SURROUNDED

By Emily James

Production Booklet
 SURROUNDED
BY EMILY JAMES

SCENE 1
INT: MIDDAY – SAM’S LIVING ROOM

SAM is lying in the dark on his old, dusty sofa. His face is
blank and emotionless. he stares, often shifting his eyes
around the room, paranoid of his surroundings. He is still and
pale and looks almost dead.

SAM(VOICEOVER)
True! -nervous-very, very dreadfully
nervous I had been and am; but why will you
say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened
my senses-not destroyed-not dulled them.
Above all was the sense of hearing acute.
I heard all things in the heaven and in the
earth. I heard many things in hell.

SCENE 2

EXT: LATE EVENING – CAR PARK

SAM is walking to his car. His steps are slow and light, he is
clearly very tired. He walks to his car and unlocks it, then
opens the boot. He throws his bag in the boot and leans with
one hand on the car yawning.

OLIVIA
(shouting from a distance)
Hey! Sam!

Sam turns to look at the person, his manager OLIVIA. He has a

cold and hate filled look on his face. Olivia walks angrily
towards him.

OLIVIA
Hey! Are you kidding me, that storage room
is a mess, I told you to clean that
hours ago. What the hell of you been
doing for the whole shift.

SAM
(clearly fed up and tired)
You never told me to clean the
storage.

OLIVIA
Wow, look who grew a back bone.
I am your boss, do not talk to be like
that or you will have no job.
Now you’re coming in early to clean
 that room tomorrow.
God your so useless.

FLASHBACK Sam’s mother is seen grabbing his wrist and pulling

him POV ANGLE FROM SAM’S PERSPECTIVE.

SAM’S MOTHER
(angrily)
You useless boy.

FLASHBACK OVER.
Sam turns to his boot, takes out a tire iron and whacks Olivia
around the head, immediately dropping the weapon, which goes
crashing onto the concrete. Olivia falls back into Sam’s arms,
where he directs her limp body into the boot of his car.

SCENE 3

INT: LATE EVENING – ATTIC

Groaning in slight pain, Olivia starts to wake up, clearly

groggy from the head trauma she starts to look around the room
to find out where she is. Sam then emerges from the shadows in
the corner of the room, standing tall above Olivia in an
attempt to demonstrate power over her.

OLIVIA
(slightly slurred)
Sam? What- what did you do to me?

SAM
Nothing. Yet.

OLIVIA
(screams)
Help!
Someone!
(defeated)
Anyone.

SAM
(screams)
You can scream as loud as you want.
No one can hear you.

OLIVIA
What do you want from me.
 SAM
Oh nothing. I don’t want anything from you.

OLIVIA
Why am I here then?

SAM
Because your rude, and disrespectful.
And now you’re going to die.

Sam takes out a cloth and covers his mouth while smoke appears
in the room and watches intently, with no emotion as Olivia
begs for her life and slowing asphyxiates.

OLIVIA
(while coughing and choking)
Sam… Sam please.
I’ll be better.
Just please… please don’t let me die.

Olivia coughs one final time and falls to the floor.

SCENE 4

INT. MIDDAY – GROUP THERAPY SESSION

Sam is sat in a beige, empty room, that echoes with awkward

silence. He stares at DR WILSON as she runs the group therapy
session. Sam looks clearly bored and does not open up to the
therapy.

SAM
Hi, my name is Sam.
And I have borderline personality disorder.

SURROUNDING PEOPLE
(monotone)
Hi Sam.

Camera shows close up of Sam’s therapist DR WILSON.

DR WILSON
How are you feeling Sam.

SAM
(slightly sarcastically)
I feel really good.
 DR WILSON
Sam, I can’t help you, if you
aren’t honest with me.

SAM
And what if I don’t want your help.
I don’t want or need your help.
You are just some washed up
psychologist that tries to fix all of our
problems because you don’t know how to fix your
own.

Dr Wilson looks at Sam for a moment before standing up and

looking around the room.

DR WILSON
Well, I think that’s enough for one day.
I’ll see you all next session.

Commotion can be heard, and Sam gets up to leave.

DR WILSON
Oh Sam, could I actually borrow you for
a moment.

Sam walks over to her.

DR WILSON
Look Sam, I think we might need to
Start taking your treatment in a different
direction.

Sam stares at her while she takes a card out of her pocket.

DR WILSON
I think you might benefit more from
private care. Here’s a card for a great
therapist I know.
(she hands him the card)
I just don’t think your really benefitting
from group therapy.

Sam looks at the card for a moment and then looks up at Dr

Wilson with a shocked look on his face.

SAM
So… you’re leaving me?

DR WILSON
No Sam, I just don’t think I can
 help you anymore.

Sam turns to the side and leans on the table in front of a

laptop, he looks down at it for a second.

SAM
Why don’t everyone always (picks up the
laptop, turns to Dr Wilson and hits
her with it) LEAVE!

Dr Wilson falls to the ground, unconscious. Sam kneels down to

pick her up. He places her arms around his shoulders and
struggles in an attempt to carry her off the floor.

SCENE 5

INT: LATE EVENING – ATTIC

Dr Wilson is seen tied up in the attic. She slowly wakes up

and is clearly in pain from the head trauma. She looks around
the room while simultaneously trying to wiggle free. She sees
Sam and is shocked but remains calm with him as she doesn’t
want to set him off.

DR WILSON
Sam? Where are we?

SAM
Well, I’m not stupid enough to take you to
my house. But, luckily my dead grandfather
decided to leave his only grandson this creepy
old mansion and nothing else. No money, nothing
actually useful because realistically this old
crap box would never sell on a market today.

DR WILSON
Sam? Why are you doing this?

SAM
Because you… are just like everyone else.
You are selfish and you don’t care enough to
stick around when it actually gets rough.
So, I’m going to kill you, before you can
damage other people too.

Sam takes the cloth out of his pocket again and holds it over
his face as the smoke starts to appear, just like before.
 DR WILSON
(between coughs)
Sam… please… I’m sorry.

Dr Wilson falls to the floor as the smoke starts to clear. Sam

takes the cloth off his face and stares at Dr Wilson’s corpse
emotionlessly. Suddenly Sam’s head jolts up as he hears a
noise. A dark crumbling coming from the forest. He runs to the
front of the house and as he looks at the forest, he notices
the trees have moved closer to him, surrounding him. He turns
and runs deeper into the darkness.

SCENE 7

EXT: MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT – THE WOODS

Sam is confused and breathlessly making his way through the

woods. He rounds a corner and comes up on something he can’t
fully comprehend. He looks at the two figures in the dark when
suddenly there’s a flash of thunder and lightning. He sees
that it’s Dr Wilson and Olivia. Sam just stands there confused
and shocked.

GHOST OLIVIA
You killed me. And now your
stuck with me… forever.

Sam is too shocked to speak and tries to turn away from

Olivia, but is then confronted with the ghost of Dr Wilson.

GHOST DR WILSON
How could you? I only ever
tried to help you.

SAM
No! No, you tried to leave me.

GHOST DR WILSON
So, you ended my life?

Sam begins to get frantic, and starts to stutter.

SAM
N-n-no y-you gave m-me no c-c-choice.

GHOST DR WILSON
There’s always a choice.
 GHOST OLIVIA
You killed me. And now your
stuck with me… forever.

Sam looks at both of the ghosts of his victims and runs away
from them, panicking about what he’s seen, and slightly angry.
Caught up in his own thoughts he bumps into a woman walking
the same path as him. She turns to him very angry.

WOMAN
Hey! Wanna watch where your going
you useless freak.

Sam just stands there and looks at her. She waves her hand in
front of his face.

WOMAN
Heelloo. Are you slow or something?
Jesus, just watch where you’re going next
time freak, okay?

Sam gives her no responses so she just rolls her eyes and
turns to walk away. Sam then grabs her hair and pulls her to
the ground. He climbs on top of her and repeatedly smashes her
head into the floor until she’s no longer moving. He stands up
slowly, watching in shock as the blood pools from the back of
her head onto the floor. He looks up in the distance and sees
the ghosts of his victims coming towards him. He runs into the
woods completely blinded by fear and guilt. The ghosts chase
after him from the sky. Flying through the trees until they
finally catch him.

THE END.

Storyboards
Location Recce – Attic Room 1
Please produce a location recce for EVERY location used

Type of room/area: Empty

room
Location
Address:Rotherfield
campus, the Henley college,
Sat Nav details (Post code):
RG9 1UH

Nearest Train Station:

Henley-on-Thames
Nearest Bus stop:
Bus stop d (Bell street)

Site contact name and contact Availability

Sarah Wilson The rooms in the attic are not in use anymore
sarw@henleycol.ac.uk so it is always available.

Permissions
Suitability / shots for production (scene numbers)
The place has a very creepy vibe that matches my production well.
Because it is not in use it was always be available for the scenes I need.
Lighting Information:
While there is a lot of natural light, the lights
inside have a very yellow tint which doesn’t
work with the kind of lighting I want to achieve.
Also, there are not outlets in this room.
Sound Information:
The attic itself is fairly quiet, especially in the
back rooms. However you can sometimes here
people outside.
Power Information
There aren’t any outlets in this room, however
there are a few in the attic.
Hazards
There is a fair amount of rubble and low beams
in the attic.
Solutions:
Bring lighting equipment in order to create the
kind of lighting I want.
Make sure everything is charged and/or battery
powered to ensure nothing runs out of power
before were finished.
Solutions:
I will either have to make sure I film on a day
when most students aren’t in the college. Or I
will have to make sure I film during lesson times
so people won’t be outside.
Solutions:
Use pre-charged/battery powered equipment
and bring chargers just in case.
Solutions:
Make sure both my cast and crew are aware of
any dangers.
Location Recce – Attic Room 2
Please produce a location recce for EVERY location used

Type of room/area: Empty

room
Location
Address:Rotherfield
campus, the Henley college,
Sat Nav details (Post code):
RG9 1UH

Nearest Train Station:

Henley-on-Thames
Nearest Bus stop:
Bus stop d (Bell street)

Site contact name and contact Availability

Sarah Wilson The rooms in the attic are not in use anymore
sarw@henleycol.ac.uk so it is always available.

Permissions
Suitability / shots for production (scene numbers)
The place has a very creepy vibe that matches my production well.
Because it is not in use it was always be available for the scenes I need.

Lighting Information: Solutions:

While there is a lot of natural light, the lights Bring lighting equipment in order to create the
inside have a very yellow tint which doesn’t kind of lighting I want.
work with the kind of lighting I want to achieve.

Sound Information: Solutions:

The attic itself is fairly quiet, especially in the
back rooms. However you can sometimes here
people outside.
Power Information
There are two power outlets in this room.
I will either have to make sure I film on a day
when most students aren’t in the college. Or I
will have to make sure I film during lesson times
so people won’t be outside.
Solutions:

Hazards Solutions:
While there isn’t any rumble or low beams in Make sure both my cast and crew are aware of
this room, there is a fair amount of rubble and any dangers.
low beams in the attic.
Location Recce –TV studio
Please produce a location recce for EVERY location used

Type of room/area:Green
screen room/TV studio

Location Address:
Rotherfield campus, the
Henley college,
Sat Nav details (Post code):
RG9 1UH

Nearest Train Station:

Henley-on-Thames
Nearest Bus stop:
Bus stop d (Bell street)

Site contact name and contact Availability

Sarah Wilson This room will need to be booked out in
sarw@henleycol.ac.uk advance.

Permissions
Suitability / shots for production (scene numbers)
I will only need the room short a short scene.
The room is quiet.
There is furniture in the room that I can use.

Lighting Information: Solutions:

The scene that I need to film has minimal
coloured lighting to I will be using my own
lighting equipment. However there are set up
lights for multiple different styles of lighting.
Sound Information:
The room is often very quiet, however it does
not matter as there will be no sound of the
footage I use from this location.
Power Information
There are multiple outlets in this location.
Hazards
There are low hanging lights, metal beams and
cables around this room.
Bring lighting equipment in order to create the
kind of lighting I want.
Make sure everything is charged and/or battery
powered to ensure nothing runs out of power
before were finished.
Solutions:
Solutions:
Use pre-charged/battery powered equipment
and bring chargers just in case.
Solutions:
Make sure both my cast and crew are aware of
any dangers.
Location Recce – The woods
Please produce a location recce for EVERY location used

Type of room/area: The

woods
Location Address: Chalfont
St Peter
Sat Nav details (Post code):

Nearest Train Station:

Gerrards cross
Nearest Bus stop:
Market Place

Site contact name and contact Availability

N/A It is a public place, however I will be there in
the evening so it is unlikely that people will be
in the vicinity.
Permissions

Suitability / shots for production (scene numbers)

The place has a very creepy vibe that matches my production well.
There is a lot of space to go if there are people in the area.

Lighting Information: Solutions:

Because it is a night shoot there will be no
natural light, meaning any lighting effect will
have to be created with lighting equipment.
Sound Information:
There is a road next to the woods, as well as
things like wind in the background.
Power Information
There are no outlets in this location.
Bring lighting equipment in order to create the
kind of lighting I want.
Make sure everything is charged and/or battery
powered to ensure nothing runs out of power
before were finished.
Solutions:
Use mics to try and limit rustling from the wind
and the road.
Use post production techniques to fix any
sounds I can.
Solutions:
Use pre-charged/battery powered equipment.

Hazards Solutions:
The woods will have trip hazards, low hanging Make sure both my cast and crew are aware of
branches, animals, the public and it will be any dangers.
dark.
Props List

Item Who uses it

Primark non prescription glasses Sam Shipman
Tire iron Sam Shipman
Stick Sam Shipman
Laptop (MacBook Air) Sam shipman
Small piece of plain card Dr Wilson
A5 notepad Dr Wilson
Biro Pen Dr Wilson
Black restraint Olivia
2014 plate Vauxhall Corsa Sam Shipman
Crew List

Director Emily James

Producer Emily James
Screenwriter Emily James
Camera Operators Emily James
Erin Sullivan
Cast Matthew Ashley
Lottie Archer
Erin Sullivan
Lottie Archer
Matthew Ashley
Erin Sullivan
Production Schedule

Date Plan of action Evaluation

 Week beginning
30th January Idea generation: Initial ideas
and focus groups
1st February Idea generation: Write out
initial ideas and analyse mind
maps
2nd February Idea generation: Choose three
ideas and write developed
versions of them. Send
developed ideas out in a
survey.
3rd February Idea generation: Analyse
survey results and write out
final idea.
6th February Weekly Blog
Context: Proposal and
production schedule
8th February Context: Bibliography,
problem solving and
competition/client
9th February Context: making pitch
10th February Weekly Blog
PITCH
13th February Weekly Blog
Research: Genre
20th February Research: Topic
27th February Research: Target Audience
6th March Research
13th March Planning
20th March Planning 23rd – 28th New York (have all
research and planning
submitted before trip)
27th March Planning: Feedback 23rd – 28th New York
3rd April Catch Up- research
10th April Catch up- Research
17th April Catch Up- Planning
27th April Filming
1st May Editing (5th Production deadline)
8th May Final edit feedback from 8th – 12th (FMP screenings)
screening
9th May Evaluation
15th May Finish Evaluation 19th (Interim deadline)
22nd May Asked back if needed 26th (Final FMP deadline)