13 seconds, five shots with hard cuts, fast pit-stop editing, played completely straight. Shot 1 starts exactly on the start frame: the same English back garden, the same old man in the flat cap, beige knitted vest and checked shirt on the red ride-on mower, the same pit crew in mustard-yellow overalls and white helmets, the same soft overcast light. Keep every person, costume, prop and position identical in all shots.
The old man is an ordinary, anonymous retiree: a long, narrow, weathered face with hollow cheeks, a large straight nose, bushy white eyebrows over small dark eyes, big ears, deep lines around the mouth, ruddy skin, clean-shaven, white hair under the flat cap.
CREW ROLES, fixed for the whole film: the jack man is the crew member standing on the far left; he only ever works the long jack handle with both hands and never holds a wheel gun. The rear-wheel man is the crew member kneeling at the rear wheel, directly to the right of the jack man; he holds the wheel gun. A second crew member brings the fresh wheel.
THE WHEEL GUN is a compact grey pneumatic impact wrench with a pistol grip, a blue air hose and a short, straight, cylindrical black steel socket on its nose. It is a rigid metal tool and keeps exactly this shape in every frame: the socket stays short, straight and in line with the tool body.
Shot 1, 0-2.5 s: the static wide start frame. One beat of stillness, the mower idling. Then the jack man pumps the long jack handle down hard twice with both hands, and the rear of the mower clearly rises until the rear wheel hangs a hand's width above the grass.
Shot 2, 2.5-6 s: hard cut. Locked-off close-up at wheel height on the rear wheel, seen side-on, fast and precise, in four steps:
2.5-3.2 s: the rear-wheel man presses the socket of the wheel gun straight onto the centre nut and spins it off.
3.2-4 s: he pulls the gun straight back and holds it still at the left edge of the frame; with his other hand he pulls the old, muddy wheel straight off and drops it out of frame; for a moment the bare axle stub is visible with no wheel on it.
4-5 s: a second crew member's hands immediately slide a fresh wheel with a clean, new black tyre onto the bare axle until it sits flush.
5-6 s: he pushes the gun straight back onto the nut and spins it tight; the fresh wheel is now firmly mounted.
There is only ever one wheel on the axle.
Shot 3, 6-7.5 s: hard cut. Close-up of the old man's hands holding the saucer: the crew member with the tray lifts away his empty teacup and sets down a fresh, steaming one in one swift move; his hands do not move.
Shot 4, 7.5-9 s: hard cut. Close-up of the old man's long, narrow face under the flat cap, expressionless, looking straight ahead; he takes one small sip of the fresh tea while mustard-yellow overalls rush past behind him.
Shot 5, 9-13 s: hard cut back to the static wide frame of shot 1. The jack man lifts the jack handle to release the jack, and the rear of the mower sinks smoothly back down onto the grass on its fresh wheel; he pulls the jack away. Every crew member steps back and raises one hand, the red stop-board swings up, and the old man drives off slowly to the right at walking pace, cup in hand, the mower puttering out of frame. The crew stays standing in a loose line, watching him go in complete seriousness; hold on them.
Audio: no dialogue. Mower idle; the ratcheting clack of the jack with each pump; sharp, high rattling bursts of the wheel gun, loudest in the wheel close-up; the thud of the old wheel dropping; a clean clink of porcelain; a quiet sip; the hiss of the jack releasing; then the slow putter of the mower fading away, birdsong.
Look: soft overcast daylight, muted film colours, fine 35mm grain, real unglamorous people.
AVOID: the wheel gun changing shape, a bent, stretched or pointed socket, a drill bit, cutting away before the fresh wheel is mounted, a new wheel already in place when the old one comes off, two wheels on one axle, the jack man holding a wheel gun, the mower rising or sinking without the jack handle moving, camera movement inside a shot, slow motion, smiling or celebrating, extra people appearing, faces or costumes changing between shots, text, logos.
kling/v4/flash/image-to-video
