During an introductory lesson for our course, an activity consisted of the class being split into groups of 4; each group then being provided with a strip of paper providing a scenario, which the groups would then develop into a film idea. Due to an odd number of students in our lesson, our group was a group of 3. This proved significant when the strip of paper we were provided with said:
"Midnight: Peak District: One car: the 4 of you are all together..."
Due to an absent 4th person in our group, we decided that the 4th person within the film would be with us, but not alive. More specifically, we decided that the 4th person would be dead in the boot of the car, as the others drive out to the Peak District to bury the body. A basic idea, but then we began to develop it further and further, making it increasingly complex. We began adding to the idea, with one person suggesting that perhaps the 4th person's death had occurred during a party the previous night; the murder possibly being brought on due to the influence of alcohol or narcotics. An additional idea was that the other 3 party-goers had all blacked out and, as a result, none of them can remember who had committed the murder, whether it had been one of them, two of them, all of them, or none of them (the culprit being some other person(s) in this case). Each person is aware that it could have been them that had committed the murder, or one of their colleagues. To compromise, they agree to split the blame, and bury the body together, agreeing to never mention the events to anyone. The idea then became developed even further when a suggestion was made that perhaps one person did not black out and is lying about doing so. This would mean that either this person is the murder, or knows who the murderer is. Either way, they would likely be retaining this knowledge for their own safety. A suggestion for the motive was also made: perhaps the victim was getting married, with the murderer being the third part in a love triangle.
This activity shows the huge span of imaginative potential that films are capable of. We were able to develop a simple idea into what almost resembles a film pitch in a matter of no more than 15 minutes. Such a simple idea evolved into something far more complex and intriguing; as is often the nature of films.
This activity shows the huge span of imaginative potential that films are capable of. We were able to develop a simple idea into what almost resembles a film pitch in a matter of no more than 15 minutes. Such a simple idea evolved into something far more complex and intriguing; as is often the nature of films.
