note on the filming style

Willy is the person holding the camera through the whole movie. A hand held, unsteady and intimate feeling should be created by the image. The film should not feel “edited”, the cuts are just moments when Willy stops pressing the “record” button. Willy has been filming for a few years, this story is just a “pearl” taken out of hundreds of hours of video-recordings that are all neatly stacked in boxes at Willy and Betty home.
Willy is comfortably installed in front of his TV in the living-room. He is zooming in and out on a American soap (Bold and Beautiful) with his home video camera (noise of zoom). His feet are wiggling in the foreground.
Noise of a door opening, the camera (held by Willy) pans in a jerk. His wife Betty has entered the room

Betty: Willy, look at this... Ludo, Anne-Marie Cane’s son is dead, isn’t that terrible...
Betty hands the card over to Willy.
Willy films the card.

/cut
Betty is all dressed up for the funeral, she is being helped into the front of the car by her daughter (Jennifer).
Willy gets into the car, he is holding the camera (no cuts and jerky). Betty is sitting in front with Peter (driving). Willy is behind Peter and Jennifer is sitting beside him.

/cut
The car drives through the countryside. Willy is filming the view through the side window.

Jennifer: Is that bird house finished?

Willy: (no answer)

Betty: He’s finished building it, but he still has to paint it.

/cut.
Willy films the floor of the car, there is a bit of what seems to be Jennifer's legs in shot.

Jennifer: Don’t film my legs, they’re ugly!
Jennifer pushes the camera away.

Betty: Jenny darling, you have nothing to be ashamed of...

Jennifer: I hate being filmed.

/cut.
The car pulls into a busy street. Willy is filming the front view. Peter, Betty or Willy’s reflection in the mirror are in shot depending on the bumps.

Jennifer: Why don’t you drive more slowly, we’ll never find a parking space if you drive that fast.
Jennifer leans forward between the two front seats obstructing the camera.

Jennifer: Over there... near the green car. 

Jennifer leans back, they park, every one gets out.
Willy is filming Betty over the top of the car roof, she’s checking something in her hand-bag. She looks up.

Betty: Leave the camera in the car, you can’t go into church with the camera.

/cut.
Light blurry image and noise of a car. The camera is filming but the lens protection lid is still on
After a few seconds Willy takes off the lens lid. He has changed sides, he is sitting behind Betty. The car is moving slowly behind a few other cars. Willy is trying to film the dark funeral car in front.

Betty: There is no cemetery at Broughsmor cliff, is there?

Jennifer: (a little emotional) the priest was good...

Betty: (turns to Jennifer) Is there?

Jennifer: hem... No, I don’t think so

Betty: Maybe Ludo wanted his ashes scattered over there.

Jennifer: He’s in a coffin!
The car goes over a bump, the ash tray appears in shot for a split second.
The convoy has started to go around a long bend. Willy films the funeral car through the side window.

Betty: When I die, I’ll let you and Willy decide what to do with my body.
Willy opens the window and holds the camera out of the car to get a better shot of the convoy. A loud draft sound covers the conversation.

/cut.
Twenty to thirty people are gathered on a gravelled area just outside a car park. Willy is walking around filming the people, every one is looking in the same direction.
Willy doesn’t care to show what they are looking at. He walks past them and in to the car park.
He zooms in and out on a wind-screen wiper.
After 5 or 6 seconds he comes back to the people and follows the direction of their stares.
There is a sort of circus lorry surrounded by two loud speakers on poles. Two men are lifting the coffin into a giant canon that is mounted on the back of the truck. They are having trouble getting the coffin at the right angle for it to slide into the canon. Finally they manage.
The two men go and line up in a military fashion facing the direction the canon is pointing. In a blast YMCA (Village People) comes on, very loud and with a terrible sound quality. The music goes on for a while...
the canon fires.
Willy follows the coffin through the air with the video camera.
After a long flight the coffin crashes in a huge explosion against a cliff.
The camera stays on the large dark impact for a while. As smoke clears one can read painted in large Hollywood style letters the word HEAVEN.
the camera pans around the dumb struck funeral entourage.

YMCA is still playing very loud.

/cut. END
Special thanks to Sally, Tommy, Ally, Aldo, Jerome, Edith, Charle, Anna, Henriette and Joeri for there very helpful critiques.

Storyboard finished the 19.9.98/ copyright Louis Paschoud

Any comments? e-mail me at lpaschoud@csi.com