TRUE ESTATE
Synopsis: As a man prepares for a date, he takes a moment to reflect on what is truly his.
INTERIOR APARTMENT-NIGHT
BEDROOM (A)
The man is sitting on a double bed, looking at his mobile phone.
MAN:
She’s rock and roll, Justine. It’s our date tonight. We might stay in, have dinner, watch a movie. Or we might go out. I’ve often thought of marrying her. I want to settle down.
BEDROOM (B)
The man is polishing his shoes.
MAN:
When I was young, I didn’t waste time going out to clubs. I worked night shift in the supermarket, and saved to buy a house. My father taught me that. You start from nothing then trade up. So I worked and saved and bought a house. My first investment. Then when I got the house, I thought, don’t be stupid. Rent it out. Make it pay itself. Students will pay anything. They are desperate for a house.
LIVING ROOM (C)
Now dressed in shirt, pants and shoes, the man walks through a living room.
MAN:
So with that income I bought this property. What a view. I use it as a hotel room. To treat myself. I don’t tell anyone. When I’m up here, no one has no idea; no idea of where I am. It’s like I disappear. I do a bit of thinking. Plan my next move. There’s cable, Wi-Fi, a bottle in the fridge. I won’t bring Justine up here yet. I’m saving it. I’ve almost paid it off. Another seven years, then I’ll sell it.
BALCONY (D)
The man stands on a balcony, looking out over the city lights.
MAN:
That’s what these new suburbs are. These apartments are like apples in a tray. It’s a buyer’s market: there to make you rich. If you’ve got chips to play that is. You buy and then you sell. At the right moments. Until bit by bit you grow rich. I’m not as rich as some. But soon, I want to ask Justine to come up here and live with me.
BEDROOM (E)
The man enters a code at a safe, opens it, pulls out a ring box and takes out a ring.
MAN:
Men want to seem like they come from somewhere deep, but women are the genuine article. Women are shiny and hard. That’s why they like diamonds. I worked hard, saved to buy this ring for her. I can see it on her finger.
BEDROOM (F)
The man lies on the bed and examines the ring.
MAN:
My father bred canaries. Cages and cages of canaries. As a kid, I’d watch him clip their wings. They didn’t mind. Why would they mind? They can’t fly, but they don’t need to fly, they grow up in a cage. They’ve got their water and their seed. A cuttlefish to hone their beak. They’re happy. Their song always reminds me of a fountain burbling in the sun. I always wondered if they dyed the feathers of the birds. The orange ones are nice, but so unnatural. Like Justine’s hair. I like the way she dyes her hair, I like her makeup. It’s like she’s on stage, like she’s playing a part. It suits her you know, it’s sexy. Now a lot of other woman get doled up and it makes them look like tarts.
BEDROOM (G)
The man sits up on the edge of the bed.
MAN:
The trouble with Justine, she still thinks she’s thirty. I’m not sure, but I heard she fools around with other men. Trying to feel young again. I don’t know. It’s probably true. I asked her once. She wouldn’t tell me either way. I gave her a canary, but she wouldn’t keep it. Wouldn’t have it in her house. This bird will sing for you, I said, it will sing its little heart out. But she wouldn’t have it. I’ve got my own music, she said. And put on a CD, right in front of me; she put on a CD and danced around the room in front of me like some cheap, low grade slut. Like she dances for the men who come around and visit her.
BATHROOM (H)
The man knots his tie before a mirror.
MAN:
Don’t get me wrong, I love Justine. I just want to say to her, you’re not a young girl any more Justine. You’re a grown woman and it’s time to settle down. And this is what I want to say. Justine. Let me take you away from all of this. We go away right now and start our life together.
The man hears a text message alert from his phone in the bedroom.
LIVING ROOM/BEDROOM (I)
The man dashes into the bedroom, picks up his phone and reads a text from Justine who has cancelled their date.
END
SHOOTING SCHEDULE
OAKS WRAP SOUTH BANK
27TH NOVEMBER, 2015
Refer to shooting script above for scenes A-I
PRE 8PM
Sound tests, room tone, costume and blocking rehearsal, equipment set-up.
START PRE-SHOOT 8PM.
9PM Setup 1 [Scenes A and I]
Review footage and sound
10PM Setup 2 [Scene B]
10.30PM Setup 3 [Scene E]
11PM Setup 4 [Scene F]
Review footage and sound
12 AM Setup 5 [Scene G]
12.30AM Setup 6 [Scene D]
1AM Setup 7 [Scene C]
1.30 AM Setup 8 [Scene H]
Review footage and sound
END SHOOT