Script Treatment

Garrod, Ben (55117)

55117@eastnorfolk.ac.uk
Ben Garrod, 55117 Script Treatment

Contents

Summary ................................................................................................................ 2
Main Charactors ..................................................................................................... 2
Robert Smith .................................................................................................................... 2
Dorothy Smith.................................................................................................................. 2
Mary Smith ...................................................................................................................... 3
John Smith ...................................................................................................................... 3
Douglas Potter ................................................................................................................ 3
India Smith ....................................................................................................................... 3
Ryan Smith....................................................................................................................... 4
Act Summaries ....................................................................................................... 4
Act One ............................................................................................................................ 4
Act Two ............................................................................................................................ 4
Act Three ......................................................................................................................... 5
Final Scene ...................................................................................................................... 5

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Ben Garrod, 55117 Script Treatment

Summary

Title: Living in the Future

Logline: A family from 100 years ago is transported into the year 2020 and find
themselves in an unrecognisable world.
Genre: Adventure, with sci-fi and comedy elements

Main Charactors

Robert Smith

Robert, aged 45, is the main protagonist in the film who seeks
answers and wishes to be transported back to the 1920s. Father
of John and Dorothy Smith, he acts responsibly and with good
moral grounding. As the oldest member of the family, Robert
struggles to adapt to the new world that they find themselves in,
and yearns for their previous, more simplistic lifestyle. Robert
acts as a good father to his two children and cares deeply for
their safety and wellbeing. Therefore, he has pause when
deciding if they should take their children into the time machine.

Dorothy Smith

Dorothy, aged 43, is the mother of John and Dorothy Smith. She
is motivated to protect her children at all costs; therefore, she
learns to quickly adapt to life in the 21st century. For example,
she learns the practical aspects of running a 21st century family,
such as buying groceries and working in a modern kitchen (they
didn’t even have running water inside the house prior to time-
travelling!) She is a firm, but fair mother to her two children, and
ensures that her children’s education and appearances are
upheld during their quest to travel back in time.

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Mary Smith

Aged 14, daughter of Dorothy and Robert Smith and from 1920.
As the youngest member of the family, she is the quickest to
adapt to her new life in 2020. Mary has made friends with other
teenagers in Scotland (near Douglas’ house) and has become
famous on social media for her unusual fashion choices, from the
1920s! As she has established a life for herself in 2020 and has
grown reliant on modern technology, she does not want to go
back to her former life in 1920.

John Smith

Aged 21, son of Dorothy and Robert Smith and from 1920. John
aids his father, Robert, on the quest to find a route back to their
previous lifestyle in 1920, making him fit into the role of
deuteragonist (sidekick). Both John and his Father work together
to find clues as to what has caused the shift in time and deal with
scepticism and disbelief from others along the way. He is
motivated to get back to the 1920s, as his girlfriend has been left
behind!

Douglas Potter

Douglas Potter is a world-renowned retired inventor (aged

72). He has developed a passion for time travel, and has
spent the last decade developing a time machine. The Smith
family find Douglas in their efforts to turn back time and be
transported back to the 1920. As a mentor figure, Douglas
playes the confidant – guiding the family back to familiarity.
He is portrayed as a mad scientist, although friendly and
mild in nature. Personality-wise, he is an obsessive, mild-
mannered and friendly character, with an eye for perfection.

India Smith

India Smith is John’s great-great-grandaughter. Aged 30, she is an ambitious and

vivacious school teacher. She wants to uphold her image of being organised and

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keeping everything under control, therefore she

initially dismisses her family from the past, as she
thinks that it is an elaborate hoax! However, she is
keen to help the 1920s family on their quest once
the DNA test proves their story. As she teaches
history, she is fascinated by the information that
the family can provide on the 1920s and the
Spanish Flu. She gains primary historical evidence
from recordings from the family, which will go on to make her famous.

Ryan Smith

Ryan Smith is John’s great-great-granson. Aged 24,

he works as a construction manager, and has
excellent leadership and manual labour skills. He
helps the family navigate their way to Scotland to
meet Douglas (during Covid-19) and assists
Douglas to assemble his time-machine prototype.
He is intrigued how much has changed over the
last 100 years; some aspects of life have become
unrecognisable.

Act Summaries

Act One

In Act One, Robert, Dorothy, Mary and John Smith go to bed in the 1920s and wake
up in 2020. They wake up in an unrecognisable world; even the most basic of tasks
have changed beyond recognition. Their idyllic farm has been replaced with a
housing estate.

Act Two

The Smith family explore the new world around them. They find it hard to blend in,
and venture miles to find a food shop. During act two, parallels between the Covid-19
and Spanish Flu pandemics are drawn, with the use of comparisons between the
handling and flash back scenes.

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Act Three

Mary puts the Smith family in contact with their future generation (John’s great-
great-granchildren). They meet Ryan and India Smith, who help them navigate the
new world they find themselves in. Both generations work together to find out why
the shift in time has occurred. After researching the matter, they go on a quest to
find Douglas Potter (a time travel expert) in Glasgow. Douglas believes that the time
travel occurred due to a mutation in the Spanish Flu and lets them use his prototype
(never before tested) time-machine.

Final Scene

Armed with the knowledge of the future, the Smith’s from the 1920s step inside the
time machine and travel back 100 years. There is a fade to black and the film ends,
ending on a cliff hanger – did they manage to sucsessfully travel back in time?

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