Ideally I would like to enter UNREACHABLE into the Living Skies Student Film Festival, but they end submissions for the 2015 festival late January and I don't feel like the film will be completed by then.
Either way, the submission requirements are as follows:
- The film must have been completed AFTER September 2013
- The film must have been completed while the filmmaker was enrolled in High School or post-secondary education
- Maximum length of 15 minutes
- Must be submitted by January 26th 2015
- Films may be submitted under the following categories: Documentary, Narrative, Experimental, or Animation.
- Applicants must fill out a submission form along with the film.
Of course, I'm skeptical that UNREACHABLE will be complete by the deadline for that competition, but I suppose I could enter it into the 2016 competition. Also, I'm not entirely sure whether it's open to applicants outside the USA.
Failing that, I can always enter my screenplay to the BlueCat Screenplay Competition. This competition is specifically for screenplays, and has a 'shorts' category.
Requirements are as follows:
- $35 entry fee for students
- Deadline is November 15th 2014
- Submitted screenplays must be the sole ownership of the applicant
- Entries must be in English
- Short screenplays must be between 5 and 40 pages in length.
- No substitutions or redrafts after submission
- If a submitted screenplay is optioned, bought or produced before the end of the judging period that screenplay will no longer be eligible.
Since I plan on making UNREACHABLE I don't think this competition is for me.
Anyway, part of my research is to find a published extract of a script and annotate it for script rules and conventions. Here it is:
Another annotated extract can be found here.
Aside from looking at screenplays, it's also important to look at other texts which do well in terms of screenplay, to see if we can't learn a thing or two.
While a tad over 10 minutes (it's closer to 20 than 10) I think this short is amazing in terms of its pacing and storyline. While I'm not quite making this sort of story, those types of story where the viewer gets to play detective and is constantly guessing what's going on a la Gone Girl or Inception have always had a special place in my heart, and this short is no exception to that rule.
I really liked this one from a technical standpoint as well as its screenplay - the visuals are gorgeous and are exactly the kind of effect I would be looking for with Chrys' shield in my film. The script helps keep it just ambiguous enough for it to be gripping whilst not too confusing, and I think that's a goal that most, if not all filmmakers should aim for.
Audience-wise, UNREACHABLE is of course aiming for the teen/YA market. It helps to make something you yourself would like to watch. Even then, I feel as though a lot of YA stuff is a little dry, so I made sure that it appealed to older audiences too. This being considered, I showed my script to a few friends/family to see what they thought. Reception was generally positive, but most people did agree that there was some dialogue that felt forced, so that was rectified in future drafts. This being said, not a whole lot else was said negatively about the script. I don't know whether this is indicative of the script's quality, or my friends' possible reluctance to giving constructive criticism, but I'm going to assume the best.
Thinking about location, I wanted to set the film somewhere near the college since there are school scenes in the film, and the scene with the corner shop was written with the One-Stop down the road in mind.
The characters weren't exactly written with anyone in mind, but when writing I found it important to make sure that despite the quite impossible context these characters are in, they act and react in a very realistic and relatable way.
Early on in the project, as a class we came together and suggested films and other media texts similar to our ideas to help with this research. People found it hard to suggest one for mine, but it was actually inspired by quite a similar short film on YouTube:
This remains to this day my favourite short film, and its director, score composer and star Dom Fera is a lot of the reasons why I became interested in filmmaking in the first place. Watching it one may be able to point out a lot of similarities with my own script (seeing it again just now I realise our endings are very similar) and I think it's just been a big influence on me in general.
Thematically my script deals with bereavement quite a bit, so it would make sense if I took a look at some films that tackle similar themes.
One example that jumps to mind is french-language comedy-drama 'The Intouchables' which, despite the strikingly similar name to my own script (in English-speaking territories it's even called 'Untouchable'), I saw after I had written my first draft. The true story centres around Phillipe, a wealthy quadroplegic man who employs a younger man from a rough background and upbringing to be his carer. Here's a clip:
Despite the light-hearted nature of the film, it does deal with the idea of coming to terms with some debilitating disorder or condition, much like the fictional one my protagonist does. I like how, while the condition is a big part of the plot, the film doesn't spend its time moping about how awful it is and instead uses it as a platform to tell a story.
Here is my colleague Bruce's research for 'Remnants', the film I produced with my group in the end.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BBC Writer's Room - Peaky Blinders
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/Peaky-Blinders
Date(s) Accessed - 5/11/14, 22/01/15
BlueCat Screenplay Competition - 2015 Entry Guidelines
http://www.bluecatscreenplay.com/rules-guidelines/
Date(s) Accessed - 5/11/14
Fera, D - DFear Studios, 2011 - The End
Nakache, O, 2011 - The Intouchables
Living Skies Film Festival - Entry Guidelines
http://lsfilmfest.com/?page_id=355
Date(s) Accessed - 5/11/14
Short of the Week - The Landing
http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2014/12/08/the-landing/
Date(s) Accessed - 6/11/14
Short of the Week - Memory 2.0
http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2014/12/03/memory-2-0/
Date(s) Accessed - 6/11/14
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