NO. 15 387
FROM THE CREATORS OF GOOD MEN
PROD. 2024
Diary Of a Possum
THE NEW FILM EVENT FROM PATRICK RANSON AND LUCY TIMMINS
EXPLORING THE CHARACTERS AND CAST of POSSUM
THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THESE THREE MEN WILL
BE ESSENTIAL
The pacing and subtle nuance in the dialogue is what will make the whole bizarrity of their interaction feel natural in this equally bizarre world.
As with previous projects, every scene will be individually rehearsed and blocked through with all three actors and the director before shooting begins. This is not only a great tool for time management. It also allows the cast and director to be confident in their ability to get the artistic vision across and gives the director time to understand each actor's unique strengths.
Each character in Diary of a Possum holds their own radical views on wealth, power, and standing in the world, it is this clash of ideals that encompasses the overarching moral dilemma.
Casting will be done via social media, reviewing reels, having script reads for callbacks, and finally meeting our favourites before the final selections.
BADGER: 50, Overweight, Asthmatic, Practical
CLIVE DALTON: 35, Handsome, judgemental, uppity
SHANNON: 40, aloof, lanky, dim-witted
BADGER by name, Badger by nature. Squat, rotund, and considered largely by the public to be a pest. He stumbles through life with the vague notion that a man's purpose is to work and then die. What’s involved in the work is beside the point, because at the end of the day, a job’s a job. Dirty deeds done dirt cheap? I’m your guy.
Sometimes clients buy him a suit if the job requires a certain level of appearance, but they always fit too tight. If that wasn't a dead giveaway, then the cheap cigarettes being perpetually inhaled should make it pretty clear, to the type of man you’re dealing with.
CLIVE DALTON. Started off with a small loan of a million dollars, plus the inheritance. But as Clive will tell you himself; he had to make his own way in life, there is no shortcut to success, just hard work and diligence. He shows it in his dress. Immaculately fitted suits, calf skin loafers, and a watch to pair. Does it tell the time? Yes, within the second, but you’re asking the wrong question. How much did it cost?
Life operates on an axis, and that axis rotates around Clive. His peers respect him and his subordinates fear him, yet all he yearns for is that thrill that died long... long ago.
SHANNON, One of God's own creations. A prototype constructed somewhere between man and insect. He scuttles around erect and uneasy, off-brown suit hanging limp from his lank frame, unsure of where the next meal, the next pay, will come from.
This world gives you nothing but grief, and Shannon reciprocates in kind.
Maybe he is just a man born ahead of his time, the perfect archetype for a nuclear apocalypse. Maybe he’s just another man down on his luck, trying to make a buck. What is undeniable, however, is that Shannon is a survivor. God bless.
MORE ABOUT THE
CREATORS
PREVIOUS
WORK &
Patrick has a very distinct style as a writer/director, using comedy to draw you in to his highly stylized worlds. His pacing has often been praised and compared to that of a feature film, rather than the classic short film structure.
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Patrick Ranson and Lucy Timmins are a Director Producer team who work in a partnership to deliver Ranson's unique visions to the screen at a consistently high standard. Timmins has 10 years experience as an emerging film producer, producing many projects with festival success, including her and Ranson's most recent film 'Good Men'.
PATRICK RANSON: Writer/Director
LUCY TIMMINS: Producer
Lucy produces films with attention to detail, putting in work beyond her department to ensure the project reaches its top potential. Possum is an exciting step forward for her future career in long form film and television content.
Completed in 2022, Ranson wrote and directed his debut short film ‘Good Men’, a 15 minute comedy. This involved casting actors and selecting crew, rehearsing scenes with the cast and blocking through scenes with HODs. He also values working with the film's collaborators such as costume designer and score composer, communicating his visions to them and offering notes and feedback until completion. During the editing process, Ranson sat in and had a very clear vision for the pacing of each scene, working well with the editor who will readily work with him again.
Lucy Timmins has been producing content for the past 10 years, ever since starting her film journey winning V48 Hour Film Festival Best School Team and Best Female Director during highschool. Since then she has worked in most areas of film, both on other peoples projects and her own. She fell naturally into the role of producer, her previous experience with self funded films making her confident creating with various budgets. After enjoying festival success with her early projects, she spent a few years working on more experimental projects, learning SFX and editing skills, and is now eager to be back into narrative films.
PREVIOUS PROJECTS
​
â– Hasta la Vista (2023) | Director: Patrick Ranson, Producer: Lucy Timmins | Watch Here
â– Good Men (2022) | Writer/Director: Patrick Ranson, Producer: Lucy Timmins
TSF Festival Selection, Best Actor Winner
â– KING (2020) | Co-Directors: Lucy Timmins, Patrick Ranson, Producer: Lucy Timmins
Santiago Horror Film Festival Selection,
Best Editor Winner
​
â– Unfaithful (2016) |Director: Lucy Timmins, Producer: Lucy Timmins
Show Me Shorts Official Selection
conflict with our own idea of what it is to be “good”, though I like to imagine it is in me to create your typical charming, save-the-day type protagonist… they are as of yet to rear their attractive head. This movie, Diary of a Possum, is no exception. It’s dark, it's striking, it’s intense, it’s obscene, and not just in tone, but in every aspect. Visually I want to play around with dark darks and pale whites, using heavy shadows to contour the shapes of the actors and the set. Filling in the space that would be better left to the audience's imagination with the same blackness that scared you so much as a child. Long drawn-out wide angles filled with subtlety tense, often comedic, actions from the actors as they interact with the bizarre and gloomy world that has been built around them. That is how I picture the film, not in detail but at its core. Then to accompany such a spectacle, there will be powerful rich orchestral music for the action-heavy scenes and then spates of humorous almost abstract dialog for the parts in between. There is subtle violence hidden deep within very old art, a characteristic it shares with the global elite that this movie attempts to depict. Thus my choice in classical music. For the dialog, although I described it as abstract, the idea is to make it feel completely reasonable in a world seemingly devoid of any reason."
READ: DIRECTOR'S SUMMARY
FOR DIARY OF A POSSUM
"I often find myself being drawn to a story that confronts us with a main protagonist whose morals
- Patrick Ranson, Writer/Director (Diary of a Possum)
Style Mood and Vision Laid Out For New Project
The Search for Collaborators, Talent, and Supporters Begins for Diary of a Possum
CLICK TO SEE MORE!
THE NEW SHORT FILM
To be released ONLINE and in boutique CINEMAS
A HIGHLY STYLISED film with HIGH EXPOSURE marketing
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'DIARY OF A
POSSUM'
Information on the 40 Minute Short Film
An absurd take on the perverse goings-on of the global elite,
and what they will do to cover it up.
​
READ MORE WITHIN!
In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. - Hunter S. Thompson
"
"
IMAGE: Visual Reference, American Psycho (2000)
IMAGE: Visual Reference, A Clockwork Orange (1971)
IMAGE: Visual Reference Final Scene, A Clockwork Orange (1971)
IMAGE: Visual Reference, First Scene Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Powerful
people die in
mysterious ways…
Some more
than others.
​
Here we take a look at just one small facet of our society, the one that feels the most alien to us, the most out of our control, the one percent.
Own a Multi-Trillion Dollar Company?
Paying Over One Percent in Taxes?
Find Out What You Might be Doing Wrong.
Did You Know?
In 1878 a “Gentlemens Club” was founded by a man named Henry Edwards and named Bohemian Grove. Events were held yearly and quickly became host to many musicians, bankers, artists, and politicians.
In 1980 a journalist named Rick Clogher wrote a piece published in the magazine Mother Jones, detailing his experience after posing as an employee in the grove. The article starts out strong, questioning the reader before quickly offering the answer.
“What do Jerry Ford, William Buckley and the U.S. Navy chief of staff have in common with the chairman of Union Oil? For one thing, they all went to the same summer camp-”
LOG LINE & SYNOPSIS
What sick games our masters play. What if we had it all on film? What extreme lengths would they go to to keep their secrets?
AFTER STEALING A DAMNING TAPE EXPOSING THE PERVERSE GOINGS-ON OF THE GLOBAL ELITE, CLIVE DALTON FINDS OUT HOW FAR THEY WILL GO TO COVER UP THEIR SECRETS
ur story begins in the lavishly decorated ballroom of a large mansion, in a discreet location, at an undisclosed time. An exclusive function reserved for the top echelon of the global elite, and tailored to their unique taste.
As with all special guests, all of them of course being special, Clive Dalton approaches the affair with a preconceived notion of how the night will begin, and how it will end. The night begins upstairs, surrounded by dazzling lights and silver platters, this is the time to converse, make merry, and rub shoulders. Then downstairs, where padded walls and masked attire create a safe environment to sin, maim, and countless other debaucheries.
​
However, what Clive could not have predicted, was that a neatly rolled-up film reel, viewed for pleasure, and usually disposed of immediately, capturing a numerous number of sickening crimes… would roll right to his feet. What is even more inconceivable, is how this film conveniently left the party, neatly tucked inside of Clive’s jacket.
​
O
It is 4 AM. Clive Dalton lounges in his dimly lit apartment, idling over the daily business newspaper expectantly. Two men come stumbling in, Badger and Shannon.
IMAGE Concept Art, Diary of a Possum ("Bridge Scene")
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FOR YOUR REFERENCE
​
â– EYES WIDE SHUT (Stanley Kubrick, 1999)
An excellent reference for the set design and pacing of Diary of a Possum. Otherworldly, yet grounded.
â– UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (David Robert Mitchell, 2018) A look at the spiraling conspiracies of the working class, and the imagining of what could be true.
â– AMERICAN PSYCHO (Mary Harron, 2000)
Using comedy to satire the lifestyle and culture of the men obsessed with money and social ranking.
Clive is sure what they want is the stolen film, and has prepared an elaborate scheme to turn profit. However, what they really came here for was Clive. Things quickly turn from civil to chaotic, ultimately resulting in Clive being pumped with a high dosage of tranquilizer. Still, our hero endures. Unceremoniously thrown into darkness from atop a bridge, Clive awakes, sprawled across a dried riverbed. Readied for action, as his would-be hitmen contemplate the lack of ‘splash’, Clive knows they will be upon him soon. A mad game of cat-and-mouse ensues. Bodies scramble over mud and stone, the prey becomes the predator, and back and forth. As with all terrible games, in the end, there are no winners. One by one they fall to their demise, concluding what is a surreal look into the lives of the elite, and the mysterious disappearances of those who cross them.
"It's like
STRANGE POSTERS..? OMINOUS LUXURY ADVERTS...? HAUNTING CLUES FOR NEW FILM!!
Internal members are calling foul play while local residence are calling it a miracle.
Police say they are taking this very seriously, and ask that anyone with an idea of his whereabouts contact them immediately.
Patrick Ranson and Lucy Timmins documented the alleged kidnapping and attempted murder of figurehead 'Guteman' in the Award-Winning short film Good Men (2022). See Below for more:
TIMMINS AND RANSON:TRANSLATING THE VISION
FROM SCRIPT
TO SCREEN
"DIARY OF A POSSUM" MARKETING MET WITH CURIOSITY AND EXCITEMENT
STREAM ONLINE
Or Watch at
Select Cinema
Screenings
DIARY POSSUM MARKETING
OF A
Diary of a Possum will be made for release online with one of New Zealand’s streaming platforms (such as TVNZ). Alongside this, Possum will have limited boutique screenings in cinemas (brought to you by the streaming platform), in order to push the reputation for the high quality of the film and to raise awareness of its release, as will the strange sponsorship adverts made and released in conjunction.
SUIT TAILORING (Image) A precise fitting, with untrustworthy staff
WALLPAPER (Image) Impeccable furnishings, strange happenings in the hall
LIGHTING (Image) A lavish party for the powerful and...perverse?
Diary of a Possum Will be Promoted Using a Strange Campaign of High End Luxury Ads, with the Slogan "LUXURY AT ANY COST"
â– The marketing for this film will work as both promotion for its release, and publicity for the sponsors.
IMAGE: Strange figures line the streets with DIARY OF A POSSUM (2024) imagery
Brands who choose to sponsor Diary of a Possum will be featured in these ads, and their products shown off high class interior design photoshoots. However, even though each poster will focus on a different specific part of the house/dressing, all will be tied together cohesively with a brooding colour scheme, and a strange theme of masked figures and other hints at the dark and dangerous world of Possum.
These will be promoted both online, and hopefully in a billboard campaign, dependant on if ie Phantom Billstickers would be interested in partaking in the eye catching advertising scheme. Poster release will begin 2 months before the release of the film, initially sparking confusion and curiosity amongst those who see it. Within the month of Diary of a Possum’s release date, luxury home product ads for the same brands, with the same colour schemes and tone, will be released, now including the release date and more information on how to view the film...
...and quench your curiosity.
Sitting comfortably between a classic short film and feature film runtime, Possum will be an ideal length for an average audience member to watch alongside the now-common 40 minute episodic shows available on streaming platforms.
The Biggest Scandal in History “Puddle-Gate”
New Evidence Reveals Leaked Tapes Released by the Recently Deceased Clive Dalton Have Proven “Undoubtedly Authentic”
Drug dealers, Landlords, Pimps, and Drunk Drivers, line the streets today in outrage over the aforementioned footage
THE POSSUM PUZZLE MEDIUM
mmn iary of a Possum
mmmiis a 40 minute short film which mm will take you to a bizarre world, not unlike your own. Rife with sin, conspiracy, and shady characters all around.
Like a deranged caricature, it emphasizes the flaws in our society to the point of comic relief. Taking inspiration from many great works of fiction in film, TV, and literature, that have all captured this idea in their own various ways. Even more than that, however, we are inspired by the current events highlighted through articles, documentaries, and news coverage, exposing us to things we thought only happened in our worst nightmares. There is a real case to be made, that the world needs cinema like this now more than it ever has.
D
The choice in genre between Comedy and Thriller mainly stems from how the two accentuate each other, like cheese and wine. The subtle comedic relief serves as a tool to cut through the otherwise dark and brooding tone of the film. While similarly, the tense atmosphere conjured around the film using set design, dialog, costuming, and lighting, will only help to make the humor that much more outrageous. We also find one of the best ways, when tackling very real, very serious topics, such as the global abuse of criminal protection through finance, is to make fun of it. Fear can make a person irrational, even nihilistic, and laughter can be a form of confidence.
IMAGE (right): Concept Comparison - Eyes Wide Shut.
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OVERALL,
​
our goal is for the audience to come away from the whole ordeal with a mutual feeling of being both disturbed and giddy.
DIARY OF A POSSUM IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE CREATORS OF
'GOOD MEN'
CONTROVERSIAL FIGUREHEAD
OF THE SAPERA
FREE-LOVE CULT
VANISHES
WITHOUT A TRACE
​
Good Men (2022) was shot on a relatively low budget, crowdfunded by Timmins and Ranson. Using practical creativity, they executed the ambitious script to a high standard, and created a world of tense moments with consistent comedy.
A deadly snake bite has a hitman duo realising their only chance of survival rests in the hands of the cult leader they were sent to kill.
GOOD MEN (2022)
Dir. Patrick Ranson | Prod. Lucy Timmins
SCENE ONE: Ringo hesitates, Jester is bit by a snake
SCENE TWO: Ringo decides to bring Guteman with them
SCENE THREE: Guteman wins over Ringo
SCENE FOUR: Jester convinces Ringo to finish the job if he dies
FINAL SCENE: Guteman saves Jester, then makes a break for it
BACK TO TOP
BACK TO TOP
NO. 15 387
REFERENCES AND PALETTES
READ ALL ABOUT how the new film Diary of a Possum will be filmed. See the stylistic vision of Director Patrick Ranson, to be brought to life by producer Lucy Timmins.
EXCLUSIVE: SCENE BREAK-DOWN
From Undisclosed Parties to Attempted Murder - Every Scene from Upcoming Film Diary of a Possum Has its Own Nuances and Visual References for a Unique Cinematic Experience
AND NARRATIVE OUTLINE
Scene ONE• Tracking shot moves through party • Glimpses of conversation from the 1% • We follow a man out of the party, past security guards at a hallway door • He continues through the hallway toward another doorway guarded by two masked men •
They let him into the basement
Left: Eyes Wide Shut (1999) Right: Batman Returns (1992)
The finest mansion has been decorated in the finest manner, to dazzle and entertain only the wealthiest and most powerful people from around the world. No expense has been spared, from the hors d'oeuvres to the fine liquors everybody is merry on. We push through the jovial and bustling crowd, every person on display in their most affluent clothing and jewelry.
Wonderful game,
I would have much loved
to see you play it.
She was always into the sporting types, ah huhu
You'll be there, I hope... To watch.
KISS!!
THE PARTY SCENE
Single Tracking Shot • Lavish • Dazzling, Gaudy Lighting •
Fitted Three-Piece Suits and Ball Gowns • Bustling Atmosphere
The finest mansion has been decorated in the finest manner, to dazzle and entertain only the wealthiest and most powerful people from around the world. No expense has been spared, from the hors d'oeuvres to the fine liquors everybody is merry on. We push through the jovial and bustling crowd, every person on display in their most affluent clothing and jewelry.
THE DUNGEON SCENE
Single Tracking Shot • Sparse, Surgical Lights • Sinister •
Masked Faces and Glistening Bodies • Dark, Shadowy • Depraved
Men in masks congregate around surgical tables in the dim, dingy lighting of the parties basement. Here the party-goers get what they really came for: the thrill of some old shed tools and some victims. We see only glimpses, pushing through the barely clothed legs and around table legs, following dutiful staff collecting the rolling film reels, burning them immediately after they have been watched.
Left: Eyes Wide Shut (1999) Right: Batman Returns (1992)
Scene TWO • Tracking shot moves through downstairs “party” • Similar guests down here wear masks and minimum clothing • Glimpses of surgical tables, and old shed tools handled by guests.• Film cameras record the things happening • Film reels are viewed in a small cinema set up • Film reels are burnt in a large furnace • One film reel rolls from its cart, through the crowd • Loose film reel reaches the feet of protagonist Clive Dalton • Clive Dalton pockets the film
Scene THREE• Clive Dalton waits in his apartment • He behaves as though it is 4pm, though it is 4am • Shannon and Badger knock on his door and enter • Clive was prepared for visitors, but not these unprofessional men • Shannon searches his apartment for the film • Clive reveals to badger that he has changed his schedule to conduct business at night • The film is gone from his apartment • Badger and Shannon are not phased, they are here for him • Shannon and badger overpower Clive, and sedate him with tranquilizer
Left: Rosemary’s Baby (1968) Right: A Clockwork Orange (1971)
t is 4 AM and Clive Dalton is having his afternoon tea. Thin white toast with plum jam and half a grapefruit, as per routine. “This is absurd!” some may state- “A man partaking in toast and grapefruit at 4 AM in the morning!” Well, what is even more absurd, is that when two men dressed in grizzly attire come bumbling into his apartment demanding the whereabouts of a stolen film, Clive is not in the least bit surprised.
This meeting between our morally unhinged protagonist and his two shady houseguests, both serves as a vessel to establish the world around us and drive the narrative forward. You see, through Clive’s exceptionally prestigious career, it had always been feasible to enact a certain level of control over those beneath him; by cunning means or an innate sense of self-preservation. For Badger and Shannon, who gave nothing to the world and expected nothing in return… the idea of who’s in control- who isn’t, had little to no bearing on the job at hand.
The calm demeanor Clive initially portrayed is beginning to crumble. Even after presenting his elaborate ploy, to shift his schedule an exact twelve hours to conduct his business in secret under the cover of night, the reception received is one of severe indifference. The final nail in the coffin comes from the realization that the film Clive had been so fixated on had only been an afterthought, what the men were really after was him. A short scuffle ensues, and Clive is injected with a large dosage of tranquilizer, concluding the first scene.
I
THE APARTMENT SCENE
Dim Lighting from Desk and Floor Lamps • Wide Angles • “Brooding” • Dark, Rich Colours • Antique, Affluent Set Dressing
It’s dark, it's striking, it’s intense, it’s obscene, and not just in tone, but in every aspect. Visually I want to play around with dark darks and pale whites, using heavy shadows to create startlingly unique imagery. Long drawn-out wide angles filled with subtlety tense, often comedic, actions from the actors as they interact with the bizarre and gloomy world that has been built around them.
THE BRIDGE SCENE
Striking Silhouettes • Bright Back Lighting from Spotlights and ‘Moon’ • Details Lost in Darkness • Details Lit Selectively
The Horror! The Horror! Feral eyes stare at you through the darkness, an overwhelming sense of panic takes over, fear of the inevitable. Most people wake up in cold sweats with the quiet comfort of knowing whatever terrible thing was upon them, is quickly retreating back into the far recesses of the mind from whence it came. Unfortunately for Clive Dalton, this nightmare only begins once he is awake.
Scene FOUR • Dark, moonlit night time • Shannon and badger throw Clive’s body from a bridge • The river is dried up • Clive wakes up on the riverbed, still drugged • Shannon realises there was no splash, and goes down to check Clive • Clive retrieves one of the rocks placed in his pocket • Clive clubs Shannon across the skull with the rock • Clive struggles to stand and escape • Badger comes down to check what has happened
A CHASE ENSUES • Clive begins to reclaim control of his body • Badger’s asthma and unfitness begins to slow him • Clive begins outrunning badger • Clive realises, and turns the chase to begin pursuing Badger • Badger turns and runs from Clive • Clive catches him and wrestles him to the ground • Clive tries and fails to get information from Badger • Clive strangles Badger • Clive is hit over the back of the head with a rock, collapses • Shannon stands over them, his head caved in • Shannon collapses, now finally dead, onto badger • Crushed by Shannon, Badger has a heart attack • The three men die
nder the pale glow of the moon, labored breathing, shuffling limbs, a crude ceremony is in full swing. One… two… three…
M Clive’s limp body goes tumbling into the darkness. A thump, and consciousness returns. Clive opens his eyes, his body is sprawled along the hard rocky ground of a dried-up riverbed. The two figures loom above him, stood atop a stone bridge, silhouetted against the night sky. Though Clive’s body is being less than cooperative, he knows he must act fast, and when Shannon eventually comes to check on their supposedly comatose victim, Clive is poised rock in hand. A sickening thud, rock against skull, and Shannon falls to the ground. Now we’re into the action.
Clive has barely gotten his feet under himself when Badger appears on the scene. Spotting the lumbering creature attempt to flee into the night, Badger calls out “Oi… Oi!” Beginning what is almost a cartoonish game of cat and mouse. He is on Clive's tail, gradually narrowing the gap between them. However, with each step Clive is regaining his composure, and due to Badger being tremendously unfit, the gap now begins to widen inexorably. Clive pauses, aware of this critical junction, a split-second decision, to either leave Badger in the dust, panting and wheezing... or revenge. Yes, HE is in control now.
U
Left: RocknRolla (2008) Right: A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Clive is upon his prey in seconds, hauling him to the ground, and mounting him viciously. He begins to throttle Badger, hands clasped onto his collar, berating and taunting the whole while. Unsatisfied, the hands move up and around the exhausted Badger’s throat. In his death throes, the light fades from Badger’s eyes... almost, just enough to catch a sudden flash of movement. A thud of retribution as a rock goes crashing into the top of Clive’s skull, sending him face down into the cold depths of a small murky puddle.
Sadly, there is no happy ending, for any of our characters. Badger is confronted with this notion whilst looking up into the hopeless pit that was once Shannon's face, Now a terrible picture of gore. His last inch of life was put into that swing and now Shannon is toppling forward onto Badger, relieving the man of his final breath. There the three men lie, huddled over one another, at one with the earth, equally deceased. A cathartic end to a pitiful tale.
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INVOLVED!!
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Cast & Crew to work on production
Funding & Support to make the production possible
Collaboration in all areas to bring this unique vision to life
IARY OF A OSSUM THE SHORT FILM
P
D
IMAGE: See the promotions, watch the film
It's Strange!
It's Intriguing!
