Research and Development

Storyline Script - Reminder

The basic storylines start with 3 migrants in the home office immigration department awaiting an interview for their visa status then one, Javier falls asleep and wakes in a dream trapped in a outrageously racist xenophobic gameshow where the prize is a visa but the whole think is rigged to give the contestants little to no chance of winning like a kangaroo court.

Very much the kind of thing one may expect on a right-wing propaganda channel such as Fox, GB news or a dictatorship Shannel such as could be seen in Russia, Hungary, Belarus, North Korea, China etc

Basically, like a cat and mouse game of cruelty for the bullying far right host based on the likes of Pritti Patel and Suella Braverman in the UK or Margerie Taylor Green, (or a fan of the TV show The Boys think Firecracker) to get a kick out of offering false hope to the contestants just to enjoy seeing them suffer.

This is till the smart and canny Javier outsmarts her and turns the tables on her. 

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Please click to see the script and treatment we had to work on,  to build  this model and film the producion.



Pre Construction Phase

Research

During research I looked at:

• 70s gameshow formats, style, cultures, set builds techniques, the mechanics of how they did games and scoring and look.
• British souvenir shops for patriotic symbols and memorabilia
• Far right media such as Fox and GB news which is where I could see this being shown.
• Castles in particular the gate houses
• Rotton cheap and rough docks, such as from fantasy and pirates
• Shop holding bollards
• Rotton, rusty and worn shop doors
• English yob, football and  houligan culture
• Roman gladiator arena entertainment both of gladiators and horrific executions whilst the raucous sadistic audience get their pleasure form the suffering of those in the arena. Laughing at, cheering and jeering.
• Films of dystopian futures where modern versions of the roman arenas of forced fights to the death and sadistic executions. Such as
• Sparticus
• The Running Man
• Death Race
• Hunger Games
• Battle Royal
• Rollerball
• The Boys
• Pennyworth
• Execution scenes such as that from the film ‘Let Him Have it’ as false wall doors are slid open with a bang so the victim can be dragged to the gallows next door and their doom.
• Trapdoor Spider webs and traps.
• There was also the option of basing the stormtrouper like immigration officers on Vinney Jones hard man characters from films like Snatch and his football yob personal from the movie Eurovision.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTqb_qEtVDc
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx49T5WJ3vI
  The execution scene from 'Let Him Have It' where I got the idea of the doors from can be seen here
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bukv-eOjyeo

Concept Phase

Sketch Ideation, Photo Bash Concept Art and CAD Development

Sketch Ideation followed by basic CAD concept modelling developed ideas.

I also acted out the grabbing movement for my stormtrooper like immigration officials to burst out of double doors, what distance was needed to grab the contestants and pull them back.

I photo bash my original concept that has the host sitting down on a swivelling chair depressed to look like a throne only a tacky version of one.

The host would get a British pub like desk podium with rooms for luxuries and refreshments such as cocktails and chocolates as well as sy7mbols of Britishness and memorabilia.

To emphasise power behind the host would be a classical temple like wooded decade. I modelled this on the old bailey to give the feel of a judge’s position and this would be lifted to a height to look down on the contestants.

This would be fitted with various buttons like the Bond villain or Dr Evil from Auston Powers to press to do things to the contestant and trigger the door opening and grabbing.

This was photo bashed onto the gameshow photos to show how it would work.

After a meeting with the director’s, I moved to having a standing and mobile host who could walk out from behind her podium. This would now be a mock castle so she could be queen like with here castle desk.

I also moved away from the idea of putting the contestants in cages and instead have life rings around their waist attached to roped for the troops to pull them in.

Concept Phase Follow Up - Switching to a Castle, Ship and Dock

This concept was intended for assessment by the directors and to get feedback.

They seem to like my concept, that very much played into old English class culture, xenophobia and racism, with the upper class getting to lord it over those they deem their inferiors.

A key element the directors wanted was that the host was mobile to walk around the set and walking up to the contestants, not sat down. They also were not keen on the cages.

Where were also some build issues.

Trying to create a high-quality wooden bar counter with brass bars or to hire one looks costly and logistically a problem due to weight.

The classical Old Bailey like back wall would also be costly to create and need far more skill in wood work.

It seems a far easier idea to go with a mock castle gate house, that could look cheaply made be that out of polystyrene or wood that’s painted or coated in carved foam or plaster or simply painted card, paper or material over a wooden frame. The cheap, low tech tacky look would fit the style of a 70s game show and be far easier, quicker and more importantly very cheap to construct, take apart assemble and store, possibly for re-use later.

It would just need to be structured to handle the host leaning on it and having the likes of drinks and snacks and fun accessories or patriotic memorabilia on it. This could be done with a high table, steel decking, a table with extended legs, a table on some crates or just card boxes giving lots of options.

The constants cages and giant dingey were changed to a rotten wood dock, with small box crates made from broken wood. Instead of a cage the contestants would just have life rings around them attached to a rope. Much easier to make.

Behind the Contestants would be a mock side of a ship ready to deport and take them away. A simple box room structure made of flats, with doors to contain the immigration officer troops ready to pull contestants into the darkness and doom.

This would all be emphasising the British class structure or upper verses lower class, with the well-funded home office far right, GB news on a power trip bullying those they see as subhuman beneath them and thus free to enjoy ill-treating to their hearts content.

The set would have 4 zones:

• The Host Castle Stage.
• The Gameshow Back Wall.
• The Contestants Lower Class Dock and Deportation Ship.
• The floor space dressed to represent the English Channel and a castle moat to keep out the migrants and infested with patriotic sharks (Originally warships either WW2 or 18^th century style. Sharks would be easier to make, probably out of polystyrne and funnier, Austin Powers style).
  

Ergonomics

The set fits around people and there is not much room, there are also special action scenes to consider and things like podium heights.

Ergonomics was part of the research to work our size and positions to fit the contestants and make it possible for troops to be able rapidly rush out, grab a contestant and jump back for the doors to close.

I actually acted the movements out with an analogue of a podium with crates to test movements.

I used the Measure of Man and Woman book to do this.