March 20
March 20
Journal 3: Building Suspense & Twisting the Narrative
The case study assignment has turned into a short film project with the direction in which I have been heading, as I already have the first scene planned. A coin will be flipped and, after it lands, the camera will pan to a board with the images of two different schools- Kamiak High School and ACES Alternative High School. Then, there will be a zoom in on ACES Alternative High School, which Joshua Alexander O’Connor attended and planned to shoot. As the camera pans in on the image of the high school, a bell will ring and the viewer will be sucked into O'Connor's life. This is a suspense building tactic because the viewer, at this point, may be able to guess what is about to happen but there will be a slow-burn tension before the plot is explained. Also, I plan to throw the viewer off by using unreliable narration, especially when O'Connor is journaling about "feeling much stronger." Not explaining the context of that sentence, might make viewers think positively of the situation. Throughout the story, until the climax, the viewer will be trying to figure out how this coin toss, focus on ACES Alternative HS, and a teenager's life are all related. Therefore, the short film will take an unexpected turn when the Grandmother finds O'Connor's journals and provides the context to the sentences. While this revelation will be shocking at first, I think that the coin toss and initial scene will finally come together at that point and make sense. Later on, I think it will also be unexpected that the Gradma reports him to the police, as that is a mentally straining decision to make. The main element used to build suspense up to these surprising twists will be repeating objects/details that take on a new significance as the story progresses. For example, the journal entry's will go from having a positive connotation to a negative one when the Grandma finally reveals the rest of the sentence to the audience. In the original news report, it was stated that O'Connor had a gun stashed inside his guitar case. I plan to show him opening the guitar case as a positive way of letting out emotions, but then have this change meaning when the Grandma looks through his room, opens the case, and reveals to the audience what actually lie inside. Another repeated element in the short film will be news reports of gun violence around the nation that the Grandma watches regulary, which explains why she was able to make the right decision despite emotional ties. Also, the initial scene will take on a new meaning or rather an explained one since it foreshadows the planned shooting. Now, I say "planned shooting" because, while leaning towards changing the original story to be a supposition of what would have happened in the Grandma didn't call the police, I decided to stick with the original story's ending because it shows more character growth. Perhaps it is my optimistic outlook on the world taking over, but I also wanted to show hope for the future. While crafting a positive ending, I thought to reflect back on the first scene and make the last one a coin toss as well between two schools again, but have it take place years later and showing O'Connor attending school and regaining control of his life. After running this by Mrs. Gergen however, I realized how naive this thought process was. It isn't easy to heal that much and it's unrealistic for the audience to jump from seeing a potential school shooter to seeing an upstanding citizen. Therefore, I want to keep the coin flip, but have it land on heads to signify O'Connor going to therapy. It is important to celebrate these small wins in life as growth isn't about a specific destination (ex. College), growth is taking baby steps everyday- it is the never-ending journey of your life. This way, I can also tie in the "ending" I found on the internet where O'Connor calls his Grandma a hero. To make this sentence more impactful, I am considering making most of the short film silent. The ending of the story is slightly ambiguous, but it does enough to show how the characters' perceptions have changed. The Grandma falls into grief for her grandson, but ends up choosing to be courageous despite her age, while O'Connor goes from thinking violence is the solution to actually healing.
O'Connors Case Details - https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/news/everett-teen-sentenced-shooting-plot/65152/