CRIME
SCENE: PRETORIA FINAL FOR COMMENTARY RECORD 19/11/13 |
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Silverwoods Estate Ð moody establisher. Shots ring out. CCTV footage of Police arriving. |
Comm. ItÕs been called the ValentineÕs Day killing. Four shots shatter the silence of Silver
Woods Country Estate. Two lives changed forever. A nation shaken to
its core.
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News reports Ð Oscar! Oscar being taken away. |
Comm. For a world in disbelief, one question: Did Oscar Pistorius murder his girlfriend
Reeva Steenkamp, or was it a tragic case of mistaken identity? |
Opening CSI Titles
Sequence Ð key shots of PRETORIA/ JOHANNESBURG / LA / Hollywood. |
TITLE MUSIC |
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PTC. When Oscar Pistorius comes to trial in Pretoria in March 2014, his
fate will be determined not by peopleÕs words Ð not by statements from him,
from lawyers or from witnesses. OscarÕs fate will be determined by the one witness which can never
lie. A silent witness, but whose eloquence could convict, or acquit, a
man on trial for his future. |
Hollywood Sequence Ð images cut to music. |
Comm. Hollywood. Forensic investigation is key to top crime
shows, and filmmakers must get the science absolutely right. The Oscar story has all the elements of a
Hollywood drama, with forensics at its heart. They will be central to a major new project called
Oscar Ð Fall Of
A Titan. STAN Sync. PAUL Sync. RANDY Sync. To get the forensics right, these writers
will work with specialist crime scene investigators who do the real job in
California. Forensic specialists Walter Sawall and Kim
Guluzian work on some of HollywoodÕs landmark crime shows. They know itÕs
critical to balance reality with drama. |
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WALT Sync. ItÕs the CSI effect. |
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KIM Sync. I worked on Dexter. What I did. |
Kim doing footprints. |
Comm. Physical evidence is at the heart of the
Oscar investigation. ItÕs a textbook scenario for forensic
specialists like Kim. |
Kim doing forensics work. |
KIM Sync. They key forensics in Oscar case will be 1,2
3. |
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COMM. A scientific analysis of the physical
evidence could reveal what actually happened in
OscarÕs home on ValentineÕs Day. To understand why it might have happened, we could be helped by the creative
imagination of dramatists. The Hollywood hills are a favourite haunt of
scriptwriters. We joined Stan Berkowitz and Paul Diamond as
they explored how science and art could combine to reveal the truth about
Oscar. |
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STAN / PAUL Sync. |
Forensics Van. Shoeprints. Finger prints. |
COMM. To answer questions such as these, forensic
investigation depends on precision. Often, crime scenes are disturbed by first
responders, like paramedics or police. In OscarÕs house, Reeva had already been
moved from the bathroom, where the killing took place. So, the scene of the shooting, should have
remained undisturbed. |
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KIM Sync. Reeva was already downstairs. |
Walter in Police Car at Redondo Beach. Walter on duty. |
COMM. Walter Sawall is often the first
investigating officer on the scene of a crime. But when he arrives, forensics is not his
initial concern. |
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WALTER Sync. When I first arrive at crime scene. Oscar forensics evidence was contaminated. |
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COMM. How the crime scene was handled by the first
responders who arrived at OscarÕs home is also a key theme for the
dramatists. |
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STAN / PAUL Sync. ThereÕs another outstanding personality...Hilton
Botha |
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COMM. The exact details of the forensic
investigation in the Oscar case are still to be revealed. But the tiniest trace evidence could be
critical, as Kim knows from experience. |
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KIM Sync. Tiniest trace evidence. Eyelash story. |
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PTC. For forensic specialists like Kim and Walter, the Oscar Pistorius
case is unique. Forensic evidence is usually used to assess whether an individual
did, or did not, commit a crime. In OscarÕs case, he admits to the killing of Reeva. There is no
need to prove that he was responsible for her death. So, in this instance, how exactly can the forensics help us? |
Oscar pix and archive |
Comm. Oscar claims the killing of Reeva was a case
of mistaken identity. He thought he was firing on an intruder. The prosecution say
neighbours heard loud arguments Ð a woman scream Ð gunshots Ð more screaming
Ð more gunshots Ð then silence. Just what, and who, can we believe? |
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KIM Sync. We have suspect Ð we must determine motive. |
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WALTER Sync. The key questions in the Oscar case. |
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KIM Sync. 1, 2 and 3 will help us find out motive of
the crime. |
Kim and Walter walking together. Heli shots. |
COMM. So, apart from working out what happened at a
crime scene, Walter and Kim are also called upon to assess whether forensics
can reveal peopleÕs motives. In their own, different way, this is exactly
what Stan and Paul are trying to do. |
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STAN / PAUL / SUBNIV Walk Arrive in Hollywood sign. |
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STAN / PAUL / SUBNIV i/v. |
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PTC Stan and Paul are a powerful team,
with decades of experience making drama thatÕs enthralled worldwide
audiences. ThereÕs a third partner in this
formidable writing team. COMM. In nearby Toluca Lake, Emmy Award winning
playwright Randy Rogel met us to identify the main themes in their
forthcoming film. |
Stan, Paul & Subniv arrive at RandyÕs
home. |
ACTUALITY Hello Randy, Paul, Stan etc. etc. |
Brainstorming session. |
BRAINSTORMING.
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PTC A close examination of the physical evidence, IF it hasnÕt been
contaminated, can be like a time machine. It can transport the investigator back to the precise moments the
crime took place. |
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WALT Sync. Replaying each moment. Trying to imagine what
was happening in real time. Why did he stop at 4 shots? |
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COMM. For a Police Officer with decades of
experience investigating fatal shootings, itÕs the key question. WALT Sync. People fire as many shots as there are in the
gun. COMM. For Walter, ballistics is the key. Like a committed method actor, he tries to
find ways to get inside the minds of the main players at a crime scene. He showed me how. |
Walter fires a Taurus at firing range |
WALTER Sync. This is very similar to the gun Oscar used to
shoot Reeva. ItÕs heavy, a serious weapon. Why only fire 4 shots? What made Oscar
stop? Try it Subniv Ð take a shot. |
SUBNIV fires Taurus. |
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PTC Walter is right. ItÕs only when you hold a gun like the Taurus 9 mm that you
realise just what a serious weapon it truly is. Firing it makes you feel powerful, invulnerable. You feel you
could take on anyone. But itÕs an unforgiving weapon. Use it, and thereÕs no room for
mistakes. |
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COMM. Next door to the shooting gallery is a gun
shop. Here, the staff deal with gun enthusiasts
every day, and they have their own questions about how Oscar could shoot
Reeva in error. MARTIN & KEVIN Sync. COMM. Walter is trying to relive the precise
moments Oscar fired the shots. ItÕs his way of experiencing that fateful
moment. SHOT Both Walter and Kim know drama can give audiences
a false sense of knowledge about forensics. |
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KIM Sync. We actually call it
the CSI effect. |
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WALT Sync. How dramas get it wrong Ð e.g. time frame. |
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COMM. Back in Toluca Lake, the team behind Oscar Ð Fall Of A
Titan are keenly aware they must write their script with absolute accuracy.
WRITERS BRAINSTORM |
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COMM. Oscar has told his story of what happened that ValentineÕs Day in his home in
Silverwoods Country Estate. ThereÕs another story still waiting to be
told. WALTER Sync. Forensics will tell a story parallel to the
people. KIM Sync. Evidence does not lie. People lie. |
RandyÕs
house exteriors Ð evocative.
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Distant sound of brainstorming
continues. Music. |
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PTC.
ItÕs clear the story of Oscar
Pistorius, and the tragic killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, has
captured the worldÕs imagination. COMM.
Crime
Scene Investigators like Walter Sawall and Kim Guluzian are using all their experience
and scientific skills to shed light on the Oscar mystery. Top
scriptwriters like Stan, Paul and Randy are applying their creative
imaginations to understand the motivations of the key players. PTC Perhaps it will be in a
combination of science and art that the truth finally emerges . |
Closing
sequence to MUSIC |
COPTER
LIFTS AWAY Ð AERIALS OF HOLLYWOOD. |