---Introduction (100)---

The requirement of our brief was to create and develop an idea for a story, to establish our idea in
the form of a script and to then visualise the project through storyboards and concept artwork. My
story, titled Miss Lovell and the Case of the Stolen Parents, is an Edwardian Whodunit which centres
around a young woman, named Purdie, whose parents are held hostage by their doppelgangers. It is
a story about freedom, social oppression and love.

---Part 1: Story and historical context ---

The story revolves around Purdie, a quick-witted, audacious debutante. She wishes to follow her
own path in life, but she's pressured with the expectations of upper-class society. However, when
her parents are abducted by their doppelgangers, Purdie must utilise her skills to save them before it
is too late.

After being left for dead in the middle of a forest, Purdie is saved by Meridith, a huntress whose idea
of family are the local foxes. Meridith harbours a deep disdain for the upper-classes. They're the
ones who hunt her foxes for sport. As a stark contrast to Purdie, Meridith has little in the way of
normal social conventions: Her idea of fun is picking the dirt from underneath her nails. It’s a rocky
start, but the two begin to form a relationship which grows into accidental flirting, blushing, and
awkward romantic tension. Eventually, they strike a deal to help save each-other’s families.

Setting the story within Edwardian Britain adds appeal to the aesthetics of the world. However,
rooting it within an era creates a conflict of Reality vs Artistic Liberty. The major inaccuracy would be
the lesbian-romance subplot with a happy ending. Although it is unrealistic to the era, it is
something modern audiences can get something out of. Nonetheless, I researched into several
aspects of history. Primarily, I researched into the culture, practices and history of debutantes. I also
researched fox hunting, the suffragette movement within Edwardian Britain, and The Secret Service
Bureau.

Due to my own nationality, I will be, consciously or unconsciously, be drawing from my own
perspective. Therefore, regardless of where the story is set, it would inherently be drawing from
British cultures and contexts. Considering the historical setting, there will also be a lot of creative
liberties taken to appeal more to modern audiences. Primarily because our morals and values have
changed drastically.
---Part 2: Creative Influences---

I have an avid interest in mystery/detective/crime media. The most noteworthy of these are: the
Nancy Drew (1998 – present) game series, the Randall and Hopkirk [Deceased] (1969 - 1971) TV
series and The Sinclair's Mysteries book series by Katherine Woodfine. I especially love periodic
stories set between the Victorian age and the 1970s. It is the world-long-gone settings, the
unfamiliar social norms and the curious objects which intrigue me the most. They're not close
enough to be too familiar, not old enough to be completely alien. I wanted this to reflect in my story.

While writing, I studied several film scripts including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
(2016). I thought it read very clearly and vividly: It was the most inspirational. This is what I wanted
in mine. Despite the live-action script, the best medium for my story would be a 2D style. When
designing art pieces for the story, one artist I had in my mind Alessia Trunfio. I’m a fan of her Harry
Potter franchise (1997 - present) fanart, especially her choice of colour pallets. She inspired many of
my colour choices. For example, this illustration here:

The dark green tones in Trunfio’s

illustration are used to represent
the antagonistic nature of Walburga
Black. Within the Harry Potter
universe, green is primarily
attributed to the antagonists.
Especially the wealthy ones. Dark
green is often associated with
money, greed and jealousy. The
only areas not dark green or black in
tone are: the innocent boys who are
wearing white shirts and the golden
glow of the upper staircase. The
staircase is their refuge, their bedrooms. However, the glow ends with the dark green dress of
Walburga as she blocks their path.

Some characters are based, in part, off people I have known in real life. William, is partly based upon
one of my closest friends, Sean. Yet, while William is of the loquacious sort, Sean is very introverted.
Meridith is partly inspired by a girl I knew at school, Katie. She was boisterous, practical and very
active, and as for Purdie, she is partly based upon one of my roommates, Amy. She is outgoing,
friendly and, I think, she wants to be uncaring of other’s opinions, but can self-consciously fall prey
to social norms.
---Part 3: Discussion of Story Concept and Characters / The Creative Matrix---

I considered both Philip

Parker’s Creative Matrix and
Paul Wells’s Animation
Matrix. However, I decided to
focus more on Parker’s as I
believed that it was more
relevant to what I was trying
to accomplish:

It was the characters who

came first. I conflict with the
character relationships and
interactions with the two
main protagonists. I further
developed my characters by
creating a couple of
exercises, the most important
of these was the Internal vs
External Conflict list. I wanted
the story to highlight and deal with their conflicts and issues. This would feed into the 'Theme' and
'Plot' within the Matrix.

With the 'Theme', the main internal struggle of the two main characters is their freedom. Meridith
has the choice of what to do with her own time, the freedom of movement and the freedom to
make her own decisions. However, she lacks money, opportunities and power to do what she would
like in life. On the other hand, Purdie was born into wealthy society. She has privilege and money
and will live comfortably for the rest of her life. However, the society she was born means she lacks
the freedom to choose how she would like to live. Society dictates what she’s allowed to do, not
allowed to do, and how to do it.

As for the 'Plot', I had backtracked from the initial concept. I asked myself a series of questions:
"why", "how" and "who". I then constructed a 12-Point Narrative for it. This fed into the 'Genre',
'Form', and the 'Tone'. The primary genre of the film would be Mystery Romance as a subplot. The
‘Form’ is linear as the story would advance as time passes. However, the tone is greatly affected by
my target audience of 11 - 15. My script displays a tonal whiplash from a comedic tone to
dangerous. I wanted to make the latter emotion more poignant and effective.

---Conclusion = 100 ---

Reflecting on the work I have produced and the brief requirements, I believe I have successfully
completed the task well. Miss Lovell and the Case of the Stolen Parents is a historical story for a
contemporary audience. Along with the core theme of the story (freedom), I wanted to stress the
importance of different relationships and how society can have too much input on what you should
value. I wanted to create a rich and immersive world for these characters, creating a sense of
mystery, the spirit of adventure and with a touch of angst.