Fiction Adaptation - Idea Development

For my project I am looking to several avenues.

The first is adapting a chapter from one of my favourite book series Zombie Fallout, I think this would be a good idea to try out as it would be adapting a narrative piece rather than a poem which can be quite obscure to their actual meaning. I am friends with the Author of Facebook and we reguraly converse about his books.






"Hi Mr Tufo, 

I'm currently studying television production at university and we have recently been given the task of adapting a piece of fiction into a 5 minute short film, we have been given some poems but are allowed to find other work as long as we have permission to use it, I was wondering if it would be possible for me to use the first chapter of Zombie Fallout for this purpose? I would not monetize the video or anything of the sort and give full credit to you. I hope that this would be ok, 

Kind Regards Simon Lawrence"

I sent this message to him on Facebook and am currently waiting for a response, whilst I am waiting I will check with a friend of mine who does make up on whether she would be willing to do zombie make up, she was very interested in the project and said she would help.

Whilst this idea is in the works i dont want to put all my eggs in one basket, therefore I will look for a poem to make a video about, after some research I found a poem which sparked my interest and was in the public domain.

If We Must Die - Claude McKay

If we must die—let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursed lot.
If we must die—oh, let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
Oh, Kinsmen!  We must meet the common foe;
Though far outnumbered, let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!
What though before us lies the open grave?
Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

The moment I read this poem I was struck with many ideas ranging from battlegrounds to scenes from films, I had a strong impression of a group of comrades being forced back into a retreat or being over run with enemy forces. Then there would be a rousing speech from their commander and they would go out into a hail of bullets or force back the enemny facing overwhelming odds.

These are the mood boards I created for the poem