Research Into My Short Story Idea

The Character Who Cannot Be Put Down.

I chose to do this story type because I don't think it is done often enough in film. The story of a character that is just an ultimate badass and takes down an enemy force all on their own isn't done enough, but when it is it can be quite a nice change from the usual action-y films we see. After I watched the film ‘American Sniper’ I decided to have the short film be about an army veteran sniper who finds the killers of his girl are working near his home and sets off to kill them all. I later changed this story slightly to make it more action oriented and more of homage to previous films. I first got this idea when I watched ‘John Wick’, a film about this exact thing. John Wick has his home broken into, his car stolen and his dog killed days after his wife dies, and decide to just go on an absolute killing spree kill everyone involved in the crime, alone. This caught me by surprise because when you normally see some kind of revenge story it has a team or group of people at the helm, like in ‘The Expendables’, but this film only had Keanu Reeves calling the shots. I really liked this idea so I decided to run with it. The oldest story of this type that I have heard of is probably the story of Achilles, Homer’s Iliad, whom was basically immortal and so could take down entire armies on his own, he did, however, have a fatal flaw in his heel, which eventually led to his demise. There are also no real truths about is general invulnerability, making him more like the characters from the modern films, ordinary people who are just badass enough to do what they do so well. This is why it makes sense to use this story as it doesn’t require the use of magical powers or superheroes to have the character be so awesome, just skill which can be implied throughout the story, similar to Achilles. I understand that these stories must have some grounding in reality, as Achilles was still just an exceptional warrior even with his immortality, and so is john wick, so I will show this in my short story by having the main character be just an awesome fighter and arms man.

I decided to analyse a short film called ‘Retribution’, made by Justin Kruse. It follows an ex-operative for an undercover organisation who attempts to steal from the FBI in a bid to clear the organisations name. However, once he realises that he is the organisations next target, he decides to take them out himself. Tyson take the lead role as the highly trained operative turned killer who needs to clear his name, while keeping in touch with an elusive character called Raven, who we meet at the end of the film, shortly before they get shot through the heart. Tyson is a quiet man, who doesn’t say much even in the face of danger, and this can be seen as him being either a quiet person in general, or he is quiet because he is smart, keeping a low profile so he can calculate his moves. Once he realises that he is the next on the proverbial chopping block, he decides to take the fight to the man who put him there, Raven. Raven is a mysterious character, only being seen through the first chink of the film in text and never having too much revealed about them. It isn’t until the end of the film that we finally meet them, and by that point were rooting for them to get killed, which they do. There are a few minor characters seen throughout the film, without speaking roles, which just make up the goons used by Raven. The three act structure of the film is well paced too, having a proper start middle and end. It begins with Tyson breaking into a hotel room to steal data from a laptop there, before he notices the goons on their way to stop him. He makes a quick escape and gets back in contact with Raven, who tells him to stash the data on a flash drive in a plant pot inside an office lobby. This pretty much concludes the first act of the story. As the second act starts, Tyson realises he is being followed and decides it best to keep the flash drive on him before leaving the lobby, followed by the goons from earlier. He escapes down an alley way, before getting into a fight with one of the goons. After beating the goon down, he takes his phone and realises the goons were sent to kill him by Raven. This begins the conflict of the film, and sets up the ending too. He decides to kill Raven himself to put an end to all of this, and agrees to meet him on top of a parking lot downtown. Once Raven arrives we see that Tyson has set up across then road on top of a building with a sniper, aiming at Raven. Raven sees this and, after a short argument, Tyson kills him and leaves the scene. This concludes the film and shows that the three act structure is well put together and well-paced. Each act leads into the next really well and compliments each other in a good way. It makes sense and follows a brief but well written story, even one without much dialogue.

The Equalizer Script - First Draft

I decided to cover a piece of the script from the equalizer as it has a very similar story to my short film idea. I chose page 26 because I think it really capture the character of Robert McCall, his cold and calculating demeanour. The dialogue does this by showing how scary this man really is, being sat in front of a dying man and looking at him as nothing more than some dick who had an out but didn't take it. I really like this side to his character, as it contrasts perfectly with his other side, the cool, quiet side that works a straight 40 at a department store. The long dialogue in the monologue he gives Slavi really work to show how cold this killer really is, showing that he could kill him right now but decides to lecture him before letting him bleed out instead. The scene directions also help to show what kind of character McCall is, saying that he comes back to earth as gently as an autumn leaf, showing there is grace and beauty in his destruction. After hitting the button on his watch and seeing the time, he is actually disappointed in how long killing these men took him.

Guns:

Realistic looking guns are allowed when they are being used in the production of a theatrical or cinematograph film. They don’t need the orange tips or any other defining trait to make them look fake. Fake guns like this can be purchased on the internet for relatively low prices, and altered upon arrival to make them look more real. I will need to alert any nearby public that we are making a short film so as to avoid any confusion. If the guns that are purchased don’t look like I want them too, I can paint them to make them look like what I want.

Blood and wounds:

Fake blood can be acquired online pretty easily. The makeup department can also make extra if needed. The scar on Spike’s face can be made by the makeup department, and the gunshot wounds will be fabricated as well. I will provide pictures to go with this to assist them in making them look right. A bullet that hits you may not even kill you, let alone stop you. This means that the actual wounds sustained in the film will need to placed in specific places to account for a killing shot. It is also pretty obvious that a bullet wound isn’t a pretty thing to look at. They often enter and leave a round hole, but can sometimes leave a cross or star shaped hole, and leave a bigger hole on the way out, because of some science I won’t go into now. Either way, they are quick large wounds when they first appear, but don’t actually bleed profusely as Hollywood would have you think, it can sometimes take minutes or hours for heavy bleeding to start, so I can maybe play on this to cut the amount of fake blood I will need.

Snipers:

After some research into what snipers are like when they get back from tour, I have concluded that they don’t generally have any lasting ill effects to contend with, though this does massively depend on the individual. They more often than not just tend to get on with their lives. The most successful sniper in recorded history, Simo Hӓyhӓ, who had 505 confirmed kills, tried to live a normal life when he got back from war. Even after sustaining an immense injury during the war to his face, he got over it and lived till he was 96 in a veteran’s nursing home. Chris Kyle, another famous sniper, primarily because of his book-turned-film, got back from tour and tried to live a normal life. He was killed at 38 by another veteran who had PTSD. This, however, doesn’t seem to really be an issue for snipers, perhaps because of how distant they are from the killing. There are also a lot of ways to treat, but not cure, this ailment. Returning to normality can be hard for some of the snipers at war, but more so for ones operating outside of warzones, such as ordinary police snipers. For people like this doubt and uncertainty can set in much sooner, making them question their decisions sooner than most snipers.

Locations:

I have a few locations that I would like to film in, and after I go and have a look at them, it will become clear how I will use them, such as what shots I will be able to get, or how scenes will look. The primary location for the film will be some kind of either; rundown building or home, or a dense wooded area, cut off from the public. I chose these kinds of areas as it would make it look like the gang that’s operating there have been there for a while, making their choice of hideout more believable. I want to film in these areas as it would look like a believable area for an evil gang to operate in, and would look more realistic.

Characters:

Sniper:

Name – John McCall

Age – 20 – 21

Dramatic motivation – discovers the gang that killed his love are operating near his home, decides to get revenge

Roles in narrative – Main Character

I got the original ide a for this character from movies and games involving quiet characters that kicked ass, like in the case of McCall, the equalizer. while these characters don't say much, they get their point across through their actions, and I really like this kind of person.

Gang Leader:

Name – Spike Castle
Age – 23
Dramatic Motivation – Wants to continue selling illegal drugs  near John’s home
Roles in Narrative – Main antagonist, killer of John’s lover. I got the idea for this character from all those cocky bad guys from action films, who think they're invincible and cant be beat. I took inspiration from movies and games like John Wick and Call of Duty, which all have antagonists that are smart but full of themselves. I like this kind of character because it feels good when they get beat, like they deserved it or something for being evil and not realising they were made more vulnerable because of it.