11:37 p.m. - 2003-08-02
scriptwriting class exercises
Exercise 7: Finding Characters
Character A:
A woman, mid-20s, about 1.72m tall, slightly plump, shoulder-length wavy hair, familiar face, hopeful eyes, light-blue cardigan tied around her neck, just above her blouse of same shade, carries a orange and black sporty little bag where she keeps her nokia 8250 handphone and takes out to check messages once in a while, strappy feminine sandals/flip-flops, blue and white straps, has plasters stuck onto her feet, near the toes where the straps brush the skin.
Character B:
A man, about 60s, about 1.85m tall, white long hair, neatly combed, fair, good-looking and healthy, wears a yellow polo ralph lauren t-shirt and blue pants, white socks, suede loafers, carries a bulky leather bag, which looks like it might be holding a lap-top in it.
Exercise 8: Character Interaction
Location:
At an office, a company that processes granite and manufactures cement, situated in a suburban flatted factories area.
Interaction:
Sue-lin came into the office at around 9.20 am. She was 20 minutes late as the morning crowds taking the mrt trains meant that she could not get into the packed carriages and furthermore, she had woken up late because she had slept late last night and that was because work was just piling up at the office these days.
Mr. Tan switched off the engine of his car and stepped into his company office exactly five minutes after her.
As he pushed the door open and the familiar electronic bell ringed a little tune, he saw Sue-lin just settling into her seat. She appeared flustered, placing a stack of order forms and miscellaneous papers from a drawer onto her desk and just switching on her computer. The usual Windows theme blared loudly and she hurried to turn down the computer speakers a notch.
Mr. Tan smiled at her as he walked by her table.
He said, �Heavy traffic again?�
Sue-lin looked up from her papers and brightened.
�Yes!� she said exasperatedly. �It�s absolutely crazy. What a squeeze.�
Mr. Tan laughed and said, �Well, get your boyfriend to drive you here next time lah!�
She smiled and waved her hand before her face.
�Nah, I don�t think he will want to drive all the way here and then rush down to the CBD again.�
�Hmm� yeah, of course. But nevermind! The company will be moving to a new location soon anyway.� he said.
�Really! But I thought the other directors were against the idea.� she mused.
�Oh well, that bunch of old men would come round to it soon. We�re having a meeting again this afternoon. And I brought all the important papers along.� Mr. Tan patted his attache and said.
�Yeah, you better, Mr. Consultant. Not like last time.� she laughed. �You brought your grandson�s crayon drawings.�
Mr. Tan smiled and said, � Hey, my grandson is an artist, ok! He says he�s going to draw me a flying elephant and penguins. I told him that there�s no flying elephant in this world but he insisted and even said he saw one flying over the roof of our house the other day.�
�That�s so cute. Kids.� Sue-lin shook her head with a bemused smile and said.
�Yeah, so when are you going to get some?�
�Oh, I dunno�� she smiled and looked down, �Brian said as soon as his career stabilises, we�ll be able to settle down. I dunno�� she flapped her hands. �Sigh, nevermind. You better go to your work, Mr. Tan. I gotta complete this order forms and send them to the inventory department.�
Mr. Tan said nothing and stared at her.
A lapse of half a beat.
�What? Why are you staring at me like that Mr. Tan?� Sue-Lin sat back in her seat and said defensively.
Mr. Tan broke into a smile.
�Don�t worry Sue-Lin, he�ll marry you. I know him. He�s a bit indecisive at times but he will get round to it.�
He opened a zipper at the side of his attache case and took out a MacDonald�s coupon.
�Here, take this coupon, there�s lots of nice offers this month.�
�Thank you, Mr. Tan. And not for the coupons alone, ok.� Sue-Lin smiled and waved the coupons in her hand as he walked away, towards his room.
