Final Project -- Story Breakdown

Shot 1: Establishing shot.

(medium-long shot) Harvey walks up to the front door of the hat store.

Shot 2: Harvey learns what his problem is.

2a: (medium shot) Harvey sees note, reacts, grabs it, and reads it.

2b: (ECU note) "Harvey-- Mr. Big coming over at 9:00 sharp. Make the shop look perfect, or else! --the Boss"

2c: (medium shot) Harvey looks at his watch, reacts (yikes!)

2d: (ECU watch) The minute-hand clicks from 8:58 to 8:59.

2e: (medium shot) Harvey turns, enters the store.

Shot 3: The setup.

3A: (normal camera) Harvey carries in the hatboxes, puts them offscreen-left, takes out the wide-brimmed hat, and with a little flourish puts it on Chantelle's head. We cut on action BEFORE the hat touches her head. (Approx. 4-5 sec)

3B: (ECU Chantelle's head) We see Chantelle's expression change to a smile as the hat is placed on her head. (1-1.5 sec)

3C: (normal camera) Harvey adjusts the hat on Chantelle's head, grabs the turban from offscreen, spins it, and places it on Vikki's head. Again, we cut BEFORE the hat touches her head. (2 sec)

3D: (ECU Vikki) We see Vikki's expression change to a smile. (1 sec)

3E: (ECU Chris) We see Chris's expression change to a smile. (1 sec)

3F: (ECU Jasper) We see Jasper's expression change to a sneering frown. Harvey's hands lift away from the hat, and we see his lower torso exit screen right, at which point the tinkling bell tells us that he's going outside. (1.5 sec)

Shot 4: Harvey discovers the obstacle.

Harvey steps outside to survey his work, and is shocked and dismayed at the frown on Jasper's face.

Shot 5: Harvey tries to fix the problem.

Harvey confidently switches Jasper's hat with Christopher's, thinking he has the solution.

Shot 6: Harvey finds he's only made things worse.

Harvey steps outside again, and is even more shocked to see two frowning faces. Nervous now, he looks at his watch and hurries back inside.

Shot 7: Harvey tries another solution.

Harvey thinks for a moment, then switches the two male hats with their female counterparts, and zips outside to see if it works.

Shot 8: Oh, what a disaster!

Harvey zips outside a third time, and despairs to see that one switch made things better, the other worse. He clutches his head in exasperation, and rushes back in.

Shot 9: Harvey runs out of time, and discovers the real solution.

Harvey begins to switch Jasper's and Chantelle's hats back the way they were, realizing halfway through that now he'll be back where he started. He hesitates, holding Jasper's fishing hat in his hand, and stares out the window for a moment in total confusion.

In that moment, he sees Mr. Big's car coming down the street! He desperately looks around for a solution to his problem. The other heads? This fishing hat? Looking at the hat, the answer hits him. He puts the hat on his head, picks up Jasper's head, and begins to do something with it, but his actions are obscured by the arriving limousine.

(Old version: In that moment, he sees Mr. Big's car coming down the street! He clutches his head again, unknowingly donning the fishing hat, and desperately looks around for a solution to his problem. He then notices the hat on his own head, and realizes what he has to do. He picks up Jasper's head, and begins to do something with it, but his actions are obscured by the arriving limousine.)

Shot 10: The punchline.

(medium shot, inside store) We see Harvey bent away from us, finishing his mysterious task. He stands up, and his head is stuck sideways. He twists it around and it clicks into place-- it's Jasper's head on Harvey's body!

Shot 11: Denouement.

(ECU Harvey's face, pulling back to same camera as establishing shot.) We see Harvey smile and blink. He's wearing the fishing hat. Camera pulls back, revealing that he's now a disembodied head in the store window. Credits roll as we pull back slowly. After the end of the credits, we see a hand emerge from the shadowy store interior, flipping the "CLOSED" sign on the door to read "OPEN".