Alima photographs a man falling to his death from a bridge. When she later views the photos through her camera viewfinder, she sees flashes of the man falling. She becomes obsessed with learning more about the man and finds nothing in his background that would explain his suicide. While developing the photos, Alima thinks she sees something behind the man in one photo but is unable to get a clear look when someone turns on the lights, ruining the film. She becomes convinced there is more to the man's death than meets the eye.
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. 2
EXT. BRIDGE - SUNSET
FADE IN:
Alima is walking along 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 flats 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 flats. As the man falls from the flat Alima
takes pictures of him until he hits the ground. Alima
takes her camera from her face to which a girl of a
similar age looks at her and approaches her.
RANDOM GIRL
H-how could you photograph
something like that?
ALIMA
What do you mean? You were the one
watching.
The girl then walks away from Alima mumbling to herself.
Alima then puts her glasses back on and puts her camera
into her bag - and carries on walking past the incident,
she takes a second look at the man on the ground in the
midst of the chaos. She walks further along and begins to
breathe heavily as she feels guilty for photographing a
man falling to his death.
CUT TO:
INT. HOME - EVENING
Alima gets home from her walk and enters her home, 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 brother
(Ryan) then comes into the room from the kitchen and sits
down opposite Alima.
RYAN
Hi, how was your day?
ALIMA
It was eventful. I saw some guy
fall from a flat, I’d rather not
talk about it at the moment. My
eye is itchy and I just want to be
by myself.
3. 3
RYAN
(stuttering)
W-w—wha— Where?
ALIMA
(Nonchalant)
Calm down, there’s nothing we can
do about it. He’s probably better
off anyways.
RYAN
(Inquiring)
Don’t say that. Anyways, what’s on
the camera?
ALIMA
Nothing, just school work.
Alima then gets up off from the sofa and leaves the
living room to go and get changed into her pyjamas. Ryan
then gets and takes the camera off the coffee table and
sees what Alima was photographing, he places his hand
over his mouth in disbelief. He 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.
FADE TO BLACK:
FADE IN:
INT. BEDROOM - MORNING
Alima wakes up and sits on the edge of her bed, she
reaches for her camera and brings it up to her eye, she
sees a quick flash of the suicidal mans body on the
ground of her room through the viewfinder. In shock she
drops the camera onto her bed. In shock, she reaches for
her phone and calls her friend Oscar to meet and discuss
the events that happened from the previous day.
ALIMA
Hi, are you doing anything now I
need you to come to the library?
It’s important.
OSCAR
(voice over)
Hi, 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?.
4. 4
OSCAR
Okay cool.
Alima puts the phone down.
FADE IN:
INT. SCHOOL LIBRARY - NOON
Alima is sitting down at a computer desk in the School
library, while she waits for Oscar she begins to
investigate who committed suicide - she finds his
facebook profile and starts scrolling. Oscar enters the
library and sits beside Alima.
OSCAR
You alright?
ALIMA
(Nonchalant)
The other day, I was walking and I
saw a guy on a bridge and 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 and
ever since that day, my left eye
has been itchy… specifically 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, it’s
just a coincidence.
Alima hands the camera over to Oscar.
Say cheese!
Oscar brings the camera up to his eye and photographs
Alima.
5. 5
OSCAR
See. Nothing happened.
ALIMA
I’m not lying though, I’m serious
OSCAR
Okay, okay fine. Anyways, who’s
that you’re looking at?
ALIMA
I’m finding more about the guy who
jumped from the bridge.
OSCAR
And?
ALIMA
So far I’ve found out that his
name was Luca Porter. He was a
father of three and was 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
Spontaneous? Wow. I doubt it.
She checks the time on her phone.
ALIMA
I need to go, I have some pictures
I need to get developed.
Alima gets up and leaves the library whilst Oscar stays
seated.
CUT IN:
6. 6
INT. DARKROOM - SUNSET
Alima walks into the darkroom and makes her way to one of
the developing stations. Alima washes the images and
hangs them up. She goes back to a picture she recently
hung up, takes it down from the line and examines it
closer. She notices something in the image and sees
someone/something behind Luca, Alima scrunches her face
in confusion - the lights in the darkroom come on and she
hurries to turn the lights back off. In the process she
knocks her film strip into the developing solution.
She rushes over towards the red light to get a better
look at the image, using an over the shoulder shot the
image, fades away to leave a white page. She goes back to
develop the image again, but notices that the film strips
are in the water and she can’t use them again.
FADE TO BLACK:
7. 1.
SCENE INDEX
EXT. BRIDGE - SUNSET ..................................2
INT. HOME - EVENING ...................................2
INT. BEDROOM - MORNING.................................3
INT. SCHOOL LIBRARY - NOON.............................4
INT. DARKROOM - SUNSET.................................6