The Abyss

Although the outdoor shoot involves dialogue I'd like a little more practice in shooting dialogue scenes. I'd also like to try directing somebody else's script.

I asked my friend James who has been in a few of my films already to write me a short sketch that would involve three players and that would be set on an infinite white background as that backdrop is easily available to u;. i.e we wouldn't have to build a set.

Man : I went to purgatory the other day. There was this woman, (Cut to purgatory, infinite whiteness punctuated by a table and three chairs, man and 1^st woman appear) wait there were two women there, yea, there were two women. (third character pops into the scene, the first two acknowledge her but don’t treat her appearance as anything out of the ordinary)

1^st woman: How come there is furniture in purgatory

tables and chairs pop out of existence

2^nd woman: you idiot, as soon as you call into question something in an infinite abyss it ceases to exist,

1st woman looks confused

2^nd woman: You've brought to light the absurdity of it's existence and it has retreated back into nothingness.

Man: how come we are still wearing clothes?

women look at him in disdain, small smile forms on his face

cut to black,

the end.

Other than as a matter of convenience I wanted to shoot a sketch on an infinite white background because there are certain sketches i'd like to emulate that utilize such a backdrop. The above sketches are the kind of examples I was thinking of when I decided I wanted to shoot a sketch set on an infinite white background. What I like about both of these sketches is that due to the non existent backdrop, there is a slightly unnatural focus on the foreground players - all there is is the foreground - which I feel makes them seem all that bit more ridiculous.