Presiding Officer Training module 2024 lok sabha elections
Shutter release copy 2
1. (Shutter Release)
by
(Tasiah K Johnson)
‘When you look into the darkness, the darkness looks into
you’
Name (of company, if applicable)
Address
2. EXT. BRIDGE - SUNSET
FADE IN:
Alima is walking throughout the street trying to find
someone or something to photograph. She is wearing her
camera around her neck with a brown satchel across her
body - she’s wearing glasses and has her hair pulled back
in a ponytail. As she continues walking, she sees a group
of people looking up towards a bridge and screaming. She
runs up and stops, takes off her glasses, switches her
camera to continuous shutter and points her camera at the
man on top of the bridge. As the man falls from the
bridge Alima takes pictures of him until he hits the
ground. Alima takes her camera from her face to which a
middle-aged woman looks at her and approaches her.
MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN
H-how could you photograph
something like that?
ALIMA
What do you mean? You were the one
watching.
The middle-aged woman then walks away from Alima mumbling
to herself. Alima then puts her glasses back on and puts
her camera into her satchel - and carries on walking past
the incident, she takes a second look at the man on the
ground in the mist of chaos. She walks further along and
begins to breathe heavily as she feels guilty for
photographing a man falling to his death.
INT. HOME - EVENING
CUT IN:
Alima then gets home from her walk and enters her house,
she goes into her living room and sits down on the sofa.
She takes her camera from out of her bag and begins to
flick through the pictures that she took. Alima’s mom
then comes into the room from the kitchen and sits down
opposite Alima.
ALIMA’S MOM
Hi, how was your day?
ALIMA
It was extremely chaotic. I was
the witness of a suicide and
honestly, i’d rather not talk
about it at the moment. My left
eye has become incredibly itchy
!2
3. and right now I just want to be
alone.
ALIMA’S MOM
(shouts)
What? Who? Where?
ALIMA
(Nonchalant)
Mom calm down, there’s nothing we
can do about it right now. He’s
probably better off anyways
instead of being stuck he-
ALIMA’S MOM
(Inquiring)
What’s on the camera?
ALIMA
Nothing, just changing the
settings.
Alima then gets up off from the sofa and leaves the
living room to go and get changed into her pyjamas.
Alima’s mom then gets a hold of the camera and sees what
Alima was photographing earlier on in the day, she places
her hand over her mouth in disbelief. She hears Alima
coming down the stairs and puts the camera back down on
the sofa. Alima enters the living room again and grabs
the camera from the chair - and brings it into her
bedroom.
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
CUT TO:
Alima gets into her room and throws her camera onto her
bed - she hears scratching coming from her window. Alima
walks up to her window and sees a squirrel scratching at
her window, suggesting to look down. She looks down and
see’s a young boy walking with what appears to be his
mother, the young boy then drops and lands in an
identical position to the man who fell from the bridge.
Alima begins to panic as this reminds her of what
happened earlier on in the day - she immediately closes
her curtains, gets into bed, reaches for her lamp and
turns it off.
INT. BEDROOM - MORNING
FADE IN:
!3
4. Alima wakes up and sits on the edge of her bed, she
reaches for her phone and calls her friend Oscar to meet
and discuss the events that happened from the previous
day.
ALIMA
Hey Oscar. Are you available right
now to come to the library? It’s
important.
OSCAR
(voice over)
Hey, and no I’m not doing anything
right now. I’ll meet you there in
5. Is everything okay?
ALIMA
I’ll explain everything when I see
you, okay?.
OSCAR
Okay.
Alima puts the phone down.
INT. LIBRARY - NOON
FADE IN:
Alima is sitting down at a computer desk in the library,
while she waits for Oscar she begins to investigate in
the man who committed suicide - she finds his facebook
profile and starts scrolling. We then see Oscar’s hands
behind Alima to which he startles her, he then laughs and
sits beside her.
ALIMA
(in shock)
Shii-! don't do that!
OSCAR
(whilst laughing)
Sorry
He takes a seat beside Alima.
Anyways… what’s up
ALIMA
(Slowly)
The other day, I was walking and I
saw a guy on a bridge.
!4
5. OSCAR
(Sarcastically)
And?
ALIMA
He jumped
OSCAR
Is that all you wanted to tell me?
ALIMA
Well… there’s something else.
OSCAR
(Sarcastically)
In your own time Alima…
ALIMA
I photographed him as he fell to
his death.
Oscar starts to roll his eyes as if Alima is lying to
him.
Ever since, my left eye has been
incredibly itchy… the same eye I
bring my camera up to. I saw a
little boy fall the exact way
yesterday, and each time I look
into my viewfinder I see the man
falling from the bridge.
OSCAR
Give me the camera Alima, you’re
going mad.
Alima hands the camera over to Oscar.
Say cheese!
Oscar brings the camera up to his left eye and
photographs Alima.
OSCAR
See. Nothing happened.
ALIMA
I’m not lying Oscar, I’m being
serious
OSCAR
Okay, okay fine. Anyways, what are
you looking at?
!5
6. ALIMA
I’m finding more info about the
guy who jumped from the bridge
yesterday.
OSCAR
Any luck so far?
ALIMA
Well, so far I’ve found out that
his name was Luca Porter. He was a
father of three and was happily
married to his wife Jennifer
Porter.
OSCAR
(questioning)
So now what?
ALIMA
Don’t you get it Oscar? I’ve found
absolutely nothing that would make
him want to end his life. It just
doesn’t make sense.
OSCAR
Maybe it was spontaneous?
ALIMA
Wow. I doubt it.
She looks down at her wrist watch.
I need to go now, I’m going to be
late for dinner.
Alima reaches out to hug Oscar, gets up and leaves the
library whilst Oscar stays seated.
INT. HOME - SUNSET
CUT IN:
Alima comes into the house and quietly closes the door
behind her, she walks slowly and quietly into the living
room. She takes a seat to which her mom walks in, her
grandma is already seated.
ALIMA’S MOM
You’re late
ALIMA
I know, I'm sorry. I was with
Oscar.
!6
7. Alima’s mom rolls her eyes and sighs.
ALIMA’S MOM
Your foods on the stove since you
missed dinner.
ALIMA
Hey Grandma
Both Alima’s mom and Grandma look at her with suspicion.
ALIMA
(confused)
What?
GRANDMA
Honey, we’ve seen the pictures on
your camera, would you li-
ALIMA
So you both went through my stuff
without asking is what your saying
ALIMA’S MOM
Alima that’s not the point, we’re
worried about you. You’ve been
acting strange all of a sudden.
Alima starts to get up out of her chair and begins
walking to the kitchen.
ALIMA
(Rushed)
Well… stop worrying. I’m fine. I
don’t want to speak about this
again with either of you.
GRANDMA
But Ali-
ALIMA
(Raised voice)
And don’t go through my stuff
We hear the door close. She then enters the kitchen to
get her food. As she’s picking up the food she has
another vision of the man falling from the bridge from
her kitchen window. We see a number of hands reach out to
grab Alima and almost pull her backwards from the window.
Alima lets out a sharp scream, closes her eyes, shakes
the ‘hands’ away and opens her eyes again, she looks out
the window again and nothing’s there. She leaves her food
in the kitchen and runs into her bedroom.
!7
8. INT. BEDROOM - EVENING
CUT IN:
Alima closes the door behind her and immediately closes
her blinds and takes off her coat and shoes. She gets
into her bed and grabs her laptop from her drawer, she
begins eating whilst doing more research on Luca Porter.
Shortly after, her phone starts to ring, she reaches over
and answers it - it’s Oscar.
ALIMA
Hey, is everything okay?
OSCAR
No, I’m worried about you.
ALIMA
I’m fine. Honestly.
OSCAR
You’re not fine. We should go back
to the bridge so you can get some
sort of closure or at least see
what’s going on.
ALIMA
Okay fine.
OOSCAR
Good, meet me there at 11:30
tomorrow and don’t be late.
Oscar then puts the phone down and Alima brings the phone
down from her face. She puts her laptop on the floor next
to her bed and begins talking to herself.
ALIMA
(mumbles)
Why did I photograph him? So, so,
so idiosyncratic and selfish.
Alima tucks herself deeper into her bed, turns her lamp
off and closes her eyes.
EXT. BRIDGE - MORNING
FADE IN:
Oscar is walking up to the bridge and sees Alima standing
on the edge.
!8
9. OSCAR
(Shouts)
Alima! What the hell?
We see tears fall from Alimas face as she looks down from
the bridge. We see the same hands from the kitchen scene
come from behind her and hold her back, she feels an urge
to push herself forward.
Oscar comes up from behind her and holds onto her.
ALIMA
(Apathetically)
Let… me… go…
OSCAR
(Whispers)
No. I wont. What the hell are you
doing?
ALIMA
Let go Oscar, or you’ll go down
with me.
We see a crowd form below the bridge, we hear people
telling Alima to not jump. In the distance we see two
boys walking up towards the bridge and looking up at
Alima.
The first boy pulls out his iPhone camera at Alima on top
of the bridge. Oscar lets Alima go and she falls from the
bridge. As the Alima falls from the bridge the first boy
takes pictures of her until she hits the ground.
The boy takes his camera down from his face to which we
see the same middle-aged woman from the start, she looks
at him and approaches him.
MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN
H-how could you photograph
something like that?
BOY 1
What do you mean? You were the one
watching.
FADE TO BLACK:
!9
