A Barrister's Ballads

1. 
   
   
   

   

   
   

   FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

5. INT. BEDROOM - 05:15

6. 
   

7. The sun bearly peeks over the horizon. PETER stirs awake, rubbing his eyes.

8. 
   

9. PETER (V.O.): Memories of yesterday flood back.

10. 
    

11. FLASHBACK

12. 
    

13. INT. CONFERENCE ROOM, HK CLUB BUILDING - 18:00 (Yesterday)

14. 
    

15. Sitting next to the CHAIR and having an acoustic guitar by his side, Peter makes an opening remark.

16. 
    

17. PETER: The trilingual ballad I'm going to sing is called "HKUST".

18. 
    

19. Pausing.

20. 
    

21. The English lyrics are just "HKUST", the Putongha lyrics are just " 啊－ 啊－ 啊"（ Ah-ah-ah). The Cantonese lyrics are difficult, I'll sing them all.

22. 
    

23. As he is about to perform, the Committee CHAIR and MEMBERS#1,2 &3 have their smartphone cameras directing at Peter.

24. 
    

25. PETER (V.O):  Wow... all the CEOs...

27. Act 2

29. PETER (Singing):  啊－ 啊－ 啊（ Ah-ah-ah），啊－ 啊－ 啊　（ ah-ah-ah-ah）,

30.                                 H-K-U-S-T, H-K-U-S-T,

31.                                香港嘅科技大学, 點解係價値中心,

32.                                知識轉移好又快, 料技創新,

33.                                仲與別不同, 係佢嘅創業精神,

34.                                紅鳥都可以行空, 願景都會成真!

35.                                啊－ 啊－ 啊（ Ah-ah-ah），啊－ 啊－ 啊　（ ah-ah-ah-ah）,

36.                                 H-K-U-S-T, H-K-U-S-T,

37.                                 啊－ 啊－ 啊（ Ah-ah-ah），啊－ 啊－ 啊　（ ah-ah-ah-ah)...

38. 
    

39. PETER: Thank you all!

40. 
    

41. A big round of joyful applause.

42. 
    

43. MEMBER#4: I'm so glad I'm here to witness that!

44. 
    

45. CHAIR: Apart from singing the song, Peter is hosting dinner for us too!

46. 
    

47. MEMBER#1 (Humming): HKUST, HKUST...

48. 
    

49. PETER: Yes, let's go now.

50. 
    

51. MEMBER#2: Peter, I've just sent you the video clip of your performance.

52. 
    

53. EXT. STREET - LATER

54. 
    

55. Six-seater cars are waiting. Peter gets on board one.

56. 
    

57. MEMBER#3: Peter, let me join you!

58. 
    

59. PETER (V.O): I believe he resonates with my lyrics "係佢嘅創業精神, 紅鳥都可以行空, 願景都會成真!" He's a HKUST alumni and donor.

60. 
    

61. INT. AMMO, ADMIRALTY - 11:00

62. 
    

63. A long table set for a dozen people.

64. 
    

65. PETER: Free sitting...

66. 
    

67. Peter takes a seat in the middle. The Chair sits opposite him while he is chatting with MEMBER#5 sitting to his right.

68. 
    

69. PETER:.. I crossed path with your Dad when he was a LegCo Councillor....

70. 
    

71. Later, noticing MEMBER#4 sitting to his left, Peter chats and shares MVs on YouTube with her.

72. 
    

73. PETER (V.O): Many HKUST buildings bear her father's name...

74. 
    

75. Later, Peter shares his family story with the Chair.

76. 
    

77. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): A HKUST lab bears the name of her father-in-law. It has never occured to me that I'd work with her...she's young and smart...

78. 
    

79. Peter drinks water as others enjoy their wine.

80. 
    

81. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I'm just a former humble civil servant and a barrister working very little in retirement.

82. 
    

83. END FLASHBACK

84. 
    

85. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I love my "HKUST" ballad. It highlights what makes HKUST different.

86. 
    

87. Pausing.

88. 
    

89. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Its structure is simple. It opens and closes with a catchy line: Ah-ah-ah（ 啊－ 啊－ 啊）and just one verse in spoken Cantonese.

90. 
    

91. Pausing.

92. 
    

93. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I exercised intellectual effort to make the verse rhyme. I don't know if the audience would notice that.

94. 
    

95. Pausing.

96. 
    

97. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): My "HKUST" song can be sung and played by anyone ie If I can do it, so can you.

98. 
    

99. Pausing.

100. 
     

101. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): And I hope those who can't speak Cantonese might learn some via my song.

102. 
     

103. Act 3.

105. INT. BEDROOM - 21:30

107. Peter inserts an AI drawing titled: "A Barrister's Ballads..." to a draft on his laptop.

109. PETER (V.O): My ballads explore cultural themes, celebrating love, festivals and institutions like HKUST.

110. 
     

111. Thinking.

113. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Each ballad serves as a testament, a story woven with the threads of truth and deep emotion.

114. 
     

115. Reflecting.

117. PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): A barrister's ballads bridge the gap between law and life, revealing the human spirit.

118. 
     

119. FADE OUT

121. THE END