Screenplay second draft

Revisions, revisions, revisions...

ThanatolScreenplayV2.pdf

Concept boards

An early breakdown of concepts in 3 frames.

Concept Panel 1

Concept Panel 2

Concept Panel 3

Screenplay first draft

The first draft screenplay for Thanatol!
I think it's coming together nicely, now to beef up the dialog...

ThanatolScreenplayV1.pdf

Working outline

A: Opening
1. A bottle of Thanatol sits on a table in full frame.
2. The old man is seen grabbing the bottle, he looks it over but doesn't dwell on it.
3. Narrator begins to describe life and explains that we still grow old and
die.
4. Character reacts to this revelation and pops a pill.

B: Conflict
1. Voice introduces “Thanatol” and its benefits.
2. Character de-ages becomes a younger (middle aged) arrogant man.
3. Narrator begins to list the harmful side effects.
4. Character is tortured by all the side effects.

C: Resolution
1. Character explodes/disintegrates/collapses, leaving only the eyeballs behind.
2. Logo treatment appears, final tag line is read. Ends w/ “Consult your mortician.”

Epiphany!

This is really about death, dying and the inevitability of it all. Our inability to accept it and what we'll go through to prevent or delay it. The pill becomes a metaphor for our desire for an immediate solution to everything including staving off aging and death.

Target audience / Message

I'm really targeting average adult. We are so overwhelmed by media (TV,Movies,Games,Magazines, etc...) bombarding us with artificial means to keep our youth, that we forget that we're supposed to grow old and die. We've become so fixated on youth, that many will resort to anything to retain it. It really becomes a major psychological debate about the fear of death and dying and wanting to hold on to the past to the point where the present and old age can't be enjoyed for what they are. We forget that the real source of immortality is the imprint we leave on those who've survived us.

What's in a name...

Ah yes, the title... I chose Thanatol as it's rooted from the Greek word Thanatos, meaning death. The -ol I just tacked on to make it sound like a pill. Originally I thought of Thanatin, but I found that Thanatin already exists as a particularly potent pesticide. Other options included: Thanatyl, Thanatose, Thanatonin, Thanator, and my other favorite; Thanatoft. But I may get sued for that one.

Thoughts on story and color

Traditionally we hold true the notion that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Therefore, I've chosen to have the eyes remain colored throughout the short. The idea is that they possess the only thing immortal about man; the soul. This keeps to my theme that any artificial means of elongating the life of the body is futile as we all die. The only thing that lives on is our spirit. Not necessarily in the religious sense, but the intangible spirit of who we are that is imprinted on our surviving friends, family, culture. So the eyes become a visual metaphor for the soul in surviving the whole ordeal.

Introduction

Spot opens on the product bottle sitting on a small end table, a hand swipes bottle as the camera pulls back, revealing a middle aged yuppie looking guy. He pops a tab by tossing it up and snatching it out of the air with his tongue like a frog. Our man then smirks like an ass, and dusts himself off feeling vigorous and proud.