Original Idea for Single Shot Narrative
0 Comments Published by David Kingsnorth on Friday, November 16, 2007 at 8:51 AM.
Synopsis – “One Shot”
An interesting short one minute piece focusing on one single male character. We follow the man in a heavily restless state as time slowly counts down. Anxiety and apprehension form the predominant tone of the piece. The male gets down on his knees masked underneath a pillowcase, producing shock and discomfort in the audience, especially when a rifle appears, targeting him. Reality hits: this man is a prisoner, seconds away from execution, and we have just experienced his last few moments of life.
Summary of Action
In short, One Shot is about a man due to be executed.
We are introduced to this man, kneeling and praying. He is in a plain, minimally furnished small room. A clock is ticking. Revealing an agitated disposition, the man gets up and continually taps his fingers on a table. He bites his nails. His eyes twitch and in general, he appears nervous. Unexpectedly, he then gets off the chair, moves a short distance and falls to his knees. Oddly, he then places a pillowcase/balaclava over his head. A gun appears, pointing at the main character. After a short, high anxious pause with the man looking towards his killer and then bowing his head, the screen goes black.
Reasoning
The execution idea is something quite striking or shocking and so means our piece wouldn’t just be a run of the mill student film. It is more challenging as well, being quite a contentious issue. However, without directly telling the audience the nature of the man, there is no reason as to why he couldn’t be presumed a hostage, subjected to the mercy of terrorists, or a prisoner on death row. (Mise en scene would have to leave hints of his true nature.)
The way we open the scene with the man praying would maybe subject the viewer to think that this is a religious man, synonymous with being moral and decent. The ticking clock would draw our attention to time passing, perhaps counting down; exactly what the main character is having to experience. Tapping his fingers and a restless state should raise questions in the viewer’s mind, making them wonder why the man is nervous and what has happened? The act of getting to his knees and placing a balaclava on his head would cause confusion, again questioning the character we have been introduced to. When the gun appears pointing in very close proximity to our character, we realise what is happening and his anxiety becomes understandable: he is about to be executed. This juxtaposed against the prayers we first witness the man carrying out creates quite a strong contrast; it is something of a shock. The man who at first could have been presumed religious; moral, decent, is about to be slaughtered.
Drama could also be perceived in the way the scene opened with the man on his knees praying, and now will end with the man on his knees head bowed again, but for a very different reason: death. Questions would be asked as to what has he done? In general, the audience would question the type of man they’ve been watching and maybe change their opinions of the character, more sympathetic perhaps. When the gun is produced, it surely proves there is no way out for this man. He is alone and he is vulnerable.
An interesting short one minute piece focusing on one single male character. We follow the man in a heavily restless state as time slowly counts down. Anxiety and apprehension form the predominant tone of the piece. The male gets down on his knees masked underneath a pillowcase, producing shock and discomfort in the audience, especially when a rifle appears, targeting him. Reality hits: this man is a prisoner, seconds away from execution, and we have just experienced his last few moments of life.
Summary of Action
In short, One Shot is about a man due to be executed.
We are introduced to this man, kneeling and praying. He is in a plain, minimally furnished small room. A clock is ticking. Revealing an agitated disposition, the man gets up and continually taps his fingers on a table. He bites his nails. His eyes twitch and in general, he appears nervous. Unexpectedly, he then gets off the chair, moves a short distance and falls to his knees. Oddly, he then places a pillowcase/balaclava over his head. A gun appears, pointing at the main character. After a short, high anxious pause with the man looking towards his killer and then bowing his head, the screen goes black.
Reasoning
The execution idea is something quite striking or shocking and so means our piece wouldn’t just be a run of the mill student film. It is more challenging as well, being quite a contentious issue. However, without directly telling the audience the nature of the man, there is no reason as to why he couldn’t be presumed a hostage, subjected to the mercy of terrorists, or a prisoner on death row. (Mise en scene would have to leave hints of his true nature.)
The way we open the scene with the man praying would maybe subject the viewer to think that this is a religious man, synonymous with being moral and decent. The ticking clock would draw our attention to time passing, perhaps counting down; exactly what the main character is having to experience. Tapping his fingers and a restless state should raise questions in the viewer’s mind, making them wonder why the man is nervous and what has happened? The act of getting to his knees and placing a balaclava on his head would cause confusion, again questioning the character we have been introduced to. When the gun appears pointing in very close proximity to our character, we realise what is happening and his anxiety becomes understandable: he is about to be executed. This juxtaposed against the prayers we first witness the man carrying out creates quite a strong contrast; it is something of a shock. The man who at first could have been presumed religious; moral, decent, is about to be slaughtered.
Drama could also be perceived in the way the scene opened with the man on his knees praying, and now will end with the man on his knees head bowed again, but for a very different reason: death. Questions would be asked as to what has he done? In general, the audience would question the type of man they’ve been watching and maybe change their opinions of the character, more sympathetic perhaps. When the gun is produced, it surely proves there is no way out for this man. He is alone and he is vulnerable.
Labels: Narrative - One Shot Film
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