The Creation of Stories from Locals to Screenplays: A Case Study of Short Films in “Story from the Hometowns Project”

Abstract

This research aims to examine the use of local data in the "Stories from the Hometowns" creative media project, which transforms local narratives into short films. The study also explores how screenplays are developed from real local data in this project. Utilizing a qualitative research approach, the study is framed by Narrative Theory, Screenwriting Theory, and Intertextuality.

The results revealed that real local data to create a film story found that real data from all 5 local areas were modified to create new meanings in the context of film storytelling, including plots, characters, themes, scenes, and symbols. In addition, real local data were not used in the original way but were modified to be consistent with the storytelling sequence, starting from the beginning of the story (Inciting Moment), the development of events (Rising Action), the crisis (Crisis), the resolution (Falling Action), and the end of the story (Ending), which helped make the story more interesting, but at the same time, it still maintained the identity and meaning of the local data. The findings reveal a 'Cultural-to-Cinematic Transformation' process, which indicates that local data is transformed into a plot driver through the selection and creation of new symbolic meanings. The results of this study provide an important guideline for elevating community narratives to create effective soft power.