Short Animated: Paper-planes

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Paper-Planes
Revision 5.
By Christer Egon Eckermann



SETTING DESCRIPTION
_{Animated short. Takes place in an old city in the early 1900s at summer. There is a wall dividing the city in two, because of an ongoing civil war. On each side of the wall is tall buildings. Two of the blocks stand out from the others, they look like two twins separated by a wall. In the background you can hear bombs and noise of the civil war, making the area an uncomfortable place to live.}

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION
_{CHARLIE (26) is a slim young man. A bit funky artistic guy, with short brown hair. He is a kind guy, but don't know many people around and enjoy being alone most of the time and don't follow the masses. He make a living of painting, but the business isn't going to well nether.
NORA (23) is a young intelligent woman. Most would find her cute, but shy. She is not so outgoing about her knowledge but you will find a clever girl under the skin. She loves colors, especially the warm ones full of energy. She work in a flower store. Her dressing and style is always colorful and loves wearing baggy pants.}

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INT. SCENE 1 - EVENING, CHARLIE'S APARTMENT
Charlie is standing in his apartment looking out the window, we see him from outside. It's the only apartment in the block which is lit. It's heavy rain outside. The block is old, and looks like it's not far away from falling apart. You hear bombs and an ongoing civil war in the background.

Looking over Charlie's shoulder we see a huge wall dividing the city and military patrols with dogs in the streets. The only light outside is from the street lights and the military patrols.

We're introduced to Charlie's apartment, he is an artistic painter. There is paintings standing around on the floor, walls and on the easel is an unfinished painting.

Charlie make a sandwich, while he's eating he keeps looking at the unfinished painting, over and over again. He is lacking inspiration to finish the painting. Where ever he walk around in his apartment, he always keep looking over at the painting. He walk up to the window, hoping the weather might change soon. He looks at the temperature level. That's when he notice a light is switched on in the apartment opposite his, in the building on the other side of the wall. He study it for a second, before he drastically clear up space by the window. Moves the easel right next to the window with a blank canvas and starts to paint what he sees. The dark sky, heavy rain and old blocks, with the one window which is lit.

In the opposite apartment, on the other side of the wall have a girl named Nora moved in.

After a while Charlie notice there is someone inside the apartment, Nora. He only saw her for a second, but it looked like a young woman. He continues painting, clearly a bit distracted, looking out the window. Spying if he might see her a second time.

He continues to paint, after a while again he see Nora. Looking from Charlie's apartment we see her moving furniture around, cleaning and decorating with plants in the apartment. He adds to his idea, and paint a silhouette of a young woman in the lit window. As he is about to do the final touch on the painting, he notice Nora is looking right at him. She smiles and wave to him. Charlie freeze for a second before he waves back. She turn around and continue where she left.


INT. SCENE 2 - MORNING, CHARLIE'S APARTMENT
Charlie open the window when he wakes up, it's a warm and sunny morning. He study the view for a second and look if he could see Nora. She is eating breakfast, and notice Charlie. Charlie signal her with his body language that he have something to show her. Nora look slightly confused as Charlie's body language wasn't easy to understand. She walk up to the window and see that Charlie is holding up the painting he made last night. Nora open the window and yells out.

NORA _(Shouting)
You are talented, it's beautiful!

But her voice is washed away by the city noise and heavy military vehicles driving on the road below in the background, it's impossible to hear her.

CHARLIE _(Shouting)
I can't hear you!

Nora repeats her self several times, before they both give up. Nora express with her body language that she loves it.


INT. SCENE 3 - EVENING, CHARLIE'S APARTMENT
Charlie is doing paper work, paying bills. His window is still open form earlier. A paper-plane come flying though his window, landing on his desk. Charlie is confused, and look out the window where it came from. Where he sees Nora waving to him, he waves back and smiles at her. The paper-plane have a letter written on it, and we can read the title "Hi! I'm Nora".

He reads the letter, but have to continue with his work before he can reply. Nora left her window open that night. Last thing Charlie do before he go to bed is writing her a reply. And send the paper-plane out though the window, and into her apartment.


INT. SCENE 4 - MORNING, CHARLIE'S APARTMENT
Charlie wakes up from a loud sound from an explosion in the distance. He sees a paper-plane have landed on his floor while he was sleeping. He reads it and write a reply right away while he's eating breakfast.

EXT. SHOT - CITYSCAPE
We see the two blocks standing on each side in the picture, with a wall in the between. Charlie sends the paper-plane though the air and it goes perfectly though the window in Nora's apartment. A time-laps starts, where you see many paper-planes are sent back and forward between the apartments in a few weeks period.


INT. SCENE 5 - MORNING, CHARLIE'S AND NORA'S APARTMENT
Charlie write his letter, and we see him sign it.

"Lots of Love, Charlie"

With a small heart. As he is going to trow the letter though the window the camera follow the paper-plane in the air, into Nora's apartment, which is dark.

INT. SHOT - NORA'S APARTMENT
As the camera landed with the paper-plane on the floor, positioned in a dutch tilt from the middle of the floor towards the front door. A time-laps starts, and we see more and more paper-planes arrive everyday. Until the time-laps is interrupted by Nora coming though the door with a suitcase in her right hand. She smiles when she see all the letters on the floor.


INT. SCENE 6 - NOON, CHARLIE'S APARTMENT.
Charlie is in his apartment, painting a picture of a girl, facing down a dark industrial city road. When he sees a paper-plane flying though his window, he jumps of the chair and catch it in the air. And reads the note on the paper-plane.

"Look though your window!"

Charlie runs up to the window, and see Nora waving at him.

NORA _(Shouting)
I have a present for you!

Charlie can't really understand what she is saying, but understand what's going on. Signaling him to catch. She takes a teddy bear out the window with a leach around it. And swings it back and forward to create enough momentum for Charlie to catch it. But before she manage to create enough momentum an alarm is sounded and the military on the ground is pointing up on her and runs into her block.

INT. SHOT -CHARLIE'S APARTMENT
Charlie hide away from the window, and is standing on the left side in the picture, pressing his body up against the wall. The camera is facing towards the window from the inside of Charlie's apartment, and we see into Nora's apartment. Where she is taken away by the military.


INT. SCENE 7 - EVENING, CHARLIE'S APARTMENT.
Charlie is eating dinner and is clearly upset about what just happened. He slams his head in the table so hard that everything on the table jumps, and lie down his head sideways. looking into the air at nothing. Black screen.


INT. SCENE 8 - NIGHT, CHARLIE'S APARTMENT.
His apartment is dark, apart from a table lamp on his desk. Charlie is dressed up in dark cloth, sitting by his desk scribbling down some technical illustrations. He fold together the paper and put it in his jacket, before he leave the apartment with a prepared backpack laying by the door.


EXT. SCENE 9 - NIGHT, CITY STREETS.
Charlie is pressing his body up against the wall at the block corner, spying on the guards patrolling along the wall. He silently run up to the wall after the military patrol have passed and hides behind a create by the wall. Above him on the wall is a phrase written in graffiti.

"We're not going to make it, are we?"

He quickly open his backpack and take out a hook with a rope attached. He trows the hook over the wall and make sure it's secured before he climb up the wall. He jump down at the other side of the wall, landing right in front of a patrol with a dog. Which starts barking aggressively up in his face while the patrol hold the dog back. Charlie which kneeling on the ground already from absorbing the force of the jump, looks up at the guard. Black screen. The screen is flashing between black and time jumps. We hear sirens and see flashing police light, and we see Charlie is picked up by the police in handcuffs, driven away to the police station.


INT. SCENE 10 - NIGHT, POLICE STATION.
From the inside of the prison cell we see charlie come around the corner and is thrown into the cell, and will be kept in custody till morning. He fall down on his knees and is about to cry (close up shot). When he feels a warm hand come and hold around him.

NORA _(Whispering)
Hi, sweet.

He turns around and see it's Nora, and he trows himself at her.
Black screen.