Screenplay

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY - DAY

The RUN-DOWN study consists of a PIANO, accompanied with several BEER CANS and WRAPPERS littered throughout. A MAN is SAT at the PIANO. He wears the remnants of a presentable shirt, now stained and crinkled. He seems to be lost in his thoughts: daydreaming, before straightening some papers and RAISING his hands to the KEYS.

He plays only ONE NOTE before his DOOR SWINGS open, revealing a YOUNGER GIRL. She STROLLS in to stand expectantly by the Man.

MAN

(Bothered)

You’re early again.

GIRL

(Unfazed)

Just goes to show I love your lessons, don’t it?

MAN

(Preparing to play once more)

I don’t care.

He LAUNCHES off into a song, engrossed in the music. The girl watches for a while, before she sits by the Man, PLODDING her fingers onto the BOTTOM KEYS out of boredom. The Man STOPS with a TIRED SIGH. He seems like he could be considering hitting her. Deciding against it, he STANDS, while the girl SHUFFLES UP. She GLANCES UP at him, with a FLIRTATIOUS, HALF-SMILE on her face.

GIRL

What do you want me to play? I’ve been working on my chords so if you-

MAN

(Tired sigh)

How about you just play Old McDonald for me again?

The Girl is clearly bothered by this, and so she SETTLES HER HANDS on the keys - the wrong keys.

MAN

(Annoyed)

I said play Old McDonald.

The Girl smirks, IGNORING him. CHECKING her hand position one last time, she PRESSES DOWN on the first note, and is surprised when no sound comes out. Shocked, she GLANCES up at him, and neither of them say a word. An awkward silence begins.

MAN

(Breaking the silence)

You’re not gonna play what I asked?

She LOOKS DOWNWARD in thought, though this is too long for the Man, and so he speaks a FEW SECONDS after his last speech.

MAN

Get out.

GIRL

(Defiantly)

Go screw yourself.

A STARE-OFF commences, with NEITHER SIDE seeming to back down until we…

CUT TO:

EXT. MAN’S HOUSE – STILL DAY

In CONTRAST to his study, the Man seems to live in a nice, maybe even wealthy neighbourhood. It is CLEAN, KEPT UP, and SEEMINGLY PRIVATE, as there is no one else around. Our two characters are standing, STILL SILENT, but it is clear who won their stand off. Their overall look makes them STAND OUT from their surroundings, and both look as if they don’t belong there.

GIRL

Bit of an overreaction, making me leave.

MAN

(Seething)

Listen here you little fuck, you know how much I charge for these lessons, and you know I tried to make an exception for you. If you disrespect me again, you’re out. No argument.

GIRL

(Cool as a cucumber)

Not my fault you won’t let me play at my level ain’t it?

MAN

Lesson’s over, I’ll see you next week.

ANOTHER STARE-OFF: neither participant moving. The Girl, unflinching, while the Man’s eyes visibly soften, until he says…

MAN

(Defeated)

One more chance.

Evaluation

Overall, I believe that the whole film went well, the use of mise-en-scene passed expectations. The colour, for example in the second scene, while walking home matched the whole skeptical feel. Orange street lights on a dark night were able to create a cold and virtually uncomfortable feel. Lighting in the climax, with Danny Kitchen being killed, worked well with the whole dramatic feel. Red and blue while walking was able to represent good vs bad, bad being up top. The low key in this room also gave an unnatural feel to the scene. Contrasting with the high-key and real life lighting. Setting: the tunnel, alert ways, small room, dark streets, worked well with the dark, dramatic and formal feel of the movie. We all worked hard together on this movie, from filming, getting resources, locations correct, people and the painful process of editing the whole group remained well; adding input to what could be done with angles, shots, and how somethings could have been done differently while keeping an open mind. The film turned out as well as we hoped as it fulfilled its dramatic and eerie telos of any dramatic conventional film. We enjoyed shooting, editing and acting throughout.

Moodboard

Cinematic Ideas

The most of this short film will be filmed during the night time to reflect the whole darkness and eeriness of the dream to inflict emotions of sadness and melancholia. Some scenes will be shot during the day, this will create a distinction between the real world and the dream, with dark being the dream and light during the real world. General locations of the film will be in lonesome and deserted areas such as 'the abandoned bridge' in Weddington as well as 'desert' which is deserted flat land with trees and woods within the general Sandon region. These locations will be used during night time. In the daytime areas such as town which can vary in population will be used to make these sequences more cosy and relatable to real life. White shirts will be worn within the dream segments, however this will change over the course of the film; resembling how the purity of the character is lost. In the dream world, influences of lighter colours such as pink and yellow will be included to add to the current effect of reality hitting him that what he has done in the dream has reflected its way into real life. The performance of the main character will be relatable to those of a psychopath with little expression shown, paleness on the face and dyed pink hair, like that of a crazed and nihilistic person. Other actors would have to express human emotion which is natural to that of a person in trouble; expressing emotion. Lighting will have to be natural, however there will have to be influences of torches and lamps to: 1. Create shadows and 2. For the audience to be able to see what is going on for each scene during the night time.

Synopsis

Lucid Dream
Horror/Drama


The film opens up to a startling scene where a teenager is walking home from college, in broad daylight, is robbed of his money and resources in an alleyway behind shops. Powerless and frustrated he walks down the cold streets alone and with great melancholia. His house, which is small and untidy in which he rests.
His dream is shown, where he is in a mans house, with no intention or reason he walks upstairs and smothers him with a pillow, killing him. Capturing the strange imagination and borderline psychopathic traits of the character. Meanwhile, in real life the person he is suffocating is dying, they are unable to breathe as what happens in the main character's dream is, too, what happens in real life.
In the next dream, we are shown  the character who robbed the lead protagonist and the protagonist, one walking towards the other in a wretched and old tunnel. As they head in both directions the tension builds as the protagonist murders his thief. Now powerless the thief dies in this dream... but is he to die in real life?