The Trip
Four friends went on a trip last year. Three came back. A documentary crew has been interviewing the survivors, the investigator, and the person closest to the friend who didn't make it. Each interview was conducted separately. None of the survivors has seen what the others said. Each is telling a slightly different version of what happened.
Documentary verité, intimate. Soft window light, single chair, a plain background — the kind of "neutral interview room" that Netflix true-crime documentaries use. Slightly desaturated. Vertical 9:16. Plates should leave the center third clear for the performer. The four interview rooms must look almost identical — same chair, same wall color, same lighting — because they ARE the same room, just used on different days.
4 roles — each records from a different vantage. Roles can't be swapped mid-session.
Devon (The Reliable One)
documentary_interviewSam's best friend since freshman year of college. The one who organized the trip every year. The first one to call the sheriff when Sam didn't come back to the cabin that night. Currently: a year of grief later, still raw, finally willing to be on camera.
Speak like someone who has rehearsed this in their head a hundred times and is still trying to find the right words. Take pauses. Let silences happen. Look slightly past the camera. The grief is a year old. The guilt is fresher.
Marlow (The Wild One)
documentary_interviewThe friend who turned every trip into a story. The first to suggest hikes off the trail, the first to drink, the first to apologize. The one currently doing the most poorly. Lost a job in the year since Sam disappeared. Reluctantly agreed to do this on camera.
Be slightly performative. Slightly defensive. You have been asked these questions a lot. You answer them faster than the others do. Then, at one moment per scene, slow way down. The audience will lean in on the slowdowns.
Cole (The Quiet One)
documentary_interviewThe most recent addition to the friend group — joined two years before Sam disappeared. The one who hadn't fully earned a place yet. The one who stayed in the cabin the night Sam went missing, while the others were out. Has been wanting to do this interview for months.
Be careful with words. Long pauses are okay. You are the only one of the three who has not given any version of this story to the others. The camera is your first audience. Let that matter.
Detective Ronan Hayes
documentary_interviewThe sheriff's detective who handled Sam's case. Career law enforcement, twenty-six years in. Officially closed the case as accidental death. Not officially, has been thinking about it ever since. Agreed to be interviewed on the record after retirement, which became official three weeks ago.
Speak with old-cop economy. Short sentences. Few qualifiers. Look at the camera, not past it. You are not nervous; you are tired. The audience trusts you instantly — use that trust carefully.
Who Was Sam?
"Each character introduces themselves and tells the camera who Sam was — and what those four "who Sams" reveal about each speaker. "
The Drive Up
"Each character talks about the trip up to the cabin — the last "normal" period before Sam disappeared. The discrepancies start here. "
The Night Sam Disappeared
"The core night. Each character gives their account of where they were when Sam vanished. Each account leaves a gap. "
The Year After
"A year later, each character reflects on how the disappearance changed them, what they think now, and what they suspect about the others. "
Final Statement
"The final question of the documentary. Each character gives a closing statement directly to camera. Each statement reads differently depending on who else has been believed. "