Patsy: The Photograph

‘Juvenile delinquent and press-photographers’

by Arthur Fellig

This is the photograph that the Patsy story has been developed from by Marc.

We open the short with Patsy sat in the corner of an empty office, with a look of silent shock across his face.

We flash back to patsy, a few hours before, creeping out of his house, meeting up with Max who is waiting nearby. Wearily patsy follows max off down into a dark alley that leads of towards the train yard. On the way patsy is nearly ripped apart by a ravaging dog with only a thin rope and rusty wire fence separating the two of them.

After brushing himself of as if it was nothing both arrive t the opening looking out onto the train yard. Max sprints off into the darkness between the carriages knowing full well that Patsy cannot keep up, leaving him alone in the dark maze of carriages.

After seeing a shadow of what seemed to be max in the distance, patsy gives chase finding himself in front of a slightly opened hollow carriage, suspicious that max may be hiding inside, he peers in only to be pushed from behind and locked inside.

Fear courses through his body causing him to lash out against the walls and eventually bursting out onto his hands and knees across the gravel.

Seeing Max’s smirk as he turns away towards the end of the carriage, consumed by rage patsy charges towards max hitting him head on, unknowingly out in the oncoming headlights of a train.

Back in the police station, patsy with his head in hands, weeping as photographers take photos for the following days newspapers, titled ‘tragedy on the railways’.

Sound will play a pivotal role the mood and building the tension and fear for the piece. I am currently collaborating with 3^rd Year music student, but I also what the sound of the trains to really build on the claustrophobic visual during the climax of the final scene.

I am personally not a fan of enclosed space and darkness, and I really want to build on that visually using strong colour and lighting for each scene as well as the composition of shots to give an increasing feeling of tightness and claustrophobia as the film progresses.