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THE
STRAIN

a varient that didn't attack the lungs...

but the brain...

NOW A SMASH HIT WEB SERIES!

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JOTTING PUBLICATIONS
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THE STRAIN

LOGLINE

When five ordinary people experience the

onset of a coronavirus varient caused zombie
apocalypse while getting trapped in a housing
society, they decide to join hands to figure out
an escape plan only to fail multiple times in
outwitting the aggressive, deadly zombies with
heightened senses and now must now think
out of the box in order to survive.
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THE STRAIN

Film: Zombieland: Double Tap

Director: Ruben Fleischer
© Columbia Pictures

Film: Zombieland
Director: Ruben Fleischer
© Columbia Pictures

Film: One Cut of the Dead

Director: Shinichiro Ueda
© Enbu Seminar
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THE STRAIN

INTRODUCTION

The strain is a 70+ minute long zombie

apocalypse black comedy drama.

Season 1 is set in a sparsely populated Delhi

NCR housing society over the course of one
night, where five characters' fates intertwine
and they are forced to join forces to deal with
constantly increasing number of zombies
around them.

While focusing on the human drama and black

comedy of errors with the very onset of
zombie apocalypse as a backdrop, the story is
well paced with heightening tension, twists,
turns and drastic character transformations.

In theme and tone, it can be compared to

works like Zombieland, Shawn of the Dead,
Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse and One
Cut of the Dead.
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THE STRAIN

TV Series: Fear the Walking Dead

Creators: Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard
© AMC

TV Series: Fear the Walking Dead

Creators: Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard
© AMC

TV Series: Fear the Walking Dead

Creators: Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard
© AMC
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THE STRAIN

BRIEF STORY OUTLINE

The story begins with four primary characters,

two school time besties in a ongoing party with
huge number of guests and two friends facing
a dire, life or death situation at the hands of a
brutal, ruthless loan shark and his henchmen
in different apartments of the housing society.

While the two characters at the party are in a

washroom, one comforting and sobering up
the other highly intoxicated one, the outbreak
happens as a chain reaction of infection from a
patient zero.

An number of fateful events bring the four

survivors together and they are soon joined by
another survivor, who is also 7 months
pregnant.

How these five characters join forces,

brainstorm and work as a team to escape
forms the rest of the story.
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THE STRAIN
TV Series: Fear the
Walking Dead
Creators: Robert
Kirkman, Tony Moore,
Charlie Adlard
© AMC

TV Series: Fear the

Walking Dead
Creators: Robert
Kirkman, Tony Moore,
Charlie Adlard
© AMC

TV Series: Fear the

Walking Dead
Creators: Robert
Kirkman, Tony Moore,
Charlie Adlard
© AMC

TV Series: Fear the

Walking Dead
Creators: Robert
Kirkman, Tony Moore,
Charlie Adlard
© AMC

TV Series: Fear the

Walking Dead
Creators: Robert
Kirkman, Tony Moore,
Charlie Adlard
© AMC
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THE STRAIN

STRUCTURE

Although structured as a web series consisting

of five, approximately 15 minute long episodes,
The Strain would follow the classic three act
film structure with a definitive start, middle and
end.

ACT 1 would take up Episode 1 and about one

third of Episode 2 with the inciting incident and
twelve major beginning plot points.

ACT 2 would take up the remainder of Episode

2, Episode 3 and almost the entire Episode 4
with 28 quick plot points with 14 pairs of
yes/no reversals.

ACT 3 would take up the remainder of Episode

4 and Episode 5 with four major final plot
points.

The end of the season would be left open

ended with a potential Season 2 in mind.
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THE STRAIN

Film: Shaun of the Dead

Director: Edgar Wright
© StudioCanal

Film: Zombieland
Director: Ruben Fleischer
© Columbia Pictures

Film: Go Goa Gone

Director: Raj and D.K.
© Eros International
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THE STRAIN

TONE AND STYLE

The visual style would be full of nervous

energy, creative and cinematic. The framing
and shot selection would be innovative with
cinematography being dark and fast paced.

The COVID-19 pandemic period is depicted in

the story, so all the relevant references will be
there while not interfering with the story and
charcters arcs.

Some pop-culture references will also be there

to put accross a point or add humour but they
would never be deliberate of forced.

The overall tone is dark and generously laced

with black humour. Basically, marriage of a
black comedy and a sitcom.
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THE STRAIN

Tarun Oberoi as Suraj Dhingra as

Devesh Ishant

Kanika character look Karan character look

reference: Vidya Bakchi reference: Felix
from Kahaani Dawkins from Orphan
© Boundscript Motion black
Pictures © Space, BBC America
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THE STRAIN

CHARACTERS

PRIMARY

Devesh: Devesh is a calm, cool-headed,

rational yet sensitive guy. He develops a soft
corner for Kanika during the course of the
story.

Ishant: Ishant is a selfish, cunning and

manipulative guy. He is Devesh's best friend.
He develops a huge crush on Sonali during the
course of the story.

Kanika: Kanika is a seven months pregnant

woman. She is shown to be brave and strong
willed. She likes Devesh for his bravery and
maturity.

Karan: Karan is a homosexual guy and

probably the smartest in the group. He is
Sonali's close school friend.
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THE STRAIN

Saloni character
look reference:
Rachana from U-
Turn (Kannada)
© Pawan Kumar
Studios
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THE STRAIN

Saloni: Saloni is a frank, aggressive but

sensitive and caring girl, almost protective of
her close school friend, Karan. She is irked by
Ishant constantly hitting on her.

SECONDARY

A number of secondary characters also appear

in the series to support the plot and drive the
story forward.
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THE STRAIN
Zombie look references

TV Series: Fear the Walking Dead TV Series: The Walking Dead

Creators: Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Creators: Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard
Charlie Adlard © AMC
© AMC

TV Series: Black Summer

Creators: Karl Schaefer, John Hyams
© Netflix

TV Series: Black Summer

Creators: Karl Schaefer, John Hyams
© Netflix

TV Series: The Walking Dead

TV Series: Fear the Walking Dead Creators: Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore,
Creators: Robert Kirkman, Tony Charlie Adlard
Moore, Charlie Adlard © AMC
© AMC
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THE STRAIN

ZOMBIES

Zombies in the story are dead-eyed, pale

skinned, growling and grunting aggressive
attackers and flesh eaters/cannibals, devoid of
any feelings or conscience.

They are shown to have heightened senses of

smell and hearing but with a slightly weakened
eyesight. They are also dangerously fast and
reflexive and despite possessing equal amount
of strength as their healthy human
counterpart, they seem stronger because of
lack of fear, amplified aggression and 'no
holding back' attitude. They are also never out
of breath as their lungs have stopped
functioning. They are always hungry.

A zombie can only be killed by a shot or blow

to the head because of the fact that brain is
the only functioning organ in their bodies
coordinating and driving an otherwise
decomposing corpse.
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THE STRAIN

© Call of Duty
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THE STRAIN

ZOMBIFICATION SCIENCE

Zombification of a human being (and in

subsequent seasons, of some animals also)
happens when a particular Delta variant of
Novel Coronavirus enters the host through
nostrils or other possible orifices but only
partly infecting the lungs causing a strong
cough and sneezes and infecting the brain by
attacking the neurons in the body.

The infected person, within seconds or at the

most a minute or two, experiences seizures,
convulsions and sudden brain death. The
person then immidiately reanimates as a
zombie.

Some hosts show a delay, ranging from a few

hours to almost 2 days, in appearance of the
brain infection symptoms but upon showing
very first symptoms, almost immediately die
and reanimate as zombies. Some hosts are
totally asymptomatic though it's very rare.
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THE STRAIN

© AMC

© AMC

© The CW
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THE STRAIN

FRANCHISE POTENTIAL

The Strain Franchise can easily span into at

least two more seasons with the primary
characters escaping in the first season from
the society and hitting the road.

The subsequent seasons can have at least 8 to

10 episodes of longer duration of
approximately 40 minutes each as we build a
story around our primary characters' journey
in a world going to dust.

More characters would be introduced and

character story arcs would be widened and
made more detailed as they journey avoiding
or overcoming increasingly difficult and
challenging obstacles, hopping temporary
homes and destinations and building new
relationships, frienships and affiliations.

Even in the event of COVID-19 pandemic

ceasing, this franchise will remain timeless.


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