SLAVES OF THE SCREEN

by Jacob Payne

FINAL COPY MAY 2013 JACOB PAYNE, APRIL 2013 5 Avery Close, Kilaben Bay NSW, 2283 Australia Ph.: 0431 271 137

1.

INT. OFFICE. DAWN

JASON, a 26 year old Journalist is at an office desk, he is writing on sheets of paper, sitting next to a pile of files and paperwork. JASON (V/O) Ive been in the Journalism business since I was 19 year old. That was 2006. Back then it was simple. Cary around a pen, paper and a voice recorder, do your research and then write it into a story. 2. EXT. PARK. DAY

Jason is sitting at a park bench, typing away on his laptop, editing a news story. He picks up his notepad, crosses something off, and places it back on the bench to continue typing. JASON (V/O) We had to know a little bit about multi-media. But it wasnt like it is today. Jason picks up his smart phone to check his emails. JASON (CONTD) My role and ideas as a Journalist have changed significantly since. 3. EXT. SHOPPING CENTRE. DAY

Jason is holding a camera, he is taking photos of a spray paint artist in the middle of the shopping centre, painting elaborate images onto a canvas. JASON (V/O) Now we are expected to know how to operate a video camera, use a computer, participate in a blog, and know our way around an online environment.

4. INT. OFFICE. DAY Jason is sitting at his desk, blogging on a computer, replying to comments on news articles and videos. JASON (V.O) If you asked me what my job was ten years ago, I could reply with Oh Im a print journalist. Today though, my job is to be multi-skilled and keep up with the ever-changing digital world. Not only that, but once the story is uploaded, we have the responsibility to lead discussion and actively engage with it online. 5. EXT/INT. CAR. DUSK Jason is driving home in his car. He is listening to the radio and looking back and forth between the road and the navigator stuck to his window. JASON (V.O) Im 26 years old, so I guess you could say that Im already being out-dated by a younger generation who think smarter, act faster, and are used to producing and receiving information more rapidly in a digital world. Jason pulls into his driveway and exits the car. He walks up the driveway to his front door, unlocks it, and walks inside his house, revealing walls with blink-182 and super Mario posters. JASON (CONTD) I grew up in the 90s, where mobile phones and computers werent a common thing for children to use and interact with. We were too occupied with playing outside to be engaged by video games.

6. INT. LOUNGEROOM. NIGHT Jason is sitting in the dining room eating dinner at the table with his wife, laughing and interacting. JASON (V/O) During school we used good old fashion pen and paper. We didnt even rely on as much as a calculator. Now every kid has their head buried in either a phone or laptop computer, preferring to interact online rather than face to face. 7. INT. CLASSROOM. DAY

LUCY, a 14 year old school girl is sitting in class with a computer in front of her. She faces the teacher at the front of the room. Each student watches over their laptop computer as the teacher draws out instructions onto a smart board. LUCY (V/O) Ive never really seen it as a negative thing like most adults do. They always say Lucy, get off your phone, youre being rude. I dont see interacting through technology as rude. My computer and my phone let me talk and socialise with my friends when I cant see them face to face. Lucy slides out her under the desk. She phone away. Next to see the message she mobile phone from her pocket and hides it smiles, replies to a message and puts the her, a girl pulls out her mobile phone to just received from Lucy.

LUCY (CONTD) I dont think technology poses a problem for our generation. I think that it creates opportunities. 8. EXT. PLAYGROUND. DAY

Lucys friends are running around, laughing and playing. Some school children sit to the side with earphones in. Lucy is sitting down using her mobile phone near her friends. She looks up occasionally to laugh and join in the game.

LUCY (V/O) Ive always wanted to become more involved with social media. I love the way that it can connect people from any distance. I can say something online and it can reach my friends, family, and the rest of the world instantly. Its like having access to the worlds population in my pocket, 24/7. Lucy puts down her phone and runs in to join with her friends. LUCY (CONTD) Everyone always says Im outgoing and creative. So Im really looking forward to finishing school and becoming more involved with media and people. 9. INT. BUS. AFTERNOON

Lucy is on the bus, surrounded by school kids laughing and listening to their iPods. Lucy is using her laptop; she is using a video program to edit together a video of her friends dancing to music. LUCY (V/O) Growing up Ive been surrounded by mobile phones, computers, and the internet. I think Ive been so accustomed to the technology that is just seems normal to me. An adult looks at learning with books as a normal thing learning through a computer is normal for me. 10. INT. LOUNGEROOM. NIGHT

Lucy is sitting on the lounge with her family watching Television. She is engaged with a smart tablet in her hands. She is playing a game, glancing up to watch television every few moments.

LUCY (V/O) I know my way around every technology I can get my hands on. Navigating through any interface or program just comes naturally to me, its kind of like Im part robot (LAUGHS) 11. INT. OFFICE. DAY

BARBARA LEPANI (from the Australian Centre for Innovation and International Competitiveness) of the University of Sydney sits in her office. She speaks about the challenges of a digital age and the changes that Australia can expect in the workplace. BARBARA When we were a print society, literacy used to be defined by the ability to read and write. The technological infrastructure of a multi-media society has re-defined literacy. 12. EXT. SYDNEY, PITT ST. DAY

People flood a busy street, pushing past each other, each involved in their own world. Most people in suits blindly walk as they stare at their mobile phone screens, oblivious to the traffic that surrounds them. People access and reply to emails on the run or attend a telephone conference as they move from one place to another all through their mobile phones. BARBARA (O/S) Literacy is being extended beyond reading print and writing with a pen. Jobs now require people to be able to fluently use a computer, a tablet, make videos, edit photos, write blog posts, promote via social media, and interact in a cut throat

online world. 13. INT. OFFICE. DAY

People populate a room filled with desks and computers. Groups of people sit on small lounges with coffee and digital devices, brainstorming ideas. Others sit at computers, sending emails, updating websites and replying to online comments. BARBARA (O/S) The new paradigm is forcing a re-design of education and training systems on a global scale. The new generation of children that will be moving into the workplace will be so used to the intense visual and auditory stimulation of video games, television and internet that using traditional forms of print literacy and linear ways of thinking in education and training systems will be ineffective and decrease creativity and productivity. 14. INT. JASONS OFFICE. DAY

Jason is typing on the computer at his desk. He is replying to comments on an online news report. JASON (V/O) Going through school with a traditional education system of print literacy has certainly provided me with the challenge of adapting to these new forms of technology at a later age. Not only do you have to learn how the new technologies operate, but you need to learn the social norms and ways of acting that surround an online discourse. Jason posts a comment in response to a post on a news report. He then brings up an email and begins writing a response.

JASON (CONTD) There is an online etiquette that Ive had to adapt to. The internet provides the dangerous prospect of making hateful, defaming and rude remarks that can come back to bite you if you arent careful. I have to remind myself that if Im not prepared to say what Im about to say online to a room full of people, then I should re-consider my words. 15. EXT. PARK. DAY

Jason is playing with his 3yr old son OLIVER at the park. Oliver is sitting on Jasons lap, playing with his dads smartphone. He unlocks the screen and opens a game to play with. JASON (V/O) The generation coming through the education system at the moment will be more equipped with these online and I.T skills than I could ever dream to be. They in turn with later be in my position and watch as my son and the generation below them will surpass their skill sets. Oliver jumps off his dads lap and runs to the playground, laughing. Jason runs after him playfully. JASON (CONTD) The possibilities are endless. With the evolution of communication and interaction, these new technologies offer a medium which new thoughts and ways of thinking about the world we live in can be altered.

16.

INT. OFFICE. DAY

Barbara sits in her office, explaining the changing worldviews that are associated with advances in technology. BARBARA Just as the watch and the book have influenced who we are and how we explain our world, so now are the new technologies "reprogramming" the human condition. This poses a significant challenge for those of us who grew up and became skilled in a print-based community. 17. INT. JASONS OFFICE. DAY

Jason is working at his computer desk, writing emails and occasionally scribbling notes onto a notepad. BARBARA (V/O) The print culture demanded linear ways of thinking and the emergence of cyberspace challenged this. 18. EXT. PLAYGROUND. DAY

Lucy is watching her friends play. She looks down to her mobile phone and begins to text a friend. She turns on some music and quickly opens a game to keep her occupied. BARBARA (CONTD) Teachers and adults complain about the loss of attention span and ability to maintain linear commitment from children of this digital age. There is however an increase in their ability to piece together meaning from a discontinuous set of images and balance multiple tasks at once. Their exposure video games

and visual material has allowed them to adapt to an information overload. The over stimulation of neural processers now provides the possibility for new, non linear ways of thinking, working, and learning. We are indeed provided with generation who act faster, and are used to producing and receiving information more rapidly in a digital world.