Screenwriting Step 6

Evaluation

I have finished gathering all of my research for this screenwriting unit and i think that it's safe to say that it will and has helped me tremendously.

It all started of with just brainstorming for ideas and then i came up with my final idea and i looked at all of the key elements in my final idea to research, i researched drugs, conspiracy theorys and charity's and i had a questionaire with a police officer.

Overall i think the two most reliable sources of information i gathered was the questionaire with the police officer and researching on the FRANK website.

The questionaire with the police officer was the most helpful because i went over to my local police station myself and asked the questions and got the answers which means it's 100% reliable information as its primary research i know for a fact its true because the police officer i interviewed was obviously a proffesional at what he does as he has had years of training on drugs, were as you can get secondary research and it could be false and on some unreliable websites most of the time it is false or twisted slighly or mininmal information.

After the questionaire with the police officer it should help me to develop my idea as i know exactly what could happen if someone was caught in possesion of drugs and i can make my screenplay as realistic as possible.

Researching on the FRANK website was a huge help also as this website was professionally made by people who are very knowledgable in drugs and they get all of there information from primary research, asking scientists, police officer and former addicts etc.

The thing that i liked about researching on this website is that it was easy to get around i could easily research what the most addictive and cheap drugs where and after researching drug information on this website, it allowed me to develop my idea as in my final idea its about a homeless person who is infected with HIV and he is a drug addict but i didnt have an idea on what drug he was addicted too but reading some information on FRANK i found that heroin is the most addictive drug in the world and it can be obtained cheaply and on the FRANK website it stated that it's very dangerous to share needles when injecting heroin as it can cause a risk of catching the HIV virus which was a perfect fit to my final idea.

Researching conspiracy theories was also a good attribute towards the final idea.

I started off by researching the most famous conspiracy theory which is 9/11 and from researching that i found a link to another conspiracy theory about a cancer cure which yet again i though was perfect towards my final idea as my final idea is specifically about somone who finds a cure too HIV and the goverment try everything in their power too take it away from him and after researching this cancer cure conspiracy theory it gave me a general outlook of why the goverment could be trying to take the HIV cure away from him in my screenplay.

Reading existing screenplays and screenwriting literature was a very good attribute to this unit as it helped me alot in understanding what too do when it comes to actually writing my screenplay.

Reading existing screenplays was the main way i learned how to structure my material, i leart how to introduce a scene and charecter, I also learnt when too add actions and the editing and that was the main help of reading existing screenplays which is a very good attribute as i wasnt very good atall at formatting my screenplays, all i knew i what font to do and the rest seemed abit haisy to me but now i understand it.

Also after reading existing screenplays it helps me understand how much work and effort is acctually put into the writing prosses as the screenplays i read where very long and obviously i didnt read all of them but you can scroll down and see how long they were, also the punctuation and spelling in the existing screenplays i read were very accurate and well done which i shall keep in mind when i am writing my own.

Reading screenplay literature was very good at giving information on structure and narrative and what to do with your screenplay depending on what genre you use.

I learnt alot of the structure from reading existing screenplays already but obviously the literature gave it too me in alot more clear way as with reading existing screenplays i had to realise the patterns that were made  too know how the structure worked but when i read the screenplay literature it just straight up told me how to structure it.

The most i learnt from reading literature was how the genre's work, it had alot of different information on what the narrative should be like with different genres, for example with an action genre it should be fast moving and sudden with less narrative but you still need to make room for the narrative but dont over do it were as with a horror the narrative is near enough vital and the screenplay needs to be spooky and sudden and the narrative need to be very clear and spoken out so the story is getting across to the audience therefore overall reading screenplay literature was a big help to me aswell as reading existing screenplays.

Overall the research that i did was very neccasary and very helpful, without the research i wouldnt of been able to develop my final idea and make it as realistic as i can now.

I can also make my screenplay perfect format and make sure the genre suits the narrative and performance, overall the most help to me was the questionaire with the police officer and researching on the FRANK website and reading screenwriting literature for the reasons that i have explained above therefore overall research is very important for the screenwrting process.

Screenwriting Step 5

Screenwriting literature.

I have read some screenwriting literature and i would say that it helped me alot if i had read it before reading existing screenplays but i can only say it helped me slightly as it gave alot of information on the format of how a screenplay is produced like when to use INT & EXT, Location and timing which i already learnt from reading existing screenplays as i read the existing screenplays i realised as each scene changed it would give the information on where they are and what time it is but obviously formated as i just explained.
Screenwriting literature gives information on how to format a script when a certain charecter makes a certain action and when editing should be input which i again already learnt from reading existing screenplays.
Although reading screenwriting literature i obviously more helpful then reading existing screenplays because with reading existing screenplays i had too realise the patterns to know how its formatted but with the literature it just straight up tells me what to do really simply therefore i thought that reading screenwriting literature is helpful.
I also learned alot of different genre element from reading screenwriting literature for example it said that if you are doing a screenplay with an action genre then it should be fast moving quite alot of the time and always going, obviously you dont have too write the screenplay without and sort of sitting down, talking moments but it cant bore someone for too long as it is an action movie but you can still give a narrative base towards it but you dont have to go too much into detail with the narrative were as with a horror movie it has to be sneaky and tense and the narrative base of the screenplay has to be clear and put across well.
There is information on most genres with was the most helpful for me in my personal opinion, there was alot of other elements that was really helpful aswell such as structure and introduction but i already knew about them before reading some of this literature but i didnt read all of the literature, i only read a few segmants and the amount of information i got out of it was phenominal and it makes me think about ordering my own screenwriting book to help me with the screenwriting unit as i already know how helpful they are just from reading a small amount.

Screenwriting Step 4

I am going to read some existing screenplays starting of with "Lock, stock and two smoking barrels", written by Guy Ritchie

Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.

http://sfy.ru/?script=lock_stock

This screenplay was written by Guy Ritchie, I have learned quite alot from this screenplay, starting off with some simple things, when a charecter speaks, there name always has to be in capitals were as i thought there name only had to be in capitals when they are first introduced.
I have also learned that you only have too give the details; "INT" & "EXT", Location and Day & night at the start of every scene and i did'nt exactly know how that worked until i read this screenplay.
In this screenplay the spelling and grammer is perfect which i shall make sure i do in the future in my own screenplays also at the end of the scene it has in capital letters what the editing will be at the end of each scene which i didnt know before i read this.
I have learned quite alot from this screenplay and i did'nt even need to read that much to see how he did his writing, this screenplay is an inspiration to me because it is one of my favourite movies and now i see whatever film it is, you always need to have percise and perfect screenplays before they go into production and just after reading this screenplay i realised how much work is really involved in it and how prepared i should be.

I am now going to read another screenplay called "The Matrix" by Larry and Andy Wachowski.

The Matrix

http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Matrix,-The.html

I read a few segmants of this screenplay and i cant honestly say that i have learnt much more because i had already learnt alot from the first screenplay that i read although i think that in this screenplay the timing for when something happens is alot more specific and the structure is basically the same but the space margins are very well done although the spelling and grammer was alot better in the Lock, Stock and two smoking barells screenplay.

Screenwriting Step 3

I have some sources of research that differ between primary and secondary research that evolve around drugs alot as my final screenplay idea is widely based on drug use, I will start of with my primary research and then my secondary research.


I did a questionaire with a police officer from Carterton police station, the questions i asked were basically what procedures the police take too drug dealing and drug possesion.

Questionaire

-What percations do you take against someone in possesion of illeagal narcotics?

If someone was found with a small amount of drugs a caution can only be given if you have admitted the offence. You will not be charged but you will have a police record, just like a criminal record, which is kept on computer and will be available to any policeman, even in the street.
If someone was found with a large possesion of drugs and we are suspicious that they are dealing drugs then we can arrest them and they can be prosecuted.


-What can happen if you are found with drugs again after a caution?


You can be prosecuted and have to go to court and the time where you got a caution before hand can be mentioned in court, although the court will not punish you for the offence it relates to.
The average sentence for possesion of drugs is 3 to 7 years and the average sentence for dealing drugs is 14 years.


-How often do you search people for drugs?


The main way we find people with drugs is when they are entoxicated on the drugs or if they are on the street causing other sorts of trouble and we can find if they've already had a caution or criminal record for drugs and therefore we can search them and like i said before if they have drugs again then they can be arrested and prosecuted.


End of questionaire


The questionaire will give me a genral outline of what can happen to the drug addict charecter in my screenplay if he was caught by the police with drugs therefore it will seem alot more realistic as i got actual facts on what can happen.

Drugs research

I next wanted too find out what a drug addict could be realisticly addicted too and could realisticly afford as in my final idea the drug addict is homeless with no money therefore i went on the website http://www.talktofrank.com/ as it is the most knowledgable and reliable site on drugs research and it always gives the truth, here is some research from the website.

There is alot of different drugs that a highly addictive but the most addictive ones are Crack, Cocaine and Heroin.

Cocaine is a very addictive drug which is snorted through the nose too cause a "Buzz" which is a high that will make you very active but it will only last 30 minutes to 1 hour after taking one line therefore you will have too buy alot of it and it cost £40 GBP for 1 gram which can get a varied amount of lines out of it depending on how big or small you make the lines but this drug is very addictive and a gram is £40 and you have too keep taking it too feel intoxicated therefore a homeless person could never realisticly afford it and it is nick named the "rich people" drug.

Crack is the same as cocaine but transformed in a way that makes the high more intense and last longer but instead of being snorted, it's smoked which makes it alot more instantly addictive. It cost the same as cocaine £40 GBP a gram but it is alot more realisticly affordable for a homeless person because the majority of people that are homeless either have an alcohol, crack or heroin problem and they still somehow get the money for their narcotics by begging, stealing and prostitution.

The reason crack is more realisticly addictive is because a user can get quite a few hits off a a gram and just one hit can last for 3-6 hours and its alot more intense, making it extremely addictive.

The most addictive and affordable drug is heroin which can be injected and smoked, with heroin you can get instantly hooked on it and when people are properly addicted to it, they get to the point where they can get very ill and if they dont take the drug, its known as "Dope sickness" and people start taking it just too feel normal again.

Injecting heroin and sharing injecting equipment can be very risky, as it runs the risk of the injector catching or spreading a virus, such as HIV or hepatitis C. There is also the risk that veins may be damaged and that an abscess or blood clot may develop this drug is most realisticly addictive because you only need £10 too buy some and its the most addictive drug in the world too this date

After researching on the FRANK website i have acctually managed too develop my idea slightly as in my final idea its about a drug addict that has HIV, well now after researching on FRANK i have concluded that this drug addict could of got infected with the HIV virus by sharing a needle too inject heroin when he first started getting hooked on the drug.

CONSPIRACY

As my final idea revolves around a man finding a cure for HIV then i thought there could be some goverment conspiracy based around it as people with diseases such as HIV help alot of profit towards insurance companies and there was already a conspiricy that alot of forms of cancer have a cure but the goverment quarantined them too help towards funding alot of insurance companies which i dont personally believe but its still a conspiracy theory.
I am going to research some conspiracy theories and give information about them.

Nine-Eleven Conspiracy

I am going too start of with the most famous conspiracy of September 11th when terrorists hijacked planes and crashed them into the world trade centre.
The basic conspiracy theory behind this is that the american goverment wanted to have a war with iraq because iraq had a big supply of oil but obviously the american goverment couldnt just start a war for nothing so they purposely attached bombs too the world trade center and reported on the news that it was terrorists that hijacked the planes and crashed them into the world trade centre, there are some facts that prove that this theory could be true such as; the jet fuel from the hijacked plane dont heat up enough too melt through steel but the bombs that were supposedly attached could melt the steel causing the building too collapse.
Also alot of people reported that when the plane crashed into the building a big bang sound went of as if a bomb went off. Therefore if all of america knew that the world trade centre was destroyed by terrorists then they would want all of america to go too war and that is what the american goverment wanted so they can gather more oil but there is also alot of things that go against these theories, for example the passengers of the hijacked planes where linked too alkaida and that the terrorist was wearing a bomb when he flew into the building so it designated as he flew into it.

Personally i dont believe in this conspiracy theory but it is a good source of research towards my final idea and it can help me towards developing my idea.


Cancer Cure Conspiracy

A recent conspiracy is that there was supposedly a cure for breast, lung and brain cancer discovered, the drug is called DCA which is used to treat rare metabolism diseases but it was discovered in canada that it kills cancer cells as tested on a test tube and a lab rat and, they were both injected with the human cancer virus and after the use of DCA all the cancer cells were killed with no harmful side affects.
The conspiracy part to this story is that the company in Canada that discovered that DCA cures cancer wont allow the public to have it as there is no money to be made from it and it has'nt properly been tested yet and insurance companies cant give funding towards it as there are some legal conditions that dont allow them too.
This is a good source of research for me as my final screenplay plan is about someone finding a cure too HIV and with this conspiracy theory in mind i could think of some ideas and reasons of why the goverment might not want the drug to go out too the public.

Charity

I am going to research two different charity's, one of them is a HIV charity and one of them is a Drug addict charity.

I just wanted to do abit of research on these two charity's too see how they are treated and i thought it could help towards developing my idea.

HIV Charity - UNICEF

The UNICEF is a charity that mainly collects funding for children around the world that have difficult lives and one of their main helps are towards people with HIV, and there funding doesnt only go towards children, it also goes towards adults and familys who are suffering from the HIV virus.

They say on the website that they want to raise awareness so people know what these people are going through aswell as raising money to help fund these people.

It says on the website that people with HIV can still have a rich fufilling life if we help therefore from that research i know that people with the HIV virus are very fragile and vulnerable therefore when the man in my final idea is on the run from the goverment i could maybe include him getting weaker and weaker the more he runs and hides from the goverment as the HIV virus that he caught is withelding his maximum strength and potential.

Drug Addiction Charity - Project Prevention

This charity has alot of information that is useful towards my research, it explains how people can donate to this charity to help drug addicts overcome their problems and one of the main things they put their money towards is giving the drug addicts their drugs in smaller doses in order to slowly get them off the drug which is a very popular form of treatment for drug addicts.
This information can be used again too develop my idea, i could make it out that the drug addict has no money left and he is even using these charitys to get his drugs and then not even quitting and just using the money for the drugs.

Researching both of these charitys was a good attribute towards my final idea as they are both key elements that my main charecter is involved with in my final idea.



Step Two Screenwriting

My final idea evolves around a drug addict therefore i will have too research the sort of drugs that this poor, homeless drug addict would be able too afford and would be realisticly addicted too, maybe using websites like FRANK as it is a good source of research on drugs, i can also get leaflets on FRANK drugs information from alot of librarys.
Therefore i can use a range of primary and secondary research for this step in my screenwriting unit. Most secondary research would be helpful towards me as its about illeagal drugs therefore alot of primary research tasks would be unsuitable as it could make people uncomfortable for surverys, questionaires etc.
My idea is also about conspiricy towards the goverment and what they could do if someone found a cure for HIV, I am unsure of what the goverment would really do if that happend but im going too research some conspiricy theories online too get a general outline of what some of the stories are like.
I can use some sources of primary research such as a questionaire with police, giving general questions on what percautions they would take if someone was caught in possesion of drugs or under the influence of drugs, ofcourse explaining that im doing it for my college work.
I could do an online survey but it can be taken off due too censorship as drugs are considered innapropriate too talk about in most circumstances as the internet can sometimes be as strict as the TV industry in censorship depending on what websites and sources i intend to gather the primary research on.
There is alot of different sources i can use too gather my research wether it's primary or secondary.

Screenplay Final Idea

I decided too chose idea 3 as i thought it was the most origional and i havent heard of it been done before, i also like the conspiricy parts of movies as its very gripping and keeps you interested also in this short film this man that finds this substance that cures HIV, he started off as a tramp and this cure for HIV could change his life physically and mentally.

Idea 3:

This is going too be about a drug addict that has the HIV virus and he knows he wont survive for too long so he spends all of his money on narcotics too get entoxicated.
Soon after he runs out of money he will do just about anything too get high, he lives on the streets and he finds a substance that he tries too get high off, he doesnt get high atall but when he goes too the doctors too get his weekly checkup for his HIV, the doctors find that the HIV virus is completely ridden from his body because of this substance, he doesnt tell anyone about it and he starts getting the goverment trying too steal it from him and it goes into a big conspiricy theme.

Screenplay Ideas

Idea 1:

Three men go on a heist for a girl too get a very valuable neclace from a grave.
In the graveyard it's very misty and dark and as they dig up the grave they open it and a deadly infection is brought into the world, the infection causes people too turn into "zombies" and one of the boys are infected and the other two run away and have too figure out how too survive during this apocalypse.

Idea 2:

This is going too be about an intense heist of 4 men that plan too steal from the casino and the film goes through how sneakily the casino steals from the 4 men while the 4 men think there getting money from the casino and the 4 men dont realise they've been robbed and their identiity has been stolen by the casino until after they get out of prison because the casino knew they were robbing them so they were locked in the vault until police arrived and the 4 men have to figure out how there going too survive with no identity and no money.

Idea 3:

This is going too be about a drug addict that has the HIV virus and he knows he wont survive for too long so he spends all of his money on narcotics too get entoxicated.
Soon after he runs out of money he will do just about anything too get high, he lives on the streets and he finds a substance that he tries too get high off, he doesnt get high atall but when he goes too the doctors too get his weekly checkup for his HIV, the doctors find that the HIV virus is completely ridden from his body because of this substance, he doesnt tell anyone about it and he starts getting the goverment trying too steal it from him and it goes into a big conspiricy theme.