Character: David. He is the most beige a person can be. Not a bad person, quite nice, but appearance-wise he is a blank face in the crowd, nothing stands out. He is a medium-built, averaged height, short haired Caucasian male in his late 20’s-early 30’s. whilst this may stand out in some places in the world, this is western society modern day middle class suburban Australia. Not exactly the most unique sight. Like, most people you’re able to judge on face value or guess what they do; you might look at someone and be able to guess “ah yeah, you’re a tradie for a living”, or “they look fairly geeky, I bet they’re into IT or engineering or something”. THIS GUY, has got NOTHING. No body language, no mannerisms, no distinct appearing, Hell, not even any great facial expression. He’s the human equivalent of a tan table cloth – it’s there, there’s nothing wrong with it, you’re just not sure it quite fits in. In that, by being so nothing, I’m hoping that any reader or viewer will be able to project some sort of personality aspect of their own onto him, fill in the blanks if you will, to create a further sense of relatability.
Int. lounge. Night.
Dirty dishes pile up in the sink. Crumbs are strewn across the carpet, and the sound of traffic emanate from the nearby busy street.
Now having finished his cereal dinner David sets down the bowl and slopes back on his couch. The light from his phone, the only light-source in the room, illuminates his emotionless face. He scrolls through his Facebook feed with disdain, quickly scrolling past pictures of happy couples, over-reaction videos, Farmville, selfies, gym selfies, Trump, food, Farmville, and more couples.
His eyes widen as he comes to stop upon a picture of a smiling woman and her boyfriend announcing their engagement. He sighs heavily, turns off his phone, rests his head back and lays in the darkness.
Int. Doctors’ office. Day
The bleach-white fluorescent lights hum quietly in the background. An old ‘motivational’ poster breaks up egg-white walls, offering patients something other than the doctors graciously displayed ego-boosting accomplishments littering the wall.
David sits opposing the Doctor, with a semi-cluttered desk of papers and health models between them. David is quiet and tense, sitting upright with his hands clasped together awaiting for the doctor, whom is staring at his computer screen and occasionally grumbling, to speak.
Doctor: “whilst it can be and usually is a result of lifestyle, what you have is a natural serotonin deficiency, a simple chemical imbalance in the brain. However you may still find that a change of lifestyle can help too; definitely not a cure-all, but a noticeable difference. In the meantime I’m going to write you a prescription for some anti-depressants. You understand this, and wish to proceed?”
David: “Yeah.” Quietly nodding.
The doctor takes the pages from the printer and scribbles on it for about 10 seconds. David stares at the indecipherable drawings with bewilderment.
Doctor: “Excellent. Just take this to your local pharmacist, and you should be all set”
David: “okay, so is this a temporary thing, like a couple weeks or –
Doctor: “- oh no no, you’ll be taking these for the rest of your life. It’s nothing overly concerning or anything to be stressed out about, just don’t forget a day or skip a day as that it could greatly worsen your state and dramatically affect your moods. Any questions?”
David: “several –”
Doctor: “Well I’m afraid they’ll have to wait sorry, I have many patients and a short amount of time. Do feel free to book another appointment though. You have a nice day now”
David: now standing, “cheers.” He leaves.
Whilst still in progress, I admit this still has much further to go. Despite me having said that I’ll be going for the more auteur-styled screenplay, adding flair in descriptions, there’s still quite a fair bit I need to cut down on, and otherparts where I need to expand. After completing a first draft, I need to go back throught he entire thing and ask “is this necessary?”, seeing where I can cut unimportant details out or improve on what’s there. In saying that though, I feel that this gives a decent glimpse in what is yet to come; the final result will be a far cry from the screenplay is now, yet it should encompass the same tone and style.