Final Script - Duality

I have compiled a final script for my thriller opening 'Duality'. The script consists of five pages covering three separate scenes.

Scene One:

Scene 1 will start with the camera focusing on a brick wall where the credits including director, writer and actors will be superimposed. The scene will be set in a dark, dingy corridor which appears to be inside a cheap hotel with very low lighting. The antagonist of the opening will be dressed in a black suit, sunglasses, smart shoes with slicked back hair. The audience will not initially see him as a dangerous character as he is formally dressed suggesting he may be a target for theft. This idea will be supported by the large headphones he will be wearing which not only support the 1980's setting of the thriller opening, but also make the character appear susceptible to any dangers which may confront him as he will not hear them. The camera will follow the antagonist from behind through a mid shot, this suggests that he is being followed by someone and is unaware and could be attacked at any second.  However this view of the antagonist soon changes as he goes to knock at a door, steps back, and kicks through the door. The camera will quickly follow the killer into the room with a shaky, handheld shot remaining behind the killer. 

A blonde female character will then be introduced who will jump up from where she was sat. The room will also have very low lighting, in order to make the audience feel closed in and claustrophobic therefore they cannot escape, and the woman will be dressed in typical 1980's clothing which has not yet been decided upon. An extreme close up of the woman's face will indicate that she is frightened by this unknown character's presence, this is fully established through another extreme close up of the antagonist stroking a knife in a slow, sexual manner. This is followed by a wide shot from the killer's perspective, panning across the room checking for potential exits when the woman races into the shot. This then reverts back to the original mid shot from behind the killer in which he draws back the knife behind his head ready to launch in the direction of the helpless woman. The camera then ducks away into the killers back to obscure the audience's vision to make them confused about the whole situation and unsure on whether the girl has been murdered or just injured after the diegetic sound of the knife entering her body. However the character's death is confirmed to the audience as the camera draws back up to the woman falling to the floor. The camera then quickly switches from behind the killer into the victim's eyes as she watches the killer's feet walk closer and closer to her dying body, blacking out momentarily to create ellipses. The killer's headphones are then dropped right in front of the victim, the camera tilts up as the killer bends down, cutting just before his face is shown to ensure this killer remains anonymous. The killer then pulls the knife from his victim from a mid shot behind him and proceeds to slash her throat, splattering fake blood onto the wall behind her. At this point the camera will swiftly pan to the wall and present blood dripping down before showing the killer leave the room from an obscure shot by a puddle of the victim's blood on the floor.

Scene 2:

Scene 2 of Duality will start with the aftermath of the murder which the audience have just witnessed. Obviously because of the detectives working on the crime scene the room will feature more lighting and will include three detectives, two of which will be examining the dead body and one will be writing up a report on the typewriter at the back of the shot. A television in the room will have been left on and there will be three reporters outside waiting for the entrance of another police detective. I plan to start the scene with the flash of a detective's camera as he examines the female fatality, this will be quickly followed by a close up of the corpse, leading to a pan to the entrance of the room. A detective with dark hair, a shirt and a trench coat will enter the room and the camera will follow him from behind with a similar mid shot used in the opening scene, suggesting to the audience that this might be the same person returning to the scene of the crime. The detective walks up to a fellow detective, dressed in an open shirt with rolled up sleeves and no tie, who is already looking at the body. This will be followed by a two shot of the two detectives, quickly cutting to a close up the protagonist lighting a cigarette, reverting back to the two shot as he takes a drag.

This is where the first dialogue of the opening is introduced as the other detective asks the protagonist whether he believes it was 'him'. This line also tells the audience the name of the main character, Hudson, allowing them to form a closer relationship with him over the course of the scene. However Hudson's reaction to the question is hostile and includes profanities to assert dominance over his colleague and show that he is stressed about the case. This is then followed by a statement of doubt by the other detective which leads Hudson to walk off in disgust over being doubted by his fellow officers. As Hudson leaves the room, a wide shot from the door frame will show him walking. Diegetic sound of reporters calling his name will cause the detective to bury his head in his hands in frustration before he confronts three members of the press. The press also declare their doubt over his abilities to handle the case leading to the audience momentarily sympathising with the protagonist until he attacks one of the reporters who ask him if 'he knows people are dying'. This moment of anger will act as another suggestion to the audience that Hudson is also the killer as both have shown violent tendencies. The scene will fade out after Hudson has slammed the door on the reporters after the minor attack. 

Scene 3:

Scene 3 will start in a foul, filthy alleyway at around dawn. As I plan to film this scene first, I have looked ahead at the weather forecast which suggests the weather will mainly consist of rain over the coming weeks which may create some continuity problems when it comes to filming, however I have decided to include the weather in the script as it may be something I have to deal with on the day. the scene will start with a wide shot of the alleyway, similar to the opening scene the killer will walk through wearing the exact same clothes except this time without the headphones. A tramp will also be sat in the corner of the shot. The camera will then cut to a mid shot from the perspective of the tramp which will pan up the legs of the killer, again similar to scene 1. He will ask the killer for change as he walks past. I plan for the tramp to be dressed in an old army-like parka, black jeans, Chelsea boots and black fingerless gloves. The camera will then cut back to the original wide shot in which the killer will stop and drop his wallet as he reaches for his jacket pocket. A high, canted angle will be used to show the tramp as weak as he reaches for the killer's wallet but is unsuccessful as the killer stamps down on it. A close up of the tramp will present his fear to the audience as he, as well as the audience by now, have anticipated that the tramp is now in serious danger. The original wide shot will show the killer stab the tramp and lower him to the floor before kicking his to ensure that he has reached his demise. The killer picks up his wallet and calmly exits the scene as is nothing had happened. A close up of the tramp will present a pool of blood before the shot cuts to black where 'DUALITY' will finally be superimposed.