Headphones On
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM - 08:00
Soft grey-blue light filters through the curtains. PETER 'S WIFE sleeps deeply. PETER lies beside her, propped up on two pillows. On his head are closed-back headphones. He scrolls through Facebook.
PETER (V.O.): Here's another piano tutorial for jazz beginners.
MONTAGE OF PETER'S LISTENING EXPERIENCE IN A MALL YESTERDAY
A. We hear background piano music - its "Misty" reinterpreted. Sounds different.
B. Peter is utterly arrested by the rendition, coming frome everywhere and nowhere.
END MONTAGE
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I want to play jazz. I also want to reverse-engineer the moment that freezes me. And then I want to build one of my own.
Peter gets out of bed.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe playing "Misty" is the only reliable method to deconstruct and fully apprehend its melodic and harmonic language.
Act 2
MONTAGE OF PETER PLAYING MISTY IN THE LIVING ROOM
A. Eyes on the e-sheet music, right hand leading. Peter mines the melody alone.
B. Guided by the chord symbols, Peter's left hand mines the jazz harmony.
C. With a held breath, Peter brings his hands together, marrying melody with harmony.
END MONTAGE
INT. LIVING ROOM - 11:OO
On a desk sit two pairs of over-end headphones.
PETER (V.O.): The two-tone colour pair was an aesthetic decision, an attempt to harmonize with my age.
Peter lifts them, settling the plush ear cups over his ears. He looks at his reflection in a mirror nearby.
.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That's an improvement. Has some character.
He gives a firm nod, takes them off and puts on the other pair.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For the white pair, I chose the BT 6 technology that promised to reveal layers in music.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The contrast is stark. It's the difference between looking at a photo and stepping into the room where it is taken.
EXT. MTR STATION - 13:45
Wearing the white pair of closed-back headphones, Peter waits.
PETER (V.O.): I'm listening to soft jazz music.
Peter boards the train.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): People see a man tuning out, but I'm in fact tuning in to a frequency where memory and melancholy interwine.
FLASHBACK
EXT. TOUR COACH - 10: 00 (11 Nov 2025)
The coach hums along a road in Guangdong. Peter sits near the front. WOMEN#1 and #2 choose not to sit together, but are having a loud conversation across the coach, as the tour GUIDE speaks via a speaker.
WOMAN#1: How was your flight to HK?
GUIDE: ...on your right, you'll see...
WOMAN#2. Ok. But I preferred my cruise to Mexico...
GUIDE:...and on your left, you'll see...
WOMAN#1: How nice was it?
Peter shifts uncomfortably.
WOMAN#2: Very nice...sunshine...
Then we hear the voice of WOMAN#3.
WOMAN#3: How was the food and drinks?
WOMAN#2: Excellent...but I got fed up with them after a few days...
Peter adjusts his posture. But the sound is everywhere.
GUIDE: The coach will make a rest stop shortly.
INT. SERVICE AREA - LATER
Peter walks purposely, scanning store fronts. In a shop, he buys a pair of cheap ear buds.
PETER (V.O.): I'll wear them prominently!
RETURN TO PRESENT
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 22:00
Peter uploads a photo featuring a close-up of headphones, highlighting their cushioned ear pads to a draft on his laptop.
PETER (V.O.): Headphones on: A declaration that the most significant conversations often occurs within the confines of my mind, guided by the soothing voices and rhythms in my headphones.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My headphones are my time machines, transporting me to the eternal moments in recordings, where creativity lives on, ready to be understood and appreciated.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't put on headphones to escape the world; I wear them to encounter a better version of it on my own terms.
The END
FADE OUT
Comments