As we moved forwards into pre-production, we started to assign roles. I have prior experience with screenwriting, so was elected to do screenwriting for pre-production. I also casted the project, as I had a friend who is an experienced actor and was perfect for the role, and luckily he said yes without much convincing.
As I started writing the script, it quickly became obvious that we had a lot of decisions left to make. For example, when does Doc come in? To what extent is he featured before he scares Sid? If he’s always in the background, not harming Sid, does he lose effect?
As I started battling with these factors, it became clear that we needed to brainstorm further. While I waited for the group to re-converge, I wrote some drafts/options.
Having Sid be a very much regular person worked as well, as the audience relates to him.
I think that the point of having the encounter with Doc being too early was a good one, as it gives the script nowhere to go – though straight into the action is not always an issue, given that the film is horror, tension needs to be built first. Without the tension, the full potential of the malevolent presence has not been reached. So, he should not see Doc and/or have an interaction with him.
Additionally, the OCD sequence relating to symmetry is quite difficult to show – though I think it would make for interesting cinematography – and maybe sould be avoided. We can mess with Sid’s fears without going into symmetry-related OCD.
If Sid is a constant presence, it also diminishes the power of the character. Therefore having another encounter with Doc in the second where it becomes clear that Doc cannot harm him is too much.
Ramsay is on sound design, and he also had notes re: the clock. Having the clock always ticking could be a really cool effect, it would still increase in pace/volume as he gets anxious.
In response to that, I wrote a second script (being very brief, because I knew it would need editing).
This one involved Sid thinking he sees Doc, but Doc not actually being there. It was better, but there were still issues – Doc was still too harmless and it was becoming too repetitive (even though ‘repetitive editing’ was one of our goals).
And again, we didn’t feel as though hid experience with Doc was sitting quite right. Other notes I got before we decided to just call each other were –
Basically throw in as many horror things that you can think of. Like when he closes his laptop, have the sound of a door close echo from somewhere else in the house.
Which could be done easily enough and was already starting to be done, though the idea of the laptop closing/door closing was incredible as it can show how over the top his fears are e.g the laptop closing has masked the door closing, so now Sid doesn’t know whether or not the door was open.
Potential structures are having Sid get ready for bed while teasing audience with little appearances of Doc, while establishing Sid’s OCD, then when Sid gets in bed Doc can creep up on him and thats when Sid notices something, walks behind the wardrobes to the messy part of the room and finally encounter Doc for the first time. Doc can then force Sid to lock and unlock the doors, straighten his stuff, open/close the laptop, wash his hands, and generally stop Sid from being able to sleep.
Again, our fear with this is that it would become too repetitive…
So the film could be divided by the building of the suspense, and then the climax being intense with trippy editing. We could achieve a poetic ending if we focus on the door locking motif, by having Sid unlock the door and walk through it into a room filled with light. Doc would disappear but the fate of Sid is never explained, whether it means he dies or sleeps or is at peace in general.
When we called each other, we decided that we needed to get the narrative structure agreed upon before the script was written, or we were just going to keep disagreeing.
A suggestion by Morgan was to open on Sid straightening out his pencils (or some other typical OCD routine) but this doesn’t quite work with OCD – as the obsession needs to occur before the compulsion. He needs to be triggered before he starts doing the compulsions.
And when we started too brainstorm ideas together, it very quickly became apparent that we were not all across each other’s intentions for our scenes – meaning that the beats we were putting in were not clear enough/explicitly enough explained.
This was also a really valuable lesson, because it shows how you just need to go back to basics and explain everything during early brainstorming sessions. Sometimes spending the time on the basics makes you save a lot of time in the long run.
So we started to break it down – from the first scene, we wanted it to a) establish Sid as a mainstream character and b) start building tension.
By doing this, we were able to plot out our story…
Sid brushes his teeth, washes his face, finishes up. The whole time he’s watching his clock (or watch?) and making sure he starts things on the minute, but it’s not too overwhelming. (establishes Sid as regular, save for the watch, though that’s something that most relate too/isn’t highly unusual).
He then goes down the hallway, and lines his toes up to the edge of the floorboards. Takes a breath and is obviously quite distressed.
Has a minute from when his feet hit the floorboards to lock his door/do other things and get into bed. He messes it up and slams the door, dives into bed…
And realises that the door is open. He looks around, terrified. Tries to ward of his compulsion.
But the ticking increases.
Random noises sound. Sees Doc flash in and out.
He gets up and goes back to the bathroom, brushes his teeth again.
Doc flashes and flickers in and out.
He gets back into bed, locks the door.
And watches.
And then the door starts to open… and doc starts coming through…
He throws the covers over his head.
Looks back out.
The door is closed.
Sid looks around, in all the nooks and crannies of his room. Doesn’t see Doc. Lies down, turns around…
Sees Doc lying beside him.
He jumps out of bed, Doc is gone…
(Non-linear – editing)
Then – transition into…
Doc and Sid are arguing, fighting. Cut too, Sid is just beating up himself. Intercut with Doc beating him, Sid beating himself…
Then settle on Sid beating himself… zoom out and…
Doc is watching.
And this is the draft script that was produced from that session…
We were all really happy with this, we all understood each beat and agreed that it would be the most effective. The ending between Doc and Sid we all really liked – as it was very much an open ending that left it to the audience’s interpretation is Doc ‘real’, or is he in his head?
As for the non-linear editing section, we plan on jotting down further ideas and then seeing what feels right on the day.
