@Phil and Alan: Development: Script (Revised)
Revised Cast (W/O character descriptions):
Onscreen cast of four members. The news crew consisting of two onscreen and one off-screen (LINDA, RICK, and JOE) and VINCENT CRAIG. JR.
Character Archetypes Characters names
· Male Tour guide scientist (at beginning) - Vincent Craig Jr.
· Female Presenter - Linda Ashworth
· Soundman - Rick/Richard Edwards
· Cameraman (always O.S.) - Joe Connor
· Male Captive/Corrupt Scientist (at end) - Professor Andrew O’Sullivan
Key:
Black text = We are happy with this development
Red text = Undecided development.
ATTACK OF THE ROBOT SPIDERS
11.10.2011
FADE IN:
INT. UNDERGROUND LAB
(CINEMATIC P.O.V.)
The radio is playing, the voice is laid-back style. Camera pans walls and laboratory equipment. Sleek, super hi—tech. Byzantine. There are a series of blueprints on the walls and tables. Signals on blueprints to suggest something has happened and camera examines the blueprints in a sequential order. Revealed is the discovery of a new experiment and the dangers of its evolution. “It” is now dangerous, evolved, independent, and intelligent. One blueprint really stands out; connecting up the dots of the story.
There is a lamp flashing on and off on a desk within a small room, the rays of light touching a “classified” document. Camera focuses on the document and lamp in the foreground and one of the corridors in the distance extending into infinite darkness. Suddenly, a noise works its way towards the camera. In a heartbeat, something attacks the lamp. ELECTRONIC IMPACT RINGS OUT. Lights OFF. Blackness. Electric legs and transitional SFX.
TEXT ON SCREEN
Studio ident
“A StudioCrawler Production”
Fade out: Interlude
Act 2 (one year later (Andrew has been hiding down here making illegal experimentation/biological hazard))
Silent, screechy strings start to play with a beat.
FADE IN:
1. INT. GROUND FLOOR ENTRANCE VAULT DOOR
(Dolly-in) Shadows move towards the door. Sound of human voices. Someone begins to open the sealed doors.
(Cutaway) On the wall, there is a notice/dynamic symbol telling the characters where they are in the building. A sign is on the side.
(Close Up) Vincent’s hand on the lever beside electricity dashboard, with some effort, he raises the lever to turn it on.
(Wide shot of cast slowly trailing in one after another (except RICK who is O.S.) VINCENT CRAIG. JR. operates the hydraulics for the platform leading down to the underground; the only unblocked route to the underground facility.
VINCENT
CUT TO:
2. INT. UNDERGROUND LAB
(Establishing Shots) Three mains shots of laboratory: The main hub, the small room to the side with the blueprints and closed double doors.
The characters arrive in the central hub.
(Noddy shot)
JOE(O.S.)
“I’m going to setup here.”
LINDA RICK ((O.S.)
Looks towards RICK- “Yeah sure. Let’s do this quick and
easy.”
Looks back.
* nods *
“All right!”
CUT TO:
(P.O.V.) VINCENT picks up blueprint/duplicate of blueprint (much larger than first at beginning of teaser trailer)
(Two shot)
VINCENT
“Evidence is everywhere. Such advanced science, unexposed to the world.”
LINDA
“Gives me the jeepers just looking at that thing!”
* shivers *
CUT TO:
(Mid shot)
RICK and JOE move down the hall, opening doors left and right as other two stand at the center of it all.
RICK (O.S.)
“Just look at it... (Pause)”Turns around to JOE
RICK
“It’s dead empty!”
(Close-up) RICK listens carefully. It’s barely audible, but it’s there. A low mechanical sound. It sounds like legs. He looks up at the grille that covers an air duct where the sound is coming from.
RICK
(To JOE) “Do you hear that?”
JOE CONNOR
* Nods, resulting in slight camera tilt *
CUT TO:
(Wide shot of cast)
Sudden power failure.
LINDA RICK AND JOE
Simultaneously scream
* Squeals * * gasps *
VINCENT (O.S.)
“Nothing to be afraid of everyone. There’s a bug in the power. (PAUSE)”
He’s not kidding...
“Any minute now”
LINDA RICK
Simultaneously screams as something moves past and touches them
* Squeals * * Shouts *
Lights turn back on.
RICK notes that one of the unopened doors is now open. Along this new corridor wires are torn out of the walls, and in the distance it is very dark. A few emergency lights dotting the corridor.
VINCENT
(Understands something is out of the norm)
“Feels like experimental misdirection.”
LINDA
Looks around at to see if anybody else felt a ruffling against their legs.
Her worried eyes lock onto RICK. He returns an expression of facial concern.
A dead silent pause falls on everyone. It’s not rocket science. Sensing that something is wrong, Suddenly things become more urgent.
Lights jitter on and off.
Darkness.
Red light appears in the grille, shining a projected dull beam (from the spiders’ eye).
The cast panic and on instinct scatter into groups of two. LYNDA with VINCENT, and RICK with JOE.
Act 3 Finale wrap-up
NOTE: Events from here onwards of characters routed during story/teaser trailer.
Darkly expectant music starts to play.
TEXT ON SCREEN/ V.O.
“Inside a strange forbidden plantation, alive, deep in the underground hidden from man...(Pause)”
CUT TO:
(Security
CUT TO:
VINCENT
Frantically punches the buttons on the door. * DENIED *
Again. AGAIN.* DENIED *
CUT TO:
(Medium Close Up)
LINDA
(Panic)
“We’re trapped and they’re herding us like cattle!”
CUT TO:
The emergency lights have activated. Their surreal red glow makes everything seem ten times worse.
(Shaky-cam)
JOE (O.S.)
(To RICK)
“What do you think they are?”TEXT ON SCREEN/ V.O.
“It’s above, below, and around you!”
CUT TO:
LINDA
(Over shoulder shot of LINDA and dark intersection of corridors)
Trying not to alert the mechanical things that are lingering in the shadows nearby, LINDA covers her mouth trying not to squeal. She pushes her back to the wall, standing there and panicking quietly. Takes a cheeky peak round the corner. Nice and slow-
…O’ shit.
LINDA
Wheezes/oral shape
“Oh… Shit!”
LINDA (CONT’D)
Retreats head. Clutches onto flashlight. Realises the flashlight is not covered and in a frenzied movement tries to block light with her hand. Attempts to find the ON/OFF button-- Where is it?!- Oh my God!!! Can’t find it… Finds it. *CLIIICK* echoes sound down the corridor; the red eyes find their way to the direction of the camera…
…Nice one Linda.
CUT TO:
RICK
During flight, RUNS and STUMBLES into a metal, gooey web between a double doorway.
RICK
* GASP *TEXT ON SCREEN/ V.O.
“Watch yourself!”
RICK
* SHOUTS *“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!”
CUT TO:
LINDA
Lashes out, turns to long corridor, almost hyperventilating while Fleeing.
LINDA
* Squeals *Runs through a long corridor. Suddenly, collapses and glasses come off, releasing grip of flashlight and it travels down the corridor, the beam of the flashlight begins to pulsate —
(Vision blur)
LINDA (CONT’D)
* Screams *
ROBOT SPIDERS
Red eyes become blurred, syncing with glasses falling off.
LINDA (CONT’D)
Eyes become more focussed without glasses.
Music reaches a crescendo! Slightly menacing undertone running mostly inconspicuously in the background. Low-changing melodies with swinging sounds that are often perceived subconsciously. They shall run the subwoofer for a long time simply with a sonorous bass sound. The sound contributes enormously to the atmosphere of the film. The subwoofer is important for a powerful punch.
– Then, out of nowhere, sound of electronic legs hammer away at the irritating light. Then, there is total and utter pitch black.
TEXT ON SCREEN/ V.O.
“Creepy, crawly...(pauses)”
* Sound of mechanical legs moving *
“-and robotic!”
LINDA (O.S.)
* Shudders with disgust, Goosebumps, elongated scream *CUT TO:
LINDA
Trembling uncontrollably with impaired vision, she looks around, and her eyes are filled with revelation.
CUT TO:
TEXT ON SCREEN/ (V.O.?)
“[Names here]”
“Including, guest star [Name here] as Professor, Andrew O’Sullivan:”
The wolfish smile has a sadistic edge to it.
“You don’t even want to know about the mother.”
CUT TO:
INT. CORRIDOR
Optional ending 1
(Cinematic P.O.V.) Handheld camera is on the floor, alone and damaged. This is followed by an instant transition to handheld camera on the floor at a distorted angle. Through the screen we see the approach of a lone robot spider. Camera goes static, and then cuts out.
Optional ending 2
(Security
Cuts to black.
TEXT ON SCREEN/(V.O.?)
“In... Attack of the Robot Spiders”
End credits.
End
Notes:
Nobody is really sure about the nature of the Spider, so they are afraid of it. However, spider evolves itself for dominance, learning to reproduce by collecting metallic compounds and using electr1icity to replicate more nanites into the image of itself as a spider. The spiders are not killing the people; they are after the batteries in the cameras and their remaining technological devices. What is not revealed is whether the cast die but the viewer believes they will suffer an inevitable fate as a result of entering the spiders “hive”.
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Alan Postings says:
Hi
Reading through your script my first impressions are positive. I can see this working (or at least the movie in my head). I like your inclusion of a soundman also. There is a lot of potential there with the audio he is hearing through the headphones and boom in comparison to the rest of the group - It could add an extra layer of creepy.
I suggest that you start to put together a storyboard / animatic so we can talk about shots. My gut reaction is that some of the script may 'fold in' on itself once you get see it visually. E.g. there may be two shots here that could be done in one. Thats often something you don't know until you start drawing it out and reviewing shots against adjacent shots.
tutorphil says:
Yep - My thoughts exactly; I felt the script is probably 'too long' - in so much as I'd expect it to contract when you take it into the animatic stage - as pictures accomplish more, more quickly and efficiently, but this is a filmic script certainly - but now I suggest you move into the animatic stage without hesitation, and refine 'the script' through the process of cutting it together.