Ryleigh Macfarlane (23649172)

SODA Foundation – Academic Study Skills 2023

Assignment 1.1: Autobiographical Artefact

The Seventeenth, A short film (by Ryleigh Macfarlane)

TITLE CARD: “December 17th ,2020”

EXT. STUDENT ACCOMMODATION ROOM – Late Morning

The camera pans around the corner of the room, empty bottles, and cans of
alcohol litter the room. The camera pans towards the main character, LEON
REDFIELD (18-20, greasy brown long hair, wearing tatty messy clothing) The
clock behind him reads 11:37am. The Phone next to him lights up, he drunkenly
goes to grab it and drops it once. When he reads the email on the phone, he
jumps up ecstatically. and attempts to run out of the door, whilst falling over
constantly. The camera zooms into the messy duvet, and FADE CUTS to the
next scene.

TITLE CARD: “November 17th ,2020”

EXT. STUDENT ACCOMMODATION ROOM – NIGHT

The camera pulls out of the duvet, which is encasing LEON while he watches a
TV Show, a bottle of gin accompanies him – The TV plays loudly in the
background with LEON unfazed, he snaps back into reality after he spills his
gin all over his bed. The TV starts a commercial about ‘SKATING WORLD
ICE ARENA’, which states that they are ‘NOW HIRING’. The camera FADE
CUTSto a finished CV on the desk in the room.

TITLE CARD: “October 17th ,2020”

EXT. STUDENT ACCOMMODATION ROOM – LATE AFTERNOON

The camera pulls out of the half-finished CV and turns a complete 180 to show
LEON crying to a TV show. A bottle is kicked from the bed to the floor and
rolls across the floor. A text from ‘MUM’ reads “You’re not welcome back

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SODA Foundation – Academic Study Skills 2023

here.”, LEON punches the bed, and another bottle rolls off. The camera follows
this bottle as it FADE CUTS to the next scene.

TITLE CARD: “September 17th ,2020”

EXT. STUDENT ACCOMMODATION ROOM – MORNING

The camera pulls out of the bottle on the floor, it hits LEON's foot, while he is
shouting at someone down the phone, still drunk. The phone reads “MUM
(BITCH)”. He has a full bottle of vodka in his left hand. The camera zooms into
the phone.

TITLE CARD: “August 17th ,2020”

EXT. STUDENT ACCOMMODATION ROOM – EARLY MORNING

The camera pulls out of the phone on the floor, located next to the toilet, LEON
is throwing up into the toilet and is on call with his mother – he flushes the
toilet and then pours himself more whiskey.

TITLE CARD: “July 17th ,2020”

EXT. STUDENT ACCOMMODATION ROOM – EVENING

The camera pulls out of the bottle of whiskey, in LEON’s arm, he is fast asleep
on a spinning chair, slowly spinning, there are takeaway boxes and empty cider
cans littering the room. The back of the chair swoops over the camera for a
match cut.

TITLE CARD: “June 17th ,2020”

EXT. STUDENT ACCOMMODATION ROOM – AFTERNOON

The camera matches cuts with the back of LEON’s chair, he is sitting at his
desk with an Oasis bottle and id pouring Gin into it. On the desk, is an ongoing
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Ryleigh Macfarlane (23649172)
SODA Foundation – Academic Study Skills 2023

online lecture – LEON’s webcam is the only one not on. LEON looks at his
drink saddened and walks to the bathroom and pours the Oasis down the sink,
Gin bottle still in hand. He re-opens the bathroom door, The door fades into the
next scene.

TITLE CARD: “May 17th ,2020”

EXT. STUDENT ACCOMMODATION ROOM – MIDNIGHT

LEON walks out of the bathroom, curtains are fully closed, and the TV is off,
he is fully shrouded in darkness. The only light is the automatic bathroom light,
which turns off when he sits down – a bottle of alcohol is still visible in the
darkness. Screen cuts to black.

TITLE CARD: “April 17th ,2020”

EXT. STUDENT ACCOMMODATION ROOM – EVENING

The camera pulls out of the bed covers, LEON is still asleep, covered in his
covers – the clock reads 17:59, on the desk, Happy Birthday decorations are still
hung up, implying they were bought but not used. Bottles outline the bed. The
clock transitioned to 18:00.

TITLE CARD: “March 17th ,2020”

EXT. STUDENT ACCOMMODATION ROOM – EVENING

As the clock turns from 18:00, The camera pans to the front door as LEON
stumbles through, he has a bag of alcohol that splits and the alcohol drops to the
floor, he doesn’t even notice and continues walking in the room. The camera
focuses on the wall.

TITLE CARD: “February 17th ,2020”

EXT. STUDENT ACCOMMODATION ROOM – MORNING

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Ryleigh Macfarlane (23649172)
SODA Foundation – Academic Study Skills 2023

As the scene transitions, many photos of LEON and a girl appear on the wall.
LEON is seen on a call to ‘RACHEL’ desperately trying to repair a relationship,
and she ends the call. He throws the phone across the room. When going to get
the phone, he knocks a bottle of alcohol off the bed and pours himself a glass.
The camera pans to the window.

TITLE CARD: “January 17th ,2020”

EXT. STUDENT ACCOMMODATION ROOM – AFTERNOON

The camera pans out of the window to LEON. He sets down some homework,
turns his TV onto the news, starts unpacking the shopping and starts a shower.
The news starts talking about a possible lockdown for the COVID strain. LEON
turns to the camera and takes a big inhale.
LEON
“It’s going to be a good year!”.

Assignment 1.2: Evaluation

My objectives for this project was to create an autobiographical artefact, I was planning to
create a short movie for this, but unfortunately - it was quite difficult to create a movie on
my own - I wanted this to be a self-made short film. Unfortunately, I did not end up having
the time or equipment to complete this task - So, I started to create this script to be paired
with a movie - My lecturer reminded me that I could use this script as my artefact after I
explained that I felt I did not have time to create my film.
The first thing I did with this project is create a simple storyboard of what I planned to shoot
and how I wanted this to look, I put minimal detail and focused on drawing what I imagined
it to look like - I was not happy with how it turned out as I felt like it did not capture what i
had wanted it to. Finally, I decided to put it into writing as I was already making the script
for the filmmaking project called ‘Alarm Bells’, so I felt more comfortable creating a script
for this project. Therefore, I based this script off of how I felt during the Covid pandemic. I
felt more depressed in this small window of time than I have felt before - It was imperative
that I tried to capture that feeling in my script. I am happy with what I managed to come up
with in the amount of time I had.

Assignment 2: Research Essay

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Ryleigh Macfarlane (23649172)
SODA Foundation – Academic Study Skills 2023

Digital storytelling is a method of conveying stories using digital media, such as: videos,
images or audio. It combines traditional storytelling techniques and technology to create
immersive experiences, as it helps enhance the impact.
The first practitioner I have chosen is Edgar Wright, who is a renowned filmmaker - uses
digital storytelling as he uses dynamic editing, fast-paced cuts and visual effects to create an
distinctive style - which is incorporated in his storytelling by conveying emotions,
emphasising humour or depicting actions sequences, which can be seen in his prominent
Cornetto Trilogy: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End. Overall, Wright’s use of
digital storytelling techniques adds depth, creativity and a unique cinematic experience to
his films, making them visually compelling and memorable. Wright has shown a willingness
to embrace new technologies and experiment with different mediums. For example, Wright
directed a music video for the popular singer Pharrell Williams only using Google Glass,
which showcases his exploration of wearable technology as a device for storytelling. Wright
recognises the power of digital platforms and he engages with his audience through his
social media and online platforms. He actively shares content and cultivates a digital
community around his work. Also, Wright’s films have been made available to a wider
audience - due to ever-growing streaming services and online distribution channels. He also
illustrates the evolution of digital storytelling with seamless visual effects integration,
embracing new technologies, online engagement, transmedia storytelling and increased
accessibility using online distribution. Edgar Wright’s work is relevant to me, as I am very
endeared with the quick visuals and editing style, which is personally what I want to capture
in my filmmaking attributes.
The next digital storytelling media I want to use is CAPCOM, which is a Japanese game
company created in 1983. They are best known for their ever-popular and growing game
franchise Resident Evil. Over the years, the Resident Evil franchise has evolved from its
survival horror roots to utilise its intricate and layered narratives. CAPCOM has crafted
compelling storylines that delve into the origins of the Resident Evil universe. This evolution
showcases their commitment that engages players on an emotional and intellectual level.
Resident Evil and CAPCOM’s identification as digital storytellers is evident in their
commitment to narrative depth, visual advancements, interactive gameplay, emotional
engagement and community engagement. They illustrate the evolution of storytelling
through digital media within their field, and continually push the boundaries of what is
possible. Next, CAPCOM continually pushes the boundaries of their visuals in their products
- This is shown in their first Resident Evil game, which is also titled Resident Evil, it launched
in 1996 and uses polygonal graphics and pre-rendered background that have evolved into
the photorealistic environments and lifelike character models as seen in their newest game,
Resident Evil 4 remake, which came out in 2023 (It is a remake of the 2005 game). These
advancements enhance the storytelling experience by creating atmospheric environments,
realistic character performances and set pieces. CAPCOM actively engages with their
community, they recognise the importance of feedback and involvement. They listen to fan
opinions and conduct surveys. The developers use regular updates, DLCs and live events to
foster a sense of community and collaboration. This relates to me as a huge fan of the
franchise, and I would like my films and products to immerse my audience in an emotional

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Ryleigh Macfarlane (23649172)
SODA Foundation – Academic Study Skills 2023

or psychological way. I have ideas to recreate the similar genre that CAPCOM presents in
their Resident Evil games.
Finally, my last digital storytelling medium is Sam Raimi, who is known for his work as a
director, producer and writer identifies as a digital storyteller in several ways. Firstly he
embraces his use of visual effects to enhance his storytelling. This can be seen in the Spider-
Man trilogy, starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, he used digital effects to bring the
action and dynamic fight sequences - his skillful integration of effects showcases the
capabilities of digital technology to create visually captivating storytelling experiences.
Secondly, Raimi is known for his innovative camera work and creative use of visual
storytelling techniques. In his famous ‘Evil Dead’ series starring Bruce Campbell as Ash
Willaims, Raimi employed techniques like the ‘Shaky Camera’, which involves stable-images
purposely dispensed with shaking. This technique combined with digital technology conveys
tension, disorientation and a sense of unease, which is perfectly captured in the ‘Evil Dead’
franchise. Just like Edgar Wright, Sam Raimi also uses rapid-fire editing, dynamic montages
with quick cuts to create energetic storytelling experiences. Finally, Raimi’s films often
challenge traditional conventions. As seen in the ‘Evil Dead’ franchise, he blends horror and
comedy, which creates a rich and unique genre-defying narrative experience. Raimi’s
willingness to push boundaries and break the norms of traditional storytelling - It reflects
the evolving tastes and expectations of audiences in the digital age. I like to use this as
horror is my main genre of focus and hopefully expertise - I am inspired by Sam Raimi’s
conventional approach to the genre, and would love to replicate it.
To conclude, Sam Raimi, CAPCOM and Edgar Wright have a huge implication of what I am
hopefully looking to achieve in the industry. I personally am a big horror fan - I have been
watching them since a very young age. The genre had me gripped and these practitioners
have only influenced me to develop a further interest. They all have blended horror with
other genres such as action or comedy, which result in distinct storytelling experiences.
Additionally, these practitioners have each pushed the boundaries of the traditional horror
tropes - They employ innovative techniques to create memorable and engaging horror
narratives. Raimi, Wright and CAPCOM’s works have left a lasting impact on the horror
genre, they showcase their creativity and willingness to challenge conventions while still
delivering entertaining experiences. Individually, each of these practitioners do well in their
own way - Sam Raimi is known for his camera work, where his use of dynamic camera
angles and techniques create suspense and intensity in the genre of horror. Whereas, Edgar
Wright is highly-praised for his unique editing style, which enhances his comedic timing and
overall storytelling. Lastly, CAPCOM excels in creating gaming experiences with intricate
details and memorable characters within the genre of survival horror.

Assignment 3.1: Reimagined Fairytale Artefact

Title: Lenny’s Story
Logline: “Buried secrets, unexpected alliances, and a rabbit named Hobie. Join Lenny as he
ventures into a mysterious hole during a fateful family walk. Working with Hobie, they dig
for freedom, only to uncover a dark truth. As they resurface, Lenny’s unease grows, for he

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Ryleigh Macfarlane (23649172)
SODA Foundation – Academic Study Skills 2023

has unknowingly unleashed a malevolent force upon the world. With guilt weighing heavily,
Lenny faces an ultimate decision: confront the consequences or embrace his fate within the
depths of the hole.”
Concept: A 29-year-old charismatic Amazon worker jumps into a hole while on a walk with
his family. While in the hole, he sees a rabbit called Hobie, who promises to help him get out
in exchange for helping him get out of the hole too, forcing them to work together as a
team. After a while, they dig a hole big enough for them to get out. As Lenny climbs up, he
looks back into the hole one more time and wonders why Hobie was in the hole in the first
place. When he gets outside, he notices Hobie has hopped away and gets a bad feeling
about what he has unleashed into the world. As soon as he starts walking, he hears a loud,
obnoxious voice that shouts, 'Bow down to the new king of Scunthorpe!”. Faced with the
guilt of releasing an evil rabbit out into the world, Lenny goes to save the Kingdom of
Scunthorpe.
Characters: Lenny Lennyson, Hobie the magic rabbit, Lenny’s Brothers: Kenny and Benny,
Lenny’s Sisters: Jenny and Penny, Lenny’s Parents: Bob and Ke4sha Lennyson, Riley the
Roomba, Wally the Wheelchair and Steve the Screwdriver.
Act Structure: Act 1: Lenny, a cheerful Amazon delivery worker, is taking a walk with his
family when he spots a magical-looking hole. Without thinking twice, he jumps in and meets
a friendly rabbit named Hobie. Hobie needs help to get out, so they agree to work together
to find a way back. Act 2: After lots of digging and struggles, Lenny and Hobie finally find
their way out of the hole. But when Lenny looks around, Hobie is gone! A scary voice
announces Hobie as the new king of a place called Scunthorpe, creating a big problem for
Lenny. Act 3: Feeling guilty, Lenny decides to fix his mistake and goes back into the hole to
make things right. He faces his fears, realising the consequences of his actions. As time
passes, he worries about what might happen next. Epilogue: Just when Lenny thinks it's all
over, Hobie returns, sorry for the trouble he caused. Together, they gather friends such as
Wally the Wheelchair, Steve the Screwdriver, and Riley the Roomba and work to undo the
chaos. They learn about responsibility and friendship, facing challenges to bring back peace
to Scunthorpe. However, during the last thing they need to fix Scunthorpe, on Redemption
Mountain, Hobie sacrifices himself to save Lenny and redeem himself. In the end, Lenny
comes back home, knowing how important it is to make good choices and to cherish family.
Epilogue: Our story ends with the cliché, happily ever after, reformed villain and everyone
lives. Our hero gathers a team to face challenges and the battle to save their kingdom. Our
reformed villain Hobie makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Lenny after betraying him,
therefore redeeming himself.

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Ryleigh Macfarlane (23649172)
SODA Foundation – Academic Study Skills 2023

Assignment 3.2: Prototype

Assignment 3.3: Evaluation

Our objective for this task was to acquire a popular fairytale that had been told before and
re-imagine it to specific briefs. We pulled a fairytale, a method of media and a target group
of people - Our production did not end up meeting our specific brief as we changed our
chosen media and target group to better fit our situation. Our randomly chosen fairytale
was ‘Rapunzel’, which is a European fairytale, published in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm -
The story follows a princess stuck at the top of a very tall tower, she brands long blonde hair
to allow a prince to climb up the tower to come and rescue her. Our first randomly chosen
media was ‘Podcast’, we recorded 2 unscripted podcasts and ultimately decided not to use
them as they kept diverging from the set topic of Rapunzel. Then, I decided to continue my
media as a storyboard, as it was much easier to complete in the short timeframe I had. Our
first chosen target audience was ‘people who have experienced sexism’, we came up with
the fact that a strong, handsome prince had to save a trapped, helpless princess. We
unfortunately ended up straying away from the selected audience - We instead chose to go
with ‘Children between the ages of 5 and 8’, which we all admitted was much easier to
control as we had been in the shoes of being 5 and 8 - so we could all relate easier than
being victims of sexualisation. Our strengths are that Lochlainn, Rab and myself work well

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SODA Foundation – Academic Study Skills 2023

together in a group since we have worked on other sorts of tasks, most notably our Facade
Project - which also went very well all things considered.
Our original idea ended with a sinister ending, which played to our strengths as we were all
interested in having it with a more darker tone, but when we had to adapt our story to fit a
younger audience - we had to change it to become more child-friendly and cliche. We all
had a part to play in the creation of our re-imagined fairytale called ‘Lenny’s Story’. I created
the story both as a darker, more sinister tone and also revamped the story for a more child-
friendly route. Where Lochlainn created the characters for our story and hosted the
podcasts we created and Rab created his own personalised script and did the majority of
our research. We achieved what we wanted, we created a straightforward streamlined
story, which fit the criteria of what we needed to fit. I do agree that sometimes we could
have used our time more effectively - we tended to slack off or get distracted easily, but we
managed to get what we needed to just in time. I would say that we overcame many of the
problems we were faced with, we managed to balance this task with all the other tasks we
were given.
I learnt to listen to the team a bit more closely, I had a lot of ideas that I personally wanted
to adapt to our project. I wanted to do our idea my way, rather than the way it turned out,
but the problem that arose is that my way would have created several issues in the future as
it was everything that I wanted and how I had envisioned the project. Rab and Lochlainn
both had brilliant ideas they wanted to pitch and even though I was adamant on doing it my
way. I learnt to use my idea with their pitches and I felt it worked a lot better than my
original darker tone.