Making my story intelligible

So far, I've had all the story components, and I've got it down on paper with the screenplay and the storyboard. However, parts of it are still a little hard to explain, and appear shrowded in a little bit of mystery. Therefore, in this blog, I'm going to elaborate a bit more on developing my worldbuilding, general world lore, and how I'm going to implement these elements in my opening. 

Worldbuilding 🪄

Setting: 

The story takes place in the modern United States, maybe a few years in the future (2030s, 2040s), but nevertheless a fairly grounded current version of the U.S. In this U.S the effects of an aging population and the American population not meeting the demand for jobs has become even more pronounced.

The Child Development Center 

With the aging population problem becoming more severe, an innovative startup CEO sees free real estate for business. He decides to start the Child Development Institute, a for-profit corporation, that creates intensive boarding schools for gifted children from the Global South (low-income countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia). These boarding schools offer free attendance (for which the founder makes himself seem like a selfless innovator alas Bill Gates), however, in return for free tuition, the students parents have to agree to give up a part of the child's future earnings and a certain degree of their autonomy to the institute. Through mise-en scene elements, like dress, and tone of voice, I'll help develop the image of this CEO person as the innovative startup type.

I envision this institute as being a for-profit startup, something like Elizabeth Holmes' Theranos, but instead of faulty if at all working medical equipment dealing in the exportation of foreign children for profit. Though it would position itself a social company, as shown by the framing of its name as having 'child development' being its main focus, in reality it would actually worsen social problems in the Global South. It would help accelerate the Brain Drain already being seen across underdeveloped countries, where the most brightest and educated people, are immigrating to High Income Countries and taking their skills and potential to create economic development with them.

Cartoon visualizing the Brain Drain phenomenom. As skilled workers leave their home countries. A reality especially prevalent among the developing world. 

Children that pass through the institute are put under NDAs, and though its well known that there is a level of abuse and exploitation at the schools, the business community and society at large protects the company as an innovative problem solver that is contributing a net positive to society, while also creating profits for themselves. Within the center, Children are exposed to harsh student conditions, similar to some of the worst in the world, with a mix of the crazy schedules of the Korean education system, and also being at a boarding school where students are given no other outlets of fun but education. A quality education, but at the cost of students' well being. As seen in these incredibly stressful education systems from Singapore to Korea to China, this leads to horrifying effects on students mental and physical health.

A Singaporean student stressed out during Primary School

 

In my opening I'll help develop this stress, through the final shot, where I show the kid in the school, showing all the students dressed formally, in a quiet school environment highly focused in what they are doing. 

environment in a South Korean school that reflects how I want to show the environment