Through the production notes process of storyboarding, planning the shot list, and conducting deeper genre research into romcom conventions, I was able to expand on my initial vision from the script and consider how to better adapt my scene for television. I approached my adaptation in a way that reflected the “phenomenologically remote” nature of adaptations (Meikle, 2017, para. 24) to identify the key dynamics of my source text and reshape them to align with and amplify romantic comedy elements to refine the imagery of my scene—such as capturing the creepiness and desperation of Bog’s character through camera setup, or how to enhance my adaptation’s tone through the addition of music and sound effects.

Similarly, in working within a genre and considering audience desires and expectations, Strong’s (2024) discussion of the viewer’s foreknowledge of an adaptation influencing the balance between how and what they experience (p. 194) became a critical aspect of my production notes process. When adapting the source text Skyways (Blair & Crawford, 1979), episode “The Waiting Game,” I—like a viewer unfamiliar with the original—lacked full foreknowledge of the episode’s storyline. This limitation pushed me to create a scene that used that uncertainty to build suspense and offer a new resolution. Drawing from the concept of petit theory (Meikle, 2017, para. 5), my adaptation emerged from a provisional interpretation of the scene, without the full context of the original. This allowed me to shape my version through the small, available details—ultimately creating a romcom resolution, while the original left suspense unresolved.

 

References

Meikle, K. (2017). A Theory of Adaptation Audiences. Literature Film Quarterly, 45(4). https://lfq.salisbury.edu/_issues/45_4/a_theory_of_adaptation_audiences.html#gsc.tab=0 

Stapleton, T. (Writer), & Charles, D. (Director). (1979, July 16). The Waiting Game (Season 1, Episode 3) [TV series episode]. In Blair, J. & Crawford, I. (Executive Producers), Skyways. Crawford Productions.

Strong, J. (2024). Continuation and desperation in contemporary multiseason television drama. Adaptation: The Journal of Literature on Screen Studies, 17(2), 191–211. https://doi.org/10.1093/adaptation/apae006