Week 8 Reflection

Week 8 was an important period in our project development, one of the most critical steps was the creation of our major project Google Doc. This centralised document became the hub for all our ideas, drafts, and collaborative edits to the written work, streamlining our workflow and ensuring that everyone stayed on the same page. The document also allowed us to organise our thoughts and plans effectively.

Having the completed informal pitch allowed us to present a broad version of our idea and its premise. This exercise was invaluable as it forced us to articulate our concept and vision for “Situation Tragedy” (which wasn’t dubbed as such until later on). The pitch not only clarified our narrative but also highlighted areas that needed refinement. Presenting our ideas and receiving feedback from peers and mentors provided fresh looks into our concept and constructive criticism, which we used to refine our storyline.

This week was also heavily focused on writing. The intensive writing sessions allowed us to flesh out the script and develop the narrative arcs. With the interesting idea of a B plot storyline of a forbidden love/office romance idea. Lewis was also joining our group and so we all got to meet him and introduce ourselves before cracking on with the task of the assignment. The collaborative effort was particularly strong this week, with Nia, Zach, and Chloe taking the lead on finalising the names, characters, themes, and overall plot structure. Their contributions were instrumental in shaping the characters and defining the themes that underpin our story.

A challenge we faced was balancing the comedic elements with the seriousness of the on set issues, such as workplace sabotage and personal vendettas. The absurdity of the condom sandwich incident aligns with the idea of what would kick off an actor from a set but not be enough to inform authorities or completely stop productions. Drawing from comedic theories like ‘Benign Violation Theory’, which suggests that humour arises from the violations that are safe or acceptable (Warren,C & Mcgraw, A.P, 2015). By ensuring that the comedic moments were unexpected yet generally safe and acceptable, we maintained the film’s humorous tone without taking away from the more serious aspects.

In summary, Week 8 was a highly productive period where collaborative efforts and intensive writing brought our project closer to fruition. The presentation of the informal pitch and the heavy focus on writing were significant achievements that set a solid foundation for the weeks to come.

References:

Warren, C. & McGraw, A.P. (2015), “Benign Violation Theory” in Attardo, S. (ed), Encyclopedia of Humor Studies, Los Angeles: SAGE Reference.