Hello and welcome to my weblog maintained for the module On the Web, which to me is really a place to express my ideas and to further my knowledge of writing and scripting stories for short films. My previous experiences on making films throughout secondary school and college have always shown that having a strong idea is key to any good film although it is only recently that I have finally come to understand the importance of having a good script. One cannot expect to make a great film unless first they have a good script. And so here I am presenting my ideas on-line. This blog will also act as a place for expression in other forms of writing such as poetry and even song writing, my cosmic garden shed, the quiet place for writing.
The idea for this story was actually given to me by my girlfriend the other night when we were sitting down watching the first episode of season 3 Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’ve always found that Buffy makes great use of narrative structure and the monsters always convey a deeper meaning such as in episode 2 season 3 ‘Dead Man’s Party’ when Buffy realizes she can’t bury her issues, and so an army of zombies who literally can’t be buried come to express her emotions. Check out the wikipedia site about Buffy. When my girlfriend spoke about her day she mentioned how the creaking of boats in the harbor at night would make for a really good story and this got me thinking for the rest of the episode about how to combine scary elements with a simple narrative and deeper meaning.
Sea Food
Premise: What if you found out your best friend was a cannibal and used you as a tasty snack to eat.
Controlling idea: You only find out who your real friends are, when you have something they want.
Synopsis: On their way home from the football club in the local town at night Peter and Ben decide to walk through the tide filled harbor to explore whilst Ben waits for his girlfriend. Having lived in the town for three months you would have thought Ben would have heard the rumors about the strange disappearance of people who were all last seen at the harbor at night. Yet unknown to the dangers the boys proceed whilst checking the latest football scores at the back of the paper.
At the house near the top of the hill the two girls, Laura and Kate are getting ready to meet the boys in town. The hds sizzle and the smell of perfume fills the air as Laura Natters about her new boyfriend Ben. Peter had introduced the two of them last month at his welcome back house party but had never expected things to go this far and unknown to his feelings Laura blissfully discuses her friend.
Suddenly back at the harbor a breeze blows the paper from Ben’s hand making the headline ‘Harbor boy found mauled’ visible yet as he turns to grab it he realizes Peter is nowhere to be seen. Shouting out for his friend Ben remembers how he hates being alone in the dark. The creak of the boats on the wind, with the gulls scuttling overhead and the strong salty smell of seaweed lingering in the air adds to his fear. As he turns the corner to the boathouse Ben walks over a soft and sticky rock, cracking as he walks over it. The strong smell of men’s deodorant overpowers the sea air. Smells like the captain. Ben looks down and yelps as he sees the half eaten man resting next to the jetty. Before he can turn, he feels a cold hand placed upon his back…
At the bust stop just off the harbor Laura’s heart sinks as she only sees Peter stood there waiting. He gives her his hand and explains that Ben had a prior engagement, but Ben had given him everything so he can look after her just as well.
I think that this story says something about friends going against each other in such a way that Peter eats his friend Ben because he wants to have the relationship that he has. Not quite up to Buffy standard as the boat theme doesn’t really enter the story, sailing off into the sunset with the perfect girl, but Peter being a cannibal shows jealousy and wanting to become someone else. Well that’s the story, next comes the script.
