Final project
For my final project, I want to show someone getting arrested for illegally downloading music. The genre will be comedy. I plan on having the police overreact by coming in with guns and smashing the laptop and iPod to make the film funnier. I have some old laptops that don't work and airsoft guns that look real to use as props. I will use a calculator as the iPod so I do not have to break a real one.
Storyline
It starts out showing the main character talking to his friend. They talk about illegally downloading music and the dialog implies that the main character has never downloaded music before, but is going to. The friend says something about how people can get in serious trouble from downloading music, but the main character thinks that that is ridiculous. He goes home and starts using his computer. suspenseful music is sounding as his finger slowly goes towards the mouse and the camera shows sweat dripping down his face. The music is at its most nerve racking part as he is clicking the mouse in slow motion, but instantly stops after it is clicked. Some sound affect will be added in to represent the song finishing downloading and he will start to listen to it. The film will cut to a scene where someone of high authority such as policemen, military agents, etc. are sneaking up to the house with guns. The different officers will be going through different doors to ensure that the suspect does not escape. It cuts again to the kid listening to music. It will cut back and forth between the officers closing in on the room and the kid and the closer they get to the room, the shorter the cuts will be. When they approach the door of the room, the screen will be split down the middle show the kid on one side and the officers on the other. In slow motion and with a low frame rate, they will open the door and the kid's side of the screen will show a close up of his shocked and terrified face. The screen will now just show one view of the room and the police will run in yelling at the kid to back away from the computer (no longer in slow motion). One policeman will handcuff the kid while the other will place the laptop and ipod in plastic bags. Although this part will show the police doing these things, the focus will be of the kid. The camera will show the kid's perspective with a very low frame rate and blurry screen and it will go black signifying him passing out. The beginning of the next scene will be similar to the end of the previous with the kid waking up in an interrogation room. The police will be examining the evidence. When they see that he is awake, they interrogate him, asking him how he found out about limewire and why he did it. After they get enough information from the laptop and ipod, they come to the conclusion that the only way to prevent complications would be to destroy the instruments by which the crime was committed. They take them out behind the facility and use baseball bats to destroy the laptop and ipod. The final scene will show the kid in a small courtroom and he pleads insane and is sentenced to counseling at a nearby mental facility. Then it will finally show him sitting in fettle position with bloodshot, baggy eyes in the mental hospital. This part will purposely be silent to add to the affect. Credits Roll
Script
(When kid is talking to friend)
Kid: I'm sick of paying for songs on itunes. I think it is ridiculous that they would make anyone pay a dollar for a few a few minutes of sound.
Friend: It's not like you can change the prices for songs. Besides, one dollar is not really that much money.
Kid: I know, but i still think it would be better if there was a way that I could get songs for free.
Friend: What are you implying?
Kid: I'm going to try illegally downloading music.
Friend: Are you insane!!! Do you know how much trouble you can get in for doing that. I heard that there was a kid who went to court for doing stuff like that.
Kid: Oh please, plenty of people do it and they never get into trouble. Out of all of the people who download music, what are the odds that I am the one who gets caught.
Friend: You are making a big mistake, but it is no skin off my nose if you get arrested.
Kid: You are being unreasonable, Bye (Hangs up)
(When the cops enter the kids room to arrest him)
Police: Freeze, back away from the computer and put your hands where we can see them!! You are under arrest for illegally attaining copyrighted files.
(When the kid is being interrogated)
Interrogator: Why did you do it!
Kid: what?
Interrogator: Don't play dumb with me!!! You are in serious trouble and it is only going to get worse if you don't cooperate!
Kid: Are you talking about the song I downloaded?
Interrogator : Yes! Now tell me, Why did you do it!!!
Kid: I just wanted a free song, I never thought it would be this serious.
Interrogator: Are you seriously this stupid? Everyone knows not to illegally download music.
Kid: Actually, everyone downloads music because it is not that serious.
Interrogator: Would you please give me the names and addresses of the people you know who illegally download music.
Kid: No! This whole thing is ridiculous, just let me go home, I don't have time for this. Who really cares if people illegally download music?
Interrogator: You just made the biggest mistake of your life!!
Kid: Yeah Right!!
(Meanwhile, the cops are preparing to destroy the computer)
Comments
Hey Rich! This script has
Hey Rich!
This script has made so many improvements since the last time we spoke! I am so happy! I think that it's hilarious and I like the turn it has taken. There are just a few questions that I have.
1. What is the song being downloaded? When you cut between him listening to the song and the police encircling his room will that song be playing in the background?
2. When you say "Although this part will show the police doing these things, the focus will be of the kid" What do you mean by that? The police will be shown from the kids P.O.V so that they become blurry as they are bagging up his things?
3. Does the kid go insane from questioning or is he faking it to get out of being thrown into prison? Does there need to be a scene of him writhing on the floor of an assylum or could the movie end with him pleading insanity?
There are a lot of things that I really liked too! I liked a lot of the screen direction that you put in like that the cuts will be getting shorter leading up to the attack. I like that you have decided to put things in slow motion leading up to the capture but quickly cut back to normal speed for the actual action, I like the idea of split screen. I would really like to hear more of that kind of detail. These are all things that will intensify the actual arrest and make editing a ton of fun! Over all the concept is hilarious and I'm psyched about the improvements!
It seems that the scene with the most dialogue is when the kid is brought in for questioning by the police. The rest of the film is more action based. I would really like to see a small script of what will be going on in the interrogation scene. What do the police officers ask him to make him break? Does the kid hold his ground at first or does he immediately feel guilty and burst into tears after the first question? This is a really important scene so I am curious to see it fleshed out a little more!
Can't wait!
I think it will be funny to
Hey Rich! Thanks for the
Hey Rich!
Thanks for the reply that did clear a lot up for me. Still looking forward to hearing more about the ending and how you think the questioning will go...
I have just been thinking about the calculator ordeal. I agree that you should not actually smash an ipod but I was wondering if there was another way around using the calculator. It might be hard to film it so that it looks like it could be an ipod so I was going to ask first if you knew anyone who already has a broken ipod that wouldn't mind donating it. Or if that isn't the case, maybe you could do some trick filming where you end the scene with the ipod being smashed but you cut to black right before the hammer hits the ipod to send the message that it will be destroyed but you don't actually have to go through with it. Does this make sense? It could also be fun to shoot this from many different angles and cut together some really intense collage of destruction.
Looking forward to talking to you more!
Lenora
Hey Richard. I also like how
Hey Richard.
I also like how this has developed. As we discussed in class, I want to know what you are trying to convey. Is it that the student has no idea what is in store for him? Or is it the hyper security state that we are living in? I agree with Lenora that the song will have a major impact. Is is something funny like a something from the 30's, something innocent like a nursery rhyme, or something more symbolic. This choice should be made deliberately.
I would also like you to further develop the ending. Having the student end up in an insane asylum seems a little out of context. There should be some connection from the beginning to the end. Some reference to the conversation that the students in the beginning have.
-JoE
I think that a better way to
I think that a better way to make this look more realistic would be to get a toy ipod from a dollar store or to smash an ipod case and make it look like an actual ipod.
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