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Lesson 9
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Alfred Dunham’s Budget
“What I learned doing this assignment is –
I’m finding it difficult to apply the notion of Creativity in the face of all these restrictions. I’m going to have to rethink this whole writing thing. It’s like I don’t know how to turn off all those creative thoughts I’m not allowed to use because if I do, I know my script will get ditched. I feel trapped in a bottleneck. I was even critiqued once for creating a psychiatrist who, the critic said, “sounds more like a priest than a psychiatrist.” I was President of the medical staff in a psychiatric hospital for 21 years! Critiques like that are hard to take!
ASSIGNMENT 9
ASSIGNMENT
For this assignment, assume the producer asked you to accomplish two opposite purposes – cut costs by 25% in one version and quadruple the budget in a second version.
1. Review this list and tell us how many ways you could decrease the budget for your project if necessary.
MAIN VARIABLES
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- Number of Locations
Two. The last scene is a close-up shot of a cemetery with a gravestone.
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- Expensive locations
None
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- Number of characters
Four total
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- Special effects
None
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- Number of pages
Circa 100-108. Critics don’t like less than 90.
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- Crowd scenes
None
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- Stunts, Chase scenes, and Fight scenes
One, maybe – Archie goes berserk and injures Nurse Helen slightly.
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- Special sets
None.
SECONDARY VARIABLES
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- Rights to music, brands, books, etc.
None.
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- Explosions and Firearm
None.
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- Kids — shorter workdays, tutor on the set
No kids.
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- Animals – need a wrangler, more time to shoot, Humane Society
No animals.
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- Weather — Rain, snow, wind, tornados.
There may be the Knowledge of weather, but no direct weather. Everything is inside.
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- Water and underwater scenes
None.
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- Night scenes
None. Hospital Unit lights are always on. Maybe dimmed, but always on.
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- Helicopters, aircraft, drone shots
None.
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- Green screen work
None.
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- Extensive Make-up
Maybe to make Albert look old in the final scene.
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- Archival Footage
None.
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- Anything else dangerous that increases preparation time and/or Insurance.
There is only one scene where Archie goes crazy and is taken down by the other two patients and restrained by the nurse.
2. Then go through the list and tell us what you might add if your budget was quadrupled.
1. The police come to escort Archie to prison.
2. Add in scenes with a doctor.
3. Add a scene of James’ body (NOT VISIBLY SEEN) being removed from the hospital unit.
4. Possibly have a canine unit deliver medications to the isolated unit after severe damage following an earthquake, i.e., only a dog can get through the rubble
5. Possibly add a fire scene when Archie tries to set fire to the unit – firemen, police, etc.
6. Possibly do a chase and capture a series of scenes when Archie escapes the locked unit. For example, we had a mental patient escape his locked ward and run north to the first farmhouse north of the hospital. He was recovered in the farmer’s house, taking a shower with all his clothes on.
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