Jones St., Chapter 1: Pages 1-2
Page 1, 5 Panels- Bedroom, Melanie’s Apartment, Las Vegas NV, Present Day
Panel 1: We open on a ceiling shot looking down on MELANIE HAYNES, a biracial woman in her mid-20s, sleeping comfortably in her bed. You can see streams of yellow sunlight come in from off-panel left, along with the edges of the floor near the bedframe as well as what appears to be a piece of dirty laundry to the right.
CAPTION: This is Melanie Hayne. A young woman born and raised in a city that isn't well known for moments of romance... ALARM [Off-Panel right]: [Crystals ringtone] CAPTION 2: Las Vegas, Nevada.
Panel 2: Cut to an action shot on the side of the same bedroom of her rolling on to her side and grabbing her phone, which appears screen-up in the bottom of the panel view on the end table, clicking off the alarm. You can see the front door in the background, along with a little more of the general sense of messiness that is prominent throughout the whole room.
CAPTION: Right now, she is waking up at the ungodly hour of 7 in the morning to start another shift at a national brand electronics box store. A life far away from her dreams of breaking the stainless steel ceiling of Silicon Valley. MELANIE [grumbling]: Urgg…flugginhel…!
Panel 3: We move to an action shot of Ms. Haynes a few moments later, stepping out of bed and moving in the direction of the closet to get dressed. On her right hand, you can see what appears to be an engagement ring on her right hand. You can also see the dark gray baggy shirt she wore to bed, along with the pair of underwear that looks nice upon her plus-sized frame.
CAPTION: Dreams that, at this time, seem far and away from her grasp as she enters year 4 of her employment there.
Panel 4: Cut to an interior shot from the closet as Melanie opens it up and looks for her work shirt hanging up. You can see the “Ask Me About My Feminist Agenda” shirt she wore to bed. You can also see the bed off in the background, along with the front door and the rest of the messy looking bedroom filled with many geeky posters including one of Gina Torres as Wonder Woman, along with her laptop resting on top of a chest of drawers.
CAPTION: Especially when paired with an emotionally difficult day in her life…
Panel 5: Same setting/layout as the previous panel. After a few moments, she finds the shirt on the hangar and reaches over to grab it. With each panel, you can see the increase in sunlight coming into the room at that point.
CAPTION: The anniversary of her fiancé’s death.
Page 2, 6 Panels- Dining Room, Melanie’s Apartment, Las Vegas NV
Panel 1: We move to an action shot of Ms. Haynes, firmly in her Best Buy uniform, crossing into the small kitchenette area of the apartment to grab some breakfast. You can see a blue ribbon pin that is clipped just below her name tag. Off-panel, you can hear the sound of the TV playing an episode from Scrubs.
Panel 2: Cut to a shot from within one of the cabinets looking out a handful of seconds, showing Melanie reaching out to grab a square box from within. You can see in the background a woman relaxing on the couch, watching the episode of Scrubs that was hinted at previously.
MELANIE [to Cassie, elevated voice]: We’re almost out of Pop Tarts. CASSIE [dismissively, to Melanie]: I’ll grab some at the store after work, Mel.
Panel 3: We move to a shot of Ms. Haynes a few moments later, moving in the direction of the toaster and holding one of the Pop Tarts in its metal wrapper in her left hand. You can see the other cabinets behind her in the background, including the one that she found the food in which is ¾ closed to the right of the panel view.
MELANIE: I can take care of it, Cass. The Raley’s is just a few minutes from the funeral hall. I can swing by and grab it after…
Panel 4: Cut to a close-up on the woman at the couch, CASSIE- A conventionally lovely woman with green eyes, fire red hair and a nose ring. She turns around and looks over in her friend’s direction. Her arms draped over the top of the couch, floating down toward the bottom of the panel view.
CASSIE: I’m not scheduled to clock in till 3. It’s no trouble at all. Besides…
Panel 5: We move back to Melanie standing next to the toaster shortly after popping it in. She’s listening to the rest of her friend’s statement at that moment. You can see the coils of the appliance starting to go red.
CASSIE [Cont.]: You’ve got enough on your mind to deal with today. Jay and I will see you when you get back. CAPTION [written in Melanie’s handwriting]: Shit-to-do before the Moonage Daydream (Year 3)