Uberwriter
Posted: 2018-01-19T04:14:06+10:00 In:

A phone operator at a suicide prevention hotline becomes overwhelmed when three desperate people all call at the same time. *SHORT*

A phone operator at a suicide prevention hotline becomes overwhelmed when three desperate people all call at the same time. *SHORT*
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    7 Reviews

    1. Singularity

      There is plenty of drama working on the suicide hotline.

      I know from personal experience.?I’ve had a 2nd suicide call come in while handling the 1st.? But after 3 rings the 2nd rolled over to another hot line.

      That’s the way the national suicide hotline number (1-800-273-8255) is configured? to work.? It sends the call? to the hotline in the area code (or the nearest area code) of the? person in distress.? If that hotline is busy, it rolls over to another available hotline in the suicide hotline network.? (I’ve handled re-routed calls from coast to coast.)

      IOW: the national suicide hotline network in the U.S. has been designed to avoid the scenario in the logline.

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    2. Uberwriter

      Makes sense. But if say, the local area code answers the calls even though they can’t handle the workload, wouldn’t the system assume the calls are being handled properly, even if the performance of the local office somehow can’t control the situation within a timely matter?

      Human unpredictability at work, as always 🙂

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    3. Singularity

      With respect, the same subject matter has been used in a short that was nominated for an Oscar:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2KhbFGsfQY

      Not sure how much better one could hope to make another film about the same subject in the same format.

      Just saiyn’ better to know now than after you start working on it.

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    4. Singularity

      Thanks for the link, Nir Shelter.? “The Phone Call’ wasn’t just nominated for an Oscar. It won. So you definitely had a worthy subject, Foxtrot25.

      Here’s my take on a logline for the film:

      A lonely counselor for a suicide hotline struggles to save the life of a lonely caller who has overdosed on pills.
      (21 words)

      Notes:
      “Lonely” signals the implied ironic character arc/subjective issue.? That he’s overdosed embeds a ticking clock into the plot.

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    5. Singularity

      Silly of me, I knew it won so not sure why I only wrote it was nominated.

      Point is, this is definitely fertile dramatic grounds for a moving story but it will need something to help it stand out. Short films are extremely hard to produce well (I should know as I’m about to finish one myself) and warrant an additional consideration before you start work on one.

      If this is a writing exercise and is not intended for production, spending the time developing and writing it will be worthwhile. However, if this is intended to be produced, it would be better to differentiate it from the other recently successful short film that came before it.

      That’s not to say this won’t necessarily be a good film or an interesting story, but to achieve the goals that most filmmakers set out to achieve with shorts the story could use an additional layer to make it unique. Not sure what exactly that would be, but it’s worth considering how you can do more with this premise.

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    6. Uberwriter

      Great advice everyone. Thanks for the opinions. I shot my version of this. Currently editing the project. In a few months, when I’m done, I’ll post it here, if you guys like.

      Thanks again.

      Tony.

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    7. Logliner

      I can see this movie unfold.

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