This creative project is assembled in screenplay format, providing the blueprint for a feature film. The research consisted of reading numerous screenplays, breaking down movies scene by scene, and undergoing a rigorous revision process with Thesis Director Professor Greg Bernstein. The logline of Changing Tides is: After discovering a gold-filled shipwreck, five Floridian middle schoolers head out to claim their treasure when they learn that the largest hurricane ever recorded is heading their way.

The medium of film and television has become more prevalent in society than ever before. It pushes the boundaries of what technology can do and what realities mankind can explore. However, with their rapid expansion, the bounds by which society deems this medium as ethical or unethical, simplified as real or fiction, has become a lot hazier, daresay, inconsequential. While some facets of the medium strive and continue to focus on ethical practices (such as documentary work), others base their work loosely on those real experiences (e.g. “Based on a True Story”) or are wholly exaggerated or fabricated. With this in mind, it probes the question: Does research have a place in nonfiction storytelling? This thesis explores this premise, arguing that the more a story is researched and truthful to its subject matter, the better and more entertaining it will become.