1. Script evaluation
My script project was to make a subgenre horror script which is either the maximum 10 pages or
maximum 10 minutes long for Film4.
My script Signing Off is complete and fitting into the timings successfully, its 12 pages long. The
script also meets the requirements of a cringy American horror movie. Its set in 2022 in Tampa,
Florida in North America. It’s about a group of 6 individuals (Jenny, Stacy, Gavin, Kate, Brad, Chris)
who go round our main character Jenny’s Grandma’s house (because Jenny is house sitting but
doesn’t want to do it alone). Grandma’s house is very eery, dated and out of place compared to all
the other houses in the neighbourhood. The group finds and plays with a Ouija Board which
unleashes ghosts that are like shadows and the ghost of Bill who is the late husband of the grandma.
However, the group do not ‘sign off’ because the ghosts chase the group around the house causing 4
of the 6 to die overall. They eventually sign off the Board which forces the ghosts to disappear back
into the purgatory in which they came from. The two survivors one of them being our main
character Jenny then escape the house but are met by the Cops and a very confused Grandma. In
conclusion the two survivors are brought in to questioning which is where our story ends.
The six characters are based off the stereotypical group in a horror movie. For example, Jenny is our
main character who has some sort of relation to how the event is happening. For example, the story
takes place in Jenny’s Grandma’s house. She is also part of every main point of the story (beginning,
climax, resolution and ending by escaping). Stacy and Gavin are the couple of the story who both
end up dying in the house. Stacy is also the popular bimbo. Gavin is the friend that follows Brad
around like a sidekick. Brad is our dumb jock who is always joking at other people’s expense. Kate is
our nerd, and she is the only person who knows how to operate with a Ouija Board and deal with
the ghosts, she is also the identical twin of Chris. Chris is the only one who is disliked by everyone
else, he is the character who is a jerk and doesn’t like anyone either. An example of idea of a
stereotypical cast in a movie is A scary movie, it involves all the stereotypes that are involved in
Signing Off.
The genre of the script is Paranormal Horror because it’s a horror script which involves Paranormal
activities and character. For example, they open being able to unleash the ghosts through the Ouija
Board and meeting face to face with the ghosts. The target audience is for males and females who
are around late teens (15) to early 30s. I have targeted them by having a cast of an equal number of
males and females. setting a stereotypical horror movie and characters (that people in their early
30s grew up with in the 90s) in 2022 with quite modern language to attract the late teens early adult
ages.) I have also made the cast diverse by having Stacy being a Korean American girl and having
Kate and Chris African American, which further fits the Film4 brief. The script follows a 3-act script. A
3-act script is when there is a beginning, which tells us what is happening and tells us about the
characters; a middle, which involves something bad happening (in this case when the ghosts are
unleashed) and an end, which involves a solution and an outcome (finding the Ouija Board and
signing off on it causing the ghosts to disappear). This script is also multi-stranded because there are
scenes that don’t involve everyone. For example, the scene that just has Gavin and Stacy in it and no
one else which can make audience members favour different characters. My intension with this is to
get the audience to become attached to our characters in a way so if one of their favourite
characters die, they feel some emotion. My other intention is when a character has a gruesome
death for the audience to cringe, flitch or in some way try to move away from what is happening to
create that fear and wonder of what could happen next. This idea was inspired by the Rick Altman 3
pleasures theory. My example is a mixture of Visual and Emotional pleasures.
2. My script induces requirements that fits the script into the UK guidelines of script writing. For
example, in the introduction of every scene there is a scene heading that states whether the scene is
outside (EXT.) or inside (INT), the title of where the scene is (Grandma’s living room) and what time
of day it is (Day/ Night); whenever a character has dialogue it’s in the middle of the page with the
character’s name above it in capitals, the actions of the script is typed normally starting at the left
side of the page. All these requirements make it easier for people to read the script and to easily
understand each area and where it is in the script. Finally, the script is typed in a font size of 12 in
the font style called Courier. All these requirements make sure that my completed script successfully
fits into the UK script guidelines.
One thing that I have changed during the drafting process of my script Signing Off is that originally, I
was going to have the script quite serious and genuine. However, I decided the change this to make
it more of a ‘cringy’ American Paranormal Horror because I believe that it has improved the script to
attract more people who are in their late 20s early 30s.
