Nestling Script

1. Shot of a fishing harbour view. Title appears. 2. Next shot, a young girl (Ivy) sits on a step outside her house front door, looking small against the buildings. She has her head resting in one hand and drawing in her book with the other. Audience can hear background chatter, children laughing and general harbour noise. (Lonely body language- slumped shoulders, sighing, looking around wistfully, head bowed etc.)

3. Cut to a close up of the book from Ivys point of view, looking down on a dot-to-dot drawing. We hear her sigh sadly, as her hand draws lines to connect the dots. Sounds of children playing in background are louder. 4. Same shot of book as before. In background, above the initial chatter, audience hears the children whisper Sssh and another unsuccessfully stifles a chuckle. 5. Cut to mid-shot of Ivy. Hearing the laughter, she looks up from her book. More giggles are heard, and Ivys expression changes to upset. Laughter fades away. 6. With a sad expression, Ivy bows her head, removes the book from her lap and carelessly throws it into a bin beside the step. In a selfconscious manner she hunches her shoulders and wraps her arms around herself.

7. Suddenly she hears a faint squeaking noise coming from the bin, and looks up.

8. Cautiously, Ivy leans over and peers into the bin.

9. (Camera from Ivys POV) Sitting in the remains of a discarded fish and chips box is a seagull chick. It looks up at Ivy and chirps inquisitively whilst tilting its head. 10. In the same shot, audience hears Ivy in the background gasp happily. Her hands reach out towards it.

11. Mid-shot, we see Ivy straighten up and cradle the gull in her arms with a huge smile. She then pushes open her front door and enters.

12. New scene inside house, Ivy tiptoes across hallway towards the stairs with the chick in her arms. A wide door frame is next to the stairs, which leads to the kitchen. 13. As Ivy approaches the stairs, we hear voices (Ivys mother and her friend) coming from inside the kitchen. 14.Ivy pauses at the bottom of the steps when she hears them. The friend asks Ere, wheres your Ivy to, then? and with an air of indifference the mother replies upstairs I reckon, ead in the clouds that one. Ivy bows her head sadly and steps forward onto the first step.

15. Ivy enters her bedroom and sits on bed carefully, chick now on her lap. She smiles, as it looks up at her and cheeps, nuzzling her with its head. Fade to black. 16. Next day, Ivy is standing at the kitchen table reading a note. From her perspective, we read Ivy, be a good girl and fix something for

dinner later. Heres lunch. Ma x Next to the note is a stargazy pie on a plate. We hear Ivy say bleurgh!

17. Shot of the house wall from the outside, and the gull can be seen looking through Ivys bedroom window from the inside. Children laughing and seagulls calling can be heard in the background. 18. Ivys head also appears at the window. After looking back and forth from gull, Ivy closes the curtains.

19. Cut to inside Ivys room. The gull lying on the bed while Ivy stands beside it. The pie on the plate has been placed on the bed. 20. Now the outside distraction has gone, the gull notices the pie and squawks with delight. It stretches its neck out and starts eating, plucking out a fish head from the pastry. 21. Cut to shot of Ivys face. She clasps her hands together in delight and grins. 22. Series of quick shots back-to-back. In each shot Ivy holds out a different plate of food to the excited gull on different days (alternating between day and night.) - Ivys clothes change from day clothes to pyjamas in sequence, the gull must get bigger in each one to show time transition, and also the room gets visibly messier. 23.Cut to shot of the closed curtains fluttering in the breeze, and seagulls calling can be heard from outside. 24.The gull looks up and tilts its head curiously, but then turns its head as it hears Ivy clear her throat.

25. Cut to shot of the bedroom littered with food remains and the gull lying on the bed, looking enormous while Ivy stands next to the bed (in her pyjamas.) She places an empty plate on the floor, as the gull settles down to sleep.

26. The gull takes up almost the entire bed, and after straightening up Ivy tries to pull the cover from underneath it without luck, so with a sigh she climbs onto the edge of the bed, snuggles against the gulls side and falls asleep. 27.Later that night. Mid-shot of Ivy stirring in her sleep and opening her eyes. The gull is no longer lying next to her. 28.Looking over her shoulder, Ivy realises the gull isnt there and sits up in panic. 29. Night shot of the house wall from the outside (typical night sounds can be heard- owls, crickets?)The gulls head is hanging out of the downstairs kitchen window. 30. It tilts its head inquisitively as it hears other seagulls calling in the background. Audience hears a door opening, then a loud gasp of horror in background.

31. Cut to inside kitchen. Ivy stands in the wide kitchen doorway in her pyjamas. Her free hand covers her mouth in shock 32. Cut to full-shot of the gull, now huge and fully grown, pulling its head from the open kitchen window. Destruction is all around it,

with food splattered across the walls and floor and smeared all over the gulls beak.

33. (Same camera angle) The gull squawks at Ivy and moves away from the window towards her, and clumsily knocks a teapot off the counter next to the window. Loud crash is heard. 34. Mothers voice from upstairs shouts ere Ivy! What the devils goin on? Im coming down! 35. Ivys expression turns to horror. Hurriedly she runs behind the gull and pushes it through the wide doorway and towards the narrow open front door. 36. Ivy pulls the door open, and frantically tries to push the gull out of the door with great difficulty due to its huge increase in size. 37. As we hear footsteps of the mother coming downstairs, Ivy manages to push the gull outside with a flurry of feathers. With a terrified glance up the stairs, Ivy also runs out the door.

38. Night scene of harbour. Ivy looks around for the gull, only to then realise that her friend has flown away. 39. She picks up a large single feather thats on the floor. Ivy stares at it for a moment. 40. Wide shot facing out of the harbour. The moon shines down onto Ivy, whose back to us, as she stares out to sea looking tiny and insignificant.

41. Sometime later. Mirroring the beginning harbour shot, we once again see Ivy sitting on the same step, looking lonely. She plays with the white feather from before, looking sad. 42. She gets up to leave, but a child approaches her and points to the feather inquisitively. Ivy is taken aback and tilts her head questioningly, but then smiles and holds out the feather to her new friend.

43. Suddenly they hear a loud squawk, look up, and see Ivys gull nesting on the roof of her house surrounded by chicks. 44. Ivys expression changes to joy and excitedly points up towards the gull whilst looking at the other child, eager to introduce her new friend to her old one. 45. They both wave up at the gull smiling, and the gull bows its head whilst its chicks cheep around the nest. End