Planning - Script - Fourth Draft

FADE IN:

INT. DARK ROOM - NIGHT

A lamp flashes on and reveals a man, SEAN SAUNDERS, slouching in a chair on one side of a table, wearing a hoodie and jeans. The lamp shines directly into his face to reveal bruising and blood coming from his mouth. He slowly opens his eyes. He squints in the light.

DR. BANES

Mr Saunders...

SEAN SAUNDERS lifts his head. He is handcuffed to the chair. At the other end of the table is a second man, DR. BANES, who is leaning back in his chair. His face is partially hidden beneath shadows. He lights a cigarette.

DR. BANES
Is it done, Mr Saunders?

SEAN SAUNDERS

Yeah, it's done.

DR. BANES lifts a cigarette to his mouth. He blows a cloud of smoke before grinning. 

DR. BANES

Your father would be proud.

SEAN SAUNDERS leans forward in his chair sharply. His voice is raised. 

SEAN SAUNDERS

You don't speak about my father. I thought we had a deal.

DR. BANES chuckles gently. He pauses. He pulls out a picture from his blazer pocket and slides it across the table. His silver watch gleams in the light from the lamp.

DR. BANES

I need you to do one more thing.

SEAN SAUNDERS glances at the picture in front of him. He looks up and shakes his head slowly. 

SEAN SAUNDERS

I can't...

DR BANES smiles gently. He mutters under his breath.

DR. BANES

Pity.

DR. BANES reaches over to the lamp. He flicks the switch. The room turns pitch black.

CUT TO:

EXT. GRAVE YARD - NIGHT

DANIEL SEYMOUR'S silhouetted figure walks along a path towards a deserted church yard. He pauses at the entrance and adjusts his watch. He walks through the entrance and into the grave yard, as he does so he glances up at the clock on the church and straightens his tie.

Planning - Shot types - First Scene

Here is the current basic shot list of my film opening for my first scene.

• POV close up on lamp
• Reverse tracking shot of Sean Saunders - beginning with ECU on eyes to a mid shot which reveals the second character in the scene.
• Interspersed in the progression of this shot will be a side shot of the lamp - reflecting the side shot of the shower head in Psycho - and blurred POV shots of the ash tray
• After the second character is revealed there will be a low angled shot of this character lighting a cigarette.
• A reaction shot of Sean Saunders squinting
• POV ECU of cigarette being lit in SLOW MOTION
• Another reaction shot of S.S
• "Is he dead?" - overlapping reaction shot
• Shot reverse shot between two characters during dialougue; low angled shot of Dr. Banes whereas cropped, high angled shot of Sean Saunders.
• Shot of handcuffs
• Occasional ECL of Dr. Banes' mouth whilst smoking.
• Scene will end with ECL of lamp whilst turning off

This is subject to change. I will update my shot list if any changes occur.

Planning - Script - Third Draft

FADE IN: 

INT. DARK ROOM - NIGHT 

A lamp flashes on and reveals a man, SEAN SAUNDERS, slouching in a chair on one side of a table. The lamp shines directly into his face to reveal bruising and blood coming from his mouth. He is handcuffed to the chair. At the other end of the table is a second man, DR. BANES. His face is partially hidden beneath shadows.

DR. BANES

Is he dead? 

SEAN SAUNDERS nods slowly. 

DR. BANES bites off a pen lid from his pen and ticks a sheet of paper. As he removes the lid from his mouth he grins. 

DR. BANES

Your father would be proud.

SEAN SAUNDERS raises his head. His voice is raised. He leans forward in his chair. 

SEAN SAUNDERS

You don't speak to my father like that. I thought we had a deal. 

DR. BANES chuckles gently. He pauses. He pulls out a picture from his blazer pocket and slides it across the table. His silver watch gleams in the light from the lamp. 

DR. BANES

I need you to do one more thing. 

SEAN SAUNDERS glances at the picture. He looks up and shakes his head slowly. DR BANES smiles gently. He mutters under his breath. 

DR. BANES

Pity. 

DR. BANES reaches over to the lamp in the center of the table. He flicks the switch. The room turns pitch black. 

CUT TO: 

EXT. GRAVE YARD - NIGHT

DANIEL SEYMOUR'S silhouetted figure walks along a path towards a deserted church yard. He pauses at the entrance and adjusts his watch. He walks through the entrance and into the grave yard, as he does so he glances up at the clock on the church and straightens his tie. 

This is the third version of my script for my opening 2 minutes of a film. The changes I have made from my second version include: 

• Changing the name of a character to Dr Banes. I did this because I thought the original name was a little cliche and I needed something which was realistic, yet had the same effect. 
• Changing the second scene to only including a single character. I thought this would show the character off more than when a second character is introduced. This is because the character may act differently when alone, and, since he is one of the main characters, I wish to let the audience to know who this character is therefore allowing them into the story. 

Planning - Application of Mise-En-Scene - First Scene

Settings and props:
Within this scene there will be a wooden table in the center of a room with a desk lamp on. There will be two figures sat, one on each side of the table, on chairs facing each other. There will be very little else in terms of props in this scene, as this will connote the blindness of the character as he is unaware of his location. In almost puts the viewer in the point of view of the character. On the table there will be various sheets scattered around. The setting for this scene will be inside my friend's garage, which is exactly what I need, as it is a large, empty space sort of reflecting an interrogation room scenario.

Costume, hair and make up
One of the characters in this scene, Sean Saunders, will be represented as weak and immobile, therefore I need his image to reflect this. I am hoping to get my actor, Mason Button, to wear almost normal, teenager clothes since this will show the audience the context of the film, and that we are dealing with a very much ordinary character, who has had rough experiences in the past. In terms of make up, I wish to have slight cuts on his face, and perhaps something which will show some sort of bruising on his face. This will allow the audience into the film by showing them what may have happened, instead of telling them.
My other character is this scene, Dr Banes, will be wearing black suit with a red tie. This will connote danger, allowing the audience to see into the character. It will also, however, connote passion, which will suggest something else about the character, perhaps something hidden, therefore foreshadowing something which may happen later in the film.

Facial expressions and body language
Sean Saunders will have incredibly dosed facial expressions, which will reflect a recent event which happened, perhaps involving being drugged, again allowing the audience to be able to engage with the film through being shown and not told. Dr Banes on the other hand will have somewhat sterner facial expressions, resembling the stereotypical bad guy in interrogation scenes.
The body language of Sean Saunders will reflect his facial expressions, as he will be slouched on his chair with relaxed shoulders, only showing any signs of movement when he leans forward as stated in my latest version of the script. Dr Banes' body language will also be sort of relaxed as he will be leaning back on his chair whilst smoking on a cigarette. This will let the viewers know that the character is not too serious about his position, and perhaps does this on a regular basis.

Lighting and colour
This is very simple, because I want the lighting for this scene to be incredibly low key, with a single light source in the whole room. This will allow the audience to sympathise with Sean Saunders as they are almost in the same position as him in terms of knowing where they are.

Positioning of characters and objects
The two characters will sit on either side of a table which will sit in the center of the room. Neither of them will move from these seats throughout the duration of the scene. In terms of objects, a single lamp will sit either on the table facing Sean, or behind Dr Banes, unsure at the minute which one would create the best effect.

Planning - Story Types

Here are just some story types which are available to the production industry...

The Romance:

• A character is seen to be emotionally lacking/missing something/someone.
• Something/someone is seen as a potential solution to this problem - the object is desire
• Barriers exist to stop the character reaching a resolution with the obect of desire
• The story is complete when the character is seen to have resolved their emotional problem and unites with the object of desire

An example of a Romance story:

The Unrecognised Virtue

• The character with a virtue becomes part of someone else's world
• The character falls in love with a powerful character in this world
• The character seeks to prove that they are desirable to this powerful character but the power relationship undermines this
• In attempting to solve the problem, the character's virtue is finally seen by the powerful character

This is the story of the prostitute in Pretty Women:

The Fatal Flaw

• The character is seen to have a quality that brings success
• With this success they gain opportunities denied to other characters
• They use opportunities for their own gain
• They recognise the damage they have done to others and set themselves a new challenge
• The quality which brought them success leads to their failure in the face of the new challenge

An example includes Dracula in Dracula, Prine of Darkness

The Quest

• The character is set a task to find someone/something
• The character accepts the challenge
• The character searches for someone/something
• The character finds the someone/something
• The character is rewarded, or not, for their success in the quest

I believe my story relates most closely to 'The Quest'. This is because it involves a man who is being ordered to kill someone, similar to the first bullet point outlined above. This character must "accept" this challenge and succeed in his quest. However, there are difficulties along the way along the way. 



Planning - Character Biography - Sean Saunders

Here is a biography of my film's protagonist: 

Name: Sean Saunders
D.O.B: 13th August 1994
Age: 19
Relationship with family: Mum - died whilst saving him from their burning home when he was 4 years old. Dad - left his family when he was 10 after Sean found out he was a murderer and it was not safe for them to stay in contact any longer. They have not been in contact since. Sean has been in foster care for the last 9 years. Siblings - No known siblings, although his foster family have two daughters.
Phobias/Fears: Afraid of heights and the dark.
Bad Habits: Slouches when he sits

Mason Button: Actor for Sean Saunders

Sean Saunders left school when he was 15, after being kicked out for threatening to kill someone's father. He got a job at the local shop, and worked there for two years. He was fired after being accused of stealing a packet of cigarettes. Sean has never had many friends, but had a pet lizard which he called Sanity which kept him company whilst living in his foster home. He enjoys watching films by himself. He never made an attempt to get a girlfriend after his first love broke his heart when he was 13. He rarely lets anyone into his life.

Planning - Application of Mise-En-Scene - Second Scene

The use of mise-en-scene in my production work is crucial towards its success. This is a post reflecting my thought of the application of mise-en-scene in my work.

Setting and Props:
Within my film opening I will be including two different locations, as reflected in my script. Of the two, the latter will be in a church graveyard. I chose this as a location because I think it would be a good introduction to one of the characters; Daniel Seymour, as, being the detective in my production work, I want to portray his enthusiasm to find the answer to a mystery. In addition I wish to shoot this scene at night which will, since the church is well lit, cast large shadows connoting mystery and reflecting the character's fearlessness as he is almost taking the setting in his stride, unlike perhaps the large proportion of the audience.

This clip shows the location of my second scene

The props in the scene will largely reflect the whole churchyard feel. This will include grave stones, the church and spooky trees; especially as the time of year which I will be shooting this scene will mean the trees will have lost their leaves and will reflect the stereotypical spooky scene.

Costume, hair and make up:
Costumes within this scene will have to be carefully chosen. Daniel Seymour, the detective, will be wearing a long, black coat with a suit underneath. The blackness of the coat will almost blend in with the background, again connoting the mystery and danger of the character. Here is the image which I have in mind for Daniel Seymour:


Daniel Seymour

The actor which I will chose for this character will be selected carefully, since the character should have a smart, cropped hair cut which, again, would contribute to the characterisation of an intelligent, yet slightly hidden, character. I will also have the character wear a red tie, since this would connote danger, but also passion, perhaps hinting something towards his past. These characterisations are all adding up to a complete and complex character, of which is an essential part of my production work.

 

Positioning of characters and objects:

Within this scene the use of the rule of thirds will be applied throughout, so as to capture the feel of the setting by having a gravestone or the church in the corner of the screen, for example. I will also use shots with a lot of black space, because this character has a particularly dark past and this will be displayed through the use of empty darkness.