Story Development

Screenwriting and Story Development explores "brainstorming" and other strategies for story development, basic story structure, character development, and the natural arc of storytelling as it applies to dramatic, comedic, and non-fiction audio and video productions. Students analyze these structures in commercial audio and video productions and put them into practice in developing their own script projects, both short and longer forms, which they then can use in other production courses.

Govans

When asking around, and for myself included, no one knew that the area near Belvedere Square and the Senator Theater had an actual name. The area of Govans is a familiar place for those who live in the surrounding area, although its name is not.

Most notably known for the aforementioned hot spots, Govans is a historical town. While doing research, I learned that the town was occupied by white, Protestant, upper-class citizens who kept the neighborhood in top shape through various plants and greenery, this of course prior to it being integrated. In finding this out, I tried to focus on culture and nature. I wanted to explore the shift in the community, and some elements of continuity.

One particular area I tried to focus on was on the Govans Presbyterian Church. This church has been apart of the Govans community since the late-19th century. I used this as a point of continuity for which everything else would exemplify change. The Church is neatly kept, and not over-bearing in style or structure. It is made of a gray stones, a traditional look. There is one statue that caught my eye entitled, "The Healer". It is of Jesus holding a struggling man. I found this to be an interesting metaphor for the community of Govans, because while the community has gone through various changes, this church has managed to maintain its stance in the community. It has not fallen to trends nor changed locations. Also by the church is a labyrinth, the only garden-like part of the community that I could find. The grass in the labyrinth forms a sort of maze, circles within circles; being both pleasing to the eye and eerie.

Behind the church was the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Senior center. I found this to be peculiar, as the Weinbergs are a big name in the Baltimore community for their various community centers that are generally targeted towards Jews and people of lower-income. The building was basic in structure, made of bricks. Adjacent to this was a cemetery. The cemetery was not large, but also not too small. The various headstones ranged from simplistic to elaborate, one of which was an oversized anchor. There are headstones dating as far back as the early 19th century. I tried to use this also as a reminder of the former community.

In the area are various ethnic establishments, such as Saigon Remembered Restaurant and Taru Hair Braiding. Both of these establishments are apart of strips of businesses. I tried to take pictures of these establishments to be symbolic of the change that the community has faced. Decades ago, when Govans was a white-upper class community, there weren't Asian or African American restaurants or hair salons, as IÕm sure they would not have been welcomed nor been able to cater to the communities interests. In most of the pictures, I tried to incorporate parts of nature, maybe a piece of grass, or a barren tree branch.

Leaving Govans, I walked away noticing ever more the constant struggle between change and the constant. While historical communities like Govans often radically change, with the exception of a few establishments, I found even more reason to appreciate the old and traditional. While change can be good, it's important to remember that keeping and remembering what we begin with allows us to remember how far we have gone.

—Kallie Ejigu

Guilford (Part I)

I used to walk from Loyola's campus down to the edge of Hopkins campus to photograph along the creek. There's a bridge on the edge of Hopkins' campus which has a ton of graffiti surrounding it which is where I photographed. I had never ventured anywhere else except to follow the creek and had no idea such a huge neighborhood was just around the corner. I didn't know what to expect until we went for a walk through Guilford.

This trip through Guilford was mainly about exploration and taking wrong corners to find what lay around them; as well as taking pictures of anything interesting that caught our eye. I have never been through the neighborhood other than to follow the creek and it was a very nice neighborhood. Every house looked rigid and eroded to some degree which said that the community had been there awhile. Only about a half an hour into the trip, I saw the first real houses and thought it'd be a nice quiet place to settle down at a point way later in life. It was so secluded and quiet but nearby the city so it was still considered urban.

Overall, Guilford was a mixture of sorts, really. With every street, we weren't sure of what to expect to see. There were little bits of culture spread throughout (especially on the no parking sign which said "peace, love, infinity".) If I were to summarize my trip through Guilford down to a few words, I'd have to say: "refined", "classy", "classic" (the Mercedes), and "memorable."

—Justin Ulrich

Guilford (Part II)

When I was figuring out another area to shoot, I was told about a place close to Loyola that had a stream and a lot of graffiti. I had no idea what to expect, so I went to this area. To my surprise, I found this area had both very wealthy and not-so-wealthy residents. It took some time to figure out what the area was called, and I generally found that it was Guilford. I explored many areas, and because of this, I found the drastic changes.

The first section I looked at seemed kind of run-down, and a bit older than the areas surrounding it. I found there that even though the neighborhood wasn't the best, pictures could portray it in a way to show that it was still beautiful, even if it wasn't nice. I kept walking and found that the area I was in transformed into a nicer area (I mostly noted this due to the excessive amounts of Mercedes, BMWs, and other nice cars).

Eventually I came to the stream that my friend had talked about, and I found that like the first area, it showed beauty even though it was't the nicest looking of places. You just had to look at it a different way than normally thought. I tried to capture it's beauty by using different angles and far-away shots to show the whole place. At the end I stumbled upon a small area of houses that looked old and dirty, but in pictures they looked amazing.

In general, Guilford and the areas surrounding it surprised me. There was never a defining moment when the neighborhoods changed from not so nice to nicer, but each area had its own beauty.

—Meghan Hole

Mid East