Fiction Adaptation | Ideas Development and Proposal (+ Feedback)

Upon deciding on my poem I put together my proposal for what I would like to produce for this project:

Trespass

By John Clare

I dreaded walking where there was no path

And pressed with cautious tread the meadow swath

And always turned to look with wary eye

And always feared the owner coming by;

Yet everything about where I had gone

Appeared so beautiful I ventured on

And when I gained the road where all are free

I fancied every stranger frowned at me

And every kinder look appeared to say

"You've been on trespass in your walk today."

I've often thought, the day appeared so fine,

How beautiful if such a place were mine;

But, having naught, I never feel alone

And cannot use another's as my own.

Interpretation of Sonnet

I chose this sonnet as I felt I drew the most interesting interpretations from it and because this sonnet in particular works well in portraying a journey, which compliments adapting it for film.  The main theme I picked up on was ‘otherness’ and of wanting to fit in somewhere that the narrative voice is not welcome.  Therefore I have decided to base my adaptation on ‘Trespass’ around the story of an asylum seeker, trying to fit in to British life but struggling to integrate as a result of racially intolerant people in his new home town.

I feel this theme is appropriate and relevant due to the divisiveness that came about after the EU referendum and the rise in racially-motivated hate crimes toward ethnic minorities.  The Syrian refugee crisis has also contributed to this, sparking debates into how to deal with vast amounts of displaced people and their integration into different countries as a result of being forced away from their own country.  My adaptation will be set in an ‘alternate’ Britain under a more right-wing and intolerant government, to act as a ‘what-if’ scenario showing the worst of what could happen if right-wing political hate groups gain more traction and support in the coming years.

Certain phrases in the poem stood out for me to highlight the theme of otherness:

·        “feared the owner” – the ‘owner’ being native British people who may be persecuting the central character on account of his race, and the character fearing for their safety as a result

·        “trespass” – brings about the idea of not belonging and invading somewhere they are not welcome

·        “I never feel alone” – the central character is always being watched as an outcast

·        “cannot use another’s as my own” – lack of self-belonging

Synopsis / Beat Sheet

‘Trespass’ follows Amal, a 22 year old refugee who flees his home country to live in Britain, but is met by intolerance and discrimination.

The script itself is still in development, but I plan to include these key events throughout the film:

·        The story begins with Amal running through the forest – he is being hunted down by soldiers.  He hides behind a tree and begins praying.

·        We then cut to the office where Amal is speaking to his welfare officer after he is granted asylum.  The officer is asking how well Amal is integrating into British society, and he is disheartened.

·        We see Amal walking through the street, constantly looking over his shoulder – we hear some heckling and racial slurs – Amal tries to ignore them but the voices get louder.

·        The screen cuts to black, then to Amal’s bedroom.  He is slumped on the bed, holding a bloody cloth to his head.  He looks to the side of his bed to a photograph of his family.

Vision Statement

I intend to utilise montage for my film to highlight the transition between Amal’s home country and Britain.  This will highlight the contrast between Amal’s life before and after leaving his country, and will also show similarities between his situation at home and in Britain – he is persecuted in both places and I will aim to depict this using montage and similar shots in both locations.

I would like to make heavy use of the visual motif of the Union flag to emphasise nationalistic attitudes of this version of Britain – I will also utilise colour grading with the red, white and blue colours to stand out and intimidate Amal.

I will also primarily use handheld shots to capture the sense of fear from Amal as he is running away from the soldiers and also when he is walking down the street being heckled.

In the scenes where Amal is praying, I also feel it would be appropriate to use a track to dolly in and out – I will dolly in at the start of the film to show Amal growing as he is growing hopeful that he will reach “the road where all are free” which I will then contrast with a dolly out to show Amal shrinking as his hopes are diminished as he becomes isolated through how he is treated in Britain.

I would also like to utilise the extreme close-up shot with a shallow depth of field so that the camera is well within Amal’s psychological space.

I also want to go all-out on sound design, as we are focusing on Amal, I want the audience to hear what he is hearing so that they feel what he is feeling.

Characters / Casting

·        Amal – the central character; a refugee that has been forced from his home country to live in Britain

o   Name means ‘hope’ in Arabic

o   Dark skin / dark hair / beard / middle-eastern accent

o   I have got in contact with somebody willing to play Amal, however I will post an advert on Mandy.com as there is a chance they are not available

·        Soldiers

o   We will not actually see these onscreen, but we will hear their voices – they will have middle-eastern accents speaking in Arabic (?)

·        Welfare Officer

o   White British / can be male or female

·        Racist hecklers

o   White British / predominantly male

Locations

·        Woodland

o   This will act as Amal’s home country as he is running away from the soldier and taking cover.  I feel shooting these scenes in a woodland area would portray Amal’s isolation, as the trees tower over and encompass him, mirroring the eyes watching him as he walks through the streets of Britain.

·        Office

o   This is where Amal will meet with his welfare officer – this will be somewhere bleak and uninviting.

·        Street

o   Typical British street, with bunting and Union flags if possible.

·        Bedroom

o   Amal’s bedroom is a small, almost claustrophobic space, highlighting his isolation and entrapment.

I also found some images online to support the aesthetic of my film:

Mike seemed to like my proposal, and said that whilst it was ambitious, it could be a very effective piece if executed well.  He also asked whether the story needs to be set in an 'alternate Britain' - my reasoning for this is that whilst there is a lot of division and intolerance in our society at the moment, I did not feel that we are at a point where somebody from a different ethnic background would be beaten up just for walking down the street.  We decided it would be better if I aimed to create a more accurate representation of Britain, and also if removed the attack from the film.  I feel this is the right choice to allow myself to create a realistic Britain and to highlight that there is disparity between certain ethnic groups and communities within Britain, without the need for depicting violence, which could come across as hyperbolic.

Mike also asked what the resonance of the film was; what was the parting message?  I feel that the resonance of the film should be to bring attention to the intolerance that is present within our society, especially in the wake of Brexit which seemed to validate peoples' insecurities about ethnic minorities integrating into British culture.  I would be very pleased it my film could shed some light on how non-British people may feel isolated and persecuted in Britain because of other peoples' prejudices.

He also asked how I would aim to incorporate montage into the film.  I would do this in a similar way to my experimental film; by splicing short clips from different angles to highlight the fear of persecution.  I would also use montage to create parallels between the central characters' persecution in his home country, and in Britain by using shots from his home country in context with Britain.  Mike also suggested that I could place a camera in a town centre to see real peoples' reactions, to create a genuine sense of being watched and of isolation.  This will be a logistical challenge, but something that I would like to incorporate to add to the authenticity of the film.