Monday, June 8, 2020

My Disaster Movie

L/O: to effectively develop an idea for a disaster movie
The film is set in 2021, in the city of London.
The mood is serious and as such will be set on a cloudy day because genre conventions.
Grounded, never a high camera angle.
You have no control over the end of the world
I am using the trope of male protagonist and an earthquake as the disaster.
I am not crossing over to another genre

Todorov
Equilibrium - Jack works at McDonald's he's not happy but not depressed either. His mum and dad are constantly harassing him to apply for University. Lucy is his best friend from when they were kids.
Disruption - On the way home from work the ground starts to shake, a train is moving fast nearby so Jack doesn't think much of it. 
Recognition - He walks into his home and his parents are panicking while packing up their bags. Jack asks what's wrong and they tell him an Earthquake is about to hit. Jack phones Lucy, she picks up the phone and tells Jack to just run. The last thing he hears is Lucy's screams. 
Solution - The majority of the film, they keep on running towards the evacuation point to escape. In the brief quiet moments, Jack admits that it's the most exciting thing that has ever happened to him and he doesn't really care about Lucy's death. His parents look on in shame. At this revelation his mother, (Molly)
decides to disown him when his father, (Larry) challenges her she decides to leave the group.
New Equilibrium - Jack and Larry get out of the city and there is a time cut. Larry stands over Molly and Jack's graves as the audience realises that Jack is dead which is confusing. There is later a monologue from Larry which says that while Jack and him were being held for questioning about the disaster, Jack committed suicide and left a note which explained that he couldn't become a normal person and reintegrate into society after he realised he didn't care about anyone whatsoever including himself. The camera pans up to a cloudy sky and the film cuts to the credits.

Propp
The Hero - While Jack is the main protagonist, Larry takes charge in multiple instances during the film, especially after Jack's realisation.
The Villain - The earthquake as it disrupts everything and makes Jack realise that he has serious issues.
The Donor - N/A
The Helper - N/A
The Princess - The evacuation point from the city
The Princess' Father - Lucy as she tells Jack and his family to get out.
The False Hero - The audience is made to believe that Jack is the hero for most of the film until the twist at the end.

Plenary
I decided on the name Quake because it represents multiple things, the disaster and the shake up in the family throughout the film and how the tension rises as the film progresses.

L/O: to effectively develop an idea for a disaster movie
Synopsis
Jack was a normal guy, until the day the earth shattered underneath London and every second became a fight for survival. Secrets will be held and lives will be lost in this epic disaster movie.
Visual Story Telling

Jack: [is walking home from work, looking at his phone, it's raining] God I hate this weather [pulls his coat hood up, keeps looking at his phone, suddenly a train rushes by overhead and the ground shakes] Really fast train... that's weird.... [continues walking, he walks into his parent's driveway as a suitcase is thrown out of the window]
{END OF SCENE}

2 comments:

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  2. LCA 11:Great ideas! I love the title and the dark addition of Jack's mental health. Think about the narrative sequence slightly - surely the New Equilibrium wouldn't start until after Jack's death?

    LCA 12: Great synopsis. I'm guessing you don't like scriptwriting? ;-) Although, what you have written works really well. I would just add Jack's reaction (verbally or physically) to the suitcase to demonstrate whether or not the occurrence is 'normal' in his world.

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