Pre-Prodcution: Chosen Characters and Storylines

I finally decided on the three supernatural characters I would use for each short film. Here is my decision so far:

'Protecting Nature' - Nymph 

A young man, upset over the loss of his father, tries to contact him through a spirit board. A name of a plant comes through, which is said to be able to bring loved ones back to life. Elliott researches the plant and finds a forest that beholds the plant, however what he doesn't realise is that someone is guarding that forest. He is able to find the plant and takes it back home, however that evening a nymph, protector of the forest kills Elliott for stealing her plant and takes it back to the forest.

For this story the fables moral will be: Traitors must expect treachery.

'The Curse of Beauty' - Witch 

A young woman, names Stephanie has always been envious by other peoples beauty. Whilst online shopping she is directed to a warlock site, who creates potions for those in need. Stephanie contacts him and the next day goes to him. Xavier is able to make a beauty potion for her. That evening Stephanie drinks the potion. The next day she wakes up and looks in the mirror to find that the potion has worked and made you look beautiful. Later that morning, there's a knock at the door and its a deliveryman with a parcel for Stephanie. When she opens the door, he is shocked and we now see her as ugly. The potion has made Stephanie believe that she now looks beautiful, however everyone else now she's her true inner beauty on the outside.

Th fables moral for this story is:  This fable tells that things develop in their own way. It is not sufficient for people to do things just with desire and enthusiasm. Maybe the effect can even be contrary to what they wish.

'The Devourers' - Soul-eaters

Jackson and Scarlett are brother and sister, they are also devourers. Devourers are soul eating creatures that take on the form of a human, to live alongside them. They feed off human souls and change into their devourer form when feeding. Jackson and Scarlett decide to split up for this particular hunt. The story then follows Scarlett, she is able to find a victim, a homeless man. Unfortunately while playing with her food, the victim gets away. Scarlett then has to go to her brother for help, so that she can find the victim and feed off him, before he alerts other of what they are. Jackson and Scarlett are able to find the victim and Scarlett is able to successfully feed.

Now that I have my storylines and chosen supernatural creatures, I can now move on to writing the script.

Pre-Production: Nymph Research

What are Nymphs?

(Water Nymphs by Henrietta Rae, 1909)

Nymphs are often associated with Greek mythology; they are female spirits of nature. They are seen as the minor goddesses of the forests, rivers, springs, meadows, mountains and seas. They are known to be responsible for the crafting of nature, from the growth of plants, flowers and trees to the nurture of wild birds and animals, to the formation of rocky caverns, springs, wetlands and brooks.

There are many different nymphs that look after particular locations or areas. Here are the names of the different nymphs and their particular responsibilities.

• Acheloids - River Achelous
• Alseids - Groves
• Dryads - Forests
• Hamadryads - Trees
• Hydriads - Water
• Leimoniads - Meadows
• Meliads - Ash Trees
• Naiads - Springs and Rivers
• Napaea - Valleys
• Nereid - The Mediterranean
• Oceanids - The Sea  
• Oreads - The Mountains

Why did we pick a dryad?

Out of all the different nymphs the dryad was the easiest one we would be able to successfully film, as it is easy to get permission to film in a forest/open area with trees. I also had a lot more storyline ideas with this particular nymph, which would make it easier for me, when writing the script.

Pre-Production: Dementor Research

Devourer is a type of supernatural creature that I adapted. My inspiration came from the Harry Potter films. I took the Dementor character and put my own spin on the creepy creatures.

What is a Dementor?

A dementor is a non-being and dark creature. They feed on human happiness; causing depression and despair to anyone near them. They can also consume a persons soul, leaving a person as an ‘empty-shell.’

In my adaptation they are called 'Devourers.' They take the form of a human and feed on people who have sinned, i.e. thief's, criminals, etc. They consume the victims soul in one attack, leaving a lifeless body behind.

Here is a rough example of what the characters will look like. This image was taken from the new and upcoming American TV series 'Shadow Hunters.'

I imagine the brother and sister to look innocent,  contrasting who they really are.

When they feed off they victims, their looks will slightly change, they will still look relatively human, however they will have white eyes, black socket and lips and also a grey tint to their skin to represent how lifeless they look.

Pre-Production: Chosen Fables and Supernatural Characters

I've finally decided which three fable stories I will be adapting, they are:

Fable: Giving the seedlings a hand

Meaning: This fable tells that things develop in their own way. It is not sufficient for people to do things just with desire and enthusiasm. Maybe the effect can even be contrary to what they wish.

Fable: Breaking arrows

Meaning: The fable tells the fact that unity is strength.

For the third Fable I decided to use one of Aesop fables.

Fable: The Ass, the fox and the lion

Meaning: Traitors must expect treachery.

Out of all the Fables I narrowed down, these were the three that stood out to me, but also because for each one I had an idea on a storyline.

After deciding on the fables, I started to think of supernatural creatures that I could use as a main character in each short film.


Vampire

My first choice was a vampire. In a previous project, I have used the vampire character and the story ended up turning out quite successful. As well as having an interest in vampires as characters in films and TV shows, I am also studying the character for my dissertation, which would help with research on the creature.




Witch

The next magical being I thought about involving was a witch character, I have always been intrigued with using a witch character in a film so that I could experiment with special effects for super powers, etc. I am a bit wary about including a witch in my story as they have been adapted in different ways through TV and film already, so I would have to come with a really good original idea to make it different and stand out to other witch characters on the screen.



Banshee

One supernatural creature that hasn't been adapted or is not as known, is the banshee. I am very interested in this particular creature as I'll be able to have more freedom adapting it, due to it not being around much on TV and film.



Nymph

I have an interest in Greek Mythology and while reading one of my books on mythological characters I came across the Nymph. A nymph is a nature deity to a particular location or area. There are a variety of different nymphs, there are ones that look after the forest, ones that are associated with water, etc.







Angel and Demon

Two obvious supernatural beings to use were angels and demons. However like the witch and vampire, these creatures have been adapted a lot before, it might be better for me to challenge myself by adapting creatures that haven't been used as much



Devourers

After thinking of different supernatural beings that already exist I decided to think of any that I could adapt. While watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban I was watching a scene where Harry is attacked by a dementor, it got me thinking about a supernatural creature that survives by living off peoples souls, however instead of a floating figure, these adapted version will take human form instead.



Now I have a rough Idea on what kind of supernatural creatures I can use, I will now pick three and see which ones work best with what fable story.

Pre-Production: Skill Set Group - Scriptwriting

There are a few skill-set groups throughout the pre-production unit. These groups allow people in my year who are either writing, directing, producing their major projects, etc. to get help with any problems we may have in this particular area. It gives us a chance to get advice from others that may be in a similar situation to you.

For me I chose to attend the skill set groups for scriptwriters and directors, as they were the areas I am involved in, for this project.

I benefitted more from the scriptwriting group as I was struggling more with the scriptwriting side of production. My main struggle was with creating supernatural characters. I originally decided to include a vampire and a witch, within these short three films, however I was worried in what ways I could take a supernatural monster like the vampire and make it original without it being linked or similar to films and TV shows that are already out there.

One of the students in the group, Helen suggested maybe not to do about a vampire, etc. as they’ve been used and adapted a lot already.  It would be hard to adapt a vampire in a way that is not stereotypical/copying what has already been created.

I decided to go with Helen’s advice and use different supernatural creatures in my stories. I wanted to make sure that I chose creatures that were roughly known, but have also not been adapted as much. I realized that it would be a risk to change my idea at this point, however I’ve previously done an adaptation of a vampire for a different project and if I wanted to create original short films, this would be a risk worth taking.

A screenshot from my fiction adaptation unit, where I adapted a poem about a vampires transformation. 

I spoke to Sei-Kai and she was happy to change the ideas. We immediately started brain storming  into different supernatural creatures we could use.

Apart from that, another tip I got from the group was that when it comes to writing the scripts, to actually go to the location (or somewhere similar). This would help with visualization for when we came to shoot the films; especially as I will also be directing these films.

Pre-Production: Fables

While looking through the book Sei-Kai brought in, I noted some of the fables that stood out to me, but also what I could possibly adapt into a short film.

Here are the fables I chose and their meanings:

Fable: Giving the seedlings a hand

Meaning: This fable tells that things develop in their own way. It is not sufficient for people to do things just with desire and enthusiasm. Maybe the effect can even be contrary to what they wish.

Fable: Birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring

Meaning: This fable story means that if one is frightened in the past, he or she might be scared again in the future in a similar situation.

Fable: The Sky would fall down

Meaning: This fable evolved into an idiom. It is used to satirize those who have unnecessary or unwanted anxieties.

Fable: A loss may turn out to be a gain

Meaning: A loss can turn out to be in fact a gain. Equally, a good thing may turn out to be a bad thing.

Fable: Money or life

Meaning: A person who would rather give up their life than lose their money

Fable: Brothers fight for a wild goose

Meaning: Don’t endlessly argue about how to do something, this missing the opportunity to actually accomplish it.

Fable: Breaking arrows

Meaning: The fable tells the fact that unity is strength.

So far I have some rough ideas on the type of supernatural creatures I want to include, as well as some story ideas. The supernatural creatures I'm gravitating towards is a vampire, a witch and a demon. I need to do some more research before deciding to use these beings as characters.

Pre-production: Research on Fables

I firstly wanted to research into fables. I originally heard of fables through a fairytale adaptation, I wanted to make sure that I understood what the original fables were, so that I didn't get confused.

What are fables?

Fables are short stories that are used to teach children a lesson about a particular moral. The characters in these stories are usually animals who act and talk like people, while retaining their animal trait.

How will you be adapting the fables?

Me and Sei-Kai will be choosing three fables and will take out the morals/meanings in them and create whole new storylines. Our fables will be much darker than the ones told for children, and will be for young adults and older. These fables will contain dark fantasy and horror traits and will also have at least one character that is supernatural.

There are hundreds of fable stories to choose from, however to make things a little easier, Sei-Kai brought in a book (image below) that contained some stories. Now we just need to choose our fables and create some story ideas.