Sycamore - 48HFP Practice

Using the 48 Hour Film Project practice script generator, Jess and I did a full-scale practice for the 48 Hour Film Project. It involved getting the specifics at a set time, writing the script, shooting it, editing it, scoring it, and everything in between.

Here's what the generator gave us:

Your 48HFP Trial has the following specifics:

Name: Isaias (male)/Ivana (female) Heckler

Occupation: Soil Conservationist

Prop: washing machine

Line of Dialogue: I was wondering if you know anything that I should.

Genre: Fable

The script follows:

-----

INT. ISAIAS’ HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAWN

Isaias Heckler is getting ready for the day: turns off ringing ALARM CLOCK, gets out of BED wearing UNDERWEAR; brushes teeth;

ISAIAS:

(Looking into the mirror, disappointed with himself, toothbrush in mouth)

Greed makes you compromise.

Isaias gets his UNIFORM from the DRYER (next to WASHING MACHINE); gets dressed; puts WORKERS GLOVES in back pocket

INT. ISAIAS’ CAR - MORNING

Isaias gets into his HYBRID CAR, parked in his driveway.

ISAIAS:

(Looking in rear-view mirror)

Greed makes you compromise.

His CELL PHONE beeps as he receives a text.

CELL PHONE (ECU):

ADDRESS: 3434 Sycamore Lane.

Golden, CO 80401.

North East corner.

EXT. SYCAMORE LANE - DAY

Isaias stands in front of a large TREE with a CLIPBOARD in hand. He kneels in the dirt and picks some up letting it fall between his fingers. He pulls out his WORKERS GLOVES, puts them on and inspects the tree - runs his hands and fingers along the trunk.

TREE:

(Giggling)

That tickles!

ISAIAS:

(continues to run his fingers)

What about here?

TREE:

(Laughter)

Oh ho-ho stop. I can’t take it anymore.

Isaias stops tickling the tree. He looks up at the full branches.

ISAIAS:

How old are you? 70?

TREE:

(Mock offended)

Where is your bedside manner? I am 93 by human years. Would be just a child in my family’s eyes, if they still lived.

Isaias looks around the lot and further. Sees subdivisions and malls, various buildings and construction.

ISAIAS:

Yeah.

TREE:

(continuing)

Humans say, “She’s just a tree!”

They don’t realize what I see

I’ve been here for a century or two

There is wisdom in my glade

Take a seat here in my shade

It’s rare for man to hear me as you do

It was not that long ago

I grew up without a foe

One as young as you won’t believe it’s true

There were aspens, maples, pines.

Sometimes covered up with vines

Sunbathing, drinking in the morning dew

At first humans weren’t bad.

Stayed with us and made us glad.

We should have paid attention to the clue.

They tattooed our bark with names

Cut us down, burned us in flames

A shame our numbers now are far too few

You’re not like them, I can tell

Before I bid you farewell

Know this: Your heart will tell you what to do

ISAIAS:

I can’t deny what you say. Perhaps I should show my real talent today.

TREE:

You’re new to rhyming, aren’t you?

ISAIAS:

Yeah. Good thing that’s not my real talent.

TREE:

I was wondering if you know anything that I should.

ISAIAS:

I’m here to see about your future in this world.

TREE:

I’m fine with whatever you decide.

INT. BUILDERS OFFICE - AFTERNOON

Isaias walks into the office with his GLOVES still on. Builder is looking over some PAPERS and her PHONE.

BUILDER:

Are you Isaias Heckler?

ISAIAS:

At your service.

BUILDER:

I trust you have good news for me.

ISAIAS:

Good enough.

BUILDER:

Excellent. Come. Let us drink.

Builder gets up from her DESK. Isaias walks toward her. Builder pours two DRINKS and hands one to Isaias. Builder clinks GLASSES and drinks. Isaias does not drink. He puts his CLIPBOARD down on the desk, the drink next to it.

BUILDER:

Are the papers in order?

ISAIAS:

Nearly.

BUILDER:

Have them for me Monday and you will get your payment.

ISAIAS:

I don’t want to seem greedy, but you should really pay me half now.

BUILDER:

(Pauses to consider a moment)

I can agree to that.

Builder walks behind the DESK and grabs a BRIEFCASE.

BUILDER:

I was a bit worried, never having worked with you before.You soil conservationists are a bit picky, but you came highly recommended.

Isaias unravels a length of WIRE, securing it around his hands.

BUILDER:

For now, here is half in unmarked bills, as we arranged.

Builder crosses the room to stand in front of Isaias.

ISAIAS:

These trees are in distress.

BUILDER:

Yes, and I’m here to put them out of their misery, with shopping malls, and houses, and parking lots. There will still be green. Just a different kind of green.

ISAIAS:

Have you heard the story of the Bull and the Goat?

BUILDER:

Yes, yes, it shows an evil disposition to take advantage of a friend in distress. But you’re not in distress, are you?

(She proffers the BRIEFCASE OF MONEY)

ISAIAS:

No, but you are.

Isaias lunges forward, strangling the builder to death.

ISAIAS:

Hard to breathe, isn’t it?

Builder gasps and then dies.

All in all, it was not great. The script wasn't that good. The shots we got were not good, and the edit was noisy, choppy. But hey, it was a first attempt!

I would link to the video, but it's really just not good. Ask me again in a few years.

Ship it!

As of late last night, my 2013 NaNoWriMo story is waiting for approval from the Amazon/CreateSpace review so I can print it and add book #6 to my collection!

After some soul searching (combined with procrastination, laziness, and frustration with the story), I decided enough was enough, and that leaving the story where it is now is just fine. It's something I could probably pick up for the next NaNoWriMo. Or the one in 2016 (since this was the sequel to my 2010 story). At this point, I would like to go back and read through book 1 and 2, and make some notes on what should happen next, combined with what I already know is supposed to happen. I say "supposed to" because you know how characters can change your mind.

Many thanks to my writing buddy for helping shape what's already there. :-)

Freak on a Leash

One thing that I have always enjoyed doing - ever since I was a kid - is changing the lyrics of songs, making parodies that make the song about something completely different. Here's an example. I wrote this one some time around 2004.

To the tune of Freak on a Leash by Korn:

Sometimes I’m called Padme
Sometimes Amidala is me.
Every time you think you see me
Handmaiden steps out and it’s me, it’s me.

Trade federation’s messin’ with me (you wanna start a fight)
Blockin’ our trade so we can’t be free (so do I)
Send a Jedi to negotiate (you wanna big fight)
I tried to but it was all in vain, in vain

(chorus)
Sometimes there’s paint upon my face
With little dots in different place
I take my wardrobe every place
In case I need a change of pace
Some would call me Padme
As I tour the galaxy
Blackbird spaceship takin’ me
Some would call me Padme.

Couple of Jedi try to save me (just like "A New Hope")
Shoot the wall to help us get free (familiar)
How many times have I seen that scene? (since ’77)
Originality would be neat

CHORUS

(cut to a light saber fight with the two Jedi and Darth Maul)
11x Boom hum whiz whoom huh na wheeda da

(Obi-wan)
NO!

       /Oi! You kill Qui Gon
4x<  Jinn now,
       \Hey! Now you must die!

Some would call me Padme
As I tour the galaxy
Blackbird spaceship takin’ me
Some would call me Padme.

Padme....

Extending NaNo 2013: May 28

Writing since the end of November continues to be sporadic, but in today's lunch writing session, I hit another small milestone. Two months after my last "extending NaNo" post (which itself was four months after the end of NaNoWriMo), I've added another 10,000 words to my 2013 draft. I'm at 73,856 words. A lot has happened in the last 10,000 words, and the story is heading for ...

...well...

I'm not sure what. 

That's the problem I'm facing right now - I have an idea of how the current scenes are going to resolve, but it leads to a fairly wide open set of possibilities beyond that. At this point, I'd like to finish the writing I'm doing on the scenes going now, and then take some time to figure out an outline of the next part. It might end up being the outline for book three, or it might be a continuation of the story that's going now. I don't know. 

Redshirts - reading

Finished "Redshirts" by John Scalzi. This is the first book from Scalzi I've read. I went in knowing about Redshirts from Star Trek, and at the beginning, I had two possibilities in mind for how he might handle it. On the one hand, the Redshirts could behave like Redshirts in their own reality and deal with it in a way that is appropriate to a character. I think I would have liked that version more. On the other hand, they could have been written in a more meta way, the way Scalzi wrote them, which I felt was perhaps not as creative or engaging. Then throw in the codas at the end, and the fact that my exposure to Scalzi's writing comes primarily from his blog, and I came away thinking the book was on the lazy side, writing-wise. Yes, I'm aware that Scalzi has far more books written and published and loved than I do. But here we are anyway.

Factoring Humanity - reading

Finished "Factoring Humanity" by Robert J. Sawyer. In this book, a signal comes from Alpha Centauri for years, then suddenly stops. What does it mean? But then we go through the lives of a broken family in Canada (of course - Sawyer's Canadian). I thought the story was good and it was a quick read - Sawyer's writing style seems to match what I like to read - but I wasn't a huge fan of where the story ultimately went. Interesting, for sure, but either not long enough or too long, depending on if you think as I did that what was presented could have been a short story, or if you think as I did that the story elements presented could have been explored much more deeply.

Extending NaNo 2013: March 27

Writing since the end of November has been sporadic, but today I hit a small milestone. I've added over 10,000 words to my NaNoWriMo 2013 draft since the end of the event. There's still a long way to go, but now I'm at 63,753 words. The climax that is slow to build is still slow to build.

At least I'm mostly settled into my new apartment now, and writing can become a regular thing. Here's to hoping it does!

What? Just because I used the word "hope" in that last statement?