The Capulet ball will not be a masked ball like in the story, but it will be an underground rave. There will be much smoke from smoke machines to hide the identities of the Montague’s.
There will also be many laser, and special lighting effects to make it look like it’s from the future.
It will be set in the future Los Angeles (LA). There will be many high-rise buildings, and it will be very lit up with neon billboards and lasers. As the scene is set in the night, the paving stones on the floor will light up when they are stepped on. There will also be flying cars and motorcycles.
This setting is suitable as it will look very advanced in technology and very hi-Tec. It will also look very futuristic, and the city will be split up into different parts. Some of which the capulet’s ‘territory’ and some of which the Montague’s ‘territory’
The main roles will be played by very different actors, Romeo will be played by Brad Pitt as he is said to be very handsome, and is loved by many girls. This would make him well suited to the part of Romeo, as he needs to be handsome. Sarah Michelle Gellar would play Juliet, as she is a ‘hit’ with the boys and she would look good alongside Brad Pitt. Nicholas Cage would play Mercutio as he is a very good actor, and he has an evil/wicked look to him, which suits the type of character Mercutio is.
All of my characters will be wearing tight, shiny silver suits with flashing lights, and writing scrolling on screens on them. This will help the futuristic look and it will add to the futuristic effect I am looking for. The characters will also be wearing silver leather shoes, and helmets with transparent yellow visors on them.
The scene will first appear with a far out shot of the city, with all of the lights glowing and lighting up the night sky. There will also be many high-rise buildings and skyscrapers. The camera will then slowly zoom into a tracking shot of Romeo, as he walks down the street. He then gets a phone call, and he pulls his phone out of his pocket, and on the screen it reads ‘Mercutio calling’. Romeo answers his phone and starts talking normally to Mercutio. The camera then makes a straight cut to Benvolio, and he is stood in a bathroom getting ready for the rave. He then picks up his phone and joins the conversation and says “come, knock and enter, and no sooner in, but every man betake his legs”. He then leaves the conversation and Mercutio makes his speech over the phone as he is walking down the street. While he is saying the speech the camera keeps changing from 3rd to 1st person view of both of the characters. As Mercutio says “over men’s noses as they lie asleep” a motion picture of a fairy dancing on a sleeping man’s nose appears, on Romeo’s screen. Then Benvolio appears on the screen as he is walking down the street. He then meets Romeo and Mercutio at the bottom of a skyscraper.
They all start talking to one another, and they are on a tracking shot, as they walk down some very dark ere steps. They reach the bottom of the steps and they quietly enter the rave.
Inside the rave there is smoke everywhere so their identities are hidden. The camera keeps switching between different people in the rave as they are talking to each other.
Every one then stands up to dance, and this is where Romeo first sees Juliet. This is shown by a first person view of her (from Romeo’s eyes). It shows a fast tracking shot of Romeo and Juliet dancing. Romeo then kisses Juliet and the camera slowly rotates around them.
They then stop dancing and the camera goes back to changing between people talking. Tybalt then becomes very unhappy about Montague’s being in the Capulet rave, and starts complaining to Lord Capulet. He draws his gun and aims it at Romeo, but he is commanded to put his gun down. They carry on arguing about the Capulets. This part will be done with different streaks of light leaving parts of them in shadow.
There is then another straight cut to Romeo and Juliet talking, and he kisses her again and the camera shows this from the other side of the room, so you can just see shadows because of the smoke. The nurse then comes up and talks to Juliet, and it goes back to changing between people talking.
As the nurse returns after leaving she says to Juliet “His name is Romeo, and a Montague, The only son of your great enemy.” As this is said Juliet then stairs at the floor and looks very miserable about what has just been said.
My new scene will be set in the future Los Angeles (LA). In this scene Mercutio and Romeo and Benvolio are all heading to the Capulet’s underground rave. Mercutio’s speech about queen Mab is said over a mobile phone. Romeo meets Juliet and they fall madly in love. The scene will use a variety off different camera angles and styles of shot, as well as much different lighting effects. Also there will be special effects used to make it look like it is from the future and to make the flying vehicles look realistic.
I have been able to use many special effects and features to make my scene become very futuristic. Shakespeare would not have been able to do this because when he wrote the story facilities to enable him to do this were available. He would also of not done this because he wanted to use them as plays, which he wouldn’t of, been able to do, because it would have been to hard to do because of the effects needed. It would of also been too hard to get the setting and the lighting right if they were on stage because everything would have to be out of proportion. He also wouldn’t have done it because he wanted to set his stories in the time he was living in.
I have changed this scene because I wanted to make it look like it was from the future and to make the scene more enjoyable and humorous for the audience. I have also done it because I think the story would be more effective and better if it was done in the future.
By Adam Halliday
