JMKProductions

DIALOGUE

After completing the editing, we used a Merantz recorder and Rode mic (which works in the same way as a rifle mic in only recording everything directly in front) to record the rest of the dialogue (having already got the mum’s and Owen’s on the two days of filming). As two of our actors let us down and wouldn’t return my texts or emails, I had to provide the voice of the drug dealer whilst a friend provided the voice of the dad (we had a few options for him, but since none of them were actors, we felt it would be better to use the friend from Yorkshire, as their accent is stereotypically seen as loud and angry, something that the part demanded).

On the latter 2 pieces of dialogue, and the piece that accompanied the mum visual, we put reverberation on, with the setting of medium room, so that it made it clear that it was a flashback. We also added an echo on “Find somewhere else”, the mum’s last line with the accompanying visual, to make it obvious that they’re now living in their own place, and also as something that had stayed with them.

With the off screen dialogue at the end, which sounds as Owen realises Sid is dead, we used the LowPass filter, to only let high frequencies through, which created the effect of them being on the phone, and without the reverberation, it made it clear that it wasn’t another flashback, more a “flash forward”.

FOLEY SOUNDS

We then watched through the whole edited version and made a note of every possible thing that would create a sound, involving; shuffling, inhaling, exhaling, drinking, rustling paper, playing with the lighter, footsteps, knocking the belt etc. All in all we came to a list of 109 sounds and then went about getting them. We wanted to make the sounds as natural as possible, but to overlay them and attempt to recreate the atmosphere of the moment.

To help with this we recorded the sound of water dripping and creaking pipes, to help get across their poor living situation and how they spend all their money on drugs.

On certain items, where we forgot to get a sound, we had to try and edit another one to make it sound different. This was the case with trying to get the clink of a glass bottle. For this we used the metal banging together from the belt, used a HiPass filter to make sure it was a high pitched clink sound.

For every sound we did, we tried to make sure they we didn’t use the same sound later on without changing settings to make it sound differently, and, for a lot of the sounds, we had to put together several different recordings, such as for the door. We used one recording to get the opening sound, then a different creaking sound, then the closing creaking sound, followed by the slam.

We wanted to create sounds that represent the mood of the visuals, and so we wanted to create outdoor noise for him in the park that had no building noise, traffic etc and just chirping birds, a more positive atmosphere showing his future compared to his past. To do this we went out at 4 in the morning to the same place where we filmed, so it would have the same kind of sound with the surrounding trees.

We started by splitting the shots into separate bins for separate parts of the drama according to the script; drug taking scenes, close ups, leaving the house, outside etc. We tried to stick to the order of the script and do the drug taking scene first as we knew that it would demand the most time of the 3-minutes, so we would then know how much was left for the other scenes.

Having used 2 cameras when filming, we had 2 pieces of footage that matched up exactly, making it easier to cut between the 2. We had talking about how we wanted to use additional sounds recorded to create an atmosphere, however one of the cameras didn’t pick up any sound and so we decided to re-record everything, so we would have complete control on what audio we could use. We had also talked about the pace of editing we wanted to use. We decided we didn’t want to create excitement with fast paced editing that would involve the audience in the drug taking, but also didn’t want it slow and ambling along as we had a lot to get in with a very real purpose, so decided for a medium-paced edit.

All in all for the drug taking scenes we used 3 main types of shots; long/wide, mid and close-up. We cut from long to mid (where it was the same footage as these were the 2 cameras filming at the same time) and hen for specific, important, realistic moments we cut in from mid to close-up.

Using the colour corrector we desaturated and lightened the pictures slightly (so they were still dark, but so facial expressions etc were clear) to make them dingier and as if colour and warmth had been sucked out of their lives. We also stretched and zoomed in on the images to make them grainy, to add to the aforementioned dingy effect and so it didn’t seem like we were glorifying drug taking.

To add to the surrealism in these scenes, and with the placement of the TV, we took the footage on their mum speaking to them which we used for the projections, and cut it down to just her mouth moving, desaturated it and made it quite transparent, and then stuck it on the TV. We didn’t make it obvious and so transparently overlaid it so that it looked as if it was only something that Sid and Owen were aware of, and not something that a drug-free audience might specifically pick up on straight away, and if they did, would recognise because it wasn’t fully coloured, that it was the twins’ imagination.

The final shot of the scene was to show the progression of time and to reinforce the death of Sid; we thought by making him disappear whilst Owen sits motionless, we could create an emotive shot that would show that Owen was still coming round from his drugs binge and slowly coming to realise what had happened. This shot has been used in many different TV shows and films, the latest that I have seen being in Scrubs, when organs infected with rabies get given to patients who start dieing. We used a cross fade/transition on a shot with Sid in it, to one with him not there, before fading to black.

For the next scene where Owen is walking down the hallway, we just left it as one symbolic shot, before he opens the door, on its swing back, when cut as the very moment that the door closes. This is something we picked up from Scorsese in his brilliant Goodfellas. When a car door slams shut, he cuts to another image, not a frame before or after, creating a string of images that flow.

On the outside footage we used two cameras again, one from the side and a long shot and the other from in front, as a mid-shot, with Owen placed on the left side of the screen. We also filmed afterwards an extreme close-up of the letter, and him playing with the lighter, and a close-up from behind him reading the letter. This, at the end of the drama, allowed us to cut quickly between shots to create a bit more excitement that he’s getting on with his life.

We again used the colour corrector on these shots, but to set the white of his tie as the over-riding colour of the whole shot, to make it look brighter, like he’s now got more to live for.

The titles we decided would come up instantly with the shot. The name “Every Cloud” is obviously from the saying “Every cloud has a silver lining”, the majority of the audience will be able to read into this so we didn’t feel the need to put the whole saying. We also didn’t put it at the start of the drama as we didn’t want it to tell the audience what was going to happen.

Due to resnet being down last week and some personal issues with my computer i was unable to post this blog until today.

Tuesday 25th March

The first day of our filming took place on Tuesday last week. Using the equipment that me and friend had picked up yesterday morning, i set up the canon xl1 up with the tripod and used the mini dv tapes that i brought from tesco's that same morning. I removed my 300 poster off my wall because i believed it would have been a distraction in the background when filming the mum "Sandra". While i was setting up the equipment Jake Warren another member in our group, was getting a lift to the train station and back to pick up our Mother character "Sandra". When they arrived at the uni i had set up the location and the equipment, then after a quick brief over on the script and dicussing what mood of voice we wanted from "Sandra", we continued to do a few close up takes of her saying her lines until we were satisfied with what we had. Then also using the same audio equipment we had used in our documentary we then also had "Sandra" repeat her lines into the microphone, so that our audio was at its best quality. After this Jake payed the actor and then took her back the train station, while i continued by putting a new tape in the camera and then put a t-shirt over the camera, i let the tape play all the way through and also did the same with another, so we weren't going to have any last minute dramas with the tapes after filming. Later Jake returned from the train station and we went over to his room to prepare for tomorrows filming. First started by making fake blood using washing up liquid and abit of red food dye. We then putt a few rip holes in the sept-dads shirt and smeared some of the fake blood onto it, we then continued to do the same thing with the jacket as well. We then put the shirt inside the jacket and put them on a hangar to hang dry in the bathroom. All we had to do then was sort out the outfits of the twins. We boiled a bit of water and put it in a big oven dish with a few tea bags so that we could stain the jumper and the vest for both twins, we then continued to burn a few cigarette holes in boths of them as well. We then continued to rip a few holes in both trousers, but later on one twin wore jeans instead because they went with the jumper better. We then proceeded to hang both of them as well so they could dry out for tomorrow. Then just before the first night ended due to our male actor not arriving for some apparent reason, we used one a jake's flat mates who suited the place best and continued to take a few photos of him pretending to be staggering everywhere, as these images were going to be projected behind the twins in tomorrows filming, also Jake and Matt make a few words and phrases up on a slide show that would also appear behind the twins in tomorrows filming. Due to Matt not feeling to well in the morning, he was unable set off from home until lunchtime and arrived at the uni later in the day.

Wednesday 26th March

With another early morning start upon us me and Jake gathered all the equipment together while Matt was finalising the slideshow that was going to be projected today in our film. He then arrived with his car, we loaded up what we could and then let him drive round to the library to our location, while me and Jake walked across with the rest of the equipment that was unable to fit in the car. Then in the little time we had before Matt and Jake had to go and meet the twins actors at the train station we set up our location. I then continued to finish setting up the location while they went to collect the actors. Shortly after they arrived they quickly got changed into their outfits, and then proceeded to film the whole scene in one go using the two tapes i had allowed to run all the way through yesterday, after the twins had read through the script a few times and felt comfortable with what they had to do. Jake was behind one camera that was filming the twins on the right, and Matt was behind the other camera that was filming the twins which was positioned next to Jake in the middle of the room. I was in control of stoping and starting the different words and phrases on the slideshow with the spacebar, on the computer that was projecting these words and phrases onto the wall behind the twins. After filming it all the way through a few times and we were satisfied with what we had, we then continued filming by doing a few close ups shots and mid shots. Then after we were satisfied with all the filming that we had done in our location in the library, we then proceeded to the bench outside of the library to film our end scene. We did a few takes of one of the twins reading the letter and then leaving the bench from different angles and different shots like long shot, close-ups and a POV shot over his shoulder looking at the letter. We then proceeded to my house to film the last scene from our film which is where one of the twins walks through my hallway and out my frontdoor. Now that we had everything filmed we then went to asda to use the cash machine to pay the actors before they returned home.

Kyle Corfield - JMKProductions

In order to have time to fit in flashbacks from the brothers' lives, we decided to project them over the top of the drug taking scenes, to also add to the surrealism and "high" heroin produces for the 2, with the projections being memories but ones they're seeing, and imagining out-of-body, much like the surreal scenes from Trainspotting.

To do this we filmed the scenes first on Tuesday, edited them on Tuesday night through FCP and then played them through a laptop connected to a projector over the actors' performances on Wednesday.

We thought a lot about clothing, mise-en-scene and semiotics within our 3-minute drama and how they would create meaning for the audience, to help establish Sid and Owen at the start and then later on the change in character of Owen.

The names, Sid and Owen
These names were chose to connote a meaning and draw a parrelel with their famous namesakes, to make it easier for the audience to realise what has happened in their life in terms of drug taking up until now. Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols famously died from an overdose, our Sid was also the one to die from an overdose. Owen Wilson allegedly tried to overdose, however survived and is now continuing with his life and working again.

Clothing
We watched Train Spotting to see how a film representing the same drug dressed its stars. We didn't want to be seen to copy them though and so left the trademark skinny jeans out. Instead we decided to go for a pale green/grey tracksuit bottoms combo for Sid and a small beige jumper/black trousers for Owen. We wanted to make them seem worn and old, as if the two rarely leave their house and aren't at all bothered by their look, having had the same clothes for years. Therefore, we covered them in staines, holes and cigarette ash. Later, when we had Owen sitting in the park waiting for his job interview, we had him trying to look smart. His hair was gelled, he was wearing a shirt, tie and trousers. However, we tried to make it so that, to the audience, they can see that although he's trying to get his life back on track, he's not 100% comfortable in the situation and is still out-of-touch with this way of life. His clothes AREN'T ironed and his shirt and tie don't match, but from this it can be seen that he is trying.

Bed and bottles, plates etc
For this piece we thought about Tracey Emin's "My Bed", and how it displayed her whole life with the scattered rubbish. We however, didn't want to make it the whole focus like Tracey's, we just wanted it to reinforce steretypes around the acting of Keiran (Sid) and Tom (Owen). Therefore we framed the shot in two ways, one where the 2 characters heads fall on the bottom Rule of Thirds, so the bed is further down and there's more space above for the projections and the second, closer in slightly from the side so that it was mid-shots of the characters.

Camera Angles
We filmed from higher up than the actors' eyelines and looked down on them, so that the audience would look down on the actions and life's of the 2. Later, when Owen was trying to get his life back on track by waiting for his job interview, we had the camera at his eyeline, so that the audience would then feel that he was at their level now, just trying to get on with his life and willing to work hard for it.

Lighting
We lit the room so that it was dark and intimate with the 2 brothers. Also so that it looks dark and dingy, as if they have neglected their house, which in turn, with the lack of lighting, would make the shots look grainy, fitting in with the theme of drug taking.

Owen's walk away from the camera
We had Owen walk away from the camera (it was placed at his back and so therefore was pitch black) towards the light of the door so that it would be seen as him leaving the dark of his life behind him.

Owen's Job Interview letter
The letter that Owen looks at is from a local council offering him a job to work in their food sector, so that could be the staff canteen or something like Meals on Wheels. This suggests that the kind of jobs he can go for have been affected by the past, but he's still trying and just wants to get to a sense of normality through working again.

Picture by Jake Warren

Tuesday 25th March

Above there are two diagrams showing a birds eye view on how we are planning to light the two scenes in our three minute drama.
The first diagram shows the scene where the twins are sitting on their matress, there will be one industrial light to their right giving some hard light across and on the right side of their faces. There will also be a projector directly infront pointing towards them lighting all up both of the twins, and there is also a few ceiling above them towards their left giving soft light to the left side of their bodies. You can also see the canon xl1 at the bottom of the top diagram in the middle, that shows all you will see when looking through the viewfinder. The light is drawn with red pen displaying which area it is going to affect in that scene.
The second diagram shows another scene where one of the twins is sitting on the matress in a tucked sitting position with the words of his distraught mum running through his head "your tearing this family apart".  Again drawn in red pen to display which area the light is going to affect, there will be one light score from his right side gently covering over his eye area. There will be another light source from his right shining over the top of his chest and the top of his left arm, while a third shall be lower than the other two shining across his elbows and the top half of his legs.
Kyle Corfield - JMKProductions

Hard light has been chose as it's more emotionaly tough, which is perfect for this part of the drama. Natural, soft light will be used for the latter part when Owen is kicking on with his life to get a job, making the scene easier to look at. You could say that we are only using 2 of the 3 Point Lighting Rule. We plan to use key and fill light, but don't want to seperate/cut out the twins' from their impovirished-looking background.
Jake Warren

This is the 3rd and final draft of the script, with the change of the ending suggested with the last script. I have also taken out the paramedic line as it doesn't compliment the emotional dialogue from the mother or add anything to the overall script, it merely enforces the fact that Sid is dead.

INT. FLAT

Sid and Owen are lieing up against a graffiti-wrecked, sheet-covered wall on top of a stained and askew mattress; empty beer cans and belts surround them next to a table with an old TV. Random beams from out-of-sight windows cut into their faces in a severely under-lit room. They have a rough, tatty demeanour with scruffy hair and stubble; wearing ripped jeans, dirty boots and wrecked hoodies. They seem totally at ease with each other and their surroundings, not having to speak to enjoy the company and the moment, shown by their complete relaxation and their sharing of substances. Sid picks up a spoon and starts to light the underside. The tar on top starts to bubble.

MITCH (O.S.):

Expelled.
(beat)
What are you going to do with your lives now eh? Your mum is distraught. I may not be your biological Dad but I've watched you grow up, I've been there for you two and I care for your mother, but this
(beat)
this,
(beat)
is tearing our family apart.

Random words and phrases from this speech (a flashback) appear projected over the over the top of the tar and each of the brothers' faces as they continue to inhale the drug. The euphoria on their faces is clear, these words don't seem to effect them. Sid picks up a can and starts drinking.

DRUG DEALERS (O.S.):

Next time we won't be so lenient, make sure they pay up on time; we don't like to be kept waiting.

Pictures of Mitch coming limping through the door battered and bruised and having to be helped into a chair by a crying mum (another flashback) appear transparently projected over the top of the brothers in a stop-motion style.

INSERT: PICTURES OF A BEATEN MITCH

Undeterred, or without a clue of what is actually happening in their current state, they continue with their binge. Owen picks up a syringe and injects the heroin from the spoon into it, he then tightens a belt around his bicep and pumps his arm, with Sid also doing the same. Owen slides back down the wall until he's flat on the mattress.

INSERT: P.O.V. FOOTAGE

MUM/SANDRA:

I
(beat)
we,
(beat)
we can't do this anymore. You have to leave.
(beat)
Find somewhere else.

This is another flashback that again appears projected over the top of Owen, whilst the sound of a syringe hits the floor (O.S.)

Sid is lieing motionless, Owen looks at him, a glazed over expression adorning his face. He reaches out a hand and pushes him slightly, but recieves no reaction. He tries to get his attention again, yet still nothing. He climbs to his feet and leans over the front of him. Audio of future dialogue are played over the top of the current images.

OWEN (O.S.):

Mum, mum it's me. Sid's dead.

He starts slapping him on the face, and tries to open his eyes.

OWEN (O.S.):

He's, he's gone. Mum can you hear me.

He feels for a pulse and the look of realisation starts to appear, slowly, as he's still being controlled by the drug, he sits against the wall, and puts his hands to his mouth, looking directly forward, not blinking.

MUM/SANDRA (O.S.):

Can you see, can you see what this has done to us, to him.

The body that was next to him slowly disappears, leaving just Owen sitting their, staring forward.

FADE TO: BLACK, MUSIC: MAYBE TOMORROW, STEREOPHONICS

The black screen starts to get lighter, and then fills with a smart blue and white striped shirt, and slowly reveals more and more of a presentable Owen as he walks towards the door, opens it and turns, leaving just the brightness of the outside world, a sunny, clear-sky day.

EXT. PARK BENCH, DAY

Owen is still in his smart attire, but looks nervous and out of his comfort zone. He's twisting a cigarette between his fingers whilst glancing at his watch every few seconds. He's fidgeting excessively, playing with his hands and bouncing his legs up and down. He gives his watch one last look, takes a deep breath and stands up and starts walking down a park path. A Job-Centre comes into view.

FADE TO: BLACK

TITLES

There many different drug films that have been made to represent them in todays society. To name a few there is Human Traffic which is a little known British film that was made in 1999 Directored by Justin Kerrigan, Producer Emer McCourt and Alain Niblio and Cinematography by Dave Bennett, which is about a group of friends looking forward to a hard weekend of party beer and drugs at Cardiff.

They represent drugs as safe to use when partying at the weekend and feel you should have the freedom to them if you want to. The main drugs discussed in the film in ecstasy and follows the events of 5 friends looking forward to the weekend of euphoria to paranoia. In one scene there is the main character jip and one of this friends sitting at a desk in a classroom style room with a professor at the front with a blackboard and a skeleton and a long stick. In this scene they discuss the advantages and disadvantages of taking the drug, because you always have to have a balanced debate and look at it from both points of view. They also went into the debate of how more people die from beer than ecstasy but let beer be legal because its a more profitable drug.

In another scene their is a clip showing you what it is like to be on the drug. They took many shots of them partying in the crowd with close ups, so with the power of editing they presented each person individually, and edited the close ups of them in the crowd at the party, so that there was only a white screen behind them, so all the focus of the audience goes on the character and not behind them. They then put voice overs on the clip to tell you what the character is feeling at this present time. Here is a clip of on YouTube i found from the film Human Traffic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fezud1HC-bk
So Human traffic gives a balanced statement on the advantages and disadvantages of drug use.

Another film is trainspotting which was made in 1996 directored by Danny Boyle that takes place in Scotland with a cast of people like Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle and Johnny Lee Miller, gives a detailed overview on heroin addiction and how it affects the body physically and mentally.

In this film there is scenes where ranton jack's up then his body falls to the floor when he feels something. It tries to represent in the scene what he is feeling, and by doing this in one scene his body srinks into the floor, it doesn't actually physically do that, but they wanted to represent what he was feeling at the time, so they can properly represent this drug in the film and the effects it has on the body. In another scene there is ranton who is in his room in his bed, and he is getting withdrawal symptons which is a disadvantage of taking the drug, again it is giving a balanced debate like in human traffic. There is a baby that is crawling across his ceiling towards him, agian it actually isnt really there, but because one side effect of this drug is withdrawal and you start to see things, again representing how the can drug affect the body.

Another good film is Requiem for a Dream which was made in 2000 and is a adaptation of the 1978 novel. This concentrates on Valium and how this can affect the body. The film goes into detailed depth of different forms of addiction. The main focus on a drugs film is to educate the audience of drugs what they do and how they affect the body whether it be good or bad. This film gives acurate information on how people can lose themselves to drugs if they aren't incontrol of their own life, eventually slipping away from reality as the days go on. Two other doos films are layer cake and traffic.

Kyle Corfield - JMK Productions

Last night I wrote the original draft of the script so that I could take it to the meeting with James Fair. I've reproduced the first two drafts with notes here.

INT. HOUSE, Kitchen

Mark, standing-up holding a letter in his hand, look across the kitchen at Sid and Owen. His voice cracks as he begins to speak.

MIKE:

Expelled.
(beat)
What are you going to do with your lives now eh? Your Mum is distraught in there

Points to the side.

I may not be your biological Dad but I've watched you grow up, I've been there for you, I care for you two and I care for your Mother, but this,
(beat)
this,
(beat)
is tearing our family apart.

FADE TO:

INT. CAR, night

Mark brakes outside of a murky, dingy looking back alley. He opens his glove compartment and pulls out a brown bag. He grasps something beneath his shirt, tucked into his belt before opening the car door and walking out. He walks up to two men, both wearing black. He hands over the bag sheepishly.

DRUG DEALER 1:

We don't like to be kept waiting,
(beat)
next time, we won't be so lenient, make sure you remind Sid and Owen of that will ya.

FADE TO:

INT. HOUSE, corridor

Sandra opens a door.

INT. HOUSE, bedroom

It reveals empty beer cans and a few syringes. Sitting at the opposite side of the room are the twins. Sandra fights back the tears.

MUM/SANDRA:

I,
(beat)
we,
(beat)
we can't do this anymore. You have to leave, find somewhere else

INT. FLAT

Owen is at a table counting money, empty beer bottles lieing everywhere. He rolls up a set of notes with an elastic band. Sid walks through the door carrying a bag, he walks over and puts it down on the table. Owen picks it up and starts looking inside.

OWEN:

How the fuck is this gunna pay for anything? Now you've lost your job it's not as if we've got enough to help pay for this stuff, it aint cheap ya know.

SID:

'Course I know it's not fucking cheap. But it's not as if I can bring home something decent everyday, I told ya, that kinda stuff comes from house jobs at night.

EXT. PARK, day

Sitting up against the wall, Sid and Owen are both joking around, drinking. Next to them is a speaker playing "Pump It" by the Black Eyes Peas.

INT. FLAT

Owen walks in, he sees Sid lieing motionless on the floor and runs over. He kneels down beside him and starts tapping him.

OWEN:

Sid, Sid. Sid wake up.

He feels for a pulse, his face shows the look of horror. He spins round and knocks everything off the table behind him, punches the wall, kicks over a chair and then falls back into the wall, sliding down until seated, visibly sobbing.

FADE TO: BLACK, MUSIC: MAYBE TOMORROW, STEREOPHONICS

OWEN:

Mum, mum it's me. Sid's dead, he's, he's gone.

EXT. HOUSE

Owen walks down the street and up the path to his parent's house. Before he can get a chance to knock, Sandra opens the door and puts her hand to her mouth to stop the tears, before both fall into each others arms.

INT. HOUSE, KITCHEN

Sitting at a table, Owen scours the newspaper page entitled Jobs. Red rings already adourn a couple of adverts. His mum walks over and sits opposite him.

MUM/SANDRA:

I'm so proud of you ya know. It's been a tough few months for all of us, we all loved Sid dearly, but, out of this tragedy we've gained something beautiful, something I never thought we would see or have again, our son back. You kicking the drugs and making a go of your life is all I can ask for. We'll be here for you all the way. I'm so,
(beat)
so proud of you.

She smiles, before standing up and continueing.

MUM/SANDRA:

Now, want some tea?

Owen, who had stayed quiet throughout, stands up and picks up the paper.

OWEN:

I'm going to drop off my CV's first.
(beat)
thanks

He smiles and walks out of the room.

INT. OFFICE BLOCK

Sitting at his desk, he looks across to a picture of his brother and smiles, then starts working on his computer. Above his desk hangs a plaque saying "Employee of the Month" as he continues typing.

FADE TO:TITLES

Before taking this to the meeting I had already started to edit it, removing everything on from "She smiles" after Sandra's speech until "INT. OFFICE BLOCK". This was based on the fact that it served no purpose and so was a pointless waste of dialogue.

Further changes suggested was that there was too much that I had attempted to put into the 3 minutes. Obviously there's a back story, but I should try to encorporate that with them doing the drugs straight away, maybe with dialogue from the mother, father etc.

It was also said by both of us that we felt the ending was too cheesy and that the speech by the mum should come in some form by Owen.

This was my second draft

EXT. PARK, day

Sid and Owen are lieing up against a wall, empty beer cans surrounding them. They seem totally at ease with each other and their surroundings, not having to speak to enjoy the company and the moment, shown by their complete relaxation and their sharing of substances. Sid picks up a spoon and starts to light the underside. The tar on top starts to bubble.

MITCH (o.s.):

Expelled.
(beat)
What are you going to do with your lives now eh? Your mum is distraught. I may not be your biological Dad but I've watched you grow up, I've been there for you two and I care for your mother, but this
(beat)
this,
(beat)
is tearing our family apart.

Random words and phrases from this speech appear on screen over the top of the tar and each of the twins' faces as they continue to inhale the drug. The euphoria on their faces is clear, these words don't seem to effect them. Sid picks up a can and starts drinking.

DRUG DEALERS (o.s.):

Next time we won't be so lenient, make sure they pay up on time, we don't like to be kept waiting.

Pictures of Mitch coming limping through the door battered and bruised and having to be helped into a chair by a crying mum appear transparently over the top of the twins.

INSERT: PICTURES OF A BEATEN MITCH

They continue on and pick up a wooden slab layered with cocaine in a line, Sid turns away from Owen and crouches over slightly, before turning back and passing it to Owen, who gets out a bag from his pocket. Sid is seen struggling to keep his eyes open and head still, before his mum appears before him.

INT. HOUSE, BEDROOM

MUM/SANDRA:

I
(beat)
we,
(beat)
we can't do this anymore. You have to leave.
(beat)
Find somewhere else.

EXT. PARK, DAY

Sid is lieing motionless, Owen looks at him, a glazed over expression adorning his face. He reaches out a hand and pushes him slightly, but recieves no reaction. He tries to get his attention again, yet still nothing. He climbs to his feet and leans over the front of him.

OWEN (o.s.):

Mum, mum it's me. Sid's dead.

He starts slapping him on the face, and starts getting more frantic and desperate.

OWEN (O.S.):

He's, he's gone. Mum can you hear me.

He feels for a pulse and the look of realisation and horror spreads across his face.

OWEN:

No, no.

He spins round and kicks cans everywhere,

PARAMEDIC (o.s.):

Estimated time of death, 16:12.
(beat)
I'm sorry.

Continuing, he punches the wall, picks up the wooden slab and smash it down onto the floor

MUM/SANDRA (o.s.):

Can you see, can you see what this has done to us, to him.

He then falls back into the wall, sliding down until seated, visibly sobbing.

FADE TO: BLACK, MUSIC: MAYBE TOMORROW, STEREOPHONICS

OWEN (O.S.):

It's been a tough year.

EXT. CAR PARK OF A BUILDING

A car park openeing up into then exterior of the front of a building, as a few people get out of their cars.

OWEN (O.S.):

For all of us, but it did hit me hard.

INT. BUILDING, MEETING HALL

The interior looks like a simple AA style meeting, as Owen is standing in front of his chair, people circling off from him in both directions.

OWEN:

We were unseperable, which hurt us, as whenever one tried to stop, we only had to see the other to cave.
(beat)
It was a tragedy that I wish had never got to that stage, but I feel I've got to take what has happened and live my life for the both of us now. I owe him that.

FADE TO:BLACK

CLAPPING (o.s.)

TITLES

We both agreed that this version was a lot stronger, and the start impaticular works well in theory. The problem again was the ending and how cheesy it is. We talked about how this is a problem with this particular premise as Owen "loses something, but gains something as a consequence", his life back, and therefore it will go from despair to a happy ending. We discussed maybe toning this down a bit, so that Owen is shown walking into a job centre after sitting at a park bench for a while, with a cigarette, not particularly looking ecstatic but obviously with a lot more in his life than before.

We also decided on using a dingy den instead of a park for the opening scenes, so that we can project pictures across them in a dark room, to contrast with the lightness of outside later on. These changes will be made tomorrow.

As we begin to sort out our drama, these details have been posted on Casting Call Pro.

A story of heroin addicted twins (non-identical). The 3-minute drama focuses on the death of one through an overdose and how the other deals with that, managing to get his life back on track as a consequence. Ability to act without an accent (so as if from, for eg. Surrey) is a must. Script and storyboard available on request.
The reason I've asked for actors with the ability to act without an accent is because we have to make the twins believable and then build on the chemistry between them from there. It will be unbelievable if we claim that they do heroin all the time together if one has a Mancunian accent and the other Geordie. It's also simpler finding people without an accent (I have one already) and therefore easier to pair.

Title: As yet unnamed Twin 1
Description: The twin that dies from an overdose. The relationship between him and his twin will be built up at the start, clearing showing a chemistry together as they laugh, joke around and take drugs together (which will obviously be shown in a way that will not break any laws) before his dead body will be discovered. A vitally important role in the story.
Gender: both
Min Age: 16
Max Age: 22

Title: As yet unnamed Twin 2
Description: Between the age of 16-22. The twin that kicks on with his life as a consequence. Again must be able to get across the joy got from doing the heroin with his brother, but then the sadness at his death and the determination not to let that happen to him and to kick on with his life.
Gender: both
Min Age: 16
Max Age: 22

I felt it was important to get within this age range as it's easier to believe that one of them can kick on with their life, whereas twins in their 40's, who have been heroin-addicted since their teenage years, would struggle to kick on. It's all about trying to make it as believable as possible. Although I've imagined the story playing out in my head as two males, if the stronger acting pedigree's come from two girls, I would cast them in the roles.

I've tried to appeal to actors that want to test themselves by asking for chemistry (which obviously they can't know about until they meet their "twin" but it means we're asking for actors that are instantly at ease with their work mates and can create good atmosphere), ability to demonstrate sadness and the ability to show determination in reaching a goal.

Title: Twins' Mum
Description: Aged 40+. Needed throughout to deliver good acting and be used as an emphasis in the progress of Twin 2.
Gender female
Min Age: 40
Max Age: 60
I've advertised for this role, but am unsure of whether it will be needed or not. Depending on the strength of those applying. I did however choose Mum and not Dad as their's more of a stereotypical emotional attachment between Mum's and their children, one that will be easier to play on if needed.

I'm going to write the script tonight before a group meeting tomorrow where we can ripped it to shreds and re-write. We will then take this to a meeting with tutors on Tuesday, ask for oppinions and with our final copy then produce a story board, before being ready to shoot.