Season 1 Outline- Session 1

ouzaru

Well-Known Member
Taking place on Sunday, February 7th, at 7pm via Blab. You will find the Blab titled as follows:

"SilmFilm Project: Episode Outlines- Season 1, Session 1"

Participants should have thoroughly reviewed Season 0 and Season 1 Sessions of the SilfFilm project through Session 1-5.

See you all there!
 
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Okay, the Blab is scheduled and searchable. You can apparently sign up for it ahead of time, and get an Email or have your phone yell at you when it goes live. Let me know if you have questions!
 
Maybe, but it's gonna be 8 in the morning for me, so if we break it, it won't be by much. :p. Gonna put up a stuffed animal so you guys don't have to look at my puffy, bleary-eyed face.
 
Killer first session that went on FAR longer than I imagined and got about as much done as could possibly have hope(and as much as I expected). Big thanks to Nick, Phillip, who I was surprised but very pleased to see, and Mithluin for making our first attempt at putting the scenes together such a rousing success (as I am quite prepared to describe it). I apologizing for leaving a bit early, but I really hadn't imagined we'd be at it for four hours! I blame the thorniness of depicting the Ainulindale onscreen.

If you weren't able to make it, apologies, but you really missed out! We learned some lessons about how Blab works and broke some ice and had a lot of fun. I think blab limits the number of speakers to four, but I'm hoping to do this once a week so we can get caught up by the end of Season 1, and I know not everyone can attend every week, myself included, so if you want to get in and get some face time with the rest of your Silmfilm peers, fear not! For those of you who are more shy but want to contribute, the link for editing the Google doc will be going up soon, so stay tuned!
 
Ok, so two things. One, I have come to realize that the biggest problem is that I have about half the scenes I need, so I may have to do some significant addtions.

Two: In addition to challenging myself in this, I would like to challenge our music folks to try an come up with at least a stand-in for the Music of the Ainur based on the script (that part will not be changing). If no one comes up with anything, I will throw together some classical pieces together, but I would love to be able to play an original work for the Mythmoot folks.
 
Honestly, I think that most of the Season 1 episodes could be condensed down to half-hour (rather than hour) long episodes.

I wouldn't stretch the material so far that it becomes filler, but if you can think of new scenes to help with the storytelling, go for it!

Also...I'm not sure how long of a reading they were requesting for Mythmoot, but it is possible that we can do samples from a variety of episodes rather than one long/extended piece. So, if the whole thing isn't ready, that's not the end of the world.
 
Ok, I need to start out coming up with ... 1-2 scenes for act 1. I'll start working on that tomorrow.

As to it being filler ... yes, I acknowledge that it is a danger, but I notice in reading the script that the main conflict is introduced and resolved very quickly. I want to do more to build up the conflict and work harder for the resolution.
 
And yes, I think that if anything is going to be read, what is already extant might work as a condensed version. But I feel like if we can't get the pilot script fleshed out into a real script, I will feel singularly unaccomplished...
 
So.... I have well and truly walked right in and put my foot in it. I have promised Prof. Olsen, and the Mythmoot team that I would complete the Pilot Script in time for Mythmoot in June. In order to hold said foot to the fire, I am placing a link to view my Google Doc here so that folks can ridicule, criticize, or suggest to their hearts content. Enjoy.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IfjCQxjX4zYlyvS7fji8Ur7SoOZWA7UScJe0OE3Epws/edit?usp=sharing
Nice knowin' ya, kid.

:3
 
Well, I think I may have managed to flesh out Act 1. What I've done is add a couple of scenes where we accentuate Gilraen's loneliness and her natural and artificial separation from the Elves of Imladhris. Act 2 might be alright with some dialogue expansion so the scenes don't go by so quickly, but I need an additional scene or so in Act 3. Perhaps going back to Gilraen to explain her change of heart when she talks to Elrond. Anyway, that's probably it for today, unless I am struck by sudden inspiration.
 
I do welcome further development of Gilraen's character. Our initial approach, which introduced her scolding her son, diminished greatly any sympathy the audience might have for her. We were setting it up for them to cheer on Elrond to save this young boy from his unhappy shrew of a mother. Beginning with Arathorn shows her loss right away, so her hurt/sadness/loneliness should allow the audience to feel for her awkward existence alone in a foreign culture.

*off to read your new scenes*
 
YES, I love the awkward charity visit! Those interactions are always awkward on both ends, but I like how they both seem well-meaning yet ill-at-ease. Curiously looking around at how the 'natives' live sounds rather elvish, without being too snobbish/unkind. And it demonstrates to the audience what place Gilraen has in Rivendell. We are prepared for her exasperation with Elrond to be more of a 'last straw' after seeing how she lives a lonely existence in Rivendell with regrets, clinging desperately to her family's pride, and being looked down on by the 'higher' culture all around her.

Knowing that the cottage was built at Gilraen's request suggests that she is accepting a *lot* of charity and has been doing so for some time. It might be better if it was a 'Dunedain guest cottage' that she took up permanent residence in? That way, we would realize that a young Arathorn had once stayed there, and it would seem more a connection to her people. She'd still be a charity case, but a less demanding one. ;)

Also, while I like the way this is shaping up, I am recognizing that the 'reveal' that Estel is Aragorn will be more and more a reveal to Estel only. Everyone in Rivendell knows who he is, and Gilraen and Elrond talk about his chieftain status freely. That's fine, but it means that we can't expect that reveal to hold much weight when we get to it - the climatic moment will have to be Gilraen and Elrond reaching an agreement to mutually raise the boy, rather than the 'reveal.' Not a bad thing, but I'm thinking about how this would play out later.



Ah, the choice of Elros. I would call this one of the saddest moments in Elrond's life, but....Elrond. What personal relationship has he ever had that didn't end in terrible grief? I like that we don't reveal too much of what lead up to that. This scene won't be seen in its entirety until season...10? We name-drop a few famous Men, and get to what we currently need from this scene, but...there are more questions than answers, here. I very much like how the shards of pottery play a real role in the story now, beyond simply 'careless child broke fragile item' to get at the sentimental memory behind it and look at the conflict here in a new way. Gilraen would regret her words if she could have seen this scene...but of course she doesn't know. And the later scene allows her to save face and express a valid concern rather than to angrily snap at someone.
 
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Knowing that the cottage was built at Gilraen's request suggests that she is accepting a *lot* of charity and has been doing so for some time. It might be better if it was a 'Dunedain guest cottage' that she took up permanent residence in? That way, we would realize that a young Arathorn had once stayed there, and it would seem more a connection to her people. She'd still be a charity case, but a less demanding one. ;)


That all makes sense. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll make some edits when I take another whack at it.
 
As to the reveal bit, it's only going to be a surprise to the most casual of viewers anyway, and chieftain does not necessarily mean king to most people. Arathorn is clearly a leader amongst his people, so.... yeah.

I'm also thinking about mirroring the Elros & Elrond scene with a dream sequence for Gilraen. Something to highlight her fears.
 
Keep in mind that we will want to give young Estel a chance to be a character, so an interaction with his mom or the random elves of Rivendell could be helpful (if it doesn't tread on Episode 2 material).
 
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