A Sound Awake (short film)

Auditions for short film "A Sound Awake"

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS (BRIEF)

OSCAR

Physical Attributes
 30-35 year old male
 fairly slight build
 non-descript features

Personality

Oscar is a strong willed individual who accepts that in order for his and AudreyÂ’s survival, he must draw upon his inner strength to complete the monotonous everyday activities for which their existence depends upon. He imagines a different kind of life for the two of them, but the most he can do towards this is find small and unique objects of another time to bring back to Audrey. He realises the need to remain strong and in control because Audrey, for whom he has a deep and unspoken love for, relies upon him. He does not feel any resent that he is forced to cope with the external world while Audrey remains inside because he understands that she provides him with the support and care he needs when he returns from the outside world. She is his reason to go on living and performing the daily tasks, however he hasnÂ’t ever completely realised this himself until the end of the film.

His family has a long history in music and sound. Before the world got to the state is now is, Oscar was a sound recordist who had the ability to find beauty in the simplest of noises. With his recording of sounds he was a perfectionist, a characteristic that shows through in the way he now must carry out his daily responsibilities. As the outside noise developed, sounds became indistinguishable from each other forcing Oscar to stop recording and he is deeply saddened by the loss of this beauty in sound. His favourite sound is that of Audrey breathing as she sleeps. He used to only listen to his recordings of that when he was incredibly anxious or unnerved. In recent times though the growing magnitude of the noise is making it essential for him to listen to the sound of Audrey breathing every time he is outside as a means to calm himself and block out the noise which attempts to engulf him. He knows that this is one of his personal methods of survival just as he accepts the fact that Audrey has chosen to avoid all possible sound for the same reason.

AUDREY
Physical Attributes
 27- 33 year old female
 slight build
 interesting features

Personality

Audrey, although too fragile to venture outside is a silently strong character. She has a creative streak and enjoys all things visual and aesthetically pleasing. She is deeply attached to her memories of the past, which she fears are becoming more distant as the noise outside augments. She has since a young child been a collector of interesting things. She associates different memories and emotions with different objects. In particular she likes colour, however in the life they live she feels that colour no longer belongs or has its place out in the open. She keeps her collection hidden but will bring them out when she has a desire to feel emotions and examines them with fascination.

Audrey no longer speaks and avoids making noise. She is still physically capable of speaking but choses to use sign language instead. Sound unnerves her and she attempts to block out as many sounds as possible. She is afraid of noise and associates it with memories of her father who went deaf after working in a wood-chipping factory for 25 years. The loss of his hearing killed her fatherÂ’s spirit to live, something that has had a profound effect on Audrey as she has grown up. She values her own hearing but believes it to be incredibly fragile and has taught herself not to rely upon it as a primary sense. At the same time as if to compensate for her dislike of sound, she has always been intrigued by OscarÂ’s obsession with sound and will oblige him when he wants to record her.

Her relationship with Oscar is one of deep love. It is not that she is entirely dependent on him, they are more of a co-dependent unit. The way they struggle to exist has rendered the physical part of their relationship insignificant. Despite the fact they would like to reach out and provide that comfort for each other they refrain from doing so because to a degree they have also built a cocoon around themselves as individuals. There are however intimate moments between them, such as when Audrey checks to make sure Oscar has not been damaged in any way when he returns from outside and she likes the fact he records her hands moving as she signs to him or her breath as she sleeps.