Well I just ordered my Azden Shotgun Microphone and my Clapboard today. Damn I'm getting all professional!
I've been distracted by Season 7 of '24' this past week, Dad and I have been doing a marathon. But when my mic arrives (and I get a cable for it) I'm going to shoot something. In the movie sense.
I've got a scene picked out to test shoot with. Now I have to convince some friends to blow a free evening on my crazy ideas!
Success is on the horizon...
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Learning Curve
I've been learning to use the Sony Vegas Pro editing software. It seems there is a lot more to learn than I expected. But the tools are very powerful.
I've gone past color correction and experimented with digital masking, composites, chroma key and several other post-production techniques.
I'm going to need some more footage to practice with so I'm hoping to do some shooting soon (if this damn rain ever stops, holy crap!)
I'm writing a small single scene that can be shot in one session to give me the footage needed to practice real narrative editing. There is more art than science to the editing process. So much to learn.
I'll keep you all posted!
I've gone past color correction and experimented with digital masking, composites, chroma key and several other post-production techniques.
I'm going to need some more footage to practice with so I'm hoping to do some shooting soon (if this damn rain ever stops, holy crap!)
I'm writing a small single scene that can be shot in one session to give me the footage needed to practice real narrative editing. There is more art than science to the editing process. So much to learn.
I'll keep you all posted!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Color Corrrection
Ever wonder why scenes in Hollywood movies look like paintings and your home movies look like crap? The pros use a tool called "Color Correction" to make every shot look like they filmed the most beautiful people and places on Earth and waited for the perfect light conditions. I've been learning the art and science of color correction with my new Sony Vegas Pro editing suite and the results are dramatic.
On the left is a boring frame I shot on the Rail Trail. Washed out so no color, lit from above so no shadows or highlights. Very YouTube. On the right is the color corrected version. Very Lord of the Rings!
Here I've subjected the realistic documentary-style shot of my house to the same color correction process. It looks like something that exists only in Hollywood. Kind of weird really.
Finally here's a shot I took at night. Nothing looks good under the creepy pink light of a sodium vapor-arc lamp, not even Jessica Biel. But I subtly removed the awful purple and punched up the oranges and blacks, turning a cold, dreary looking shot into a warm summer midnight shot.
Can you tell I'm having way too much fun? These are only three of the dozens of scenes I've been practicing color correction on. When we start shooting for real, I'll be able to make every frame look like a National Geographic cover and every amateur actor look like a Movie Star!
Next I'll be learning how to clean up and enhance sound tracks. Then I'll cut a short film using both color correction and sound design and post the results. Stay tuned!
On the left is a boring frame I shot on the Rail Trail. Washed out so no color, lit from above so no shadows or highlights. Very YouTube. On the right is the color corrected version. Very Lord of the Rings!
Here I've subjected the realistic documentary-style shot of my house to the same color correction process. It looks like something that exists only in Hollywood. Kind of weird really.
Finally here's a shot I took at night. Nothing looks good under the creepy pink light of a sodium vapor-arc lamp, not even Jessica Biel. But I subtly removed the awful purple and punched up the oranges and blacks, turning a cold, dreary looking shot into a warm summer midnight shot.
Can you tell I'm having way too much fun? These are only three of the dozens of scenes I've been practicing color correction on. When we start shooting for real, I'll be able to make every frame look like a National Geographic cover and every amateur actor look like a Movie Star!
Next I'll be learning how to clean up and enhance sound tracks. Then I'll cut a short film using both color correction and sound design and post the results. Stay tuned!
Monday, June 1, 2009
The Sleeper Has Awakened
It's time to get things going again.
I've purchased some equipment and more is on the way. I just ordered Sony Vegas Movie Studio Pro 9. It'll be good to learn new editing skills and be able to work with footage more flexibly than with Windows Movie Maker. When I've paid off my credit cards for my latest purchases, I've got my eye on a semi-pro Azden shotgun microphone. I also found a great company that sells top-quality sound cables at very low prices.
Another month and there will be nothing to stop me from making a movie. I won't have to borrow any equipment. I can just go shoot, record sound, edit and present!
Scott and I are working on a story for a feature length script, something we can actually shoot with the resources we have. No expensive locations, actors or effects. There's no money. Just generous people and whatever places and props we can use for free.
This blog will update on Mondays. Stay tuned for more information!
I've purchased some equipment and more is on the way. I just ordered Sony Vegas Movie Studio Pro 9. It'll be good to learn new editing skills and be able to work with footage more flexibly than with Windows Movie Maker. When I've paid off my credit cards for my latest purchases, I've got my eye on a semi-pro Azden shotgun microphone. I also found a great company that sells top-quality sound cables at very low prices.
Another month and there will be nothing to stop me from making a movie. I won't have to borrow any equipment. I can just go shoot, record sound, edit and present!
Scott and I are working on a story for a feature length script, something we can actually shoot with the resources we have. No expensive locations, actors or effects. There's no money. Just generous people and whatever places and props we can use for free.
This blog will update on Mondays. Stay tuned for more information!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Script: 'Conversation' First Draft
A Conversation With The Devil
by
T. D Fuhringer
55 Anson Ave
Hamilton, ON
L8T 2X5
905-921-1617
tfuhr@sympatico.ca
FADE IN
INT DEN - NIGHT
A FIGURE lights a CIGAR.
LUKE, a man wearing white sits at a POKER TABLE. He smokes the cigar and shuffles a DECK OF CARDS. Sitting to his left is
SYD, a real estate agent wearing expensive clothes, sunglasses and a gold watch. Syd is sorting POKER CHIPS into four stacks. To his left is
JOHN, who is unshaven and slovenly in appearance. John pours himself a TUMBLER from a half finished BOTTLE OF SCOTCH. He takes a drink. To his left is
BILLY, a young man in hip-hop gear with a red ball cap. Billy drums his fingers on the table.
SYD
So. What’s the stakes tonight?
Luke flips cards over for the deal.
LUKE
(after a beat, smiling)
Twenty bucks (beat) and your souls.
Syd nods. He and Billy pull out their TWENTIES. John pours himself another drink.
BILLY
I’m down with that.
John draws an ACE. Luke looks at John.
LUKE
(to John)
You have the deal.
John pulls a crumpled TWENTY from his pocket and tosses it on the table.
JOHN
Terrific.
John takes the cards and shuffles.
BILLY
What’s the Payout?
Luke holds up the money in a fan.
LUKE
Winner takes all.
John deals.
SYD
My kind of game.
BILLY
I dunno man, I’m feeling lucky tonight.
JOHN
That’s what you said last time.
Smiles around the table.
LUKE
I guess we’ll find out.
They play.
SYD
Weirdest thing happened to me today.
Luke watches SYD. John pours another drink.
BILLY
(smiling, pushing chips)
Raise!
John rolls his eyes.
SYD
So I’m supposed to show the old Cohen
house, right?
JOHN
Who’s gonna buy that shithole?
SYD
I know.
LUKE
(pushing chips)
Call.
SYD
(looking at cards)
Fold. (beat) Anyway I get out there and
of course the client doesn’t show.
JOHN
(folding)
Fucking clients.
SYD
Amen. (beat) So I get tired of waiting.
I close the place up and go to leave.
That’s when I see her.
BILLY
Who?
SYD
Some crazy old bitch is looking at me
out the window, from INSIDE the house.
BILLY
Wha?
SYD
I shit you not. The place was empty when
I locked up but there she was, glaring
down at me like I pissed on her grave or
something.
LUKE
Well, knowing you.
Laughs around the table.
SYD
True.
More laughs.
BILLY
You think it was the ghost of Mrs.
Cohen?
SYD
Nope. Don’t believe in ghosts.
JOHN
(after a beat)
So did you go check it out?
SYD
Hell no, I got the fuck out of there!
Laughs.
BILLY
(showing cards)
I got Aces and Eights!
LUKE
(showing cards)
Aces and Jacks.
BILLY
Aw, no way.
Luke collects the pot. Billy shuffles. John pours a drink.
BILLY
(dealing)
I got a better story.
SYD
Does it involve you finally losing your
virginity?
John chokes on his drink. Luke smiles. Billy gives Syd the finger.
BILLY
(continued)
It didn’t happen to me though. It
happened to my Uncle.
JOHN
(sarcastic)
Your Uncle?
BILLY
Yeah! Back when he was in the Navy. They
used to use underwater microphones to
listen for subs, before computers.
SYD
I think I’ve heard this one before.
BILLY
So they’ve got this mic way down in some
trench, and suddenly there’s this sound,
like someone’s tapping on the microphone.
SYD
(raising)
Like maybe a hungry fish?
John folds.
BILLY
(calling)
Nope. Couldn’t have been a fish. One of
the Navy guys goes all white. They ask
him what’s wrong? He says, ’It’s Morse
Code.’
JOHN
No way.
LUKE
(calling, beat)
What was the message?
Syd taps out Morse Code on the table.
SYD
B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T!
Laughs.
BILLY
It was some kind of really advanced
mathematical formula. Couldn’t have been
just random.
SYD
(raises)
Get out.
BILLY
(folds)
I swear.
JOHN
(beat)
That’s actually kind of scary.
LUKE
(to SYD)
Take it.
Luke throws away his cards. Syd rakes in the pot.
LUKE
(continues, to John)
What about you? You have a story?
John takes a drink. Luke shuffles. John pauses before answering. Luke begins to deal.
JOHN
I saw a UFO.
Luke pauses mid-deal.
SYD
Get the fuck out.
BILLY
Really?
Luke continues dealing.
SYD
Did you get abducted? Cause that would
explain a lot.
BILLY
A real UFO?
SYD
(conspiratorially)
Did they (beat) PROBE you?
John gives Syd the finger and takes a drink. Syd raises. John calls.
JOHN
We were flying down to Cuba, along the
East Coast. I had the window seat,
looking over the ocean. (beat) I see
this bright light flying with us.
Billy and Luke fold.
SYD
Like maybe, another plane?
JOHN
Not like a plane. It moved too fast.
LUKE
Were you near Florida?
JOHN
Yeah, why?
LUKE
Shuttle launch?
Syd raises. John calls.
JOHN
(shaking head)
No. I’ve seen a shuttle launch. This was
different. No smoke trail. And it was
FAST. It moved like it owned the sky.
Like a huge supersonic bird made of pure
light.
SYD
(beat)
You know it’s probably not a good idea
to get high before you fly.
Laughs.
John shrugs and takes a drink.
SYD
(continues)
What have you got?
Syd and John show their cards. John has a higher pair. John rakes in the pot.
SYD
(continues)
Damn.
BILLY
(to Luke)
What about you? You got a story?
Syd shuffles. Luke doesn’t respond.
SYD
C’mon. Don’t hold out on us. You must
have something.
Syd deals.
LUKE
(smiling)
Maybe.
John looks at his cards.
JOHN
(pushing chips)
Raise a hundred.
Billy raises his eyebrows. He looks at his cards.
BILLY
(pushing chips)
Call.
SYD
Ooh. A real hand.
Luke looks at his cards. He calls.
SYD
(pushing chips)
I’m going to have to raise on principle.
Two hundred more.
John calls.
BILLY
That’s half my chip stack.
SYD
You gotta pay to play.
Billy sighs and looks at his cards again.
BILLY
Call.
LUKE
Call.
SYD
Family pot.
Syd deals the flop. The flop is the Ace, Jack and Two of diamonds.
SYD
Possible flush! Do I deal excitement or
what?
JOHN
Three hundred.
BILLY
What?
Luke smiles. Billy fusses for a minute.
BILLY
I guess I’m all in for four.
LUKE
(beat)
Call.
SYD
Call.
John throws in another hundred.
BILLY
(to Luke)
You never told us your story.
SYD
Uh, monster hand here.
JOHN
Yeah, let’s hear it.
Luke smiles.
LUKE
You wouldn’t believe me.
BILLY
Try us.
Syd holds the deck in his hand.
SYD
You guys ready for the next card?
BILLY
I wanna hear his story.
Syd sighs.
JOHN
Me too.
Syd sets the deck down.
SYD
Unbelievable.
LUKE
You won’t like it.
SYD
I already don’t like it.
LUKE
(beat)
I once had a conversation with The Devil.
Silence. No one moves.
SYD
The Devil.
LUKE
I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.
Syd picks up the deck.
SYD
That’s because The Devil doesn’t exist.
BILLY
But ghosts and UFO’s do?
SYD
The Devil is a metaphor in Judeo-Christian
mythology representing the evil inside
people.
JOHN
Mythology?
BILLY
What do you mean?
SYD
They say ‘The Devil made me do
it’ as a way of avoiding the fact that
we humans are responsible for evil.
JOHN
Did you just call the religious beliefs
of billions of people, mythology?
SYD
The point is, there is no Devil. He’s
not real.
LUKE
He seemed pretty real to me.
BILLY
(beat)
What did he look like?
Syd put his hand to his forehead.
LUKE
Funny thing. I can’t remember.
JOHN
What do you mean?
LUKE
He didn’t look like anybody. He was so…
ordinary. One of those guys who’s face
you can never remember no matter how
hard you try. (beat) I won’t forget his
voice though.
BILLY
What did he say?
LUKE
(smiling)
He ordered coffee. ‘Black and hot’. I
told him we were closing but he said he
wouldn’t be long. He said, ‘I have to
get back to work.’ Naturally I asked him
what he did for work. (beat) He looked me
right in the eye and said, ‘I collect
souls.’
SYD
Get the fuck out.
LUKE
That’s what he said. I thought he was a
nut ball at first but he seemed so
sincere. So I played along, I said ‘So
what, you’re The Devil?’ And without
missing a beat the guy says, ‘Some call
me that, though I don’t see myself that
way.’
BILLY
Holy Shit!
SYD
You realize it was just some guy,
yanking your chain.
LUKE
(beat)
I’m not so sure. The way he talked, the
things he said. I’ve never heard ideas
like that.
JOHN
Like what?
LUKE
He told me that the secret to telling a
really great lie was to go all or
nothing. You tell the truth, then just
spin it ever so slightly to suit your
purposes. Or you make something up, the
more outrageous, the better. He said
people will see through a small lie
easily, but make it a whopper,
something totally unbelievable and
people will wonder if just maybe it
might be true.
JOHN
Our government does that all the time.
SYD
No kidding.
LUKE
He seemed kind of sad though. He said he
wished every soul could be truly free
to choose their own destiny, but that
people are inherently lazy and would
rather let someone else do the thinking
LUKE
(continued)
for them. Let someone else decide what’s
right or wrong.
BILLY
Wow.
LUKE
Yeah it kind of blew me away.
SYD
He say anything else?
LUKE
(smiling)
Well, he did offer me a job.
BILLY
Wha?
JOHN
Doing what?
Luke thinks for a moment, then looks down at the table.
LUKE
I didn’t ask.
SYD
Good thing too. Clearly you were talking
to a nutcase.
Luke shrugs.
LUKE
You’re probably right. (beat) Let’s see
the next card.
Syd grins and turns over the Ace of Spades.
JOHN
Five hundred
LUKE
Call.
Syd pushes the chips into a side pot. He adds his own.
SYD
Also call.
Syd turns over the last card. It is the Three of Diamonds.
JOHN
(pushes chips)
I think it’s time for me to go all in.
LUKE
Interesting.
Luke looks at his cards. He calls.
SYD
I call. And unless one of you guys has
the straight flush, I’ve got you all
beat.
BILLY
Straight Flush?
LUKE
Four and five of diamonds makes the
straight flush. (to Syd) You got Aces?
Syd lays down his cards. He has pocket Aces.
SYD
Quad Aces baby.
LUKE
Nice.
Luke throws his cards away. They remain separate from the rest. John shows his cards. He has pocket Jacks.
JOHN
Full House.
He takes a drink.
SYD
Ouch.
BILLY
Great. Just great. I had the nut flush
and you guys are getting full houses
and Quads. I can’t win.
SYD
(smiling)
Thank you gentlemen.
Luke hands him the cash.
LUKE
Here you go.
SYD
I gotta call my wife, tell her I’m bringing home the bacon.
Syd makes a phone call. John stands up and stretches. Billy is lost in thought.
When none of the others are looking, Luke moves the cards. He pulls the Ace, Two and Three of diamonds out of the house and puts them in front of himself. He pulls his hole cards over. He looks at each of the others, then flips over his hole cards.
They are the Four and Five of Diamonds.
Luke smiles.
FADE OUT
by
T. D Fuhringer
55 Anson Ave
Hamilton, ON
L8T 2X5
905-921-1617
tfuhr@sympatico.ca
FADE IN
INT DEN - NIGHT
A FIGURE lights a CIGAR.
LUKE, a man wearing white sits at a POKER TABLE. He smokes the cigar and shuffles a DECK OF CARDS. Sitting to his left is
SYD, a real estate agent wearing expensive clothes, sunglasses and a gold watch. Syd is sorting POKER CHIPS into four stacks. To his left is
JOHN, who is unshaven and slovenly in appearance. John pours himself a TUMBLER from a half finished BOTTLE OF SCOTCH. He takes a drink. To his left is
BILLY, a young man in hip-hop gear with a red ball cap. Billy drums his fingers on the table.
SYD
So. What’s the stakes tonight?
Luke flips cards over for the deal.
LUKE
(after a beat, smiling)
Twenty bucks (beat) and your souls.
Syd nods. He and Billy pull out their TWENTIES. John pours himself another drink.
BILLY
I’m down with that.
John draws an ACE. Luke looks at John.
LUKE
(to John)
You have the deal.
John pulls a crumpled TWENTY from his pocket and tosses it on the table.
JOHN
Terrific.
John takes the cards and shuffles.
BILLY
What’s the Payout?
Luke holds up the money in a fan.
LUKE
Winner takes all.
John deals.
SYD
My kind of game.
BILLY
I dunno man, I’m feeling lucky tonight.
JOHN
That’s what you said last time.
Smiles around the table.
LUKE
I guess we’ll find out.
They play.
SYD
Weirdest thing happened to me today.
Luke watches SYD. John pours another drink.
BILLY
(smiling, pushing chips)
Raise!
John rolls his eyes.
SYD
So I’m supposed to show the old Cohen
house, right?
JOHN
Who’s gonna buy that shithole?
SYD
I know.
LUKE
(pushing chips)
Call.
SYD
(looking at cards)
Fold. (beat) Anyway I get out there and
of course the client doesn’t show.
JOHN
(folding)
Fucking clients.
SYD
Amen. (beat) So I get tired of waiting.
I close the place up and go to leave.
That’s when I see her.
BILLY
Who?
SYD
Some crazy old bitch is looking at me
out the window, from INSIDE the house.
BILLY
Wha?
SYD
I shit you not. The place was empty when
I locked up but there she was, glaring
down at me like I pissed on her grave or
something.
LUKE
Well, knowing you.
Laughs around the table.
SYD
True.
More laughs.
BILLY
You think it was the ghost of Mrs.
Cohen?
SYD
Nope. Don’t believe in ghosts.
JOHN
(after a beat)
So did you go check it out?
SYD
Hell no, I got the fuck out of there!
Laughs.
BILLY
(showing cards)
I got Aces and Eights!
LUKE
(showing cards)
Aces and Jacks.
BILLY
Aw, no way.
Luke collects the pot. Billy shuffles. John pours a drink.
BILLY
(dealing)
I got a better story.
SYD
Does it involve you finally losing your
virginity?
John chokes on his drink. Luke smiles. Billy gives Syd the finger.
BILLY
(continued)
It didn’t happen to me though. It
happened to my Uncle.
JOHN
(sarcastic)
Your Uncle?
BILLY
Yeah! Back when he was in the Navy. They
used to use underwater microphones to
listen for subs, before computers.
SYD
I think I’ve heard this one before.
BILLY
So they’ve got this mic way down in some
trench, and suddenly there’s this sound,
like someone’s tapping on the microphone.
SYD
(raising)
Like maybe a hungry fish?
John folds.
BILLY
(calling)
Nope. Couldn’t have been a fish. One of
the Navy guys goes all white. They ask
him what’s wrong? He says, ’It’s Morse
Code.’
JOHN
No way.
LUKE
(calling, beat)
What was the message?
Syd taps out Morse Code on the table.
SYD
B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T!
Laughs.
BILLY
It was some kind of really advanced
mathematical formula. Couldn’t have been
just random.
SYD
(raises)
Get out.
BILLY
(folds)
I swear.
JOHN
(beat)
That’s actually kind of scary.
LUKE
(to SYD)
Take it.
Luke throws away his cards. Syd rakes in the pot.
LUKE
(continues, to John)
What about you? You have a story?
John takes a drink. Luke shuffles. John pauses before answering. Luke begins to deal.
JOHN
I saw a UFO.
Luke pauses mid-deal.
SYD
Get the fuck out.
BILLY
Really?
Luke continues dealing.
SYD
Did you get abducted? Cause that would
explain a lot.
BILLY
A real UFO?
SYD
(conspiratorially)
Did they (beat) PROBE you?
John gives Syd the finger and takes a drink. Syd raises. John calls.
JOHN
We were flying down to Cuba, along the
East Coast. I had the window seat,
looking over the ocean. (beat) I see
this bright light flying with us.
Billy and Luke fold.
SYD
Like maybe, another plane?
JOHN
Not like a plane. It moved too fast.
LUKE
Were you near Florida?
JOHN
Yeah, why?
LUKE
Shuttle launch?
Syd raises. John calls.
JOHN
(shaking head)
No. I’ve seen a shuttle launch. This was
different. No smoke trail. And it was
FAST. It moved like it owned the sky.
Like a huge supersonic bird made of pure
light.
SYD
(beat)
You know it’s probably not a good idea
to get high before you fly.
Laughs.
John shrugs and takes a drink.
SYD
(continues)
What have you got?
Syd and John show their cards. John has a higher pair. John rakes in the pot.
SYD
(continues)
Damn.
BILLY
(to Luke)
What about you? You got a story?
Syd shuffles. Luke doesn’t respond.
SYD
C’mon. Don’t hold out on us. You must
have something.
Syd deals.
LUKE
(smiling)
Maybe.
John looks at his cards.
JOHN
(pushing chips)
Raise a hundred.
Billy raises his eyebrows. He looks at his cards.
BILLY
(pushing chips)
Call.
SYD
Ooh. A real hand.
Luke looks at his cards. He calls.
SYD
(pushing chips)
I’m going to have to raise on principle.
Two hundred more.
John calls.
BILLY
That’s half my chip stack.
SYD
You gotta pay to play.
Billy sighs and looks at his cards again.
BILLY
Call.
LUKE
Call.
SYD
Family pot.
Syd deals the flop. The flop is the Ace, Jack and Two of diamonds.
SYD
Possible flush! Do I deal excitement or
what?
JOHN
Three hundred.
BILLY
What?
Luke smiles. Billy fusses for a minute.
BILLY
I guess I’m all in for four.
LUKE
(beat)
Call.
SYD
Call.
John throws in another hundred.
BILLY
(to Luke)
You never told us your story.
SYD
Uh, monster hand here.
JOHN
Yeah, let’s hear it.
Luke smiles.
LUKE
You wouldn’t believe me.
BILLY
Try us.
Syd holds the deck in his hand.
SYD
You guys ready for the next card?
BILLY
I wanna hear his story.
Syd sighs.
JOHN
Me too.
Syd sets the deck down.
SYD
Unbelievable.
LUKE
You won’t like it.
SYD
I already don’t like it.
LUKE
(beat)
I once had a conversation with The Devil.
Silence. No one moves.
SYD
The Devil.
LUKE
I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.
Syd picks up the deck.
SYD
That’s because The Devil doesn’t exist.
BILLY
But ghosts and UFO’s do?
SYD
The Devil is a metaphor in Judeo-Christian
mythology representing the evil inside
people.
JOHN
Mythology?
BILLY
What do you mean?
SYD
They say ‘The Devil made me do
it’ as a way of avoiding the fact that
we humans are responsible for evil.
JOHN
Did you just call the religious beliefs
of billions of people, mythology?
SYD
The point is, there is no Devil. He’s
not real.
LUKE
He seemed pretty real to me.
BILLY
(beat)
What did he look like?
Syd put his hand to his forehead.
LUKE
Funny thing. I can’t remember.
JOHN
What do you mean?
LUKE
He didn’t look like anybody. He was so…
ordinary. One of those guys who’s face
you can never remember no matter how
hard you try. (beat) I won’t forget his
voice though.
BILLY
What did he say?
LUKE
(smiling)
He ordered coffee. ‘Black and hot’. I
told him we were closing but he said he
wouldn’t be long. He said, ‘I have to
get back to work.’ Naturally I asked him
what he did for work. (beat) He looked me
right in the eye and said, ‘I collect
souls.’
SYD
Get the fuck out.
LUKE
That’s what he said. I thought he was a
nut ball at first but he seemed so
sincere. So I played along, I said ‘So
what, you’re The Devil?’ And without
missing a beat the guy says, ‘Some call
me that, though I don’t see myself that
way.’
BILLY
Holy Shit!
SYD
You realize it was just some guy,
yanking your chain.
LUKE
(beat)
I’m not so sure. The way he talked, the
things he said. I’ve never heard ideas
like that.
JOHN
Like what?
LUKE
He told me that the secret to telling a
really great lie was to go all or
nothing. You tell the truth, then just
spin it ever so slightly to suit your
purposes. Or you make something up, the
more outrageous, the better. He said
people will see through a small lie
easily, but make it a whopper,
something totally unbelievable and
people will wonder if just maybe it
might be true.
JOHN
Our government does that all the time.
SYD
No kidding.
LUKE
He seemed kind of sad though. He said he
wished every soul could be truly free
to choose their own destiny, but that
people are inherently lazy and would
rather let someone else do the thinking
LUKE
(continued)
for them. Let someone else decide what’s
right or wrong.
BILLY
Wow.
LUKE
Yeah it kind of blew me away.
SYD
He say anything else?
LUKE
(smiling)
Well, he did offer me a job.
BILLY
Wha?
JOHN
Doing what?
Luke thinks for a moment, then looks down at the table.
LUKE
I didn’t ask.
SYD
Good thing too. Clearly you were talking
to a nutcase.
Luke shrugs.
LUKE
You’re probably right. (beat) Let’s see
the next card.
Syd grins and turns over the Ace of Spades.
JOHN
Five hundred
LUKE
Call.
Syd pushes the chips into a side pot. He adds his own.
SYD
Also call.
Syd turns over the last card. It is the Three of Diamonds.
JOHN
(pushes chips)
I think it’s time for me to go all in.
LUKE
Interesting.
Luke looks at his cards. He calls.
SYD
I call. And unless one of you guys has
the straight flush, I’ve got you all
beat.
BILLY
Straight Flush?
LUKE
Four and five of diamonds makes the
straight flush. (to Syd) You got Aces?
Syd lays down his cards. He has pocket Aces.
SYD
Quad Aces baby.
LUKE
Nice.
Luke throws his cards away. They remain separate from the rest. John shows his cards. He has pocket Jacks.
JOHN
Full House.
He takes a drink.
SYD
Ouch.
BILLY
Great. Just great. I had the nut flush
and you guys are getting full houses
and Quads. I can’t win.
SYD
(smiling)
Thank you gentlemen.
Luke hands him the cash.
LUKE
Here you go.
SYD
I gotta call my wife, tell her I’m bringing home the bacon.
Syd makes a phone call. John stands up and stretches. Billy is lost in thought.
When none of the others are looking, Luke moves the cards. He pulls the Ace, Two and Three of diamonds out of the house and puts them in front of himself. He pulls his hole cards over. He looks at each of the others, then flips over his hole cards.
They are the Four and Five of Diamonds.
Luke smiles.
FADE OUT
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Production Delays Oh No!
Our movie is being postponed until sometime in the new year. Some of the participants work schedules have changed significantly. So we'll have to reschedule. Once we've sorted out our work situation we'll pick a new date and let everyone know.
Thanks for your patience!
Thanks for your patience!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Image is Everything
Here are some reference shots of the house we'll be using for our shoot on Dec 21st. Hopefully these will give us some ideas of what we have to work with visually and in terms of space for action. I have many more pictures but these are enough to give you an idea.
Front
Entrance
Entrance from inside
Entrance from above balcony (excellent angle!)
Back entrance screen door
Screen door from inside kitchen
Living room with screen door at far left
Living room towards kitchen & stairs
Living room from screen door
Living room from kitchen & stairs
Balcony above entrance
Top of stairs from below
Bottom of stairs from landing
Stair detail from top landing (sweet)
On the left is the bathroom Scott will come from. Ahead is the closet door Dan will pop out of and kill Scott messily from behind. Good times.
Under-lit basement
Creepy basement
Awesome creepy basement
Front
Entrance
Entrance from inside
Entrance from above balcony (excellent angle!)
Back entrance screen door
Screen door from inside kitchen
Living room with screen door at far left
Living room towards kitchen & stairs
Living room from screen door
Living room from kitchen & stairs
Balcony above entrance
Top of stairs from below
Bottom of stairs from landing
Stair detail from top landing (sweet)
On the left is the bathroom Scott will come from. Ahead is the closet door Dan will pop out of and kill Scott messily from behind. Good times.
Under-lit basement
Creepy basement
Awesome creepy basementSo that's some of the space we have to work in there are several other rooms like the garage, laundry room, office, etc. but we will likely have to use one or two of those rooms for staging and equipment.
More info to come!
More info to come!
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