Character Portfolio.

Brian - The main protagonist of the film and the lead guitarist/vocalist in "The Racers". He lives in isolation, being a widow and having no close family, which is inferred by the positioning of photos in his house and then fully confirmed in his monologue to the irritating agent about his loneliness etc. He always dresses well and has a great difficulty with performing basic day to day activities, e.g struggling to walk and difficulty with eyesight. However his abilities as a guitarist are absolutely intact, and he is a fantastic frontman. He loves his bandmates dearly and is distraught when

George -  25 years of age. Tall and well built. Plays the Keys in the band, is an alpha male type character, that appeals to a lot of women and makes jokes to the other band members about their pulling technique, when closeups of his text conversations with women leave a lot to be desired, and shows how he is actually very poor with women.

Grant - Also 25 years old, also very tall but is very slender and feminine. Plays the Bass in the band, is very flamboyant and camp, for which he receives a lot of stick, mainly from George, as they're binary opposites. The dialogue won't contain any direct homophobic commentary, just some remarks about his appearance and the way he speaks.

Jackson - Plays the Drums of the band, is a very reserved character who cannot speak but understands all. Not only is it ironic that the loudest band member can't even speak, but he is a character that was inspired by the character who can only sign in the short film "....." from the given list of examples.

(These 3 band members go on the trip without Brian and are all reported missing presumed dead following the crash landing of their helicopter)

Mr Sharp - The abominable agent who goes to Brian (The Protagonist) whilst he is recovering from his heart attack. He goes to his house and informs the main character of his situation regarding future concerts etc and his record deal/possessions due to a technicality in his contract that makes him become in possession of everything he owns (house included) if he doesn't play them by himself, which he eventually comes to an agreement with Brian to make a compromise on the gig, without really showing a change of heart in the character. He's an evil and sinister man, whose life revolves around power, money and greed, sentimental items mean nothing to him, almost like a machine. At the climax, when the band reform, he storms out of the room aggressively and with great sourness, which is a really satisfying moment for the audience.

Some other unnamed extras do appear throughout the film, in order to fill out public locations, such as people attending the gigs as fans, people to occupy the pub the band are having discussions in. Some extras will be needed to come to the aid of Brian as he suffers a heart attack in public.

The Racers - Scene Proposals

Scene Proposals

Scene 1:  A crowd of screaming, standing fans all shouting encore. The camera pans around the audience from a high angle, as the audience looks down on them and the stage. The screen then cuts to black, where a male voice says "One more song boys?" and a different voice saying "Let's do it". The sound of the audience cheers highness dramatically, and the name of the film "The Racers" is displayed in White. The screen then fades back in from black, and an original song of the Band's is played. During the performance, closeups of their faces and various instruments/equipment are shown, which change in time with the song. (Main emphasis being on the old man in the band, the protagonist). The scene ends with the song being finished, with the five members all thanking the audience and standing together on the stage.

Scene 2: Set in a pub the day after the show, the guys from the band are all sat in a round, having conversation about last night and exchanging light-hearted banter. They also discuss how they're upset the tour of the country is over, and the boys all decide to go on holiday to the Caribbean. The older man can't fly, as he has had a hip replacement following an injury at a gig, which is explained. He says the rest of them should go and is happy to see them leave for a good time.

Scene 3: A few weeks later, the man can be seen abandoned in his house. He lives in a big house that's very empty, and he can be seen to be very sad and depressed at the isolation he is living in. The only thing that lights his rugged face with a smile is when he goes to his shelf and picks up an old photograph of him and his wife, and a photo of him and his bandmates. Later, he walks to the shop with great difficulty, using a walking stick that is worn down and quite unstable. He picks up a newspaper and is shocked to hear the headline that a plane has crash landed in the water. He picks up the paper, and sees a list of the people who have been confirmed "Missing presumed dead", where he sees the names of his bandmates. He then suffers a heart attack, and faints, and the scene ends with people crowding around him in support.

Scene 4: The camera blinks from light to colour, to resemble the man waking up. At the foot of his bed, is an agent dressed in all black (symbolism of evil). He tells the man that he has to play at a concert without them, or he will have to terminate his record deal and will become in possession of all his belongings, due to a technicality. The man then delivers a Rocky Balboa style monologue, in which he inspires the audience as well as convincing the agent to make all proceeds go to a charity close to the heart of one of his bandmates.

Scene 5: On the day of a gig, the man stands in front of a curtain and goes to address the audience, with guitar in hand. Before he gets chance to speak, an announcer takes over, and begins to tell the story of what has happened. Closeups of the man's face are used to show his sheer depression, but as the announcer develops his story he begins to explain how the band were saved, and a drum roll kicks in, to add suspense to the curtain rising with the band all stood behind it in dramatic fashion. The man  is perplexed and in utter shock, bursts into tears and runs over (at the best of his ability) to the rest of the band. A close up of the agent's face is shown, he looks very displeased and cowers out of the room. They then all play a song, and the film ends with the band holding the main character up, as he is fatigued and still not fully recovered, and take their victory bow, as the curtains close and credits roll.

The Basics Of Constructing a Screenplay

A screenplay/script is a written work by screenwriters for a film, television programme or video game. They contain narration of the movements, actions, expression and dialogues of the characters. The format is structured so that one page equates to roughly one minute of screen time, though this is only used as a ballpark estimate and often bears little resemblance to the running time of the final movie.^[ The standard font is 12 point, 10 pitch CourierTypeface.

The major components are action (sometimes called "screen direction") and dialogue. The action is written in the present tense and is limited to what can be heard or seen by the audience, for example descriptions of settings, character movements, or sound effects. The dialogue is the words the characters speak, and is written in a center column.

Unique to the screenplay (as opposed to a stage play) is the use of slug lines. A slug line, also called a master scene heading, occurs at the start of every scene and typically contains three pieces of information: whether the scene is set inside (interior/INT.) or outside (exterior/EXT.), the specific location, and the time of day. Each slug line begins a new scene. In a "shooting script" the slug lines are numbered consecutively for ease of reference.

Physical format[edit]

American screenplays are printed single-sided on three-hole-punched paper using the standard American letter size (8.5 x 11 inch). They are then held together with two brass brads in the top and bottom hole. The middle hole is left empty as it would otherwise make it harder to quickly read the script.

In the United Kingdom, double-hole-punched A4 paper is normally used, which is slightly taller and narrower than US letter size. Some UK writers format the scripts for use in the US letter size, especially when their scripts are to be read by American producers, since the pages would otherwise be cropped when printed on US paper. Because each country's standard paper size is difficult to obtain in the other country, British writers often send an electronic copy to American producers, or crop the A4 size to US letter.

A British script may be bound by a single brad at the top left hand side of the page, making flicking through the paper easier during script meetings. Screenplays are usually bound with a light card stock cover and back page, often showing the logo of the production company or agency submitting the script, covers are there to protect the script during handling which can reduce the strength of the paper. This is especially important if the script is likely to pass through the hands of several people or through the post.

Increasingly, reading copies of screenplays (that is, those distributed by producers and agencies in the hope of attracting finance or talent) are distributed printed on both sides of the paper (often professionally bound) to reduce paper waste. Occasionally they are reduced to half-size to make a small book which is convenient to read or put in a pocket; this is generally for use by the director or production crew during shooting.

Although most writing contracts continue to stipulate physical delivery of three or more copies of a finished script, it is common for scripts to be delivered electronically via email.

Story Structure

The French filmmaker Jean-Luc Goddard said that "Every story should have a beginning, middle and end, but not necessarily in that order."

Robert Mckee outlines the structure of any story like this:

1. An enticing incident or key event.

2. A struggle against all forces of life

3. A crisis

4. A climax

5. A resolution

"A story expresses how and why life changes from one condition to another condition at the end"

Exposition

All exposition within a story contains facts about the characterisation, history, society and the physical qualities of the setting. Details of exposition are employed to give the audience clues and to entice/hook them into the film. They only need to be included in the screenplay as and when the audience need to know them, and they should be very dramatised. 

The most effective way to employ exposition is to turn it into ammunition, which means to show exposition rather than making characters having unnatural dialogue in order to tell a story.

Characters and dialogue

Its best to produce detailed notes on the history of characters and to follow the same rules as for exposition, giving depth to characters and their emotions as what they say and do will be different to their internal thoughts and feelings.

Storyboard

Establishing shot -  Main character having goodbye and walks away (Glasses on)



Character's condition starts to deteriorate, schizophrenic voice takes over



Character beats the wall in frustration, in time with the music - Queen Keep Yourself Alive (Instrumental Version) - sings in competition with the voices inside his head, about wanting to take control over his own life.



Establishing shot for second day, sets contrast between the first day with happier non-diegetic music and a lighter, more beautiful scenery compared to a brick wall.



Shot of character leaning over the bridge gazing out into the lake, singing about how he feels isolated and alone, and wants somebody to understand what he's going through.



Camera tracks the character as he walks off of the bridge and continues into the park, singing continues



Second character introduced, singing about similar feelings of isolation and loneliness, although his is for his parent's inability to accept him for his sexuality. 

The two characters approach each other, simultaneously singing the same verse, almost declaring their love for one another. (Love at first sight does exist)



The two characters bump into each other and are posed as though they're going to kiss, although the right character makes a very awkward jerking body movement, which could be seen as a stabbing motion



The final shot is in colour, and leaves the audience questioning whether the character being carried is dead or alive, as the schizophrenic character skips away carrying him like a baby.

Link to film

https://youtu.be/varAP8Lag9M

Screenplay

Shot Plan for Musical

Shot 1:

• Well dressed Victorian Gentleman walking out of apothecary's shop
• Eye level Mid-Shot
• 3/4 second duration
• Diegetic audio of a door closing 
• Non diegetic eerie music 

Shot 2:

• Putting pills in pocket
• Extreme close up of pills/hand
• Diegetic sound of pills shaking
• Non-diegetic eerie music continues

Shot 3:

• Classy footwear - walking rhythmically 
• Low angle close up tracking shot of footsteps
• Diegetic sound of footsteps (Double footsteps to indicate the presence of another)
• Eerie non-diegetic music continues

Shot 4:

• Camera flips to film the oncoming feet. 
• Same low angle shot, no camera movement
• Diegetic footsteps continue and song fades in. Footsteps rhythmically fit into the song.

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