York St John University

Screenwriting

THE AUDITION
(Working title)

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11 FEVERSHAM CRESCENT YORK, U.K. YO31 8HQ Phone: 07804941084 E-Mail: HAMISH.LOGAN@YORKSJ.AC.UK

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York St John University

HAMISH LOGAN

CONTENTS
BRIEFING and INFLUENCE OVERVIEW OF STORY LOCATIONS ALEX CHOLIGRAPHER COSTUME DAVID MOTTA ERA OF PERIOD PLUS BACKGROUND HISTORY HOW THE PROJECT WILL INCORPORATE TRANSMEDIA FEATURES. TIMELINE ACTORS CHARACTERS HIRING A HISTORIAN

PATRICK WOLF

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Briefing and Influences The Audition (working title)

This short 10-minute short aims to aid particular musical talents of York in a contemporary and interactive fashion. Whilst the project is very young, much effort has gone into its production already. First of all I believe it is relevant to describe what influenced me to write this short, simple and altogether minimalist approach of a story, before there was any effort to merge in trans-media aspects. Eric Satie, a French classical composer born in May of 1866 has for quite some time been of interest to me, both in character and work. He is often remembered to have associated socially with the likes of other artistic pioneers of that era such as Monet, Picasso and is also said to have strong involvements in the rise of Dadaism and more significantly, Impressionism. His composure however and avant-garde (at the time) approach to writing music has swayed me to scrutinize and love one of his most shortest and simplest pieces: Enfantillages Pittoresques 1. Petit Prelude la journe Merely one minute long, it offers such simplicity whilst holding tones just subtle enough to suggest many emotions. It is this age-old cause of emotion, influenced purely by music that I would like to act as the meaning and crescendo of this film, and to do this I would channel this emotion through an actor and depict a scenario of someone feeling this emotion and the power it can have. I aim to create an authentic as possible experience in terms of costume, history and language. As it was a piece of Saties music that inspired me to create this project, or rather to visualize this instantly relatable sensation would be suitable portrayed in the era it was written, which hopefully will speak levels on what music is today, and how it had become too mass produced for financial gain. I want to make display music at its earliest and simplest form, having a deeply emotional effect on a person. Now I shall explain how, according to my vision, I would like to aid the 10minute short through use of trans-media. As this will be a complex task of authentically recreating the period of the 1890s (exact date to be confirmed, yet to further research), finding, fitting and selecting appropriate dress wear, as well

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as finding the volume and right type of people for the casting, this will have a strong scope for BTS footage, especially regarding circumstances of us being students and not fully industry practiced in period recreation, commonly learned from working on television programs such as Pride and Prejudice.

Overview of Story
The year 1913 | daytime | dark interior | complete with cold wood paneling | candle-lit | The opening shots comprise of extreme close ups of an elderly womans face, applying aristocratic make up, being careful to don her face with immaculate detail whilst taking her time to do so. We hear nothing but her hands and face move and the shuffle of surrounding servants but ever so distantly we hear whispering. Through a wider close up we are introduced for the first time to the womans face as a whole. She stares into the camera for a beat disdainfully. An even wider shot, encompassing the lady sat before a mirror and surrounded by three servants, fussing over her face, hair and dress. A quick look outside in the elaborate corridor lets us see maids gossiping and peeking inside the building, in a fashion, which suggests they are in the presence of a celebrity. Returning back to the room we see the lady sitting still and being pampered; make up being applied, wig adjusted. Her eyes are fixed on one of the maids in particular, who is waiting by the door. The maid is a simple-minded but polite young woman, with a slightly curved spine. Upon noticing this the Dame gestures with one of her fingers, beckoning her to come. With a frightful expression and a quick glance to her colleague, she nervously approaches. We see a behind the shoulder shot from the maids perspective, of approaching the Dame and her make up table, which is situated in the center of the darkened, candlelit room. The Dame proceeds to politely insult the Maids posture. Snapping, the Dame drops her pride and snatches a book and requests the maid wear it upon her head until the auditions finish, which is in exactly three hours and fifteen minutes time. The maid complies and slowly walks away, attempting and failing constantly to balance the book. We see a tired expression

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and a grimace on the Dames face as she glances back at herself in the mirror. Despite maids still applying make up she bats them away and walks toward the dark wall, beckoning the servants, jabbing her hands toward the windows, the servants then comply by opening the large curtains and flooding the room with light, which hopefully should visually surprise the viewer as the opening is suggested to be set during the night. As the make up table is removed we see the dame enter into a larger room, where a panel of two judges await at a table, in front of the long Georgian windows where we also see a range of instruments arranged neatly to face the table. A Maid is arranging flowers, but exits hurriedly when she receives a cold glance from the DAME; she tries not to make eye contact. The Dame takes her place in the middle of the two judges, one an elderly and strict faced gentlemen named CORNELIUS, the other a young, thin and sickly face man by the name of GUS. We see the judges shuffling pieces of paper and the dame fidgeting with her hair and appearance. After a number of beats, the door opens and we are introduced to REUBEN ALEXANDER EDWIN, an extravagantly dressed man in a blue suit, who appears very confident. He proceeds to introduce himself, which includes his academic background, family ties, wealth and passion for classical music. After a small amount of flirtation between REUBEN and the DAME, he sits at the piano and begins to play a rather upbeat melody, making sure to glance over at the judges as he does so. After he finishes his energetic performance he eagerly turns to face the judges, at a distance we see from REUBENs perspective the judges table at a distance, and the DAME lean toward CORNELIUS while they silently whisper. After a few more beats we hear the DAME give her thanks and ask for the next audition. REUBEN approaches the table to kiss the DAMES hand and then exits, not bothering to close the door. We hear a name being shouted in a thick Yorkshire accent: no.843, Jasper. We see an over the shoulder shot of JASPER, a frail and scruffy character with a thick beard. When entering he removes his hat and once he as reached the middle of the room smiles broadly, stopping only when gestured so by the DAMEs limp flick of her gloved hand. JASPER, after noticing a silence begins to give a brief introduction of himself. After pretending not to notice the DAMEs bored mannerisms, he proceeds to sit at the piano. We see his hands shake as he begins to play. JASPER plays a more

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elegant melody than REUBENs and shows the passion in his face by shutting his eyes and displaying looks of pain. Right before JASPER is about to complete his pieces crescendo the DAME claps her hand and beckons he leave. Upon his questioning she begins to criticize his shabby dress sense. JASPER thanks the DAME for her time, bows and leaves, while the DAME shows not facial expressions of sorrow or mercy, rather disdain and disbelief. After JASPERs exit the DAME snaps her magnificently wrapped slap of chocolate, choosing a perfectly square piece. Still there is silence and not much discussion between the judges and the DAME. A servant enters and approaches the DAME, with news that one of the houses maids has passed away, the servant suggests that were she to provide the family, who are due to arrive this afternoon, with a few words, it would mean al great deal. The DAME looks aghast and immediately dismisses this proposal, questioning why she would do a daft thing like that. We then see a two-minute montage of a number of different characters playing instruments involving the clarinet, harp, violin and cello. This is matched with shots of the DAME dismissing each of them, becoming more and more agitated and animated. This montage aims to show the amount of effort and passion the DAME is subjected to but dismisses for trivial reasons regarding the subjects wealth or dress sense. This is complimented by powerful imagery of people playing traditional instruments but for a very quick amount of screen time. After this montage we see the DAME beginning to become extremely agitated and foul tempered. After a final audition a servant appears at the tables side, accompanied by a trolley holding an array of cakes and a pot of tea, which they begin to lay on the table in front of the judges. Mean while the DAME is complaining about the auditions she has seen. A MAN enters and without addressing nor facing the judging sits down at the piano. The DAME upon noticing this calls for excuse and exclaims that the judges are due their tea break. With no apparent regard for this exclamation the MAN, after a short silence and stillness begins to play Saties Enfantillages Pittoresques 1. Petit Prelude la journe. The DAMEs voice falters halfway through another attempt at halting the playing. A long and slow pan in toward the DAMEs features lets the viewer see her apparent shock and awe. It is the simplicity but strength of the piece in

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which most moves the DAME, as the other auditions have merely been forced displays of talent, showing people trying to impress and looking for praise, whereas this performance in particular is special because of the MANs disregard for recognition, hence why he does not give his name and appears to be playing for his own reasons. As the music plays, all diegetic sound falls silent, and instead we focus on the perspective of the DAME, who glances round at her surroundings accompanied by shots of her pained face. It is obvious that this composition of notes has struck a particular memory within the DAMEs consciousness. A short montage follows of the servants at hard work, the body of a maid being covered, the waiting musicians and the rain falling against the window pains. We see from the DAMEs point of view, a maid crying but carefully walking past balancing a book on her head and holding a tray of tea. We also see a side on view of the doorway, leading out into the hall, where a mourning family in black follow a coffin, lead out by two servants. The piece finishes and the room is deadly silent. The DAME, with eyes full of tears opens her mouth but cannot speak. We see the MAN sit up after 10 seconds of silence and leave. The DAME is left speechless, her hand slowly dropping to the table.

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Locations
Yorks Guildhall Holds two rooms appropriate for this picture.

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York St John University

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Characters
Favorite food ( chocolate fine packaging sweet treats of the early 20th century.)

Research Notes
http://www.york.ac.uk/media/sociology/curb/images/york18992001/understanding%20inequality.pdf

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York St John University

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10

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