Think Like a Scriptwriter
January 23,2026
Instructions:
For this task, we were to work with a partner and develop an idea for a new story that could be pitched to a film or TV company for adaptation. Make sure you consider these questions.
-What is premise of your plot?
- What will be the main themes that your narrative deals with?
-What conflict will the narrative be centered around?
-What character types will you include?
Turn your idea into a pitch and justify the choices and decisions that you have made. Why would this be a good investment for a film or TV company?
My Response: Genre being Mystery with my partner, Scarlett
Premise: Lucas, a dad from Houston spent years building an air ballon from
home when the day he was planning to launch it finally came, October 3,
2009. After setting the ballon into the sky from their very own backyard,
Lucas looks at his family and begins to bond over such an accomplishment.
However, his son, Derick, is nowhere to be seen. He quickly yells out
“Derick!” when his daughter, Nessa, implies she saw him crawl into the
ballon before its launch. His wife, Kim, sprints inside the house in an
attempt to find Derick but is unable to locate him. After a few minutes of
searching and screaming his name, the police are called, and they begin to
chase the ballon in the sky, in cars below, before they start to use helicopters
to attack the saucer down to land. After hours of work and the news story's
already airing, the ballon does come down in a field hundreds of miles away.
But when they ripped open the ballon, Derick was not in it. So, the question
remains where is Derick? Did he fall out? Is he still back home? Was it all a
hoax?
• The main themes of this story are trauma, sudden grief, and the need for
communication amongst the family.
• The narrative will be centered around the conflict of finding his mysteriously
missing son. Moreover, the theories and fake news surrounding the entire
situation. As well as the conflict of him not turning up in the deflated ballon
after all.
• The film will include a basic family of four as well as their town members
also joining in the search. Police on ground and pilots in the air should also
be featured.
Pitch: This film is a guaranteed hit! Events in the film bring a lot of emotion out of
viewers and are extremely intriguing the whole way through. From the mystery of
if the air ballon would take off and stay up for more than three minutes to the
mystery of finding his very own son, Lucas cannot believe this is real life. The
series of events will remain unbiased and in chronological order to make sure no
small detail is missed. When, how and will they ever find Derick? Did someone
know the truth all along?