SECLUSION

By
Erica Welsh

(c) 2015

[email protected]
0423 655 507

Exegesis
For Project 1, I created a short fiction film script that
focuses not only on the assigned genre of Sci-Fi but also
upon the genre of drama. I initially struggled being given
the brief of SYD2020 - Near Future Events, mainly in
attempting to come up with something of interest for the
reader. After many brainstorms I finally settled on the
concept of men being separated from women, believing it
would appeal to a whole range of audiences.
By focusing my attention on a single character and his
struggle in the world of Sydney 2020, it was easier to stick
to the brief, particularly with the 10 lines of dialogue. By
shortening the dialogue the focus is on the action as well
as the deep-rooted emotion my character, Charlie feels.
One thing I believe I could have improved before handing my
script over to be doctored was the fact that there are so
many locations in which the script takes place. With so many
locations comes the difficulty for it to be used for the
next assessment task, although with further work, I believe
the potential could be there.
After receiving feedback from my partner, I realised that I
didnt need to add in camera actions, as that is left for
the director. I spent time taking all of those out and re
working the script to allow for easy read. Another thing my
partner mentioned was that the task for Charlie was too
easy, so in the middle of the script I attempted to make
this more interesting. By making some of the tasks a little
more difficult I hoped that this would be improved.
Overall I am happy with the script I have produced and
believe it would make a good short film for the second
project. Perhaps with the feedback and opinions of a few
other classmates the script could be furthered.
Synopsis
In the year 2020, Australias land has begun to deplete due
to overpopulation and as a result resources used as a means
of survival have become minimal. In order to ensure
existence the government set in place the law of segregating
men from women. Australia is now divided by a guarded
electric fence, cutting directly through Sydney, with women
living in the north half and men in the south. Charlie had
just proposed to his girlfriend Emily, when the divide was
set in place, now their only means of communication is a
head piece creating a virtual reality. Charlie enters the
struggle of everyday life being away from his girlfriend and
so decides to set out in the hopes of reuniting with Emily.
Logline

2.

Sydney 2020, men and women have been segregated as a means

of controlling overpopulation. Struggling to comprehend the
idea of living away from his recent fianc, Charlie sets out
on an adventure seeking to reunite with Emily.
INT. CHARLIES HOUSE - MORNING
FADE IN to the sound of buttons being pressed on a device.
CUT TO:
A headset with large goggle like eye frames.
CHARLIE a thin man in his late 20s is sitting on a wooden
chair in the middle of a living room. He places the headset
over his head, and pulls the goggles over his eyes.
Title card:
SECLUSION
CUT TO:
Black, before white computerized font appears down the side
frames. The writing reads:
Charlie Anderson, 17/07/20. Enter
Emily Walters House. Select.
The white font that reads Select, begins to flash slowly.
INT. EMILYS HOUSE - MORNING
The headset has brought Charlie into Emilys apartment.
Around the room is a large wooden front door, and a window
beside it. Outside the window is a patio surrounded by a
bunch of trees, similar to that of a forest.
Charlie is seated on a couch in the living room, facing
towards a bedroom door.
After a few brief moments the bedroom door slowly opens and
EMILY a petite young female in her late 20s appears. She
looks rushed.
Emily walks towards Charlie and sits on the couch beside
him. She slowly takes Charlies hand and places it on her
lap. It is intimate, but still it is distant.
Emily looks up.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

3.

EMILY:
(Quietly)
Im late for work Charlie.. I love
you but I have to go.. Ill call
you later.
Charlie pauses for a moment still looking at Emily.
He looks down at his watch, then he takes Emilys hand which
he is still holding and brings it towards his face as if to
kiss it, before lightly placing it back on her lap.
He reaches towards his head set.
CHARLIE:
(Sadly)
I love you too.
CUT TO:
Black.
INT. CHARLIES HOUSE - MORNING
Charlie is seated back in his living room in the same chair.
He takes off the head piece and rests it on the small side
table next to him.
He stands up solemnly and walks through the living room,
towards the front door.
Charlie walks down the hall and collects his keys off the
hook nailed next to the door. As he opens the door, light
seeps through into the dark and lonely house. He exits,
closing the door softly behind him.
EXT. SYDNEY SUBURBAN STREETS - DAY
Charlie walks down a suburban ally way. From the ally way he
comes out into a busier street. Only men fill the pathways.
Charlie passes through small crowds of men. They all look
sad and lonely.
He comes to a brief halt at a large steel fence, which
reaches and enormous height and length.
Charlie is standing at the beginning of the harbor bridge,
the fence cutting directly across it. Dividing half of
Sydney.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

4.

There are signs pinned all over the fence. One of them
reads:
DANGER, Electric Fence, KEEP OFF
Another:
"January 1st 2020: By order of the
Australia Government. Due to
overpopulation and the subsequent
depletion of Australian land, women
and men are to be segregated until
further notice. It is prohibited to
cross this fence."
INT. CHARLIES HOUSE - AFTERNOON
Charlie enters the house through the front door, and places
the keys back on the hook. He then enters a bedroom off the
hallway.
Charlie walks towards a cupboard, and pulls the door open.
Inside the cupboard is a staircase, which he walks up.
Charlie reaches the top of the stairs and switches a light
on revealing a study-like attic.
The main wall in the room is filled with diagrams, maps, and
drawings of Sydney. There are newspaper articles about the
divide.
Charlie takes a seat at a desk in the middle of the room.
After a few brief moments of work, he puts his pen down and
looks up, pleased.
He gets up from the desk and walks towards the wall,
carrying a piece of paper. Charlie pins the note on the
wall, and steps back placing his hands on his hips. The note
reads:
UNDER
The sound of the device RINGING is heard from outside the
room.
CUT TO:
The headpiece, which is sitting on the table in the living
room. It is vibrating as it rings.
FOOTSTEPS are heard coming from upstairs. Charlie returns to
the living room and grabs the headpiece from the table.
He place the headpiece on.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

5.

He remains standing in the room, and acts as though somebody

else has entered. He puts his hand out as if he is reaching
for somebody and then kisses the air.
He takes a seat on the lounge still as if he is holding
somebodies hand.
CHARLIE:
(calmly)
Ill be seeing you soon.
CUT TO:
Black
INT. CHARLIES HOUSE - MORNING
In the attic, lights shines through the windows. The main
wall of the room which was filled with diagrams and drawings
is now bare. There are black garbage bags on the floor.
Charlie stands by the empty desk in all black. He picks up a
backpack off the floor, takes a moment to look at the bare
room and then he descends the stair case.
He stands in the hallway and without taking his keys he
leaves the house.
EXT. SYDNEY SUBURBAN STREETS - MORNING
Charlie walks down the street, again with only men walking
and driving around him. The street looks lonely and grim.
He approaches a tunnel, with large billboards above it, the
writing on the billboards is crossed out with big spray
painted black Xs.
There are two guards in front of the tunnel, and a big boom
gate blocking the entrance. Charlie continues past the
tunnel, and comes into a clearing which looks like a park.
He approaches a group of men in the park, and whispers
something to one before slipping away.
He then walks back towards the tunnel and the guards.
The group of men quickly enter into an intense argument
The guards catch glimpse of the argument in the near
distance. One of the guards slip away before gesturing the
other to join.

6.

Charlie quickly runs into the tunnel, looking over his

shoulder cautiously before slipping under the boom gate and
into the tunnels darkness.
INT. TUNNEL - DAY
The tunnel is dark but he holds a small torch in his hand
which lights up the way.
Charlie leans up against the tunnel wall, he pulls out a map
from his pocket and shines the light on it.
The map clearly outlines the directions of the tunnel,
including where the fence is located.
He slips the map back into his pocket before continuing on.
Charlie reaches the fence, and using his torch he shines it
around until he comes to a small grate on the left wall. He
walks over and places his backpack on the ground. After
rummaging around he pulls out a pair of pliers and a wrench.
Using the wrench he removes the nails from the grate, which
reveals a small silver box. He opens the door to the box and
a series of coloured wires are seen. Charlie grabs the blue
and yellow wires and clips them.
We hear the HUM of the electric fence die down.
He reaches for the fence slowly before grabbing it
completely. He again takes the pliers and cuts a hole in the
fence big enough for himself to climb through.
Charlie slips through the fence and makes his way through
the darkness.
A small ball of sunlight is seen up ahead, Charlie slows
down and comes to a halt against the wall.
He looks down at his watch and then proceeds to slip down
into a crouch and rests his head against the wall.
CUT TO:
Black.
INT. TUNNEL - NIGHT
The sound of a watch beeping is heard.
In the distance we see the light at the end of the tunnel
has turned to black.
(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

7.

Charlie rises and moves quickly but quietly through the

tunnel, he stays close to the wall, and about 4 meters from
the exit he comes to a stop.
In the exit there are two female shadow figures. Charlie
takes the map from his pocket. The top right corner of the
map reads:
11 PM...
Charlie looks down at his watch and the time also reads:
11 PM
One of the guards slip away as the other takes a seat on a
wooden chair against the boom gate.
After a few brief moments the shadowy figure on the wooden
chair puts her head back and falls asleep.
Charlie makes a clean and very quiet break past the boom
gate and straight into the deep shrubbery ahead.
EXT. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TUNNEL, FOREST - NIGHT
Charlie runs through the forest, occasionally looking over
his shoulder.
After a few brief moments Charlie comes to an abrupt stop. A
house appears just outside the forest. Charlie for the last
time takes out his map and there is a drawing of the woods
and a small house, with some bearings written above.
Charlie slips up the porch and knocks on the wooden door.
There are FOOTSTEPS heard from inside the house, and then
very slowly the door begins to open.
Emily opens the door.
EMILY:
(Surprised)
Charlie....?
CUT TO:
Black.
THE END.