Summary:

What needs to be made prominent in scene 1 is that there is a great city (NYC 50ish years in the future) and a vast divide exists between the have’s and the have not’s. Two sides of the railroad tracks. On one side a sparkling and rising empire. On the other side, the dank streets of the Burg where the Serfs (blue collars) live.

We will “pan out” through-out the scene to slowly contrast the stark difference gradually. Hinted at through the scene it will become completely evident at the end of the scene, where one of our chief characters, Aaron, will glare at it all from his humble circumstances in the Burg.

To begin the scene we will start with Aaron, a young black man of 17 years old, arriving home where he shares an apartment with his grandma. There will be some short banter but the point is you know that Aaron is heading out on a Friday night to the races, and that makes his grandma nervous, as it always does. She knows she can’t stop him, but urges him to be cautious, because after the races the streets become dangerous. But virtually everyone in the Burg lines the streets to see the races.

Aaron then heads to the bike race, and in spite of the rundown suburbs, the festival atmosphere and countless people lining the streets make the area come alive. It is the one event that draws both the Serfs and the Citizens of the empire. The Serfs are devoted to cheering on their respective teams, while the Citizens, from casinos or their homes gamble on the races from their excessive fortunes. The Burg comes to ‘high energy’ as he arrives to the race.

Aaron gets to where the massive crowd of serfs clamor for a spot to watch the race. Aaron is alone, it doesn’t seem to bother him, he seems used to it. There is a lot of hubbub, noise, media.

The scene pans to the area where the bike teams are gathering. We can see that each team is made up of one race. Here we get our first hint at the issues in the Berg. There is a social divide by race. The first team we focus on is an “India” team. They will provide a comedic element. They are there in their first race ever, they finally made it into the Friday night race. They are talking and one of the cyclists asks his team if they think they will win. The team leader scolds him, are you crazy? Then the #1 team (USA) approaches and passes them, there are looks between the teams.

The USA bike team coasts to their spot. There are two primary riders, their champion rider (name is between David and Jesse as of now). He is looking back at the new team. “They’re new”. Joshua, the team captain says he is more concerned with the Jewish team there, they have a new rider. David assures them that the only rider he is concerned with is Marcos, a native American rider. Joshua glares at the media and cameras everywhere. They hint to the world behind those cameras, the Empire, with all the citizens behind it that are watching for the sport of entertainment and gambling. David says to get his head back into the race. Joshua pleads with him to stay with the team until the very end, but Davis makes it apparent he will ride his own way.

The race begins. The streets are tight and it brings the riders dangerously close to the crowds. David shoots ahead of everyone and only Marcos can keep with him. Joshua sighs in frustration. The music moves from a hint of whats about to happen. It transitions from “They were dancing barefoot” to “xyz” and the Jewish team employs a very clever strategy ricocheting off the other rides and propelling them forward. They eventually catch David and Marcos and use their draft perfectly and fan out, catapulting their new lead rider past David for the win.

After the race there is the usual hubbub and hones in on the USA team with David and Joshua dealing with another loss but with grace and acknowledging only the citizens make money on it anyway. Even though its a huge pride thing in the Berg. Just as they begin to head home the India team suddenly whizzes by, dreadfully behind, again, comic relief.

We go back to Aaron who is taking it all in as he dreams of being a great cyclist. As he heads home the vibrancy of the Berg slowly devolves into the night life where he starts to feel that tense feeling. He begins to cycle fast and he is suddenly feeling invincible, when a gang of riders comes along side him, bringing him back to reality. They are eyeing him down, and finally the leader of this gang, Eddie, comes along side him and stares at him like “I got my eyes on you.” Aaron suddenly bolts off a back street to get away from this gang. He ends up outside his apartment, starting in anger at the Empire, to him, the cause of all this trouble, and much more troubling, who is living at the palace that now comes into view. A palace that is twice as high as any other building. He is angry. The scene ends.

Key Moment:

MAJOR: The key moment comes in the end when Aaron is staring at the palace in anger after his dangerous encounter. He is angry, and you can sense there is more to it then just typical poor vs. rich anger, because he knows his brother lives in that palace.

MINOR:

Music:

*To note, there is usually music for each moments needs, aligning with the theme song where appropriate.

1. They were dancing barefoot
2. Deja Vu – by Dave Rodgers

The race shows that teams are racially divided, there is a well understood divide among the serfs, and folks stay with their own. In the race, the Jewish team (wearing outfits vaguely hinting at the traditional Jewish attire) will win. The first song will be done light and echo-ey, and just a small part of it. Then once the team bursts out of the group, it will full head on into the second song, starting slightly after the beginning. I will post that time here.

Details / Notes:

1. Even though it’s set 50 years in the future, because of the war it is transitioning from a very rough period to a new emergence in technology and splendor. The city (empire) holds that, while the Burg is going downhill.
2. Was one time considering if Aaron would have a small encounter with Kool-Aid, a character who later befriends him and invites him to join a gang.

Set Ups:

1. The India team flying in well after everyone else has finished is a setup for a later race scene where they suddenly find themselves contending for a win.

Script:

No script yet.

Storyboard: