UNTITLED PIGEON FANCIER DOCUMENTARY

By
Daniel Crocker

[21 Fiction Road]

[London, NW5 1AY]
[phone: 01652 934818]
[email: danielcrocker45@gmail.com]

UNTITLED PIGEON FANCIER DOCUMENTARY

FADE IN:
EXT. JOHNS LOFT - DAY
Small film crew comprising of LUKE and DAN arrive at the
location and discuss the shoot, their voices here are heard
very quietly and arent audible.
DAN (V.O.)
Ive come here today to talk to my
Granddad about a hobby thats been very
close to his heart since the age of __.
We see a close up of the Braywood Lofts sign on the side
of the loft.
CUT TO:

INT. JOHNS LOFT - DAY

JOHN collects feed into a cup. Stepping into one of the
pigeon enclosures, he throws the cups contents onto the
floor. The pigeons descend.
DAN (V.O.) (CONTD)
Like many from his generation, John is a
pigeon fancier. Here in his loft, he keeps
over __ birds.
[LATER]
LUKE (O.S.)
How did you get into this, at first?
JOHN
[He replies]
We see squabs (baby pigeons) in the first few days of
their life, with text on screen giving their exact ages.
DAN (V.O.)
Rearing them from when they are hatched,
John sends his birds off to participate in

races, in competition against other

members of his Fanciers Club.
John plucks a Squab from its nest, and carefully puts on its
life ring. As he does so, he is heard in voice over:
JOHN (V.O.)
[As he puts the ring on, he explains what
he is doing, and the meaning on the
inscriptions]
CUT TO:
SERIES OF SHOTS
A) An exterior of the Windsor pigeon club
B) Vox Pops of members talking about how they got into the
hobby, intercut with B Roll of the club and pigeons doing
pigeon things.
C) Vox Pops of members talking about how much time and money
they put into their hobby every day/week/month/year.
DAN (V.O)
In the 21st Century, what future does
Pigeon Fancying have?
FADE TO BLACK:

TITLES (?)
CUT TO:

EXT. JOHNS LOFT - DAY

SERIES OF SHOTS
A) JOHN is seen herding the pigeons for their
transportation.
B) Pigeons wait in their cages to be released.
C) The pigeons are released.
D) They wheal about in the sky.

DAN (V.O)
Weve staged this liberation for
illustrative purposes.
SERIES OF SHOTS
A) STOCK FOOTAGE of larger scale liberations (taken from
YouTube)with citation text on top of each.
B) STOCK FOOTAGE from the sky of British Countryside
(provided by Jacob Creswick)
DAN (V.O.)
Pigeons are transported hundreds [?] of
miles from their lofts, they make their
own way back, thanks to their amazing
homing ability.
CUT TO:

EXT. JOHNS LOFT - DAY

While some still wheal about in the sky, pigeons come in
through the gates of the loft.
DAN (V.O)
Using the exact time each individual bird
comes back in through the gates, and the
distance of their loft from the liberation
point, each birds speed is calculated.
And its a competitive game.
CUT TO:

INT. JOHNS HOUSE - DAY

DAN (O.S)
How many races have you won?
JOHN
[answers]
DAN (O.S)
Is there any one member of your club that
normally does?

JOHN
[answers]
CUT TO:
SERIES OF SHOTS
A) Vox Pops of members of the Windsor clubs talking about
their trophies and the competitive nature of the club.
CUT TO:
EXT. JOHNS LOFT - DAY
While some still wheal about in the sky, other pigeons come
in through the gates of the loft.
JOHN (V.O)
[talks about how its frustrating when
pigeons have returned from a race but
havent clocked in yet]
FADE TO BLACK:

EXT. JOHNS LOFT - DAY

DAN (V.O)
Ive come back today to check up again on
the bird we saw having its ring put on at
the beginning of this film.
INT. JOHNS LOFT DAY
We see the BIRD, with text on screen indicating its age.
JOHN (O.S./V.O.)
[describes at what age they start to show
their feathers, first fly etc]
FADE TO BLACK:
INT. JOHNS HOUSE - DAY
JOHN
[talks about new members, how often they
arrive, what age members tend to be]

B-Roll plays on screen, of the pigeons in their loft, aerial

footage, etc.
DAN (V.O)
Though we dont know precisely when it
originated, there is evidence that the
sport has existed as long ago as 220 AD,
or even earlier.
We see STOCK FOOTAGE and IMAGES of MESSENGER PIGEONS from
WW2.
DAN (V.O.) (CONT)
In this country, much more people would
associate homing pigeons with the 1940s
war effort than with hobbyism.
Other STOCK IMAGES with citation text appear on screen to
illustrate what is being said.
DAN (V.O.) (CONT)
1881 marked the first regular race in
Great Britain, and in 1990 a race was won
by a bird of Queen Elizabeth II but
today membership of recognised clubs and
federations is falling by about 5% every
year.
However, it endures. [Possibly extend this
section with information about the Avian
Flu-related ban on taking pigeons to
mainland Europe for race, and how it was
overturned]
CUT TO:

SERIES OF SHOTS
A) Vox pops of members of the Windsor clubs talking about
what they think of the future of the hobby.
FADE OUT:
THE END