Documentary Version Two

documentary attempt two
Written By
Shelby Hannah
Based on, if any
Address
Phone Number

1
2
3
1
SHELBY
Hi, I'm Shelby and I'm 17 years
old. I was born on the 15th of
January 1997.
ARCHIVE - PICTURES FROM CHILDHOOD, FAMILY, ME AS A BABY
SHELBY
I WAS BORN IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND AND WHEN I WAS ALMOST
TWO, MY FAMILY AND I MOVED ALL THE WAY TO CALIFORNIA.
SHELBY
I had a relatively normal
childhood. Had a lot of pets, had a
pretty decent house size. My dad
was in the Air Force which is why
we were moving around so much. When
I was almost seven, we moved to
England and that's when my dad
retired. We then moved twice after
that: so it went from Huntingdon to
Willingham to Cambridge. So it's
safe to say I've moved a lot in my
life.
SHELBY
It hasn't always been easy growing
up.
ARCHIVE - PICTURES OF REBEKAH, PICTURES OF REBEKAH AND ME
ETC
Since before I was born, my sister
has been really sick with Crohn's
disease, she got anorexia when she
was like 11 years old, so I was
about 7. She also has borderline
personality disorder so she's
pretty much a chameleon. We don't
really get along much anymore. It's
hard to get along with somebody
that you will never understand.
My family is pretty musical. My mom
is pretty spot on with music, she
has 'the perfect ear' and could
pick up any instrument and just
play it.
My dad is more on the creative
(MORE)

4
2
side; when he was my age, he, too,
was writing songs and expressing
everything in different sorts of
ways.
My brother is more like my mom,
better with instruments and
committing to learning one.
ARCHIVE - FOOTAGE OF MY BROTHER ON CLASSICAL GUITAR
He picked up classical guitar when
he was younger and he's always been
amazing at it.
My sister used to play piano but
never stuck to it - but she sings
all the time. I'm the one who's
always telling her to shut up when
she's in the bath singing 'The
Phantom of the Opera'. She'd go so
high and so loud, that you could
hear her down the street. It was a
little bit...
(shelby looks around,
innocently holding back
feelings about her
sister's singing)
I on the other hand, tried my
hardest to learn instruments when I
was little. When I was about 7 or
8, I was desperate to play the
violin.
ARCHIVE - FOOTAGE OF ME PLAYING THE VIOLIN
I eventually got one, and
unfortunately for everybody
listening, I never, ever put it
down.
SHELBY
After like, a year, maybe even
less... I gave up the violin, and a
little while after that I picked up
piano. It wasn't long until I gave
that up either. I got passed my
first grade of it and realised that
(MORE)

5
6
3
SHELBY (CONT'D)
piano wasn't for me. I was more
fond of just doing it for fun. I'd
always, like, teach myself songs,
playing church hymns and little
tunes on the piano.
I always, always sang. I remember
once, my sister and I stood in the
kitchen sharing with each other our
own little songs that we'd just
make up there on the spot. We'd
sing so loudly and our mom would
just be like 'Girls! Hush!'
SHELBY
I guess you could say that I've
been writing songs all my life.
Since I was very little I was
making up songs and tunes and
singing, and they weren't good
songs, but they were songs that a
seven year old would sing.
(I sing the song that I
made up when I was
younger about brushing my
teeth)
I got a poem published 4th grade
called 'Monster Math' which was
exciting. It's an exciting thing
for a fourth grader.
SHELBY
When I moved to English school in
year 5, which is the same as 4th
grade, my friend showed me a Young
Writer's Competition leaflet for
young kids, I think like around the
age of 11 or so. I was so excited
and sent off a song right away. I
got home from playing outside and
my mom was like, go look on the
table.
It was a letter saying that my poem
had gotten published in the book of
poems by young people, have no idea
what it's actually called. I got
the book in the mail and was just
so excited.

7
8
9
4
SHELBY
A couple years later, I finally
made my way up to year 7 where I
auditioned for my school's talent
show and, this was where I was
really nervous to sing in front of
people and I never did it at home
unless I was home alone. I
auditioned by singing the song 'See
You Again' by Miley Cyrus and
laughed like, half way through the
verse. Nevertheless, I got in.
About an hour before I was supposed
to go on and sing in front of like,
500 students, I lost my nerve and
my karaoke CD which I was going to
sing to, so I decided to sing
'Amazing Grace'... A capella. Awful
decision for someone at a school
with mean bullies and gangsters and
bad-asses, it was the biggest
mistake ever.
Whoever got the loudest cheer at
the end won the show, and when they
said my name, I shit you not,
nobody clapped for about 5 seconds.
That's a long time if you think
about it. So after this event, I
swore to myself that I'd never,
ever, ever sing publicly again.
Ever.
SHELBY
A year went by when I grew closer
to my friend Jess, who started
teaching herself guitar. She'd
bring the guitar to school and
whilst waiting to go in to form,
we'd sit there and play Taylor
Swift songs. 'Our Song' was our
favourite.
SHELBY
There was a show coming up at
school called The Battle of the
Bands which we almost won. Jess
turns to me outside of music and
says 'Hey, we should do that!' and
(MORE)

10
5
SHELBY (CONT'D)
we then spent the next two weeks or
so deciding what song to do. On
Facebook she'd suggest a song, and
our conversation would go like
this:
'Our Song'? and I'd be like, No,
too high.
'What about Sk8er Boi?' Too high.
'These Four Walls'? Too high.
'Love Story'? Nah.
This song, that song, till finally
she was like, 'Simple Song'? And I
was like, YEAH! I KNOW HOW TO PLAY
THAT ON PIANO AS WELL. And bam. It
was decided.
The cheer was pretty loud so I was
extremely happy. We just carried on
from there.
SHELBY
I was starting to write song after
song but I never ever had any music
for them. I would be with Jessica
like, 'Yeah, that chord. No, no,
the one before that! Yeah, that
one.' trying to figure out what
chord to put with the lyrics etc.
It was so annoying really. Then one
day, I saw that my cousin was
selling her electric guitar. I
really wanted it, but just because
it was pink really. I texted my
mom, I was just like, 'SARAH IS
SELLING HER GUITAR CAN I GET IT
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!' and she just
replied saying, 'Shelby, you don't
even know how to play...' and I was
like 'Yeah, but Tim could teach
me!' and she's like, 'He doesn't
know chords! And you'll quit like
you did with violin and piano!' And
so I was determined to prove her
wrong.
SHELBY
I picked up my brother's old
electric guitar and I searched
YouTube and Google for guitar
chords and I just taught myself. I
somehow impressed my mom enough to
(MORE)

11
6
SHELBY (CONT'D)
send her a link to a guitar on
amazon which was like, £70 and she
replied saying 'It's all ordered.
:)'
SHELBY
I was so, so, happy and so excited
and I was telling everybody that I
was getting a guitar.
I continued to practise the basic
chords over and over, and I started
putting chords to my songs I had
written.
ARCHIVE - FOOTAGE OF THE HOUSE CONCERT AND THE JUNCTION GIG
Jess and I then continued to
perform together, we even got a gig
at the Junction when we were 14
[2011].
SHELBY
That's kind of where it all ended.
It's sad to think about it as just
'the past'. I moved schools, you
see, in Year 10, October time. It
kind of just got too hard to meet
up and practise and soon, it
fizzled out. We met up now and then
but nothing musical.
SHELBY
Not long after moving to St. Bedes,
I met Aaron. I then learned that he
was fantastic at guitar. I was so
determined to start a band. We were
talking on Facebook and he said
he'd want to join one. So I was
just like 'Aaron, wow, you saved my
butt! Let's form a huge band with
guitars and drums and bass and
strings and all that jazz!'
The band thing never really panned
out like I wanted it to. But Aaron
still offered his help and decided
to play music with me. We went to
London for my birthday and we
really became close over a few
months with a bit of stumbling here
(MORE)

12
13
14
15
7
SHELBY (CONT'D)
and there. We started dating at the
end of April in 2012.
ARCHIVE - IMAGES OF ME AND AARON IN THE RECORDING STUDIO
After this, we planned a recording
session to record my first single
'Beautiful Lies'. It took us 4
hours and then after the session we
went to the movies. It was okay,
you know, we had a nice mixture of
music and fun relationship
activities in between.
SHELBY
On the 7th of July, 2012, we did a
house concert. We sat in the living
room of church friends and we
played a few songs, you know, it
was cool.
The next day he texted me, saying,
"Shelby, I've f**ked up" and that
was our first official 'argument'.
It was a real pain. Reading those
words, after such [what I thought
was] a good night. He had, in his
words, 'hit it off' with another
girl. It was really painful. It
really corrupted my trust in him.
SHELBY
That kind of thing kept happening
for the rest of the relationship.
He kept liking other girls. The
more it happened, the less I
trusted him and things just got
worse and worse and worse. It was a
massive roller-coaster. So many
songs came out of the relationship.
We carried on gigs, had some here
and there, the coolest one was Live
& Amped.
ARCHIVE - FOOTAGE OF LIVE AND AMPED
It was a lot of fun and we met
really cool people.
We weren't getting along though
before we went on stage. He kept
winding me up and bugging me and
(MORE)

16
17
18
19
20
21
8
messing around. He'd mostly act
like that because of guilt or him
just feeling 'stuck' in the
relationship. I don't know.
SHELBY
This was at the time of him
fancying another girl at his
college. I don't know why I didn't
leave him. I guess I just lost my
true self there for a minute.
We weren't doing anything musically
anymore, so now we were just a
couple of unhappy people in a
relationship that was over expired.
It was Boxing Day, 2012, when he
tells me that he can't stop
thinking about this girl, he
couldn't hold back from talking to
her etc. I was like, what do you
want me to say? He was pushing my
buttons to the extreme. I'd get
angry, he'd get angry at me getting
angry and say it wasn't his fault,
and he was being honest like I told
him to be.
It was a huge spiral for me, just
going downwards and I couldn't get
out. I couldn't tell anybody, I
didn't want anyone not liking my
boyfriend - like my parents. I was
a dummy.
SHELBY
'God Long Live' was the second song
I recorded with Aaron. It was about
a guy from church who struck me
with his faith throughout his
battle against cancer. He died a
year and a bit later, I think,
which is when it was back to the
studio for Aaron and me, so they
could play it at the memorial
service. People were asking if they
could buy it somewhere, so it went
straight on iTunes and Spotify and
all that.
(MORE)

22
23
9
SHELBY (CONT'D)
The studio was a weird. Aaron had
had a party the night before, and
the next day, it was that weird,
guilty personality. I knew
something was wrong. He wouldn't
kiss me or anything. He wouldn't
really look at me, nothing was
sincere. His texts were different.
The following Thursday, two days
before the memorial service, we
broke up.
A few weeks later, which was a week
before our other recording session,
the truth came out that he got with
the girl he was all crazy about at
the party. He cheated. It bit.
Everything just sort of blew up on
Facebook. The anger vs anger and
guilt was a-go. It was crazy.
After that, it was up and down,
together, apart, he liked me, he
liked her, just... a mess. It got
to a point where he got a
girlfriend, I didn't know he got a
girlfriend, he was flirting with me
and he cheated on her with me, I
felt sick to my stomach with anger.
It exploded. One hell of a night.
We stopped speaking after that.
SHELBY
In August, 2013, I got a gig at the
Junction. It was a fund-raising
concert for the Red Balloon
Charity. A radio guy was there and
he offered me a few gigs at pubs
here and there. At this point, I
was flying solo. It felt awesome to
be alone and still doing something.
When Aaron and I broke up, I kind
of thought that was it. I almost
said no to the Red Balloon gig, but
I think God was like, "no. Shelby,
you're doing this gig. Get off your
ass and do something with your
life."
So the gigs were good therapy.
(MORE)

10
SHELBY (CONT'D)
Songs were coming out of my ears. I
was also getting counselling. It
took about a year to really fully
heal which included losses of
friendships along the way. It was a
lonely period of time.
But I'm kind of proud. There were
times that I thought I wasn't going
to make it.
Towards the end of my first year,
though, I started a support group
for students with depression. It
didn't get far but it was something
to be proud of and I felt like I
achieved something. I also took on
fencing classes with an amazing
friend, Rianna, (ARCHIVE - PHOTOS
OF ME AND RIANNA) who just listened
to me, and I listened to her, and
we really were there for each
other. She's a babe.
SHELBY
I got a job around March or April
of 2014 which then meant more
money. I started becoming more
confident in myself and my style,
buying nicer clothes, I became
better friends with people in my
class. I started going to the gym
and running every other night or
so. I was put on anti-depressants.
Things were going upwards for me.
SHELBY
It wasn't long until I was just
going to the local shop and I saw a
friend who was with a guy I vaguely
knew from the gym, NC. He waved at
me and I met him properly there.
Addan was also there. This guy,
Cranz, was just like, "Oh yeah,
Shelby's a really good singer". NC
was like, "What? You sing? Are you
good? Me and Addan tried to start a
band" (ARCHIVE - FOOTAGE OF LIBERIA
GIG AND PHOTOS FROM THE GIG AS
WELL) and at this point I was
(MORE)

24
11
SHELBY (CONT'D)
planning a concert to raise money
for Liberia.
I had nothing to go on. I had no
band. Just me. So this was amazing,
I was like, "Are you being serious?
Oh my gosh." I was going crazy.
Then they were like, "Then there's
Ikenna, he's sick at guitar!" and
we met up the next week and it
just... It was a prayer answered.
Awesome time.
END: ARCHIVE - MUSIC STARTS, IMAGES IN A SLIDE SHOW
FASHION//CREDITS

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
12
"I was born..." is said twice here. Instead of "I was born on the
15th of Jan..." AND "I was born in Maryland..." COMBINE THEM
TOGETHER. You don't need them both.
Shelby Hannah 13 Dec, 2014 17:54
How did your parents meet? Mom's history/nationality?
After this, you don'ttreally hear anything about sister again. She
isn't dead.
Barney says "I got the impression that your sister was the youngest
and your brother was the oldest. Maybe you need to think about the
order of things. First came sister, then brother, then you."
Too monologue-y
This wouldn't be a good idea if you're just going to do voice
over/narrative.
This doesn't need to be here.
Too many 'like''s
Take the swear word out
Too much dialogue - get to the point.
The audience won't see an emoticon like ':)' unless you say "With a
little smiley face".
Too much dialogue again!
Too much dialogue, not needed at all. Take this out.
Take this out.
Barney suggested that this section of the script was slightly too
much 'he said, she said' and there should be a lot less of it and I
should be a lot more brief.
Take this out.

17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
13
Take this out.
Take this out.
Take this out.
Take this out.
This should EITHER BE about Aaron or Paul, but it's not good to
combine two stories into one. Make it more about the music. It's not
a soap opera.
Take this out.
Take this out.
Take this out.
An important section but be a little more brief - shorten it.
You could really extend the end. It's a lot of the past and dwelling
and reflecting - which isn't always a bad thing - but there needs to
be more on now and the future so the audience isn't left with an
unfinished feeling.

Documentary Version Two

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Documentary Version Two (20)

More from Shelby Lucier (20)

Documentary Version Two