CINEMATIC SETUP
Period drama | 1930s northern English mill town | quiet tension | cold blue-green palette with tungsten interiors.
Multishot: Shot 1 (0–7s) … HARD CUT … Shot 2 (7–14s) … HARD CUT … Shot 3 (14–22s) … HARD CUT … Shot 4 (22–27s) … HARD CUT … Shot 5 (27–30s). Cuts only at the specified points.
CHARACTERS
THE COLLECTOR: lean man, 180 cm, long narrow face, pale skin with visible pores and shaving redness on the neck, dark hair combed back with a side part, grey felt trilby with a black band. Long navy double-breasted wool coat, grey flannel suit, starched white collar, dark knitted tie, leather gloves. Imperfections: small healed nick on the chin, chipped front tooth, one glove seam split at the thumb.
TWO CLERKS: stocky men in black bowler hats and shiny worn suits, one with round wire spectacles, one with a grey moustache and a limp.
THE PUBLICAN: heavy-set man, 175 cm, grey mutton-chop sideburns, sweat-darkened white shirt with sleeves rolled, stained leather apron.
LOCATION
Narrow towpath beside a canal at dusk, red-brick mill walls, tall mill chimneys in the distance, a moored narrowboat, low mist on the water, fog density 35%. Interior: narrow working-men's pub, dark wood bar, pipe-smoke haze visible at 6 meters, gas-lamp practicals, a dozen men in caps and scarves at tables.
TIMELINE
Shot 1 (0–7s): Medium-wide shot, FOV 47, from behind. The collector walks away from camera along the wet towpath at 4 km/h, the two clerks following in single file carrying a leather briefcase. Steady forward tracking at walking pace, ending as he stops at a pub's side door under a painted hanging sign with no legible text.
Shot 2 (7–14s): Medium shot, FOV 47, handheld. Throughout, maintain an extremely subtle, breath-like camera float to enhance presence. The door swings open, the collector steps inside and removes his gloves; conversations stop table by table, heads turning toward him. He crosses to the bar. Camera follows beside his shoulder, ending on the publican behind the bar.
Shot 3 (14–22s): Close-up, FOV 29, static. The collector sets a silver pocket watch on the bar, open, ticking. The publican's jaw tightens, breath short through the nose, a bead of sweat runs down his temple. Two men at the far table half-rise, then sit back down slowly when the clerks step forward.
Shot 4 (22–27s): Extreme close-up, FOV 18, slow push-in. The publican's thick hands slide a worn leather ledger across the wet bar until it touches the collector's fingers. Push-in ending on the collector's hand closing over the ledger.
Shot 5 (27–30s): Wide shot, FOV 47, locked-off. Outside on the towpath in light rain under a gas lamp, the collector puts on his gloves, ledger under his arm, the narrowboat drifting past behind him. No dialogue. Just the collector standing under the lamp, rain rippling the canal.
PHYSICS
Coats are heavy wool, damp, swinging with weight. Rain falls vertically, light density. Mist drifts slowly left over the water.
LIGHTING
Exterior: cold blue dusk ambient 8500K, single gas lamp 3200K. Interior: gas-lamp practicals 3200K, key on the shadow side of the collector's face.
SFX
Sound: No score. Production audio only. Footsteps on wet stone, water lapping the canal wall, distant mill whistle, pub chatter falling to silence, pocket watch ticking, ledger leather sliding on wood, rain on water.
QUALITY ANCHOR
16mm film grain, cold blue-green exterior palette with warm tungsten interior, gentle contrast, soft halation on lamps. Face stable. Limbs anatomically natural. Body proportions consistent throughout. Consistent lighting, no flicker. Same face, same wardrobe in every shot. The set contains only the towpath and pub described — no added rooms or geography.