GRAPHIC NOVEL SCRIPT
FIRST DRAFT
by
MAANVI KAPUR
www.maanvidiploma.blogspot.com
PAGE 1,2-
FULL-BLEED SPREAD
On the left page, an eye-level close-up of a glass kept on a small table in what looks like a verandah, the glass has a translucent drink in it which is ice-cold, seen by the condensed droplets on the outside of the glass(THE DETAIL IS EMPHASIZED)..
A hand is seen in the BG on the right page, resting on the arm of a chair, holding a hand-fan (OUT OF FOCUS)..
The lighting is high-contrast, and it gives the feeling of a bright-sunny day..
NOTE- All the CAPTIONS will be Maanav’s Journal Entries, sort of an internal monologue, in HANDWRITTEN font.
CAPTION
ANOTHER SUMMER.
CAPTION
LIKE A LONG PAUSE. SILENCE.
CAPTION
JUST BEFORE THE PIERCING SCREAMS OF HEAT. AND LIGHT.
PAGE 3-
The page is divided into half by two full-length-covering panels..
1.) Part of the glass is seen and the same eye-level close-up shot is continued, only this time, the fan is on the table and the hand is approaching the glass, almost holding it (THE DETAILS ARE STILL EMPHASIZED TO SHOW AGE)..
2.) Now we see a tight close-up of Deb’s face, part of which is hidden by the glass as he’s taking a sip, and he is looking down into the glass (DETAILS OF WRINKLES ETC)..
CAPTION
(cutting the dividing line of the two panels)
STANDSTILL STREETS.
SLOWLY AGING.
PAGE 4-
This is a full-bleed page, and we see Deb’s POV as he is looking down, resting his elbows on his thighs, his hands holding the glass, almost tightly..
We see, from his view, his body, little bit of the small table with the hand-fan on it, a bit of the floor and two steps in front of him, on top of this page..
CAPTION
ITS LIKE TIME PUNCHED YOU IN THE GUT.
CAPTION
LEAVING YOU MOTIONLESS.
CAPTION
THAT’S WHEN YOU REALLY FEEL IT.
PAGE 5-
This page is divided into four panels, diagonally cut, giving it more dynamism.
1.) Here, we see from an overhead view, Deb sitting motionless on frame left, looking down, and on frame right, on the ground beyond the steps, a Man is seen putting down a carton, next to a few other cartons..
MAN
SHOULD I TAKE THESE INSIDE?
2.) Mid-close view of Deb from front, still looking down. No answer from him..
3.) Mid-close view of Man, from behind his back. He is slightly bent down, in the middle of getting up after keeping the box, and Deb is hidden partly by him..
MAN
SAHAB?
4.) View same as PANEL 2, this time Deb looks up, almost startled..
DEB
HMM?
PAGE 6-
1.) Low-angle, wide shot from the ground, little behind the Man’s right foot. We can see his legs, and him pointing a finger at the boxes kept next to them, and we can see Deb sitting in his chair in the distance, little more upright now..
MAN
SHOULD I KEEP THESE BOXES INSIDE FOR YOU?
2.) Same angle, but now we have zoomed in, as if taken from the steps, and we see only Deb in full view, and he leans a bit forward to keep his glass on the small table. He is not looking at the Man..
DEB
NO NEED.
3.) SQUARE-PANEL, Mid-close, eye-level view, from behind the Man’s back. Deb has now gotten up..
DEB
AND SHUT THAT GATE BEHIND YOU.
4.) SQUARE-PANEL, same angle, Deb goes inside the house, leaving the Man standing there (SOUND OF DOOR SHUTTING: ’thud’)..
CAPTION
THE VICIOUS VELOCITY OF TIME.
PAGE 7-
This page is divided into four panels, two width-covering, and two square panels.
1.) Shot from top, overhead, mid-long, covering the area from the steps to the main gate of the house. We see the Man turning around and walking towards the main gate. He has just taken the first step..
CAPTION
IT PRESSES DOWN ON ME AND I AGE FASTER.
2.) Same angle, exactly, Man has moved to the centre of the frame, when a bright red ball is seen rolling its way in through the main gate of the house..
BOY’S VOICE(OUT OF FRAME)
UNCLE!!BALL!!!
3.) Close-up of Man’s arm picking up the red ball from the ground..
CAPTION
AND FOR SOME, IT IS ENERGY.
4.) Front shot, almost like the Man’s POV, of Boy running in through the gate, looking straight at him. We see the Boy in full view and he looks nothing more than 10years old..
PAGE 8-
1.) Mid-long shot, profile view, Man(left of frame) hands the ball to the Boy(right of frame) with a smile, and the boy is taking it, and just then..
WOMAN’S VOICE(OUT OF FRAME)
SONU!!!
2.) Exact same view, but this time the boy is looking in the voice’s direction and the Man has turned around to see who yelled..
WOMAN’S VOICE(OUT OF FRAME)
WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE!? COME INSIDE!!
SONU
MA THE BALL CAME HERE SO I CAME HERE TO PICK IT UP..
3.) Wide shot from behind Sonu, and at the back on the left of frame, the neighbouring house can be seen, and there is a window through which the voice continues to yell. The mother still cannot be seen..
MOTHER’S VOICE
JUST DO AS I SAID!!
NOTE: PANELS 4 AND 5 will be ONE WIDE PANEL DIVIDED INTO TWO.
4.) SMALLER PANEL, Low angle shot, as if its from right outside the window. This time the mother can be seen behind the window, she is leaning forward, and she looks really quite angry..
MOTHER
COME INSIDE!!
5.) SMALLER PANEL, Tight Close-up of mother’s face, she is yelling, her mouth is wide open, and she looks real pissed off and tired at the same time..
MOTHER
RIGHT NOW!!!!
PAGE 9-
1.) SQUARISH PANEL, close-up of Sonu’s face, he looks sad, he is looking down..
SONU
OKAY…
2.) SQUARISH PANEL 2, close-up of Man’s face, he looks shocked, almost scared, and he is looking in the direction of the mother..
3.) Wide panel, long shot from outside, we are now facing the houses, with the common boundary wall in the centre of frame. We see Sonu exiting the gate, with the Man behind him, walking towards the gate. Outside the gate, on the right of frame, we see the back of a truck which is parked, which is the Man’s truck. And on left of frame, close to the gate of Sonu’s house, we see a kid standing next to a setup of stumps, to show that Sonu and his friends are playing cricket. This kid has quite a puzzled body language..
4.) Wide panel, same shot, we see some smoke on the right of frame, showing that the Man has left, and on the left of frame, we see Sonu getting into his house, the main gate is open, and the kid(his friend) is now standing in the same spot, but facing Sonu(so his back is facing us now)..
PAGE 10-
INSIDE KITCHEN-
The kitchen is not very big, but it has shelves on 3 out of 4 walls, which are stacked with a number of vessels and boxes and such, and the wall without the shelves has the counter, with the stove on it. That’s where the mother is standing..
This is a full-bleed page, showing the entirety of the not-very-big kitchen. The view is from one of the top-corners, like a CCTV camera view. On the right of frame we see the counter-top with the stove and there is a pressure cooker on one side and a vessel on the other. The stove looks busy.(SOUND OF PRESSURE COOKER HISSING: ISSSSSSS..)
The mother is standing next to the counter-top, facing Sonu, who has just entered and is standing on frame-left. He has an apologetic body language, and the mother is standing with her hands on her hips, spatula in one of the hands, in a very commanding body-language, almost towering over the kid. Around them both, behind them, we can see the shelves with the stuff stacked up, and even with all the stuff, the kitchen looks clean.
MOTHER
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO THERE! BUT YOU JUST DON’T LISTEN!
SONU
BUT MA, THE BALL WENT AND..
MOTHER
BETA I KNOW BUT AVOID HITTING THE BALL THERE NA. WHY DON’T YOU DO YOUR BATTING FROM THE OTHER SIDE?
SONU
OKAY MA.
PAGE 11-
1.) Wide panel, covering half the page, Profile view, Mid-close shot of Mother (frame-right) and Sonu (frame-left). Mother is now on her knees, smiling, and is holding Sonu’s face and adjusting his hair with her right hand. Sonu is looking down, sad..
MOTHER
GOOD BOY. NOW GO PLAY.
2.) Long- thin panel, close-up shot of Sonu smiling..
3.) Squarish Panel, Mid-close shot from behind mother’s back, she is now standing, and in the distance, outside the kitchen door, Sonu can be seen, happily running, on his way back to his match..
MOTHER
AND COME BACK BY 2 THERE IS CHICKEN CURRY FOR LUNCH!
SONU
OKAY MA BYE!!!
PAGE 12-
1.) Profile view, mid-shot of mother standing facing the kitchen window, which is on frame-right. she looks pensive..
CAPTION
THERE’S SOMETHING REALLY NEGATIVE ABOUT THIS HEAT.
BAD MEMORIES AND ANGER.
2.) Over the shoulder shot of mother, she is looking at Deb’s house. He is sitting in his chair again, sipping on his nimbupani, looking out at the street..
THOUGHT BOX(NOT A BUBBLE)
VODKA DRINKER. HAS TO BE.
3.) Same shot, but this time it has a completely different look and feel to it, to show flashback mode. The mother is remembering the first day Deb moved in. in the frame we see her and Sonu waiting outside Deb’s door. She has a box in her hand..
PAGE 13-
1.) Long-thin panel, length-covering, we see full view of Deb, he is dressed in a clean shirt and trousers, and is standing outside his door, holding the door open, with a glass of nimbupani in the other hand and a puzzled look on his face, looking at us..
2.) Small, wide panel, we see the mother in a mid-shot and she has a polite smile on her face..
MOTHER
NAMASTE.
3.) Small, wide panel, we see Deb’s mid-close-up, he still has the same look on his face, and he doesn’t respond..
4.) Square panel, we see mother, and son standing in front of her and close to her, POV of Deb, they can be seen till son’s waist. Mother is still smiling, although its become weaker, and son has a puzzled look on his face too.
MOTHER
UH..MYSELF SUNITA, AND THIS IS SONU, MY SON.
OH AND WE LIVE RIGHT NEXT DOOR.
WE SAW YOU JUST MOVED IN TODAY. YOU NEED HELP WITH THE CARTONS?
PAGE 14-
This page has a quick, small talk conversation, so the page has FOUR page-length-covering panels, each divided into half, so EIGHT small panels in total..
1.) Mid-shot of Deb from front, and he has a straight face now..
DEB
BECAUSE I’M OLD?
2.) Close-up of Sunita. She has a shocked look on her face, the smile is gone, and she is almost afraid..
3.) Mid-shot of Sunita, she tries to gather her smile again and is holding up the box she got with her..
SUNITA
NO NO..UH..I..UH..I MADE THIS HALWA..
4.) Mid-close shot of Deb, he has the same expression and hasn’t even flinched..
DEB
DIABETES.
5.) Mid-close shot of Sunita, the smile vanishes again, she is speechless, and feels insulted..
6.) Same shot, Sunita is now looking down, she doesn’t know what to do..
7.) Same shot, she looks up, and with a weak smile, a last resort..
SUNITA
CAN I GET YOU SOME CHAI? EVERYBODY SAYS I MAKE THE BEST CH..
8.) Mid-shot of Deb, he is partially covered by the door this time, and he is looking down with complete disinterest and he is a bit angry..
DEB
I DON’T NEED ANYTHING, SUNITA!
PAGE 15-
This is a full-bleed page. The shot is a long shot from behind Sunita, and we see her in full view. In front of her the door is shut, and Deb has gone inside (SOUND OF DOOR: THUD! at the bottom of the page) on top of the page, a (HISS SOUND) is seen, which flows onto the next page, ending the flashback.
PAGE 16-
1.) shot of the pressure cooker, with steam escaping from it. Panel is width-covering..
2.) Wide panel, tight close-up of Sunita, she has just been brought back to reality, and she is looking down, and her face is full of sorrow..
THOUGHT BOX
SHOULDVE NEVER GONE THERE.
PAGE 17-
1.) Long shot of Deb sitting in his chair, outside in the verandah, almost a POV of Sunita.
THOUGHT BOX
HOW DOES HE SIT THERE ALL DAY IN THIS HEAT?
THOUGHT BOX
GOD KNOWS WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT.
2.) 3/4th view of Sunita, Mid-close shot of her face. She is staring into space, her expression is grim, but not sad..
3.) Flashback mode- wide View of the living room, shot of the back of a sofa, Sunita is sitting looking at a man, who is watching tv, kept in front. They seem to be talking about Deb, or atleast she is..
SUNITA
..AND HE JUST SHUT THE DOOR! JUST LIKE THAT! WHAT KIND OF A MAN DOES THAT, RAMESH!?
RAMESH(STILL LOOKING AT TV)
MAYBE YOU SHOULD NOT BE POKING YOUR NOSE IN OTHER PEOPLE’S BUSINESS.
NOT EVERYONE IS A SOCIAL BUTTERFLY LIKE YOU, YOU KNOW.
4.) 3/4th view of Sunita, mid-close shot of her face, she is staring into space, and we’re out of her flashback..
THOUGHT BOX
MAYBE I SHOULDN’T BE.
HERE WE COULD BRING IN A CHAPTER BREAK, OR JUST A PAGE BREAK, MAYBE.
(TO SHOW THE LAPSE OF TIME)
PAGE 18-19-
Full-bleed double spread of Deb’s bedroom, drawn in such a way that bottom-left side has the bed, with him sleeping on it, and the rest of the room is pretty much visible. (refer to story for bedroom description)
PAGE 20-
1.) Shot of bed and side-table from top, mid-long, so we can see him asleep, and he is seen till the waist. On the side table there is a lamp, and an alarm clock. This panel is width-covering.
2.) Squarish panel, close-up of alarm clock on the table, it rings, its 8AM.
3.) Squarish panel next to panel 2, mid-close shot of Deb from top, like in the first panel, only more zoomed in and this time his eyes are open. He has just woken up.
4.) Wide panel, we can see Deb sitting on his bed now. The view is from in front of him, and we can see the whole bed in the frame, and part of the painting on the wall behind him. He is looking to his right, as if looking at a wall clock, with his head turned.
PAGE 21-
1.) Long panel, covering more than half the page, vertically. We see from behind him, sort of over-the-shoulder, that he is looking at the calendar hanging on the wall on his right. We also see the top of a big, tall wooden shelf, with photo frames kept on it.
We see him in a mid-close shot till about the shoulder, and he is on frame-right. Calendar is on frame-left. Focus is on the calendar.
2.) Long panel again, same size, next to panel 1, same angle, but this time he is looking down, so it is a profile-view of him(side-view). He is still on frame-right and this time the focus is on him. In the BG there is the big, tall wooden shelf and part of the calendar.
3.) Wide panel, close-up shot of his feet from the side. He is putting his left foot into the chappals kept at his bedside on the floor.
PAGE 22-
1.) POV shot of the top of shelf, only we wont know its POV till we see the next panel. In this frame we can see 4-5 photo frames kept on the top of the shelf, with photos of people from his family. This is a width-covering panel.
2.) Same angle, but this time his hand reaching out to pick up a photo frame with a young couple in it.(width-covering panel)
3.) Same angle, and this time we see the photo more up-close, with the faces of the couple becoming clearer. It looks like an old photo. (width-covering panel)
4.) Mid-close shot from the side, we see his right-profile(so he is on left of frame, facing frame-right). We see him holding the photo in his hand, he is looking at it and he has a slight smile on his face. (width-covering panel)
PAGE 23-
1.) This panel covers half the page, and the view is of the kitchen, which is small, with countertops on both sides, and space in the middle. We see him in full-view, and he is pouring out chai into a cup from a vessel.
2.) This panel will cover the rest of the page, but will be divided into three sub-panels, which will be long and narrow.
2a) close-up of hand picking up newspaper from right outside the door, so we see this from the front, the newspaper is on the ground, his hand has reached out to pick it up, and in the BG we can see his feet.
2b) close-up of hand keeping the tea-cup on the small table next to his chair, the view is from the top, and some smoke strands are carried away by the breeze in one direction.
2c) he is now sitting in his chair, so the view is from near his stretched out feet, facing up, so we can see him in full view, and he has the half-opened newspaper in his hands and he is looking down at it.
PAGE 24-25-
FULL BLEED SPREAD
Deb is drawn on the left of the spread, side profile, sitting on his chair, you see him upto the waist. He is drawn outside the panels. On the rest of the spread there are different small panels of different kinds of people passing by all day, and the lighting in the panel changes from light to dark to show the passage of time. So about 10-12 small panels, and different kind of people in them. The panels can be scattered around too, like a pile. They don’t have to be arranged properly.
PAGE 26-
1.) Length-covering panel. Shot from behind Deb, over the shoulder. We see outside his gate, almost across the street, there seems to be a boy standing. He is in focus and Deb is out of focus.
2.) Length-covering panel. Shot of full-view of boy. We still see this through the gate, so there will be out-of-focus iron rods of the gate overlapping the boy. He is looking at us with a blank expression. Behind him is a gate of another house.
PAGE 27-
1.) Length-covering panel. Same view. This time the boy is entering the gate behind him. So we see his back, and he has just opened the gate.
2.) Length-covering panel. Same view. He is inside, and he has just shut the gate, so his hand is still holding the gate-closing thing.(or he has shut the gate and is walking towards the door inside.
PAGE 28-
1.) Width-covering panel. Covers almost half the page. It’s a long shot of the boy’s living room. We see the main door in the center which is open and the boy has just entered. The living room is pretty much empty since it’s a student house. He has just shut the door so his one hand is still on the door-knob. Near his pant pocket there is a sound of the phone. (SOUND OF MSG ON PHONE: BEEP BEEP!)
2.) This is divided into three, long, narrow panels-
2a) close-up shot of phone. Msg is from a certain Gaurav. Msg says-‘not back home tonight. Staying at mira’s only. Eating dinner here too.’
2b) close-up of boy’s face. He is looking down at his phone, and he’s almost pissed off, as if he saw it coming.
2c) close-up of phone again. There is a small box on the screen. It says ‘Message Deleted’.
PAGE 29-
FULL-BLEED PAGE
Toppish View of Maanav’s bedroom(like you did for the kitchen). Its small, has a bed, table-chair, and cupboard, and a door to the bathroom. The bed is cluttered with clothes and a rug and pillow. The table has a lamp on it and a CD walkman attached to small speakers kept on the table. You see little bit of the wires on the table and in-between them there is a pen stand. The walls have a few posters and smaller things stuck on them and so does the bathroom door and cupboard.
We see Maanav on the bottom-right of frame(so we see his back, or maybe 3/4th back view), and he has just thrown his bag on his bed(show the action) which is on the left side of the frame.
PAGE 30-
This page has four panels. all are squarish.
1.) We see the lamp on the left of frame. Its cut-out partly, but the lamp-head is in the frame and so is its base. We see Maanav’s hand switching on the lamp. His hand is on the switch, the lamp light is on(so its brighter in the centre where the light is falling).
2.) Close-up Shot of the CD Walkman(close-up enough to see the buttons clearly). We see him pressing ‘Play’ on it. The rest of the frame is filled with the lyrics of some song(in a wavy style, cursive handwriting type, to show song filling the room type metaphor)
3.) Close-up shot of top of bag(which is open). We see maanav’s hand pulling out a notebook. So we just see like the top half of the notebook in the frame.
4.) View of table. Toppish angle, like a POV of Maanav’s. we see the notebook in full view. And it looks like a personal journal(make it look like that, with things stuck on it etc, the typical type).
PAGE 31-
FULL BLEED PAGE-
Here is the first time we see Maanav’s journal, and that’s when all the previous captions make sense.
He is writing in his book and there are doodles and some sketches around the text. The text is basically some of what was in the previous captions. And he is continuing it.
So you see the right side of the notebook, and his hand is in the bottom-right corner of the page, holding a pen, and you can see that he’s writing.
HERE WE COULD BRING IN A PAGE BREAK, MAYBE.
(TO SHOW THE LAPSE OF TIME)
PAGE 32-
The page opens in the neighbor’s house on an early morning.
1.) Width-covering panel. Side-view from her right side(don’t need to show her face). We show the woman, Sunita, in the kitchen. She is pouring tea into a cup. The other cup is already full.
2.) Width-covering panel. Shot of the dining table from front. It’s a four-chair table. In the BG is the kitchen door and Sunita is seen coming towards the table. At the table the father, Ramesh, and the son, Sonu, are seated. Ramesh is leaning towards the newspaper which is kept next to his plate (we see him from the front) and Sonu, sitting on the right(so his side view is seen) is looking at his dad.
SONU
PAPA WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET THE PUPPY?
3.) Width-covering panel. Same view. Sunita is now seated at the table with the other two, and Sonu speaks again.
SONU
AND YOU SAID THAT YOU WILL GET IT ON MY BIRTHDAY.
PAGE 33-
1.) The first panel is divided into three long, narrow parts-
1a) Close-up of Sunita. Side-profile. She is looking at Sonu.
SUNITA
BETA YOU FIRST FINISH YOUR MILK, PAPA HAS TO LEAVE.
BETA YOU FIRST FINISH YOUR MILK, PAPA HAS TO LEAVE.
1b) Close-up of Ramesh. Front view. He is still looking at the newspaper and he is holding the tea-cup close to his mouth, about to take a sip. He looks engrossed.
1c) Close-up of Sonu. Side-profile. He is looking at his father.
SONU
BUT PAPA YOU SAID YOU WILL..
2.) This panel is also divided the same way-
2a) Close-up of Sunita. Same view as (1a) She cuts Sonu off mid-way, and this time she is more firm with him.
SUNITA
SONU! DON’T ARGUE AND FINISH YOUR..
2b) Close-up of Ramesh. Same view as (1b) He cuts Sunita off mid-way, and speaks to Sonu. This time he’s looking at him.
RAMESH
BETA I TOLD YOU WE WILL GET THE DOG WHEN YOU GET GOOD MARKS.
2c) Close-up of Sonu. Same view as (1c) He is looking down, sad, and mutters under his breath.(so font size will be smaller)
SONU
..but you said birthday..
PAGE 34-
1.) Width-covering panel. Sunita is standing at her main gate, waving goodbye to her husband, who has left on his scooter for office. So the view is from behind Sunita, she is on the left side of the frame. In the center of frame is the street, and in the distance we can see the husband going on the scooter, and on the right of frame, further away, a taxi is approaching.
2.) Rectangular panel, but not width-covering. Sunita has turned around to go inside. So we see her front view now, and the main gate is in the background.
3.) Square panel, tight close-up of Sunita’s face. She’s looking to her right, to see the old man sitting.
4.) Rectangular panel, not width-covering. Shot of old man’s verandah. Long shot. He is not sitting there. He hasn’t come out yet.
5.) Squarish panel, mid-close shot of Sunita, she suddenly turns and looks back.
PAGE 35-
1.) Width-covering panel. The taxi has stopped in front of the old man’s gate. Long shot, eye-level of Sunita, taxi is on right of frame, and you can see the street and houses in the BG.
2.) Width-covering panel. Exact same view, only this time the taxi door opens.
3.) Width-covering panel. A woman has stepped out of the taxi, and she is paying the taxi driver. Same view, only woman is a little bent down and she’s handing the money to the driver.
4.) Width-covering panel. Mid-close shot of the woman. She is on frame right, and she is very pleasant looking. And she looks like she’s in her 30s.
