The Unfinished Race: Alan

Another good friend of mine, by the name of Henk ten Harkel kindly produced this quick sketch of Alan at my request. I think he has captured Alan's demeanour and characteristics remarkably well given that he based it on my verbal description and drew it in a matter of minutes with a ball point pen on a piece of scrap paper. Henk's usual art commissions tend to stretch his talent a little more. I hope he will help me develop a storyboard for the film. Watch this space!

The Unfinished Race: Inspiration

A good friend of mine has pointed me in the direction of a source of potential further inspiration for Alan's story. In the next post I will continue The Unfinished Race story. Meanwhile here is the link to the source, kindly passed on to me by Daniel French, a fellow creative with a vivid imagination. The story is sad, but like Alan's, it caused me to imagine the missing pieces.

The View from Up Here

A beautifully crafted, thought provoking and evocative piece; the world through the eyes of a tower crane driver:

The Unfinished Race: Part 5

I have rewritten the scene that I was not happy with. I feel this revision is more true to James' character and follows the flow of the plot better.

James at School – Alternative Scene

- The bell rings and James makes his way out with the other children. He is walking behind a group of boys and girls.
- The group walks ahead of him on the same route he takes home. They walk for some time. The group is talking loudly, laughing and joking.
- As they reach the road where James lives, they see Alan walking towards them in his familiar fashion.
- Alan walks on the inside of the pavement, staying close to the boundaries of the properties fronting the street.
- As the group pass him, they make threatening comments and someone throws an empty plastic drink bottle at Alan’s head. He cowers and then breaks into a run.
- Alan runs past James who has witnessed the whole scene. Feeling concerned, James involuntarily calls out to Alan.
- Alan keeps running for a while further before settling into his usual hunched walk.
- James turns and sees the group standing and laughing at Alan. Someone shouts a comment at James and then they turn and walk on.
- James turns again to watch Alan walking into the distance.

The Unfinished Race: Part 4

This is  how the story has developed so far. I have written it as I visualised it and where I have particular shots in mind I have noted these. Although this probably goes against film writing etiquette, I have specified particular camera angles to reinforce an idea, the way in which I want the audience to view the characters, where I want a recurring theme to be brought out or for the sake of continuity. Of course this is a first draft and goes beyond the remit of a step outline. It will undoubtedly change, develop and need to be formed into a script etc, but here are my ideas so far.

Alan sitting in the psychiatric ward

- He has flashbacks to his former days of running
- He starts becoming delusional and sees the ward as a running track.
- Flashbacks of Alan running as a young man and eventually collapsing on the running track.
- Back to the ward where Alan is lying on the floor in his pyjamas and is helped up by hospital staff and taken back to his bed.
-Scene closes with Alan’s distressed face, his head lying on his pillow.

James in a P.E. lesson waiting to be picked for football

- James stands looking distressed. He is the only one standing whilst everyone else has been picked. It’s tipping with rain. Someone throws a ball and it hits him on the head. Everyone laughs and the teams turn and trot towards the pitch. James close to tears tags reluctantly behind.
- The game in full swing. James is back in defence. The play comes towards him and James looks nervous. He makes a move to tackle and gets slammed out the way. He jerks backwards and falls to the ground. The play carries on and James starts to pick himself up.

Alan watches James through the school fence playing football

- He stands with his arms folded across his chest, head sunk down into his shoulders, a vacant sad expression on his face.

James notices Alan watching him from beyond the fence.

- He quickly gets up, looking nervously back over his shoulder at Alan and starts to run toward where the ball is in play. He is troubled by this strange man watching him.
- The game finishes and the boys head towards the changing room.

Alan is left standing alone looking at an empty playing field.

- Alan’s eyes stray towards the 100m track marked out on the school playing field. Alan is drawn towards it and goes into the school grounds. He stands at the head of the running track. We hear the sound of a commentator and the noise of the crowd.
- Cut to Alan preparing to run down a track as a young man. He is clearly showing signs of the stress he is under even at that time. The starting pistol fires and he’s off, sprinting down the track. Suddenly he collapses from exhaustion.
- Cut back to school. Alan is lying on the running track. He looks up to see James looking at him from outside the school fence.

James starts to walk home.

- He looks over his shoulder to see Alan following him. James perceives Alan as some sort of weirdo who might be stalking him. James quickens his pace. Alan quickens his pace.
- James starts to run and Alan runs after him and sprints past him just as James gets to his house, as if he thinks it’s a race. James stops at the gate to his house and watches perplexed as Alan runs on.
- Alan stops running and returns to his usual hunched posture without looking back.
- James goes inside.

James sits with his parents eating tea
- He is deep in thought. There is little conversation.
- James then brings up about his disturbing experience with Alan.
- He mentions the way that Alan ran as being remarkable.

James lies in bed

- He sees pictures of some of the events of the day replayed in his mind, both his own miserable experiences in football and the curious meeting with Alan.
- James drifts off to sleep

Alan standing in the shelter where he lives

- He stares out of the window into the darkness

James at school

- The bell rings and James makes his way out with the other children. He is chatting to his friend as they walk along the road. James is telling his friend about Alan. They continue to walk home.
- As they reach the gate to James house, they see Alan walking towards them in his characteristic manner from the opposite direction. James points him out to his friend.

Alan walks past James and his friend

- Hunched and staring straight ahead, he doesn’t even acknowledge them.
- He walks on past the boys a little way

James yells at Alan

- Feeling brave in the company of his friend, James asks Alan what he thinks he was doing the other day.

Alan continues to walk

- He does not look back. After a few more metres he breaks into a sprint.

- James looks at his friend and they exchange incredulous looks.

Note: Unsure whether this scene should be with James alone. This may heighten the sense of “exposure” and future friendship that will develop between James and Alan that might otherwise be lost with a third person. The presence of the friend may foster a sense of “ganging up” against Alan and make a more threatening scene rather than a tense one. Will revisit.

James in a sports day

- James stands anxiously with a line of Children at the start of the 100m track.
- The shout to start the race goes up and they’re off. James runs down the track, but is overtaken by everyone. He reaches the finish line quite a way behind the others and then trips and falls headlong. Everyone laughs and James picks himself up, close to tears.
- Everyone collects their belongings and heads straight home.

James walks home the back way, through the fields.

- It is a warm and sunny, early evening. The shadows are lengthening and James walks home head down, somewhat dejected but at the same time resigned to his failure. He walks aimlessly.
- Suddenly he bumps into Alan walking the other way. James looks up startled. Alan looks equally startled and starts to run. James watches him for a moment and then shouts for him to stop. Forgetting his unhappy afternoon, James starts to run after Alan, calling for him to wait.

Alan stops running

- He begins his characteristic walk without turning to look back at James.

James catches up with Alan

- He jogs up beside him looking up at him. Alan continues to stare straight ahead.
- James starts to speak to Alan but Alan seems only intent on staring straight ahead and walking.
- James asks Alan his name. Alan responds telling him his name and speaking in single syllable, one word answers. James falls silent. They eventually reach James gate. As James turns to go into his gate, Alan continues on his way. As he does so, without looking at him, he tells James in the longest sentence he has used that he (Alan)is a good runner.
- James watches Alan as he walks on. The sun is low in the sky.

Through the Seasons

This is the work of a man named Eirik Solheim:

http://eirikso.com/2010/01/04/one-year-in-90-seconds/

I have posted it here because I think its inspirational and fits in with what I am trying to capture and express. So all credit to the filmmaker; a magical piece. As well as the visual element with the changing light and shadows, I love the way you can hear the soundscape changing as a result of the air pressure differences through the seasons, the amount of leaf cover, snow and wind and how these factors affect the way we hear the other sounds;- voices, birdsong, churchbells and dogs barking. The camera like a quiet observer has captured it all and reveals to us a world we might not otherwise fully appreciate. Enjoy.

The Unfinished Race: Part 3

In my previous posts I set out the observations I had made of Alan followed by his background story. In this post I want to develop the idea I had for a film.

The idea for a film came about when in my mind I juxtaposed my initial perception of Alan with the perception I had after I heard the story about his past. I could now see this troubled, lonely figure as a young man sprinting down a running track, full of vitality and life, determined, confident and free. The contrast between these two pictures is so great that when you observe Alan today, it is hard to imagine him being any other way. Whether the story is entirely true or not makes little difference - it sparks the imagination and that makes the basis for a good film.

Now to the idea:

Alan is lonely, troubled man. Since being discharged from the local psychiatric hospital he spends his days walking back and fourth along one of the main roads of the town where he lives. Life wasn't always this way for Alan. He was once a promising athlete, but tragically the gruelling training he went through led to a complete mental and physical breakdown from which he never recovered. The memory of the life he once knew fuels his troubled mind and compels him to walk day after day, as if this ritual will somehow reconnect him with his past.

James is young boy who lives in the same town as Alan. He is an only child and lives with his parents near the route that Alan walks along each day. James isn't particularly good at sport, in fact during P.E. lessons at school when teams are being chosen, he always seems to be picked last. James dreads P.E. and longs to be good at sport, even if it is just at one thing.

After school one day, following a particularly miserable P.E. lesson, James is walking home, his head bowed. The rain is lashing down and he is soaked to the skin. Walking towards him from the opposite direction is Alan, staring straight ahead, his arms crossed tightly against his chest. James almost bumps into him and in so doing looks up. His eyes meet Alan's sorrowful stare. Little do either of them know the significance this meeting will have for their lives.....

I'll Hold Summer in My Heart

East Quantoxhead, Somerset. Some film practice from last summer and a reminder that summer does exist! Thanks to Robin Pope for his contribution both as a legendary actor and co-cameraman!

The Unfinished Race: Part 2

Following on from my last post, I will set out a little more detail about "Alan" and in the next post the story I began to visualise.

Alan is one of society's outcasts. His days are spent walking the same route, hour upon hour (though it has to be said I once saw him way out of Taunton walking towards Bridgwater, a neighbouring town.) The majority of people, as I did, probably view him simply as a "psychiatric patient" and by medical standards that is what he is regarded as.

When the psychiatric hospital near my home town of Taunton closed down some years ago, many patients were "integrated" into the community. As far as I know, Alan was one of these. Now he is a lone, sorrowful figure, part of the everyday street scene. By now people must be used to him and for the most part ignore him. It was only after I heard a little bit about his background that I began to view Alan differently.

Some years ago, I was talking to a friend of mine, and somehow the conversation turned to Alan whom we both had observed on his daily wanderings. My friend informed me that Alan was a frequent visitor to the vicar who lived across the road from my friend's family. During a conversation, the vicar had told him a bit about Alan. The vicar was one of the only people Alan had any contact with and who showed him kindness. The vicar informed him that Alan in his younger years had been a keen runner and had apparently shown such promise that he had been shortlisted to compete in the Olympic Games. According to the vicar's account Alan had trained so hard that eventually something snapped inside resulting in a breakdown from which he never recovered.

A sad, moving and remarkable story and one which I felt I wanted to tell the world. Not only that, I would love to turn the story into a film, one that stimulates thought and reflection. I would not want to romanticize Alan's plight, rather put it in a new light. Perhaps as a result, people like Alan might start to be viewed with more understanding and treated with more dignity, kindness and respect.

The Unfinished Race: Part 1

When I lived in Taunton, I would often see a man I came to know as Alan walking along one of the main roads through the town. He was clearly mentally unwell but after seeing him for many years I heard a rumour about his past that seemed to make sense. Even if this rumour was not founded entirely on fact, it made me start to view Alan in a new light and the thought of how his life could have changed so radically sparked an idea for a film....

Tall and gaunt, Alan walked with his shoulders hunched and his arms crossed tightly across his chest. He stared straight ahead and his eyes reflected a pain and sadness that even he did not seem to understand. At any moment it seemed as if he might let out a cry of anguish because of some deep sorrow he kept hidden from the world. The grey macintosh he wore bearly reached his knees and its sleeves struggled to hide his long arms. The ends of his trouser legs had long since given up the fight to meet with his shoes and were now resigned to a life suspended above his ankles. His slow, mournful pace carried him mile upon mile along the same route every day, as if through his walking he might reconnect with a life he had once had but that had now been taken away from him.

But there was one aspect of Alan's appearance that was not in keeping with the rest. In contradiction to and standing out from his drab, ill fitting attire he wore a pair of white, pristine running shoes. It was as if from his ankles up Alan's appearance reflected his present status and served to let the world around him know that he didn't belong. But on his feet it seemed he wore a reminder of a secret he wanted to keep alive, a secret that his weary existence would never be allowed to destroy. Every now and again, like a sudden gust of wind scatters a pile of autumn leaves, this secret would cause him to break into a run, laboured at first, but increasing in speed and for a few metres it was as if Alan outran the pain and sorrow that held him captive.