The document provides guidance for students to create scenes for a short film as part of their coursework. It outlines that students must create an opening sequence and another scene from a crime thriller or horror genre film. They will also create test editing sequences and a three-minute trailer. Comprehensive pre-production paperwork is required, including a screenplay, storyboards, budget, and location planning. The document discusses key elements of effective storytelling like compelling characters, goal-oriented plots, and interconnected events leading to a resolution.

1. Story Structure and Screenplay

2. The Project
UNIT 10:
Your task is to create the opening
sequence for a new horror or crime
thriller genre film, and another scene
from the film.
This will be a small budget British film.
The sequences should be up to 7
minutes in length each. In total you
should have at least 10 minutes.
UNIT 21:
You will also create two test sequences
where you will experiment with editing
techniques before creating the final
edit.
You will also create a three-minute
trailer for your film.

3. Unit 4: Pre-Production
 You will need to generate a range of detailed paperwork in preparation for filming
 This will go into Unit 10, Unit 21, and Unit 4!
 This includes:
 initial ideas and developments
 screenplay including drafting and updates
 storyboard
 recces and risk assessments (health and safety)
 finances and budgeting
 contracts and personnel
 schedule and bookings
 lighting tests
 props/make-up/costumes lists
 location scouting
 contingency plans and revisions

4. Learning Aims
To develop understanding of story structure and the key
elements of effective storytelling
To generate ideas for a new short film

5. Starter
What makes a story compelling to read?
 Complete Activity 1 in your group
 Be ready to discuss your ideas

6. Context
Empathy
Tension
Surprise elements
Peril
Confrontation
Lack of character
motivation,
randomness of
events and lack of
narrative
development are
common
problems with
student work

7. Key thoughts
 Who is the main character?
 What is the difference between the Slave at the
beginning and the Slave at the end?
 What are the different goals?
 Does the story feel finished?
 What is this story about?

8. What makes an engaging story?
A series of interconnected events
which lead to a resolution
Goal orientated protagonist
Theme or controlling idea
Moral or message

9. Joyride (Jim Gillespie, 1995)

10. ‘Because’
 1. Because the engineer puts off fixing the fault, he arrives at the ambush
point at just the ‘right’ time
 2. Because he thinks someone is injured he gets out of the car to have a
look

11. ‘Causality drives a story in which motivated actions
cause effects that in turn become the causes of other
effects, thereby interlinking the various levels of conflict
in a chain reaction of episodes to the story climax’

12. Theme
What is the film about?
What are its messages?

13. Story Structure
Act I: The Set Up
Act II: Confrontation
Act III: Resolution

14. Which one of these ideas, sounds like a film
you would pay money to see?
A doctor is sentenced to be executed after being
wrongly accused of murdering his wife. On the
way to prison, he escapes and begins a desperate
race to find the real murderer before a relentless
police detective can capture him and return him to
be executed.
An aspiring model named DJ Smith is trying to make it in Hollywood
like so many other young hopefuls in Los Angeles. She works part
time in a beauty shop to keep the bills paid because she is not at
the point in her career to be a full-time model/actress. DJ is in
pursuit of the attention of NP, so that she can possibly get signed to
his popular model promotion company, NP GIRLS. She meets a guy
named Uptown Joey who claims to know NP and offers a helping
hand. However, this proves to be somewhat of a difficult task, as NP
has ambitions and issues of his own to deal with. NP has been trying
for years to befriend and work with MR ENTERTAINMENT, the
industry feared television mogul who is infamous for his barbaric
and gangster ways. NP becomes the center link of the story as he
struggles in his relationship with his wife Lisa due to his lifestyle and
the obvious fact that he manages beautiful models as an occupation.
Not only does NP have his personal issues to deal with, but he also
has to call on his friends Bruce and Billy to help him with an even
bigger professional opportunity, threat, and responsibility.