48HFP practice session - August 2011

I don't remember exactly when I wrote this, as it has taken me a while to get back to typing it up. It's probably the worst practice session I've done.

Man watching TV (Occupation); Robin Scherbatsky (Character name); The fountain will test you (Quote); Musical or Western (Genre)

Open on an old man watching TV. He's saying, "You know me as Robin Scherbatsky, but back then I was Robin Banks."

"Very funnny, grampa."

"There was this one time..." /dreamfade

OUTSIDE
Man riding a horse, galloping across rough western landscape

VO (woman) "The fountain will test you"
CU rider
Rider (shouted)
"What does it mean?"
Riding at a gallop
VO (woman) "...will test you." (fading echoes)
Riding (gallop)
Rider (shouted)
"Arghh...!!"

VO (woman) "Ride to the edge of the plains; ride until you can't go on and then ride a mile further. The fountain will test you."
Riding, looks exhausted in the saddle. Horse is walking slowly now. Man falls off the saddle. Horse walks away.
Show sun at high noon, beating down. Man lifts his head groggily, looks ahead.
Show landscape shot - mountains without clouds. Show one single cloud rising up in a billow (maybe use factory steam rising if needed)
MCU man (hoarse, dusty voice)
"The fountain"
He picks himself up and walks on, still exhausted, but almost there.
Cut back to the old man and his grandson in a room talking.
"Grampa, this is boring."
"What happened next is really interesting."

...and that's as far as I got. I remember hitting a wall at this point, trying to make it interesting and failing miserably. There's no plot! Nothing of interest! I was too hung up by the "fountain will test you" line to get anywhere. Ah, well.

The Pillars of the Earth - reading

Finished "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett. I chose Ken Follett because a coworker said he enjoys Ken's books. I read a few reviews of this before I picked it up and can now say that I agree with what those reviewers said. There are definitely times when the author tells us things that we have already figured out, as though explaining it to a child. There are times when the author repeats things that he need not repeat. This is why I went with 4 stars rather than 5.


BUT


As the story unfolded, I could look past that. I was so interested in the characters and the events of their lives in the several decades the story spans that I found myself thinking, "okay, Ken, I know this. Let's get back to the story" whenever the unnecessary explanations came up, but that was it. It was a distraction, but not enough of a detraction. The story itself brought that period of history to life.