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Screenwriting Schedule 

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Fictional Drama

This screenwriting schedule explores the original idea for my final major project. The concept explores a fictional drama about a gentleman than cannot escape from his addiction of gambling.

 

Premise

An addictive gambler seeks the thrill to risk everything, with no certainty of reward.

 

Logline

Jason loses all sense of self-control, as the thrill of gambling destroys his love for his fiancée, daughter and more concerningly his life.

 

Synopsis

Due to arguing with his fiancée, Jason feels the need to satisfy himself through the addiction of gambling. During the night, he withdraws all the savings within their own safe and exits the house, as he travels towards his own enemy – the casino. On his journey, he walks past a homeless man who begs him for money, however without hesitation Jason continues to walk to his destination. During his time at the casino, he manages to win a lot of money, however without intending to stop, Jason becomes addicted and begins to experience a losing streak. With his lucky streak over, he uses all of the money he and his fiancée own in an attempt to chase his losses and win the money back. However, during this process Jason loses and his world comes crashing down around him. With no expression, he exits the casino and travels back to his apartment. On his journey back he stops at where he met the homeless gentlemen and instead of the man being there, Jason replaces him and is now effectively homeless himself.

 

Step Outline  

The short film begins as the protagonist and his fiancée are seen arguing within their apartment. This will be shown through a long shot from a different room, within the perspective of their young daughter. The soundtrack ‘Pink Floyd – Shine on you like a crazy diamond) begins playing, focusing on the use of non-diegetic sound rather than diegetic as the arguing cannot be heard. However, the daughter is never seen throughout the short film, yet only referenced.

 

During the night, Jason waits patiently for his fiancée to fall asleep as he withdraws all of their savings from the personal safe and swiftly exits the house. He immediately walks towards the casino but on his journey, he is approached by a homeless gentleman who is in desperate need of money. Without hesitation, Jason continues walking and doesn’t look back. This will be a sign of foreshadowing, as the protagonist is ignorant to the fact of how easy it can be to become homeless with an addiction such as gambling.

 

As Jason reaches the casino, he is immediately seen at the roulette table however he is the only one present. He takes out a small percentage of the cash and exchanges it for casino chips. He analyses the roulette table and the previous numbers as he considers his next move. The use of slow-motion will highlight the importance and caution of his thought process. Jason places his bet and is successful in doing so, as a big smile is seen upon his face.

 

Jason continues to place more bets at the roulette table and continues to win as more guests of the casino are seen joining him with his lucky streak. Everyone around the table is seen enjoying themselves as they continue to win. However, the lucky streak begins to end as Jason begins to lose money and aggressively chase his losses. The more times he bets, the more people leave the table as he is eventually seen on his own once more. An array of close-ups is used to highlight the tension upon his face as he becomes restless and paranoid.

 

Jason will be seen on his own at the roulette table, and a dolly zoom shot will be employed to convey how his world suddenly appears to be crashing down around him. The protagonist reaches into his coat pocket and withdraws the remaining cash out of the envelope, and without hesitation lays it all on the table. The soundtrack falls silent as the entire casino becomes still. A selection of quick cuts conveys the anxiety of the protagonist as the roulette wheel begins to spin. Without viewing the result of the continuous spinning roulette wheel, the camera slowly beings to zoom in towards the protagonist as he discovers the fact of losing all of his money.

 

The final scene views Jason walking along the seafront through an extreme long shot which helps highlight his lack of self-control and isolation. The protagonist begins to make his journey back to the apartment, however, stops at the place where he was approached by the homeless man. The homeless man is not present at this time; however, Jason sits down exactly where he was and effectively replaces his position and becomes homeless. The short film concludes with statistics regarding the addiction to gambling, as well as several gambling aware campaigns.