Script Writing Introduction

For our first lesson of script writing we were given an inventive task which was a cleaver way of how to come up with a story. We listened to 3 songs and had to write words which we thought connected with the piece for example emotions you feel when you listen to the song, what type of tone it has to it.

The first song we listened to was Ill Manors by Plan B the genre for this song is rap. This song was released just after the london riots which is a running theme in the song as is drug abuse, politics and society (especially in london) for youths who live in poverty. When you listen to this song its hard to detract a different storyline from the film as there is a film called Ill Manors based on this song. However, as certain emotions are meant to be portrayed in the song and as all songs tell basic stories you cant do the opposite of the song, you still need to continue the theme that the song is based around. So for my little story based around Ill Manors, i created a character named Charlie i did this cleverly as the song has a loose theme of drugs and Charlie is a street name for the drug cocaine. I did so you can analyse the piece in depth. Charlie is 17 years old who is white caucasian, he has a shaven head which is a typical style stereotypical for people who cause trouble this came from the 'prisoner' look. I pictured my character Charlie wearing a track suit and silver chained necklace.

His background was rough when he was only young his mum used to bring him to crack houses where she would receive her daily 'medication', she had no job so became a prostitute to fund her drug addiction as soon as her son was old enough (12) she expected him to bring in income to feed to addiction. To do this Charlie would be a runner (drug dealer) to the main supplier she got her drugs from. However, Charlie makes a mistake when collecting the drugs from the supplier, this lead him to serious consequences. He got beaten black and blue which permanently scarred him physically and mentally.

The second song we looked at called 'Sheep May Safely Graze by Bach' was very contrasting to the first song as it is a classical piece. I researched briefly about this song as i didn't know much about it and i couldn't find a true meaning to the song which is sometimes the case with classical musical you are left to your own interpretation of it. So this song for me told a story of a young woman in her early 20s named Susanne. Susanne came from the Elizabethan times and has a wealthy traditional family. She feels depressed as she's in line to marry a gentlemen who she is inclined to marry, but she cant stand up for herself as she is only a woman and she must follow the guidance of her parents.

The third and last song we looked at as a class was 'A Change is Gonna Come' by 'Aretha Franklin originally composed by Sam Cooke.  This song was written about African-Americans especially and how there should be equality in america when regarding to race. In 2007, the song was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress, with the National Recording Registry deeming the song 'culturally, historically and aesthetically important. However, this song meant something different to me when i heard it, even though i thought it was about equality in race i also saw it as a heartbreak song. I pictured a blonde girl who is quirky walking alongside a river crying, reflecting on her past relationship still wishing it was the present. She throws a picture of him and her in the river for it to remain there for eternity just like there relationship.

Doing this exercise just goes to show how your imagination can build up a story even by listening to a simple song.