VUDEJAAN UNFINISHED FILM
AN OPEN WORLD

02 / THE CHARACTERS

Every life has
a moment that matters.

The people in the prelude. Their faces stay consistent in the scene workshop; clothing, staging and dialogue are yours to explore.

From the prelude

WORKING REFERENCES / V01
Maya interviewing Vale in the laboratoryCH–01

THE REPORTER

Maya

A television reporter in her thirties. She arrives with questions about the research, then finds a deeply personal reason to enter it.

Character notes
What drives them
To understand what the experiment makes possible, and to see her father again.
Keep in mind
Leah’s younger sister and Tom’s daughter. She questions the evidence. Her chosen session is exceptional; she does not begin with a proven way to change the past.
Leah in the current Vudeja filmCH–02

THE SISTER

Leah

Maya’s older sister. Affectionate, sceptical and protective, she brings their shared family history into the room.

Character notes
What drives them
To understand what Maya is really asking of the experiment, and to keep her safe.
Keep in mind
She is an observer, not the clinician operating the experiment. Preserve the sisters’ dry familiarity and shared history with Tom.
Dr Andrew Vale explaining his researchCH–03

THE RESEARCHER

Dr Andrew Vale

The researcher leading the experiments. His theory gives déjà vu a new explanation; the machine offers a way to investigate it.

Character notes
What drives them
To test and stabilise the connection between moments.
Keep in mind
His explanations are theories and research findings, not an all-knowing account of the universe. Lab monitors show eye feeds and readings, not the inner memory scene.
Tom in the remembered kitchenCH–04

THE FATHER

Tom

Maya and Leah’s father, a helicopter-tour pilot. An ordinary morning with his family becomes the moment Maya wants to revisit.

Character notes
What drives them
His family and the day’s responsibilities. In the remembered morning, he does not know about the future experiment.
Keep in mind
Distinguish the younger kitchen Tom from later-life appearances. The precise emotional and chronological context matters; do not give him knowledge he has not acquired.
Dr Ellis monitoring the laboratory experimentCH–05

THE CLINICIAN

Dr Ellis

The clinician monitoring the experiment. She fits the research helmet, follows the signals and responds when the session goes wrong.

Character notes
What drives them
To monitor the participant and respond to changes in the connection.
Keep in mind
Keep her laboratory role separate from Leah’s role as Maya’s sister. Her observations do not establish the full mechanism behind the effect.
Daniel during the laboratory trialCH–06

THE VOLUNTEER

Daniel

An early volunteer whose experience helps the research move forward. He returns to a moment from his American-football past.

Character notes
What drives them
To take part in the experiment and describe what he experiences.
Keep in mind
He has a natural American accent. He does not choose the football memory, and ordinarily cannot change what happened. His reported soreness is not proof of a new injury.

Put a different moment on screen.

Choose a scene and edit its setup and dialogue with these character references alongside you.

Open scene workshop