From Script To Screen - Initial Thoughts and Notes

I've had some basic thoughts into ideas relating to the From Script To Screen project. I've thought of six scenarios which could possibly form plot. I feel this could turn into something comedic but I would like to possibly explore this with an element of surrealism.  

1) Man works in factory making watches and a telephone rings. 

2) Watch maker is running out of business, big factory moves next door, telephone rings.

3) Watch maker struggles to make watch because phone keeps ringing.

4) Factory worker is a closet watch maker. mundane and boring job, where he makes telephones. He is sick of telephones.

5) Watch maker looses mind, begins hearing telephone, begins putting clockwork into his telephones, watches become phones, watchmaker becomes a phone. 

6) Small Self-employs watch maker gets over shadows by big factory. they prank call watch maker and laugh at him, something happens, factory for smartphones opens up across road sending both out of business, small shop which outsourced to china opens up and puts all out of business.   

So from these Six ideas I decided to carry only two through to a second drafting. Numbers 3 and 6 where my favorites or the ones I could see going somewhere interesting. 

1) Late at night a watch-maker in a factory is oppressed by his boss and held back by his incompetent colleagues, he has been working late for the last week to meet a ridiculous quota set by his boss. His colleagues aren't helping the situation by taking extra breaks and leaving early each day. The phone rings across the factory floor, it can't be ignored. Watch maker gets up to go and answer it, just before he reaches it the phone stops ringing. he grumbles and returns to his work bench, he is very close to finishing for the night. as he sits down and picks up his tools the phone rings again. He becomes agitated and heads over to it again. The phone once again stops ringing before he can get there, he sits down infuriated. It rings again, he runs over to it and smashes it on the ground. An air of calm washes over him and he goes to sit back at his desk. He picks up his tools, and is about to place the last cog into the watch and he has a heart attack. End.

I find this story simple but effective, I know where i can build suspense and introduce a backstory as well as introduce the importance of the macguffin. the only thing I want to change is the heart attack to something exactly as effective and sudden to prevent his work. I feel a heart attack is morbidly funny but i question whether it is the kind of thing I want to associate my creating with.

2) Watch maker is in a profitable business making and selling watches from his shop on the edge of town to the public. Suddenly he hears the rumbling of construction as a factory is hurriedly built next door to him, a large and smug business man is seen entering the factory, he laughs at the small self-employed watch maker as he knows he is going to run him out of business.

Soon after nobody needs business from the watch maker because everyone is using a mobile phone which has the digital time already on it. this occurs for so long that the watch maker eventually runs out of business and is forced to close his shop. On the morning of closure he steps out of his shop and begins to hammer boards into the door frame, the business man from next door sees and decided to go over and gloat. as he approaches a rush of construction vehicles happen across the road from them and a factory twice as large is built.

A Bill Gates-esk looking character steps out and goes to greet them men, he shakes there hand and directs their attention towards the new factory. They look around and suddenly everyone is now using a new smartphone, now the small factory is out of business too. before the new man can iterate another sentence, construction begins again and across from the watch maker and a small outlet which looks like a white cube opens for business. the two factory owners laugh at it as its clearly not going to do much business until the Steve jobs-esk looking character inside sitting at the desk directs towards a made in China sign, then knocks over a huge price tag bill board which reveals a dirt cheap price for their brand of smart phones. Everyone begins to use them and both factories start to go out of business. They three men, disheartened, return to their premises.

As the watch maker makes their way inside his shop he notices a letter on the ground which has dropped from his letter box. He reads it and is informed a collection of his watches are being sought after by royalty and are going to pay through the nose for them. He smiles and knows his business will survive, as he looks over his shoulder he sees the other characters boarding up their businesses, when he looks across the road he can see a new shop advertising the new 'google glass' with Augmented Reality. He chuckles. End.