Story & Script Rationale WORD COUNT: ___

Charlotte Lenihan, 1600173 (without quotes)

Story & Script Rationale

Charlotte Lenihan
1600173
5DM044

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Story & Script Rationale WORD COUNT: ___
Charlotte Lenihan, 1600173 (without quotes)

Contents
List of illustrations .........................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................3
Story and historical context ..........................................................................................................................................3
Creative influences ........................................................................................................................................................3
The creative matrix .......................................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................................................5
Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................................5

List of illustrations
Fig 1: Brotherhood and Motherhood (2018). Harry Potter fan art (Alessa Trunfio, 2018) [ASK ABOUT THIS TITLE]

Fig 2: Name (Date) Description (Creator, Date)

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Charlotte Lenihan, 1600173 (without quotes)

Introduction
The requirement of our brief was to create and develop an idea for a story, to establish our idea in the form of a
script and to then visualise the project through storyboards and concept artwork. My story, titled Miss Lovell and
the Case of the Stolen Parents, is an Edwardian Whodunit which centres around a young woman, named Purdie,
whose parents are held hostage by their doppelgangers. It is a story about freedom, social oppression and love.

Story and historical context

The story revolves around Purdie, a quick-witted, audacious debutante. She wishes to follow her own path in life,
but she's pressured with the expectations of upper-class society. However, when her parents are abducted by their
doppelgangers, Purdie must utilise her skills to save them before it is too late.

After being left for dead in the middle of a forest, Purdie is saved by Meridith, a huntress whose idea of family are
the local foxes. Meridith harbours a deep disdain for the upper-classes. They're the ones who hunt her foxes for
sport. As a stark contrast to Purdie, Meridith has little in the way of normal social conventions: Her idea of fun is
picking the dirt from underneath her nails. It’s a rocky start, but the two begin to form a relationship which grows
into accidental flirting, blushing, and awkward romantic tension. Eventually, they strike a deal to help save each-
other’s families.

Setting the story within Edwardian Britain adds appeal to the aesthetics of the world. However, rooting it within an
era creates a conflict of Reality vs Artistic Liberty. The major inaccuracy would be the lesbian-romance subplot with
a happy ending. Although it is unrealistic to the era, it is something modern audiences can get something out of.
Nonetheless, I researched into several aspects of history. Primarily, I researched into the culture, practices and
history of debutantes. I also researched fox hunting, the suffragette movement within Edwardian Britain, and The
Secret Service Bureau.

When I was reading up on the cultural appropriation of Moana (2016), I came across this: “Having brown advisers
doesn’t make it a brown story. It’s still very much a white person’s story.” (Ngata, 2016). It made me think about
how this relates to my own work and how while it is set in Britain, written by a British person, there’s a lot of
creative liberties

Due to my own nationality, I will be, consciously or unconsciously, be drawing from my own perspective. Therefore,
regardless of where the story is set, it would inherently be drawing from British cultures and contexts. Considering
the historical setting, there will also be a lot of creative liberties taken to appeal more to modern audiences.
Primarily because our morals and values have changed drastically.

Creative influences
I have an avid interest in mystery/detective/crime media. The most noteworthy of these are: the Nancy Drew (1998
– present) game series, the Randall and Hopkirk [Deceased] (1969 - 1971) TV series and The Sinclair's Mysteries book
series by Katherine Woodfine. I especially love periodic stories set between the Victorian age and the 1970s. It is the
world-long-gone settings, the unfamiliar social norms and the curious objects which intrigue me the most. They're
not close enough to be too familiar, not old enough to be completely alien. I wanted this to reflect in my story.

While writing, I studied several film scripts including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016). I thought it
read very clearly and vividly: It was the most inspirational. This is what I wanted in mine. Despite the live-action
script, the best medium for my story would be a 2D style. When designing art pieces for the story, one artist I had in

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Charlotte Lenihan, 1600173 (without quotes)

my mind Alessia Trunfio. I’m a fan of her Harry Potter franchise (1997 - present) fanart, especially her choice of
colour pallets. She inspired many of my colour choices. For example, this illustration here:

The dark green tones in Trunfio’s illustration are

used to represent the antagonistic nature of
Walburga Black. Within the Harry Potter universe,
green is primarily attributed to the antagonists.
Especially the wealthy ones. Dark green is often
associated with money, greed and jealousy. The
only areas not dark green or black in tone are: the
innocent boys who are wearing white shirts and the
golden glow of the upper staircase. The staircase is
their refuge, their bedrooms. However, the glow
ends with the dark green dress of Walburga as she
blocks their path.

Some characters are based, in part, off people I have

Figure 1: Brotherhood and Motherhood part 1 (2018). Harry Potter fan
art by Alessa Trunfio known in real life as opposed to relying purely on
pre-established fictional characters. I did this
because I wanted to avoid stereotypes as they are
predictable and boring. “As soon as the audience recognises it, it knows what to expect.” (Parker, 1999, p. 88)
William, is partly based upon one of my closest friends, Sean. While William is of the loquacious sort, Sean is very
introverted. Meridith is partly inspired by a girl I knew at school, Katie. She was boisterous, practical and very active,
and as for Purdie, she is partly based upon one of my roommates, Amy. She is outgoing, friendly and I think she
wants to be uncaring of other’s opinions but can self-consciously fall prey to social norms.

The creative matrix

I considered both Philip Parker’s Creative
Matrix and Paul Wells’s Animation Matrix.
However, I decided to focus more on Parker’s
as I believed that it was more relevant to
what I was trying to accomplish:

It was the characters who came first. I

conflict with the character relationships and
interactions with the two main protagonists. I
further developed my characters by creating
a couple of exercises, the most important of
these was the Internal vs External Conflict
list. I wanted the story to highlight and deal
with their conflicts and issues. This would
feed into the 'Theme' and 'Plot' within the
Matrix.

With the 'Theme', the main internal struggle

of the two main characters is their freedom.
Meridith has the choice of what to do with her own time, the freedom of movement and the freedom to make her
own decisions. However, she lacks money, opportunities and power to do what she would like in life. On the other
hand, Purdie was born into wealthy society. She has privilege and money and will live comfortably for the rest of her
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life. However, the society she was born means she lacks the freedom to choose how she would like to live. Society
dictates what she’s allowed to do, not allowed to do, and how to do it.

As for the 'Plot', I had backtracked from the initial concept. I asked myself a series of questions: "why", "how" and
"who". I then constructed a 12-Point Narrative for it. This fed into the 'Genre', 'Form', and the 'Tone'. The primary
genre of the film would be Mystery Romance as a subplot. The ‘Form’ is linear as the story would advance as time
passes. However, the tone is greatly affected by my target audience of 11 - 15. My script displays a tonal whiplash
from a comedic tone to dangerous. I wanted to make the latter emotion more poignant and effective.

Conclusion
Reflecting on the work I have produced and the brief requirements, I believe I have successfully completed the task
well. Miss Lovell and the Case of the Stolen Parents is a historical story for a contemporary audience. Along with the
core theme of the story (freedom), I wanted to stress the importance of different relationships and how society can
have too much input on what you should value. I wanted to create a rich and immersive world for these characters,
creating a sense of mystery, the spirit of adventure and with a touch of angst.

Bibliography
APass Educational Group. LLC, 2016. 5 Common Literary Motifs. [Online]
Available at: http://apasseducation.com/5-common-literary-motifs/
[Accessed 23 February 2018].

Australian Catholic University, 2017. Form and Style in Drama. [Online]

Available at: https://resource.acu.edu.au/siryan/Academy/theatres/form_style.htm
[Accessed 23 February 2018].

BBC, 2010. The elements of drama. [Online]

Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/drama/exploring/elementsrev2.shtml
[Accessed 23 February 2018].

Berry, J., 2014. The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place. London: Roaring Brook Press.

Changing Minds, 2007. Propp's Dramatis Personae. [Online]

Available at: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/characters/propp_personae.htm
[Accessed 23 February 2018].

Charlie and Lola Season 2 Episode 6: We Do Promise Honestly We Can Look After Your Dog. 2005. [Film] Directed by
Kitty Taylor. s.l.: Tiger Aspect Productions.

Cole, N. L., 2017. Definition of Social Oppression: An Overview of the Concept and Its Components. [Online]
Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/social-oppression-3026593
[Accessed 23 April 2018].

Columbo. 1968 - 2003. [Film] Directed by Richard Levinson, William Link. s.l.: s.n.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. 2016. [Film] Directed by David Yates. s.l.: s.n.

Fleming, G., 2018. Symbols and Motifs in Literature. [Online]

Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/symbols-and-motifs-in-literature-1857637
[Accessed 23 February 2018].
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Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake. 2002. [Film] Directed by Her Interactive. s.l.: s.n.

Her Interactive, 2002. Nancy Drew: Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake. s.l.:s.n.

House of Anubis. 2011 - 2013. [Film] Directed by Hans Bourlon, Gert Verhulst. s.l.: s.n.

Jolliffe, G., 2014. Examples Of Themes. [Online]

Available at: http://www.practicalcreativewriting.com/what-is-a-theme/examples-of-themes/
[Accessed 23 February 2018].

Jones, J., 2008. Lecture Notes Week 2: The Forms of Drama. [Online]
Available at: http://homepage.smc.edu/jones_janie/ta%202/2formsofdrama.htm
[Accessed 23 February 2018].

Literary Devices, 2004. Literary Devices. [Online]

Available at: http://literary-devices.com/
[Accessed 23 February 2018].

My Life as a Courgette. 2016. [Film] Directed by Claude Barras. s.l.: s.n.

Patterson, A., 2014. 155 Words To Describe An Author’s Tone. [Online]

Available at: https://writerswrite.co.za/155-words-to-describe-an-authors-tone/
[Accessed 23 February 2018].

QSX Software Group, 2002. Color Meaning. [Online]

Available at: http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html
[Accessed 30 April 2018].

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). 1969 - 1970. [Film] Directed by Dennis Spooner. s.l.: ITC Entertainment.

Rowling, J. K., 2016. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them the Original Screenplay. s.l.:Little, Brown.

Stewart, T. L., 2007. The Mysterious Benedict Society. Croydon: Chicken House.

The New Avengers. 1976 - 1977. [Film] Directed by Brian Clemens, Albert Fennell. s.l.: s.n.

The Red Turtle. 2016. [Film] Directed by Michaël Dudok de Wit. s.l.: s.n.

The Snow Queen. 1957. [Film] Directed by Lev Atamanov, Nikolay Fyodorov. s.l.: s.n.

Trumfio, A., 2018. Brotherhood and Motherhood. [Art].

Trunfio, A., 2014. alessiajontrunfio. [Online]

Available at: http://alessiajontrunfio.tumblr.com
[Accessed 29 April 2018].

TV Topes, 2008. Motifs. [Online]

Available at: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Motifs
[Accessed 23 February 2018].

Woodfine, K., 2015. The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow. London: Egmont.

Woodfine, K., 2016. The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth. London: Egmont.

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Notes for self: cite the following

 That illustration from the book

 The books
 Maaaaybe the research on mi5 fox hunting and all that
 7th guest

 I had used what I wrote in this blog entry within the rationale, but I had done a bit of research to come to
that conclusion in the blog. Do I cite the articles about Moana/Frozen/Coco in the rationale bibliography ?
o https://aliensbrewery.weebly.com/blog/02032018-story-and-script-week-6
 I’m unsure how to cite the Charlie and Lola episode. Is this right?
o Taylor, K. (Director). (2005). Charlie and Lola Season 2 Episode 6: We Do Promise Honestly We Can
Look After Your Dog [Motion Picture].
 Do I reference the research I did on MI5, fox hunting, debutantes, etc??
 One of the pictures is a Harry Potter fan art. Is this the correct way to describe it in the list of illustrations?
o Brotherhood and Motherhood (2018). Harry Potter fan art (Alessa Trunfio, 2018)
 I know I got a lot of inspiration from Harry Potter, but I’m wondering how I should cite it? Especially since I
talked about it with that fanart. Do I cite every book and movie, or should I just cite the most relevant ?

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