HOMEFRONT

SCREENPLAY

 

 

Jordan Crandall

2004

 

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- NIGHT

 

Through the window of a handheld video camera, we see a POV of someone walking quickly along a deserted urban street.  We feel the agitation behind the videocamera and hear the videotaper's quickened breath.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- AERIAL VIEW -- NIGHT

 

An aerial view of a woman, who appears to be the same person who is carrying the videocamera.  We do not see her face, due to the high angle of the shot, and we cannot identify her. 

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- NIGHT

 

We see a continuing POV through the window of the handheld video camera.  An unidentifiable man, visible from behind, appears up ahead, walking briskly up the street.  He is briefly illuminated as he walks under a street light.  The woman who is videotaping him appears to be following him.  Although the woman pursues the man aggressively, she keeps her distance.  She does not want to be discovered by him. 

 

Suddenly the man stops and looks around, as if he were momentarily uncertain of his direction.  The woman ducks behind a tree, and then rights her camera to quickly aim at him again.  She watches him carefully from afar, and we feel the videocamera moving from her breathing.  We do not know whether she is driven by jealousy and revenge or passion and voyeuristic pleasure. 

 

After several seconds, the man continues walking.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

We see surveillance camera footage of the man performing this same action, in EXACTLY the same way.  It is as if it were an instant replay, though with a different device, a different rhythm, and a different camera angle (a lateral angle downward).  The surveillance camera appears to have documented the action. 

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- AERIAL VIEW -- NIGHT

 

We see a continuing aerial view of the woman who is implicitly pursuing the man.  Even though we do not see her face or videocamera because of the orientation of this camera angle (which looks down on her from a slight angle behind her), we assume that the POVs are hers, because her movements correspond.  This aerial view is unusual, since it appears to come from a plane, and so we wonder who is watching her.

 

WOMAN V.O.

(in a haunting confessional tone)

I followed you...

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- NIGHT

 

Continuing POV of the man being followed.  He stops at a streetcorner, and the woman waits behind the corner of a building, keeping her videocamera focused on him.

 

WOMAN V.O. (CON'T)

(raw)

I couldn't help it.  I needed to know.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

We see another surveillance view of the man, but from another location.  We assume that the area must be heavily surveilled.  Again, the action on this sequence matches the previous one, as if it were a replay of the action. 

 

MAN V.O.

(defensively, and with part of his speech bleeped out)

This was not me.  That is not me t-here.  I am h[xxxx].  I defend against him.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- NIGHT

 

Continuing POV through the woman's videocamera.  Gradually the man's head becomes blurred on screen, in the manner of live-action crime television, when it is necessary to protect someone's identity.  The man continues walking down the dark street.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

We see another surveillance view of the man, from another location.  This sequence, however, does not appear to replay a previous action.  Rather, it registers an entirely new action, which is not seen in the POV shots.  The man approaches the door of a house.  The surveillance camera begins to slowly PAN right, as if it were automated.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- NIGHT

 

Continuing POV through the woman's videocamera.  The man continues walking down the dark street.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

Continuing surveillance view of the man, as he approaches the door of a house and puts his hand on the door knob.  The surveillance camera continues to slowly PAN right.

 

MAN V.O.

You followed someone else.  I was not here.  I will have been in some other place.

(his voice wavers in space, with a police radio background noise)

It is not h[xxxx].  It was not me.  This is not me.  He am h-there.  I am somewhere else.  He/t/him. 

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- NIGHT

 

Continuing POV through the woman's videocamera.  The man continues walking down the dark street. 

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- NIGHT (CON'T)

 

Continuing POV, with a jump in time to several seconds later, and with a computer processing overlay atop the image.  The image is now being scanned by an image analysis program.  The processing changes the rhythm of the video flow.

 

WOMAN V.O.

(with processed dialogue, and contradictory/overlapping speech)

I suspected you.  You went to see her/me.  They/We suspected/are suspecting that you went to see me/her. They followed her/We followed us/They are following us.  They/We followed/are following me/her following you following me/her.  They/We have followed her.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

A burst of static occurs and we find the man inside the house that he was just about to enter.  It is a completely empty room with no windows.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- AERIAL VIEW -- NIGHT

 

Aerial view of the woman standing on the street. 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

The man, inside the house, begins to move toward a woman who approaches out of the shadows.  She is a shadowy figure, difficult to discern. 

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- AERIAL VIEW -- NIGHT

 

The woman, standing on the street, begins to move toward a man who walks into the frame.  It is the man who she has been following.  THE STREET BACKGROUND BEGINS TO TRANSFORM INTO AN INTERIOR SPACE -- THE MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

The man and the woman move toward each other.  It is still difficult to distinguish who the woman is, since her upper body is blurred.  She might be carrying a camera, but it is difficult to tell.  The surveillance camera TRACKS DOWN from its mount and slowly moves down to groundlevel.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT./INT. URBAN STREET/EMPTY ROOM BLEND -- AERIAL VIEW -- NIGHT

 

An aerial view of the man and the woman approaching each other, as the exterior street space is gradually transformed into the interior space.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- NIGHT

 

Continuing POV through the woman's videocamera.  The man continues walking down the dark street, as if he had never entered a room or encountered the woman.  The woman's POV, however, begins to gain on him, and appears to approach him more closely from behind.  

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

The surveillance camera begins to track along the groundlevel to a position behind the man.  The back of his head conceals hers.

 

WOMAN V.O.

I entered her home. I am watching [xxx] with her.  [xxxx] touched/is touching her-me.

(raw)

Touch me now. 

(pause... then a violent accusation)

How could you?

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- AERIAL VIEW -- NIGHT

 

The aerial camera begins to track down to groundlevel as the man and the woman approach each other.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

The surveillance camera moves to a position behind the man and stops there, as he and the woman approach closely.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- AERIAL VIEW -- NIGHT

 

The aerial camera begins to track down to groundlevel and zooms in on the man and the woman as they approach each other closely.

 

MAN and WOMAN V.O.

(dialogue remix; a combination of earlier dialogue plus the following)

What were they thinking...who would have justified it so...

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- NIGHT

 

Continuing POV through the woman's videocamera as the man continues walking down the dark street.  The woman has now approach him closely from behind and she begins to zoom in on him.  THE CAMERA SUDDENLY BECOMES A HANDHELD SURVEILLANCE CAMERA.  She ZOOMS IN on him.

 

MAN and WOMAN V.O. (CON'T)

exactly where would you have been on that night...will you have touched him...

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

The man and the woman appear to touch face to face.  Her face is occluded by his.  THE IMAGE IS VAGUE ENOUGH SUCH THAT THE WOMAN COULD HAVE A VIDEOCAMERA IN FRONT OF HER FACE.  They stand nose-to-nose in such a way that it is not apparent whether they are taking an amorous or confrontational stance.  The image freezes on the contact, as if he were being caught in the act.

 

MAN and WOMAN V.O. (CON'T)

tell me what will have happening that night...it is to be decided...

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- NIGHT

 

The aerial camera view has now completely descended to ground level.  The man and the woman stand face to face in such a way that it is not apparent whether they are taking an amorous or confrontational stance.  The video stops on a still frame, as if it were providing evidence, and ZOOMS IN in an incriminatory manner.

 

MAN and WOMAN V.O. (CON'T)

to conquer [###]...to place [###]... position [###]...avoid [xxx]...How I will have seen you. 

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- NIGHT

 

Continuing POV through the woman's videocamera, which has become a surveillance camera, as she ZOOMS IN on the man from behind. 

 

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. URBAN STREET -- NIGHT (CON'T)

 

We suddenly see an EXTREME CLOSE UP OF THE MAN'S FACE, which replaces the back of his head.  The image freezes.

 

WOMAN V.O.

That we were desired enough, thought worthy enough.

 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

We see CLOSE UPS of the man and the woman, facing the camera.  A police spotlight shines on them occasionally, as if they were under interrogation.

 

The man and the woman are shouting directorial commands at one another.  In addition to their own personal commands, they also appear to be "channeling" the voice of the director, whom they acknowledge periodically with a quick and self-conscious offscreen gaze.  In these moments, the drama assumes a "staged" quality.  For the most part, however, the man and the woman are seriously engaging one another in an intense power play.  At several key points, they each fully submit to one another. 

 

Their voice commands are edited and processed such that they combine and overlap.  The sound does not match the speaking; often there is a delay, or a divergence of some kind.  Pseudo-classical TV sound (of the kind that signifies heightened drama) occurs, but it breaks up at key moments, reflecting the cuts and the defractions of the voices.

 

We see a CLOSE UP of the woman. 

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look! 

 

CUT TO:

A CLOSE UP of the man.

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look at me! 

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the woman again, though this time the man is standing behind her.  He is a shadowy presence, lurking behind her. 

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look there! 

 

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the man.  His face is blurred, in the manner of live-action crime television, when it is necessary to protect someone's identity.

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look here!

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the woman. 

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look how I look at you! 

 

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the man again, though this time the woman is standing behind him.  She is a shadowy presence, lurking behind him. 

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look there! 

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the man alone.

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look how he/she sees you!

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the woman alone, from another angle, as if defracted in a mirror.

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look at yourself! 

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the man, with the woman standing behind him as a shadowy presence, from another angle. 

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look at him/her! 

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the man alone, from another angle, as if defracted in a mirror.

 

MAN & WOMAN

Watch! 

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the woman, with the man standing behind her as a shadowy presence, from another angle. 

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look at me look at you! 

 

CUT TO:

 

We see a CLOSE UP of the woman, standing behind the man, forcibly restraining him by pulling his head back and covering the mouth.

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look here! 

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the woman alone.  Her face is blurred, in the manner of live-action crime television.

 

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look as she/he does! 

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the man alone, from another angle.

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look as her/him! 

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the man, standing behind the woman, forcibly restraining her by pulling her head back and covering the mouth.

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look how you look as her!

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the woman, with the man standing behind her as a shadowy presence, from another angle. 

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look! 

 

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the woman alone.

MAN & WOMAN

There! 

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the man, with the woman standing behind him as a shadowy presence, from another angle. 

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look at him/her!

 

CUT TO:

 

A CLOSE UP of the woman alone, from another angle, as if defracted in a mirror.

 

MAN & WOMAN

Look as her!

 

CUT TO:

 

A FAST-FORWARDING AND REWINDING OF THE ABOVE ACTION, AS IF IT WERE A VIDEOTAPE RECORDING.

 

MAN & WOMAN V.O.

(heavily processed and overlapping dialogue; improvised)

This is how I will have seen you/her|This is how you/I will have looked at me/him|I am watching myself, myself as you/they saw me/see me|I see myself as you/he saw me|Look how I will have seen you|This is how you will have looked to me/looked at me.

 

WOMAN V.O.

At this point she [xxxxx]. 

 

MAN V.O.

(as if discovering something)

There... [###]in this region.

 

WOMAN V.O.

They see me|I am watching|She/it watches me|They would see us.

(pause; with desperation)

Incriminate me.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

In the green haze of a night vision camera, we see the woman watching herself in the mirror.  She breaks a glass and cuts herself somewhere on lower half of her body.  We don't see where, we only see her face. There is clearly guilt, retribution, suffering.  The pain is so great that it can only be localized on the body.  But there is also a pleasurable release, as if a restraint had been cut.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

In the green haze of a night vision camera, we see the man watching himself in the mirror and punching himself on the lower half of his body with such violence as the mirror threatens to break.

 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

A close up of the woman alone, staring straight ahead.  An intense, emotional moment of powerful communion with the man.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

A close up of the man alone, staring straight ahead.  An intense, emotional moment of powerful communion with the woman.  The police spotlight gradually increases to wash out his face.

 

BEGIN DISSOLVE

 

MAN V.O.

(overdramatized, as in a classical monologue)

To whose camera have I/he fallen? 

Into whose hidden hands did I/he sacrifice his image/self?

Who would betray me/love me?  Script me?  Judge me?

Lover-prosecutor, camera-image-judge.

My own/his image formed/forming against myself/himself?

Save me/Banish me.

 

DISSOLVE TO:

 

EXT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

We see a police light at the exterior of the house -- the same house that we saw the man entering earlier.  We hear the sound of a police radio.  The handheld camera bursts through the door aggressively.

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

We see a highly intense fight in process.

 

MAN & WOMAN

(improvised speech, accusing one another in terms of wrong and right, true and false.  There are many sounds of scuffling and fighting.)

 

The woman strikes him.  She then becomes aware of the intruding camera.

 

WOMAN

(pointing an accusatory finger)

Him!

(simultaneously)

You!

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

A burst of static and then we see the EXACT same action, but from a surveillance camera view.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

The man and the woman continue improvised fighting.  The handheld camera, accompanied by a police spotlight, moves in as if to restrain the man.  The man suddenly lunges toward the woman, and in response, the camera turns in order to attend to the woman.  It stops short as the man strikes her.

 

The fight continues with the camera caught in an ambiguous position.  On the one hand it represents the authority of the law (a la live-action crime shows), but on the other hand its role is to conduct such violence as voyeuristic entertainment.  It wants to resolve the conflict, but it feeds on it too.  It alternates between protection and instigation.  There is no "real" police presence behind it, so in the end it is helpless to go beyond its function as simply an index of power.  It is a third character in the fight, but it has no real character presence itself.

 

MAN & WOMAN

(improvised speech, accusing one another in terms of wrong and right, true and false.  Many sounds of scuffling and fighting.)

 

While the man and the woman are disturbed by the camera's presence, they attempt to court it in order to win power over one other.  They jostle for its attention and its backing.  When the camera moves to a POV shot, it is as if the man or the woman were endowed with the power of the law it represents, and their improvised speech moves between subjective persona and "objective" institutional authority.  In other words, the characters speak both as individuals as well as in terms of the Institution that speaks through them.

 

The actors also want to be "worthy" of the camera's attention, as if they were auditioning for their moment in the limelight.  We wonder who has the real power: the law enforcement agency or the "law" of drama.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

As the man and the woman continue fighting, an image analysis program scans the images of the two of them. The program is geared toward predicting behavior and alerting the viewer to a potentially problematic situation. The processing changes the rhythm of the videostream. 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

The man and the woman continue improvised fighting, seen through the handheld camera.  Their bodies briefly appear to merge into one another. 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

A surveillance camera "replay" of the action.  The action moves so fast otherwise that we have to look to these surveillance camera views -- which move much more slowly -- for documentation of what "really" happened.  We assume that the surveillance camera provides reliable documentation. 

 

The woman picks up an ambiguous object with which to confront the man.  We do not see the object, since it is blurred, in the manner of live-action crime television, when it is necessary to protect someone's identity -- except in this case, it is an OBJECT that needs such protection. 

 

The woman threatens him with the object and suddenly there is AN INTERRUPTION IN THE FLOW OF THE VIDEO.  We pick up the action a few seconds later, when the man is laying on the ground, as if unconscious, and the woman is standing over him, with the blurred object gone.  It appears that the "attack" occurred not only in terms of the woman assaulting the man, but through the attacking of the medium of the video itself (as if the tape itself were damaged in that spot).  We have to get more context in order to read what happened.  We cannot assume that the woman actually struck him.  There is no moment of impact that is readable and usable as an incriminatory image. 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

The handheld camera footage is then rewound and fast-forwarded, as if one were looking for contextual evidence.  If the surveillance camera footage was a documentation of what occurred earlier, then it seems we could find the "incriminatory moment" on the handheld camera videotape, which could help us to understand what happened.  The action moves backwards and forwards, in different speeds, as the event is reconstructed through different points of emphasis.  A FUNDAMENTAL GAP remains at the moment of "attack."

 

MAN & WOMAN V.O.

I/They will be vindicated/Convict me.

I had nothing left.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

The image analysis program scans a replay of the woman as she brandishes the object, attempting to reconstruct the event through computer processing.  A FUNDAMENTAL GAP remains at the onset of the "attack," which is unable to be reconstructed. 

 

MAN & WOMAN V.O.

Guilt[####]

He was assaulted by her revelation.

Wronged|Absolved|[xxx]d. 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

The man and the woman continue improvised fighting, in real time, seen through the handheld camera.  THE CAMERA TRACKS UP AND IS TRANSFORMED INTO A SURVEILLANCE CAMERA, and the action slows to its rhythm. 

 

WOMAN V.O.

It is not I. 

What does [xxxxx] want from me?

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

We return to the fast-forwards and rewinds.  After many tries of finding the perfect incriminatory moment, 

we settle on what could be the best revelatory moment, and we ZOOM IN on this image in order to understand it better.  It is as if we were trying to zoom into the FUNDAMENTAL GAP itself.

 

MAN V.O.

(raw, as confession)

I am evidenced. Substantiated. The evidence proves me, produces me.

 

We ZOOM IN so closely to the image that it becomes grainy and indeterminate.  We continue zooming in as the image dissolves under our gaze.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

The man and the woman continue improvised fighting, seen through the handheld camera.  The man has ripped the woman's blouse open and the action pauses on her breast.  We feel the breath of the person behind the camera as it lingers on the breast, centering it in the frame.  Under the glare of the police light, the image is washed out completely.  It dissolves to white. 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

We return to the image analysis footage, which builds up with such intensity that it appears to consume the image itself, along with its medium of conveyance (as if burning through a film strip).  It builds to COMPLETE BLACKNESS. 

 

WOMAN V.O.

That I would become|me at the onset of your capture, take shape through the disintegration of your [xxxx].

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

We see a police light shining on the exterior door.  The man is standing in the doorway, apparently surrendering to the law, his arms up, his shirt raised and his pants lowered.  He stands there like this in total surrender and humiliation before the law. 

 

CUT TO:

 

FLASH OF POLICE SPOTLIGHT.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

We see a surveillance camera view of the woman alone, squatting in the corner of the room.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. HOUSE -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

We see the man on his hands and knees, alone in the room.  The surveillance camera is handheld.

 

FADE TO BLACK

 

EXT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

We hear footsteps and see handheld camera views taken from the exterior of the home, looking through the windows.  This scene is ostensibly a continuation of the woman following the man earlier, after he entered the house.  She has moved around to the side of the house in order to spy on him inside.  We wonder what is happening inside the house.  We never get a clear picture, since we see only momentarily glimpses of parts of bodies as they linger near the edge of the window frame. 

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. HOUSE -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

The same action through a handheld surveillance camera.  The action is continuous, and not delayed, as before.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

The same action, but scanned by an image analysis program.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. HOUSE -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

We see a brief glimpse of the man standing fully in the window frame, his body pressed against the glass.  THE WINDOW APPEARS TO WRAP AROUND HIM as the surveillance camera tracks down to groundlevel.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. HOUSE -- NIGHT

 

A continuation of the image analysis program, which accumulates to a wall of solid black.

 

MAN V.O.

(overdramatized, as in a classical monologue)

To whose camera have I/he fallen? 

Into whose hidden hands did I/he sacrifice his image/self?

Who would betray me/love me?  Script me?  Judge me?

Lover-prosecutor, camera-image-judge.

My own/his image formed/forming against myself/himself?

Save me/Banish me.

 

BURST OF WHITE

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- NIGHT

 

The man and woman enter at opposite ends of the MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM.  They eye each other carefully and circle carefully around each other from a distance, as if they were in preparation for a boxing match. Each move is made with the utmost care. Extremely slow and careful, as if on hair-trigger alert.  A ticking sound punctuates the tension.  The tension builds.

 

The camera sweeps between them as it BEGINS TO ADOPT THE MOVEMENTS OF A VIDEO GAME.  It moves between POVs of each and to a third person view.  It seems to wend its way through the walls of the space, as if bulldozing through them, opening up other channels of passage. 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- SURVEILLANCE VIEW -- NIGHT

 

A replay of the action on surveillance camera view.  The surveillance camera tries to get a complete field of view, PANNING L and R and ZOOMING IN, but it becomes impossible to see the man and the woman both in full view.  Either one or the other ends up being on the edge or outside the frame. It also appears as though they were changing places.  A PAN R reveals the man to be on the north side of the room, and a subsequent PAN L reveals him to be on the south side of the room.  The surveillance track gives the appearance of continuity but clearly there are gaps.  Or rather, the surveillance is indeed continuous and the man and the woman are positioned as a symbolic network, spaceless and timeless.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- NIGHT

 

The man and the woman freeze and try to hold their positions, as if trying to become photographs. 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- MODELLING PROGRAM -- NIGHT

 

The room is modeled with a computer program tries to MODEL FUTURE SCENARIOS.  Unlike surveillance, which documents what happened earlier, this program tries to predict what WILL happen.

 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- NIGHT

 

CLOSE UP on the ambiguous blurred object, which the woman brandished earlier.  We see her hand holding it,   and so we recognize the object, even though we still cannot discern it.  We are back at the moment of the earlier FUNDAMENTAL GAP. 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- NIGHT

 

The man and the woman continue circling around each other from afar. 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- MODELLING PROGRAM -- NIGHT

 

The computer program is "ahead" of the action, as if trying to predict what the man and the woman will do.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- NIGHT

 

The man and the woman continue circling around each other from afar. 

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MYSTERIOUS EMPTY ROOM -- MODELLING PROGRAM -- NIGHT