Script

A Lightning Before Death

By Joel Pickard and Joe Sandford 

And Xav Sinden. 

Cast:

MR X – Tats Nyazika

Matt – Cameron 

Alex – Ali Henderson 
Libby - Charlie O'Brien

Opening sequence – Train track – Dusk – ‘Ecstasy of Gold.’

Blackout, we hear a shovel sound dragging across the ground. We fade up to ‘MR X’ dragging a shovel behind him. He’s on a train track; he has an eerie, but vacant look on his face, although inside he is determined. 

We cut to the group walking through a field, they look frightened but ready. 

Mr X spots the group in a field adjacent to him,

He exits the train track and starts walking across the field. 

They are now walking towards each other in a field, MR X walking considerably slower than the group. 

Once they get close enough they eventually come to a stop. 

The title appears in-between the two bodies. 

Scene 1 – Pub – Lunch – ‘Why so serious?’

A deafening sound is cut short by a pint of beer being put down on the table; we cut to a shot of the group chatting around a table.

Matt 

(Excitedly) FUCK.

Libby  

Holy shit, that was close man. 

(Alex leans back in his chair sighing in relief)

I can’t believe we actually did it!

Alex 

(Stressed) Can we all agree never to do that again?

Matt 

Sure 

Alex 

(Panicking) Is it safe? Where is it?

Matt

(Reassuringly) It’s in the bag don’t worry. 

Libby 

What are we doing now? 

Alex 

(Nervous) Did anyone see us? 

Matt

(Looks at Alex) No, We’re fine. (Looks at Libby) just laying low for a bit I guess. 

Alex  

What about that guy though?

Matt

(Confused) What guy? 

Bar Maid puts two beers down, one for Libby, one for Matt, and an orange juice for Alex.

Cheers. 

Alex 

The guy with that shovel. 

Libby

He wasn’t part of it he was just there. 

Alex

He looked pretty weird though

Matt 

Calm down its fine.

Libby 

How much do you think we’ll get for it? 

(We hear/see a door opening in the distance, out of focus, the group carries on talking) 

Matt 

No idea but it better be worth it 

Alex 

It will, I’ve done the research. 

Matt

I’d hardly call looking it up on Wiki leaks ‘research’. 

Alex 

‘Wiki leaks’ is a very reliable source of information. 

Matt

So this entire operation is resting upon Alex reading half of its bloody wiki leaks page and then getting distracted by hot girls looking for some fun in his area. 

(The man is close to the table; he’s dragging a shovel behind him. He sits down. All is silent.) 

Mr X  

Have you ever heard the story of jack and the beanstalk? 

(The group is silent, they recognise the man) 

Well? have you? It’s a pretty simple question. 

Alex 

Well uh.. 

Mr X

(Interrupting) Now I know I have, but I don’t like it very much, I have my own version that I think I like better. 

(He’s smiling uncontrollably)

So the story starts with this little scamp

(He takes the orange juice from Alex, drinks the whole glass and put it back on the coaster.) 

Jack. 

(The trio start looking at each other in fear.) 

Now, you see, Jack doesn’t have much regard for other peoples things, decides that he should trade his poor mothers cow for some pesky beans. Fast-forward a little and we have this giant beanstalk, which this little scamp (anger) decides to use to steal from the big scary giant. He does this for some time until, now this is where my story changes a little bit, the giant catches him, he tries to escape down the beanstalk but the giant can easily reach down and grab him before its too late. The giant decides to kill the boy,

(He grabs a pencil from the waitress’ ear. Holds it between his hands) 

So he places him between his two hands,

(Snaps the pencil)

 And he breaks him. 

(Matt looks nervous, but starts to get frustrated.)

Matt 

Come on lets go guys 

(They all get up abruptly and walk out, as they do ‘Mr X’ starts chanting) 

MR X

FEE FI FO FUM. 

(MR X, turns around, gets up and walks over to the bar)

Bar Maid 

What was all that about? 

(MR X, stares at the girl, he looks back down into an empty glass on the bar.) 

Were you with them? Cos I’m probably going to need someone to pay for that. 

(He stares at her demonically)

I think one of them comes in here often so I can… 

(A phone rings, they both look at each other, and suspense builds. She breaks the stare to answer the phone. He throws a 50-pound note on to the bar. He gets up and walks off.) 

Ok thanks? 

(Fade to black) 

Scene 2 - Running away - Street - ‘Can’t stop instrumental, red hot chilli peppers’  

(Music begins as we hear footsteps of running; we then cut to Libby’s face whilst running. All three people are running away as fast as possible, they are panicking but determined. They run into a barn.)

Scene 3 - In the barn  - music unknown

Libby 

Shit, shit what are we gonna do. 

Alex 

We’re screwed, oh god. 

Matt 

You know what, fuck this I’m done, we can’t just keep running away from this guy forever.

Libby

Well what do you suppose we do he’s a psycho.

Matt

I see a whole group of my friends, here in defiance of massacre. We have come to live as free men, and free men we are.

Libby 

And women.

Matt

What will we do without freedom? Will you fight? Fight and you will die, run and you will live at least awhile. Would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance, to come back here as young men and tell our enemies,

that they may take our lives…

Alex 

Are you quoting brave heart? 

Matt

So? Shut up. BUT THEY WILL NEVER

Alex

It’s not even that relevant. 

Matt

Oh my god let me do this, Where was I? Urgh lets just go. 

(They begin to kit up with whatever armour/weapons they have in the barn or in their rucksacks.) 

Scene 4 - final scene - ‘Ecstasy of Gold’ - field.

Back at the field, the group is staring down at ‘MR X’. They look at one another as they prepare for a fight. ‘MR X’ smiles, it turns into a light chuckle. We see him move forward. 

Fade out.

Costume

We have decided on the costumes for out protagonists, and these will contrast what we have chosen for our antagonist.
We don't want our protagonists to look fashionable with the latest trends etc, as this is very cliche and we are trying to avoid stereotypes as the very concept of the film is that the protagonists have stolen something, which is normally associated with their counter part.
The protagonists costume will be items such as old sports jackets and over-sized jumpers, something like the pictures below:

Age Classification

We have been looking at what age classification our film should be. It is a good idea to decide before we start filming, as this will determine what we suggest and how explicit the contents is. As some of our group will not yet be 18 when we start filming, technically we cannot make an 18 rated film, as they would then not be allowed to see the footage. According to the BBFC website, an 18 rated film can contain:

•   very strong violence
•   frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') and / or very strong language (e.g. ‘c***’)
•   strong portrayals of sexual activity
•   scenes of sexual violence
•   strong horror
•   strong blood and gore
•   real sex (in some circumstances)
•   discriminatory language and behaviour

Our film will not have explicit sexual content in it, nor will it include discriminatory language and behavior. Although heavily suggested, our film will also not include strong violence. 

We have decided that our film should be rated as a 15, which can contain:

•   strong violence
•  frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***').
•   portrayals of sexual activity
•   strong verbal references to sex
•   sexual nudity
•   brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
•   discriminatory language or behaviour
•   drug taking

This classification will allow us to have more leeway in what we product than, say, a 12. Our film will also contain references to violence, and the threat of violence is present throughout. It may also contain strong language. Therefore, 15 is the most appropriate classification for our film. 

Costume

I have been reasearchin what costume we should have for our antagonist. We want him to seem very sinister so a black theme would be appropriate. However, we want him to be more fashionable and sophicticated than the classic 'bad guy', and costumes such as the one for the antagonist in 'No Country For Old Men' where he wears an unfashionable black turtle neck have in my opinion become a cliche for this sort of character.
For these reasons we have decided on a black denim jacket and black jeans, which will create the sinister appearance.

For the footwear, we have decided to choose work boots as these are practical and suitable for the task that our antagonist is to undertake. We want him to seem experienced, and if he were to be walking around muddy areas in trainers this would not give that impression. 

Story Board

Here is our story board.This is a rough representation and does not include all the shots.  For a detailed description of all the shots in the film, please see the Shotlist.

Title

We have decided on a title for our short film. We came up with the following shortlist:

•          Playing with fire.
•          Cat and mouse.
•          Dust.
•          To kill the goose.
•          A lightning before death.

We have decided on 'A Lightning Before Death'  for our title. It comes from a quote from the Shakespeare play 'Romeo and Juliet'. 

-        " How oft, when men are at the point of death, have they been merry! which their keepers call A lightning before death."  

      

     We will include this quote at some point in our film. 

 `

Shotlist

A2 Media short film shot list.

Opening sequence – Ecstasy of Gold – Train track

• Black screen with the noise of a shovel being dragged across the train tracks.
• We see the shovel from a wormhole view being dragged towards a line of people in the distance.
• Side dolly shot ECU of the shovel
• MCU of the man looking up and walking towards the fence.  
• Long shot from the group’s perspective of the man walk off of the rail way road.
• Snap shots of each member of the groups face.
• CU of his face walking
• High angle panning around the group. Who start walking towards the man.
• Mcu of the group stopping
• Mcu of the man stopping
• Side view establishing shot of all characters in a stand off at the end of the short, with the title between them.  

SCENE 1- (Atmospheric joker music) – group are sitting around a table in a bar.  

• Close up of a member of the group putting a pint down.
• Exposition establishing how the characters have gained the object with a slow pan around the table.
• Exposition turns into irrelevant dialogue as we have traditional 180 degree close ups.
• In the background we see a man walking up to the table. (Camera out of focus on the table leaning up.)
• Close up of the individual faces of the characters reactions.
• Shot with the killers back to the camera placing the shovel down and sitting down.
• Pause.
• Medium close up of killers face.
• Introduces himself whilst grabbing a drink from one of the group. 
• Shots of confused characters
• Prolonged shot of him telling the story, with a few shots of the characters reacting. When he mentions a precious thing that’s been stolen, close up of a group member pushing their bag under the table.  As he gets more intense the camera dollies towards him further.
• Pause.
• One of the group chugs their drink down quickly and proclaims that they are leaving.
• The camera follows a group member from behind whilst focusing on the killer saying fee fi fo fum.
• Side shot of the bag as the group are leaving.
• Shot of the waitress cleaning a glass.
• POV shot of the killer walking up to the bar. And sitting down, putting the beer down.
• Irrelevant dialogue with some meaning between the killer and the waiter.

SCENE 2 – stretch of road – 3 members of the group.

• MCU of the group running towards a dollying camera, in a panic.
• Close ups of three of the member’s faces running.
• ^ Intertwined with the psychopath getting into his car and driving away.
• Shot of the group running over crossroads.
• MCU dolly shot of the group running away from the camera.
• High Angle Shot of the psycho driving down the road that the group was running down, and running out of petrol, on the crossroads.
• ECU of the empty petrol sign.
• Side shot of the psycho getting out of the car. Walking to the boot.
• Wormhole shot of the man opening the boot. And grabs the shovel.
• Back to the side shot of the man walking off with the shovel.
• MCU of the man walking toward the camera away from the car
• Long shot of the man walking away in the distance.

SCENE 3 - barn

• Multiple side shots of the group’s legs running in different locations and then putting their bags down.
• Long shot of the group sitting down from inside the barn.
• As they start talking the camera slowly pans as they are asking themselves who the man is and why he starts chasing us.
• Ali Leg starts to hurt as he screams out.
• Cameron says “you know what, fuck this I’m done, we can’t just keep running away from this guy forever.”
• Some one else says, “well what are we gonna do? He’s a psycho.”
• Cameron, “I see a whole group of my friends, here in defiance of massacre. We have come to live as free men, and free men we are”
• Someone Interrupts “and women”
• He carries on… “ What will we do without freedom? Will you fight? Fight and you will die, run and you will live at least awhile. would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance, to come back here as young men and tell our enemies,  that they may take our lives. “
• Someone else says, “wait isn’t that brave heart?”
• Cameron - “So? Shutup” “but they will NEVER”
• Someone else again, “well its just not really relevant”
• “Oh my god let me do this, Where was I? Urgh lets just go”
• Montage of them kitting up. Last shot is Cameron clipping a helmet on.

Scene 4 – back to the stand off.

• Same shot as the last shot of the opening sequence.
• Left tracking shot from behind the group.
• CU of the man’s face panning.
• He picks up the shovel mcu.
• Front view of his foot stepping forward.
• ‘This is it’ close up of Cameron, he takes a step forward. Group follows.
• Quick Side view of them walking towards each other.
• Cu of groups heads
• Close up of killer
• Side view
• Ecu
• Ecu
• Side view
• blackout

Cast

We have decided to cut the number of people in the group being chased from 5 to 3 people, as we feel that 5 people perhaps try to take on the antagonist rather than run away from him. This will also be easier to organise, as it is easier to get 3 people together at one time that 5. We have decided that the main character, the antagonist, will be played by a drama student at our school who is a good actor and is appropriate for the role. The 3 people in the group will also be students from our school. We are unsure yet who we could have to play the person at the house where the antagonist gets the spade from, as we do not want someone our age to play this because they will look too young. We want someone at least middle aged, who is in the age category that would have their own house in a rural village. We are thinking about using one of the parents from our group, as this would be the easiest to organise.

Location

We have discussed our location, and have decided that a field is not the best location for our stand-off to take place, as it may just look like a group of local farmers having an argument. We want our scene to take place in an area that our characters wouldn't usually be, and that isn't just a copy of an old western. That is why we have come up with the idea of using a railway line.

This section of line is part of a local heritage railway, and is only in use on Sundays. It is well away from the main line and is not under the control of Network Rail. I hold a valid Personal Track Safety card for this railway, and so am able to carry out work on or about the line.

Having a railway as our location would work for us, as they were a common feature of classic old western films. On top of this, it is a location at which our characters would not normally be, and is an interesting setting for our stand-off as the line could represent the contrast of views between the antagonist and protagonist, if they were stood either side.

Props

We have been talking about what props our characters should have in our film. We originally thought our antagonist could have an old axe, as this is quite sinister and unusual. We have decided instead for him to have a revolver, because this is more believable and plausible. He will get an old spade from the house that he visits, in order to bury the bodies.

Another prop that we have decided to include is a suitcase or bag of some sort that the protagonists will be carrying with them. This is what the antagonist is chasing them for.
We will also need a car, for the antagonist to drive. We want this car to be a very normal one, as if he has just stolen it from a street. This will also make it easier for us to source a suitable car. 

Soundrack

We have decided to use the song 'The Ecstasy of Gold' by Ennio Morricone. This song is from the film 'The Good the Bad and the Ugly', and is widely regarded as the classic western song. This will help us to be true to the genre with our production, and will create the atmosphere that we want.

We will need to seek permission for using this song, so we will contact the owners; EMI Music Publishing.

Locations

We have discussed the possible locations that we can use for our production. We could use a field or open country side for the stand-off scene, as the expansive area could work in our favour and allow us to use interesting shots. We want our character to stop off at a house to get equipment for the stand-off, so this could be in a quiet residential street in the local area. I like the idea of using very quiet and rural places usually associated with the likes of flower shows and 'Best Village' competitions, as it will create the impression to our audience that this could happen anywhere, and could even be happening in their own area as they watch the film. In a way this is similar to the premise of Hot Fuzz, however this is also where the similarities end.

Something like this could be appropriate:

Ideas-Change of Plan

We have decided to change our idea for a short film. This is because, from both the feedback in our production pitch and our own discussions as a group, it would be very difficult to make our first idea work, without it seeming cheesy and bland. Comedy is a very difficult genre to get right, and we are worried that we would not be able to achieve the best grade that we could if we stuck with this plan.

Our new idea:

We have decided to go with a modern take on a classic spaghetti western film. We like the idea of having the antagonist as a psychopath, as this will allow us to be creative in the way that we introduce and develop that character. We have had the idea of him chasing a group of people (perhaps 5), and the film will end with a western style stand-off between the antagonist and this group.

The most obvious challenge that we face with this idea is making scenes shot in rural Oxfordshire feel like they belong in a western, however we do not want to copy this genre like-for-like, but instead take conventions other that the location such as the shots and the dialogue, and create a film that is a western how it would be if it happened in England.

We like the film No Country for Old Men, by Ethan and Joel Coen, and in particular the scene in the shop:

In this scene, we can see the antagonist character, Anton Chigurh,  played by Javier Bardem. He is the sort of character that inspired us for our own antagonist. Aspects in this scene such as the tension when the telephone rings, and the game that Anton plays with the shop keeper, are what makes the scene interesting.

Production Pitch

Here is our production pitch for a short film:

Ideas - Pitch