12 Years a Slave · written by John Ridley and Steve McQueen · 2013

The string maker carries the packaged strings through Saratoga to a townhouse and calls for Mr. Northup.

Scene 5 of 211 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act one

String Maker

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 1 min into a 2:22 film

The story so farBefore scene 5

After being kidnapped from New York and sold into slavery, Solomon Northup uses his skills and carefully placed trust to survive and seek a way back to his family.

Scene 1
A butcher carries a sheep from its pen into the slaughter shed; the killing follows in scene 2, while scene 1 establishes the image of captivity.
Just before
Scene 2
The butcher shears and slaughters the sheep, then removes the warm intestine that will become violin strings.
Scene 3
A dresser cleans the animal casings, sorts them by quality, and groups them into hanks.
Scene 4
A string maker cuts the casings into ribbons, bleaches and straightens them, then wraps the finished strings.
Scene 5
This scene

5EXT. STREET - AFTERNOON

The String Maker walks the package along the streets of Saratoga, New York. It is best known as the location that British General John Burgoyne surrendered to American General Horatio Gates at the end of the Battles of Saratoga on October 17, 1777, often cited as the turning point for the United States during the American Revolutionary War. The town line is formed by the Hudson River and is the border of Washington County. Fish Creek, a tributary of the Hudson River, is the outflow of Saratoga Lake. It is a fairly modern township, but in the middle 1800s it is far from pristine. THERE IS MUD AND MANURE EVERYWHERE, AND IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP ANYTHING CLEAN. This state, however, is the norm for the era and goes uncommented upon.

The String Maker arrives to a TOWNHOUSE. Using a KNOCKER that hangs at the door he raps, then calls to the occupant:

STRING MAKER

Mr. Northup? Are you there Mr.

Northup?