A2 media coursework - scrpt ideas

1. Script ideas
James O’Hare

2. Institutions
My idea could be produced and distributed by the BFI as they are now the main body for film in the UK which
includes a role as a lottery distributor. The lottery fund are associated with funding a lot of British social realism
films, for example the kidult hood and adulthood films. These films were also distributed by revolver
entertainment in 41 screens across the UK. Revolver entertainment would be ideal to help with the distribution
of my film as the projects they have been associated with carry strong links to my film idea.
I would choose Andrea Arnold to direct my film as she is an experienced social realism director with the success
of her film Fish tank which received high critical praise and the storyline. She is also from Kent which is where
we will be filming the project so she will have an understanding of the area and will be offer strong insight on
scenes and areas.
The funding will also come from the BFI and lottery fund alike the distribution because it is important for them
to allow the independent industry to grow so they take on and fund these projects in order to enhance the
industry.

3. Character overview
Character 1: Luke – He is an average boy without much drive and is easily led askew due to him having a lacking
understanding of where he wants to go and what he wants to do. He falls into a new crowd of friends who
introduce him to drugs which he is easily persuaded to try. I feel this is relevant to a lot of teenagers during the
end of their school life when they have start making big decisions when perhaps they’re not ready and are
looking for any opportunity to get away from the looming pressure from his parents school.
Character 2: Ross – Ross is seen to be the ringleader of Luke’s new group of friends and his brother is a drug
dealer so drugs are very accessible to him. He is young and impressionable, and looks up to his older very much
and thinks if he dabbles in drugs he well be be more respected by his brother. This younger brother trying to
make an impression on his older brother is a very relatable subject for a lot of siblings as most younger
brothers really look up to their older brother and is somewhat of a hero to them.
Character 3: Ross’s older brother Jack – Jack got involved with the wrong people and has no ended up on a dark
path and has no regard for the damage he is causing to the people around him e.g. his brother. He is very
distant and no longer seems interested in his brother and is more interested in making money and drug use.
Drugs are a very real and current problem in the youth of today.

4. Script overview
Luke has a row with parents leaves the house angry and annoyed. Which creates the ideal scenario for his
meeting with ross who bump into each other on the way to school and through a wandering football and this is
the first time their paths meet as they are from different friendship groups. This bond begins to develop and
Luke begins to fray from the rules.
As the friendship became fully develop and the pair becomes somewhat best friends Ross begins to open up to
Luke about his older brother Jack. Who is smalltime drug dealer and Ross has started to do drops for him and
has taken his drugs to try and get more respect from his brother who he looks up to so much. From this arises
the idea that the pair should try the drugs. After some original reluctance from Luke he eventually gives in and
succumbs to the pressure. The friends set about trying the drugs.
The drug use goes bad and they end up getting carried away and lose a lot of them which causes panic with
Ross. He is afraid to tell his brother as he is worried about how he will react and Luke is seen to be the
accomplice so he is also in the firing line. The panic is then intensified when Luke gets a phone call from his
mum telling him she knows what he's been doing. The pair descend into panic and set off for the train station
and without much thought they get on the train to their runaway destination and bump into Jack returning
from his girlfriends. The film ends with the 3 in a carriage.

5. How I intend to follow Codes and
conventions
I will be using a young cast of teenagers who the issues I display in the script and the uniforms and the pressures are
very accessible and easy for me to understand, this allows me to portray them easily. I also look at the damage which
drugs can cause which is a big issue into todays world and how people are getting younger and younger when getting
into drugs which is also relevant to my secondary audience as they will be around these issues and going through the
trials and tribulations of life themselves. This audience is young males and young adult who are very accustom to the
issues stated. The primary audience is varied in terms of education and class, I feel in order to understand the message
that I aiming to send with my film you will need some form of higher education and be aware of the happenings within
society. Class is slightly more specific as I feel it attracts your typical “white collar” workers and the above as it offers
them an insight into something that they may perhaps not be familiar with. I feel that my secondary audience also
reaches out to parents because it may make them aware of the problems that their child could be facing (exploring
wider social issues) .With the message from my film I want to try and open peoples eyes which is what a lot of social
realism films set out to do as they often receive high critical acclaim as they do not have the means to generate a lot of
revenue due to lack of advertising.
The settings being used in the film ideas are common settings used in social realism films for example:
Council estates
Villages
Towns
The choice of my ending also corresponds social realism conventions as it displays the reality of peoples actions and
that people do not get away with whatever they want and that there are consequences for their actions. Thus making
it different from your usual drama as they show people “living the dream”/being happy lot of the time and tend to
shield the audience from certain truths which gives people a false sense of reality. Where as things like hard luck are
very evident themes in a social realism drama like mine revealing to the audience that not everyone plays happy
families and gets along.