Script

Hey guys! So yesterday my group members and I met up and we started to discuss the different feedback each section gave us for the project.

Most of the feedback we received dealt with the first 30 seconds of our opening. Most of the people liked the idea of going against the court system, but they agreed that we should probably start with a meeting between the main character and his lawyer, or something more visually pleasing than a dark interrogation room or cell. They also mentioned that if we want this project to work, our actor should be picked so it is clear that he’s a minority. We realized that we have the “meat” of the project done, like our overall plot and what we need (prop-wise) to get it done, but when it comes down to how to start and end the scene, we’re hopelessly lost.

One of my group members thought that to make it easier and save time, each person should be assigned a job. These jobs will help us develop our opening and hopefully reach a mutual understanding of how we want it to start and end. Maria and Jenna are going to collaboratively work on the storyboard, where Maria will draw and Jenna will write down the shot/ angle composition for each scene. Kaelin is going to start on character development, because we realized that we should have an idea of how our movie will end even if we are only showing the opening scene. Lastly, I am working on the script.

When working on the script, I turned to different types of films for inspiration to get a better idea of what terms or vocabulary I should be using.

For example, A Few Good Men, and in ...And Justice for All  has perfect representation of the court system, it's corruption, the terms used in a court of law, and how a court system operates. I didn't watch all 2 hours of these movies, but for the first 30-45 minutes of these films (especially the court scenes) I noticed how each character was dressed, acted, where they stood, etc. Also, when spoken to they always refer to the Judge as “your honor,” and most times than not, the victim/ defendant is quiet and only their lawyers talk.

I was taking notes of these scenes to help me with the script. Most of my notes dealt with representation, the mise-en-scene and the lighting. I've noticed that when in court, most of the time, it's darker than when they step outside or are home somewhere far away from the courtroom. This probably is making a statement of how dark and corrupt they system is. My notes and watching videos has helped me with starting the script. I got to run it by my group to make sure they agree with me as well.

Until then, keep watching!

References:

Sorkin, A. (Director). (1992). A Few Good Men [Motion picture]. USA.

Jewison, N. (Director). (1979). ...And Justice For All [Motion picture]. USA.