Pre-Production- Some Findings from 'Blindfold and Alone'

Pages 100 and 101

The underlined section details what actually happened when a man was shot for desertion. The firing squad is quoted twice as being twelve men strong, which means I’ll need to use 12 shots. The firing squad is 15 paces away, which means I don’t have to show them if I stay close to the character as he is lead to the post. A ‘white disk’ is pinned to his chest, like a target. “He was the calmest man” This gives an insight into how to play the character, as they have obviously have usually come to terms with their death.

Pages 102 and 103

This page gives details on another case. This shows how the soldiers were allowed to talk before they were shot. It also gives a firsthand insight into the amount of hits likely on a target- in this case, 5 were good shots, into the heart. Also, interestingly, towards the bottom of the page, there are broken down figures for how men were shot. There were in total 266 for desertion which makes desertion the most realistic offence for the character to have committed.

Pages 140 and 141

The underlined section on 141 gives a template to base the sentencing on. Despite what is written on page 101 about there being silence other than the word ‘Fire’ I’ve found other evidence for sentences being read on the spot, and I think this will work better on screen.

Page 215

This just gives an official definition of desertion and states which law sentences men to death under it.