First Draft!

    Hey y'all it's Soph!

I finally finished the first draft of my script! I did change a few things about the characters, and the story behind their relationship, which is what I will go over in today's blog. 

What Was Changed?

Originally, I mentioned in a past blog how I wanted "Val" to be somebody that Valarie truly embodied, almost like a hidden persona. However, I realized this would be difficult to achieve because I'm only given a limited amount of time in my opening, and I wanted to demonstrate the dynamic between Val and Valarie as clear as possible, so I decided to make Val an old and special friend to Valarie. While in the script I don't explicitly say what happened to Val, or why Valarie is dreaming about her, I decided I would portray those questions visually, rather than explicitly say it in the dialogue. The second scene in which Valarie wakes up from her sleep, I wanted to have shot that displays pictures of Val and Valarie together, as well as memorabilia that Valarie kept that belonged to Val. Through this shot, I want to make it clear that Val is dead, and this imaginary figure that Valarie created is her way of coping with her loss. This specific change was inspired by Wandavision, as Wanda creates an alternate, yet extremely similar version of Vision in order to cope with his loss. 

What Stayed the Same?

I decided to keep the dream sequence within the opening because I felt that it was the perfect way to establish Val and Valarie's relationship through Valarie's perspective. The dream reminds Valarie of a simpler and happier times with her friend, and when she wakes up from the dream, it represents how much she misses her. This will further be illustrated through color scheme, as the present will be in neutral toned colors (or black and white, I haven't decided) and the dream to be more saturated and bright.  I also decided to keep the names Valarie and Val for the characters, because I thought it would make their connection seem tighter if that small detail of having similar names stayed. 

Why is the Film Called Val?

I wanted this story to allude towards Valarie's journey in being comfortable with her grief, and how that will impact her present circumstances. The title, "Val", seemed to be a perfect fit because Valarie's view of the world and her surroundings is inspired by her friend, hence why Val has become Valarie's imaginary friend, or conscience.