Slaves of the Screen

7/30/2019 Slaves of the Screen

1/10

SLAVES OF THE SCREEN

by

Jacob Payne

FINAL COPY

MAY 2013

JACOB PAYNE, APRIL 2013

5 Avery Close, Kilaben Bay

NSW, 2283 Australia

Ph.: 0431 271 137


2/10

1. INT. OFFICE. DAWN

JASON, a26 year old Journalist is at an office desk, he is

writing on sheets of paper, sitting next to a pile of files

and paperwork.

JASON (V/O)

Ive been in the Journalism business

since I was 19 year old. That was

2006.

Back then it was simple. Cary around

a pen, paper and a voice recorder,

do your research and then write it

into a story.

2. EXT. PARK. DAY

Jason is sitting at a park bench, typing away on his laptop,

editing a news story. He picks up his notepad, crosses

something off, and places it back on the bench to continue

typing.

JASON (V/O)

We had to know a little bit about

multi-media. But it wasnt like it

is today.

Jason picks up his smart phone to check his emails.

JASON (CONTD)

My role and ideas as a Journalist have

changed significantly since.

3. EXT. SHOPPING CENTRE. DAY

Jason is holding a camera, he is taking photos of a spray

paint artist in the middle of the shopping centre, painting

elaborate images onto a canvas.

JASON (V/O)

Now we are expected to know how to

operate a video camera, use a computer,

participate in a blog, and know our way

around an online environment.


3/10

4. INT. OFFICE. DAY

Jason is sitting at his desk, blogging on a computer, replying

to comments on news articles and videos.

JASON (V.O)

If you asked me what my job was ten

years ago, I could reply with

Oh Im a print journalist. Today

though, my job is to be multi-skilled

and keep up with the ever-changing

digital world. Not only that, but once

the story is uploaded, we have the

responsibility to lead discussion and

actively engage with it online.

5. EXT/INT. CAR. DUSK

Jason is driving home in his car. He is listening to the radio

and looking back and forth between the road and the navigator

stuck to his window.

JASON (V.O)

Im 26 years old, so I guess you

could say that Im already beingout-dated by a younger generation

who think smarter, act faster, and

are used to producing and receiving

information more rapidly in a

digital world.

Jason pulls into his driveway and exits the car. He walks up

the driveway to his front door, unlocks it, and walks inside

his house, revealing walls with blink-182 and super Mario

posters.

JASON (CONTD)

I grew up in the 90s, where mobile

phones and computers werent a common

thing for children to use and interact

with. We were too occupied with playing

outside to be engaged by video games.


4/10

6. INT. LOUNGEROOM. NIGHT

Jason is sitting in the dining room eating dinner at the table

with his wife, laughing and interacting.

JASON (V/O)

During school we used good old

fashion pen and paper. We didnt

even rely on as much as a calculator.

Now every kid has their head buried

in either a phone or laptop computer,

preferring to interact online rather

than face to face.

7. INT. CLASSROOM. DAY

LUCY, a 14 year old school girl is sitting in class with acomputer in front of her. She faces the teacher at the front

of the room. Each student watches over their laptop computer

as the teacher draws out instructions onto a smart board.

LUCY (V/O)

Ive never really seen it as a

negative thing like most adults

do. They always say Lucy, get off

your phone, youre being rude.

I dont see interacting throughtechnology as rude. My computer

and my phone let me talk and

socialise with my friends when

I cant see them face to face.

Lucy slides out her mobile phone from her pocket and hides it

under the desk. She smiles, replies to a message and puts the

phone away. Next to her, a girl pulls out her mobile phone to

see the message she just received from Lucy.

LUCY (CONTD)

I dont think technology poses a

problem for our generation. I think

that it creates opportunities.

8. EXT. PLAYGROUND. DAY

Lucys friends are running around, laughing and playing. Some

school children sit to the side with earphones in.

Lucy is sitting down using her mobile phone near her friends.

She looks up occasionally to laugh and join in the game.


5/10

LUCY (V/O)

Ive always wanted to become

more involved with social media.

I love the way that it can connect

people from any distance. I can

say something online and it can

reach my friends, family, and the

rest of the world instantly. Its

like having access to the worlds

population in my pocket, 24/7.

Lucy puts down her phone and runs in to join with her friends.

LUCY (CONTD)

Everyone always says Imoutgoing and creative. So Im

really looking forward to

finishing school and becoming

more involved with media and

people.

9. INT. BUS. AFTERNOON

Lucy is on the bus, surrounded by school kids laughing and

listening to their iPods. Lucy is using her laptop; she isusing a video program to edit together a video of her friends

dancing to music.

LUCY (V/O)

Growing up Ive been surrounded

by mobile phones, computers,

and the internet. I think Ive

been so accustomed to the technology

that is just seems normal to me.

An adult looks at learning

with books as a normal thing -

learning through a computer is

normal for me.

10. INT. LOUNGEROOM. NIGHT

Lucy is sitting on the lounge with her family watching

Television. She is engaged with a smart tablet in her hands.

She is playing a game, glancing up to watch television every

few moments.


6/10

LUCY (V/O)

I know my way around every

technology I can get my hands

on. Navigating through any

interface or program just comes

naturally to me, its kind of

like Im part robot (LAUGHS)

11. INT. OFFICE. DAY

BARBARA LEPANI (from the Australian Centre for Innovation and

International Competitiveness)of the University of Sydney sitsin her office. She speaks about the challenges of a digital

age and the changes that Australia can expect in theworkplace.

BARBARA

When we were a print society,

literacy used to be defined by

the ability to read and write.

The technological infrastructure

of a multi-media society has

re-defined literacy.

12. EXT. SYDNEY, PITT ST. DAY

People flood a busy street, pushing past each other, each

involved in their own world. Most people in suits blindly walk

as they stare at their mobile phone screens, oblivious to the

traffic that surrounds them. People access and reply to emails

on the run or attend a telephone conference as they move from

one place to another all through their mobile phones.

BARBARA (O/S)

Literacy is being extended beyond

reading print and writing with

a pen. Jobs now require people to

be able to fluently use a computer,

a tablet, make videos, edit photos,

write blog posts, promote via social

media, and interact in a cut throat


7/10


8/10

JASON (CONTD)

There is an online etiquette that

Ive had to adapt to. The internet

provides the dangerous prospect

of making hateful, defaming and

rude remarks that can come back

to bite you if you arent careful.

I have to remind myself that if

Im not prepared to say what Im

about to say online to a room full

of people, then I should re-consider

my words.

15. EXT. PARK. DAY

Jason is playing with his 3yr old son OLIVER at the park.

Oliver is sitting on Jasons lap, playing with his dads

smartphone. He unlocks the screen and opens a game to play

with.

JASON (V/O)

The generation coming through the

education system at the moment will

be more equipped with these onlineand I.T skills than I could ever

dream to be. They in turn with later

be in my position and watch as my

son and the generation below them

will surpass their skill sets.

Oliver jumps off his dads lap and runs to the playground,

laughing. Jason runs after him playfully.

JASON (CONTD)

The possibilities are endless.

With the evolution of

communication and interaction,

these new technologies offer a

medium which new thoughts and

ways of thinking about the world

we live in can be altered.


9/10

16. INT. OFFICE. DAY

Barbara sits in her office, explaining the changing worldviews

that are associated with advances in technology.

BARBARAJust as the watch and the book have

influenced who we are and how

we explain our world, so now

are the new technologies

"reprogramming" the human

condition. This poses a

significant challenge for those

of us who grew up and became

skilled in a print-based community.

17. INT. JASONS OFFICE. DAY

Jason is working at his computer desk, writing emails and

occasionally scribbling notes onto a notepad.

BARBARA (V/O)

The print culture demanded

linear ways of thinking and

the emergence of cyberspace

challenged this.

18. EXT. PLAYGROUND. DAY

Lucy is watching her friends play. She looks down to her

mobile phone and begins to text a friend. She turns on some

music and quickly opens a game to keep her occupied.

BARBARA (CONTD)

Teachers and adults complain

about the loss of attention

span and ability to maintain

linear commitment from children

of this digital age.

There is however an increase in

their ability to piece together

meaning from a discontinuous

set of images and balance

multiple tasks at once.

Their exposure video games


10/10

and visual material has

allowed them to adapt to

an information overload.

The over stimulation of neural

processers now provides the

possibility for new, non -

linear ways of thinking,

working, and learning.

We are indeed provided with

generation who act faster, and

are used to producing and receiving

information more rapidly in a

digital world.

Documents

Slaves of the Screen