Your Big Break

INT. DEEP SPACE

Pushing through a sea of glinting stars we approach a blue green orb-roughly hewn as though made of playdough. Earth.

FSHHHWSH! A glinting BLADE shatters the silence as it careens towards the fragile planet and DISAPPEARS into its spongy outer crust.
It reappears moments later covered in crumbs and dark icing.

INT. party room - CONTINUOUS

PARTY SOUNDS erupt as we reveal a domed cake iced to resemble our planet's geography. Sequin stars decorate the table's black velvet fabric.

The knife plunges a second time to cut of a slice FORKS in increasing number begin to plunge into and carve up the cake and "cake countries". New Zealand "cake country" is left conspicuously untouched.

We follow a fork from it's plunge into the cake up towards the mouth of a partygoer, then another and another, all shoveling cake greedily and merrily into their mouths, speaking loudly and indecipherably with mouthfuls of cake, spinning disco lights run over the walls behind them: there's a party going on!

Waist high shot through partygoers:
A hand slaps on a rotund belly and the camera pivots to reveal a young boy, TAMA (6yrs) emerging from amongst the thicket of waistlines. He has just spotted the LAST PIECE OF CAKE sitting unattended on the cake table just above his head height.

Approach shot:
Making sure no one is watching he reaches up and successfully scrapes THE LAST PIECE OF CAKE from the plate into the pouch he's made in his shirt front.. He makes his nonchalant exit from the room.

EXT. PARTY HOUSE BACK GARDEN - CONTINUOUS

Exiting the back door of the party house his excitement overtakes him and he begins to hurry his way towards the VEGE GARDEN at the back of the property.

Once a safe distance away he opens his shirt pouch and the piece of cake seems to glow back at him. A MUSICAL CORD SWELLS. The piece is iced resembling the shape of New Zealand. (0.55s)
The glow illuminates his face and his eyes beam with hungry anticipation when a call from inside the house spoils his revery

TAMA'S MUM (O.S.)
Tama? ....Tama?

Quickly covering up the cake again he needs to think fast. Looking down he discovers a hand HAND TROWEL sticking out of the VEGE GARDEN.

Knelling down he picks up the trowel with one hand and quickly digs a little hole in the VEGE GARDEN while shelftering the cake against his chest with his other hand

TAMA'S MUM (O.S.)
(closer now)
Tama?

Urgency now as his free hand reaches into his pocket and pulls out a HANDKERCHIEF. He shakes it and blows the excess pocket lint off before carefully wrapping up the piece of cake and with a sealing "squish" then commits it to the earth. Rapidly covering the hole with a little mound and digging the trowel into the earth as a marker.

TAMA'S MUM (O.S.)
(closer still)
TAMA !?

TAMA turns and runs back up the path and inside the PARTY HOUSE

TAMA'S MUM (O.S.)
There you are! Comeon you. It's time for your bed

We hold on the shot of the house as the house lights fall asleep to night
The muffled PARTY SOUNDS give way to NIGHT AMBIENCE

EXT. forest growth animation - NIGHT
From out of the mound a vine sprouts, followed by a fern and other plants until the plants have multiplied and grown into a forest. (backwards stop animation)

DISSOLVE TO:
INT. extreme closeup of TAMA's Closed eyelid - NIGHT

Paint animated plants grow over TAMA's closed eyelid until the eye opens. TAMA is awake.

EXT. PARTYHOUSE BACKDOOR - NIGHT

The round metal doorknob begins to turn

A wider shot reveals a TAMA'S small foot stepping out onto the BACKSTEPS lit by a thin flood of light bleeding from the opened door.

EXT. PARTYHOUSE BACKGARDEN - CONTINUOUS

Walking through the back yard TAMA blows on his hands to warm them. It's a frosty night. His alert eyes scan the ground for his marker. When they come to rest on the trowel his hands drop from his face to his sides in astonishment as he notices the forest which has grown up around and out from the mound. It towers above him. His curiosity draws him in.

EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

Tama is pushing aside the ferns and bracken, the moonlight throws dappled light onto his face as he ventures forth. and further more until pushing aside yet another frond he comes out on a clearing.

EXT. THE VALLEY- NIGHT

TAMA'S eyes widen. He steps forward into the clearing. He blinks and rubs his eyes in disbelief.

All is revealed as we see over his shoulder a majestic valley, pretty as a picture, pristine and untouched and laid out before him. (Day for night ?)

A CHORD from heartland sounds. Colours ripple through the landscape. He's spellbound.

TAMA'S gaze falls down to his feet and he finds himself standing on A PATH leading toward the TABLE OF ENTICEMENT, it's glow beckoning him down the valley towards it.

EXT. TABLE OF ENTICEMENT - MOMENTS LATER

TAMA approaches the table. He discovers that not only is the table just about the right height for him but also that the glow is from candles lined in a ring illuminating it's trophy: a GIANT PIECE OF DELICIOUS CAKE! Sure enough also iced and shaped like New Zealand.

Licking his lips in anticipation he reaches down and picks up the whole piece, (which is easy owing to the convenient edible base it is made with)

As TAMA holds the cake with two hands in position in front of his mouth, readying himself for the biggest mouthful of cake a boy has ever eaten the camera flies south to north up the cake country towards his eye's which shut in blissful anticipation when...

TAMA'S MUM (O.S.)
"Tama. Are you going to share that last piece of cake?"

INT. CAKE PARTY

TAMA's eye's spring open, PARTY SOUNDS rush back in and he's back inside the party looking up at TAMA'S MUM with the original last piece of cake suspended on a FORK in front of his gaping mouth

Cut to black

CREDITS gulp. Made with 100% natural ingredients gulp.

THE BREAKDOWN:
CHARACTERS :
TAMA - 6yr old boy. (cast)
MUM - mid thirty's woman (uncast)
15 - 20 PARTYGOERS (uncast - but have a good lead in queenstown)

LOCATIONS :
Partyhouse
Backyard and Vege garden
Forest
The Valley (and Table of Enticement)

BEAUTY DAY : valley panorama, approach to Table of Enticement (dusk or night). Table of Enticement (dusk or night). Pushing through Forest. Forest animation.

PARTY DAY : Initial cake slice. Many forks carve up the cake. fork follow shot. cake snatch scene and final scene . exit house and cake burial. midnight discovery of forest (forest shot and clearing shot) Eye open (Tama wakes - animation is time permitting)

EQUIPMENT and Props:
three semi round cakes iced like the earth seen from space
three small segments of cake iced like New Zealand
two large cakes shaped and iced like New Zealand
party lights
black sequined cloth
shiny door knob
(red screen? for growth animation composition)

COSTUME :
party goers clothes.
Tama's day clothes
Tama's pj's
hanky
mum's dress

ABOUT MYSELF

For six years I have worked with film and video in various capacities, primarily in China where I now live.

From working on one man shoot and edit projects to larger feature films such as "The Kite Runner" I have gained experience of film production, what is required make things happen and the organisation and commitment required to make them happen on time.

Presently I am working to realising a feature film story I have scripted. The opportunity to work and develop this short film project would be an ideal stepping stone and could prove very valuable for me. Also, as a New Zealander I really would love to begin to work in New Zealand and this opportunity is golden.

Here are some links to video's I have directed, shot and edited.

Band: P.K. 14,
Song: TAMEN
Year: 2006
the first music video I made : shot in 24 hours
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kXDKACzCX0

Band: CARSICK CARS
Song: MOGU
Year: 2009
the camera work was shared. I directed and did all post. 2009. shot in 2 days
http://www.vimeo.com/4372048

A video ad for "Wolf Totem" a book by Jiang Rong produced by Turnhere video's. A one man shoot, interview and edit but I did NOT voice over this piece. (for me the voice over is an abomination) (shot in 24 hours)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NRy_JdAmBc

The Simaritans - feature film collaboration features camerawork
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkS7GdYR9Qk

My first video piece was "A Tour of the Public Kingdom" with Chinese band P.K.14, a 60 minute documentary. I've worked as cameraman on documentaries and story feature pieces and worked as an editor for others.

This competition is a great chance to do more of what I love so here goes...