Retrospective: Movie Plan (Written By Mohamad Hamdan)

Retrospective
(Movie Plan)

A man wakes up in the middle of a busy high street (credits run in multiple fades or on screen as the scene is introduced with him lying on the floor). As he opens his eye, he doesn't move for a few seconds and then as he closes it a fade to black comes with it, and then as we emerge from the black he is getting up, and then once again as he is asking around. He has no clue of where he is and what he is doing there. The audience does not know his name and it is not clear if even he knows it. He begins scampering around asking strangers where he is, what's going on and how he got there.

As he walks down the street he begins to find clues in his pocket: A burnt piece of tissue of a cafe and a note which is also burnt. A significant amount of concentration on these two props as they relate to the ending and understood on second viewing if not first. At this point, there are flashes going off in his head of a cafe and him picking up the tissue and receiving the receipt. (Actual filming of the scene can be used as this is what it is referring to).

He begins running around the high street trying to locate the cafe knowing he woke up on this street for a reason. He locates it and double checks that it is correct, he enters and is very aware of what he is doing, he takes a seat and then corrects himself trying to recreate the events as he saw them.

As the main character looks around awaiting something to happen, he realises a note being left at the table in front of him beneath a tissue advertised by the cafe.

The camera is then watching the character looking at a list and his watch as the man left. He exits the cafe looking up and around as he keeps referring back to the note. As he looks once again at the note intensely, a voice over is used to explain the first task, and for the rest they will be explained in the same manner but as he is doing it to save time and to cause rapid editing. Every time he takes a look at the instructions a 360 degree type camera work will be used. The Instructions:

1. You will have until 'X' o'clock to complete the following tasks. (To be decided whilst filming in order to be as realistic as possible)
2. Pick up the wallet to the north of the entrance (Name Of Shop Opposite May Be Included)
3. Take out the 'X' Card and trash the wallet.
4. Place the card in the ATM, enter the numbers 252 and then the number you see in front of you(5, this should be visible to the viewer before this point in order for them to have noticed it before and therefore understand why it was written on the back of his hand) Take the receipt and the envelope.

The following two tasks are imprinted on the receipt taken from the ATM. 

1. Do not under any circumstances open the envelope.  
2. Give it to (words that have been smudged and are illegible) before the clock hits 'X' o'clock or everything ends! 

As the main character is trying to follow the instructions as best as he can, he has ended up on the edge of the road and extremely lost and doesn't know what to do. He starts to worry and his frustration builds and then there's a moment where his concentration shifts toward his opposite direction, (at this point he would be looking just above the camera ahead) it seems like disbelief and something unspeakable.


He begins talking to himself denying the inevitable. He then begins screaming in denial. (If hands are visible to camera he is holding the tissue and the note for continuity later) A very bright white light emerges and covers his face very slowly (This will be attempted to be done by the lighting equipment). He then raises both his hands with the tissue and note in each hand, and then a sudden jolt backwards emerges first through the camera (pull in the viewer) and then the character instantly afterwards. As the jolt happens the camera turns away and catches the note and tissue falling to the ground on fire (relates to the beginning of him finding the tissue and note burnt in his pocket) in slow motion (as that happens a voice over is going on at the same time) from above in order to show minimal reveal of what happened. White fade

The camera then fades in from white to him opening his eye in the same way (same shot used to show minimum or no alteration) and to show how he's going to do that all over again hence the title.