Script planning P2

Planning for the writing of the script

I will complete a range of planning for the script. Including a mood board, synopsis of the whole story and storyboards for the scenes I choose to write.

The Mood Board:

This mood board collects a range of images that will help to keep me on track when it comes to writing my scripts. By looking at it every time I am about to start writing a section I will be quickly and easily reminded about how I want to write characters, the location I will be setting it in and the themes I want to use.

We have already written a synopsis in past units, however it will need to be re-written now that I have a greater understanding of narrative structure and character development.

The old synopsis:

Umbra Hominis... a figment of his imagination or the real incarnation of what man can become? Tom Jefferson discovers life on the run when suffering from psychosis. What started as a strange feeling soon evolved into something far worse when his addiction to the horror genre escalates and things he witnesses on screen come to life at a drastic rate. It all starts one morning when in his English class Tom starts to see that the windows are going in and out of focus. Not thinking much of it he continues to get on with his English lesson; but this is only period 1 in the day.

As Tom soon finds out, his psychosis gets worse as the day progresses. This is something that his psychosis pills would normally solve but alas not this time. When walking to his science class Tom encounters what appears to be a strange shadowed figure that moves in a most peculiar fashion. He of course see's this as a result of his psychosis and continues further down the corridor until the lights turn off in sequence towards him. Through the dark the figure moves quickly ahead and vanishes into the science block.

Life with psychosis is hard for Tom but by period two the struggles he has faced up till now barely compare to what is to come. With the science lesson underway his psychosis takes a new form with the taps going off in sequence around the room. This causes no panic for anyone else in the room which leads Tom to think that again it is his psychosis causing this problem. What he fails to realise is that his best friend and work colleague Richard has seen all of Tom's reactions to these experiences; Richard being worried about Tom he asks him what he has experienced during these visions. Tom of course keeps the information to himself and continues to the next lesson, Media. Throughout this lesson Tom is experiencing ten's of different things and there is no valid explanation to what is happening. Tom then realises that the pills have all gone and nothing can stop what is yet to come.

Tom's encounters with the monsters possibly caused by his mind are counter-acted with interaction with his friend Richard. Tom's sudden realisation of this causes him to become clingy and invading Richards personal space. When Richard realises these aspects of Tom's newfound dynamic he quickly lets go of the friendship they had and leaves Tom defenceless and vulnerable to the attacks of his mind. Then its hits 4th period and Tom's problems really start to get worse with shapes on walls in the form of shadows. These shadows move with him everywhere he goes.

The new synopsis (split into 3 acts):

Act 1

Our story starts with Tom at home getting ready for school, we see him taking his medication but the bottle rattles in a way that implies that it's almost empty. We see him start to walk to school. We see a montage of this with the bottle sounding emptier each time, towards the end of the montage Tom starts to look tired. With the final scene of the opening montage, it goes back to normal speed and we see the Umbra Hominis for the first time. We then see the title screen.

After the title screen we see Tom walking to school, Reece meets him near the start. They start talking and Reece comments on how tired Tom looks. Tom assures Reece that he is fine and that there is nothing to worry about. They go to school and we see a montage of the day. As they are walking home Reece asks him if he wants to meet up at the weekend and watch a movie - something that they would regularly do - Tom agrees, but as Reece turns off and leaves him alone we see his face relax and see how tired he is.

Tom arrives home and opens up his medication. The bottle is now empty. He hides this from his parents, intending to get some more on his way home tomorrow. When they ask where is is and if he is OK he tells them that he's put it in his room because it's easier for him and that he just needs a good night's sleep. Tom then goes to his room and frantically searches it for his prescription. Without it he will be unable to get more medication. After looking through what seems to be every possible hiding place he finds it, placing it in his pocket for safekeeping. He turns around to start sorting out his room and we see the Umbra Hominis standing behind him, Tom doesn't notice it and when he turns around to put items away, it is gone.

We see Tom and Reece walking home, Reece turns off and leaves Tom alone again. Tom pulls the prescription out of his pocket and turns around to go to the pharmacist. He runs there, desperate for more medication. We see the Umbra Hominis in the background as he turns down the shelves in Boots to get to the pharmacy at the back. Tom gives his prescription to the person on the desk and is told that it will be a week before they can get any more medication for him. Dismayed Tom asks if it is possible to get them any faster. The pharmacist replies and tells him that if he needed them this badly then he should have got them before he ran out, and that he will have to wait for them to arrive.

Act 2

Tom leaves the pharmacy to go home, we see him eating a meal with his parents. They ask him why he was late home and he tells them that he forgot one of his books and had to go back to school to pick it up. His parents believe the story and don't question him any further. We then see Tom at his desk, looking at a calendar and his school timetable. He believes he can get through the week without any medication, he tells himself that he can do it and goes to get in bed. When he closes his eyes to sleep, we see the Umbra Hominis pick up his timetable and look at it.

When Tom wakes in the morning he finds the school timetable on the floor, along with a note telling him that he can't last a day without his medication, let alone a week. Shaken, Tom bins the note and gets ready for school. He is determined that nobody should know that there is anything wrong with him. He wonders where the not came from, but decides that he will think about it more after school.

Tom and Reece walk to school and Reece asks Tom is he is still fine to watch a movie at the weekend. Tom tells him that he should be fine. They arrive in school and go to their first lesson. This is where things start to go wrong. In their first lesson Tom sees writing on the board that nobody else can see, telling him that he is weak and isn't strong enough for anything. His second lesson is normal, when the bell rings he rushes out of the classroom to go to the bathroom. He washes his face in the mirror to refresh himself and when he looks up again he sees that he is covered in blood. He falls to the ground, shocked. Reece comes in and asks him if he's OK. Tom gets up and sees that he isn't covered in blood. It was all in his head, he replies and tells Reece that he just slipped over and that he's fine.

When Tom arrives in his third lesson, we see messages appear on his schoolbook. Degrading him. All of his classmates turn to him and start insulting him, eventually the teacher tells them to stop and tells Tom that he is weak and he doesn't deserve to live. Tom jerks awake as the teacher shakes his shoulder. He was asleep. Concerned the teacher asks him is he's OK, as he has never done it before and always plays an active role in lessons. He assures the teacher that he is fine and goes to the bathroom again. This time he locks himself in a cubicle, crying. Overcome by the sudden urge to throw up he rushes to lift the seat up in time. After throwing up he wipes his mouth and reassures himself that he just has 2 more lessons and that he's strong enough to last through them.

Tom's 4th lesson is a science lesson. Reece asks him if he's feeling OK, Tom tells him that he just needs more sleep. We see all of the taps turn on and nobody else react to it. Tom starts to worry, he excuses himself to go to the medical room but goes home instead. He already knows what's wrong with him and he doesn't want anybody else to find out. As Tom leaves the school we see the Umbra Hominis standing behind him, watching him leave.

Act 3

Tom runs to the pharmacy, looking over his shoulder as he does. He knows that he is being followed, but he's not sure what by yet. He begs pharmacist for any psychosis medicine even though he suffers from the side effects of them - a fact that he found out in his childhood. He gets some medication and runs home to take it. The sooner he takes it the sooner he will get back to normal, but he needs to get home before his parents do.

Tom gets home, his parents aren't home yet so he runs to his bedroom to take the medication. He fumbles with the bottle, dropping the pills all over the floor. As he bends down to pick them up the Umbra Hominis pushes him over. Tom looks up at him, in shock. A fight ensues with the Umbra Hominis demeaning and insulting him the whole time, Tom loses but manages to grab some of the pills. He puts them in his mouth and swallows them without any water, making a face due to the bad taste they leave. His vision goes fuzzy as they kick in, he has taken too many but they are working. The Umbra Hominis tells him that he will never be able to get rid of him as he fades away.

We next see Tom in hospital, he has had his stomach pumped and has now had the medication that he usually has. His parents are concerned and he explained what happened. Reece comes in and Tom explains why he didn't tell anybody.

The film ends with Tom having fun with friends, he looks off in the distance. He sees the Umbra Hominis again and starts. Reece notices and asks him if he's had his medication yet. Tom replies that he hasn't and takes it. He still has psychosis, but he's happy and managing it. Being open with people takes courage, but it's better to let them know than to keep everything bottled up until it explodes he never wants that to happen again.


Characters:

Tom: Tom is a teenager who has suffered with psychosis since his early childhood. Having made it to high school without any serious incidents. Tom is allergic to most psychosis medication, meaning that he has to take a specific brand of medication to not suffer from the effects of his illness. He doesn't want to tell anybody about his pychosis because he knows that they will treat him differently.

Reece: Reece has been friends with Tom for years but Tom hasn't told him about his psychosis. They became friends after Tom had already got it under control so he doesn't know what he's like when he hasn't had any medication. He does the same subjects as Tom and they regularly meet up to play games and watch movies.

Umbra Hominis: The Umbra Hominis is the manifestation of Tom's psychosis. It appears when Tom doesn't take his medication and it's only purpose is to cause problems for Tom and make him feel weak.