Script alterations.
Upon beginning my coursework I decided to produce a Psych
Drama piece following a day in the life of a businessman who slowly becomes
insane and results in the murder of his girlfriend. There is a full script
bellow.
This began as a good idea however I found that the more I
developed it, less and less people were able to understand the meaning that was
meant to be represented and assumed that I was producing nothing more than an intelligent
gore fest. Other influences include further exploration of genre in which I
found that the conventions of my chosen genre were not what I had assumed. As
my chosen genre is based around drama it shares many similar conventions and
one in particular which made me think and that was that in the end good always
wins. After the emotional story arc is completed it more often than not results
in some form of a positive ending, what I was producing did not follow this
convention. I realise that I am allowed some form of artistic licence and will
be allowed to bend these conventions however I had been having doubts about my
script for a while previous and this was the final nail in the coffin that made
me consider another script that I had been thinking of. Luckily they almost
work in tandem, share the same genre, conventions and even similar story lines.
So I decided that it would be for the best to make the change.
In short my previous script revolved around a man becoming
insane and realising that the life he was living was actually a figment of his
imagination punctuated by his split personality resulting in two identical
characters with very different attitudes occupy the same space in his mind and
cause him to see things. He promptly goes insane and kills his girlfriend in
anger.
I decided that this may have been too dark and therefore
changed to my new revised script, It follows a similar path so that none or at
least very little of my coursework will have to be adapted. This new script
also follows the life of a man assuming that he is going insane as throughout
his day he begins to see alternate images of himself to the point where he has
conversations with himself, this concludes with the two identical characters
sitting across from one another where the newly introduced character convinces
the old character to take a pistol and shoot himself. This is the emotional
climax of the piece leaving this new, more charismatic and smartly dressed
individual as the only rendition of the character. This is a metaphor for a
change within the character as the gun and body of the fallen character are
replaced with a list labelled things I want to change. The whole point being
that any change is life is a battle with yourself and only you can determine
the outcome.
I felt that this was more fitting to the genre and I generally
liked the idea more. I really enjoy films such as the eternal sunshine of the
spotless mind and therefore thought that this new script was more akin to the
other films within the genre.
