one-shot of a scripted scene: director's statement

NAME: Brenna Empey

DATE: 11/1/2016

DP: Howie Burbidge

FILM 5: SCRIPTED ONE TAKE
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT OF INTENT

This statement of intent is designed to train your mind, eye and heart to shoot purposefully. Prepare it well before shooting. Briefly—but thoughtfully and specifically—answer the following questions.

1.      What film or TV show is this from?

Thelma & Louise

a.       After reading the script, in 3 sentences, what is the story of the entire film?

Thelma and Louise live pretty normal, unexciting lives at first, with Louise being a waitress and Thelma being a housewife. When Louise shoots  a man who tries to rape Thelma, they jump into Thelma’s Thunderbird and drive off to who-knows-where (later they decide to go to Mexico). They’re relentlessly chased by the police, and when all hope seems lost at the end, they decide to die together and drive the car off a cliff holding hands in defiance.

b.      After reading the script, what is the theme of this film?

I’d say the theme is that freedom can be achieved by rebellion.

2.      Do you have the actual script of the film (not a transcript)?

Yes: http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~ina22/splaylib/Screenplay-Thelma_and_Louise.pdf

3.      In 3-5 sentences, what happened in the story immediately before this scene?

Thelma and Louise have already taken off in the Thunderbird, fleeing from the police for a few days, and the entire time Louise has been trying to get Thelma to tell her husband off. Thelma’s husband, Darryl, is a controlling warden of a husband and Louise can’t stand him. When the two women stop for gas and food after driving for a while, Louise tells Thelma to call Darryl and tell him off.  Thelma uses a pay phone to call him and has a pretty long, getting-nowhere conversation with him, where it’s mostly him getting upset and her trying to calm him down. But then she realizes that she just needs to tell him how it is.

4.      In three or four sentences, what is the story—the beginning, middle, and end—of this scene? In other words, what happens as the scene starts, as it progresses, and as it ends?

Thelma has mustered up the courage to tell her husband off, and does just that before hanging up on him at a payphone. She’s a little shaken, so she’s emotional as she returns to the car and accidentally bumps into a hitchhiker, who basically asks her for a ride. She says she’ll have to ask Louise, who then comes out of the gas station, and doesn’t approve of the hitchhiker coming along for the ride. Thelma and Louise then drive away, leaving the hitchhiker behind.

5.      What, specifically, must the audience understand narratively/plot-wise in order to engage in this scene? How will you communicate each piece of information?

Thelma and Louise are running from the law right now, and they have to keep their identities a secret, so Louise is wary of anyone who isn’t either her or Thelma. Thelma, however, has just told her husband off in an emotionally taxing way, and when the hitchhiker approaches he seems to be a nice alternative to her distress.

6.      What is the narrative and thematic purpose of this scene within the larger story?

Even though they don’t pick up the hitchhiker in this scene, they do happen upon him again and Louise finally lets him snag a ride. He ends up falling in love with Thelma, but he eventually betrays the two women to the police, even though he’s a professional thief himself. This is setting up Thelma’s desire for another man, a good man, someone who actually cares about her and actually makes her happy, after she’s told off her terrible husband Darryl. I’m not necessarily saying the hitchhiker provides those things for her, but that’s what she’s looking for, so when this handsome hitchhiker shows up it’s no wonder he peaks her interest.

7.      What emotion do you want the audience to experience while watching this scene? Why? How, specifically, do you intend to do this?

There’s a lot of stuff going on here emotionally with Thelma. She’s defiant against her husband, then she’s emotionally distressed because of the weight of what she just did. When the hitchhiker shows up, she’s curious and enthusiastic about talking to him and giving him a ride. Louise, on the other hand, exhibits annoyance and wariness. This is going to have a lot to do with the blocking. I’m going to make sure that, as much as possible, the hitchhiker is standing in between Thelma and Louise, separating them. I’m also going to spend a lot of time on Thelma’s face to make sure the audience can see how she’s reacting to certain things she’s feeling/experiencing.

8.      What is the first image of the scene? What is the final image of the scene? Why do you think the director chose these specific images?

The first image is Thelma at a pay phone, holding it tight and very close to her mouth. It’ll show that she’s a little tense about telling Darryl off, but she’s strong and it’s taken a lot to get her to this point. The last image of the scene will be the hitchhiker watching Thelma and Louise drive away. This is to show that he’s curious about them, just as much as they are him, and he’ll probably show up later in the story.

9.      Why is this scene personal to you? What specific personal experience(s) does it remind you of?

I’m all about ladies helping ladies. This movie is all about that. We’ve got Thelma and Louise, friends but felons, making their way to who-knows-where on the run from the law, and all they care about is keeping each other safe and helping each other make the right decisions. For me, I’ve been lucky to have strong female figures in my life pretty much since day one, whether it’s been my mother or teachers or friends. This seen is all about Thelma overcoming her terrible husband and trying to pursue what she wants and deserves, which is a good man (the hitchhiker). Louise, on the other hand, is there to keep Thelma safe and I love their dynamic. It really showcases a friendship that is at once both free and codependent.

10.  Which two specific visual elements—line, shape, space, tone, color, rhythm, movement—do you intend to use to purposefully communicate the emotion of the scene? (You will be graded on your execution of this plan)

My biggest element is going to be movement – movement of the camera, and movement of the actors. It’ll take a lot of blocking to get this right. I always want the hitchhiker to be moving in between Thelma and Louise, even if Louise isn’t visible for part of the time. He’s blocking them from one another. I’m also really hoping I can use a red car for this scene, because the more the car stands out, the more it’ll communicate the crazy situation that Thelma and Louise are currently finding themselves in. In contrast, I want the hitchhiker to wear pretty dull colors, so he kind of blends into the background of the space.

11.  In a bulleted list, describe three potential obstacles you may face in creating a successful scene. Describe how can you be prepared to overcome these? Be specific!

·         The blocking is going to be insane on this one, especially since we have a car in the scene. What I’ll probably do is start by blocking out and rehearsing the scene without moving the car so it doesn’t take as long to reset every time.

·         There’s a mirror shot in this scene, where Thelma is watching the hitchhiker from the rearview mirror. We’re also going to have to rehearse this part a lot, because if the camera appears in the mirror at any point, we’ll have to start over.

·         Location might also be a problem because even though we’re exclusively outside the gas station, we still have to get permission to shoot at one. I’ll have to start looking pretty soon here, especially because I want a non-chain gas station.