the yellow ball

a short film written by Craig Devine

YELLOW BALL script Breakdown

1. A little girl stands bored at the foot of her tenement. (where is this to be?) PARTICK Gardner Street

Her mother soon appears walking down the steps with a yellow ball, she throws it down to the girl.

CHARACTERS: 1) Mother 2) Girl

• The girl misses the ball as it bounces, and it runs down the hill of his street. (Which hill?) It falls down a flight of stairs, bumping as it goes, and she chases after it. (The Greek Thomson stairs/ aka the 60 sixty steps).

CHARACTERS: 1) girl 2) yellow ball

And so it begins.

The yellow ball gathers pace as it rolls down a cobbled path toward a row of fences, it squeezes through a space down an embankment into the river below.

The little girl looks frantic, she holds the bars tightly with her small hands, attempting to spy the location of the ball.

BOTANICS- HALF PENNY BRIDGE

On the ha’penny bridge at the Botanics the girl looks down at the yellow ball as it bobbles on the water, flowing downstream

We see it close-up as it bobs on the surface of the water: a smile appears on it at first- we suddenly see the girl in distress- then a sad face can be seen on the yellow ball.

The ball needs to come to the shore at some point?

GREAT WESTERN ROAD/BUS STOP- CHARACTERS: People at bus stop (old man)

The yellow ball runs down another series of steps at Hillside Street. The girl is marooned in a traffic island, buses, cars whizz by, as she watches the ball go out of sight. By now the ball rolls passed a queue of people at a bus stop on Great Western Road. The girl bangs into a couple of folk, and one of them, a man, misses his bus- the girl looks back to see the man with a furious face shouting back to her.

PARK CIRCUS/PARK TERRACE LANE- CHARACTERS: Young couple

The yellow ball bounces, trundles, along the cobbled pavements of Park Terrace Lane, the girl meandering behind, unable to keep up. The ball reaches the edge of an impressive set of steps at Park Circus- it falls, bumping, between a set of young lovers about to kiss. The girl then runs after it, down the steps. The young lovers go to kiss again and she runs between them- one of them, a young man shouts after her. Anxious, tired, worried, she looks right and left, searching for the ball; seeing it in the distance she continues to chase it.

BOTANICS- CHARACTER: Gardener for Council

A gardener for the parks department is planting a colourful row of flowers- he has a set of pots ready to plant, and the ball goes rolling by, with the girl just behind, and she succeeds in kicking over some of them. The gardener, outraged, waves his fist, jumps up and down, and shouts after her, but she is away again towards the entrance of the Botanics. In Kelvingrove park it zooms passed the fountain, water sprays, as it moves sprays, as it moves out of shot.

KELVINGROVE: Lord Kelvin Monument/Fountain

It bounces passed the monument to Lord Kelvin, with the little girl in tow/ passed the fountain and the water sprays

GLASGOW UNIVERSITY- CHARACTER: Cloisters/Lecturer MacKINTOSH HOUSE

Eventually we see the ball roll towards Glasgow University, as if propelled by some internal volition. It runs from Gibson Street down Southpark Avenue toward University Avenue, entering the gates of the University, with the girl quickly running behind it. The ball weaves through a set of sandstone arches at the University Cloisters. A professor or tutor carries a set of notes/papers and the girl barges passed him as she chases after the ball, sending the papers flying. It then goes passed Mackintosh House and the little girl runs downhill to chase it.

GARDNER STREET: Van/Father

As it gets to the bottom of the hill the ball bounces into an open van- the driver closes the door and drives off- the girl shouts but the van is gone, out of sight. Finally defeated by the power of fate. She looks dejected. AT the point of tears, she begins to walk home back up the steep hill of Gardner Street. Eventually at her street a van pulls in and the drive gets out and opens the back door- the yellow ball rolls out and runs down the street toward the girl at the bottom of the street. She picks it up and smiles. The man walks toward the tenement close. ‘Dad! Wait for me!’ she cries. The girl’s father turns to meet his daughter and the girl throws the yellow ball, and he catches it. He throws it back to her, but she doesn’t quite get a hold of it and it tumbles down the street towards the steps- is it all about to repeat itself again? The girl succeeds in catching the ball this time and both walk up the stairs hand in hand into the tenement close.

SCENE 1: GARDNER STREET

SCENE 2: GREEK THOMSON STAIRS/through gap in fence toward river

SCENE 3: WOODEN BRIDGE at BOTANICS

SCENE 4: BALL COMES TO SHORE/Boy runs off with it/Girl nearly gets hit with car/boy drops it and it keeps running…KELVINBRIDGE? It bumps up the stairs onto GREAT WESTERN ROAD

SCENE 5: The girl is marooned on a traffic island- traffic whizzes by and the ball trundles down the road

SCENE 6: Man at bus stop/she bangs into him and he misses the bus

SCENE 7: Man at work, gardener for council, with a rake leaves, is interrupted by the girl and ball and shouts after them

SCENE 8: Mackintosh House rolling down hill

SCENE 9: the lane at Park Terrace where ball meanders through the cobbles/ cut to the lovers on stairs of PARK CIRCUS

The Snowbridge/with University behind  Kelvingrove park garden steps (behind Musuem in front of University) Rapids/weir at kelvingrove park

Tiger and cubs

Steps by Half penny bridge at Kirklee road bridge in Botanics park

The SCENE with lecturer papers flying Next to LORD KELVINE STATUE

The YELLOW BALL
by
Craig Devine

A little girl stands bored at the foot of her tenement. Her
mother soon appears walking down the steps with a yellow
ball, she throws it down to the girl.

The girl misses the ball as it bounces and it runs down the
hill of his street.It falls down a flight of stairs,
bumping as it goes, and she chases after it.

And so it begins.

The yellow ball gathers pace as it rolls down a cobbled
path toward a row of fences, it squeezes through a space
down an embankment into the River Kelvin below. The little
girl looks frantic, she holds the bars tightly with her
small hands, attempting to spy the location of the ball.
High on a bridge the girl looks down on the yellow ball as
it bobbles on the water, flowing rapidly downstream- we see
it close up as it bobs on the surface of the water, a smile
appears on it at first, but then, with the girl frantic, a
sad face can be seen on the yellow ball.

Eventually it stops at an embankment further down the
river, at the feet of a boy.

Standing at the embankment, picking it up, he walks off.

The little girl runs after the thief until he gets to the
high steep top of Gardner Street; somehow the ball wriggles
free, and rolls down the pavement, picking up pace, until
it crosses the street. The girl then darts furiously across
the road, in front of a car, the driver stamps his fist,
cries out angrily, but the girl undeterred continues her
pursuit of the yellow ball.

By now the ball rolls passed a queue of people at a bus
stop on Dumbarton Road, the girl bangs into a couple of
folk, and one of them, a man, misses his bus- the girl
looks back to see a row of furious faces shouting at her.
The yellow ball bounces, trundles, along the cobbled
pavements of Park terrace Lane, the girl meandering behind,
unable to keep up. The ball reaches the edge of an
impressive set of steps at Park Circus, it falls, bumping,
between between a set of young lovers about to kiss. The
girl then runs after it, down the steps. The young lovers
go to kiss again and she runs between them- one of them, a
young man shouts after her. Anxious, tired, worried, she
look’s right and left, searching for the ball; seeing it in
the distance she continues to chase it.

A gardener for the parks department is planting a colourful
row of flowers- he has a set of pots ready to be planted
the ball goes rolling by, with the girl just behind, and
she succeeds in kicking over some of them. The gardener,
outraged, waves his fist, jumps up and down, and shouts
after her, but she is away again towards the entrance of
the Botanic Gardens.

In Kelvingrove park is zooms passed the fountain, water
sprays, as it moves out of shot. It bounces passed the
monument to Lord Kelvin, with the little girl in tow. Then
we see the yellow ball bounces across Great Western Road, but the
girl is marooned on a traffic island, buses, cars whizz by
she watches as it goes out of sight.

Eventually we see the ball roll towards Glasgow University,
as if propelled by some internal volition. It runs from
Gibson Street down to Southpark Avenue toward University
Avenue, entering the gates of the university, with the girl
quickly running behind it. The ball weaves through a set of
sandstone arches as a a Professor comes along, carrying
papers, the girl smashes into him and the papers fly around
the cloisters. It then goes passed Mackintosh House and the
little girl runs downhill to chase it.

As it gets to the bottom of the hill the ball bounces into
the back of an open pickup truck sitting at a building
site- the driver of the truck leaves with the yellow ball
still in the back. The girl shouts and chases after the
Van- but the truck is gone, out of sight- finally she has
been defeated by the power of fate. The girl looks
defeated, utterly dejected. At the point of tears she
begins the long walk home, and eventually she reaches the
top of steps at her street.

A truck drives into the street. It stops; the driver gets
out and opens up the back of the pickup truck- the yellow
ball rolls out and the runs down the street toward the girl
at the bottom of the steep street. She picks it up and
smiles. The man walks toward the tenement close. “Dad!
Wait For me!” she cries. The girl’s father turns to meet
his daughter and the girl throws the yellow ball, so he
catches it. Her father throws it back but the throw doesn’t
quite reach his daughter and the ball goes rolling down the
hill- is it all about to repeat itself again? Sisyphean
like? The girl succeeds in catching the ball this time and
both walk up the stairs hand in hand into the tenement
close.

END.