This semester, for the most part, has been an eye-opening experience.  I have spent many a night musing over the ‘what-ifs’ and various possibilities about this world I have created, wondering and dreaming about character traits, designs and gags.  Oh goodness, the gags.

The studio itself has helped in translating many of the skills I have adopted in the creation of my various media artefacts.  Collaboration was vital, as were the many discussions I had with my fellow classmates about differing narratives, feedback and creativity.  The feedback and suggestion period was extremely important in the final, clean-up stages of my project.

From the moment I conceptualised my world, I decided then and there I would do my best to realise it to the best of my ability.  This would, naturally, include written, visual and perhaps an audio-visual component, yet at the time, I was unsure as to what format I would ultimately present my work as.

The writing of the screenplay was a struggle.  I have come to understand that freedom does not necessarily allow for a more comfortable writing experience; rather, it is as much of an hindrance as it is a help.  Too often was I thrown off-course by details that had little or no relevance to the story at hand, and these would disrupt the rhythm I would get into.  Nonetheless, the episodic nature of my screenplay allowed a certain amount of leeway when crafting scenes – as they were spontaneous, sit-com-‘esque’ skits, it was relatively comfortable to dash from character to character every time I had a fantastic idea.  I have had little problems with dialogue in the past, but it certainly does help to read it out aloud in order to make sure it rolls off the tongue nicely.  Some words that sound great in your head often translate poorly into actual speech.

For the visual component, I worked very closely with an artist to draft up some designs I had thought out.  I provided supervision and reference material as she sketched according to my descriptions.  The process was lengthy and extremely collaborative, something I am well-accustomed to thanks to my exposure to various media projects in the past.

The greatest challenge for me was  my ability to remain focused on the task at hand. Working with an expansive, science-fiction filled world has taught me many a thing about staying on course.  Distractions or not, though, I loved every minute of it.

With that said, It’s been a blast studying in Another World!

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Reflection

The two creation process posts:

The devil is in the details

Spaceport Earth®

I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood and agree to the content and expectations of the assessment declaration.

The feedback I received for the presentation component of Project Brief 3 was commendable.  I did prepare relatively well for this and believed I delivered enough to really flesh out the broader components of my world-in-progress.

Both Michelle and Lucy seemed to like the atmosphere I created, and I believe it wouldn’t have been possible without the visuals I supplied ahead of time.  One particular comment I received was the cleanliness of the images and how that established a world that was both clear and engaging – the decision to incorporate the SpacePort Earth® logo in the opening sign really seemed to resonate with both the panel and the audience.

An important piece of information I received from both the special panel and my classmates was the fact that, due to it being set in space in a futuristic timeline, the possibilities for narrative, development and character were essentially endless.   The amount of scenarios I could concoct, the humour I could weave in, it was all, relatively speaking, limitless.  I also recall the warm reception to my idea of deciding to hone in on the mundane instead of the epic and grand.

‘Imagine waking up one morning, groaning and saying you’ve gotta go to the Spaceport”.  I did find that comment intriguing as I hadn’t gone as far as fully developing a completely unmotivated employee or traveller.   That also, highlights the strength of an ensemble cast – you can explore the world from so many different facets and viewpoints that nothing feels unnatural or repetitive, and I have to attribute that to the flexibility of the spaceport environment.

Again, this was only possible with the way I approached the presentation itself.  Due to the nature of my project and its episodic, mockumentary format, I was able to pull myself away from the trap of grand narrative and focus on, well, the world itself.

I think a large part of what makes The Office so successful is its ability to develop humour in a very well-pronounced world, and that was the route I took in constructing my ‘pitch’, building a frame out of the familiar interactions of an airport, repainting it completely in science fiction and adding two central characters to provide perspective.

All in all, though, I was stoked with my presentation and thought it went forward in perhaps the best way it could go:  towards the stars.

So whilst in the process of workshopping my world, I figured it’d be beneficial to add a little more detail as to the aesthetic style of the world.

The structure of a general airport is littered with signs, warnings and wide, open spaces accommodating large bodies of people.  I drew up a warning sign in Photoshop, in a fashion extremely similar to the typical prohibited items list before the customs section.

The decision to incorporate the information about the small, liquid based aliens having to be screened prior to boarding is an extension on some of the more frowned upon rules when visiting the airport, like the mentioned ‘no more than 100mL in carry on’ rule.  The proposed dynamic is to recreate particular social issues like discrimination through the treatment of particular aliens.  Granted, the series is to be light-hearted, so care has to be taken to ensure nothing scathing is presented.

I do have a small mock-up of a brief scene and exchange regarding ‘liquids’ as mentioned earlier.  This is by no means the makings of a pilot episode, but rather one quirky gag I thought would sit extremely well with the nature of Spaceport Earth®.

______________________________________________________________

INT. PORT CUSTOMS

GRS is managing a line of people who are getting their items checked

GRS (off-camera):  You know, I don’t mind some aspects of this job.  Managing the screenings line is always fun ‘cos you get to take things away from people who don’t follow instructions.

GRS takes out an oversized pocket lightsabre out of a grizzly alien’s bag.  The alien is visibly distressed.

GRS:

  Sir, I’m sorry, but this shavesabre doesn’t follow regulation.  You gotta read the signs before you pack your bags.  No blades above 6cm bud.

Grizzly Alien:

My hair grows extremely quickly…it’s a 15 hour trip and..and I need it for emergencies.

GRS:

  I’m telling ya, you have to check these items in.  There’s nothing I can do, sir.

Grizzly Alien (resigned):

 …it was a gift…

GRS ignites lightsabre as alien goes out of sight, and smiles at the camera.

GRS (to camera):

  I mean, you get to see all types in the airport anyway, especially in immigration, but in the line, you get close and personal with them and to me, that’s what working here’s all about.

GRS confronting Siamese aliens, struggling to scan a massive stone alien, and squatting next to a baby alien.

GRS:

Sorry, sir, all liquid-based life-forms over 5L have to be screened thoroughly prior to boarding.

Liquid Blob (annoyed, Boston accent?):  Serious? Give me a break! My record is clean and I have a flight to catch in 15.

GRS:

 Look, sir, it’s international spaceport law.  As a liquid-base, you should show up at least 2 hours before your departure time.  I’m sorry but you’re going to have to miss your flight.

Liquid Blob:

You have got to be kidding me. I swear the rule was 7L not that long ago.

GRS:

New securities policies, sir. If you want to take it up, take it to the defence department.  I’m just doing my job.

Liquid Blob (sighs in resignation):

I didn’t want to do this.

The blob proceeds to divide himself into 3 smaller equal pieces. The camera zooms in on GRS’ motionless face.

GRS (to camera):

I’ll be honest, that took me off guard.

______________________________________________________________

So this essentially highlights some of the extremely unique social predicaments centric around the infinite number of physical capabilities the aliens can possess, making for some hilarious customer-employee interactions.  The Blob represents perhaps a species that is often ostracized and inconvenienced around spaceport travel, in a similar but less invasive light to turban wearers  .

I actually look forward in preparing the storyboards for this scene, maybe even do some pre-visualisation work if it’s at all possible.

Ladies, gentlemen, droids and aliens, welcome to Spaceport Earth®!

Let’s break this world down:  As the name suggests, it takes place in a space port, similar to an airport, just situated just outside of Earth’s atmosphere.  It is an undisclosed number of years in the future – mankind has ventured beyond the solar system, finding a plethora of planets inhabited by all kinds of alien species – both advanced and primitive.

As such, came the development of various space ports across the galaxy to facilitate legal, safe travel between planets.  These stations are pristine, clean and regularly maintained by the hardworking staff and systems.

The ‘internal logic’ of this world draws many parallels with the workings of a ‘real’ airport – similar rules and methodologies apply, trading an international background for an intergalactic one.

Something I’d imagine what the space port interior would look like.  This would be the airport lounge/shops. [GOOGLE IMAGES]

 

The decision to present this world amongst a space setting opens endless possibilities.  Alien planets, customs and characters can come, practically from anywhere, and I think the juxtaposition with Earth culture will make way for numerous gags, and hilarious parallels.

As with most science fiction works, this world will feature an ensemble cast, drawn from different parts of the space port; I can imagine episodes centric around alien customers, security guards, duty-free store workers, flight attendants.  But nonetheless, the focus will still fall back on two leads, who gradually expand their group over the course of the season.

So, with that said, this is (mostly) the story of two customs and immigrations officers.

CHARACTERS:

Samuel Sears, 26, is a stoic and sensible officer who handles arrivals – he hails from a busy American metropolitan city, and took on this job because he couldn’t cut it as an explorer/astronaut and he figured working at a space airport was the next best thing.  A reasonable guy, someone you’d trust to hand in an assignment on time, but also eager to experience new things. Sears is incredibly self-conscious and self-aware.

I don’t know why, but I always envisioned Sears as Joe Gordon Levitt – the straight faced, reliable middle man who is absolutely relatable and just a little disgruntled.

 

GRS-34 (Generic Robotic System-Unit 34, or Grease for short) is a snarky, slacker.  A mechanoid with a quick wit and a love for jokes, he always manages to complete the bare minimum somehow.  Amiable, loveable but sometimes a stooge, he always manages to make Sears at the butt of his jokes.  He works in departures and is hardwired to translate over 43904 different languages.

You ever see Neil Blomkamp’s Chappie? The movie itself aside, I found the art direction fantastic, especially the titular robot Chappie, so expect Grease to look along the lines of this.  It absolutely oozes personality.

 

The pair work next to each other in cramped cubicles – Sears is in cubicle 125, the final block in the arrivals bay, whereas Grease is in cubicle 126, the first in the departures bay.  It is a multi-level, exceedingly complex labyrinth of walkways and tunnels, and although the staff know their way around, they constantly complain about it day in day out.

Both are what the average person would consider veterans in their line of work – Sears has been employed ever since he graduated from university (4-5 years), and GRS-34 used to be stationed on the Mars branch, but applied for a relocation because he wanted a change of scenery (3 years).

The format of this media project is most definitely going to be a mockumentary-esque production in the style of The Office and Parks and Recreation.  It will follow a single-camera set-up featuring interviews with the characters sprinkled between scenes, blending documentation and reflection.

Again, like The Office, I am looking for a similar tonal style, with plenty of sarcasm, cold opens and unamused head shakes.  There will be a script of some sorts for a potential pilot, and who knows, if time allows me, I could even start filming a mock sequence (on an extremely tight budget, of course)!

PART 1 – COLLABORATION

The C-word

PART 2 – EXERCISE

Study Buddy

PART 3 – INFLUENTIAL TEXT/SCREENING

Wright or Wrong?

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ARTEFACT:   STUDY BUDDY

EXT. PATHWAY – DAY

JONATHON and KATE walk through the archway, laughing.  JONATHON, smiling, shakes his head in disbelief.

JONATHON

I still don’t believe it. You’ve never had dumplings?

KATE (laughing)

Can we not? I thought we already established this.

They pass a nearby crowd and into the busy square. Different stalls and people line the garden, full of life.

JONATHON

But…but you’re Asian?

KATE

Jon, you’d think that out of the Asians out there, there’d be at least ONE who didn’t get a chance to have dumplings.

JONATHON

I feel cheated. Betrayed. This is criminal.

KATE (playfully)

Alright, tell me one thing…

The pair walk off-screen.

EXT.  BENCH – DAY

JONATHON and KATE sit on a bench, with the sun illuminating the space around them.  Both are staring intently into their own books, yet still remain in conversation.

KATE

…In a free market economy, consumption and investment decisions…?

JONATHON (methodically)

a.  Shape the future course of the national economy.

KATE

Adam Smith’s invisible hand principle stresses the tendency of…?

JONATHON

d.  Self-interested individuals to pursue activities that benefit themselves, but harm the overall welfare of society.

KATE

Correct—

JONATHON

My turn. Pan-fried dumplings, or steamed dumplings?

KATE

Please stop.

JONATHON (on the verge of laughter)

I can’t stop. It’s been bugging me the entire time.

As JONATHON laughs, KATE rolls her eyes. They enjoy each other’s company. However, as he laughs, Kate stares earnestly at JONATHON.

KATE (quietly)

Maybe…maybe we could go for dumplings after this?

JONATHON (chuckling, not hearing her)

What?

KATE (recovering, stammering)

I mean, if you’re not free then that’s cool because—

JONATHON

Wait, dumplings?

KATE

…Yeah.

JONATHON

Just the two of us?

A pause ripples through the air. The sun remains out and diligent and despite the awkwardness, the intimacy of the situation has grown.

JONATHON (slowly)

Yeah, I’d like that.

KATE celebrates silently, trying to hide the mile wide grin on her face. She turns back to face him, slightly flustered.

KATE (in an attempt to remain cool)

Alright then.

END SCENE

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This particular example was based off ‘STUDY BUDDY’, one of the exercises we took up in class. As a script, I find it to be adequate.  The descriptions do not in any way overstay their welcome, but nonetheless contain enough meat to ascertain the mood. The dialogue is adequate, especially considering the time it took me to write it, and provides a nice avenue for the characters to engage and play off one another.

It’s the little things that give away character traits and motivation – the revision of economic theory suggest an upcoming test that the duo have to study for, and their rapid-fire exchange about multiple choice questions show that they are both capable, content students.

In fact, the entire ‘study’ scenario is a backdrop for an exploration of a more natural, more human exchange, and that is the conversation about dumplings: mundane, menial, and haphazard, but definitely not obsolete.

It is very much grounded in genre – the whole intimate situation, the awkward earnestness of the pair go on the suggest a light-hearted, feel-good romantic comedy, not unlike one half of 500 Days of Summer. I’ve always been a big sucker for honest female characters – one part professional, capable and snappy, the other part, nervous, shy and relatable.  They don’t think they put their heart on a sleeve, but from any reliable 3^rd party observer, aka the audience, it is as clear as day.  It is an attribute that slaps a goofy grin on everyone’s face, something that everyone can understand.

The big print is what catches me off guard.  I am, in some cases, not sure how much description I should put in, or how brief I should make it.  There are some scenes that carry more weight than others, like the one with the sun-stained bench, yet it remains a challenge to find the perfect word to perfectly capture the feeling, mood and emotion. It often develops into a process of me writing an elaborate, overblown sentence of description to qualify what my vision is, before culling it down to within an inch of its life – Finding that middle ground, the sweet-spot between clarity and impact will most definitely be a challenge. I almost felt like a narrator towards the latter half of the script when writing the big print.

I am, unfortunately, used to writing in typical narrative structure so shedding my long-winded sentence structure proved to be a curveball.  But, the script exercise was fun, engaging and extremely informing – it’s all uphill from here!

The director Edgar Wright has always been a personal favourite of mine.  In fact, I would go as far to say he rests as one of the more innovative directors of the present, taking established cinema tropes and smashing them into high energy, high-octane cuts.

The anticipated release of his upcoming film, Baby Driver, has the British director back in the spotlight for me, and what better way to discuss the creation and innovation of worlds than with an auteur who captures in 5 what most directors do in 10.

Let’s start with the International Trailer for Baby Driver.  Fun fact, there were actually two trailers released for this film, an official ‘American’ one and the international one, and if you ask me which one captures Wright’s work better, it’s this one.  The music, pace, and classic jump cuts mashed with whip pans and fast zooms all scream Edgar Wright.

His world is very much sound-driven.  Wright’s films have “sound and image function cooperatively” [Mcqueen, p.143], allowing for “heavy stylization and self-conscious virtuosity” [Bordwell, p.180].  Everything is exaggerated and yet for one moment, we, the audience, do not question it, as we are completely content and seduced by this hyperactivity.

This is further amplified by Wright’s love for bombastic editing – despite the fact that this IS a trailer, Baby Driver features a song towards its latter half where our titular protagonist swings and manoeuvres his car to the beat of Radar Love by the Swedish band Golden Earring.  It is dynamic, yet illustrates a great deal about the nature of the protagonist.

When discussing audial-visual storytelling, it is important to note that both these factors come into play and are equally as important in crafting a specific world.  The landscape informs the soundscape and vice versa.  Baby Driver presents a unique example where we have a duality of sorts.

So often lost in his own internal world, Baby constantly listens to the hum of the headphones and lives within his musical mind.  That, in a sense, can be considered the law of his world, inferring that the various songs represent his mood and his motivation.   Everything is dictated by the music, as far as Baby is concerned.

This, funnily enough, generates an example of a parallel world – the physical world, where Baby interacts with the mob gangs, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, etc., and the mental world: where he hides behind his music tracks.

I take inspiration from Wright as a master of the soundscape.  He knows how to generate a stylised mood that instrumental in highlighting the quirks and inner workings of his world.  His trailers aside, he is also able to very quickly establish a complex, layered world within no time, needing very little or even no verbal exposition.

I want to apply this flexibility of audio-visual information in my work.  Not necessarily an abundance of dialogue, but rather, the use of sound effects and appropriate visual cues to heighten my ability to convey a convincing story quickly and methodically.

Baby Driver (2017), dir. Edgar WrightReferences:

McQueen, A (2013), Bring the Noise! Sonic Intensified Continuity in the Films of Edgar Wright, Music, Sound and the Moving Image, Vol. 7(2).

Collaboration. Duh.

The idea behind collaboration is an interesting one.

Cleese’s quote provides us with some depth and reason, and his statement very much fits in with the “two heads is better than one” cliché.  Granted, the greatest of works, especially with tasks as gargantuan as films/modern media artefacts, are all products of high-level collaboration and coordination.  Egotistical battles about creative decisions may be one thing, but, any lone man will find it difficult to create high quality films on a yearly basis.

For quite a number of people (myself included from time to time), working with others is a nightmare.  Conflicting schedules and failure to understand or see what the other person is thinking make up some of the banes of this process.  It can be long, dreary and extremely volatile at times.  Nonetheless, the process rests on an open mind and a readiness to accept an alternate standpoint and view – not everything that you may come up with is considered amazing, and that’s okay, because it’s what the others are there for.  If done correctly, it breathes life and a multi-faceted dimension into the work, making it less one-sided and more a harmonious symphony of different ideas.

The past weeks have been laden with discussion about screenwriting, world building and dialogue and each of these exercises have involved heavy collaboration with our peers.  For example, the story exercise where we had to quickly brainstorm a scenario and capture it through photographs was both invigorating and a pronounced peer-involved activity.  Without a doubt, there were elements of conflict – wary, passive aggressive discussions about where or how to approach the task.   Here, compromise was the key – cull certain ideas to make way for what the collective believes is the most correct choice of action.  In our instance, we demoed numerous places around the university in an effort to find one that exuded a sombre, silent tone.  The decision to utilise a corridor found in the Art/Design building only came after having gone through a slew of ideas prior, a process which involved suggestion, reasoning and the occasional, but much needed rebuttal.

The larger the group, the more difficult it can be to manage – many Hollywood blockbuster screenwriters dabble in pairs like Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and even directors double up (see Joe & Anthony Russo, and Joel & Ethan Coen).  High quality collaboration is extremely beneficial, but often less is more, with smaller and more robust groups retaining a better balance of ideas and functionality.

It is difficult, and nigh impossible especially within a given time frame to incorporate every single idea into a single work.

Let’s just differentiate this for a second – collaboration is by no means incorporating every single idea the team’s individual members suggest into the final product.  If done as a way to ‘please’ and satisfy other members in a vain struggle to avoid any major conflict, the artefact ends up losing meaning, becoming a directionless, unclear amalgamation.  This becomes a joint project no longer.

So, in closing, a ‘collab’ is the product of every member within a contained group equally contributing, shaping, compromising and questioning.  It is by no means a pretty and scratch-free process, but more often than not the action leads to a piece of work greater than the sum of parts placed into it.

You know what’s great? Heist movies.  You typically have the first act to assemble the team, a second act to plan the dirty deed and a spectacular final act where it all culminates in a mixture of joy, shock and in certain instances, laughter.

Say what you want about the Ocean’s franchise, but 11 still stands as perhaps one of my all-time favourite movies – the humour, Soderbergh’s direction, coupled with the surprising lack of physical violence (often rare for movies about stealing from people) proved effective in highlighting everything I like about the genre.

These ‘heist’ worlds generally take part in desolate, crime-laden cities.  Ocean’s is a rare exception where the lavish casinos of Las Vegas are the backdrop to the narrative.  In addition to this, revenge is a common ‘law’ in these worlds as well, and is often held to heart by the leader, or all the team involved in the heist.

Nonetheless, I feel combining these themes with a science fiction environment would be fantastic.  Imagine a space heist comedy filled with quirky, otherworldly characters, in a Star Wars/Star Trek-esque fashion.  Think Rogue One, but fused with the cleanliness and class of Ocean’s – this combination of elements would lend a fresh twist on an old trope.

Space also helps in increasing the scale of narrative – given how the universe contains a variety of planets with various environments and inhabitants, the world could expand beyond its initial size.  This could potentially lead to a sort of extended universe, with different scenarios and genres potentially being set on different planets.

What I would aim to achieve in this world would be to:

Establish a world that masterfully navigates around scale and manages to accommodate all the appropriate elements of a science fiction adventure.

Incorporate lavish backdrops, suggestive of powerful and opulent colonies.

Showcase themes like greed, vengeance but also reinforce the satisfaction of well-deserved payback.