Third Day of Filming

Directing Sam and Aayush for the conversation scene

As I had prepared myself for today's shoot by booking out the office for the day, this put my mind at ease knowing that we would not be interfering with any work going on around us. 

I am pleased to say that the third and final day of filming went phenomenally well as I captured all of the footage that I intended on capturing, despite most of the footage will be only featured within the director's cut of the project; it does offer the edit a lot more footage to utilise in regards to character development and story arches. We did however, decide to cut out lines of dialogue from the office confrontation between Aayush and Sam's characters as we felt that the scene can be trimmed down to flow more neatly but with the same emotional charge the script had.

Overall we concluded the shoot on a high note, all of us leaving the set satisfied at all of the great work we had accomplished that day; I am eager to leap into post-production and edit the shots together and compile a rough cut of 'A Lost Soul' which I will then identify all the various qualities the footage I shot has and begin to further construct my vision.

Soundtrack Finalised!

I have purchased a royalty free soundtrack for my project and will be used for the score within my short film. This soundtrack has the exact tone I want for my project as it creates a chilling sensation as you feel the need to anticipate the suspense.

I look forward to mixing the track along side with my later edits of  the footage and achieving the emotional tension I desire within the soundtrack of the film.

Second Day of Filming

Within the second day of filming for my project, I continued from where I left off on the previous shoot. This was to ensure that myself and the actor can keep an awareness of what is needed within the scene and the character. 

Overall, the day was a complete success as we wrapped all of the basement sequence. I did encounter a few difficulties during today's shoot as we did not have the correct prop documents within the briefcase; I had to substitute a few shots that involved revealing the working documents and change them so that they don't show the content, instead just imply what it is through dialogue. I did reach a compromise and settle on the alternative shots that still achieved the emotional intention that I wanted.   

Collaborating through the actors first line of dialogue  

Another creative decision that was made during today's shoot was to substitute the confetti sequence where Aayush's character would toss a pile of paper into the air, this decision was made to focus our efforts on his performance and to deliver the story to the best of our about without visual stimulus. I will re-visit the confetti sequence during the reshoots; overall the second of filming went well and I have wrapped up on the basement sequences, looking forward to shooting the office scenes and completing principle photography on 'A Lost Soul'. 

First Day of Filming

Behind the scenes on "A Lost Soul"

Today I began filming for my short film, within today's shoot we filmed the first half of the basement sequence in the film. The first half of sequence has no dialogue which means that the actor must act solely on his body language and facial expressions. 

The first day of filming was a success as I was captured all that I planned to shoot on time; it was very exciting to see my vision finally coming to life which actor 'Aayush Joshi' executed his role brilliantly so far, adding more humanity to the character as his expresses the character's pain and suffering. During the shoot we did however encounter some technical difficulties as the extension lead malfunctioned, meaning that we have to utilise the limited 2 sockets we had access to on location. These sockets where placed in the oddest places but we had to make do with what we had as the lead running from our equipment was short as well. I ultimately decided to light the set by facing the light against a wall and relying heavily on the white walls to bounce the light to the shot in order to then diffuse the light extra equipment to achieve the look I wanted. 

Another technical fault that surfaced was with my dolly slider, this was meant to be used for the establishing shot. This shot is a rotating pull-back shot, the rigging broke and I had to find an alternative method to achieve my shot. At the end I decided to shoot the establishing shot with a go-pro at a wide frame in 2.7k; the rotating pull-back effect will be digitally inserted within post-production. 

Crew discussing the next shot

First Still of Aayush Joshi as 'Max O'Connor'

Overall, production has begun smoothly on "A Lost Soul" with two more days of shooting left to complete, this has been a great start and currently on track to wrapping up the main unit of principle photography until re-shoots take place in the coming months.

Production Booklet

This is a folder that I will have on me during the shoot of my project, it will contain important documents regarding productions on set. These various documents will be all to help minimise complications during shoots and keep me focus and organised in order to get what I want and how I envisioned it. 

Having these various documents on me at all times will aid my thought process and set as well as reminding myself as to what I need to capture for my footage.

Documents:

• Equipment list
• Prop List
• Script
• Storyboard

Props (Documents) - DELAYED!

Within the script, there is a briefcase that contains various pieces of documents regarding the business Max works for as well as a range of personal information regarding numerous of his staff members. I am currently in the process of assembling images and editing them, however I am set to begin shooting in less than a week and will not be able to have the props ready for the shoot. 

I have decided to shoot the sequences that require the props with reference documents and work around with the actor to get reaction shots. Later on in the production when the props are completed, we'll reshoot those sequences with the props included.

"Spider-Man 2" Review (Analysed)

In regards to the design and layout of my film review, this magazine review for "Spider-Man 2" is to some extent what I want for my own magazine review do appear like. 

The design and placement I found in this review to be very effective as it appears to be well organised whilst utilising those visual elements I depiction within the foundations of my analysis within film reviews. As this review utilises the various fonts and colours to distinguish the range of information the review is presenting such as highlighting the tile, age rating and the final verdict by emphasising it through bold and black fonts.

Another aspect of this review I am fond of is the placement of the prime image as it not only has given me ideas as to what type of still image from my media product to use as this will set the reader's overall expectation of my product, but the overall placement of the image seems neat and visually appealing.

Ultimately, I found this review to be extremely informative as to how I was to design the layout of my magazine review in order to present my content in an organised and yet engaging manner that readers will find to be of industry standard. 

Coursework - Reflection

As of this moment I am very pleased with the progress made on my coursework, this is due to the development of my short film which most of the planning and pre-production has been completed. Filming for my project will begin within a week. In regards to my research, I have done a lot of analysis as to what is expected within a product of short film. There are still a few loose ends that need to be dealt with. These bits are gears towards the a few more textual analysis of short films and reviews. 

"Pirates of the Caribbean" Review (Analysed)

This is an empire magazine review for "Pirates of the Caribbean" and I found this to be a informative piece of text as I gather research on film reviews. This I found to be insightful as it develops on my pre-existing research from the "Contagion" film review.

Within this review, I found that the ways in which the graphic designers have utilised the various visual points such as fonts and images as I found it to be too messy within this example; ultimately making it seem to overcrowded and unprofessional. 

They all allow the readers to be informed on various aspects of the film, guiding their attention towards quotes and images. However there is so much to be seen and the vast amounts of font sizes makes the review in it's entirety seem visually unappealing.

Ultimately I found this review to have influenced how I should approach organising and laying out my film review as despite these visual elements being a great tool to influence readers to be engaged to my review; it also can have negative implications if it is not handled correctly and will lead to potentially loosing readers.

"Jurassic World" Review (Analysed)

Link to the "Jurassic World" review

Todd McCarthy has produced a review on the hollywood reporter for the summer blockbuster "Jurassic World" that goes into extensive details regarding the history of the product as well as the different areas contributed by the cast and crew.

The review commences with a lengthy paragraph discussing the hellish history that this project faced for years being in development as the studio attempted with two sequels following the cinematic acclaim that was the 1993 picture by the legendary 'Steven Speilberg'. However they have been unsuccessful to recreate that scene of wonder; I found this to be a great way to build the reader's expectations towards the critic's thoughts and opinions of the film as he indulges them with a history of the long process the creative team behind the media product has went through in order to deliver this to the public; a creative technique to provide the readers with a some what appreciation for the hard work that has gone into the project, regardless of the outcome of the quality of "Jurassic World".

As the review continues and delves into the criticism of the overall product, Todd McCarthy addressed what he enjoyed and appreciated what the film-maker and the screen-writer of the film by emphasising on their ambitions to disregard any other Jurassic Park sequel that existed other than the 1993 instalment. Continuing on to talk about the film's plot and bringing up the various character as well as the actors and actresses who play them; leading onto his thoughts on their executions and performances.

Todd McCarthy's review of "Jurassic World" was very well written as he builds his thoughts on particular elements regarding the construction and execution of the film, leading into other areas and allowing his writing to flow smoothly and keeping the readers informed, entertained and engaged. This is something I hope to be able to replicate within the writing of my own review.

"Guardians of the Galaxy" Review (Analysed)

Link to the "Guardians of the Galaxy" review

Robbie Collin has written a simple but effective review for Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy", he begins his review by delving into the franchise 'Marvel Studios' has created with their cinematic universe and explaining how "Guardians of the Galaxy" fits within their established brand. This was a useful technique to provide the readers with an insight as to how this media product found it's purpose and intentions to be created as well as explaining the overall premise behind the story and the type of world audiences can expect to see.

Once critic Robbie Collin has established what the film is to the readers, he then delves deep into the execution of the product by analysing the film-makers style and writing in comparison to the other film-makers and films within the same franchise; comparing the ways in which they're similar and addressing areas in which director 'James Gunn' has succeeded in terms of constucting an entertaining narrative with engaging character as well as a sense of escapism and humour. 

This review was effective as it was straight to the point and addressed elements that the general reader could understand in regards to film-making whilst providing them with a background to pre-existing media products that can justify the film's purpose.

Ultimately, the way Robbie Collin was constructed this review has provided me with this notion to wonder what exactly should I include within my own review as I should figure out whether or not I should present information that the general public can understand.

Cast & Crew - Interview Question

During production for my short film, the cast as well as myself (the director) will be asked questions regarding the project through an interview styled format. The intension behind this decision is to express and share the thoughts and opinions of the cast and crew on the various creative choices being made within the product.

Questions for the cast

• What is it about the story that grasped your attention?

• What qualities about your character do you find interesting?

• What do you hope to bring to the character? 

• In what ways does a project of this genre in particular, challenge its codes and conventions?

• How will audiences be engaged with the film?

• What do you hope to achieve with this film?

Questions for the writer/director

• What inspired you to do this project?

• In what ways does a project of this genre in particular, challenge its codes and conventions?

• How will audiences be engaged with the film?

• What do you hope to achieve with this film?

This will ultimately help re-enforce all that has been discussed throughout the stages of pre-production regarding the overall intention of the project. All justified by the cast and crew of the short film, providing viewers with a further insight as to how and why I have chosen to approach the project with a particular vision.

"Contagion" Review (Analysed)

Within this analysis, I won't necessarily be analysing the review itself but focusing on the ways in which this review has been laid out with the magazine; this will inform my research into film reviews as my own will be design to be featured within a film magazine.

Within this review of "Contagion" featured within the 'Empire' magazine; this first initial element that will catch the reader's attention is the large image placed within the top half of the double spread. This implies that it is designed to be seen as it states exactly what the media producers what readers to know regarding "Contagion" in order to potentially lure there attention towards the review. The image is that of quarantine zone, implying elements as to what readers can infer from the story.

As for the rest of the layout, the graphics designer has incorporated other visual content to help readers grasp the initial content of the review through the inclusion of star ratings and clever puns "Flu-ray" all utilised to feed the readers with as much visual information as possible. In regards to visual content, the manipulation and differentiation in fonts help highlight key point as well as quotes to the reader; acting as a form of guide as to where to reader particular type of information regarding the film.

Overall, the analysis of the ways in which this review has been laid out within the magazine has ultimately informed my knowledge as to ways in which I can guide my readers as to what I want them to look at through visual points such as: colours, fonts and images to sway their attention to where I want it.    

'A Lost Soul' Cinematography and 35mm Film

For my short film, I have some ideas as to how I plan to shoot my project and present in through cinematography. My main desire is to have the film look gritty, something that is well presented in 35mm film. Despite the fact that shooting my media product in 35mm film is out of the question due to the cost and specialised workforce needed to capture and process the footage; my film will be shot in digital at 24fps. However I intend on emulating the 35mm look by adding grain elements within my footage by adjusting the iso to deliver grain within my footage ever so slightly without it tarnishing my footage but instead acting as a visual asset. 

David Fincher's "Seven" shot in 35mm Film

Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" shot in 35/70mm Film

Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" shot in 35mm Film

David Ayer's "Fury" shot in 35mm Film

These are examples of media products that have been produced in 35mm film, the film-makers have used it as either a visual convention for their genre but in some cases as a stylistic preference. The aesthetic 35mm film provides can be used to add grit to the visuals due to the organic quality the picture provides. This is something I want to simulate within my project.

Production Budget

For the budget of my short film, it will be spent primarily on equipment due to most of the props and other pieces of equipment I already have access to from previous projects. However the budget will be spent on a list of equipment as they'll be most relevant for shooting within the basement; enabling me to capture my vision as well as making the creative process easier through back up files and addition recording options.

Set Budget = £350
Emergency Funds = £100 (For Re-shoots)

List of equipment

• New Microphone = £75 BOUGHT

• Mic Pole = £29.99 BOUGHT

• Lighting Gear = £45 BOUGHT

• Light Reflectors = £7.45 BOUGHT

• External Hard Drive (Footage Back up) = £ 45 BOUGHT

• Stabiliser = £17.15 BOUGHT

• Dolly slider = £50 BOUGHT

Total = £269.59 

"Steve Jobs" Review (Analysed)

Link to the "Steve Jobs" Review

For this review on the website "screen rant" of Danny Boyle's biographical film "Steve Jobs", writer Ben Kendrick has contracted a review that follows a conventional structure as seen before in other reviews I have analysed.

This review begins establishing the reader with an insight as to what the film is about. This introduction also teases the readers to what the writer Ben Kendrick thought of the film. 

Throughout the review, Ben discusses the basic plot of the film whilst addressing elements of the film such as the actors or actresses when their characters are brought to the review; elaborating on their roles within the narrative and discussing the effective of their performances.

Ben Kendrick then goes on to discuss the overall structure and execution of the film regarding the direction and writing; as to how both director "Danny Boyle" and screen writer "Aaron Sorkin" have collaborated to bring their vision of Apple CEO 'Steve Jobs' to life.

This review ultimately helps enforce this convention of structure of  creating a film review as this form of recreating and telling a story as it has a beginning, middle and an end. This is something that will inform the structure of my own film review.  

Planned 'Director's Cut' for my short film

I have decided to extend the script for my short film by including additional scenes and extended sequences, allowing the story and it's characters to be further developed in order to provide the audience more information as to the diegesis of the product; all will in fact be included within the director's cut of my short film.

The pre-production for the short-film will revolve round the theatrical cut of the project and in regards to shooting, prime focus will be to gather footage scenes for the theatrical cut then following complete shoot on the theatrical cut; shooting will begin on the additional scenes. 

Ultimately priority will be given to the theatrical cut of the project in order to ensure that I deliver the product to the best of my ability; after completing the prime cut, then all of my undivided attention will be focused on assembling the director's cut of my short film.

Dogme 95 Film Style - Research

Dogme 95 is a film making style what was created by Dutch film-makers; Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Kristian Levring and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen in 1995. The sole purpose behind this style of film making is to preserve a raw form of producing visual stories, in order to produce a film of this style the directors had to follow 10 rules:

• Filming must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in.

• Music must not be used unless it occurs within the scene being filmed.

• The camera must be hand-held; filming must take place where the action takes place. 

• The film must be in colour. No special lighting. 

• Optical work and filters are forbidden. 

• No superficial action (No murders, weapons, etc.)

• No temporal or geographical alienation.

• No genre movies.

• The aspect ratio must be 4:3, not widescreen. 

• The director must not be credited. 

 This is a documentary that discusses the impact of digital cinema, particularly how it has affected the evolution of film-making and cinematography; challenging the way directors of mediums such as films engage with their audience. at (16:07) the documentary has a segment on 'Dogme 95' discussing how this style impacted the industry but also specifically how cinematographer "Anthony Dod Mantle" incorporated the style within the film "The Celebration".The segment elaborates on Mantle's reasons to why he wanted to shoot in this style, what creative freedoms did it offer him and how did it benefit the product.

This style of film making initially had my curiosity as it gave the story an organic feel to the project as it consisted primarily on in camera techniques and minimal equipment, causing the entire product to be driven by the performance from the actors. This would be an interesting factor to bring more emphasis towards the relevance of the characters within my short film. However there ultimately was too many technical implications that I encountered with this style that I felt would add more complications to achieving my vision as well as an overall visual preference and style. This is all due to the need to manipulate particular shots within post-production in order to connote a certainly meaning or emotion; most importantly I'd like to present my short-film in an anamorphic aspect ratio in order to provide it a far more professional and cinematic look.  

Animatic

This animatic for my project 'A Lost Soul' includes sample audio from both myself and my friend Aayush who demonstrate small segments of dialogue between the two characters within the film. The purpose behind this is to test pacing; in addition to the dialogue, I've included sample tracks in order for myself and other viewers to understand what emotions are being portrayed within a being sequence.

What I learned from my animatic is that the overall pacing for my short film is fine, however there are some issues regarding the transitions between a few shots. What I then realised is that within those transitions, particularly with the sequence surrounding the briefcase; I must simply take a master shot instead of taking the scene from multiple angles.  

Overall I have found the animatic very insightful as I have learnt what works and doesn't work in my project, now I can progress to the filming stage knowing what I must do to execute a more cohesive story. 

"Chappie" Review (Analysed)

"Chappie" Review Link here.


Chris Hewitt wrote a review on Neil Blomkamp's "Chappie" for Empire,  this was in fact a well rounded review that addressed all of the relevant areas of criticism a film review must address.

This review bares a well written structure that opens the reader with an insight towards "Chappie" and the film-maker within the opening phrase whilst following it within an introduction teasing his thoughts of the media product. Through his negative implications of the director third failed attempt to rekindle his talent; readers learn immediately that the product is a disappointment. 

The review does incorporate any images from the product, but instead within the different paragraphs decides to elaborate on his opinion of "Chappie" by depicting issues with the narrative and the film's overall message and ideas as it fails to follow the continue with the political statement seen within the film's opening. Chris Hewitt then elaborates on this further by discussing on how the film-maker failed to even go through with his own style seen in his other media products.

Throughout the rest of the review, Chris Hewitt goes on to discuss the other areas within the film such as; style, performance and concepts with the same structure within his review. Culminating for a well justified review that provides the reader with all of the essential elements regarding "Chappie" and the criticisms that follow it. 

This has informed my research in regards to what needs to be addressed within my own film review as I recognise all of the different areas that need to be addressed regarding: direction, characters, style, editing and performance. However the most important element is the structure of the writing, I must ensure that I follows the same principle as if it were a story; it has a beginning that teases what is to be expected, the middle and an ending that concludes all of my thoughts with justification.

Poster Analysis (Summary)

From the ten posters I have analysed, I have examined the ways in which these different media products have promoted and teased their stories within their posters through selective images and texts in order to imply various themes, ideas as well as characters audiences can expect to see from those media products.

The knowledge and understanding I have gathered from the analysis of these ten posters will inform my creativity when designing the layout and design of my own poster for my media product in regards to how I place the images within the poster, as well as for what images and text to include so that the audience can infer the story behind my media product. An example of I a poster that I have found inspiration within my research was the poster for "Ruby Sparks" in regards to the way the poster utilises selective uses of words in order to convey a particular notion regarding the film's characters and story whilst hinting at audiences expectations for a film of it's genre through the justification of the images the poster presents. Every aspect within my poster should provide a particular duty regarding aiding the promotion of my media product by teasing it's characters and story, justified through the research and analysis I have done on the posters on ten real media products.

"Gone Girl" Review (Analysed)

"Gone Girl" Review Here.

Justin Chang has written a review for "Gone Girl" that features in "Variety". This review was very thorough regarding his criticism over the various elements of the film; addressing all that the reader should be informed through its well structured review. 

Throughout this review, there is a clear structure in regards to the way the Justin Chang has broken down his criticism of "Gone Girl" as he opens with a brief statement discussing the film's overall premise; following with an introduction to his review as he established his basic thoughts on the film.

With his review, Justin Chang utilises different fonts in order to visually distinguish the difference between the information behind the cast and crew; followed by a entirely font for the review itself. This allows for a significantly far more presentable review as readers can recognise and then categorise the different content to read.

As for the review itself, it was very explicit regarding the way Justin Chang has allocated separate paragraphs to address a particular area of the film. Within the review, he addresses areas such as: David Fincher's direction, film's editing, performances and the dynamics within particular scenes.

On the most interesting aspects of this review is how Justin Chang as integrated the other media products the film-makers has previously made; comparing what elements the film-maker has continued to infuse within this media product.

Overall this film review has informed me regarding my knowledge and understanding of film reviews, as I should include the past media products that the cast and crew have previous produced. This should be included within my own film review in order to provide reader with an insight to the film-makers involved but also to compare the film-maker against their existing work in order to identify areas they flourished or failed.

Nightcrawler - Poster (Analysed)

The poster for "Nightcrawler" does an interesting job at teasing the viewers what to expect from the story,style and narrative within this media product.

From this poster, viewers can infer that this film will in fact have a dark tone as this is enforced through the poster's use of lighting and colouring; presented an ominous tone as the poster shows  nightlife throughout the streets in the background in addition to the excessive use of lights to emphasis the lack of visual clarity in the night and implying this dark and mysterious nature of what goes on out on the streets in the night.

As well as learning the tone of the film, viewers can also learn about the story's lead character; the man seen in the foreground "Jake Gyllenhaal" as credited on the poster. From character's body language, viewers can infer a great deal about him; from the way he stands with his arms hanging by his side as well as the blank expressions on his face, this tells the viewers that the is something off about this character, a darkness in side him he cannot express but is lurking inside him.

Another way in which the poster teases the world audiences can expect to see within this film is through the tagline on the poster. "The city shines brightest at night" by using an oxymoron, implying that the night allows you to see the city and it's people in their true form.

Film Review (Research & Analysis)

As apart of my coursework, one of the ancillary tasks is to create a film review that will feature within a magazine. For my research, I have gathered a few film reviews from the collection of 'Empire' magazines I have.

From these samples, I will analyse the way in which the editors have decided to layout the various forms of content within the page. All have presented an engaging review that is easy to understand in addition to presenting a professional piece of media that has the sole intention of reflecting a review on a given media product; providing it's reader with necessary information regarding the product, the filmmakers and the overall execution.

From these samples, I have learnt that they all incorporate images related from the media product; either but its self enlarged or included along side with the review itself. This is a clever way of keeping the readers engaged with the written content as they can infer information from the review with actual images associated with the film. 

As for my understanding of film reviews in magazines based on these samples, I believe that my ancillary task will incorporate a similar layout seen in 'Empire' magazine; as they have shown how to visually draw and focus their reader's attention towards content within the page through images and typography.  

Oblivion - Poster (Analysed)

From this poster for "Oblivion" views can learn a lot about the product due to the images included within the poster.

With the poster, the marketing team has teased at the type of story audiences can expect; by including visual signs such as the spacecraft hinting at a science fiction tale that takes place in some dystopian future which viewers can infer from the iconography of the empire state building in the background. How audiences can infer that this film takes place in a dystopian future is that the state of the landscape looks to be eroded, turning buildings into waterfalls. The poster also teases at the story's protagonist seen in the foreground played by Tom Cruise as enforced by his name placed in large fonts above the title, not much detail can be learn on their role to the story; however due to his placement in the foreground of the poster emphasises on his importance but as well as the scope of his story as he looks up at the waterfall infant of him.

Another way in which this connotes the story is by referencing other products the film-makers have created; "Tron Legacy" and "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" are media products that consist of dark science fiction stories which not only emphasis the style and tone audiences can expect to see from "Oblivion" but also the visual nature of this product baring similarities to.

Prop List

List of props

• Fake Blood 
• Portable radio
• A sandwich on a plate
• fake bugs (cockroaches)
• A brief case
• documents on the office staff

These are the various props that will be required for production and will appear within in project

Whiplash - Poster (Analysed)

The poster for "Whiplash" another example of a poster that is able to promote it's product and provide the viewers with enough information regarding the story and the characters. This is all done through interesting uses of minimal images and texts being presented on the image. 

From this poster, audiences can learn that the film's story centres around a young musician as he can be seen within the poster holding drum sticks. The idea a drumming is emphasised through the inclusion of another drumstick seen within the poster; its shear size on the poster connotes not only how much the story revolves around drumming but also how much of the lead character's is consumed by it.

The placement of the subject within the poster, standing by the edge of the large drumstick; infers the inescapable notion that the character is being push beyond his own will and desire for the love of his music. It can also imply the great risks the character may face throughout the story. This concept is enforced through the poster's tagline "The road to greatness can take you to the edge"; this tagline is visually embodied through the images on the poster.

Storyboard

3rd Script Draft (Alterations made)

Script 3rd Draft

CUT TO.

INT. BASEMENT - BED AREA - TIME OF DAY IS UNKNOWN.

The scene is introduced with the inclusion of a 'bass sound effect' to provide a sudden shock and awe to the introduction to this new location.

ROTATING PULL BACK SHOT: THE SHOT STARTS WITH AN UPSIDE DOWN (CU),WITH THE CAMERA FACING THE RIGHT SIDE OF A YOUNG MAN'S FACE; HE WAKES UP SUDDENLY AS HE GASPS FOR AIR. THE SHOT CONTINUES AS IT PULLS BACK WHILST ROTATING TO AN UPRIGHT POSITION; ENDING WITH A MEDIUM SHOT OF THE YOUNG MAN IN AN UP RIGHT POSTURE, SITTING ON THE DIRTY FLOOR OF A DARKLY LIT BASEMENT.

The man has awoken to a dark and gloomy basement in a place he doesn't know.

His ears begin to ring.

MEDIUM CLOSE UP: CAMERA IS FACING THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE MAN.

He covers his ears with his hands at an attempt to block out the ringing.But the ringing continues, he feels something dripping out from his ears. The young man removes his hands away from his ear, dragging his hands across his cheeks and smearing a trail of thick red blood across his face.

CUT-IN: (CU) OF HIS HANDS

He places his hands in front of him so he can see what is coming from his ears; only to find out that it is blood.

CUT-IN: (CU) OF HIS EYES IN SHOCK

He responds in a shock.

Shortly after, the ringing begins to fade and his hearing comes back; he closes his eyes as a sign of temporary relief.

All of the sudden, a chilling song can be heard which immediately causes the young man to react with deep shock.

WHIP PAN: SHOT COMMENCES WITH THE CAMERA LOOKING AT THE YOUNG MAN AS HE SITS BY THE WALL AND THEN WHIPS TO A SHOT PUSHING IN ON ANOTHER STEREO.

The young man is filled with rage and leaps up for floor and paces towards this stereo.

The chilling song continues to play through the stereo; the young man grabs the stereo and throws it towards the ground causing the device to shatter across the floor.

CUT-IN: A (MCU) SLOW-MOTION SHOT AT 60-120FPS OF THE STEREO SHATTERING ACROSS THE FLOOR.

After he has let out his anger on the stereo, the man stands by his mess created by the floor and breathes in heavily.

'KNOCK,KNOCK,KNOCK!'

A loud knocking against a door can be heard, startling the young man.

PUSH IN: (MU) CAMERA IS PLACED BEHIND THE YOUNG MAN AS HE LOOKS OVER HIS SHOULDER TOWARDS THE DIRECTION OF WHERE THE KNOCKING IS COMING FROM.

The young man makes his way towards the origin of the sound, exploring the rest of the basement.

CUT TO.

INT. BASEMENT - STAIRS - TIME OF DAY IS UNKNOWN.

He comes across a set of stairs that lead up to a door.

The young man slowly makes his way to the top of the stairs,only to find a sandwich by the door resting on a plate with a card that reads "Enjoy the sandwich! :)"

He has an urge to truly be sure if the door in front of him is locked; he reaches out to the door and turns the handle but with no surprise, it is locked.

He then looks down to the sandwich.

He picks up the sandwich and gobbles it up.

After taking a bite or two, he stops to munch at the sandwich as he finds that the sandwich has quite a vile taste.

Scattering noises can be heard coming from the sandwich.

The young man looks down at the sandwich to see what is in between the bread.

PULL BACK SHOT: SHOT BEGINS WITH A CLOSE UP OF THE YOUNG MAN'S FACE, THE CAMERA QUICKLY PULLING BACK TO SHOW THE SANDWICH IN HIS HAND.

CUT-IN:(ECU) SHOWING INSECTS MOVING AROUND BETWEEN THE BREAD.

MEDIUM SHOT:HE DROPS THE SANDWICH IN UTTER SHOCK AND DISGUSTING.

EXTREME CLOSE UP:OF THE SANDWICH HITTING THE GROUND.

The young man stumbles down the stair cast to a wall and vomits as a result of consuming a sandwich filled with insects.

A phone begins to ring.

Frightened as to where it may be coming from; he looks around thinking someone else is with him. He then feels a phone vibrating in his pocket, he picks it out from his pocket and looks at the caller ID titled "Lucifer".

He answers the call.

The caller speaks with a deep and muffled voice.

CALLER

Did you enjoy the sandwich Max?

Max ignores the caller's question only to ask a question of his own.

 MAX

(He asks with aggression)

Who the fuck is this?

CALLER

(responds in a solemn tone)

An entity fighting for truth and justice .

 MAX

listen here you prick, I'm done with your little games! now...

Max is interrupted.

CALLER

But I'm not done with you.

(brief pause)

What you don't realise Max is that you must be punished for your crimes against humanity.

    (pause)

Whether you like it or not, you are here for a reason. And in time... you'll find out why.

Max appears to flushed with rage.

CALLER

Now Max, go and open up the briefcase I've left behind for you.

Max is lost at the sudden knowledge of a briefcase.

 MAX

     What briefcase?

CALLER

look between the obvious and the impossible, only then you'll be able to see the truth. 

Max listens and follows the command given by the caller , he walks to where he woke up.

CUT TO.

INT. BASEMENT - BED AREA - TIME OF DAY IS UNKNOWN.

As Max reaches the door frame into the area which he awoke; he suddenly freezes and lowers the phone down till his hand is by his side.

Max mutters a brief sentence that reflects his shear shock and disbelief.

 MAX

      Jesus Christ!

PUSH-PULL SHOT: REVEALING THE BRIEFCASE LYING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM.

Max brings the phone back up to his ear with the expressions of disbelief radiating from his face as his eyes lay wide open as he glares at the briefcase.

 MAX

    How are you doing this?

CALLER

I have a helping hand...

Max laughs.

MAX

(He boasts with confidence)

By that, you mean there's a secret door.

CALLER

(responses with emphasis)

By that, I mean I've got someone down there with you...

Max's boastful nerve shrivels and grows into pure fear for the unknown presents of someone living amongst.

MAX

       bullshit!

The caller responds with complete disregard for whether Max believes it or not.

CALLER

If you really don't believe me, then why don't I call my helper out from the shadows. And see for yourself.

MAX

No! I just want to get out of here.

CALLER

Then open the briefcase.

MEDIUM SHOT: SHOWING THE BRIEF CASE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE FRAME; MAX KNEELS DOWN INTO THE FRAME ON THE LEFT SIDE.

Max places the phone on the floor and activates the speaker mode.

Max grabs the briefcase and unlocks it.

He lays the opened briefcase back down onto the floor and notices that there is nothing but documents inside. Max examines the content in order to see the information held within them.

All of the documents contain surveillance documents on various people.

Max is seen swiping through the piles of documents but is unable to see the relevance of these documents.

MAX

Why am I looking at pictures of people I work with? 

CALLER

Your ticket out of this place, rests on you finding out the connection between you and these people. Only then will you understand why you were condemned here in the first place.

Max stands up as he hold the records in his hands.

Max walks around the room in circles as he continues to glare at the student records; dropping them one after another and unable to find a link.

MAX

(he shouts with frustration)

Fuck!

Out of frustration, Max tosses the pile of records in the open air around him; floating down swiftly surround Max as it were the first sight of snowfall.

CUT-IN: A MEDIUM SHOT IN SLOW-MOTION SHOT OF THE PAPER FALLING AROUND MAX. A CLOSE UP IN SLOW-MOTION SHOWING MAX'S FRUSTRATION AS HIS HAND ARE PLACED BY THE BACK OF HIS HEAD, DIGGING HIS FINGERS IN HIS HAIR WHILST THE PAPER CONTINUES TO FALL AROUND HIM.

Max's attention gets caught on a particular record.

PUSH-IN: ON ONE INDIVIDUAL RECORD LYING AMONGST OTHERS AROUND IT.

Max picks this specific record that caught his attention.

 MAX

(he speaks with certainty)

     I know this guy.

CUT-IN: (ECU) CAMERA SHOWING THE PERSON'S NAME ON THE RECORD "KEVIN MCDONALD".

 MAX

      Kevin McDonald

CALLER

And what did you know about him?

 MAX

(he responds with sympathy)

Nothing, just his name and I worked with him.

CUT TO.

INT. MEDIA OFFICE - MIDDAY

A Caucasian boy is seen facing a computer watching an anime cartoon, listening to the audio through his head phones.

DOLLY SHOT: CAMERA PUSHES IN ON THE BOY AS HIS BACK FACES THE CAMERA.

Max walks in to the frame and begins to insult Kevin by mocking his obsession with anime.

Max's dialogue begins to fade out, and the sound of an ear ringing gradually fades in. Signifying the pain Max's words are in fact hurting Kevin.

CUT TO.

INT. BASEMENT - BED AREA - TIME OF DAY IS UNKNOWN.

Max realises the reason as to why he is here.

 MAX

Holy shit.

CALLER

Don't think for one minute that an apology will fix anything!

Max laughs.

 MAX

You think I'm going to aplogise for this? No Kevin, it's not my fault a pathetic piece of shit you couldn't take a joke. And you think by kidnapping me is gunna fix it. 

CALLER

I'm not pathetic and I'm not Kevin!

Max is in disbelief.

CALLER

Kevin killed himself 2 days ago.

Max is paralyzed with shock.

CALLER

His parents found him dead in his bed with a packet of rat poison in his hand. Kevin left them a suicide note that simply read "I can't take it anymore"

 MAX

I can't believe this is happening.

CALLER

Believe it Max! So don't start apologising to me, you think Kevin's life is the only one you ruined.

  (brief pause)

What about Kevin's parents? their only child is gone. His best friends; Andy,Micheal and Steven.

CUT-IN:CLOSE UPS OF THE RECORDS FOR ANDY, MICHEAL AND STEVEN.

CALLER

    What about me Max? 

CUT TO.

INT. MEDIA OFFICE - MIDDAY

CALLER V.O

Everyday I had to listen all the horrible things you said to that poor boy. Day by day I'd pray, hoping that you'd see the wrong in what you were doing; but you never did.

Max's rant at Kevin continues;nothing is heard but through Max's body language expressing his pleasure as he torments Kevin.

PULL BACK SHOT: CAMERA SLOWLY PULLS BACK AWAY FROM MAX AND KEVIN, WIDENING THE FRAME. TILL THE FRAME REVEALS A WOMAN SITTING THERE WATCHING MAX'S ENTIRE TORMENT .

CUT TO.

INT. BASEMENT - BED AREA - TIME OF DAY IS UNKNOWN.

Max is still consumed with unsettling sensation of guilty as he is the sole blame for all their pain and suffering.

CALLER V.O

For a while I blamed myself for what happened to Kevin, you see if I'd just went up to you that day and told you to stop; then maybe he'd see that you're nothing more than a coward.

    (long pause)

But its too late to ask for forgiveness; maybe if you were such a heartless bully,then Kevin would still be here

And now you are going to rot in here for the rest of your pathetic excuse for a life; then you'll know what it feels like to be a lost soul.

PUSH-PULL SHOT: WIDE SHOT OF MAX KNEELING DOWN TO THE FLOOR.

As Max is seen kneeling down in complete sorrow, behind him a ghostly figure emerges from the corner.

DIP TO BLACK.

    THE END.

Summary

Within this draft of the script, the most obvious aspect of the script based on the thoughts of Mr Michie and Miss Piggot regarding the pace of the project; I have made the decision to cut out the character 'Jennifer' in order to cut out any additional story arches in order to focus the story on one character 'Max' whilst allowing the story to flow more easily. The most significant alteration made to the script is that I have written the characters to be in their mid 20s in order to include a working environment into the script and location scouting will begin throughout production.

Ultimately I am very pleased with the current state of the script and will be entering principle photography on the project based on the vision written in this draft. However as production continues, opportunities for re-writes may arise during reshoots and post-production.