REFLECTIVE REPORT ON THE FILM – ‘JUSTIFY’

What if? Clifton our lecturer taught us this smart method and technique of writing the script. Everyone in the class seemed to practice this way of writing the script using this method. Furthermore, we even used this method in everything including on how to choose the film, and on how to select the script as the final one. We asked ourselves, what if we filmed Russell script since it needs only one location. It does not mean that the other scripts were difficult or this one is easy. It simply depends on the method of what if?

The whole idea of coming up with a script which needed to be filmed sounded fun. The task was assigned to all the students pursuing the development and realisation module in the media production course. The students were to form a group among themselves and choose a script to be filmed. Five of us namely Russell, Atul, Nathan, Yasir and me came up with the idea of making a simple film with a strong script. All the scripts were remarkable.  We decided to choose Russell’s script which seemed to be quite interesting and even easier to make. It was decided that Atul would be the director where as the camera man would be Nathan and Yasir who have loads of experience in handling them efficiently. My job was to take care of the sound element. The audio part was completely my responsibility.  We finally started circulating the script among ourselves to get familiarised with what the actual filming is going to be about. A room was booked in the Jaguar centre building for the sole purpose of shooting. Equipments were booked from the media loan shop which included the tripod, sony Z1 camera and Lights. A boom mic was also booked along with headphones which would take care of the sound.

On the day of the shoot, we all arrived on time. The lighting and the room was setup. Everything seemed to run smooth and then struck the first problem. There was a necessity of HDV tape in order to film in high quality. Russell and Yasir went out to look for a tape. In the meanwhile, keeping in mind that time was not to be wasted, Atul started to call the actors one by one and helped them rehearse their lines. There were a total of five actors (one does not appear on screen). Atul was directing and was also a character in the film. As this was going on, I started to check the audio on the Z1; adjusting the noise levels and made sure that unnecessary sound was cut off. Even though the room was not too good in acoustics as it seemed quite empty, it was fine because sound could always be manipulated in the post production if captured well. Nathan bought his own Panasonic HDV P2 camera and it was decided that the filming would be done in that.

 The shoot then commenced. Russell was prompting the actors with the questions from his script. Nathan was filming with the Panasonic capturing footage on a P2 card, mounted on a tripod for a steady shot. Yasir was filming with the Z1 on a Mini DV tape in HDV format. Atul was directing the whole film giving commands here and there. I took care of the sound and made sure that everything was recording fine. It seemed that the mic was a bit sensitive and guess it was an Omni directional mic. It picked up noises from outside the room such as cars moving, sirens and such. The focus was to record the voice of the interviewee (in the film) rather than Russell who was asking the questions. This was because; we could always get Russell later in the post production who would be available for dubbing. But it would be difficult to get hold of the actors again and ask them to record their voice again for synchronising with the video. Moreover, the actors would not be available again for re shoot or sound dubbing due to their work.  So it was ideal to get the voice in a fine format as in a do or die situation. A few shot had to go for several takes because the sound was either too low or there was a disturbance. The headphones were plugged into the Panasonic camera. The Z1 did not record with audio as it was not essential because Yasir concentrated more on capturing close ups and body language of the actors which would be of great use in the editing stage.

The shoot went quite well but consumed a lot of time because there was a small confusion with the versions of the script. But at the end of the day, everything turned out fine as expected. The equipments were packed and returned to Media Loan shop. Now all was left to the editing, which would shape the whole film. Yasir edited the rough draft. Since some footage was recorded on P2 card, it was easy to log and transfer to the Final Cut Pro in the Mac. Whereas the footage from the Z1 which was recorded on tape was captured in real time. The rough cut seemed fine. Another version was edited by Atul which included some effects in it. Russell made another version which included music that seemed apt for the whole theme of the script. The final output was then screened and it seemed satisfying.

FILM SCRIPT

Voodoo

By

Sai Kumar

Assignment 1 (Script)

M64MC

Development and Realisation

INT. (1ST NIGHT) RAIN AND THUNDERSTORM. AN OLD APARTMENT

WITH AN EERIE LOOK. INT. THREE FLATS IN EACH FLOOR. ONE IN

THE CENTRE AND TWO FACING EACH OTHER. THE STORY TAKES PLACE

IN THE FIRST FLOOR. BRIAN IS UNEMPLOYED AND IS SEARCHING FOR

JOBS, LIVES ON ONE FLAT. SHANE, WHO LIVES IN THE CENTRE

FLAT, WORKS IN THE MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT OF A SUPERMARKET.

The time is 7:00 pm. Shane, smoking a cigarette knocks on

Brian’s door.

SHANE

“Open up… How long should I keep

knocking?”

Brian opens the door and peeps out.

BRIAN

“Oh hi Shane, I’m sorry, I was

cooking. Is there something you

want?”

SHANE

“Listen, I don’t care about your

cooking, can you lend me a fiver?”

BRIAN

“Yeah, Sure”

SHANE

“I will give it back to ya

tomorrow”

BRIAN

“Please do. Where are you going

now?”

SHANE

“None of your business… Why are

you so interested in what I do?

Buzz off, and don’t come knocking

on my door. I won’t be home until

late tonight.”

BRIAN

“Shane.. wait… before you go….

a new person moved into the other

flat today. Some woman. She looked

pretty much like a zombie. Straight

out of a horror movie!”

Brian starts laughing because he thinks his statement was

funny.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 2.

SHANE

“Shut up stupid. Must be some

wasted bitch then. The nerve of her

to move into this old damned

apartment”

BRIAN

“Well she seemed very reserved.

(Still laughing)She didn’t say hi

to me. How rude.”

SHANE

“Who are

you?…. Mr.

President?…Why don’t you go back

to your cooking loser. I need to go

out. So shut up and leave me alone”

BRIAN

“Okay. Relax… I’m sorry.. I will

call you tomorrow….. Don’t forget

to return what you borrowed…”

Shane hurriedly heads towards the exit as Brian is speaking

and leaves the apartment.

Sound of heavy thunder and lightning.

INT. BRIAN’S BEDROOM. A CLOCK NEARBY SHOWS THE TIME AS 3:00

AM. SOUND OF RAIN WATER SPLATTERING OUTSIDE. FREQUENT

OPENING AND CLOSING OF DOOR WAKES BRIAN UP.

Brian tries to figure out what’s happening. Opens his main

door and peeps out. He sees the new tenant’s door open and

the woman walking on the lobby. The door closes with a loud

noise because of the wind. She opens it again and keeps

walking on the lobby. A strange smell seems to come from

inside. Brian reaches for his cell phone and dials Shane’s

number.

BRIAN

“Shane? wake up. Look outside from

your door hole. This zombie woman

is freaking me out”

SHANE

“You bastard. Brian. It’s the

middle of the night….I asked you

not to disturb me..What the hell do

you want? (PAUSE) What’s that

noise?”

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 3.

BRIAN

“Go look out of your door. The new

woman from next door is making some

noise.”

Shane heads out and opens his door and sees the woman

walking in the lobby. Brian is still peeping.

SHANE

“Hey.. you.. what the hell do you

think are you doing? Can we get

some sleep here?”

The woman looks at Shane for a moment and scurries back into

her room and bangs the door close. At this moment, Brian

comes out and looks at Shane.

SHANE

“Is she crazy? mad woman”

BRIAN

“I told you. Ain’t she scary?”

SHANE

“Go to bed loser”

BRIAN

“Shane, I think she is a witch.”

SHANE

“She’s a bitch. You’re such a

sissy.”

Shane goes back in and slams the door. Brian is still

standing outside in front of Shane’s door.

BRIAN

(Shouts)”I’m telling you. She

is abnormal. There is

something wrong”

Brian realises he is talking to himself. Looks at the

woman’s door and hurries back into his flat rather worried.

INT. BRIAN’S FLAT (2ND NIGHT). 8:30 PM. LIGHTNING, LOW LIGHT

IN THE ROOM. BRIAN AND SHANE ARE TOGETHER WATCHING A BORING

BLACK AND WHITE FILM . THEY ARE EATING VORACIOUSLY FROM A

KFC TAKE AWAY BOX.

SHANE

“Change the bloody channel. This is

so damn boring”

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 4.

BRIAN

“This is not a channel, it’s the

only dvd I have. It’s called

psycho. Directed by some guy called

Pitchcock.”

SHANE

“What Cock?”

BRIAN

“Pitchcock”

SHANE

“You’re a born loser! Pitchcock it

seems”

Suddenly there is a noise. Noise of a chicken clucking.

BRIAN

“Speaking about cock, I think I

here one”

Shane is puzzled too. He looks into his KFC carton very

surprised.

Both of them look at each other and rush towards the door.

They open it and peep out and are shocked to see a live

chicken running around the lobby.

SHANE

“What the….?”

BRIAN

“Look..She’s coming.. she is after

it…”

The mysterious woman runs after the chicken and manages to

catch it. She glances at both the men and runs to her flat

and closes it. Both men are perplexed and close their door

quickly.

SHANE

“She’s insane. What on heaven is

she doing with a live chicken”?

BRIAN

(Excited)”Shane…. Shane….

I think… I think… I

know… It’s animal

sacrifice…. I told you she

is a witch…. Its voodoo….

I’ve read about it in some

book.”

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 5.

SHANE

“Stop it you freak. You and your

stupid imagination. I am going to

bed. I have important work

tomorrow. I’ve had enough of your

stories”

BRIAN

“But…. but… she looks so scary”

Shane leaves Brian’s flat and goes to his and closes the

door with a bang.

INT. SHANE’S BEDROOM. 2:45 AM.

Shane wakes up to a strange noise of drums beating in a

strange rhythm. He heads towards the kitchen as if he is

sleep walking. He gets a bowl and places it on the table.

Next he finds a knife. (Sound of drum beat increases). Shane

looks at the knife. Without hesitating he cuts his wrist and

the blood drops pour into the bowl. There is no reaction of

pain in his face.

When this is happening, the drum sound reaches its climax.

And Shane wakes up with a start from his nightmare.

SHANE

(PANTING) “Damn it…. Curse

Brian for his stupid story….

Shit…”

Shane looks at the time and goes back to sleep.

INT. LOBBY. NEXT DAY

Shane knocks heavily on Brian’s door. Brian opens the door.

BRIAN

“Hi…Sha…”

Shane gives him a tight slap.

BRIAN

“Ouch.. aaarrgh… What was that

for? What did I do?”

SHANE

“This… so that you remember not

to make anymore stupid stories and

keep me up all night”

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 6.

BRIAN

(SULKING)”Every one keeps

picking on me… when all I

tell is the truth. Nobody

believes me”

Brian is almost in tears. Shane feels ashamed and sorry.

SHANE

“Listen… I’m sorry. But I just

wanted to tell you that there is no

such thing as voodoo and

witchcraft. Understood? You won’t

talk about it anymore.”

BRIAN

“I didn’t mean to scare you..

but… but..”

SHANE

“No buts… now go back… I will

see you later tonight.”

At this moment both the men hear the door opening and see

the woman stepping out..

Both the men who were standing at the door rush inside and

peep from the door hole taking chance.

BRIAN

“What is she doing? What is she

doing?”

SHANE

“Goodness gracious! She has more

chickens in her flat. Two… no…

four… what the… there’s more..

What is she doing? running a

poultry farm?

BRIAN

“Oh no…. I read that you have to

sacrifice an animal everyday to

please the demons”

Shane gives Brian a rough look. Brian backs off.

SHANE

“She’s going back in.”

BRIAN

“Maybe we should just go speak to

her and ask what she is up to?”

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 7.

SHANE

“No. We break in today”

BRIAN

“What? Are you crazy?”

SHANE

“No. We break in today when she is

away and find out what exactly she

is doing inside. I’ve had enough of

this sick suspense”

BRIAN

“I don’t think its a good idea.

Maybe we should just talk”

SHANE

“You can chicken out if you want. I

am finding out tonight what is

happening out there.”

BRIAN

“Shane… breaking in is a crime.

What if she finds out”

SHANE

“She won’t. Besides I’m just

looking in. I’m not stealing….

Listen, you don’t need to get

involved. I can handle this on my

own” (Sarcastically)

Brian thinks for a moment and nods his head.

BRIAN

“Okay. We will do this together.”

SHANE

(SMILING)”Your wish. Listen, we

wait till she leaves the flat. We

break in as soon as she leaves.

Take a quick look and get back. We

have to be quick.”

BRIAN

“Whatever you say. I’ll keep a

watch from the outside.”

SHANE

Let’s do it then!”

8.

INT. NIGHT. BRIAN’S FLAT. RAIN AND LIGHTINING.

Brian and Shane are peeping from the door hole looking at

the watch simultaneously. Time passes by, they are waiting

for the woman to get out of her flat and leave.

BRIAN

“This is taking forever…”

SHANE

“It’s worth it. At least after I

look inside today, I will be able

to sleep peacefully tonight.”

More time passes by. It is 7:30 pm. Finally both the men

hear the door unlocking. Shane peeping through the door hole

signals Brian to get ready.

SHANE

“Quick. We have to be very swift.

She has left. I’m sure she is not

coming back anytime soon. The

nearest store is twenty minutes

away.”

BRIAN

“Yes… we are quite far from

civilization!”

SHANE

“No time to joke you jackass.. get

me the screwdrivers”

Both men open the door and head towards the woman’s flat.

Shane starts unscrewing the door handle. Brian watches him

keenly at the same time looking around and making sure that

the woman is not anywhere in sight.”

Both are nervous and taking heavy breaths, almost sweating.

BRIAN

“Are you sure we have to do this?”

SHANE

“Shut up.. I’m almost done” (Trying

to pick a lock now)

SHANE

“Done…. Come on.. (Opens the

door) Hurry… lets look

aro..u..nd…”

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 9.

Shane looks inside and stops suddenly. He is shocked. Brian

looks inside and stops dead. Both are shocked and not able

to utter a word or move.

Inside, the woman is standing facing both men with a cold

stare and a blood dripping knife.

SHANE

“But…But… You just…”

Both men gather the strength and turn away from her and try

to escape. They open the entrance door and try to run out.

They see something that stuns them again. The same woman is

standing outside the entrance looking at them in the same

manner.

Both men scream and run away together in different

directions yelling and screaming.

INT. LOBBY

The woman enters the lobby from the entrance of the

apartment and heads into her flat.

WOMAN 1

“What’s wrong with those two?…

What the hell happened here?”

WOMAN 2

“I don’t know. I was chopping off

the chicken heads, when I heard

some noise at the door. Those two

were trying to break in, I was

scared and stood perplexed at the

door. They opened and when they saw

me, they fled….”

WOMAN 1

“This is horrible. Our own

neighbours..thieves….. call the

police now…”

As they speak, the camera pans towards the kitchen with

several chickens skinned off and a cook book that reads ’To

make the perfect chicken soup’ and to a photo frame of a

mother holding two young girls who are obviously twins.

Five Themes

For the second week of the class, a minimum of five ideas, genre or themes were to be pitched and presented. Below are some of the ideas that I came up with. In the process of thinking, I realised that it is not easy to come up with ideas, the things that deal with the pre-production of film making is where I lack ability. But anyhow, I gave it a go!

1. A boy’s action sparks of a chain of events that eventually comes back to him.

2. Three friends who are completely broke, come up with a plan to eat in a fancy restaurant and leave without paying the bill.

3. A desperate man in need of money steals a baggage from a man only to find a live bomb inside it.

4. A husband and wife who work for the same company are notified by the boss that the company has to let one of them go and allows them to decide who it would be among themselves.

5. An old traveler gives a small girl a match box with three matchsticks that will make a wish come true on the first strike.

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