I started by writing each main character's name on the board and noting down key aspects of them. For example: under Zoe's name I wrote that she was the trigger for the delusion. After this I started to string bubbles off one another with ideas, statements or questions as can be seen coming from Sean's segment. This was to help me establish key points of Grit e.g. the fact that everything is false but Sean believes it's real.
With some key aspects on the board I listed possible jobs that Sean could do (bottom left). The first hour comprised of me staring at these sections trying to figure out what job Sean could do that would give him power, worth and a goal.
I looked at the Serial Killer option and began to write up an idea at the top of the board. Every character in the film could be a victim of the TP's who populate the delusion. Zoe found out his secret and he was forced to kill her to avoid further detection. Her death would then be the trigger point. The TP creates a false world to avoid any responsibility for his crimes and to deny the truth that he's killed the one person he actually cared about.
I began a more detailed write up that tried to cover over all the problems there was with the previous Grit:
I was still struggling with a goal when at this point Sophie, who is going to be my editor in the Major unit, came in to lend a hand. We began trying to think what the possible goals could be for Sean to keep the audience's interest. Sophie liked the idea of Sean looking for a killer. The killer actually being Sean as he's distanced himself from his own murders.
My issue with this was: why Sean's body? Why take on the identity of one of your victims? He clearly needed to be of some significance. So we thought of an alternative trigger point: Zoe cheated on TP with Sean and he killed them both. This would allow the identity of Sean to be assumed as he was the object of Zoe's desire and clearly a better man than TP.
Despite the little issues I really liked this idea as it challenges the audience's morals as they realise that all this time they have been supporting a bad person. Confident I had my idea sorted I brought in our tutor to have a look.
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| The board changed slightly during the talk (bottom left) |
Our tutor liked the new idea and how it made much more sense and was still a complex piece, however they weren't keen on the fact that the TP is a serial killer in real life. They questioned the purpose of this and what it brought to the film. Saying that someone who isn't an established killer would be more interesting to watch than someone who kills all the time. Maybe someone who perhaps killed by accident. I argued that the audience wouldn't know the TP was a serial killer until the end: thus throwing them into a uncomfortable state where they've realised they've been cheering on a serial killer without knowing it.
I was reluctant to change the idea as the TP being a serial killer also allowed one of the 'hits' to be the body found and give Sean the motivation to want to hunt for the killer to protect Zoe. Making the TP kill by accident would require him to kill his trigger point: AKA Zoe. This part was fine but it would then require some motivation in the delusional world for the goal to be set. This would have to come in the form of killing off one of the main characters and I was reluctant to do this straight away as there wouldn't be much time to flesh them out, nor would we care about someone who's killed in the first minute of the film.
After our tutor left, Sophie suggested the idea that the TP has anger issues and kills with impulse. I pondered this and thought of the idea that the TP caught Zoe having an affair with Sean and killed them there and then.
One issue I had though was Perry: what's the point of him now? I did like the character though and wanted to keep him in so I tried to think of a scenario where the TP could kill him too. We thought of the possibility that Perry was a witness to the TP killing Zoe and Sean and was killed too. This would create a suitable trigger point and allow Perry to stay in the film.
I then expanded on this idea with TP going on a trip and discovering the affair; the murders then happen. I started to think what the goal could be and how to establish it and came up with the idea that the film begins with Sean, Zoe and Perry out together or something, Perry is soon found dead and Sean determines that someone has killed him and sets out to find out who.
In truth Perry was already dead and Vision has managed to seep through the memories of Perry's dead body into the delusion in a bid to end it. Sean manages to convince himself that someone else has killed Perry, rather than himself and avoid the reality check Vision has attempted to make apparent.
The film then follows Sean and Zoe as they try and find out who did it; ultimately leading to the confrontation between Sean and Vision and the huge reveal. This idea allowed the accidental murders to happen and create a motive for Sean to want to hunt the 'killer'. Sean's body could also still be used as he is Zoe's desire. The TP can get the best of both worlds and live a life without consequence as he's controlling everyone's actions and be the man Zoe wanted.
This was written up on the board so I wouldn't forget (the messy bit on the middle-left of the board).
Here's a write up of the final section as my handwriting is pretty bad:
"4 Characters in reality: TP, Zoe, Perry & Sean. TP knew Zoe was cheating on him so he set up a trip (Camping?) so he could kill Zoe & Sean*. Perry is collateral. TP then, feeling extreme stress, created a false world where everything's OK and he is now Sean: the object of Zoe's desire. Perry is found dead in this false world as Vision's attempt to bring TP back. Vision almost wins but Sean (AKA TP's delusional side) manages to conjure up the idea that someone else killed Perry. Thus: a hunt begins.
*or catches them in the act."
My final problem with Grit was the gun used at the end to shoot Vision. As the film is set in the UK guns are extremely rare. So either I can come up with a plausible way for the TP to obtain a gun or he imagines the gun and accidentally kills himself in a different manner. Maybe even Vision is killed in a different way? This will have to be solved very soon as I need to know how the TP killed the trio in the first place.
After 3 hours of thinking and tinkering I finally had Grit's problems solved. I was very surprised that this worked: I genuinely thought that writing this up on the board was just going to be a waste of time and consist of me scrawling over it and getting nowhere. Instead the fact that it was all on one 'page' in front of me and easy to see any part of it helped out significantly. Rather than having to scroll up and down a word document constantly to find one piece of information I could find any piece right in front of me with ease. This is a technique I'll have to use in future.
The next step now is to create new character bios and backstory and begin the re-draft.
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