Emailing draft

I'm not sure if Simon has received any of my last emails, I haven't received any from him in the past month - they keep pinging back - not useful. Managed meet with a friend of my fathers though Michael Ryan, works for Handmade Productions. He read the script for my fifth episode and I gave him the outlines for the others. He liked them. He did give me feedback on the episode.

• The first scene between Claire and Danny went on for too long
• Certain scenes didn't flow correctly
• The introduction of DS Morgan needed to be subtle
• Make DS Morgan angry at the fact his son is being used.
• He would be angry at being asked to wait before going to his son's aid.

All of these I have to agree on, now that I read it back it is the weakest of all 6 scripts.

Emails

It seems no matter which email I use, everything freezes. UCA, Google, BT, Hotmail I can't even complain to Amazon for sending my dodgy folder!!!

Illness

Back in bed ill, spent three days not knowing which way is up - redrafted the scripts. Hopefully this time the characters sound unique!!!

Scripts

Saw Simon today to go through my scripts, what he was saying made sense certain things I have to change, my main trouble is being able to make each character unique. They seem to end up speaking with one voice - mine!! Not good!!

Script Writers

Had a little difficulty getting hold of the script writers that I chose to help aid in my research, I got through to one and had the agents of the others respond on their behalf, not what I wanted but beggars can't be choosers. One of the main influences for my idea Robert Singer -I have not been able to get near in any way. Short of hopping on a plane to Canada to bug him on location (which in the physical state I'm in is never gonna happen) I'm  not gonna be able to use him for my work.

Mediums

I did want to include interviews I did with local mediums as part of my research but out of the three I interviewed one seemed very fake and didn't aid in the project whatsoever! One didn't want her interview used after  I held it and the other interview I booked had to be cancelled due to my illness. You'd have thought being Psychic he would have known I was going to be ill and could have warned me!! I only jest!

Major Project: Illness

One of the bad things about working in a pharmacy at the weekends is that when stressed an IS is down you can catch anything going.
I've been stuck in bed since the weekend with a bug, quietly working away on my scripts!
So tired now!!

1) Cursed

Claire is 21 year old woman who has spent most of her life going in and out of psychiatric wards since her parents committed her when she was 6 years old. She can see and speak with the dead. No-one believed her as a child and as an adult she tries to block them out using medication and regularly visiting Dr Mallard her psychiatrist. This is until Louisa, a powerful Psychic, is murdered and her only hope for her killer being brought to justice lies in Claire’s hands. After trying hard to ignore Louisa, Claire finally gives in when Louisa threatens to do an impression of Patrick Swayze. The two of them make a deal, that if Claire can expose her killer and bring him to justice then Louisa will do all she can to get The Powers That Be to remove Claire's gift. Reluctant at first, it is Louisa’s pure determination and faith in Claire that she finally starts to except the gift she has been given. Unfortunately they have to ask the help of DS Morgan who is an atheist when it comes to believing in ghosts and the afterlife, even though he has recently lost his wife and daughter in a tragic accident. He helps them bring Louisa's killer to justice but tries to arrest Claire first because she seems to know so much but will say very little. Louisa and Claire work together to convince DS Morgan of Claire's abilities, leaving him slightly confused and terrified of the whole thing. At the end Louisa returns for a final time to see Claire - she has come to take her powers away...

Major Project: Episode One

I have completed the first draft of episode and have it ready to show Simon in my tutorial on Thursday.

Major Project: Screenwriters

The main screen writers I will  be focussing on are Eric Kripke, Ben Edlund, Robert Singer and Joss Whedon.

All of these writers are able to create something original and fresh and quick each time they write, you never seem to be able to see what is coming!

Major Project: Research into ghost I could use

Drury Lane Theatre Royal Ghosts

Drury Lane has been called one of the world's most haunted theatres. The appearance of almost any one of the handful of ghosts that are said to frequent the theatre signals good luck for an actor or production. The most famous ghost is the "Man in Grey", who appears dressed as a nobleman of the late 18th century: powdered hair beneath a tricorne hat, a dress jacket and cloak or cape, riding boots and a sword. Legend says that the Man in Grey is the ghost of a knife-stabbed man whose skeletal remains were found within a walled-up side passage in 1848.

The ghosts of actor Charles Macklin and clown Joseph Grimaldi are supposed to haunt the theatre. Macklin appears backstage, wandering the corridor which now stands in the spot where, in 1735, he killed fellow actor Thomas Hallam in an argument over a wig ("Goddamn you for a blackguard, scrub, rascal!" he shouted, thrusting a cane into Hallam's face and piercing his left eye). Grimaldi is reported to be a helpful apparition, purportedly guiding nervous actors skilfully about the stage on more than one occasion. The comedian Stanley Lupino claimed to have seen the ghost of Dan Leno in a dressing room.

Major Project : Project Outline

For my final project I will be focussing on the script writing side of a television series. Targeted at a mid-teen to early 30s audience.
Since summer last year ITV2 have being using the 9 o'clock slot on a Monday night to air new drama and comedy series targeted at a similar audience. An example of this is the drama Switch! a series showing the highs and lows of a coven of witches living in Camden.

This is the style of series I want to write.

I will write 6 episodes running at 42-45 minutes in length as this is the length of script ITV2 use, (3 advert breaks)

ITV2 are looking for mild cliff-hangers for the start of nearly every advert break to keep the story rolling.

Each episode will have a different story but the main story ark that will cover the whole series is who our protagonist really is and how strong she can become.

I will also create a Blog for the protagonist to run alongside the shows air time. This is to link with the story that our protagonist takes to writing a Blog after it being suggested to her by her Psychiatrist to help express herself.

I will also include a character profile for the five main characters, mainly focussing on the protagonist Claire and her new ally DS Morgan, both of them have complicated and different pasts that explain why they are they way they are.

As always there will be research into the series that have influenced me in writing this, I will mainly be focussing on the writers of Supernatural and Medium as these are the series with a similar target audience to mine and the smoothness at which their scripts read is legendary it the cult following.

I will also include an interview with a local Medium that I have booked to help me explore the different ways in which to portray my protagonist and her gift.

Major Project: Ghost research

A copy of an article written by a journalist investigating Pluckley in 2009 before Halloween ...

When I stop at the Mundy Bois country pub and ask in a casual manner for directions to Pinnock Bridge, the elderly local sizes me up from his barstool. "You're looking for the ghost of the Watercress Woman, then?"

Sheepishly, I have to admit that that's precisely what I'm doing; well, if not exactly for ghosts, I'm looking for their fabled haunting grounds. In the run-up to Hallowe'en, I'm in Pluckley in Kent because, depending on who you talk to, the village and surrounding area has between 12 and 16 ghosts. Guinness World Records, which in 1989 named Pluckley the most haunted village in England, puts the figure at 12.

Its paranormal portfolio includes a screaming man who may have worked at the village brickworks and fallen to his death, and a highwayman said to have been run through with a sword and pinned to a tree at aptly named Fright Corner, where he appears as a shadowy figure.

Other ghosts said to haunt the area include that of a schoolmaster found hanging by children and of an old woman who used to sit on a bridge, smoking her pipe, drinking gin and selling the watercress she had gathered from the stream.

This old woman, the Watercress Woman, is supposed to have burnt to death when, saturated in gin, she accidentally set herself alight on the lonely spot where she would sit each day with her pipe. What better place could there be to frighten oneself in the run-up to Hallowe'en?

I set off for Pinnock Bridge on foot along a quiet country road that winds its way through pretty farmland. Besides its ghosts, the area is also known for its idyllic and unspoilt countryside, made famous by the television series The Darling Buds of May which was filmed here in the early 1990s. The land is a patchwork of fields, woodland and orchards. Traditional ousts, most now converted into homes, complete the scene. Autumn it may be, but the sun is out and I can feel its warmth on my back; it is decidedly un-spooky.

Were it not for the sign, I would have missed Pinnock Bridge entirely. It is a low stone structure – perhaps just two-feet high – completely covered in ivy and partially obscured by the lower branches of trees. Now that I'm here, I'm not entirely sure what to do with myself.

I cross the road and sit on a wall, looking at the bridge and thinking of the Watercress Lady's plight, perhaps trying to conjure some apparition, in my imagination at least. I see nothing, but feel a fleeting moment of melancholy; sad, lonely or grizzly endings are the foundations of most ghost stories, and to ponder them in this way seems macabre. I take solace from the fact that although there may be truth in a portion of these stories, historical records to prove the existence of the events and characters that inspired many of them are thin on the ground.

Back at Elvey Farm where I'm staying, Simon, one of the owners, tells me that there have been numerous ghost sightings at the farmstead over the years. The oldest part of the farm was built in 1406, and there is also a collection of stables and outbuildings dating from the 16th to 18th centuries.

One of the ghosts is said to be that of Edward Brett, a resident farmer at Elvey in the 18th century. Simon tells me that before the farmer shot himself in the dairy, his last words to his wife were "I will do it". It is these words that have supposedly been heard repeated in a whisper around the farmstead.

Other ghosts at Elvey Farm include that of a man in military uniform who stands on the stairs that lead up to the attic bedrooms above the 16th-century barn that now houses a cosy bar. Despite these creepy tales, even though I am staying at the farm alone and, admittedly, have a fruitful imagination, I enjoy a peaceful night's sleep in my comfortable room which is in the oldest part of the stable block and has delightful views over fields dotted with sheep. Besides, it is difficult to feel spooked at a place with a lolloping golden retriever called Scubie (nothing to do with Scooby Doo, apparently) and two cats – Martha and Arthur – who loiter around the farmyard.

Pluckley village is a 15-minute amble through fields and over stiles from the farm. I set off towards this prime ghostly stomping ground with "Haunted Pluckley: Most Haunted Village in Kent", by Dennis Chambers tucked furtively under my arm. According to this guide, which I picked up from behind the bar at Elvey Farm for £1.50, two ghosts haunt the Parish Church of St Nicholas in Pluckley: The Red Lady, who is said to wander the churchyard, and The White Lady whose restless soul is supposed to haunt the church itself.

Pluckley is the epitome of a traditional English village: pretty cottages, a small post-office, a butchers' and a pub (also haunted, apparently) cluster around the main street. There is a timelessness about the place that must have made it appeal as the location for The Darling Buds of May which was set in the 1950s.

Fans of the TV series would certainly recognise the scene as I approach it today. I take a stroll around the churchyard but don't see any phantom ladies, just a woman in an anorak walking her dog. The gravestones, their epitaphs eroded by time, sit wonkily among the trees and long grass. A gate at the back of the graveyard opens onto an orchard of apple trees, their branches heavy with rosy fruit. As far as churchyards go, this one isn't particularly spooky.

Likewise, when I look inside the church, it is a hive of activity with preparations for the imminent Harvest Festival. Flowers are being arranged, decorations hung and boxes of food sorted. There is far too much pottering going on for ghosts and I slip out unnoticed.

Ghost hunting is beginning to make me feel a bit shifty, so I head to the Black Horse pub – itself possibly the haunt of a mischievous poltergeist – where I decide resolutely not to ask about its phantoms. Over a Bloody Mary, I ponder what set of rules the Guinness Book of Records might have used to determine Pluckley's paranormal status. When I call them to find out, they can't tell me much about the criteria, but they do say that the England's Most Haunted Village category has been "rested for some years now". "Rested" means that they no longer monitor the category or recognise the record. When I ask why, I'm told it is because they try to make records more international nowadays, but I suspect it might also be because they try to make them at least a little bit empirically verifiable.

With or without proof, I find Pluckley far too pretty to be spooked, although those with a penchant for the paranormal may find that it fits the bill perfectly. If you do decide to visit at Hallowe'en, be on your best behaviour. Residents have been upset in previous years by marauding ghost hunters littering the graveyard and being boisterous after dark. Poor show in a village that is decidedly more Darling Buds of May than Blair Witch.

Major Project: Package

This is the list of what I would want to include in my final package for this project.

• Scripts for all 6 episodes (45 minutes each)
• Research into other series, Medium, Ghost Whisperer, Supernatural, Afterlife, Switch, (Plebs).
•  Research interviews with Psychic Mediums
• Character profiles
• 6 week Blog from Claire, to run alongside the series when aired.
• 10 minute??? Taster.

Major Project: Research

There are a few TV series about (mainly American) that look at Psychics - these have inspired me to write this series.
For part of my final project I'll be including research of these programmes looking at what how they have inspired me and how in turn they have been inspired.

Medium

Allison Dubois works in the Phoenix District Attorney's office. The dead send her visions of their deaths or other crimes while she sleeps. She uses her psychic abilities to help crack criminal cases. Her dreams often give her clues to the whereabouts of missing people, and by touching someone she often gets to see beneath the facade into the person's soul. Allison juggles this stressful job with her role as wife and mother of three children, including a daughter who seems to be developing similar powers.

Ran for 7 seasons from 2005-2011

Ghost Whisperer

Melinda Gordon inherited her "gift" - the ability to see and talk with the spirits of dead people - from, and was coached in its use by her grandmother. Running an antique store in a small town, newly married to a paramedic, Melinda helps the ghosts wandering around who are trapped between worlds by helping them to resolve unfulfilled aspects of their former life.

Ran for 5 seasons from 2005-2010

Afterlife

University lecturer Robert Bridge (Andrew Lincoln) becomes involved in a series of supernatural events surrounding medium Alison Mundy (Lesley Sharp) in this chilling TV series.

Ran for 2 seasons from 2005-2006

Supernatural

This television drama is about two brothers, Sam and Dean, who were raised by their father, John, to hunt and kill all things that go "bump in the night" after his wife, Mary, was murdered by evil supernatural being when the boys were young. 22 years later the brothers set out on a journey, fighting evil along the way, to find their recently missing father who, when they finally meet up with, reveals he knows what killed their mother, a demon, and has found a way to track and kill it. Meanwhile, Sam starts to develop frightening abilities that include death visions, visions of people dying before it actually happens. These visions are somehow connected to the demon who murdered his mother and its mysterious plans that seem to be all about Sam. When their father dies striking a deal with the very same devil that had killed his wife, the brothers, now alone and without their mentor, are determined to finish the crusade their father started. But disturbing revelations about Sam's part in the demon's apocalyptic plans are presented when John's dying last words to Dean are revealed.

So far it has run from 2005 for 8 seasons, the 9^th starting in October!

Major Project: Development

I have started writing the script for the first episode "The Curse".

Major Project: Episode plots

1) Curse

Claire is 24 year old woman who has spent most of her life going in and out of psychiatric wards since her parents committed her when she was 6 years old. She can see and speak with the dead. No-one believed her as a child and as an adult she tries to block them out using medication. This is until Louisa, a powerful Psychic, is murdered and her only hope for her killer being brought to justice lies in Claire’s hands. The two of them make a deal, that if Claire can expose her killer Louisa will do all she can to remove her gift. Reluctant at first, it is Louisa’s pure determination and faith in Claire that she finally starts to except the gift she has been given.

2) Knock Knock

The flat below Claire’s has been empty for a few years, but now it has a new resident, Casey. She is a smart, young, head-strong woman. Claire takes it upon herself to welcome Casey to the building but once in her flat she soon realizes that Casey doesn’t live alone, something evil resides there. Claire tries to help Casey but all her warnings seem to fall on deaf, that is until Casey comes face to face with her spiritual tormentor, who is not only torturing her but another ghost, Danny. Claire has also started dreaming of a handsome stranger, but she can’t quite grasp who he is to her.

3) Hide and Clap

A group of teenagers are mucking around in the local park one night when they come across a mysterious little girl in a yellow dress, the next day only one of the teenagers are found. DS Morgan must work out what happened to the others but seems to keep coming up short; this is when Claire offers her services to the police in finding out who the little girl is and what it is that she wants. Claire’s role in the investigation becomes ever more key when both her and DS Morgan become the girls next targets.

4) Reflections

People are turning up dead all over the city; nothing seems to connect them except in the way they die, lying in front of a mirror with their eyes burst and their neck broken. DS Morgan is struggling to find any evidence and calls upon the services of his new friend and Psychic Claire. She soon realizes that these recent deaths connect to a murder some twenty years ago and that it is this spirit jumping from mirror to mirror that is committing these atrocious crimes. But is this spirit really jumping or is it being summoned, and is there a way to stop it?  

5) Reality

Claire has finally decided to try and go it alone and to stop seeing her psychiatrist, with the help of her new friends Casey, Danny and DS Morgan. But once she has made this break she loses control of her gift. She keeps time jumping, finding herself back in time as a teenager in hospital and into the future married and working for the Police alongside DS Morgan on a series of homicides that connect back to her time in hospital. Claire’s knowledge of these murders makes her a prime suspect and it’s up to her friends to help prove her innocence.  

6) Gift

It seems everyone has started to except that Claire is truly gifted but now her parents are coming to visit. DS Morgan has another tricky murder to solve and this time he must do it without Claire’s help. She must convince her parents that she is finally free of these so-called “ghosts” but now the spirits seem to need her help more than ever. Claire also finds out who this handsome is that she has been dreaming about.

Major Project: Slight development

Beyond The Veil

6 episodes made for ITV2 – target audience of 15-30 year olds.

Drama/thriller

Set in present day Canterbury. A young woman called Claire was born with the ability to see dead people. After years of psychotherapy she finally thinks she has found a way to block out the curse of these voices and spirits that is, until fellow Medium Louisa enters the afterlife and has to rely on Claire to find and expose her killer. It is this escapade with Louisa that opens Claire’s eyes to all that she can do with this gift.

Characters:

Claire – Psychic
Dr. Mallard – Psychiatrist
DS. Morgan – Detective Sergeant Claire assists
Casey – Claire’s haunted friend from the flat below
Danny – Ghost #YOLO

Major Project: Idea

My idea for this project is a televisions series based on the exploits of a young female Psychic who, whilst helping the spirits of those lost to us, is also trying to find out who she really is, why she can see the things that she can see and what should she do with this gift/curse.

It would be a series written for the new and ever developing ITV2 drama slot that seems to have appeared in the last year.
ITV 2 used to be just a little sister to ITV, showing repeats of programmes that had been on the mainstream channel earlier on in the week. Or it would show the "red button" extras as it were, an example being The Xtra Factor shown on ITV2 straight after The X Factor on ITV. But recently it has started producing it's own shows such as Switch! and Plebs. This would be the slot my series would be looking to fill.

Major Project

For our final project in our FINAL semester (scary) we have been tasked with creating something that works to our strengths/something we want to go into when we graduate.

Having spent last semester stressing over everything and not getting very far, I think I should have another go at script writing, instead of changing something I've already written - I think it best that this time I start from scratch. This way I can really push myself - showing not only others but myself as well, that I can do this!

I have a few ideas already but the one that keeps leaping to the front of my mind is a television series about a young British (British being the key here) Psychic.

Monster Design

Working with Steven Payne from CG Arts and Animation - Rochester

 

 

Checking Out!!

CAST

                       Megaphone Man….                                         ….Emil Marwa

                       Doctor Luther….                                             ….Marc Warren

                       Max….                                                              ….Jimmy Bennett

                       Karl….                                                              ….David Liitle

                       Lee….                                                               ….Lee Evans

                       Rachel….                                                                      ….Sophie Colquhoun

                       Chouki….                                                         ….Jenna-Louise Coleman

                       Shailina….                                                        ….Ayesha Dharker

                       Heather….                                                       ….Elaine Rhoades

                       Ebony….                                                                      ….Kimberley Nixon

                     Vincent….                                                                      ….Eddie Marson

                      Wally….                                                             …. Lee Ingleby

                      Malcolm….                                                        ….Rupert Grint

                      Tarquin….                                                        ….Andrew Scott

Set Design Ideas

Idea for a Director

Been looking into what style I would want to see on screen - I was informed about a film "Storage 24" - the director of this film hasn't done many but has a unique style and has the view that any "horror" film should have the "feel" of claustrophobia!...

 

Johannes Roberts

2012Storage 24

2011Roadkill (TV movie)

2010F

2006When Evil Calls (TV mini-series)

2005Forest of the Damned

2004Darkhunters

2004Hellbreeder

2002/IIAlice (short)

2001Sanitarium (video)

Film 4 Productions

Production Company - filmography

1.      A Most Wanted Man (2013) ... Production Company

2.      A Long Way Down (2013) ... Production Company (financier)

3.      How I Live Now (2013) ... Production Company

4.      Trance (2013) ... Production Company

5.      The Spirit of '45 (2013) ... Production Company (in association with), Production Company

6.      A Field in England (2013) ... Production Company

7.      Frank (2013) ... Production Company

8.      Le weekend (2013) ... Production Company

9.      The Double (2013) ... Production Company (funding)

10.  Under the Skin (2013/I) ... Production Company

11.  Seven Psychopaths (2012) ... Production Company

12.  The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (2012) ... Production Company

13.  A Running Jump (2012) ... Production Company (for)

14.  The Odyssey (2012) ... Production Company

15.  On the Road (2012) ... Production Company (in association with)

16.  Sightseers (2012) ... Production Company (presents)

17.  The Imposter (2012) ... Production Company

18.  Flytopia (2012) ... Production Company

19.  The Iron Lady (2011) ... Production Company (presents)

20.  The Woman in the Fifth (2011) ... Production Company (co-production)

21.  The Deep Blue Sea (2011) ... Production Company

22.  Wuthering Heights (2011) ... Production Company

23.  Shame (2011) ... Production Company (presents)

24.  The Inbetweeners Movie (2011) ... Production Company (for)

25.  One Day (2011/I) ... Production Company (in association with)

26.  Asylum (2011/IV) ... Production Company (with the support of)

27.  Attack the Block (2011) ... Production Company (presents)

28.  The Eagle (2011) ... Production Company (presents)

29.  Tyrannosaur (2011) ... Production Company (financed by)

30.  Gee Gee (2011) ... Production Company

31.  Submarine (2010) ... Production Company

32.  Never Let Me Go (2010) ... Production Company (presents)

33.  Another Year (2010) ... Production Company

34.  Four Lions (2010) ... Production Company (presents)

35.  Chalk (2010/I) ... Production Company

36.  The Lovely Bones (2009) ... Production Company (present)

37.  Nowhere Boy (2009) ... Production Company

38.  She, a Chinese (2009) ... Production Company

39.  You're the Stranger Here (2009) ... Production Company

40.  Songs for My Mother (2009) ... Production Company

41.  The Unloved (2009) (TV) ... Production Company

42.  All Tomorrow's Parties (2009) ... Production Company

43.  Five Miles Out (2009) ... Production Company

44.  Unmade Beds (2009) ... Production Company (funding)

45.  Franklyn (2008) ... Production Company (financed by)

46.  How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) ... Production Company (funding)

47.  Genova (2008) ... Production Company (funding)

48.  Slumdog Millionaire (2008) ... Production Company (presents)

49.  Vinyan (2008) ... Production Company (financed by)

50.  Hush (2008/V) ... Production Company

51.  Crack Willow (2008) ... Production Company (funding)

52.  Slapper (2008) ... Production Company

53.  Better Things (2008) ... Production Company (funding)

54.  Hunger (2008) ... Production Company (presents)

55.  Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) ... Production Company (financed by)

56.  Love You More (2008) ... Production Company (co-financier)

57.  Donkey Punch (2008) ... Production Company (funding)

58.  Incendiary (2008) ... Production Company (financed by)

59.  A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008) ... Production Company (funding)

60.  In Bruges (2008) ... Production Company (funding)

61.  Alex and Her Arse Truck (2007) ... Production Company

62.  Battle for Haditha (2007) ... Production Company (funding)

63.  It's a Free World... (2007) ... Production Company

64.  Brick Lane (2007) ... Production Company

65.  Far North (2007) ... Production Company

66.  And When Did You Last See Your Father? (2007) ... Production Company (presents)

67.  Mister Lonely (2007) ... Production Company (in association with)

68.  Garage (2007) ... Production Company

69.  The Power of the Game (2007) ... Production Company

70.  Straightheads (2007) ... Production Company (presents)

71.  Hallam Foe (2007) ... Production Company (presents)

72.  Dog's Mercury (2006) ... Production Company

73.  Ghosts (2006) ... Production Company

74.  This Is England (2006) ... Production Company

75.  Death of a President (2006) ... Production Company

76.  Deep Water (2006) ... Production Company

77.  The Road to Guantanamo (2006) ... Production Company

78.  Brothers of the Head (2005) ... Production Company

79.  Six Shooter (2004) ... Production Company

80.  Dead Man's Shoes (2004) ... Production Company

81.  The Gorals Do Bristol (1999) (TV) ... Production Company