CRIME SCENE: PRETORIA

FINAL FOR COMMENTARY RECORD

19/11/13

Silverwoods Estate Ð moody establisher.

Shots ring out.

CCTV footage of Police arriving. 

Comm.

ItÕs been called the ValentineÕs Day killing.

Four shots shatter the silence of Silver Woods Country Estate.

Two lives changed forever. A nation shaken to its core.

News reports Ð Oscar!

Oscar being taken away.

Comm.

For a world in disbelief, one question:

Did Oscar Pistorius murder his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, or was it a tragic case of mistaken identity?

Opening CSI Titles Sequence Ð key shots of PRETORIA/ JOHANNESBURG / LA / Hollywood.

TITLE MUSIC

PTC.  

When Oscar Pistorius comes to trial in Pretoria in March 2014, his fate will be determined not by peopleÕs words Ð not by statements from him, from lawyers or from witnesses.

OscarÕs fate will be determined by the one witness which can never lie.

A silent witness, but whose eloquence could convict, or acquit, a man on trial for his future.   

Hollywood Sequence Ð images cut to music.

Comm.

Hollywood.

Forensic investigation is key to top crime shows, and filmmakers must get the science absolutely right. 

The Oscar story has all the elements of a Hollywood drama, with forensics at its heart.

They will be central to a major new project called Oscar Ð Fall Of A Titan.      

STAN Sync.

PAUL Sync.

RANDY Sync.

To get the forensics right, these writers will work with specialist crime scene investigators who do the real job in California.  

Forensic specialists Walter Sawall and Kim Guluzian work on some of HollywoodÕs landmark crime shows. They know itÕs critical to balance reality with drama.   

WALT Sync.

ItÕs the CSI effect.

KIM Sync.

I worked on Dexter. What I did.  

Kim doing footprints.

Comm.

Physical evidence is at the heart of the Oscar investigation.

ItÕs a textbook scenario for forensic specialists like Kim. 

Kim doing forensics work.

KIM Sync.

They key forensics in Oscar case will be 1,2 3.

COMM.

A scientific analysis of the physical evidence could reveal what actually happened in OscarÕs home on ValentineÕs Day.

To understand why it might have happened, we could be helped by the creative imagination of dramatists.

The Hollywood hills are a favourite haunt of scriptwriters.

We joined Stan Berkowitz and Paul Diamond as they explored how science and art could combine to reveal the truth about Oscar.

STAN / PAUL Sync.

Forensics Van. Shoeprints. Finger prints.

COMM.

To answer questions such as these, forensic investigation depends on precision.

Often, crime scenes are disturbed by first responders, like paramedics or police.

In OscarÕs house, Reeva had already been moved from the bathroom, where the killing took place.

So, the scene of the shooting, should have remained undisturbed.

KIM Sync.

Reeva was already downstairs.

Walter in Police Car at Redondo Beach.

Walter on duty.

COMM.

Walter Sawall is often the first investigating officer on the scene of a crime.

But when he arrives, forensics is not his initial concern.

WALTER Sync.

When I first arrive at crime scene.

Oscar forensics evidence was contaminated.

COMM.

How the crime scene was handled by the first responders who arrived at OscarÕs home is also a key theme for the dramatists.

STAN / PAUL Sync.

ThereÕs another outstanding personality...Hilton Botha

COMM.

The exact details of the forensic investigation in the Oscar case are still to be revealed.

But the tiniest trace evidence could be critical, as Kim knows from experience.

KIM Sync.

Tiniest trace evidence. Eyelash story.  

PTC.

For forensic specialists like Kim and Walter, the Oscar Pistorius case is unique.

Forensic evidence is usually used to assess whether an individual did, or did not, commit a crime.

In OscarÕs case, he admits to the killing of Reeva. There is no need to prove that he was responsible for her death.

So, in this instance, how exactly can the forensics help us?   

Oscar pix and archive

Comm.  

Oscar claims the killing of Reeva was a case of mistaken identity.

He thought he was firing on an intruder.

The prosecution say neighbours heard loud arguments Ð a woman scream Ð gunshots Ð more screaming Ð more gunshots Ð then silence.

Just what, and who, can we believe?  

KIM Sync.

We have suspect Ð we must determine motive.

WALTER Sync.

The key questions in the Oscar case.

KIM Sync.

1, 2 and 3 will help us find out motive of the crime.

Kim and Walter walking together.

Heli shots.

COMM.

So, apart from working out what happened at a crime scene, Walter and Kim are also called upon to assess whether forensics can reveal peopleÕs motives.

In their own, different way, this is exactly what Stan and Paul are trying to do.

STAN / PAUL / SUBNIV Walk

Arrive in Hollywood sign.

STAN / PAUL / SUBNIV i/v.

PTC

Stan and Paul are a powerful team, with decades of experience making drama thatÕs enthralled worldwide audiences.

ThereÕs a third partner in this formidable writing team.

COMM.

In nearby Toluca Lake, Emmy Award winning playwright Randy Rogel met us to identify the main themes in their forthcoming film.

Stan, Paul & Subniv arrive at RandyÕs home.

ACTUALITY

Hello Randy, Paul, Stan etc. etc.

Brainstorming session.

BRAINSTORMING.

1. What the film will focus on.
2. The FORENSICS sections Ð how we will dramatise those.
3. Ballistics.

PTC

A close examination of the physical evidence, IF it hasnÕt been contaminated, can be like a time machine.

It can transport the investigator back to the precise moments the crime took place.

WALT Sync.

Replaying each moment. Trying to imagine what was happening in real time.

Why did he stop at 4 shots?

COMM.

For a Police Officer with decades of experience investigating fatal shootings, itÕs the key question.

WALT Sync.

People fire as many shots as there are in the gun.

COMM.

For Walter, ballistics is the key.

Like a committed method actor, he tries to find ways to get inside the minds of the main players at a crime scene.

He showed me how.  

Walter fires a Taurus at firing range

WALTER Sync.

This is very similar to the gun Oscar used to shoot Reeva.

ItÕs heavy, a serious weapon.

Why only fire 4 shots? What made Oscar stop? 

Try it Subniv Ð take a shot.

SUBNIV fires Taurus.

PTC

Walter is right.

ItÕs only when you hold a gun like the Taurus 9 mm that you realise just what a serious weapon it truly is.

Firing it makes you feel powerful, invulnerable. You feel you could take on anyone.

But itÕs an unforgiving weapon. Use it, and thereÕs no room for mistakes.

COMM.

Next door to the shooting gallery is a gun shop.

Here, the staff deal with gun enthusiasts every day, and they have their own questions about how Oscar could shoot Reeva in error. 

MARTIN & KEVIN Sync.

COMM.

Walter is trying to relive the precise moments Oscar fired the shots.

ItÕs his way of experiencing that fateful moment.    

SHOT

Both Walter and Kim know drama can give audiences a false sense of knowledge about forensics. 

KIM Sync.

We actually call it the CSI effect.

WALT Sync.

How dramas get it wrong Ð e.g. time frame.

COMM.

Back in Toluca Lake, the team behind Oscar Ð Fall Of A Titan are keenly aware they must write their script with absolute accuracy.

WRITERS BRAINSTORM

COMM.

Oscar has told his story of what happened that ValentineÕs Day in his home in Silverwoods Country Estate.

ThereÕs another story still waiting to be told.

WALTER Sync.

Forensics will tell a story parallel to the people.

KIM Sync.

Evidence does not lie. People lie.

RandyÕs house exteriors Ð evocative.

Distant sound of brainstorming continues.

Music.

PTC.

ItÕs clear the story of Oscar Pistorius, and the tragic killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, has captured the worldÕs imagination.

COMM.

Crime Scene Investigators like Walter Sawall and Kim Guluzian are using all their experience and scientific skills to shed light on the Oscar mystery.

Top scriptwriters like Stan, Paul and Randy are applying their creative imaginations to understand the motivations of the key players.  

PTC

Perhaps it will be in a combination of science and art that the truth finally emerges

.

Closing sequence to MUSIC

COPTER LIFTS AWAY Ð AERIALS OF HOLLYWOOD.