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The Camera by Daniel Gonzalez (new 5th DRAFT – 16.08.10) N.B. version with NO ANIMATION
Daniel Gonzalez © 2010
Daniel Gonzalez 66 Potoroo Ave, St Helens Pk NSW 2560
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EXT. PARK - DAY BLACK SOUND – loud, jarring Hispanic punk rock music. VO of teenage boys laughing and mucking about. VISUAL – lots of visual movement, blurred graffiti – reds, yellows and greens. Fast cuts of CU eyes, mouths, hands spraying paint, blurred and out of focus, cars flying past in streets nearby, people playing with pets in the park, looking up into tree branches and leaves, etc, as we gradually come into focus and pull away revealing a group of 4 teenage boys, jostling about, teasing each other - typical teenage banter. PEDRO (VO) Shit!! The cops!! The boys, with their bags full of spray cans, run. Having escaped the police, the boys come around a corner, and slow down laughing their heads off. PAUSE then speed up to mid-shot – title card: ALEJANDRO - the selfimposed leader of the group, 19, is visibly bigger than the others and has a tough exterior – he holds an ipod in his hand and speakers in his back pack which he is wearing; ALEJANDRO (At Miguel) Yeah well at least I wasn’t caught jacking off on webcam by my Mum! (laughs) The boys all laugh except MIGUEL. Shot of a girl playing with her small dog in the park, whilst… PEDRO (VO) I tried that once… met this really hot chick… she had a really big pair of… ALEJANDRO …COJONES!! (laughs whilst groping his crotch) Pedro pulls a face. PAUSE on comical facial shot, then speed up to mid-shot – title card PEDRO - 18, is just a “follower”, and like a needy puppy dog full of energy, follows Alejandro’s every move and hangs on his every word. EMILIO That’s the only way you could ever get any Pedro, coz at least then they can’t slap you like Conchita did when you tried to make the moves! (winks at Miguel, smiling)
3 CU Miguel. Then PAUSE long shot on Emilio, leaning against the graffiti’d sandstone wall, lighting a cigarette, then speed up to profile shot – title card EMILIO - 20, is older and visibly just as tough as Alejandro. He appears more laid back and mature. In the background is a church steeple crowning his head. Beside him on the wall is graffiti of a monster holding a love heart. Back in real time, Emilio waves off the match, putting it out and flicking it away. Sped up, camera flips around from Emilio and goes to CU of MIGUEL. PAUSE – title card MIGUEL - 17, who is clearly softer, quieter and younger than the others; Full body shot, his image silhouetted by the pink flowered tree with the sun shining through – the golden boy, with a slightly uneasy look upon his face. Alejandro puts his playful arm around Miguel’s shoulder, rough housing and escapes the grip, as the boys move on towards a shaded wooded area. Emilio passes him, tussling Miguel’s hair and smiling. POV Miguel, still blurred and jolty, as he follows the boys from the back of the group. Miguel takes an audible breath as the voices of the boys and the music trail off in the background whilst the sound of a slight breeze blows through the trees above. Cut to shot of trees swaying in the spring wind, followed by shot of open park as a cloud shadow gives way to the sun. CU Miguel front on looking up at the trees then back down to his path, squinting his eyes, as a light hits his face. To the right of screen is a bench and sitting on it is a shining metal object that catches our focus – the camera. The boys have passed it, but Miguel now steps into frame, approaches the bench, picks up the camera and turns it on. On the LCD screen of the camera pops up an image of a beautiful girl – cue sound of heartbeat gradually getting louder whilst everything else around is silence. CU Alejandro no longer listening to boys chatter, but rather focussed on Miguel who has fallen behind. POV group looking back Miguel who is staring at the camera. CUT TO CU camera in Miguel’s hands as Alejandro suddenly snatches it from Miguel’s hands. Cue upbeat music again. ALEJANDRO Well, well, well, what have we got here?? PEDRO Awesome! Some dumbass left their camera! Who’s is it?
EMILIO ALEJANDRO
4 Who cares! I reckon it’d be worth a bit! Maybe we can sell it. Pedro snatches the camera off Alejandro. PEDRO Nah man, we should all flop our chops and fill the memory with photos of our cocks for the next person to find! The boys all laugh as Pedro flops his right arm between his legs like an elephant trunk. Miguel is not laughing and lunges at Pedro for the camera. Alejandro, who is taller grabs it off Miguel and holds it up above as he jumps for it. ALEJANDRO Not so fast Miguelito – let’s see what’s on it. Alejandro flicks through the stored photos on the camera. PEDRO Ooh, mamecita! Hot! The boys all gather around the camera to get a closer look, including Miguel who stands outside the group. Over the boys shoulders we see a photo of an attractive young girl - 18 yrs old. Miguel, intrigued but disgusted, grabs the camera off them and storms off. ALEJANDRO (mocking) Oh Miguelito! So precious! Are you in love!! (ALL) OooOOoohh… They all laugh hysterically at Miguel as he walks away from the group. Emilio, still in the back of the group, looks after him with fading laughter and finally concern as the camera recedes further and further from the group. Profile shot of Miguel as he runs away with a smile on his face. BLACK SCREEN Cue second music sound track TITLE SHOT: The Camera 2.
EXT. ALLEY WAY / BACK STREETS – DAY (MONTAGE) Fast paced action sequence – this first one should be very colourful as the protagonist is very happy and excited about his new discovery, however, it should also reflect his personality. Lots of shots of him running past colourful graffiti in and around Newtown. Maybe some interesting angled shots of old historic buildings – this is his world, his playground. Running through a
5 tunnel as a train flies overhead. Lots of filler shots showing his grungy and punky world. Miguel lives in a world of inner beauty, creativity, colour and self expression. This sequence needs to reflect this. Be creative with these shots, mixing up the visual style to keep it fresh. 3.
INT. BEDROOM - DAY Door opens in dark room. MIGUEL enters, throws his bag on the couch. With camera in hand, he goes straight to his computer attaching it to his iMac. He sits the camera on top of a few pages of cartoonish scribbles sitting on his table – a skeleton with a blood red heart caged in its ribs; a boy huddled in a ball in a dark corner. His walls are also pinned with graffiti art. He begins dumping all the contents of the camera onto his computer. Cue melodic acoustic guitar music. He lazily sifts through the contents, focusing on a few random pics at first then gradually picking up more and more speed – shots from Europe, the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Cemetery headstones, Hyde Park fountain, St Mary’s Cathedral, Coogee beach, cliffs and park area - typical tourist shots. Miguel flicks through these quickly – he’s only interested in seeing an image of the girl as quickly as possible. He pauses momentarily at a few shots that show a bit of her face. He analyses these pics intensely, but briefly until suddenly he comes across an arty black and white picture of the girl looking at herself in the mirror, as if mentally examining herself. CU Miguel’s face, his breath taken away by the sudden sight of her fragility and innocence. Miguel stands bolt upright as if confronted by the image, grabs his forehead, looks around and begins pacing the room – he looks back at the photo on screen, then looks around again. Suddenly with conviction, he sits and grabs his mouse. Furiously he creates albums and compartmentalizes images. Folder: EUROPE – he highlights a few pics, then drags them to this folder. He opens a few European photos for closer scrutiny. Grabbing a notepad and pen, he scribbles down – she’s a traveler… – photos of Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa… she’s into architecture? – various images of European architecture she’s not from here… – reading a “Guide to Australia” book, she’s European?... – she’s at airport with Mum and Dad only child? – as above Folder: PARTY GIRL – again he highlights a selection and drags to this folder, looking more closely at select pics.
6 Extroverted, has lots of friends… – group photos of new friends met at parties, but flicking through he notices… she seems bored… – more candid shots of her not smiling He taps the pen on the table. social drinker – shots of her with beer in hand …but NOT a smoker – image of her avoiding friends cigarette smoke Folder: TRAVELS – again he highlights a selection and drags to this folder, looking more closely at select pics. backpacker – temporary visitor? – pic of her with backpack on with various flags attached solo traveler – a few shots of her on train traveling alone fiercely independent – more of above adventurous… – a few shots of her rock climbing, trekking, etc. Gradually gaining momentum:Folder: PUBLIC ART – again he highlights a selection and drags to this folder, looking more closely at select pics. she’s artistic, very expressive – some dramatic city landscape patterns appreciates aesthetics/elegance – “Majestic Woman” graffiti she likes MY graffiti! – shot of stencil work done by Miguel she’s into public art? – various photos of sculptures in particular: * “Boy Extracting Thorn” (Botanical Gardens) – ‘looks delicate / effeminate, like a listless girl?’; * Brett Whitely’s “Almost Once” sculpture of one burnt and one unlit match – ‘is she the burnt one?’; * Bali sculpture in Coogee with connected rings – ‘Links? Connection?’ MIGUEL (whispers) What’s the connection? Folder: PERSONAL – again he highlights a selection and drags to this folder, looking more closely at select pics. lives locally/city girl – pics of her at cafés / on King St intelligent – shots of her reading book in park likes history? – cemetery headstones she’s funky – shots of her funky coloured hair and piercings she’s pretty, has a delicate face – closer more experimental self images of her in park beautiful green eyes – as above milky white skin – experimental intimate shots of skin slim body – more experimental self images Miguel sits back and takes in the multitude of images. He looks down at his list, focuses on the word “adventurous”, taps his pen, then looks back at ar-
7 tistic images of girl in park. Next to “adventurous” he writes “…but self reflective”. He looks at list again – “she’s not from here”, “she’s European??”. He flicks through remaining photos and finds a “Thelma & Louise” style photo with her best friend, beaming smiles and waving little Swedish flags at some kind of festival. He crosses out “she’s European” and writes “she’s Swedish”. Looking back at photo of best friend and then an image of her “bored” at a party, he writes down on pad, “misses best friend back home”… pauses… Music has built to a crescendo. Miguel is taken aback as he realizes there is a video file he didn’t notice before named – “MYSTERY GIRL”. He opens it. SILENCE – the sound of a heartbeat gradually comes in. As the file plays on the screen, he leans forward, the blue light of the screen reflecting on his face. He is suddenly taken by the honesty of what he sees the girl in her bedroom, sitting on her bed. At first she doesn’t seem to be doing anything, or have any discernible emotion, she just sits staring at the camera, but as the camera zooms in on her face, she bursts into tears. Miguel’s eyes widen. A tear rolls down his cheek. MIGUEL (whispers) She’s lonely? Zoom in to name tag, scribbles down furiously – ‘her name is RACHEL!!’. The video finishes. There is a knock on Miguel’s door. He shuts the video and up pops another image. Emilio enters cautiously. EMILIO Hey man, what’s up with you today? There is momentary silence. Emilio touches Miguel’s cheek in a brotherly fashion. EMILIO CONT. What’s the matter? Are you ok? MIGUEL Yeah I’m ok… it’s just this girl… They both turn their heads toward the screen - the girl, sullenly stands behind a café counter in her black uniform. MIGUEL (CONT.) There’s something about her… I can’t explain it. I think she needs help.
8 Emilio laughs. EMILIO And how do you know she needs help? You haven’t even met her! MIGUEL I think she left this camera on purpose. She’s trying to reach out to someone… to me… Emilio smiles and shakes his head. He puts his hand on Miguel’s shoulder. EMILIO So what are you going to do? What’s your plan? Miguel looks at the photo. Zoom in on girl, then her lapel showing her name to be “RACHEL”, then in on sign above Rachel’s shoulder – Chill Out Café. He looks up at Emilio. CUT TO: 4.
EXT. ALLEY WAY / BACK STREETS – DAY (MONTAGE) Fast paced action sequence – Miguel is running through the streets, very excited about meeting the girl of his dreams for the first time. Similar to scene 2, lots of shots of him running past colourful graffiti in and around Newtown, some interesting angled shots of old historic buildings, running through a tunnel as a train flies overhead. Lots of filler shots showing his grungy and punky world. However, this time Miguel is acting a little more crazily, recklessly - he plays with a dog as he runs through park, he bounces off the side of a tree, park benches, etc. He is extremely happy and excited – perhaps overly excited. Ends with him jumping off something and…
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EXT. / INT. CAFÉ - DAY CUT TO - Miguel crash-landing on the floor outside a café looking bewildered. POV Miguel as he looks up at the sign towering above him – “CHILL OUT CAFE”. He gets up, dusts himself off and steps through the doors of the café absent mindedly. Suddenly he stops – speed up to CU of shocked face. Standing behind the counter in front of him is RACHEL. PAUSE then speed up to mid shot – title card RACHEL - 17, the girl from the pictures is dressed in a dirty black t-shirt, black apron and pants, but bright, colourful wrist bands and blue streaked hair. She is staring absently at the coffee machine, sighing as she robotically makes coffee – click click of coffee granules, twist part into machine, places cup under spurt, gurgleschwssshh-spurt.
9 Miguel wants to approach her, but is physically stuck to the spot – unable to move forward. Miguel takes a deep breath, waits, takes another deep breath, bounces lightly on his toes, clenches fists, and walks rapidly, the short distance to her and stops suddenly, standing still in front of her. She’s a little startled at first. RACHEL Oh, hi. What would you like? He stares for a moment in silence. His mouth tries to form some words. Rachel’s eyes blink. MIGUEL A … ah… large Mocha thanks… to HAVE HERE! He pays and takes a prime seat in the corner. She comes by his table and hands him his coffee. He smiles for an instant. She smiles back and holds his gaze but he shies away nervously. Montage shots: • clock on the wall, seconds ticking by; • Miguel leg twitches under the table; • he fiddles with his phone; • takes a sip of his coffee; • flicks through a magazine; • sneaks a peak at Rachel over the magazine; • gets up and pretends to look at the postcards on the wall; • sneaks another peak at her; • he glances at the clock, 1hr has passed; • he drains his coffee, gets up and walks outside; • POV Rachel – we see Miguel walk passed the window, head hanging low. FADE TO BLACK 6.
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT MIGUEL tosses and turns in bed. He gets up and stares out the window at the loneliness of the street for a good while, then goes to his computer and turns it on. He looks through all the photos and video. He looks at his notes on what he has found out about this girl – she’s arty, she works in a café, she likes public art, she’s got green eyes, pale skin, red hair, she’s a traveler, and heavily underlined – she’s lonely. He gets up and looks at himself in the mirror in his boxers, looking at his features: his eyes, his skin colour, his hair, his body shape, his skin texture… he suddenly turns around, goes to his computer, flicks through some folders of images of himself, grabs his note pad and furiously begins writing something down.
10 CUT TO: 7.
EXT. PARK – DAY (MONTAGE) Miguel rides through the park on his skateboard. He sits at a table thinking, pen in hand, tapping his pen on a note pad. CU Miguel drawing his skeleton on the wooden table holding the heart with “Rachel” written in the middle of it. Miguel looks up and sees Emilio in the distance. From far away we see him walk up to Miguel, they shake hands and talk, but we can’t hear the words. He holds up a camera. Emilio playfully puts his arm around Miguel as they walk off together. Miguel and Emilio meet Alejandro and Pedro in the park. Montage of group taking photos that define Miguel’s character – Images in old school ‘Hipstamatic’ style:
Miguel doing his stencil graffiti him drawing/sketching & images of his work him in and around Newtown, café’s, on King st, beside iconic graffiti, ie: aboriginal flag, etc. various other arty shots of Newtown mural graffiti, stencil art and tags various “Thelma & Louise” style photos of Miguel and best friend Emilio group goofing off together arty shots in graveyard group playing in kids playground the guys kicking a soccer ball in the park Miguel playing his guitar in the park Holding up map of South America and pointing to a country
After each photo he takes, Miguel crosses an item off his list. Montage ends with some traffic shots, sun setting over horizon, to show the long day has passed. 8.
INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT Dark room – door opens providing some light. Miguel enters. He throws his bag and skateboard on the floor and collapses on the bed. After a pause he gets back up, rummages through his bag and takes out his camera. He sets it up on his computer table pointing it towards himself on the bed. Looking exhausted, he sets himself up on top of his bed in front of the camera and without saying a word just sits there staring at the camera, crying like a child. FADE TO BLACK
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INT. BEDROOM - MORNING FADE IN:
11 Sun is shining in through the window and the sounds of birds chirping can be heard. MIGUEL groggily opens his eyes, looks at the clock – almost midday – and jumps out of bed with a start. He quickly grabs a towel and jumps in the shower singing one of the upbeat punk songs. Water turns off, shower screen opens. He grabs the towel, dries himself off, draws a love heart with an arrow on the foggy mirror before wiping it clear, puts on a t-shirt then fixes his hair. He grabs his camera and places it inside a small colourful bag, the kind used for presents. At his computer table he hurriedly writes a message on a small card, which he puts in the bag also, and runs out the door. 10. EXT. CAFE - DAY Static shot across the street from the café as Miguel approaches. He appears nervous and as he approaches the door, he looks in then keeps walking straight past it. A few shops down he stops and we see him fidget, and make his way back again towards the front door. Again he peers in like a stalker, walks to the frame of the door, pauses, then keeps walking past. A few doors down he stops again, stamps his foot, and psyches himself up. He walks up to the door again. By the door he takes a deep breath and enters the café. 11. INT. CAFÉ - DAY Miguel runs right up to the counter. A male staff member looks at him and says, CAFÉ STAFF MEMBER Hi, can I help you? Miguel hesitates. MIGUEL I…ah… you’re not Rachel. The Staff Members looks at the colourful package Miguel is holding and smiles knowingly. CAFÉ STAFF MEMBER No… no I’m not. But she’s about to get here any minute now if you wanna ha… MIGUEL NO!...um… no that’s alright…um, can you just give this to her when she gets here? Miguel hands her the bag. CAFÉ STAFF MEMBER Um, ok. Who should I say it’s from?
12 MIGUEL No-one!… um, I mean… um, just tell her I’m just some guy who found her camera. Miguel looks around himself nervously to see if Rachel has arrived. CAFÉ STAFF MEMBER Oh great! She’ll be so glad to see this. You really should stick around, she’ll be here any second and will probably wanna thank you – give you a free coffee and cake if you… MIGUEL Ah… no thanks… Miguel nervously runs off leaving the café staff member giggling to himself. 12. EXT. CAFE - DAY As Miguel leaves the café, he sees Rachel approaching the café from the left, but she is looking down at her feet and does not see him. He makes an about turn and runs off to the right and across the street to hide behind a fence / bushes. Rachel is stopped at the entrance to the café by co-worker and is handed the bag. There is silent discussion between them about someone dropping off this package for her, who just left the store. Rachel sticks her head out the door and looks around for the culprit. Looking at the bag again, she opens it and takes out a card. She looks around again. She begins to read the card: She looks in the bag and takes it out the camera. Rachel turns it on and begins to flick through the photos - she begins to laugh but gradually it fades to sadness. She looks around again for Miguel then back at the card and flips it over. Co-worker approaches Rachel, asking if she is alright. She smiles and puts the camera away, and heads back in to work. Final shot of Miguel, slumped down on the ground against the wall, nervously panting. 13. EXT. NEWTOWN – MONTAGE Montage of the traffic flying past at high speed, day becomes night, people go in and out of the café at high speed, and at various iconic places around Newtown, ie: the sun setting behind the Silo’s, traffic flowing through the main intersection at King St / Enmore Rd; people coming in and out of the train station, etc. 14. EXT. PARK: KIDS PLAYGROUND – LATE AFTERNOON
13 Miguel is sullenly walking past the kids playground. Emilio, sitting on the swings smoking, whistles at Miguel, and motions him over. Miguel sits in the free swing beside him. EMILIO So? How did it go? MIGUEL Shit. I was a nervous wreck! EMILIO But did she get the package? MIGUEL Yeah. She wasn’t there, so I left it with her co-worker. But man, what am I supposed to do? I was so nervous without her even being there, how am I supposed to meet her tonight? I can’t do it… I’m such a loser. Emilio smiles and puts his hand on Miguel’s shoulder. EMILIO Hey, no you’re not. It’s just that this girl means a lot to you and that’s important. Nothing that’s easy is ever worth getting man. MIGUEL Yeah but what if she’s not interested? What if she doesn’t like me? I’ll make a fool out of myself! EMILIO But what if she DOES like you? What if she IS interested? You’ll never know if you never try man. (Pause) Look man, heaps of people go through life never knowing what they want, or if they do know, they’re too scared to go out and get it. Take it from me. People all around Sydney know my work, but noone knows me. I don’t even know me. But you know what you want out of life, and it’s right there for you to just grab it. You can’t run away from it now – not after all the work you’ve put in to get this far. You gotta take it Miguel. Miguel looks despondently at his feet. EMILIO (CONT) What time do you have to meet her?
14 MIGUEL 9 o’clock. I’m supposed to meet her outside the café then… (timidly) come with me? EMILIO (laughs) Nah man, you gotta do this on your own. But I’ll be here for you no matter what. You can do it man… They both look at each other and laugh. EMILIO (CONT) Now you better go, it’s almost 9 o’clock. You don’t wanna let this opportunity slip away do you? SWIPE cut 15. EXT. CAFÉ - AFTERNOON / NIGHT - MONTAGE Static shot across the street from the café, cars pass at high speed. Miguel, in the foreground, looks at his watch – it’s 9pm. Cars fly past disturbing his silence. CU watch – 9:05pm. There is some activity inside the café, chairs being stacked, etc. More cars pass between Miguel and the café. CU watch – 9:10pm. Rachel and co-worker come out chatting. She is carrying the bag with the camera. Miguel leaves the screen. Mid-shot Rachel, facing screen right, says her good byes to her co-worker who turns and walks off home (screen right). Rachel takes a few steps to the screen right and turns on her toes as if not sure what to do. She looks at her watch, and just as she looks up, Miguel hesitantly appears screen left beside her. They both look at each other: Rachel with curiosity and Miguel with fear. After a long intense pause, (mid-shot still from across the street) they catch eye contact again, as Miguel puts his hand out and offers Rachel her camera. They both start to laugh hysterically, as if a big weight has been lifted off their shoulders. Rachel accepts the camera and they touch hands briefly. Wide shot across the street, we see Miguel and Rachel talking and laughing - they seem to be getting along. Miguel offers his arm to Rachel and they both walk off into the distance together.
THE END