Stories

[Who, in a few words] [does or discovers what], [where].
[What is wrong, or what they risk].
[What gets worse, or the twist].
Ending: [how it ends, or the question left for the viewer].
Tone: [funny / unsettling / moving / mystery]. Audience: [who is watching].

[Name]: [age], [build], [face and hair], [outfit that doesn't change], [one recognizable detail], [voice and way of speaking].
[Name]: [age], [build], [face and hair], [outfit that doesn't change], [one recognizable detail], [voice and way of speaking].

[Precise place], [time of day], [light], [two or three objects or materials that make it recognizable].

[Place, moment, mood, in one sentence].

[Character A] [emotion]: [The line that sets the stakes, 8 words at most].
[Character B] [reaction]: [A reply that complicates things].
[Character A]: [Follow up].
[SILENCE, what we see during the silence]
[Character B] [emotion]: [Twist].
[Character A] [no line, their gesture]
[Character B]: [Payoff].
Narrator: [A sentence that makes people want to comment or rewatch].

A lighthouse keeper receives a radio call every evening at 9 p.m. from a ship in distress.
He alerts the rescue teams. They never find anything.
He looks up the ship's name in the archives: it sank in 1971.
On the night of his retirement, the call comes in again. This time, the voice says his first name.
Tone: mystery, calm voice, short sentences. Audience: fans of true stories and the strange.

An 80 year old grandma secretly signs up for an online video game tournament.
She wins every match. Her grandson, the neighborhood champion, is her next opponent.
He doesn't know it's her. She does.
Ending: she beats him, then sends him a private message: “Clean your room”.
Tone: tender comedy. Audience: 15 to 30 year olds.

Dorothy: 80 years old, short and round, white hair in a bun, red framed glasses, pine green wool cardigan, oversized pink gaming headset, soft but deadpan voice.
Ethan: 16 years old, slim, messy brown hair, black hoodie, black gaming headset, talks fast and loud.

A grandmother's living room, doilies and flowered wallpaper, a gaming screen lighting the dim room, a cup of herbal tea next to the controller.

Warm colors, bluish screen light on the faces, soft rounded rendering.

A bakery, 6 a.m. Tight shot on the counter.

Customer [out of breath]: Do you have any baguettes left?
Baker [crosses her arms]: Just one. It's reserved.
Customer: I'll pay double.
Baker: It's reserved for the mayor.
[SILENCE, the customer looks at the baguette, then at the baker]
Customer [lowers his voice]: I am the mayor.
Baker [narrows her eyes]: The mayor has a mustache.
Customer [no line, he presses a finger under his nose]
Baker [hands over the baguette, very slowly]: Have a good day, Mr. Mayor.
Narrator: The real mayor arrived five minutes later.

Narrator [low, tense voice]: Your house has one room too many.
Narrator: You counted it three times. Six doors in the hallway.
Narrator: The floor plan of the house shows only five.
[SILENCE, locked shot on the sixth door, ajar]
Narrator: It has no handle on your side.
Narrator: Tonight, someone knocked. From the inside.
Narrator: Do you open it, or do you board it up? Answer in the comments.