Very minimal cast to lessen costs. Most scenes will be the perspective of one to two people with background.
Shot 1: An aisle shot close to the ground, panning down the aisle from back to front of room at the level of a young child. Childs perspective is Shelly. She is undiagnosed schizophrenia and shows some symptoms in childhood but won’t find out until her twenties. The auditorium is full and Don is talking in seriousness about “fire and brimstone”.
Shot 2: Shelly is a baby, crawling age, and peaks her head into the aisle as the camera pans down and meets Shelly half way down the aisle of the auditorium. Shellys aunt bends down and puts a blanket in the aisle as the camera is still panning towards Shelly,cc
Shot 3: the Camera meets Shelly sitting in the aisle playing with toys, about ten feet from the baby the camera stops and jumps to the next shot.
Shot 4: People from the front of the auditorium stand up to leave and walk up the aisle passed shelly. Shot is still at the vantage of the baby, about mid to low calve. Guy or guys walk up the frame and out of frame on the right side. Don is preaching about women who have “transgressed” or “sinned” because they are holding hands with men out of marriage.
Shot 5: the baby goes on a journey of the auditorium crawling down the aisle and meeting face sitting along the aisle. The baby finds the shoes and laces of a man and plays with them. The camera crawls close up with the baby. Abstract shot.
Shot 6: He reaches down and rubs the back of her head kindly. Close up of the back of baby head and body with shoe in distant
Note: mostly natural lighting so far, unless the shadows are too deep, then a pop of light from single source or direction. Front light if needed. Above and front for placement of light
Shot 7: the baby sits up mostly in the aisle. And hits the shoes and claps looking either down or up at him. Camera a little bit behind close up still on baby expression.
Shot 8: the camera at a slight distance follows the baby as he crawls down the aisle to the front.
Shot 9: beauty shot at height of the arm of the auditorium chair, the baby in the front aisle sitting up, turned toward the podium that sits center of room. Distant shot from half way up the aisle or even further back with enough of the baby face visible.
Shot 10: close up crawling with baby again. Baby headed towards the podium.
Shot 11: the baby finds the chair of the podium. Vernon the minister reaches down to meet the baby.
Shot 12: Vernon picks up baby close up.
Shot 13: medium shot of vernon holding baby on the right front side.
Note: use as much natural light and above lighting as possible. If needed can bump up light with one single from distant behind or front towards right side from left.
Sht 14: entire auditorium beauty shot with windows open, full light. Vernon holding baby in his arms. Baby visible camera in the right aisle where baby began. Camera higher up looking slightly down. Dark music begins as Don is talking about “fucking”.
Note: Narration of Shelly begins, as Shelly talks about growing up in a religious cult or sect.
“I was always the courageous one. Most of us had several babysitters or mom would leave us alone.”
Shot 15: mom is knitting in the row where Shellys family always sat for church. Front facing shot, camera above and slightly angled down 10 to 15 feet distant to Becky (mom). The aisle is full with siblings carry, frances, becky, and bobby all two years apart. They are ages 3 to young teen. A couple blankets on the floor of the row and blankets on themselves each has a game or word search or coloring. Carry has dolls barbie, bobby has toy trucks, frances a word search, and becky is listening.
Shot 16: close up on mom knitting, camera close up into the hands while they knit.
Bobby, “mom, is that Shelly?”
Shot 17: medium close up of Bobby leaning into moms chair.
Shot 18: medium shot of mom as she lowers her needles and whispers in frustration.
Mom, a deep sigh, “how the hell did she wind up all the way up there?”
Shot 19: mom leans opposite side of bobby to carry and whispers with a close up while carry is playing with barbie dolls.
Mom, “Carry can you run up there and get her.”
Shot 20: close up of mom and carry, carry turns her head towards mom when mom whispers.
Carry, lowering her dolls, “sure”
Shot 21: Carry puts her dolls on the floor medium wide shot peaking over the chairs vouyer. Carry in a slight run and slight skip leaved the row.
Shot 22: Behind shot ten feet distance open to the auditorium Carry skips in front of the camera and slight runs down the aisle.
Shot 23: front camera angle of Carry face to camera approaching Vernon and the podium from Vernons vantage point. Camera hip high in tall seat slight down angle caughting carry in semi close up as she skip and runs to Shelly sitting on Vernons lap.
Shot 24: close up of carry grabbing shelly from vernon on right side. Possibly back lit for natural feel.
Shot 25: as Carry grabs shelly and turns towards moms aisle to return camera fades new scene.
Scene 2:
Friend 1: boy leaved aisle and begins to run up the aisle. Camera follows in on track up the aisle (steady cam) showing his entire body and the floor in the shot at the vantage point of the boy. Its okay to do a somewhat close up if the track needs to be disguised. Camera follows Friend 1 to and through the door to fade to black.
Boy 1:
Shot 1: The hall outside of the auditorium is dimly light with dark yellowish light. Boy 1 is looking into the show and tell window there are four or five throughout the hall. Boy 1 is standing in the middle of the hall passed the drinking fountain where Carry has a show and tell window for 1st grade. The window has family photographs of Carry eating out, playing with baby toys, a few of her favorite toys from home, a couple quotes from school and other random personal objects that suggest Carrys personality. The shot is of Boy 1 from behind while he, age 5 or 6 looks through the window at the toys. Boy 1 stands slightly on his tip toes to see.
Shot 2: camera from inside the glass sees boy 1 face while he looks at Carry’s life.
Shot 3: a panning shot of Carrys pictures and a few close ups of Carrys toys and life to piano music or hymnals of church played on piano.
Shot 4: camera from directly behind boy1 about five to ten feet space. From right of frame boy 1 is introduced to friend 1.
Shot 5: friend 1 slightly runs into frame to meet boy 1 at window and whispers in his ear. The two turn to left of frame and run out of frame leaving a fine are portrait of Carrys life in frame. Fade to black.
Scene 3:
Shot 1: boy 1 & friend 1 entire, running slightly to two doors that lead to the cafeteria. Yellowish dingy lighting and some natural light from noon behind right to the camera. The two boys arrive at the door and stop running. Camera filming them from behind. Still shot. The boys enter the door and camera jumps to a wide angel shot of the inside of the cafeteria where all the chairs sit.
Shot 2: Hymnal music beginnings and grows as the boys run through the cafeteria are to the kitchen where the mothers are baking for
“The church”. Camera angel from above and slightly angled down it catches the boys in the center of the cafeteria and pans right as the boys run. As the boys near the kitchen jump shot.
Shot 3: the two boys run into the kitchen and out of frame to the left. As the boys run into the kitchen the “church radio” gets louder.
Shot 4: jump shot into the kitchen from the left watching boy 1 & friend 1 enter the kitchen. The church radio is playing the sermon as Don is now talking about marriage ect…..
Shot 5: jump shot to close up of boys running and laughing. Wife 1, “shhhhhhhhsh” to the boys
Wife 1: “stop that running” she says loudly with slight anger. “Be quiet we’re listening.”
Shot 6: the two boys medium shot stop running and friend 1 says, “Can I have a cookie?”
Shot 7: Wife 1, “no these are for the wedding.” a medium shot from a distance seeing the kitchen and wifes baking and preparing various salads.
Shot 8: the babies are roaming around the kitchen in scooters, five babies. Wide angle of most of the kitchen while the wives all listen to church.
Various shots of the wives in close ups preparing cold salads, traditional pasta salads and fruit salads while narrator says,
“Mother often spoke of those years she baked for the church. She complained about the early hours, often 4 in the morning until lat into the night past 7. The long hours walking and standing all day. It was the cause of her early arthritis she claimed.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8NVwN0_mks
Radio cast: Don says, “alright, well let’s take a fifteen minute brake.”
Shot 9: various close ups of women cooking while David plays disney music over the radio cast during the brake. Fade to black
Scene 4: Crystal, 10 years old is watching a Disney classic at Margarets house with three siblings near her in the living room. Bobby is there at 3 years. Fade in the disney piano classic on tv in sync with the movie.
Shot 2: fade from TV to a pan of the living room and children watching TV with natural afternoon light from the left of frame.
Shot 3: camera moved towards the faces of each child in jumps of three to four seconds per close up. Possibly all one movement. Fade to black.
Shot 4: a panning shot down the hall way to margarets room. Camera pans across hoarding of movies that fill the entire hall and camera slowly sees all the films still listening to disney track. The camera stops pan at the door to margarets room, and a pair of feet at the end of the bed. The entire room is hoarding levels of boxes, clothing, and nic nacs. Disney song playing in background is from the Little Mermaid “Part of your world”.
Shot 5: the camera fades in to frances and margerts kids looking for another movie in the dessers down the back hall. Dessers are stacked on each other all on the right had wall, natural light from windows all on left hand wall. Two kids sit and frances is opening the drawers. Each kid argues to watch a different disney movie they like.
Kid 1: “hey, want to watch this one?”
Kid 2: “nooooo, not that one. Hey guys, watch this one.”
Frances: “no, I’ve seen that one. Lets see, what about this one?”
Kids 1 & 2: “OKAY!”
Shot 6: Scene fade to black with close up of the film in Frances hands. The kids jump up as scene fades and run towards camera as it goes black.
Scene 5:
Camera fades into Carry sleeping under grandmas rose filled blanket.
Narrator: She woke from black, her life at five her grandmothers ragged off white rose blanket. Colors of purplish red, stems of green she loved its comfy feeling.
et.Shot 1: Carry pushes the rose comforter off herself. She is sleeping on a trundle bed with mattress on the floor. Ashland house. The room as an entire wall mirror on left, a boudoir cheap, and window straight ahead when walking in the door. Trundle on the right of the room, Carry sits up and yawns, and stretches grumping.
Mom: “Carry breakfast” mom yells from the kitchen up the stairs.
Shot 2: carry jumps out of bed, camera straight on fine art portrait 5 to 10 feet distance back the door is in the right of frame.
Shot 3: angled to see the bed and the door. Carry runs and opens the door. Jump shot to Frances and bobby in the living room watching Tarzan dancing to the end music in their underwear dancing to “son of man” and trying to sing the lyrics. Shelly is in a bouncer, bouncing to the music, infant age still.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WcHPFUwd6U
Shot 4: bobby sings to Shelly, slightly yelling. Face to face.
Shot 5: shelly laughing at bobby.
Shot 6: Camera follows Carry at the last three steps that lead to the living room kitchen behind her. Carry, “what are you doing?” Carry stops when she sees frances dancing in underwear and hears the song playing on the TV “son of man”.
Frances: “Watching Tarzan!” she yells.
Mom: “Carry come eat” from the kitchen mom yells.
Carry: “Coming mom” carry yells back.
Shot 7: carry turns towards camera and runs out frame left. Camera fades to black.
Scene 6:
Mom is in the kitchen making a sandwich for Carry and the family. Fade in close up of mom making a sandwich spreading mustard and mayo on the bread.
Shot 2: mom taking liver lunch meat from the bulk, and taking salami on top with lettuce and tomato.
Shot 3: carry runs into a fine art portrait of the kitchen with camera in the upper right corner of the room where the table is mom is in frame top right corner and carry enters left of center from the angle of the living room. Carry stops when she meets the camera in full frame in the center of the kitchen.
Shot 4: Carry, “hey mom, what’s for dinner?”
Shot 5: Mom, “a sandwich and chips.” mom turns her head to carry.
Shot 6: Carry, “can I have a coke?” close up shot of carry grabbing a plate from the cupboard. Carry climbs up onto the counter to reach the plates.
Shot 7: Mom turns entirely around same right corner shot to a wide angle of the entire kitchen, fine art portrait. Mom, “carry get down!”
Shot 8: Close up of Carry jumping down. Carry, “ I needed a plate.”
Shot 9: same right corner shot of a full kitchen, Mom turns back to the counter. The sandwich is already on a plate. Mom “there’s already a plate here for you. “
Shot 10: Mom takes the plate and hands it to carry. Mom “here, now go sit in the dinning room.” mom walks and hands the plate to carry mid room. Mom “ tell the kids to come eat too.”
Shot 11: medium shot of the kitchen fine art of Carry turning around to run into dinning room
Shot 11: Close up of carry half running with her plate into the dining room through the hall where she entered the kitchen.
Shot 13: open shot to the dinning room, camera facing Carry as she runs slightly towards the table, Carry, “foods ready, Franky.”
Franky yells, “OKAY!”
Shot 14: Frances and bobby run into dining room behind Carry and head towards the kitchen open camera shot as previous with Carry pulling out a chair to sit. Fade to black
Through the scene the church radio is still cast talking about marriage.
Scene 7: Narrator, “ he always talked about how the church gentified the ghetto of saint paul. Most of what we purchased in the 1950’s were somewhat mansions. They called it the “give all”, each member gave everything they had. It was sold to purchase houses like mine 983 Ashland.” camera shot of 983 from outside.
Shot 1: change of season from fall leaves to snowfall camera on house through the change.
Shot 2: camera back in kitchen close up of mom baking a myriad of cookies and fresh pies
Shot 3: beauty shot of pastries and pies. Lower normal kitchen light afternoon, window adds light.
Narrator, “ in those early days she woke up early many mornings to bake. She gave so much to us. The church took everything she was and left her with severe depression. That’s what brought her to the kitchen.”
Shot 4: camera shot of moms hands as she bakes bread or rolls, flour in the shot, early process.
Shot 5: mom turns to a new island center of room, camera is in the doorway leading to the dining room. Fine art portrait of entire kitchen while mom is preparing cinnamon rolls from scratch with pans, xmas cookies and pies in various places in the room.
Shot 6: aunt rachal or “rachie” is leaving the front door. Rachael , “whatcha making becky?”. Camera fine art portrait from kitchen looking at rachie at the door, door closed. As rachie opens the door she says line. close up wide angle
Shot 7: mom, fine art portrait of mom looking down, medium shot of entire kitchen in semi low light with natural window light. Mom, “oh just christmas tins for Karen and Walker”
Shot 8: Rachie, “more tins huh? I’ll see you tonight.” same camera position fine art portrait of rachie in the door.
Shot 9: mom still baking looks up at Rachie, “see you tonight.”
Scene 8: christmas carol music introduces the church kitchen with women baking cookies and pies with look of the 60’s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ5DOWPGxwg&list=PLeDakahyfrO_xD3xuEkFjhTQEIH9rqC7p
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9ibhWgMlso&list=PLk7MlpewRSRnzt6NrygRlgJn6S9U34wOp
Narrator, “if you didn’t marry at 18 you would before 30. I remember them mostly as bakers and mothers. But they only made 200 dollars a month and often worked over eight hours a day.”
Shot 9: beauty shots of women baking from scratch.
Shot 10: fine art portrait still shot of entire kitchen from the right of room front near the door. Babies in bouncers five roaming the room. All the women look like the salvation army. Big hair, cliche styles, they look like “mother”.
Shot 11: five mothers are on the large island next to each other scratch baking. Pan shot from left to right seeing all five mothers, all are looking at their hands while baking. Straight on medium shot from hips up, no floor in shot.
Shot 12: various shots of women baking to the christmas music.
*idea perhaps the women can dance in modern or ballet movements to fine art portrait still to white christmas. The idea plays to the schizophrenia Shelly faces later in life.
Shot 13: as the song end the women stop dancing and walk around the kitchen with scratch baking in hand, pans and flippers, spatulas ect. And as they walk the camera fades to dark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN7LW0Y00kE&list=PLk7MlpewRSRnzt6NrygRlgJn6S9U34wOp&index=2
Scene 9:
Shot 1: a classic fine art of an Astro van covered in snow to the windows due to a minnesota blizzard. Women in skirts with children and husbands on arms with multiple bags walking while it is snowing from their house down the road of all car piled in snow.
Shot 2: the husband has a shovel and thick minnesota clothing. And begins to dig out the car while the wife has children in arm with bags and stands there arguing with child.
Shot 3: Kid 3: “its freezing mom!!” Close up of child he is at moms hip height.
Shot 4: Wife 2: “stop it. Dads almost done” the wife hits the hands of the child as he clings to her. She is almost dropping child 2 that she is holding as well as bags she did not put down yet.
The husband is working on digging out the car parked along the curb. It will take half hour and in negative weather they become red in the face and frozen.
Shot 5: Wife 2: “we should have waited inside.” medium shot of wife from front facing her open shot full length. Shows the ridiculousness of her life in this circumstance, husband is in frame left still digging out the snow.
Shot 6: Husband 1: “I’m almost finished”. Camera shot of man medium full length shot of man still digging he is no where near finished.
Shot 7: the husband fine art portrait shot still of the man full length medium shot with a wide angle of all the cars behind him packed up to the roof with snow. The husband digs out the back door of the car so the wife can put her bags and children inside.
Shot 8: the husband gets to the door and opens it grunting.
Shot 9: the wife is almost dropping the child and bags she throws the child on the seat and puts bags on the ground of the car. Medium fine art still shot left of woman and left of husband. Camera to the back of the husband waiste height camera shot.
Shot 10: wife, “we’re going to be late.” grunting she sighs deeply, “we’re always late.” the wife steps back and crosses her arms.
Shot 11: husband, “one second, I’ll dig out your door too.” the medium fine art still from left of wife and behind husband standing next to the van near the back. The husband digs out the front door for wife in a series of close ups on hands and shovel, feet in the snow.
Shot 12: husband opens the door close up on hands and door.
Shot 13: medium fine art portrait of door open and wife walks into frame medium close shot. The wife gets into the car.
Shot 14: close up of the expression of the wife as she sits in the front seat from the right of carmera and wife. Husband closes the door and continues to shovel. Fade to black
Scene 10:
Shot 1: All the families are getting out their cars at the church building “Academy” possibly. Camera pans up the block as wifes gather their children and bags, semi comical moment but serious. When the camera reaches the top of the hill it stops and looks back, fine art portrait still of everyone entering the sidewalk to the office. Fade to back.
Shot 2: scene of “the church” gathering for a christmas event in the cafeteria. Camera pans wide angle in a circle, and then pans through several tables and does cheeky close ups of conversations and children running about.
Shot 3: shot of food camera facing the line as “elders first” get scratch made pasta and fruit salads, cookies, and pies and coffee. Everyone is dressed in their salvation army best. Camera at waist height as it pans from left to right, down the entire set of tables the cafeteria out of focus.
Shot 4: camera capturing several conversations at round tables. Husbands and wife hold children on their laps. 80’s hair styles, skirts and long baggy shirts and funky shoes. Small chat.
Conversation one: Wife 3, “did you hear they are moving the easel? How long have we been there now?”
Wife 4: “why are they moving the easel?”
Wife 3: “they said it has to do with Mickeys court case. Dennis lost after that personal account he gave.”
Wife 4: “where are they going to move. Everything these days is so damn expensive.”
Wife 3: “someone said minneapolis. An abandoned building.”
Wife 4: “that gas is going to be expensive everyday.”