishing the period and location of the world, including the physical layout of the town. Also, the video alongside the prose worked in providing an atmosphere that the characters could inhabit. The rain and thunder sounds, alongside the visual representation of rain, fog and lighting work well in presenting an idea of how the world could look.
The world has also borrowed many genre conventions including the murder mystery dark and stormy night trope, however, I have manipulated the weather into another device used in disaster films. These conventions require more work in order to understand exactly how they will work together in developing the world of Deluge. The inciting incidents have also been borrowed from the different genres, as the murder mystery usually begins with a body being discovered, and the disaster genre begins with the precursor to the natural or man-made disaster.
Character Map
The relationships discussed briefly in the prose section were developed using version 1 of the character map below. The character map aims to explore how the people in the town are connected to each other and also their backstories, which may become relevant as secrets about past behavior are revealed. This is a preliminary map and will undergo many iterations when the relationships are fully fleshed out.
*Atmospheria refers to the summary of the world and can reference the setting, tone and characters of the world. Atmospheria can also reference an inciting incident that changes the world, the type of conflict, rules or internal logic of the world and also how the characters use, view, and/or interact with the world i.e. the character hierarchies.
