Wake Up

Funeral for a Friend are releasing their new album, Tales Don’t Tell Themselves, on the 14th May and so at the moment are running a lyric writing competition. Funeral have long been one of my favourite bands and so here’s my entry as well as their latest single.

FFAF – Into Oblivion (Reunion)



Wake up

Now that I’m coming home
I can see those familiar places
That stopped me being on my own

There’s snow on the beaches
It’s raining on the pier
I’m lost in these one-way streets
My friends are my family here

I’m getting up at twelve and going back to sleep
It’s another short day of a very long week
And I don’t know if I can wake up

When I walk back through your door
You make my world worth fighting for
I don’t know why I ever left you
I don’t know why I let you go

This is how life should be easy

Going back to the influences of Switchfoot and beliefs in destiny comes this more optimistic song than ‘The average life…’. Unlike another love song about a boy in love with a girl ‘This is how life should be easy’ deals with the concept that love is a universal cure for making everyone in the world united in happiness. This idea can equally be seen in Switchfoot songs such as ‘We Are One Tonight’ from the album Nothing is Sound.

Switchfoot – ‘We Are One Tonight’



This is how life should be easy

When I wake up with you it’s like I’m still dreaming
Anything can happen when I’m lying next to you
Every time you touch me I have this wonderful feeling
Because I know this is reality, it’s true

Chance didn’t open my eyes
I saw the beauty in front of me
And heard your sweet voice that comforts me now
Like a drum of destiny

Take me down to the sea and we’ll play in the sand
All my problems are gone when you around
You complete my world with the touch of your hand
For once I was lost and now I am found

Close your eyes and use your imagination
To dream of a more peaceful nation
This is how life should be easy
You make me believe that it’s true

The sand washes over my feet
And the sun gleams in my squinting eyes
As I feel the crisp cold of the tide
Now I’m finally glad I made up my mind

Script for 'Cross-Over'

This week’s script is for the story ‘Cross-Over’ which I outlined last week and follows very closely to the synopsis but has been elaborated to last around three and a half minutes.

Scene 1

INT: Bedroom – Day

An alarm clock is heard as ANDY leans over putting his hand out to turn it off and sees it reads 5:30am. ANDY swings his legs out of the bed and sits up placing his hand on his head and sighing. ANDY stands up and walks over to his hung up uniform, picks it up, and walks out of the room and turns the shower on.

EXT: Icelandic Hotel - Day

ANDY drives past the hotel entrance in his van and pulls into the car park. ANDY gets out and locks the door and then walks with his head down into the hotel.

INT: Locker Room – Day

Inside the locker room ANDY walks past the other workers who are talking amongst themselves. ANDY opens his locker and places his coat inside. As ANDY turns to close his locker he sees the picture of his wife and daughter smiling and pauses to look at them for a second. As he pauses ANDY sees and takes out his sports car magazine and turns as he closes his locker and walks back out of the locker room.

INT: Laundry Room – Day

ANDY is sorting his way through the many different suits and dresses whilst flipping the pages of his magazine. ANDY takes a suit off the rail and checks to make sure it is clean and then clips a tag onto it as it puts it onto a separate rail. As ANDY checks the next suit he puts his hand in one of the pockets and pulls out a dirty tissue which flakes over his hand and over the suit. ANDY looks disgusted at the mess and throws the tissue down and wipes his hand before patting the suit down.

Scene 2

EXT: Hotel – Day

ANDY walks over to a wall by the front of the hotel and sits whilst taking a cigarette out of a packet and lighting it. Posh sports cars and Rolls Royce’s pull up to the car pool area at the front of the hotel and drivers get in and park them for the guests. ANDY sits arched with his hands on his legs as he watches the posh cars pulling up and tokes on his cigarette. ANDY then looks over at his van and shakes his head as he stands and throws his cigarette down to stamp it out. ANDY walks back towards the entrance of the hotel a posh Jaguar pulls up. The DRIVER of the Jaguar opens the door and steps out of the car whilst leaning on the door.

DRIVER‘Are you gunna park this or what?’

ANDY looks around surprised and realises the driver is talking to him. The DRIVER then points to the hotel logo on his uniform.

DRIVER
‘You do work here?’

ANDY growing annoyed turns round fully to look at the driver.

ANDY
‘Yes but its not my job’

The DRIVER looks fed up and closes his car door and turns round angrily.

DRIVER
‘And they say there’s unemployment, you lot don’t want to work’

ANDY then walks up close to the DRIVER and raises his finger.

ANDY
‘Oi!’

Just as ANDY starts to speak the MANAGER of the hotel walks out and pushes ANDY aside immediately and places his arm on the back of the DRIVER and starts to walk him inside. The DRIVER looks round angrily towards ANDY as the MANAGER fuses over the man and puts his hand in the air and clicks towards one of the employees to get them to park the car. ANDY shakes his head as the car drives off and stands there in disbelief.

Scene 3

INT: House – Day

ANDREA is stood in the living room by the ironing board as she irons a large pile of clothes whilst watching JULIA playing a board game on the floor. The radio is on in the background.

RADIO
‘…a quick traffic update, There has been an accident on the M4 southbound involving a Jaguar and a lorry, traffic backing up and suggest alternative routes, M25 is now moving…’

The door bangs as ANDY walks in through the front door and takes his shoes off. JULIA looks up from her board game and sees ANDY walk into the living room and stands up and quickly runs over to ANDY and puts her arms around him. ANDY looks at ANDREA bluntly and then storms off into the kitchen and ANDREA follows him and puts her arms around him. ANDY looks around and then puts ANDREA’S arms down and storms off upstairs.

Scene 4

INT: House – Night

ANDY is asleep in bed and the clock reads 3:00am with the sports car magazine open and resting on the covers. A banging sound is heard and ANDY wakes up and sits up quickly looking around him. ANDY swings his legs around the bed to stand up and walks over to the door slowly. ANDY takes his dressing gown off the back of the door and puts it on as he walks into the hallway. By the window ANDY sees a picture of his family on the floor with the curtain swaying in the wind over the top of it. ANDY bends down slowly and picks up the photo and stands up whilst looking at it. ANDY moves the curtain out of the way and puts the picture back on the windowsill and sees the window is open. ANDY closes the window and then hears a thud behind him. ANDY is still facing the window and raises his head up slowly. Thud, thud, the noise is heard again. ANDY turns around slowly and sees a suitcase behind him at the top of the stairs. Looking surprised ANDY walks over to the suitcase and stares at it in shock. A man in a ripped up suit jumps out. ANDY trips over the suitcase and falls through the man and back onto the floor. The man looking in shock walks closer towards ANDY.

DRIVER
‘I didn’t see it coming’

ANDY in shock crawls backwards on the floor and stares up at the man and then looks curiously at him as he realises he is the DRIVER from the Jaguar earlier. As ANDY crawls he looks away and then back and sees the DRIVER has disappeared.
ANDY then turns and stands up using his hands as he hears the same sound behind him. The DRIVER walks he keeps on dropping the suitcase and then heaving as he tries to pick it up and it is clear it is too heavy for him to carry. ANDY starting to piece together what is going on stares from the wall at the DRIVER struggling with his suitcase.

ANDY
‘If your dead, you can’t take that with you’

The DRIVER still holding his suitcase stands still for a few seconds before turning his head round to one side and then looking fully at ANDY

DRIVER
‘But it’s all I have’

ANDY looks down at the floor and then back at the DRIVER with a pitying look as the DRIVER stares back at ANDY. The DRIVER then turns and drops his suitcase handle and starts to walk off slowly into the distance and gradually disappears leaving his suitcase on the landing.

Scene 5

INT: House – Day

ANDY wakes up on top of his covers and can hear the sound of ANDREA making breakfast. ANDY sits up quickly and puts both hands either side of him on the bed. As ANDY goes to stand up he feels his sports car magazine and places it on his lap. ANDY stands up holding the magazine and walks towards his bedroom door. As ANDY takes his dressing gown from the back of the door he puts one arm in and then puts his sports car magazine in the bin before putting his dressing gown fully on and walking out of the door. ANDY walks into the kitchen and puts his arms around ANDREA’S waist who is stood by the cooker frying bacon. ANDREA turns he head to ANDY

ANDREA’Is there something you want’

ANDY kisses ANDREA on the cheek.

ANDY
‘I’ve already got everything I want’

JULIA then gets down from the kitchen table and places her arms around ANDY and ANDREA and ANDY turns to JULIA and puts one of his arms around her and pulls her in close.

The average life of an average boy in love

The average life of a student would have been a more appropriate title for this song as this is what it is mainly based upon such as ‘getting up at twelve and going back to sleep’. Following last weeks song of ‘No More Old Memories’ I’ve written a song which deals very much with the now, although the title of an average life opens the song up to more audiences. As with most of my songs the rhythm of this song was influenced by another, Yellow card ‘Ocean Avenue’, and so is sung in a similar style. The content follows more of the typical love story style songs such as Whetus and ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ as the song has a narrative following one boy’s love for his best friend who in the end notices someone else.

Yellow Card – ‘Ocean Avenue’



The average life of an average boy in love

Going out on the town with one hours sleep
Just so I can see you and not admit defeat
I’ll get up at twelve and go back to bed
This could be a night where I end up dying

Take you out onto the dance floor
For you’re my best friend who I adore
I hold you close as he stares from the bar
This is the moment where you go forever

I stare at you from across the hall
I notice you and your beautiful
He touches you, my world falls through
The average life of an average boy in love

Buy two drinks but they’re both for me
To drown my soul from this atrocity
To forget that I’m on my own in this din
And realise that loving you is such a sin

I closed my eyes to take the world away
To pretend that everything was going to be okay
You helped free me from my shy days
You always keep me from my shy ways

I’m better off with you, but you can’t say the same
I’ve tried to tell you, but you look the other way
I may be just a quiet boy, but I’m in love
And he can buy it all away today

Cross-Over

This story has similar themes to ‘The Quiet Photographer’ as it again focuses upon life and spirituality but with more of a focus on morality. Based slightly on the Sixth Sense through seeing the dead and helping them to move on ‘Cross-Over’ also features influences from British realism such as the works of Ken Loach. The main character is a working class man who hates the class structure and believes life is unfair but eventually through seeing the dead realises what is more important in life. This story fits into many genres of Horror, British Realism and Drama to make it more individual as this is quite a common format as seen by characters such as Scrooge who is also visited by the dead until he appreciates more than just money.

Premace: What if you realised you had the power to recognise spirits who needed help crossing over into heaven?

Controlling idea: Life can be seen through what has been lost.

Synopsis:

Andy has been working as a cleaner at the Icelandic Hotel for four years now and still nothing has changed. Every morning at 6 am he goes into laundry and sorts out the posh punters suits and dresses from the previous nights cocktail parties and poker games. Then when the stiffs are out to breakfast at 10am he collects his cleaning trolley and starts on the rooms. Andy once thought these would always be spotless and clean to match their charming looks, but obviously, looks can be deceiving. Around 3pm Andy heads back down to his locker room in the basement of the hotel and hurries to get changed and get home.

One day Andy goes out front for a smoke to watch all the expensive cars pulling into the car pool area. As he puts out his smoke an old man in a suit gets out of his Jaguar and demands that Andy parks it for him. Andy explains that it’s not his job and the man makes a comment on the slackness of the working class. Annoyed, Andy argues with the man that not everyone is lucky enough to have all these nice things. The manager runs over after hearing the commotion and pushes Andy aside and then gently walks the man inside and calls over a driver.

Back home Andrea is doing the ironing in the front room with Julia sat playing a game whilst listening to the radio. As Andy walks in through the door Julia runs up to him to give him a great big hug. Andy just looks at Andrea with a sombre expression and pulls off his name badge as he walks into the kitchen. Andrea then tries to comfort Andy but he just grabs his sports car magazine and stomps his way upstairs.

Andy wakes, startled, as a noise is heard inside. Worried about an intruder Andy gets out of bed and slowly walks out of the room. On the landing Andy sees a picture of his family on the floor, covered by a curtain swaying in the wind. Thinking this was the noise Andy is startled when a man dressed in a suit approaches him. Andy realises this is the same man that he argued with earlier that day. Realising he is dead Andy explains that he has to move on. The man says that he can’t because his suitcase is too big and he can’t leave it as it’s all he has. Eventually Andy makes the man realise he cant take his possession with him, and so the man leaves with nothing.
The next morning Andy wakes up to the sound of Andrea making breakfast. Andy runs down the stairs and grabs Andrea and Julia and gives them a great big hug. Andy, realising he already has everything he wants, gets his sports car magazine and places it in the bin.

No more old memories (lets make some more)

This weeks song is built upon a past song I once wrote called ‘Ready to Go’ yet this song focused upon being ready to change something wrong whereas I wanted the focus to be more happy and to be from this changed perspective. The song was influenced by The Goo Goo Dolls hit song ‘Iris’ from the album Dizzy Up The Girl and Angels and Airwaves.

Angels and Airwaves – ‘Do it For Me Now’



No More Old Memories



No more old memories
For I used to fear that
Running was my calling
And living was a race

I am a living being yet
A master in disgrace
For letting all these people
Make me forget my place

But I’ve lived this life
And it’s helped me grow
I’ve changed from before
And I’m ready to go

To remember all the good times
Is to think about you
And to have many more
Is to let me take you too

Viewing my life
With a spectators eye
I can see why I struggled
And why I prayed to see
The wonders of this life
That have come to me