Week 2 Reflection:

Going into week two, our group had a rough idea of what our sketch would be about, knowing the basic premise of friends experimenting with drugs and the funny situations they could find themselves in as a result.

Mondays class was mainly centred around brainstorming possible scenes, characters and their traits, as well as showing each other reference videos we can take inspiration from. One of the main videos we watched was The Trip (1967), which I also included in my brainstorm. the main usefulness of this video was not in its use of humour, but rather the perculiar yet simple method of filming, which took interesting angles and tracking routes (e.g. circling around the characters),  as well as its great use of colour and shadow.

By the end of Tuesdays class, we had a solid outline of the story as well as a few key events/scenes and character arcs. Some of these included having a character who goes walkabout and finds themselves on an epic adventure – only to casually stumble back into their friends unfazed. we also knew we wanted an arrogant friend who ends up an anxious wreck, and a scene that switches from the perspective of the friends (who believe they are being chased/in a fast paced action film) to a member of the public, in which the group of friends look completely different to how they believe.

Whilst trying to think of some more scenes on Thursday – we naturally evolved our idea into a more solid narrative. Through trying to think of key scenes, a story naturally began to emerge. We agreed that the scene in which the person disappears and goes on an epic adventure should be the catalyst for the other friends to go looking for him, with the characters we considered on Monday being a perfect trio to go on the rescue mission. We have now planned through the key events for the first half of the movie – as well as a solid outline and description for all the characters.

By the end of next week, we should have a solid draft script and a plan for shooting days. I am really happy and satisfied with the stage we are up to, and the quality of our narrative and story. The group has also agreed that this project is an opportunity to be experimental and creative whilst filming and editing – which makes me super excited!