Background: I ask the question, "What would happen if friction (as in, the physical force that keeps ALL things from slipping) disappeared one arbitrary moment in time?" The answer is, utter madness would ensue. The entire universe as we know it would literally unravel, screw by screw, thread by thread, and everything, every structure around us, maybe even ourselves, would collapse and crumble like a sand castle, leveled to the ground. My film offers a close-to-lifelike as possible perspective on the first few moments in which the world experiences a complete lack of friction.
Some scenes to consider:
A group of college kids sitting in a living room, on couches, shooting the shit.
A middle-aged, attractive woman driving on the highway.
The crowd at a professional baseball game.
An amusement park, On the top of the Ferris Wheel.
That's all I can think of now, but any situation/environment will provide ample opportunity for action, because the force of friction is so overwhelmingly pervasive. I have no doubt that we take it for granted more than any other force commonly experienced. In dramatic, panoramic slow-motion, with the audio removed, the film would capture the following...
Execution: Set up the film by presenting all environments as they naturally are, giving a few glimpses of the action going on with a variety of shots. Adolescents laughing and joking on couch ::: Woman checking her rear view mirror as she prepares to make a turn ::: Runner rounding first base, kicking up dust behind him ::: Sweethearts at the top of the Ferris Wheel, operator sweating under the sun at the bottom :::
This film will be scored, all orchestra, with no supplemental audio from the actual footage. At some moment, after the audience is settled into some comfortable understanding of what's going on, a musical cue is given (violins striking a high, dissonant note?), and chaos ensues in the natural world. Cellos hammer away, leading us through the hell that ensues...
Living room: Boys begin to slide off the couch towards the floor, simultaneously. They all start looking confused and horrified. As they are sliding, the entire room around them appears to slide as well. Zippers on their jackets are mysteriously becoming undone. The open windows are slowing falling, though no one is pushing them. Bottles of beer are slipping out of the boy's hands, spilling onto the floor. The screws in the hinges of the doors are slowly turning outward, as if drawn by an invisible magnet. The oscillating floor fan just falls over, because the rubber belt moving the fan blades deatches from the engine and snaps, and all gears within the fan itself come apart. Nails are sliding out of the walls, dropping the framed photos they were holding up.
Car: The car starts to drift in the road, as if it were on an ice rink. The woman cannot, for the life of her, grip the smooth wheel. All mechanical parts within the car fall apart simultaneously. The woman, screaming in terror, is too slipping to the floor of the vehicle. In fact, all cars behind and in front of the woman, on the road, are sliding, bumping, crashing, as the camera pans out. We see crazy things happening in the background as well, buildings wobbling, airplanes miles high nosediving.
Baseball Game: Batter up; friction goes after the pitch, so as the batter is swinging, he kicks his feet up and falls backwards as he tries to turn to swing. The bat flies from his hand. THE ENTIRE CROWD ARE DROPPING EVERYTHING AND SLIPPING OUT OF THEIR SEATS. Anything being supported with the force of friction, as opposed to hanging or leaning, is falling down. (Are you seeing a pattern developing)
Carnival: The wheel begins to drop.
The camera offers these surreal vignettes, flowing from one scene to the next, as chaos and entropy escalates. I ask the director, use your imagination; but beyond that, use your intellect. Try to comprehend ALL that would be affected within a restricted environment were friction to suddenly disappear. The list is far longer than what I have provided. Consider the macroscopic as well as the microscopic level of things. See the knots in ropes unraveling. See that crooked drawer slide out of the armoire and onto the floor. See entire series of books, pots, TV's topple off shelves. UNDERSTAND THAT, UNDER THE THEORETICAL LAWS OF PHYSICS, UNLESS AN OBJECT IS PERFECTLY LEVEL, IT WILL NOT SUPPORT ANYTHING, AND EVERYTHING WILL BE PULLED TOWARDS THE GROUND BY THE FORCE OF GRAVITY. FRICTION IS OFTEN TIMES THE ONLY THING KEEPING US UP.
I emphasize that all this should be occurring in slow motion. Also, don't put any subtitle on the screen at the moment of transformation, like "*Friction Gone*" or something corny like that. The shots, and the title of the film, will tell the audience all they need to know.
Other Specs: I'm not sure how this movie should end. My suggestion is you just cut to blackness after enough devastation has been shown, as the anti-denouement to this supernatural conflict. Keep the orchestra music going while you roll the credits.
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