Fiction Adaptation: Introduction

Fiction Adaption is pretty self explanatory, its where something that already exists is remade and adapted to be made modern or in a different way to tell the story in a slightly different way/view.

This unit is going to be based upon us being given a piece of fiction from a list and we would chose one that stands out to us, by this the ideas would start flowing and we would be able to create a short film.

The chose subject, chosen by Helen, is poets of the First World War. We was then given a list of 5 to chose from, these consist of:

Anthem for a Doomed Youth - by Wilfred Owen (1917)

The Death Bed - by Siegfried Sassoon (1916)

The Cenotaph - by Charlotte Mew (1919)

Recalling War - by Robert Graves (1938)

Summer in England,1914 - by Alice Meynnell (1914)

Each poem name has a link to a website with the poem on, plus each writer has a link to tell you a bit about them and there lives.

This project is individual, this means I chose what poem by myself and I have to find actors and camera people etc. to help me create this short film adapted from a poem. I will be the editor and director but should seek help from people in our class for camera, sound etc. or from people I advertise the job to.

This film will be between 3-5 minutes depending on the chosen poem and how I adapt it to how long it will be. I aim to fit as much into the film as possible to I would like to fill nearly the 5 minutes.

Each film has to have the words from the poem in, where spoken by the actor or voice over (v/o) or written on screen, I personally would like the words on screen depending on the story I choose.

Just because this is a war poem we do not need to follow the war theme or even have soldiers in, its my own idea and is meant to be the way I can imagine and see, adapted the way I want people to see the poem, in a different light.

We all need to have the same title as it is going to be part of a series, designed by the class.

We also need to write an essay of 2000-2500 words on a question of our choice, we have been given a choice of 3 questions and should pick one.
This needs to be Harvard referenced properly and handed in on the 12th december.

1. Discuss the view that "with a successful adaptation, the original work is transformed into something new and different, although retaining many tares of what it was formerly" with reference to at least one text adapted for broadcast on television. 
2. To what extent is it true that "Adaptations of classic texts enable contemporary audiences to re-visit the past; as such that can be situated within the broader context of postmodern appropriations of history"? Examine with reference to at least one text adapted for broadcast on television.
3. In adapting a novel the adaptor inevitably infringes the integrity of the original text - discuss with reference to at least one text adapted for broadcast on television.