Bounce From Grace (working title)
Jeff Crouse and Paige Taylor
EXT - Courtyard, daytime
We open with our hero lying in the dirty grating, and we hear only some intense organ music or something from Philip Glass’s Solo Piano stuff – no ambient sounds. We start close on the ball and the grating, then pull back slowly. [aprox. 6 seconds]
FLASH TO:
FLASHBACK, EXT – a tennis court, daytime
[All of the flashbacks should be somehow blurred or tinted – perhaps a sepia tone or wax-paper effect]
We are looking up from the bottom of a tennis ball tube. We see a hand reach towards us, and pull us through the opening. [aprox. 5 seconds]
FLASH TO:
EXT - Courtyard, daytime
[All courtyard shots should be in slow motion until it is written otherwise… This might be a bit of an overkill, but hey, it looks good in my head.]
Wide shot of the steps from the second floor, looking out into the courtyard below. We see the tennis ball on the lower right. From outside of frame, a group of students enters, frolicking down the steps. They are happy and carefree, playfully pushing each other around and laughing.
Cut to a tighter shot of the group. One of the students who is trailing behind stops short as he catches sight of the ball. We are still in slow motion as he raises his arm, points at the ball, and motions for rest of his friends to come over.
The student runs over to the grating and picks up the ball.
We see the point of view of the ball, perhaps from between the fingers of the student, as it is carried from the grating into the open area in front of the steps. [aprox. 13 seconds]
FLASH TO:
FLASHBACK, EXT – a tennis court, daytime
We see the body of a tennis player in tennis whites, from the neck down, crouched down as if ready to serve. In one hand is a tennis ball, in the other is a racket. He bounces the ball once, twice. [aprox 5 seconds]
FLASH TO:
EXT – Courtyard, daytime
The students stand in a circle and begin to bounce the ball to each other.
Cut from wide shot of group playing to low-angle, unsteady close ups of several giddy, almost psychotically elated faces. This should be sort of surreal.
After two or three bounces, they lose interest and toss it towards the garden.
The ball rolls to a stop on the concrete near the garden. [aprox. 9 seconds]
FLASH TO:
EXT – a tennis court
Here we could splice in some stock footage of Andre Agassi or John McEnroe serving, and a few subsequent volleys. [aprox. 5 seconds]
FLASH TO:
EXT – Courtyard, daytime
Wide angle shot of the stairs. A passing student kicks the tennis ball, and it rolls – perhaps with not-quite-realistic momentum – to the end of the ledge. The music should be picking up here, building suspense.
We roll along in the perspective of the ball – flipping over and over horizontally. This might be a little tricky, but I don’t think it has to be realistic. It will be comic, and people will understand what they are seeing.
We see the ball perched on the edge of the wall. A few passing students below look up inquisitively, but are not yet too concerned.
Cut to the balls perspective, we look down to the ground, then back up, and survey the courtyard. Maybe we follow a bird flying away (may be tricky) or a bag blowing in the wind (too cliché – or, we want cliché, but it’s overused), or something to imply that the tennis ball is feeling introspective and reflective. Whatever is convenient at the time. [10 seconds]
FLASH TO:
FLASHBACK EXT - a tennis court, daytime
Here we can splice in some footage of another tennis player – perhaps Anna Kournikova or Serena Williams, in the middle of a fierce volley. [aprox 5 seconds]
FLASH TO:
EXT – Courtyard, daytime
Again we see the view of the ball looking down from the wall, and now a crowd of students and professors has started to gather in a semicircle on the ground, some of them pointing up at the ball.
I would love to have some people holding a paper towel taught, scurrying around as if trying to catch the ball if it falls. [aprox. 5 seconds = 1 minute mark]
FLASH TO:
FLASHBACK EXT - a tennis court, daytime
Ideally, some footage of one of the tennis stars mentioned above with the US Open trophy in one hand, and a tennis ball in another, celebrating. [5 seconds]
FLASH TO:
EXT – Courtyard, daytime
Shot from elevator, rising from the first floor to the third – we should probably speed this up, cuz that’s one slow elevator. If only we had a crane… Or a jet pack.
Cut to balls perspective, still on the edge of the wall, looking down, and do the Hitchcock effect where we move the camera up and zoom in.
Cut to shot of the gathering crowd from ground level. By this point the crowd has become agitated and concerned. See if we can get a Tech police officer. There should be at least 5 or 6 people there.
Cut to shot of the ball from ground level. It teeters back and forth on the edge. [aprox 10 seconds]
Cut to shot of man running towards the ball from behind. Both arms are outstretched, and he is yelling.
MAN
(yelling)
Nooooooo!
Cut to over-the-shoulder view of the tennis ball. I know this is a lot of cutting, but I think it will increase the suspense. [aprox. 8 seconds]
FLASH TO:
Montage of all of the clips from above, along with occasional shots of the ball, the crowd, the faces of the students, etc. The music should reach a crescendo here. [10 seconds]
And finally the music cuts out all together, and we see a tight shot the ball falling in slow motion against the red brick wall.
Cut to the perspective of the ball, the ground getting closer and closer. Very slow.
Another few seconds of the montage from above…
Cut back to the perspective of the ball falling.
Wide shot of the ground. At this point we resume normal speed and the ambient sound comes back just in time to hear the rubbery tap of the ball hitting the concrete. Wide shot of the area with the columns, as it bounces a few times off towards the walkway, and eventually rolls.
FADE TO BLACK
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