The document contains ideas for two short films - "Fool's Gold" and "Aftermath". For "Fool's Gold", the summary describes two criminals, Nick and Gary, who have kidnapped a man named Charles but accidentally shot him. They call their contact Alex to exchange Charles for money but don't realize Alex will kill them for their mistake. For "Aftermath", the summary describes a soldier suffering from PTSD after witnessing his friend's death in Belize. Nightmares of the event plague him and he drinks heavily. Flashbacks show the chase that led to his friend being shot.

1. LO4: IDEAS PITCH
Will Hallowell

2. IDEA 1
WORKING TITLE
Fool’s Gold
LENGHTH
10-15 minutes
TAGLINE
A Cockney, Mancunian and a Russian walk into a garage…
KEY CHARACTERS
Nick – He is the cockney protagonist and narrator who involved in the kidnapping of a man, Charles, who has a contract on him. Nick has
abducted Charles with is partner and friend, Gary, a Mancunian. He presents himself as unprofessional and sloppy, in terms of his appearance.
Gary – He is the Mancunian (almost) side-kick of Nick, although they are on the same level, Gary lacks common sense and so often finds himself
being looked after by Nick. He shot Charles in an attempt to capture him. Though he lacks common sense, he is a football hooligan obsessed with
Manchester United; he relates his whole life to the events of Manchester United, such as when something happened “that was the day Manchester
United…”
Alex – Alex is the Russian ex-soldier and right-hand man of ‘The Boss’ (who is only ever mentioned) and Nick and Gary have made contact with
him to exchange the hostage for the reward, however what they failed to remember was that Charles was needed alive and unharmed. He has
earned the nickname ‘Alex the Axe’ through his fearsome reputation for brutally murdering his victims

3. Charles – The man who has been kidnapped for double-crossing ‘The Boss’, and so he has had a contract put out on him. In a
foolish attempt, Nick and Gary have managed to take him hostage.
SYNOPSIS
Act 1
• In the first scene the screen is blank but you can hear sound effects of a chase (people running and panting to imply this). This
should last for around 30 seconds followed by the sound of a gunshot and then 3-4 seconds of silence. While the screen is still
blank, the silence ends and there are sounds of a man screaming in pain and two men arguing.
• The first shot is then seen, set in a garage, Nick and Gary are arguing because Gary shot Charles, despite them needing him alive
he is shot in the leg.
• While this going on, Nick is narrating the scene over the top, with freeze-frame shots for Nick, Gary and Charles, Nick explains
dilemma and a brief summary of each character.
• The call Alexeyev, right-hand man of ‘The Boss’ to claim their reward, not realising that no connection can be made to the pair
shooting a man in broad daylight. Unknowingly, the pair do not realise Alexeyev is going to kill them for their own stupidity.
Act 2
• Nick explains to Gary why Alexeyev has the nickname ‘Alex the Axe’ in attempt to frighten him and through Nick’s monologue, the
film cuts between the current time, in the garage and the story of Alex being explained to Gary. The story explains his violent
tendencies and the way he brutally murders his victims, hence ‘Alex the Axe’.
• After his narration, there is few more minutes of dialogue between the two, before Alex finally arrives. Upon Alex’s arrival, the two
prepare to claim the money. However, Alex is curious to know why they shot Charles, when he was specifically wanted alive.
Panicking as they believe they are going to be killed, the two explain what happened in a flashback manner. This entails the two
henchmen chasing the hostage on foot, whilst eventually resorting to Gary shooting him to prevent his escape.

4. • Despite the need for the hostage to be kept alive, Alex shoots him dead, much to the Nick and Gary’s disgust, having specifically been told to
keep him alive. Alex then proceeds to explain why he killed the hostage. This was because the contract on the hostage’s kidnapping was lifted,
having found out the man’s father is a senior police official on the take. Therefore, he could have exposed the organised criminals should his
son be taken. However, their boss had instead decided to put a contract on the father, now leaving the hostage expendable. ‘The Boss’ needed
to distance himself from the duo as they have just shot a man in broad daylight, leaving them expendable too.
Act 3
• Following this, Alex shoots Gary dead. Immediately, Nick draws his gun but is too slow and get knocked to the ground by two rounds. Alex, still
pointing his gun at a bleeding Nick, approaches him. Now in slow motion, Nick reaches for his pistol and there is camera shot of the pair
aiming at each other. The shot pauses into a freeze-frame and the sound effect of multiple gunshots are heard, all out of time with each other
to suggest two guns being fired at once. Are they both dead? Freeze frames fades to black. Credits.

5. DRAFT SCRIPT (INTRODUCTION)
The scene continues, with the first shot of a man (show for a few seconds and then FREEZE-FRAME). He has been tied up against a chair (only ever shown from the waist up having
been shot in the leg). It is clearly in a garage. With the shot still focused on the injured man, he is in obvious agony and produces a tear, all the while the two characters argue
(improvised?). (FREEZE-FRAME x2).
On the first freeze-frame all the audio stops, but ‘Fool’s Gold’ still plays. The narrator, Nick, explains each of the three characters, beginning with the hostage)
NICK’S NARRATION: “This is Charles. He owes the boss a lot of money. You see he nicked a few monkeys under the pretentions of ‘borrowing’ it, but he never paid it back. It’s not a
lot of money, granted, but it’s the principle. Now, the boss wants to collect his debt in the form of a dead Charles Murphy. You know, to make an example.”
*The scene resumes, showing a few more seconds of Charles, and then a shot of Nick and Gary arguing. FREEZE-FRAME of Gary; the scene pauses again while Fool’s Gold continues to
play.*
“Gary – Or as many of us like to call him, Barlow, on account of the fact that – well... he ain’t exactly gorgeous is he? The problem is that he’s a fuckin’ scouser with fewer brains cells
than bollocks, hence why he supports Man United - oh and the fact he just shot a bloke in broad daylight.”
*The scene resumes to the same shot of the pair arguing. FREEZE-FRAME on Nick. The audio cuts again, except the song*
“Finally, me, I represent the more sensible side of the pair. I ain’t clever, but I don’t lack common sense if you know what I mean? Unfortunately I’ve been stuck with Gary since I was
kid and we got into this line of work together. Now I can’t get rid of him.”
*The scene resumes*
NICK: “Why the fuck did you shoot him you stupid prick!”
GARY: “I was trying to slow him down, you were losing him.”
NICK: “Don’t be daft, you were be’ind me.” - *slightly calming down, in an outraged tone*
GARY: “Hence why I shot the bastard!”
Throughout this scene, the camera changes between three angles, two of them medium close ups of both Gary and Nick, the other of the hostage, screaming in pain throughout the
argument.
NICK: “Were you trynna let the world know!?”

6. NICK: “Fuck!”
*Fool’s Gold suddenly stops. There is a moment of silence between the two.*
CHARLES: “Who are you?” – He screams out in agony, crying.
*Gary and Nick both turn to the hostage and in the same shot shout*
GARY and NICK: “Shut the fuck up!”
The hostage continues to make noise.
NICK: “If you don’t shut the fuck up sunshine, you can say goodbye to sunshine because I’ll force this here pistol (as he waves it
about making it obvious) so far down your Gregory you’ll be defecating steel for a month. Now, (after silence) will you allow me
continue?”
The hostage grits his teeth to cope with the pain, both Gary and Nick paying no attention to the man clearly needing urgent
care as he slowly bleeds out.

7. DRAFT STORYBOARD
(INTRODUCTION)

8. IDEA 2
TITLE
Aftermath
LENGTH
10 minutes
TAGLINE
Behind enemy lines.
KEY CHARACTERS
Soldier
The soldier, who is the protagonist in the short film, is meant to be portrayed as suffering from PTSD having experienced watching
his friend be killed and being chased by drug runners in Belize. Not much is known about the soldier but it is obvious he drinks a lot
to try and forget the things he has seen.
Alan (the soldier’s friend)
Although Alan is the only other character in the film, not much is known about him as he is only seen in the flashback scenes in the
chase and he is then killed. He is the friend and colleague of the protagonist.

9. SYNOPSIS
Act 1
• With a blank screen for the start of the film, there is an implied chase. This includes sound effects of running footsteps and panting. There is also
the sound of distant voices shouting a foreign language
• The setting immediately changes to a pitch black bedroom, the camera placed at the end of the bed (film during the day); a man suddenly
up and jumps up, to indicate he has been startled by the nightmare. He turns to the bedside table and turns a lamp on, followed by him
for a flask in his draw and taking a big swig. He then places the flask back in the drawer, where it is evident you can see a pistol.
• He then begrudgingly turns on his bedroom light and stares at himself in the mirror. He has bullet wound scars; one in his chest, one in
upwards of his peck. Very suddenly and aggressively, he swipes everything off the bookcase in anger, shouting “Fuck!” the soldier then walks
over to the bed where you can see an overflowing ash tray, even with finished cigarettes on the floor. He climbs back into bed and camera
to an extreme close-up of his eyes; still in the same angle he shuts them.
Act 2
• Immediately following his eyes shutting, the nightmare continues. This time, as if they have just turned a corner the soldier trips and falls Alan
and turns. He glances at the floor and then from a point-of-view angle we see him staring at a pistol on the ground - “Sidearm!” Alan shouts.
soldier desperately reaches out for his handgun and turns over, still lying on the floor as a man dressed in camouflage is moderately close to
Two shots are fired and the body falls to the floor. The soldier scrambles to get up, still with his weapon in his hand and the pair continues
• Another extreme close-up, this time of the soldier’s eyes open again and the sound of his alarm goes off, He looks at his phone that reads “7:00
alarm”. Again, he takes another swig from the flask. The scene then cuts to the protagonist stepping into the shower, coming back into his room,
getting dressed into his suit, styling his hair and re-filling his flask.

10. • The soldier then returns to the mirror as he did previously, staring at himself after adjusting and pulling up his tie. The scene immediately flicks back
to the nightmare, the camera following the two men sprinting (Band of Brothers style) and gunshots are being fired at them. The duck and dodge
until they eventually believe they have lost their pursuers.
• Panting and completely out of breath, they look around to make sure they are alone. They come across a dog walker who freezes when they make
eye contact. There is an awkward stare at each other until the dog walker sees some other men chasing the soldiers. He shouts and points to motion
where the pair is hiding and the soldier makes no hesitation to fire two rounds into the civilian; they then scramble up and continue running. More
gunshots are heard.
• The nightmare then pauses again and the story is taken back to the bedroom. The soldier walks out, looking as if he is ready for work. The shot is
focused on the door.
Act 3
• Instantly after that, the door opens again. This time the soldier’s tie is in his hand, top button undone and blazer in his hand, indicating he’s home
from work. After chucking his stuff onto the bed, the camera follows him through to the lounge where he pours a very large whiskey, drinking it down
in one. He turns on the television to see images and videos of a news broadcast featuring soldiers.
• This reminds him instantly of the dream. Automatic gunshots are heard. The camera is still, placed in front of the two so they are running towards it
and his friend falls to floor. The soldier looks behind him and shouts “Alan!” He runs to Alan in preparation to start dragging him as he looks up and
sees a man pointing a rifle at him. Two single shots are fired and the protagonist falls backwards. Holding his dead friend in his arms, he is slowly
approached by the man with the gun.
• With the camera angle as a point of view, the man points the gun at the camera, with a smirk on his face. He looks as if he is about to shoot the rifle
and more gunshots are heard. The man drops to the floor.
• The soldier, back to reality now, turns of the television and crawls into bed after undressing. The nightmare begins all over again.

11. DRAFT SCRIPT (INTRODUCTION)
The film begins with a blank screen; however there are sound effects of people panting, as if they are out of breath and also the sound of people
running. This implies to the audience that there is a chase occurring. With the impression that the following sounds are distant, people are talking in a
foreign language, which implies the film is set in an unfamiliar country. This should last for approximately thirty seconds.
ALAN: “This way!”
The screen is still blank, helping to build up suspense and confusion as the audience do not know what to expect. Following this is the sound of a
person tripping and falling over. The same voice as before is heard again.
ALAN: “Sidearm!”
Immediately after, a burst of gunshots are heard.
Suddenly, the first shot appears on the screen. It is an extreme close up of a man (protagonist) opening his eyes in bed. Following this the camera
angle changes, placed at the end of his bed. He throws himself up and gasps, having just had a nightmare. He turns to the bedside table, turns a
lamp on, and reaches for a flask from his draw. He takes a big swig. He then places the flask back in the drawer, where it is evident you can see a
pistol.
Now the camera is placed at the end of the room. It is evident the room is in a state. There are cigarette butts lying about, as well as empty whiskey
bottles and beer bottles. The desk is cluttered with rubbish and there are clothes and empty food packets on the floor lying about on the floor. The
implication is that this man, not yet known by the audience to be an ex-soldier, drinks and smokes a lot. This is meant to give the impression he is
struggling mentally, especially considering the opening minute of the film, which is meant to reflect a war zone. It is also evident he doesn’t bother to
tidy up or keep his home clean, bearing in mind the untidiness of the entire room.

12. He begrudgingly turns on his bedroom light and stares at himself in the mirror. From behind him (although not visible in the mirror) it is evident that
he has bullet wound scars; one in his chest, one diagonally upwards of his peck. Very suddenly and aggressively, he swipes everything off the
bookcase in anger.
SOLDIER: “Fuck!” – He shouts.
Sighing, he rubs his face with the palms of his hands, picks the items back up places them upon the bookcase.
SOLDIER: “Fuck.” – He says to himself, calmly.
The soldier then walks back over to the bed where you can see an overflowing ash tray, even with finished cigarettes on the floor. He climbs back into
bed and camera changes to an extreme close-up of his eyes again; still in the same angle he shuts them.

13. DRAFT STORYBOARD
(INTRODUCTION)