If you check out the Whiplash screenplay currently on the Sony Pictures website this is how screenwriter/director Damien Chazelle starts the opening scene— followed by a New York Times video of Chazelle explaining what he was after beginning the now Oscar-nominated Best Picture:
BLACK…
We hear a HIT. A drumstick against a drum head. Crisp, sharp.
Then a second hit. Then a third and a fourth. The hits growing so fast they start to blur together. Like gunfire…
INT.NASSAU BAND REHEARSAL STUDIO – GEHRING HALL – NIGHT
A cavernous space. Sound-proofed walls. And in the center, a DRUM SET. Seated at it, in a sweat-marked white T, eyes zeroed on his single-stroke roll, is ANDREW NEIMAN.
He’s 19, slight, honors-student-skinny — except for his arms, which have been built from years and years of drumming.
Suddenly — a MAN enters the practice room. Stopping, rising–
ANDREW
Sorry… I’m — I’m sorry–
MAN
It’s ok. Stay there.
The MAN steps forward, removes his coat. He’s tall. Late fifties. Black T-shirt, black slacks, black shoes. We’ll know him as FLETCHER.
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Powerful descriptions, succinct, vivid. Have seen the movie, captivated by the opening scene. Now I must read the screenplay. Thanks for posting.