Antoine Syverain

Screenwriting 1
Assignment 1: I Spy short story break down
03 November 2015
Answers:
The story takes place during World War 1 but not exactly
sure of his location other than he lives near the sea. The
protagonist is CHARLIE STOWE, a twelve years old kid whose
school buddies mocked because he has never smocked a
cigarette. So that night, Charlie waits for his mother to
fall asleep to tip toe in the basement where his father
keeps a small stash of cigarette he sells. Charlie however
justifies his act by criticizing his father for never
giving him the attention he craves so much. Once he feels
his mother is asleep, he then sneaks into the basement,
where it was dark. But, he is forced to keep the light off
because there are patrol lights, they are living in the
midst of a major war. He waits until the patrol light
provides some illumination, then he makes his move. On his
way back to bed, his father suddenly arrives along with a
few work buddies, assuming they are military men because
one them used the word duty which is typical military
lingo. Charlie is now trapped in the kitchen and fears
getting caught. Observing his father, he realizes that he
shares a similarity with his dad, which is doing things
that frightened him in the dark. Moments later his father


left and Charlie runs back to his bed. He suddenly fells
the urge to run outside and tells his dad he loves him, but
by then his father was too far and Charlie fells a sleep,
not smocking a cigarette.
My approach:
As part of the set up I would establish a concrete location
and reveal the story world of the protagonist and how scary
it is, establishing a the house in total darkness with the
search lights patrolling everywhere. Then I would focus on
the house and how the front porch is messed up as mentioned
in the story. Establish the inside of the house, his mother
in her bed and then finally get to our protagonist. I would
build the story by having the protagonist murmur t himself,
which the audience might interpret as him being very lonely
due to his low status and the war. Also because he has no
one to talk to, this makes it very difficult for
exposition. I would reveal his feelings of hatred toward
his father by having the protagonist purposefully
mishandled items belonging to his father. In the climax, I
would have him go back and grab one of his father items and
bringing back to bed with him, seeing it through a
different set of lenses, one that give rise to sympathetic
and apologetic feelings in our protagonist.