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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board  /  Short Scripts  /  Shards of Entropy
Posted by: Don, November 18th, 2008, 5:34pm
Shards of Entropy by Tom Pascal - Short - We follow a day in the life of a perfect man. 3 pages - pdf, format 8)
Posted by: Tommyp, November 26th, 2008, 7:17pm; Reply: 1
Fantastic. Thanks Don.

Guys... this is another draft. This script was in the "work in progress" section.

Thanks for the read.
Posted by: jayrex, November 27th, 2008, 4:45pm; Reply: 2
Hi Tom,

I think this was some sort of treatment you had going before putting this together.  Which I didn't read.

Anyway, I don't get it.  With all the Voice-Overs, it sounds like an advert playing out.  I think you're trying to portray a man in his life as a snapshot.  But can't tell.  You'll have to explain this to me.

For the following paragraph:

Andrew moves through other rooms. Shower. Breakfast. Suit.
All in fast forward. The woman gets out of bed. Clothes.
Breakfast.

This sounds like a montagé, but in the style of Shaun of the Dead.  For example, when Shaun was getting ready for work.

Also, the line: Andrew drops a five dollar note into it...

Should be more like, Andrew hands five dollars to the homeless man.

I usually like to end with a summary.  But as I haven't a clue why this was done or its aim.  

I'll wish you all the best with any potential rewrites.


Javier
Posted by: Tommyp, November 28th, 2008, 6:48pm; Reply: 3
Hey Javier. Thanks for the read. I'll try and answer a few questions.

I wasn't sure whether this should be a short or an advert. I went with short, but I could change it into an ad... what do you think would work better?

What I wanted to show with this is material posessions aren't everything. And also, awesome guys can still be depressed/want to commit suicide. I've tried to show that Andrew has an awesome life, through the voiceover and what we can see, yet he kills himself in the end, which hopefully is a suprise for most people.

"We are all human" sort of... is the message.

I had a few ideas bubbling around in my head for the getting ready in the morning part, one of which was to have the camera in the one spot in the room, while Andrew and the woman move around in fast forward.

I really like the way they did that in Shaun of the Dead, so that could work too...

Homeless man line noted.

Is that a bit clearer? As it wasn't very clear through the actual script, there is a bit of a problem on my part. Rewrites will be in order.
Posted by: ReaperCreeper, November 28th, 2008, 11:00pm; Reply: 4
Hey Tommy, I just gave this one a look. It's hard to comment a lot on a three-page script, but I'll try, haha.

The information on your title page should not be in parentheticals. Just change that up. It has nothing to do with the actual quality of the script, but it is a little bit of a turn-off to see a title page done wrong. It might make people think twice about reading, you know? Also, you need not display your e-mail adress on the title page. People can e-mail you from here just by clicking on your name. There's no problem having it, but you don't *need* it either.

Now, on to the script itself--


-In your opening V.O, you use (beat) to pause and split up the dialogue. This okay. You could've just written "A pause" in the action lines, but it's all good. However, once the voice says the number, it should end in elipses "... (beat) ...is the life expectancy of blah blah blah" because you had not finished the sentence when you broke it up. Actually, the elipses themselves can also work as a (beat) signal, so you do not really need the (beat) anyway. This stuff is not completely set in stone though.  

-Typo on pg.1--ANDREWS POV should be ANDREW'S POV.

-In scripts, try not to write in a Passive stance, or at least do it only to the minimum. Write in Active instead (example: "A room begins to come to focus" could be better as "A room slowly comes into focus") Passive stances in screenplays slow the reading down.

-That aside, I like your writing style. It is vague, but you can understand everything clearly. You don't take up any unecessary space in most of your descriptions.

I liked this. It was like a TV-ad disguised as a Short. I liked how you didn't actually show Andrew jumping to his death. Because of the short legth though, I didn't care enough about him in the end.

Honestly, even though I enjoyed the script I thought it was a little bit melodramatic and even a little bit pretentious. It was not a bad read at all, I 'm just saying that if you wanted to tell a story with this kind of message, you could've gone with something a little longer and more subtle instead of something like this.

Still--good read regardless.

--Julio  
Posted by: Tommyp, November 29th, 2008, 11:46pm; Reply: 5
Thanks for the read Julio.

Good tips about title page.

Thanks for tips on POV and beats.

With the whole passive/active thing, I haven't really noticed how I write. So from now on I will try and be active all the time. Thanks.

I might try and make it longer... or make it shorter and into a tv ad kinda thing... maybe do both!!

Glad you like it.
Posted by: tonkatough, November 30th, 2008, 5:13am; Reply: 6
this was very mumble jumble story talk about a man who have everything, what will you lose if you die. But then have a person throw himself off a balcony.

But depsite all that it was an enjoyable read. It's like abstract art, you can look at it and look at it and look at it but never quite understand what it is because it says many diffrent things at once and you can just get lost in all the ideas with out really fully grasping them and understanding.

Another script similar to this in style is the short titled Code Red.  A good read.

I like scripts like that and they are very few and far between here on SS.
Posted by: Colkurtz8, December 6th, 2008, 7:16am; Reply: 7
Hey Tom

Great read here for a three pager. Bordered on being a bit too grandiose at times but I think overall you kept it in line & didn't get too carried away.

You have some nice descriptions, the majority of voiceover fitted nicely, this one packs a punch.

Good work

Col.
Posted by: Tommyp, December 7th, 2008, 5:46am; Reply: 8
Thanks Tonka. Glad you liked it. I have read Code Red and it was very cool.

Col, thanks for reading.

Do you think it should be longer?
Posted by: rc1107, December 10th, 2008, 5:03pm; Reply: 9
Hey Tom.

I'm kind of curious.  I understand the scenes with him putting his clothes on and eating breakfast are in fast forward, but is everything here on out in fast forward?  Him giving the five dollar note and all?  (I like the five dollar note.  If that's how they say it where you're from, I wouldn't worry too much about changing it.)

If the whole thing is in fast forward, with the normal-speed voiceover and everything, I think that would be a really neat and innovative idea.  It would definately add an appeal to the story.

I really did like it for how short it was, but it also bothered me why he would want to kill himself.  You came so close to having everything go wrong and showing us everything's not peachy no matter how good your life is, but beating up a homeless man isn't enough to agree with what Andrew is doing.  Maybe have him burn his lips on the coffee in pain, then back the camera out into the streets where the homeless man is getting beaten up, then rewind to maybe the wife doing something not so pure.

Just an idea.

Overall, it did work and I did enjoy it, though.

- Mark
Posted by: Colkurtz8, December 10th, 2008, 5:50pm; Reply: 10
Yeah there is loads of potential if you included some background & aftermath.

rc1107 made some good suggestions.
Posted by: Tommyp, December 15th, 2008, 12:34am; Reply: 11
Thanks Col.

Mark... I was thinking the only bits that would be in fast forward are him getting ready in the house. When he leaves the house, it's normal speed again.

You idea of having it all in fast foward is very interesting. I will think about it.

Your other idea is good too. Hmm, I might have to redo this one!

Thanks for reading it and giving advice! Glad you liked it.
Posted by: James R, December 15th, 2008, 2:00pm; Reply: 12
Hey, Tom. I liked this short, it was interesting. Well-paced, great dialog/VO's. I loved:


Quoted Text
You can’t swim in your pool in heaven. You can’t drive your car in hell.


I don't see how this could be an ad though, what would it be an ad for?

I liked the whole "He who dies with the most toys still dies" feel throughout. I thought it might be cool if most of it was filmed with quick cuts/fast forward and the cup falling off the ledge was in slow motion. I think it would capture the emotion really well.

I question the suicide, though. It might be better if the seemingly happy man actually is a happy man and his life is taken from him. I think it might fit the premise better than suicide. What do you think?

Overall, a good script.

James
Posted by: BryMo, December 15th, 2008, 2:20pm; Reply: 13

Quoted from James R

I question the suicide, though. It might be better if the seemingly happy man actually is a happy man and his life is taken from him. I think it might fit the premise better than suicide. What do you think?

James


I actually agree with James. I think Suicide takes some effect away from it. Letting the idea of chance take over somehow puts another element in it for me. I think it would bring your story full circle. As is now its still nice though.

I like the art of this piece. Good writing that was a breeze to read. I enjoyed it
Posted by: Tommyp, December 20th, 2008, 6:29pm; Reply: 14
Hello James and BryMo. I don't know what it could be an ad for... so some sort of awareness thing? I'ts very vague I know. Just an idea!

Fast cuts is a good idea. I've thought lots about how this would actually look as a finished product, but I can't film it. And i'm not gonna include camera stuff in the script.

Ah, interesting. I will write another version without suicide. I think I would still include the homeless fella being bashed though.

Thanks for the read guys. Glad you liked it. The feedback is helpful.
Posted by: RobertSpence, December 22nd, 2008, 1:06am; Reply: 15
Hey Tommy, thought I'd give this a read since you looked at my one week challenge entry. Your format and writing are pretty good actually, but I wasn't sure what you were wanting to achieve with this. It strikes me as a commerical for suicide, or the value of life :P! Were you slightly philosophical when you were writing this?

Overall, this served as a teaser for me, because I definitely want to read what you write next. I hope it's longer.

Robert
Posted by: Aaron, January 6th, 2009, 7:56pm; Reply: 16
That was an AMAZING script Tommy. The thing i love about it most is the message, including the dialogue
Posted by: mcornetto (Guest), January 11th, 2009, 8:12pm; Reply: 17
I liked the message of this piece and I thought you did a pretty good job sending the message.  

I won't go into format issues because other people have covered them.

What I did think was missing here was the fact that the man was unhappy. I didn't see anything to indicate that in the entire script, unless I missed it.  I think you need to establish that there is a crack in his perfection.  I get what you were going for at the end but I think you need to foreshadow it.

Also, I thought the VO was a bit excessive.  Try to whittle it down a bit.

Otherwise I enjoyed the read.  Well done.
Posted by: Grandma Bear, January 11th, 2009, 10:39pm; Reply: 18
I decided to read this one and I'm pretty sure I read it earlier yet somehow there are no comments from me here.

I agree with Michael that it would be a good idea to show in subtle ways that he was unhappy, but other than that I really enjoyed this. I liked your writing. Nicely broken up into "individual shots" making it read more like film.

I liked the story too. Nice drama.

Don't know what else to say other than good job!  :-)
Posted by: Tommyp, January 11th, 2009, 11:27pm; Reply: 19
Robert... Thanks for the read. Yes I was slightly philosophical/slightly drunk. The creative juices were flowing. Some say it could be made into a kind of commercial thing, so yeah, that is an option.

Aaron... You are too nice :)

Michael... I understand about showing a bit of him unhappy. I was going for the fact that the audience thought he was perfect, yet of course he wasn't. So maybe a hint of this is a good idea. Voice over comment noted. Thanks for reading.

PC... Very nice comments! Made my day actually. Understood about showing subtly that he was unhappy. Thanks for the read.
Posted by: steven8, April 5th, 2009, 11:03pm; Reply: 20
I thought his was a really cool idea, and well put together, which helped me fight off the feeling that the voice over was the guy from one of those Coronet Instructional movies they showed in school.  

Dang long sentence alert --

Now, to me, it seemed like the guy was just 'going through the motions' despite all he had, and seeing the poor bum, whom he'd just helped, who had nothing, yet as soon as he had that fiver, had it viciously ripped away, pushed him over the edge.  Sound right?

Now, as suggested, I think some film speed trickery along with a real time voice over might help the viewers actually 'feel' the drag of the guy's life.  Like the guy in the "Balls Out" joke script Gary posted, everything he wanted or achieved, wound up not really being fulfilling in the true sense.

I really like this Tommy!
Posted by: Tommyp, April 6th, 2009, 3:51am; Reply: 21
Thanks for the read Steven, and I'm glad you like it.

Yeah that sounds about right! He looks good on the inside... but he really has some issues,  which cannot be ignored, and are obviously depressing and serious.

Point taken about voice over. And Balls Out was frickin awesome :)

Thanks again.
Posted by: stevie, April 28th, 2009, 11:19pm; Reply: 22
Hey tom, I just realised I hadn't read this!
and I wish I hadn't read the comments first!  Bad habit of mine, and I guess, a lot of people here.
This was powerful stuff. Well written, format spot on, action very imagery-driven. I had no probs with the VO being a tad excessive - it moves the whole thing along.
The ending is good, becuae you didn't actually show him jumping. Myabe he didn't? Maybe he did...  it leaves everything ambigous and open for indivdual interpretation.
good job, buddy.

GO THE SAINTS!!!!!!!
Posted by: Abe from LA, April 30th, 2009, 3:47pm; Reply: 23

Quoted from Tommyp
What I wanted to show with this is material posessions aren't everything. And also, awesome guys can still be depressed/want to commit suicide. I've tried to show that Andrew has an awesome life, through the voiceover and what we can see, yet he kills himself in the end, which hopefully is a suprise for most people.
"We are all human" sort of... is the message.

Tom,
You aren't that far off from achieving your goal for this short. What you have here is the external - the frame.  What you need is the internal - Andrew's demons.

Andrew's inner struggle will help us to understand better why he contemplates/commits suicide.  It will also crystallize the message of depression transcending material wealth.
Do a character sketch of Andrew.  That might help you understand the source of his depression and how to visualize this for the screen.

As for showing depression on screen, try isolating Andrew between the hustle and bustle of daily routine.  Read up on the signs of depression and incorporate those into some scenes.

I like the coffee cup ending. There is symbolism in the falling of a full cup/full life.

Fill in the gaps as to why Andrew has reached this point in his life and your story will come to life, so to speak.
Good luck.

Posted by: Tommyp, April 30th, 2009, 8:17pm; Reply: 24
Stevie... Thanks man! Glad you like it. You are very nice to me :)

Abe.... Thanks for the read. What you say makes sense... I will have to delve deeper in this to make real.

I will attempt to do another draft in the near future, and post it up here.

Thanks again guys.
Posted by: Zack, June 20th, 2009, 4:24am; Reply: 25
Interesting tale you have here Tommy. Not sure I fully understood it, but it was definetly interesting. The writing was excellent. Short and too the point, yet still well detailed. I really enjoy your style. Maybe if I re-read this I'll understand it. Still, good job.

4/5

~Zack~
Posted by: Tommyp, June 20th, 2009, 10:44pm; Reply: 26
Hey Zack, thanks for the read and the comments. I'm really glad you like it, and most people don't fully understand it, that's the point in a (small) way.

Thanks again :)
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