A Level Project: Script

I started working on a script about a week prior to this post and i am happy to report that the first draft/edition is done. I have separated the script into 5 segments, each focusing on a specific theme and topic. I did this because the short film must be around 5 minutes long and so i found it easier to write in a way where roughly each minute would focus on a specific part of the larger topic of the film. I also separated each segment into two parts. The Visuals which is to help me during editing to envision which of the videos i've shot i should use at any particular moment, even though i still left a bit of wiggle room if anything comes to mind during editing. The second is the Narration which is self evident, it is the part i will be reading when i am recording the audio of my voice. Of course i will make changes to it and i might add to it as well if the recording turns out shorter than expected. The script so far: 

A level media studies short film transcript:

Segment 1. “Introduction”:

Visuals: The camera approaches a tree and on said three there is a sign saying “Bear Danger!” the shot lingers on the sign for a few seconds and than there is a cut to a statue of a bear which the camera circles for a few seconds as the title card is revealed. As the narration begins establishing shots of the romanian countryside play with the mentioned statistics being shown.

Narration: (narration starts after title card) “Romania. A land locked country in eastern europe with a population of 19 million people. However the country is not only home to its human population, but also to a far older species, thousands of bears. Indeed the largest population of brown bears in europe, estimates of the exact size vary however it is always in the thousands and almost always above 5000 with the majority being located in the region known as Transylvania. The brown bear is one of the largest land predators in the world, and with such a high quantity of them in the area certain problems are abound.

Segnet 2. “Bear Attacks”

Visuals: It plays the video of the bear wondering trough the garden (that was provided by my family friends). Also put on screen article headlines about the bear attack at TM Zoo and the one of the 19 year old hiker.

Narration: Romania has been facing the problem of bear attacks years now. Between 2016 and 2021 there have been a staggering 154 bear attacks with 14 death on humans, and this trend has not gone down in recent years. Bear have also gotten inside of human settlements and homes as well as rummaged trough their trash or killed livestock or pets. It has even gotten to the point where a city wide alert has been introduced which sounds on the phone of everyone in said city if a bear is spotted inside the cities borders.

Segment 3. “Reason Behind the Attacks”:

Visuals: At first videos of forests and the romanian countryside is played however later it transitions to footage of bears from the Libearty Sanctuary, Târgu Mureș Zoo and Bear Watching station. Emphasis placed on the bears simply interacting with their environment (like bathing in water, earring fruits, walking around and interacting among themselves peacefully.

Narration: However this hostility like most things in nature has a root cause. As previously mentioned there are thousands of bears in Romania. Each adult bear typically needs 15-60 square miles of space on average to form their natural habitat, with the country also facing a deforestation problem. In 2010 23% of Romania was covered in forests over 6 million square miles of it, as of 2023 this number has been reduced to a mere 17 thousand square miles. And so having had their habitat drastically altered in this way would make it natural for the bear to seek new sources of food among human settlements. This behaviour is surprisingly enough also encouraged by the very people of romania in an unwillful way. As bears and people have shared this country for hundreds of years many have grown accustomed to them and treat bears the same way as they might a stray dog. And leave them food or accidentally desensitise them towards human interaction in different ways.

Segment 4. “Current Solutions”: 

Visuals: At first show Headline of the new and old culling authorization number afterwords cut to an image of the parliament building and transition into silent footage of the Romanian parliament debating an issue.

Narration: With this many grizzly encounters between animal and human one might be correct to assume that the government of romania has taken notice of the incidents. The romanian parliament has for a number of years given out an official authorization to its population for the culling of a specified number of bears should they present problems for the people. As of 2024 this number stands at 481, which is more than double of last years 220. It is also important to note that brown bears are a protected species by both romanian and European Union legal standards. This puts the governments current attempt at a solution into question not only from a moral but a legal standpoint.

Segment 5. “Summery & Possible Future”:

Visuals: Images of more headlines and statistics that support the statements. Play the video of the bear in the swimming pool. Ends with wide shots of the romanian countryside.

Narration: As you have seen the issue of the bear population in romania is vary real. Many solutions have been put forward but have faced many challenges in trying to get implemented. And one might wonder that as this continues and new aspects to the problem continue to present themselves, if a way will finally be found and utilised for humans and their forest dwelling counterparts to peacefully coexist in harmony. So far the future remains uncertain.