Script to Screen: Speed Pitching and Soft by Simon Ellis

A pitch describes the idea of the story and helps to 'sell' the overall text. To learn how to write pitches, we were given three different scenarios and a newspaper then challenged to come up with a main story idea and title to pitch for each one. Each pitch could only be between 25-40 words.

Big Hollywood action thriller:

Title: And the award goes to....
Main story idea: 
A security guard working at an awards show notices suspicious behavior and soon finds his shift overrun with the FBI, generating a huge news story. But is it just a publicity stunt or a real attack?

This idea was inspired by articles in the newspaper about Sunday's Emmy awards show and the articles on terrorism. This seemed to fit this scenario as it has the potential to include all the things big action movies are known for such as an all star cast, stunts and explosions.

Late night Channel 4 drama series:

Title: An explanation of murder

Main story idea:

A teenage boy with a tragic past begins to display signs of sociopathic behavior. Can his desperate mother get help for him before something fatal occurs?

An article about a teenage boy who killed his best friend of 15 despite his mother's best efforts to get him help was the inspiration for this idea. I think it would fit on late night Channel 4 because it is gritty and realistic yet can still be dramatic.  

Short film set on a council estate:

Title: Boxed up

Main story idea:

A politician visits a building site for a new housing development on a council estate. Locals protest the development due to overpopulation. But little do they know their own neighbor is the person who has provided the council with the land. 

My own experience of living on a council estate that is frequently being built on served as the main basis for this story idea. I thought this fit the scenario as more and more houses being built on council estates is a common problem and experience for people who live there. 

Short film: 'Soft' written and directed by Simon Ellis

'Soft' is about a father who discovers his son is being bullied by the local gang. But when they also begin to harass him, can he stand up to them? 

To help learn how to create a short film from a screenplay, we broke 'Soft' down into it's key story components. 

Characters:

Scott, a school boy, as established at the beginning of the film when it is shown through mobile phone footage that he is beaten up by a gang whilst wearing school uniform.

Father, a formal man as shown by his choice of clothes, a short sleeved shirt and tie, as they are smart and practical not for fashion. His practicality is backed up by the precise way he parks his car near the beginning of the film.  Also, his clothes help give a sense of his profession as it seems he maybe works in some sort of office. 

The gang leader, who it is stated has been expelled from school and seems to have a reputation for causing trouble by intimidating people. 

The gang.

Goals:

Both the father and Scott want to stop the gang's bullying and overcome their fear of them. 

They also want to improve their father/son relationship as the dialogue between them shows that it is somewhat strained. For example, the father doesn't always seem to listen to Scott.

Finding guidance and good values are also a goal as Scott's father tells him he should stand up for himself even after he used to tell him never to get into fights. Therefore, they are also trying to maintain equilibrium and avoid damage to the car and house. 

Conflict:

This is mainly the gang and Scott and his father's fear of them. 

There is also their different and changing morals such as that after telling Scott to fight, his father doesn't stand up for himself in front of the gang. This is an example of the conflict of their strained father/son relationship.

Between the gang and Scott and his father there is also a class difference. 

Change:

 Because Scott's father doesn't stand up to the gang their relationship changes. In consequence, Scott gains confidence when he goes out to face the gang, but loses respect for his father.
Scott's reaction shows that the gang can be defeated which before seemed unlikely.

Setting:

The setting is an estate which is urban and modern. It immediately points to the type of characters the film is going to introduce and shows their income level. Also, it is used as bookends as it is shown in one of the first shots and the last helping to distinguish that after Scott stands up to the gang, the world as the audience has known it has changed. 

Theme:

The main themes of the film are of fear and hierarchy. Because Scott's father is older than the gang members it does not mean he is less afraid of them than Scott. He is also intimidated by them therefore when they confront each other the gang leader has more power than Scott's father, making it easier for the gang leader to push Scott's father down the hierarchy even though his suit makes him appear as if he should be the more dominant one. It is also shown that doing the right thing is hard especially when fear is also involved as Scott does what is necessary to get rid of the gang but not what could be considered as necessarily the right thing. 

Props:

The cricket bat is an important prop in this film and its appearance at the end when it acts as the resolution for Scott to get rid of the gang is foreshadowed from the beginning of the film when Scott's father comes home to find Scott has left his bag in the hallway:

It is also foreshadowed when Scott opens the fridge before his father notices his injuries as a picture of a cricket team is shown attached to the front:

This points to the resolution long before the audience are aware of it and makes the film more realistic as it shows that Scott does not just pull a cricket bat out of nowhere but could have been thinking about using it to get rid of the gang for most of the film. 

Watch 'Soft' by Simon Ellis on Vimeo