CHASING THE NUMBER SCRIPT:

Int. establishing scene on computer screen (screen recording)

Beginning of a circular narrative- Dr Fred Clams writing up
information to fill in a doctor's form (isn't clear to the audience
what the form is about)
Scene uses match cuts and cuts every time a few letters are wrote up
to not reveal what the form is about
LOW RIGHT ANGLE MID SHOT REVEALING DESK AND BACK OF iMac COMPUTER WITH
DOCTOR TYPING UP THE FORM BEHIND IT, THE SETTING IS A DARK/LOW LIGHT
AND IS BLUE TINTED, THE ONLY LIGHT IS COMING THROUGH ROMAN BLINDS WITH
A WARM YELLOWISH TINT CONDRODICTING WITH THE BLUENESS OF THE
SORROUNDING ROOM (SHADOWED LIGHTING)
The doctor looks somewhat concerned as he’s writing up the form, Dr
Fred Clams is wearing a white doctors lab coat with glasses tilted
downwards from his eyes, a coffee mug and ash tray is beside his
computer, he smokes a cigarette and ashes it out

Blank screen: stating the title in times new roman font ‘chasing the
number’

Down the street of a road around 6:00pm, a pinky orangy hued sunset,
back lit lighting creates a silhouette effect of Bessie and Clem
gleefully running down the street
Lense flare lighting
Camera is at a back profile shot amplifying the back lit lighting and
is handheld mimicking bessie and clem running and laughing, bessie is
ahead of clem looking back and laughing
Clem
Race you there

Clem and Bessie slowly speed up the camera follow them from a back
profile and the back lighting (sunset beam) is constantly changing
The camera follows them down street, to the front of the house and
into the corridor
Mary Nash=pp- dinners reading girls
 Clem
Perfect timing Mary
Camera stops and pans to side shot of Bessie looking doubtfully in
mirror briefly camera returns to back profile of Bessie and Clem
walking down corridor towards kitchen, camera stops in sync with
bessie, clem proceeds into kitchen
Camera focuses on back profile of bessie briefly looking into kitchen
revealing table of food bessie then turns and walks upstairs out of
the frame

Fades in music
Camera then focuses from part of wall to clem eating at the table
looking concerned and confused

Long shot of bessie’s empty room from bottom right angle (low lighting
with a blue tint)
Pov shot from under bed revealing singular scale
Bessie reaches under bed for scale places it to the right and proceeds
to step on it
-Match cut back to previous right-angle position as bessie steps on
scale-
Bessie places scale down and slowly steps on it (music cuts to loud
ringing tone) Bessie stares blankly at the scale and proceeds to
remove some clothing/readjust herself in attempt to make her lighter
-Black screen-
Transition as bessie opens her cupboard
Pov shot of cupboard (bessie appears somewhat irritated) goes to grab
unstated item as she rummages through the cupboard
Bessie hears footsteps and her name being called by clem in a light
tone, goes to immediately shut the cupboard
MATCH CUT SHOT AS BESSIE CLOSES CUPBOARD DOOR FROM POV PERSPECTIVE TO
A LONG SHOT CENTRE FRAME IN HER ROOM (details are seen in bessie's
room such as film/music posters of slim girls, a tape measure on her
desk, healthy diet and weight loss books piled on her desk and a yoga
mat lent up on the wall)
Centre frame- clem calling bessie’s name gets louder as she approaches
her room
Clem enters center frame from the left side and sits on bessie’s bed
Clem- bessie what ya doing (elongates her words)
Bessie subtly looks at scale
Bessie- nothing (appearing upset and elongates her words)
Clem- hmmm, anyways mary-pauses and proceeds in a sarcastic and
humorous tone, your mum has made her crumble (elongated and going
higher toned)
Bessie- and?
Clem (instant response in offence)- and? Bessie what? Way to ruin the
mood
Clem walks out of the frame to the left and bessie is left staring
blankly in her direction

Clem walks into the frame from the right camera is at a mid-shot above
the edge of the kitchen table, the table is in center frame –in
kitchen mary is in the back washing the dishes and the crumble is
visibly placed on the right of the table-
Mary
Girls the crumbles just on the ta-
Clem
Yes just me
Mary
Odd
Return to pov shot of cupboard (the ambient voices of mary and clem
talking downstairs are heard)
Bessie is rummaging around in concern frantically for a certain item
and proceeds to check the back of different pill packaging until she
finds a laxative package she wanted and sighs in relief
(keep pov shot frame) Bessie walks out the pov center shot frame to
the left
Camera transitions to back profile shot and bessie places the pill
package in her right pocket and swiftly walks down the stairs (the
voices of clem and mary become louder as bessie approaches them) and
follow her from a back profile into the kitchen
Camera focuses on back profile of bessie looking into kitchen
 MARY- clem's been waiting for you darling? Anyways help yourself to
the crumble
Camera then focuses from bessie’s back profile to the crumble on the
table (ringing tone fades in as the camera focuses on the crumble)
Mid shot of kitchen table with crumble in the left of the frame,
bessie then sits down and her body covers up the crumble, clem (out of
focus) sits down opposite her and cuts into crumble
Bessie (back profile and in focus) stares at the crumble, places her
face in her palms with her elbows on the table and leans forward.
Bessie sighs quietly as clem cuts her slice of crumble and serves it
to her
The ringing sound breaks and transitions to sound of the plate being
placed on the table (plate being placed on the table is amplified)
Clem (muffled as is under the ringing sound- here you
Clem (as she places the plate down and the ringing silence is broken)-
go
In sync as the plate is put on the table the camera shakes slightly
and bessie lifts herself back up as well as her head from her palms
Bessie- thank you (she stretches her arms)
Camera pans downwards to mid shot of the bench showing only her waist
(bessie is on the right of the frame)
As the camera stables from panning down bessie secretly begins to
messily stuff the crumble up her sleeve getting it over her hands and
some of the crumble is falling down on the fall, as the crumble starts
to fall on the ground the camera pans down further to an increasing
pile of the crumble being left on the floor and the camera focuses in
on the pile.
Clem- finished?
Bessie- mmm yeah
Clem- I'll take the plate (voice slowly starts to fade)
-Silence-
Still in focus on the pile of crumble, out of focus Clem walks past
camera only shows bottom of her legs and feet

Pov shot of bessie writing her diary at night

Each line is a different focus rather than correlating sentences
LINES READ OUT- 22nd NOVEMBER 2023
Today was awful, I had my daily weigh in while clem was round
Why am I so dissatisfied (repeat shot of sentence but extreme close up
of word dissatisfied)
I feel like a failure and I'm scared clem and mum are beginning to
notice my behavior but at least I got exercise out of the run (zoom in
onto word exercise)
I just want (crosses out word want aggressively) need to lose weight
I took the laxatives after a few bites of the crumble
350 calories
I did my best to hide it

Alarm rings at 4:15 am- bessie abruptly stops the alarm

MONTAGE BEGINS- MUSIC FADES IS
TRANSITION FROM DIEGETIC NOISE FROM HEADPHONES TO NON-DIEGETIC NOISE
(MONTAGE SOUND PLAYING)
Foggy morning and blue tinted field (back shot of bessie running and
panting) begin sequence of bessie’s morning exercise routine
Gets flash of faintness (long shutter effect used when bessie in
running when camera cuts to shots of her POV)
Continue repetitive sequence of bessie doing her morning exercise
routine each day
END RUNNING/EXERCISE SEQUENCE- yellowish/golden tinted low-key
lighting and bessie sneaks into the house
MUSIC FADES OUT
As bessie sneaks in she proceeds to go upstairs then stops, bessie
catches a glimpse of food on the table and stares at it (long silent
shot) she then looks at her fitness watch to see how many calories
she's burnt, camera reverts back to long shot of bessie on the stairs
looking at the food solemnly she continues upstairs
Alarm rings at 4:15 am- bessie just leaves the alarm to ring from
exhaustion
Transition to same shot of clock in daylight/early morning lighting
reading 8:30am
Mary- bessie I'm going out
Bessie wakes up in a state of panic realizing she's missed out on her
exercise routine (long shutter effect of her POV)
Camera continuously transitions from her pov and a long + mid shot of
bessie panicking
Bessie- no no no no no
POV SHOT OF UNDER BED A BESSIE GRABS THE SCALE (this time instead of
just the scale seen under her bed there are some bags filled with food
and a weight loss book, bessie steps on the scale
From the same POV shot from under her bed, pieces of clothing begin to
drop as bessie is stood on the scale
Cut to pov shot of diary
DIARY READS- 3 KG DOWN (details around the diary are drawings and
cruel words about how bessie views herself in a distorting manor to
serve as motivation to help her lose weight)
CUTS BACK TO PREVIOUS SCENE- bessie steps off the scale and begins to
put clothes back on (KEEP SAME POV ANGLE)
Screen recording of computer
Bessie is on a pro ana website- bessie scrolls through the website and
writes up about the weight she lost in a simliar format to her diary
entry
EXTREME CLOSE UP OF BESSIE PRESSING PUBLISH, BESSIE CONTINES TO SCROLL
THROUGH WEBSITE (a notification from clem appears saying ‘it's been a
while bes, text me if your around’)
CENTRE FRAME SHOT IN DARK ROOM AT NIGHT OF BESSIE ON HER BED ONLY
LIGHT IS HER COMPUTER SCREEN SHINING DIRECTLY AT HER (posters in
background of her room have ‘fat’ and ‘be like them’ written on them,
more disordered items are apparent in the environment of her room
Bessie looks up from her computer to the left
Repetition shots:
Alarm rings at 4:15- cuts to bessie stopping it
Bessie is running (back profile shot) and stops to feel her heart she
looks at her watch and sees her heart rate is lower than usual
POV SHOT- BESSIE TAKES OUT SCALE FROM UNDER BED (now many more bags
filled with food, tape measures, dieting books and empty laxative
packages have appeared)
Bessie gets ready and opens door to meet with clem, clem looks
somewhat shocked when she's sees bessie
 Clem- bes, are you ok?
Bessie- yeah?
Bes briefly looks at clem and initiates she wants to continue walking
(ADD IN SUBTLE SUSPENSCFUL MUSIC)
Two shots of back profile of clem and bessie walking down street, clem
subtly looks to bessie from the side and looks her up and down
concerned
Clem stops walking and bessie carries on
Bessie then realizes clem and stopped walking, subtly smiling and
initiating that she carries on
BESSIE- what? (Subtly smiling), come on

Bessie returns home and closes door behind her

Bessie-
Mum, hello? (No answer)
Bessie walks into kitchen and grabs food scale, she opens the fridge
door (transition to POV SHOT from fridge) and stares at it blankly,
she grabs a packet of cheese and check the nutritional label on the
back, bessie then grabs a food scale and weighs out the cheese to eat
Bessie takes a bite of the cheese from the bag (pauses and stares at
bag) and continues to eat the cheese without control or processing it
(Rigning noise fade in a progressively get louder) camera slightly
pushes in
LIMERNACE(INSTRUMENTAL) BY YVES TUMOR (FADES IN)
Bessie appears to have a guilty and regretful expression and pours the
cheese she weighed back in the packet and sighs

Long shot of bessie’s room

Bessie goes to grab some cigarettes from her bag, as she does, she
briefly stops to look in the mirror and severely body check with a
dissatisfied expression
Mid shot of bessie lighting cigarette and smoking in blue low light
(bessie solemnly looks into the distance)
Once Bessie has ashes out and taken the last toke of her cigarette she
wraps her fingers around her wrists, Bessie then receives a
notification from Clem and picks up her phone, Clem is inviting bessie
to go out clubbing with her in London, Bessie smiles at her phone
BESSIE PROCCEDS TO GO BACK TOWARDS THE PLATE OF FOOD WHEN SHE WALKS TO
HER KITCHEN (the plate of food consists of a piece chicken, a spoon a
mash and peas
Bessie remains standing in the sequence
Close up and central framed shot of plate
Camera pans (mimicking the movement of bessie’s eyes) to a small note
beside the plate reading ‘try your best with a small smiley face’
Bessie picks up the note (POV SHOT) and a tear drop falls on the piece
of paper
Cut to POV shot of bessie writing diary
WRITING SAYS- why
Bessie picks up the folk beside the plate
Cut to POV shot of bessie writing diary
WRITING SAYS- I lost control
100
150
Shit
250
Why did I eat
Bessie continues to eat food from the plate in very small amounts
Cut to POV shot of bessie writing diary
WRITING SAYS- you disgust me
Bessie drops the fork, and her hands begin to shake
Cut to POV shot of bessie’s diary (shorter shot and snapshot
transition)
Writing says- you
Bessie's eyes begin to water, and she wipes her eyes with her sleeves
(subtle crying noises)
Cut to POV shot of bessie’s diary (snapshot transition)
Writing says- are
Bessie begins to messily eat the food in larger amounts with her hands
Cut to pov shot of bessie writing diary (snapshot transition)
Writing says- a
Bessie continues to eat the food in a loss of control and binging
manor
Cut to pov shot of bessie writing diary (snapshot transition)
Writing says- fat
-Extreme close up of word fat-
Bessie continues to binge of the plate of food and less and less food
becomes visible on the plate
Cut to pov shot of bessie writing diary (snapshot transition)
Writing says- pig
Cut to centre long shot of bessie leaned over against toilet outlined
by the bathroom door (yellowish/golden low light)
Bessie is purging loudly over the toilet then once she's finished, she
puts her head into the toilet and lifts her hand to flush it
Alarm rings at 4:15 am
Bessie visibly puts her muddy shoes down on the door mat after her run
(CLOSE UP) and limps out of the frame
Back profile mid shot of bessie limping down hallway in her running
gear and baggy black jumper
As bessie is limping forward, she momentarily falls a little to the
right as a result of feeling lightheaded (abrupt moment of a ringing
sound)
Cut to back profile shot of Bessie in the shower
As bessie brushes her fingers through her hair, she glances at her
hand to see small chunks falling out she repeats the action, and more
hair begins to fall out
OBSESSION BY THE ALCHEMIST AND CURRENSY PLAYS
Mid shot of bessie applying lip liner and mascara in her mirror
As bessie does so, she stands back and begins to body check
Arc shot transitioning from bessie looking into the mirror to only her
reflection in the mirror weighing herself (as she weighs herself, she
grins)
Front profile shot of bessie walking down busy a luminous highstreet
at night in london
As people walk past bessie, she looks at them startled and disturbed
as if they are judging her when they are minding their own business or
simply conversing with another person (their voices/laughs get quieter
and louder as they walk past)
Continue front profile shop into club with colorful flashing lights
and loud intense music (bessie appears timid and paranoid)
Play small sequence of bessie approaching clem and dancing (when she's
dancing with clem she slowly feels more reassured and smiles slightly)
(Play never hear surf again by free blood at 2:38 minutes)
Bessie then looks lost and begins to become concerned and paranoid as
she's lost clem (FRONT PROFILE SHOT OF BESSIE PUSHING THROUGH CROWD TO
FIND HER, AMPLIFY THE MUSIC AND INCREASE THE LIGHT INTENSITY)
Bessie then feels a wave of faintness (DO VERTIGO/DOLLY ZOOM WITH
BESSIE’S FACE ON A FIXED SCARED EXPRESSION)
Immediately after dolly zoom shot bessie then faints (on the beat drop
of the song)
-Black screen-
-Begin montage (play never hear surf again by free blood at 2:57)
MONTAGE:(USE PARALELL CUTS AND IN ONE SIDE OF THE CUTS PLAY CLIPS IN
BEAT WITH THE MUSIC, shots alternate on different sides)
Repeat shots and themes in montage
Shots include-
SPED UP SHUTTER EFFECT SHOT of bessie printing and put up more
pictures of diet inspiration and emaciated girls on her wall
Measuring herself with a tape measure
Intense exercise (skipping and sit ups)
Excessive runs (bessie appears incredibly exhausted)
Arguments with mum CAMERA DOES A WHIP PAN
News reports about eating disorder crisis
Repeated shots of bessie writing in her diary (WITH SNAPSHOT
TRANSITION)
Repeated shots, one after the other, of Bessie closing the door in
different outfits each shot to go on her run
Extreme close ups of her binging on food, an extreme close-up of her
putting her fingers down her throat
Close up of her throwing food in the bin
MATCH CUT SHOT of different food accumulating on the table
SPED UP SHUTTER SHOT- Bessie cutting out pictures and words associated
with anorexia
Bessie smoking and drinking diet drinks
Body checking in the mirror
BREAK SONG OF MONTAGE WITH AMPLIFIED SOUND OF BESSIE SMASHING THE
MIRROR (last shot of montage is a right-angle corner long shot of
Bessie’s room as she stares into the mirror as she body checks then
finally breaks and intensely smashes it
SONG BREAKS AND LEFT WITH SILENCE AFTER THE MIRROR CRACKS
-AMPLIFIED SOUND OF BESSIE PANTING AS SHE LOOKS INTO THE MIRROR
STARTLED REALIZING WHAT SHES DONE-
CUT TO BESSIE DRAWING AND LISTENING TO MUSIC BOPPING HER HEAD (BACK
PROFILE SHOT OF BESSIE SITTING AT HER DESK)
Mary- Bessie, dinners ready
Bessie appears startled and removes one of her headphones
CUT TO CENTRE FRAMED SHOT OF BESSIE AT THE DINING TABLE
Bessie stares directly at the plate and begins to cautiously pick a
piece of pasta and play with it in her fingers
Mary- Bes don’t play with it, eat it, what are earth has been going on
Bessie changes the direction of her stare to her mum sitting on her
right (Bessie stares intensely at her mum and scowls) she passive
aggressively pick up her fork and wiggles her pasta around with it
Mary- bessie eat it!
Bessie snaps and slams her plate on the table. She walks away leaving
the frame on the right
FRONT PROFILE OF BESSIE CRYING AND RUNNING OFF DOWN THE HALLWAY
CAMERA FOCUSES ON BESSIE WITH MARY BEHIND HER OUT OF FOCUS
MARY- Bessie get back and finish your plate
Bessie continues walking away
-RINGING TONE PROGRESSIVLY GETS LOUDER-
LONG SHOT OF STAIRCASE
Bessie runs up the stairs and then abruptly faints at the top, Mary
screams in shock however this is not heard as the only noise is the
ringing sound
CUT TO SHOT IN SLOW SHUTTER EFFECT OF MARY PANICKING AROUND BESSIE’S
ROOM FROM POV SHOT
PHONE TO 999 IN HER RIGHT HAND
THE CAMERA IS VERY ROUGH AND BLURRED AS MARY LOOKS AROUND TO FIND
ITEMS SUCH AS WEIGHT LOSS BOOKS, EMPTY LAXATIVE PACKAGES, BAGS WITH
FOOD IN THEM
THE CAMERA CONTINUES A ROUGH SLOW SHUTTER EFFECT IN YELLOWISH/GOLDEN
LOW-KEY LIGHTING UNTIL MARY TURNS TO HER BED TO FIND BESSIE’S DIARY
OPEN ON A PAGE
-STABLE THE CAMERA MOVEMENT-
MARY- (MUFFLED VOICE OVER RINGING NOISE) HELLO, HELLO, SEND AN
AMBULENCE MY DAUGHTER, HELLO
CAMERA FOCUSES ON BESSIE’S DIARY
999 CALLER LINE- (MUFFLED VOICE OVER RINGING NOISE) MAM, PLEASE STAY
CALM
-RINGING NOISE BECOMES LOUDER-
CAMERA STILL ON BESSIE’S OPEN DIARY
WHATS WRITTEN IN CAPITALS SAYS ‘AT LEAST I’M THIN’
CUT TO BEGINING SHOT OF DOCTOR WRITING UP FORM
FORM SAYS- BESSIE NASH, DIAGNOSIS ANOREXIA NERVOSA
-END OF FILM-