As a homework assignment, I asked my students to produce a short using only the footage they had on their Flip cameras. One of my students made this short, a Law & Order spoof entitled Noa & Order, using footage of a little girl she babysits. I was particularly pleased to see that my writing system – The Four Magic Questions of Screenwriting – was applied to the process.
The questions (and my student’s answers) are:
Magic Question #1 – What is your character’s dream? Noa wants to find her missing zebra book.
Magic Question #2 – What is your character’s nightmare? Noa is worried she will never find the zebra book.
Magic Question #3 – Who or what will your character “die” for? Noa will risk it all to bring the perpetrator to justice.
Magic Question #4 – Does your character realize their dream or go on a new adventure? Noa realizes that even though she has safely recovered her zebra book, she’s a different person now, and more interested in her Elmo balloon.
For more information about how you can make your own films, visit www.ScreenplayClass.com.
For more information about The Four Magic Questions of Screenwriting, visit www.FourMagicQuestions.com.
