Tuesday, May 11, 2010

SCREENPLAY PDF - Josh Ronen

My Screenplay: "Search and Rescue"

I twisted and turned the plot of Little Brother and added some of my own ideas to formulate this script. Marcus never is recapture by the DHS and Osama Bin Laden is the leader of the terrorist plot to blow up the Bay Bridge. He is captured and taken into custody by the DHS. The terrorists use Marcus as a gateway into the DHS Headquarters once he steals the blueprints of the headquarters for them for the White House database over the Xnet. They kidnap him from his home in the middle of the night. Will the terrorists get Osama back? Will Osama die at the hands of the rogue DHS agents? Will the world finally see the truth? Does Marcus finally get the payback he never got in the novel on Severe Haircut Lady? See this movie and find out!

Script by marie galetto

here is my Little Brother Machinima Script

My Little Brother machinima is about Darryl's internal struggle while in jail. It shows how horrible events can change people's lives forever. Darryl struggles with his relationship with Marcus throughout the story and eventually resents him more than anyone else in his life. It shows how having war effect your personal life, or violent or oppressive situations in general, can make people do horrible things or completely change peoples' views on life.

Machinima Script-Bonnie Given

Here is my website with my screenplay.
For some reason, I can't find a way to link my pdf version here.
I decided to focus on the concepts of over-surveillance, invasion of privacy, and distrust in my screenplay. In Little Brother, Doctorow introduces these prevalent themes by showing how the DHS responds to the teeangers after the bombing of the Bay Bridge. They are watched everywhere they go and they are treated with out respect and as if the are criminals. I decided to use two protagonists, Macey and Tyler who have found themselves caught in unfortunate situations. Macey is caught picking up a cigarette by her mom, who thinks she has been smoking. Her mom makes her go to homeschool and treats her like a prisoner. Tyler falls on another women and the grocery store and his wife thinks he has been cheating on her. She decides to put a tracking device on him to keep track of everywhere he goes. Both characters end up removing themselves from the awful and unfair situations that they are in and actually become friends in the script. Hopefully, the theme I am trying to focus on is shown well in my script and that the characters I have created are unique and interesting to the readers.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Screenplay PDF-Bri Cassara

SCREENPLAY

For my screenplay, I wanted to look at the story of Little Brother from the eyes of Severe haircut lady. We take a look at her childhood and how happy she used to be. We see her with her parents, enjoying life. Then, her mother is suddenly murdered by a teen aged boy at a school shooting. Severe haircut lady (Alex)'s world is suddenly flipped upside down as she learned to cope with the tragedy, without the help of her father who became a hateful recluse after his wife's death. We see why Alex is the way she is. We see the pain that caused her to become so hardened, and the event that ignited her desire to bring justice to her country by protecting it from terrorists.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Alec Molloy - A Day in the Life

PDF verion
Marcus walks into his house, and into his room looking very tired and distraught. His parents walk into his room to check on him, his Mom asks him if he is ok, that he has been acting strange since the bombing and says they are there to help them. Marcus sighs deeply and tells them that since that day he has been keeping a secret and decides he needs to tell them. He tells them the story of what happened, explaining that he has horrible nightmares. (Shows flashbacks of him being held by DHS while he tells story). His parents are shocked and do not even know how to react, but comfort Marcus and apologize to him that he had to go through the ordeal. They say that they need to think about it for a while and they will talk about what to do as a family the next night.

Marcus gets up the next day and goes to school, doesn’t really pay attention, looking at the clock all day until school is over.

Scenes of both of Marcus’ parents getting pulled over in cars and put in hoods and then into white van. Then cut to them being questioned in a jail cell by severe haircut woman, where she says that if they do not tell her who their son hangs out with they are going to kill Marcus. They say that he spends most of his time with his friend Jolu and his girlfriend Ange.

Walks home.

When he gets home he walks in and the house is totally torn apart, and he can’t find his parents anywhere. Then he goes into his room distressed and after trying to calm himself for a few seconds he opens his computer. On the screen is typed a message from the DHS saying they have taken his parents, and if he wants to see them again he has to turn M1k3y in to them. They say to bring M1k3y to the DHS headquarters located about 3 5 miles from his house. Marcus is stunned, he doesn’t know what to do so he calls Ange. When Ange answers he says his parents are gone and she says hers are too. At that moment Marcus receives a call from Jolu informing him that Jolu’s parents have been taken as well. They both got the same note as Marcus also. The 3 of them decide to meet up in a coffee shop immediately.

Cut to them sitting at a table in a coffee shop. All 3 look really worried, and are silent. They all do not know what to do. Marcus says that it is all his fault. He says that he started this and now he has caused too much pain to his friends and their families, as well as his own parents. He decides that he is going to go to the DHS headquarters and just turn himself in as M1k3y. Ange and Jolu tell him that he can’t do that. He says that he has to. They keep begging him not to but he won’t listen. He decides that he is going to go in the next morning and tell the DHS that he is M1k3y. The 3 separate.

Cut to scene of Ange at night going to woman’s house and going inside. See from outside that they are talking, but can’t hear what they are saying.

Next morning, Marcus gets up, looking determined but very scared. He leaves and begins walking to DHS station. When he gets there he stands outside for a minute just looking around. Then, takes a deep breath, and walks inside. He goes up to an official, and says I am M1k3y. I am turning myself in. The official says to some other uniformed people to put him in a van and bring him to Treasure Island immediately. He is sitting in the van for a while just staring down. Then they get to a dock, with a boat tied up waiting for them, already running. They grab Marcus by the arms and begin to walk him to the boat. Right as they are putting him onboard a police car speeds up with its sirens on and comes to a stop. Two officers get out and run up to the boat informing the people onboard that Marcus is to be taken to the prison in town, and that the DHS no longer has any power in California. Marcus is amazed and asks what happened. The officer shows him a newspaper with the headline “DHS: Worse Than Terrorism”. Marcus is confused but overjoyed.

Cut to scene of Marcus in jail cell, and Ange and Jolu walk in. Marcus asks about what is going on. Ange tells him that after they left the coffee shop she talked to her aunt, who knew people in the governor’s office who wanted to stop the DHS. When she did that a story got published in the newspaper and the governor was able to declare that the DHS no longer had power in California.

Scene by Scene Outline-Rebecca Murillo

ANGE'S STORY


Scene 1

It’s November, in the late 90s. The weather outside is sunny but there is certainly no warmth in the air as the wind bites through every layer of clothing. The hospital is necessarily new, but it is apparent is has been kept well and there are no signs of wear and tear.

There is a woman in her late 30s sitting in a hospital bed, it doesn’t appear that she has much energy to do anything, she is slowly dying. A young girl, 11 years of age sits on her bed with her while a middle aged man, most likely the father, sleeps lazily in a chair off to the side. The mom lazily opens her eyes. And looks around the room. Noticing her husband sleeping in a chair.

The woman is Mrs. Carvelli, she is 38 years old with a fairly olive complexion that is losing it’s luster, her hair once was a brilliant golden brown with blonde highlights in just the right places, but now it lay limp on her head, with no light reflecting from it. Her eyes had turned from spring green to more of a moss green. The doctors were not able to diagnose what is plaguing her, but whatever it is appears to be slowly shutting down her organs. She never believed anything would defeat her and continues to believe that she will be cured soon enough. She is a slight feminist although she babies her husband she still believes that women deserve equal power and that a rise in this ideal is approaching.

The young girls is Ange Carvelli, she is a mirror image of what her mother used to be and like her mother believes that this unknown disease will be cured any day know. She has grown up adoring her mother and striving to equal her strength and power as a woman. Ange has grown up taking hin all her mother has to teach her about feminism and the equality of genders and someday Ange hopes to make a difference in the world as a woman.

Mr. Carvelli is a male with the stereotypical view of women in mind. He believes that the women should stay at home while the men work and has always tried to persuade Mrs. Carvelli from her feminist mindset.

As the events unfold, Ange stays by her mothers side until death, but before she dies, Mrs. Carvelli mumurs to Ange “Don’t you EVER let any man tell you that you can’t do something just because you’re a girl. Prove them wrong honey. Prove it to them, and prove it to yourself.”

Scene 2

Ange is now a teenager in the present day, she does all the housework and is forced to care for her incompetent father who refuses to help her out around the house. The house is actually a small 2-bedroom apartment that Ange and her father moved into after her mother’s death. It is slightly unkempt, with some dirty laundry spewed across the furniture but underneath that we can tell that the apartment is normally kept very well.

Ange’s father gets upset with her about the untidiness of the apartment and says that she needs to make him more food because he did not enjoy the dinner she had made. Ange had tried something new that night, enchiladas, making obvious that her father doesn’t like change. Ange has a silent conversation with herself about how she will follow her mother’s advice one day and make a name for herself. She also makes some comment about the terrorist attacks.

She makes her father a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, absent-mindedly picks up the laundry, saying she’ll do it later. She goes upstairs and fiddles with her computer, something goes wrong so she takes it apart, rearranges some wires, turns it back on, enters a code, and continues working.

Scene 3

Ange discovers the Xnet revolution and immediately identifies with it. She becomes excited that she can now be apart of a bigger cause and joins in, readily accepting all of the Xnetters beliefs and the movement’s objectives. Somehow she gets invited to a secret meeting, through Jolu, something about the Xnet. They make their pact (more info).

At the meeting, Ange takes notice of Marcus, she is drawn to his confident yet vulnerable matter. After listening to him and observing him, she realizes that he is mik3y, she has finally come upon her chance to make a name for herself. She knows that she is good enough with computers that she can take over the Xnet and she also knows that she will be able to manipulate Marcus. She approaches him and wins him over with her forward ways.

Cut to a couple scenes of Ange and Marcus hanging out, having a good time, but her obviously just playing with him.

Scene 4

Ange sits in her surprisingly messy room, there are posters of feminists all over the walls and she is typing away on her computer. She is planning her takeover of the Xnet. Her dad continues to yell at her for not being more of a woman.

Ange and her father get in a big heated argument about her role in the household. He gets mad at her for getting involved with Marcus because it takes time away from her taking care of her. She yells back, she has never been so angry at him. She tells him that she wants to be her own woman, that she wants power. She tells him she just wants to be the woman that her mother would have wanted. This strikes a cord with her father, who all of the sudden stops yelling and sits down with his head in his hands. He agrees that he is being a horrible father for not letting Ange be an individual and he is sorry. Sentimental moment between them.

After this event Ange thinks twice about her plans, she realizes that half of her motivation just came out of the hatred she felt towards her father. Then she remembers her mothers last words again and decides she needs to go through with it…for her.

Scene 5

Ange and Marcus are in Ange’s room, they are kissing. They are planning the Xnet interview, Ange knows that she has control now, she tells Marcus what to do and it’ll only be a short while before she overthrows Marcus and becomes the new ruler. She has been planning it ever since she realized that Marcus was the leader, he has just become a pawn to her.

Ange knows that this situation is her time to completely take over the Xnet she gets ready to ditch Marcus and become the only ruler (exact method of this hasn’t been thought of) but then something odd happens, he takes hold of her hand. Just this one act of compassion makes Ange realize that what is making the Xnet such a success is their collaboration. Her maniacal plan has been put aside as she leans into him, accepting his act of compassion.

Ange and Marcus go through the whole conference and everything together and are able to effectively manage the Xnet.

The story will end at this point; leaving an end that is up to the viewers, what happened with the Xnet? Did Ange and Marcus stay together? No one knows…

my outline

Opening scene
Exterior, establishing shots of small town, happy upbeat music making town seem normal. Then establishing shots of scary mental institution on edge of town suggesting that it will be a main part of the movie later on.

Scene 1- classroom
Main character Jeff and his friend have been just given an assignment to present to the class on their towns history. Jeff and his friend decide that they are going to do it on the State Mental Hospital since it had been around since the founding of the town. They decide to meet after school to start their research

Scene 2- outside the 2 friends walking down the sidewalk home
They are discussing what they were going to do and say for the project. Jeff gets the idea to go over to the hospital and check it out first hand to make the presentation more interesting. Jeff’s friend is a little apprehensive at first because he has heard of all the folklore and rumors surrounding how spooky the place- things like how on a really quiet night, you can hear screams coming from there. Since it’s pretty early in the afternoon, they decide to just drop their stuff off and go straight there.

Scene 3-arriving at the hospital
Huge vertical tilt shots from the ground to the top of the castle like structure. They realize that this is the closest they have ever been to the hospital since they had always been instructed to stay away from this place. The hospital had been fenced off and the fences were electrified, there were armed guards everywhere and when they arrive at what appears to be the entrance. They try and ask a guard if they could maybe get a tour or gather some first hand info on one of the oldest structures of their town. The guard says it is a completely closed facility with no possibilities of letting anyone but authorized personnel and mentally disturbed people onto the grounds. They actually hear some screams there.

Scene 4- getting back home
After being completely rejected, Jeff and his friend are even more curious as to what goes on inside. They get on their computers and start googling everything they can on the mental hospital. They find the usual stuff regarding its history: it was built in 1893 and was originally the town hospital for about 50 years before it was replaced by a more modern hospital in the town over. It was abandoned and empty for 10 years before the state decided to reopen it as a mental institution. What they couldn’t figure out however, was why a mental institution would be so heavily guarded. It is getting late, they decide to call it a night and meet in the town library after school.

Scene 5-library
They meet at the library so that they could check out the public records and newspaper clippings. They found some strange information, for some reason after it was reopened as a mental hospital, its source of funding on record was extremely ambiguous. They look more and they see that it is federally funded which is very strange for a state mental hospital. At this point they are extremely confused and even more motivated to find out what is really going on inside. Jeff now wants to see what’s going on inside. He remembers that there were cameras installed everywhere and was wondering if he could access them remotely. First Jeff attempts to just go to the site and try logging in. He is extremely unsuccessful and after one too many failed attempts he is logged out of his own computer, they get scared and call it day for now.

Scene 6- home
By the time Jeff arrives at home there are two men in suits waiting in the living room. They are from the DHS and have noticed that Jeff has been snooping around the hospital and been in the library looking for information on the hospital. Jeff is ordered to stop at once because it is a matter of national security. After the agents leave, Jeff calls his friend and he too has had a similar experience.

Scene 7-

Screenplay Thing - Donnie Green

My Screenplay

Josh's Screenplay (2 pages)

"Second Strike"

Act I

Scene 1 - MID-DAY

(Marcus is on the podium at the San Francisco City Hall waiting to receive the key to the city from the Mayor and a day named after him in California because of his heroic efforts in bringing down the terrorists and rogue DHS agents. There are crowds of cheering people in front of him.)

(Rewind to beginning of scene. Fade out. Screen goes black, roll introductory credits)

(*Explosion*)

VOICE OVER/INTERCOM (can hear people screaming): “REPORT TO SHELTERS IMMEDIATELY! I REPEAT, REPORT TO SHELTERS IMMEDIATELY!” (x3)

(Video will come up and the shot will move in and out of focus until it becomes clear. We are seeing what is happening through Marcus’s eyes. Marcus was thrown down on the ground as the bombing of the Bay Bridge sent a shock throughout San Francisco.)

(People running around frantically to get underground, screaming still,)

(A Hummer screeches to a hault in front of Marcus. Two muscular looking men and a woman walk out and toward Marcus.)

SEVERE HAIR LADY: Boys, pick him up and put him in the Hum-V we need to take him back to headquarters for questioning.

AGENTS 1 & 2: Yes ma’am.

(Marcus is put into the truck and is knocked unconscious by one of the agents, screen fades in and out of focus and eventually to black.)

(In an interrogation room at DHS headquarters. Marcus regains consciousness, he is sitting on a chair in front of a table, there is a lady sitting in front of him with a pen and notepad in front of her.)

SEVERE HAIRCUT LADY: “Hello Marcus, I have some questions for you.”

MARCUS: “Am I under arrest?”

SEVERE HAIRCUT LADY: “Marcus, this isn’t the time to ask that question. Cooperate with me and I’ll let you go. No one here has to get hurt.”

(Screen fades in and out of focus. Fades to black. The Hum-V is starting up, and it drives off, a door opens and it sounds like a body is thrown out in front of his house. Video returns.)

MARCUS: “How did I get here? What just happened?” (Marcus looks drowsy, battered up.)

(Marcus walks up to his house and turns the knob to the front door.)

(End scene. Fade to black.)

Scene 2 - (LATE AFTERNOON)

(Screen is black. Can hear people panting in and out, sounds like they are running).

TERRORIST 1: Did you see where Osama went after you detonated the explosive?

TERRORIST 2: No, that bridge was collapsing so fast, he was running in a completely different direction than us.

TERRORIST 1: Why didn’t you say anything?

TERRORIST 2: It was either run after him and die, or run away and live. I’m not in any rush to get my 99 virgins.

TERRORIST 1: You idiot! The Americans probably arrested him by now! Once we tell the others about this they will be infuriated! We need to find out a way to get him back before they hang Osama like they did to Saddam!

(They arrive to terrorist headquarters in a deserted lair underground near the Golden Gate Bridge. They tell the rest of the terrorists the unfortunate news.)

TERRORIST 3: We are so unbelievably screwed. When Al-Quida hears about this we’ll all be did. We got into the U.S. with him. If we leave without him we might as well kill ourselves now. Al Quida trusted us with his life.

TERRORIST 1: (Reading the headlines of the San Francisco Chronicle online) It says here that the DHS arrested Osama. DAMN IT! Wait….A boy was brought in earlier this morning…Marcus Yallow? The contents of his meeting and arrest by the DHS were not specified but it says here that it was released. Let’s find this kid. He will be able to help us infiltrate their headquarters and get Osama back.

Josh Ronen's Scene-by-Scene Outline

This outline is still a little rough around the edges. I'm used the techniques displayed in "Vantage Point" but am sizing them down A LOT to incorporate multiple perspectives into the film. I will work out the kinks in my screenplay and it'll sound much clearer.


"Second Strike"

Act 1

Scene 1 (Set-Up)

Setting: Downtown San Francisco & DHS Headquarters, Gitmo-by-the-bay, San Francisco

Main Idea: Severe Haircut Lady is interrogating Marcus following the riot in downtown San Francisco after the city-wide announcement of the attack on the Bay Bridge was made.

The film will begin with some credits at the beginning. (Insert sound effects here.) There will be a voice over that sounds like a person speaking over a loudspeaker: “REPORT TO SHELTERS IMMEDIATELY, I REPEAT, REPORT TO SHELTERS IMMEDIATELY.” (Repeat x3) Video will come up and the shot will move in and out of focus until it completely becomes clear. (The shock of the bombing was felt like an earthquake all throughout the city, Marcus was thrown on the ground by the explosions.) Marcus’s eyes give the viewers the first camera shot. There are people running in every which way frantically to get below ground. After 10 seconds or so of video, the screen goes black (hear voices…DHS agents picking up Marcus with Severe Haircut Lady, Hummer is starting up and drives away). Video slowly fades in and out of focus until Marcus regains full consciousness in an interrogation room.

Severe Haircut Lady: “Hello Marcus, I have some questions for you.”

One of the DHS agents knocks Marcus unconscious (screen fades to black, viewers hear the Hummer starting up and driving away, a door opens). Marcus is thrown out onto the road in front of his house). He slowly gets to his feet and walks in.

(End scene. Fade to black.)

Scene 2 (Set-up)

Setting: DHS vehicle, Terrorist Headquarters

Main Idea: Osama Bin Laden turns out to be the leader of the terrorist operation to blow up the Bay Bridge. He survives the blast and tries to escape but DHS arrive on the scene and arrest him. He doesn’t know if any one of his associates are still alive but is satisfied with the success of the mission.
There is a bag over Osama’s head and his hands are tied behind his back. The DHS agents are taking him back to headquarters for questioning.

Agent 1: “We’re not letting you get away with it this time, you terrorist freak!”

Osama: “You pathetic Americans, if you think I will tell you anything your national security is not the only thing that’s a joke.”

(Cut to nearby terrorist headquarters on in an underground lair near the Golden Gate Bridge).

The terrorists are running, sweating, and panting. Their headquarters are in sight.

Terrorist 1: Where’s Osama? (Looks behind him.) I thought he was with you! The Americans must have taken him!

(Back at their headquarters)

Terrorist 2: (Gazing at a computer screen) Looks like the DHS arrested another boy today. Marcus Yallow. These stupid Americans think that the kids are the terrorists. We have done our job. Let’s nab him and see if he can help us can Osama back. He won’t have a choice.

(End scene. End Act 1. Fade to Black.)

Act 2

Scene 3 (Inciting Incident)

Setting: Terrorist Headquarters

Main Idea: The terrorists arrive at Marcus’s house, break into his house quietly while he is sleeping and kidnap him, thrown them in their truck and drive off. Marcus wakes up on a tattered bean bag chair against a wall at the terrorist headquarters. Very raggedy surroundings. He sees a laptop and television but that’s it. The terrorists force him to use the Xnet to infiltrate the DHS database and find the blueprints for Gitmo-by-the-bay so they can plan a rescue mission. Marcus finds them and the terrorists plan their mission to rescue Osama from the grasps of the DHS.

Scene 4 (Rising Action)

1. Marcus infiltrates the White House cyber-net infrastructure through the Xnet, finding the blueprints that he would need to give the terrorists. The terrorists told him that his family would be used as collateral if he did not get the job done.
2. The following day, the DHS headquarters in San Francisco get a call from the White House that someone had infiltrated their heavily secure cyber-net infrastructure of the White House and stole blueprints to the Gitmo-by-the-Bay.
3. Severe Haircut Lady and her agents try waterboarding Osama to get information out of him but he will not budge. They can’t kill him because they will lose their leverage on the terrorists.
4. Osama is thrown back into his cell as the DHS agents and Severe Haircut Lady find out the next plan of action. Osama tells them that his comrades will be coming for him.
5. Marcus is forced into an empty room after he is done with his job for the terrorists. The terrorists proceed to talk about how they will infiltrate the DHS headquarters, pointing out where Osama is being held. They decide the rescue mission will under the cover of night the next evening

Scene 5 (Climax)

Setting: Empty Room where Marcus is being held, Gitmo-by-the-bay

Main Idea: Marcus reaches into his pocket only to find his cell phone in pieces. He proceeds to put it back together. The battery pack was still intact; an hour later he turns it on and to his surprise, it works. He calls Barbara Stratford, the news lady that his parents introduced him to. This lady knew that something was obviously wrong with the way the DHS was handling things following the attack on the Bay Bridge. After overhearing the terrorists’ conversation he gives Stratford directions to the DHS headquarters and tells her to bring some heavy artillery with her evening of the next day. The terrorists drive to about a mile out for the DHS headquarters. Each of them grabs some weapons and ammunition before leaving the truck and starts off. The terrorists lock Marcus in the truck so he can’t leave. Marcus texts Stratford telling her to move in on the terrorists and DHS agents once they start exchanging fire.

(End Act 2. Fade out to black).

Act 3

Scene 6 (Falling Action)

Setting: DHS Headquarters, SF,CA

Main Idea: The terrorists break into the DHS Headquarters without being seen. They begin looking for Osama and can’t find him. They remember seeing the blueprints, picturing Osama being held in a cell behind a steel gate 1 foot thick. They needed a code for it that only Severe Haircut Lady had. They find the cell, then proceed to find DHS agents and Severe Haircut Lady. DHS agents and terrorists exchange fire. Stratford moves in with CHP State Troopers. Marcus is able to break the lock that the terrorists tied him to and run to safety.

Scene 7 (Resolution)

Setting: DHS Headquarters, SF, CA

Main Idea: Stratford ended up bringing State Troopers and Swat Teams with her, enough to keep both sides from shooting anymore when they arrived. After the shooting had stopped and the rogue DHS Agents, including Severe Haircut Lady, and the terrorists and Osama were put under arrest and tried under old criminal justice system.

Marcus gets a day named after him in San Francisco and gains worldwide recognition for his heroic efforts.

Screen Play: Mirella Villalpando

VOICE OVER: NARRATOR

In a galaxy far far away there awaits a villain for his plan of world domination to unravel… Born with an essence of pure evil and an unquenchable desire for power , Mr. Roboto has for centuries tried to take control of the human population on Earth. For many centuries, the heroes on Earth have protected humans against the evil doings of Mr. Roboto, using their super powers to destroy his schemes of world domination. However, the time of super heroes on Earth has long passed and their descendents are far and few. Now, while the ultimate plan of Mr. Roboto gets deeply underway, an unlikely hero is unfolding beneath him here on planet Earth…

INT: RICO’S LIVING ROOM- MIDDAY

Rico’s family sits in the living room watching a TV show when a commercial airs:
TV: ANNOUNCER:
Wheel of Fortune viewers, this is just a reminder letting you know that on May 15th we will no longer be broadcasting on IUS satellites. This means that in order to keep watching your favorite shows you will need to change your satellite reciever to the new more efficient MRE satellites available free through www.MRE.gov or by calling your cable provider.

RICO’S MOM: I don’t know why they insist on showing these commericals every second of every day.
RICO’S DAD: It’s so people like us can remember to switch to the new satellite so we don’t have to sit here 2 weeks from now watching TV static.
RICO’S MOM: I don’t know why we need to change to those darn things anyway, it just seems pointless.
RICO: Well from what they say its supposed to deliver much better quality.
RICO’s MOM: quality shmality, I think its just a way for some evil villain to control our minds.
RICO’S DAD: everyone’s a critic

EXT: RICO’S BASEMENT- AFTERNOON
Rico and friends are sitting around with the TV on, when a TV announcement comes on:
ANNOUNCER: This is just a reminder that on May 15th we will no longer be broadcasting on IUS satellites if you would like to continue watching your favorite programs you will need to change your satellite to one operated by MRE available free through www.MRE.gov or by calling your cable provider.
MERVIN: That commericial is going to drive everyone to stop watching TV so there won’t be a need to change your satellite.
RICO: That’s what my mom was saying earlier. She’s convinced that some evil villain is working through the new satellites to control our minds.
MERVIN: Ha! Your mom has a point…maybe not about the evil villain part, unless does the government count as an evil villain?
GARY: My vote would be for yes
LISA: You guys are ridiculous…TV stations are only doing this to get better reception…whoever invented MRE satellites just created something better. Why wouldn’t you want to get better signal.
MERVIN: Yea but did you know that its not just cable TV? Those satellites are replacing all radio, cellphone and anything else that runs on satelllites apparatuses.
GARY: Yea…all that control for one company just doesn’t seem like such a good idea.
RICO: Well the way I see it is we’re only teenagers and we can’t use most anything without the need of a satellite. So I say, if MRE wants to control my satellite that’s fine as long as I can use my TV and cellphone.

Scene-by-Scene ccutting

Scene-by-scene outline

INT. News station—Evening
View is on a news caster, close up on face. He begins story of Marcus and friends. Into to the scenario.

EXT. Cesar Chavez High School—Day time
News caster voice over, continuing story.

INT. News station—Evening
View is on a news caster, waste up, continuing story.

EXT. Outside—Daytime
Interview with Darrel, two shot from behind reporters shoulder, discus how it began. Somber mood, set in shade under a tree.

INT. News station—Evening
Side angle on news caster, transition to teacher/ administration side. Discussing ramification on the school and how they reacted.

EXT. Cesar Chavez High School —Daytime
News caster reporting outside of the school, discussing actions of the school, how the administration sent notification to colleges and response from them.

EXT. Outside—Daytime
Single shot of Van, she explains how they were only trying to make a point. Shot moves to a two shot interview, interviewer asks what she will do next.

EXT. Outside—Daytime
Overview of the four students talking about what happened and how it got started. They discuss why they did it and how no one will listen and they are stuck with a bad teacher.

INT. News station—Evening
News caster wraps up the story and signs out for the night.

Black out

White Writing comes up, one section at a time telling what happen to the students and Mrs. Anderson

The student from Cesar Chavez High School did alright for themselves... even after not going to college


Marcus became a world renowned hacker and works for the US government improving national security. His job involves trying to hack US security to improve future security. His yearly income is roughly 5 million.
Darrell found his dream job as a stunt double for a famous action movie star. He is in about three movies a year and works under one hundred days a year. He is married and has two sons and a daughter whom he spends his time with the other 265 days a year.
Jolu spends his time fighting for minority rights. His wife is serving her second term as a US senator. The two spend part of the year in Washington DC and the rest working in an orphanage in Honduras.
Van runs a soup kitchen in Oakland near where she grew up. She works mostly the teenagers and help them find purpose in there life’s.
Van and Marcus began dating during high school and married a few years later. They have a daughter and Van is currently pregnant with their second child.
Mrs. Anderson is retired from the public school system and living off her pension. She lives alone with her three cats. She has not family, no friends, and her pension is running low.

INT. Vans soup kitchen—Day time
Long shot of people in line to get food
Zoom in of Van serving food
Follow behind the shoulder of an old woman, walking though line until she reached to front where Van is serving food
Two shot of Van and the Woman, Van’s jaw drops when she releases it is Mrs. Anderson but serves her food anyways
When line moves Van talks over to Marcus and points out Mrs. Anderson

End Movie

Breaking Out by Andrew Agcaoili

BREAKING OUT by Andrew Agcaoili

Outline

Act One

Oakland, California. A girl walks slowly and hesitantly into a clearing under a bridge near the Oakland BART station. She hears something move behind her and quickly looks over her shoulder. Her eyes are cold as ice. The camera zooms into them.

Camera zooms out and the girl’s eyes are soft and scared. The girl is now dressed up in a girl’s school uniform. The camera switches behind her and she is shown looking up at an explosion. She looks behind her and her friend Darryl is on the floor, bleeding. “VAN! HELP!” screams Marcus as he is being dragged into a van. As she runs to help, a huge guard comes up behind her and knocks her out

Later that day, the screen starts out black, but questions are being asked. She is being interrogated. A question is asked, but it’s muffled, then a strike is heard. The question asked again, but it’s muffled again. The bag is taken off Van’s head and she is immediately disoriented. She takes another slap to the face. “WHAT WERE YOU DOING NEAR THE BRIDGE?! TELL ME NOW OR YOU’LL GET ANOTHER!” Van looks up and sees a woman with a severe haircut. Van starts to cry and sobs, “I didn’t do anything! P-p-please let me go.” Sever haircut lady looks frustrated and say to the other guards, “This one’s not talking. Teach her a lesson, and then throw her back in her cage. You’ll talk eventually, mark my FUCKING word, you’ll talk. The camera turns away and 3 more strikes are heard and Van is thrown in back into her cell, lying in the feeble position crying.

Voice over by Van “I used to be weak. I cried. But I didn’t get the worst of it.”

Marcus and Van are seen meeting in the yard of their prison. Marcus has a scar ove his eyes and is holding his stomach in pain. “Van, just tell them everything, tell them the truth, just tell them what they want you to say, Please!” Marcus and Van are torn apart and another interrogation ensues. “What did he tell you?” the large guard asks. “He told me to tell you the truth, to tell you what you want to hear.” “What do you have to tell me then?” he asks. “I didn’t do ANYTHING!” As the guard’s fist moves closer to her face, the phone rings. He answers and in forms her that she’s free to go.



Act Two

In front of the Turkish Coffee Shop. Van and Marcus are sitting in silence. “I can’t take it! That’s the government that protects us! I AM Going to get back at them!” Marcus says. “You can’t! They’re the government, there always watching us! And they said they’d be keeping an eye on us.” Van squeaks. “I DON’T CARE!” he retorts. “Your putting your life and the lives of others in danger! Don’t you care!? Please, don’t!” Van starts to cry. “They have Darryl! Don’t you get it? He’s my best friend and they have him! Why don’t you care more!? He basically worshiped the ground you walked on, and you never noticed you bitch!” Van slaps Marcus in the face. He storms off furiously. Softly to herself, Van says, “I know they have Darryl…but I don’t want to lose you too…”

Later that night, Van is crying in her bed, hugging her pillow. Van voices over, “I…am weak…I’m not strong enough to help anyone. All I do is think about myself! And even now, I can’t even tell him how I feel…” Van closes her eyes to sob. A smiling image of Darryl is shown and cracks. As the image cracks, Van opens her eyes. With tears still in her eyes, they transform from weak and scared to angry and ferocious. “NO! I refuse to accept that he’s gone! If I can’t be strong for myself, then I’ll be strong to support my friends! I don’t care what happens to me!”

A few days later, Van has come back from a day of jamming. As she approaches her house, she pockets the jammer and notices a note on her doorstep. The note says, “Hey, I know you’ve been helping us out with jamming, I haven’t told him about it. You guys should make up at this party we’re hosting. –Your pal, Jolu.”


Act Three


Van pulls up to an abandoned warehouse at night. In the distance, she can hear Marcus speaking and others cheering. She quietly lets herself in. Marcus in at the end of his speech doesn’t notice her. The crowd goes wild and just as Marcus looks to the back, Van is lost in it. Needing some air, she steps outside and realizes she forgot her Jammer in the car. “When he sees this, he’ll know I have his back…he’ll know that he can count on me…he’ll know that we’re in this together.” When she returns, Jolu is sitting where Marcus made his speech. “Hey Jolu, where’d Marcus go?” she asks. Drunkenly, Jolu answers, “I thought he was with you, he disappeared with some…uh…guurrrl.” Van’s eyes go from excited to furious. She storms out, gets in her car, slams the door, and peels out.

A few days later, Van is in the city and sees a concert in the park. Curious, she walks over. The crowd chants, “DON’T TRUST ANYONE OVER 25!” over and over again. Van looks to the left and sees Marcus behind some trees. Van starts to run toward him, but then a girl comes up to him and they start to make out. Devastated, Van stops. Everything slows down. Van voices over, “And I was weak again. I lost what mattered…” As she says this, gas surrounds her and a cop comes up behind her. Her eyes in fury, she turns around and kicks the cop in the head and bolts. As she runs, she voices over, “If I can’t be strong for my friends anymore, then I’ll be strong for myself.”

In full vampire attire, Van is being chased down an alley. The two police men chasing her are actually chasing Marcus and Ange. Van takes down the two cops and turns the corner in time to see Marcus thrown into a truck. “Damnit, why can’t I help anyone…Im not strong enough”

The starting scene is shown again, this time her face is shown when walking into the clearing. Her eyes are soft and worried. She thought Marcus would be dead, but here she is, ready to meet him. Van worries about what to say when she hears a sound behind her. She looks over her shoulder, eyes hard as steel. She turns round in time to kick severe haircut lady. Caught by surprise, severe haircut lady runs away after taking a beating, just as Marcus arrives. Seeing Marcus, she begins to think about how much of a jerk he’s been. She thinks about her broken heart. With her eyes still hard as steel, she raises her hand, he flinches, and she goes in for a kiss.


Fade to Black

“oops….um…sorry”

Scene-by-Scene outline : Mirella Villalpando

NARRATOR:
A narrator reads an introduction to the conflict: a villain by the name of Mr. Roboto is aiming to take over the world. An unnamed hero is briefly insinuated.

INT. RICO’S LIVINGROOM- MIDDAY
Rico and his family sit watching a television program when an announcement comes on reminding viewers that they will need to change their satellite receivers. Rico and his family comment on the announcement briefly but remained unconcerned for the most part.

INT. RICO’S BASEMENT-MIDDAY
Rico and his friends are hanging out watching TV when the same announcement comes up about a change in satellite receivers. Rico’s friend Mervin comments how he hates hearing the repeating announcement and Rico and his friends begin a casual conversation on the topic of the new satellite receivers.

FLASHFOWARD: MAY 16TH:
Satellite receivers have all been switched to function only with MRE satellites. This affects all TVs, radios, cell phones, lap tops, and anything else that receives signal through satellite.

INT. MR. ROBOTO’S LAIR ON PLANET NOM-AFTERNOON
It is revealed that Mr. Roboto is behind the new satellites on Earth and that they will brainwash all technology users to be under his control. Mr. Roboto discusses with his aid that his plan is unraveling exactly as planned and it appears there is no one to stop him. Mr. Roboto’s aid brings to his attention that a super hero’s descendent has been located and that he should be monitored. Mr. Roboto pays little heed to the warning.

EXT. CITY PARK-MIDDAY
While Rico is walking through a park he mumbles under his breath about poor reception ever since the change in satellites. A mysterious beggar/preacher man yells at Rico that he is the descendant of a super hero that will save the world from the evil forces of a technology superpower. Rico walks away skeptical and confused.

INT. RICO’S ROOM-EVENING
After giving some thought to the beggar/ preachers declaration Rico takes his mind of it by playing a video game. When he becomes frustrated he thinks to himself he wishes the game would just pass itself. After thinking this, the game announces that he has just won the game. Confused, Rico switches to watching TV. After watching TV for a while, a commercial he hates comes up and he thinks to himself that he wishes the show would come on again. In mid sentence, the commercial changes back to the show. Rico becomes aware of the similarities between the two experiences and decides to try it again. He thinks to himself that he wants the TV to change to a different channel. Not a second after thinking this does the TV change. Rico tries his new ability with all forms of technology and realizes he has the power to control technology.

INT. MR. ROBOTO’S LAIR ONPLANET NOM: MIDDAY
Mr. Roboto’s assistant brings to his attention that the super hero descendent has realized his abilities and is gaining strength. Mr. Roboto declares that he will not let his plan be foiled and will take action by killing Rico himself on planet Earth.

VOICE OVER: NARRATOR;
The narrator takes the viewers on a tour of the city and shows that everything has become overrun with advanced technology operated by MRE. Citizens using technology are seen as zombie like figures. The narrator again brings the viewer’s attention to Rico who has become aware that the technology has become widespread and somewhat controlling.

INT: VARIOUS LOCATIONS:
Rico is shown observing technology that has become controlling.
EXT. CITY PARK: MIDDAY
Rico revisits the park where the beggar/ preacher told him he was the descendant of a super hero. When he finds him, he lets him know that he was correct and that he has the power to control technology. The beggar/ preacher takes Rico into a tent that he lives in and explains to him that he is the great great grandson of a superhero. He informs Rico that the technology used by everyone is controlled by Mr. Roboto and he is using it to control people’s minds. He warns Rico that Mr. Roboto is coming for him and that it is inevitable that he faces him. He tells Rico he does not have much time and that he must try to get people to move away from technology.

INT: RICO’S LIVING ROOM-EVENING
During dinner Rico observes all the advanced technology that his family is using on a regular basis. He comments on the use of such advanced technology and asks his mom why she has decided to use the technology when she was against it. His mother says it makes things easier. Rico urges them all to stop using the technology controlled my MRE because it is operated by an evil villain. His mother and dad scoff at the idea saying that he is talking crazy.

EXT. PLANET EARTH: CITY PARK – AFTERNOON
Mr. Roboto arrives on Earth and searches for the beggar/ preacher giving the information to Rico.

Machinima Outline and Script-Bonnie Given

Here is my webpage, with a link to my machinima outline and script at the bottom.

Script Stuff

EXT. – TREASURE ISLAND PRISON
(V.O. Narrator): Marcus Yallow has just dismantled the oppressive, invasive governmental control of the Department of Homeland Security. He is now determined to find his best friend Daryll and his girlfriend Angie, who have been locked in high security prison together.
Camera is from a helicopter view, circling island and zooming in.

INT. – HALLWAY INSIDE TREASURE ISLAND
Marcus is walking down a dark, stone hallway. He looks determined to find his friend and girlfriend. He’s focused and excited at the same time. Walking with purpose.

First Camera Angle: Behind Marcus
Second Camera Angle: Close up on security camera, blinking with red light
Third Camera Angle: Camera panning the hallway, following Marcus’ progress
Fourth Camera Angle: Marcus walking towards camera
Fifth Camera Angle: Close up on Marcus’ determined, focused face.
(V.O. in Marcus’ Voice): I can’t wait to find them. It’s been so long, I hope they’re both okay. Maybe they are being held together and have helped to keep each other alive and sane.

INT: HIGH SECURITY PRISON CELL
Inside the cell, there is nobody or nothing except Daryll and Angie and stone walls. They are positioned on the floor, intertwined passionately making love with one another. Enter Marcus. They both look up and see Marcus standing in the doorway with a horrified look on his face.
(V.O. Narrator): Little Did Marcus know that Angie and Daryll were doing more than just keeping each other alive and sane… His entire world was about to change.
First Camera Angle: Behind Marcus as he opens the door
Second Camera Angle: Close up of Marcus’ hand turning the door knob.
Third Camera Angle: View of Marcus and the door as Marcus enters from behind Daryll and Angie as they stop moving
Fourth Camera Angle: Marcus’ view of Daryll and Angie on the floor, caught in the act.
Angie: Marcus!!! I can explain!!!
Marcus (in shock): I just risked my life to save the both of you! How could you do this to me, especially you Daryll.
Daryll: What are you talking about? You know her??
Marcus: THAT’S MY GIRLFRIEND. Correction, that was my girlfriend.
Marcus storms out of the room, entirely shattered.
Daryll: Angie, you knew this whole time that Marcus was my best friend and you didn’t tell me any of this?
Angie: I didn’t think he’d find out… I thought we were going to die… I thought this was the end.
Daryll: That doesn’t make it right. You are despicable. You make me sick.
Daryll storms out, running after Marcus to try and explain…
Scene.

INT: STONE HALLWAY, TREASURE ISLAND
First Camera Angle: Close up on Marcus’ face, Daryll running behind him trying to catch up.
Daryll: MARCUS!!!!
Second Camera Angle: Side shot of Marcus and Daryll standing, facing off.
Third Camera Angle: Close up on Daryll’s face
Daryll: Marcus, I swear I didn’t know who she was, if I did I would have never done this to you.
Fourth Camera Angle: Close up on Marcus’ face
Marcus: I can’t talk to anyone right now, I need some time to think. Too much is happening. I’m glad you’re alive though.
Exit Marcus.



Scene 1: Marcus walking down a stone hallway inside a jail cell looking for his best friend Daryll and his girlfriend Ange after he just dismantled the Department of Homeland Security. A voice over is discussing betrayal of trust pertaining to friends and women. A security camera follows his progress down the hall. Close up on the camera, then a panning shot of the hallway and Marcus walking down it. Close up on Marcus’ face... focused... determined to find his friends.
Scene 2: Marcus enters into a high security prison jail cell... to a sight that will change his world. He walks in on Ange and Daryll passionately intertwined. Marcus is horrified. His whole world has been shattered. His best friend and his girlfriend together... Ange calls out to him to wait as he runs away.
Scene 3: Sitting alone on his bed... Marcus is wearing all black. He's a dark and disturbed young man... sorta like Spider Man 3 when he starts a black Spiderman suit. He's lost all faith in humanity. He has lost touch with himself and the world, he’s become an “emo” and he is just moping around. Suddenly, his cell phone beeps. Nobody talks to Marcus anymore, he had cut off all ties with humanity.
Cell Phone Screen : VAN: Hey... I Need To Talk To You. Can You Meet Me At Our Spot?
Scene 4: Van and Marcus' meet at a park bench... It’s a nice day, people playing Frisbee around them with their dogs, kids getting ice cream at an ice cream truck. Marcus seems very awkward and doesn’t really know what to do with himself during this scene as Van tries to talk him out of his current state. Marcus gradually warms up to Van and starts to talk about his feelings. This is the first time he’s talked about Angie and Daryll since he walked in on them, and the first person he’s told. Marcus is an emotional wreck and Van talks him through his issues. This scene will conclude with them smiling at each other because they've made amends.
Scene 5: A video montage of Marcus and Van spending time together. Shot of them sitting in a coffee shop talking over some coffee. Cut to another scene of the two of them watching a scary movie together and Marcus puts his arm around her as she cowers and holds him. Cut to another shot of them riding through the park, racing on their bicycles. One last shot of Marcus and Van lying on Marcus’ bed, making out passionately as clothes come flying off.
Scene 6: several years later Marcus is happy again. Voice over explains that he and Van have been dating for several years and are finally tying the knot.. Camera follows them coming out of the church in their wedding outfits all the way to the car, with the “Just Married” sign on the back. They drive off in a red convertible on the way to paradise and the rest of their lives. As they pass through an intersection, Daryll and Angie are standing together and see them drive by. Camera focuses in on the shocked expressions on their faces. Both of them step out into the street and are suddenly hit by a speeding car. They both die instantly. Screen goes black. The following words appear : "Karma's a Bitch"

sorry this is so late

http://webpages.scu.edu/ftp/adugoni/

the pitch, script, and linear version are on there as well.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Pitch

Background: I am using the same plot at Little Brother but simply changing Ange's story so that the audience can identify her in a different way other than the obsessive girl in the novel.

Since her mother's death when she was 11, Ange has been trying to make a name for herself as a female. Her mother's dying words of "don't ever let a man tell you that you can't do something just because you're a girl" have stayed with her and she is sick of living with her father who just expects her to stay at home and take care of him in her mother's place. He doesn't understand her feminist ways and has the stereotypical woman role set out for her. Ange has found refuge in the Xnet revolution and begins plotting a way to get into a powerful position. she decides that she will seduce Marcus, realizing that he is the leader of the revolution and also a weak male. She succeeds in doing this and slowly executes her plan flawlessly and is able to influence Marcus' decisions so much that she basically runs the Xnet. Her whole plan has managed to also give her a bit more independence from her father, in which case she realizes that his horrible ways aren't because he wants to restrict her but because he really can't take care of himself very well and he deeply cares about her. After coming to terms with her father, Ange becomes softened and realizes that she really does have feelings for Marcus and is happy they end up together after the revolution dies down.

Pitch

My pitch: A young boy blames the DHS for his girlfriend’s death in a terrorist attack and tries to seek revenge after.


All over the news: highlights of the terrorist attack that just took place. Injuring 5,000 citizens and killing 1,000. Derek stands in shock watching the TV with his cellphone attached to his hand. Voicemail - her phone continues to go to voicemail. At first he prays that it might just be a coincidence that she’s not answering the phone. Then the news flashes to the seen of the crime. The name of the museum sinks in his head; it was where her class went on their field trip that afternoon It is then he realizes he probably will never see or hear from his girlfriend again.

My film is about a boy named Derek,who’s girlfriend, Madison, is killed in a terrorist attack. He seeks revenge on the DHS because he blames theme for not stopping the terrorists. He believes they could have stopped the terrorist attack. He gets involved in the with the DHS volunteering, but secretly hopes to ruin them. His plan is upset when he ultimately finds out that his dad is an undercover agent for the DHS. He comes to the conclusion that it wasn’t the DHS who killed his girlfriend, but really the terrorists.

Pitch - Donnie Green

http://webpages.scu.edu/ftp/DGreen/littlebrothersite/machinimapitch.html

My story Pitch


My story pitch:

In my film Trudy Doo has been arrested as the “Most Dangerous Woman in America” for corrupting the youth. The film is a “what you didn’t see” look at the role of Trudy Doo in the XNET revolution. The government has been tracking Trudy for a very long time, the special Agent that has arrested her, special agent Eric Law has a complete file on Doo’s involvement in the XNET, Anarchist terrorist Ring in San Francisco, and her time as a government correspondent. He was assigned to assassinate her the day at the concert, and now is regretting his inability to finish his important task. Following the illegal concert, Trudy Doo is arrested on suspicion of political disturbance. Law then claims her as property of the government. He takes her from San Francisco to Washington DC to interrogate her at his federal office. As the interrogation begins, I plan to show a flashback of what really happened to Trudy leading up to the concert. She attempts to conceal her darkest secrets, but Law eventually cracks her into admitting she was the real leader of the Xnet leader. Meanwhile Marcus is beginning to find out that he was manipulated by the system he thought he created. Marcus, unable to realize he was used, visits Doo in jail numerous times only to finally figure out that he had absolutely no control over what happened to him. Within the film I plan on relying heavily on flashbacks from all three points of view to make draw on vivid accounts of how events actually happened. For instance from Trudy Doo’s perspective, how the concert happened and how she manipulated Marcus through the XNET. Also from Marcus’s point of view I want to have flashbacks that are a type of “self realization” about how he was never actually in control of the situation, but really was powerless to Trudy Doo.

Machina Pitch and Worksheets

Here is website, which has a link to my machinima pitch and worksheets.

Machinima Pitch - Marie Galetto

The Pitch
One line pitch:
A young man is trapped in prison and blames his best friend for his misfortunes.

Darryl is seen in his prison cell alone and scared. He yells to see if it is Marcus, but he gets no response. He thinks about his friends Marcus, Jolu, and Van, but mostly about Van. He fantasizes about him breaking free of the cell and taking her with him, but he knows that he is too weak and afraid to even attempt something so daring. Time passes and Darryl looks worse. Thinking about Van is the only thing that keeps him sane. He imagines her back in the real world thinking about him and worrying the way he worries about her. But he can’t help but think that she has probably moved on with her life and forgotten about him. He hopes that Marcus has told someone about what has gone on and that his dad knows he’s alive. Time passes and his cellmate Zeb hears that a group of technologically-savvy teens have started a revolution against the DHS. Darryl knows that Marcus would be a part of this and hopes that he is working to get him out of here. The more time that passes, the less hopeful Darryl becomes. He imagines Van and Marcus together, not thinking about the horrible things that happened to them or the things that are happening to him. He imagines that he will be kept here forever. He begins to resent Marcus for everything that has happened. He dwells on Marcus’ self-centeredness and greed. If Marcus hadn’t been so stupid and self-centered they never would have been landed in this mess. He hates Marcus for allowing him to be tortured this way while Marcus is probably with Van laughing about Darryl’s situation. Meanwhile the questioning has become more intense and Darryl is less and less able to handle the intensity. Finally, he snaps during an interrogation. He screams that he and Marcus were never friends and never will be friends again. He tells them that he never wants to have anything to do with Marcus again. He tells them that if he knew any information about Marcus he would tell them because Marcus deserves to be punished, not him. With all of this built up pain and hatred released, Darryl begins to cry uncontrollably. Back in his cell, Darryl is ashamed for the way his emotions had gotten the better of him in front of the interrogators. But at the same time, that overwhelming hatred for Marcus persists. Darryl realizes that this outburst may be his ticket to freedom. If he can prove that he is trustworthy, he could become a spy and take Marcus down and regain his freedom. Darryl thinks of all the ways he could prove his loyalty and a sense of great relief washes over him. More time passes but nothing has changed. Darryl is still hopeful about his plan. Suddenly he hears loud footsteps of a group of people. He hears shouting and through the noise he hears his name. He recognizes the voice, but knows that it couldn’t possibly be real. A shadow covers the light of the window to his cell. It opens, to reveal Marcus. Darryl realizes Marcus, the one person he despises, the person who put him through all of this pain, is now his savior. He is wracked with an overwhelming desire to kill Marcus, and yet feels the burden of the gratitude that he knows he should feel, Darryl says nothing. The realization that Marcus will always be immeasurably more powerful than Darryl and that Darryl will forever be expected to feel a sense of debt to Marcus is too much for him to handle and he breaks down crying.

Breaking Out-Andrew Agcaoili pitch

A girl stands alone under the Oakland BART Station, looking over her shoulder. She knows she’s in danger. A flash back ensues. She remembers how afraid she was for her friends when the terrorist attack happened. She looks back on her time being incarcerated, being abused, being tortured. She thinks about how her other friends are doing. She realizes how she feels about her best friend Marcus, noticing she’s been thinking about him more and more. This girl is then revealed to be Van. Van talks to herself for a little bit and then remembers Marcus, and all she feels about him. Another flashback ensues to when Marcus and she fought. She leaves infuriated, but can’t bear to see Marcus get hurt or fail. It is then revealed that she was more involved in Marcus's counter terrorism than he was lead to believe. She used data scramblers, messing up fast track units around the city. Then flashback then moves to the party and the concert. Here, Van is shown supporting Marcus’s cause from behind the scenes, helping him escape the cops, but also has her heart broken when she sees Angie and Marcus hooking up. Distraught, Van cries. The scene switches to her talking to Jolu. Jolu convinces her to stick to him, because Marcus is fighting for something more important than the two of them. Here the shot goes back to Van waiting under the BART station. She sees Marcus looks at how tattered his body looks. Regard less of her respect for him and the state that he is in, tells herself how much she hates him. It was his fault that her friends and heart have been broken. As he walks closer the anger builds inside her. Her hand raises; he flinches and she goes in for a kiss.

Michael Adair Pitch and Such

webpages.scu.edu/ftp/MAdair/spring.html

Pitch

My Machinima Movie Description...

It's 10 years after the San Francisco Bay Bridge bombing. The terrorist threat is high. Surveillance of the public is everywhere; especially video surveillance. Facial recognition software has been implemented on a wide scale. The story follows 20 year old UCLA student Liam Fishcer when one day he gets mixed up on a facial recognition software as a terrorist suspect and the Department of Homeland Security/Government begin watching/following him/invading his privacy. Eventually they capture him after he's run/hid from them because he feels like he has something to hide/they uncovered secrets. They interrogate him, stuff happens; but ultimately realize he's not the guy they thought he might be. Liam Fischer begins fighting the new video surveillance systems, gets the news involved, and in the end becomes the hero and a privacy law is passed. There's a bunch more characters too I just don't know how they all will fit into it yet. The plot will be a lot more complex I just haven't worked it all out yet and made it cohesive. Marcus and the characters from Little Brother will not be in it, and its gonna be more of a spin off of some of the ideas from the book more so than an adaptation of what happens in Little Brother.


Monday, May 3, 2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

I love my script.

My story is a (silent?) western about a small town that has existed as completely functioning society under complete anarchy. As the United States government starts pursuing their goal of manifest destiny, they stumble upon this little town. It is soon determined that the town is an excellent place to put up a military fort. The villagers are impartial to the new government presence at first, but after the fort is built they start to feel imposed upon, and abused. In order to keep the villagers at bay, the mayor starts having suspicious villagers watched. This doesn't sit well with them, and they need to band together to do something about their new neighbours.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

FROM CRAP TO LOVING IT

After pitching my topic over and over to my classmates i absolutely love it. I started off with Marcus being captured by terrorists instead of the DHS as my question of concern.

I love my idea.

I love my idea for our machinima project. For my screen play I plan to write about a group of teens, inspired by Marcus and his friends, set during the civil rights movement. It will be about how these teens connect with other teens and encourage them to get involved in a better cause. It will play off Little Brother in the relationships of the teens, parents, schools, and news media, but it will be set in the 1960's. The characters will be hippe-esque teens, who before witnessing an act of civil rights injustice, were unmotivated and uninspired. I think my idea has a strong concept and relation to Little Brother.

Machinima Pitch

I came into this class, with a semi-vague idea of my basis around my screenplay. I'm trying to work my way around it try it make it more clear and concise with a beginning middle and end. Right now, after pitching my idea three times to my brilliant classmates, I am working my way in this direction. I know that this idea has potential, and I want to be able to love it so that I can run with it. The one thing that I am making different in comparison to Little Brother is that Darryl will be at Marcus's side throughout the screenplay. They will be captured by the DHS together and released together. Darryl will not be stabbed in the train station and will not be bleeding out (which led to Marcus flagging down a truck initially which was actually the DHS). Marcus and Darryl spend one complete day on their own after their release and are reluctant to go back to school to tell all their friends what has happened. When they return, they notice that there are cameras everything and a DHS officer with conducting searches at Security Checkpoint before they enter school. At the end of the school day, both Marcus and Darryl come home and are kidnapped by the terrorists during the night, the same terrorists who bombed the Bay Bridge. The interesting unknown question in this respect is: how different would life have been for Marcus if Darryl was by his side? In the novel, the purpose of Marcus pursuing the DHS was to rescue Darryl, so what reason would he have to pursue the DHS if they had released him? Darryl and Marcus are taken to the terrorist headquarters, which turn out to be in an underground lair right beneath the Port of San Francisco. The terrorists force both of them to try and infiltrate the DHS headquarters via the Internet and siphon their funds into an offshore bank account. The terrorists wanted to do this because the DHS had captured their leader and had him locked away in Gitmo-by-the-bay. Marcus and Darryl do as they are told, and attempt to make contact with their friends in family at home and do so, just so they know if they are alive and well. Marcus keeps in contact with Barbara Stratford as well on a secure server and makes sure that she is on site at the DHS Headquarters with the CHP undercover when the terrorists come to attempt to rescue their captured comrade. (Plot remains the same, the DHS is still the way it was in the book, police state). It turns out to be a trap, the terrorists and DHS agents are captured and are tried on the criminal justice system. Darryl and Marcus are set free.

I Love My Idea

I freaking love my idea...kinda. My idea is a Rugratesque version of the love triangle of Van, Marcus, and Darryl. I want to play off the idea of morality of realationships and the question of what constitutes a real, positive relationship. The plot is a back story to the whole web of relationships shared by these three best friends and is ultimately the set up to where there relationships are in Little Brother. The story takes place in a day care and Van is clearly interested in Marcus while Darryl is obviously pining for Van. There will be some conflict, baby style, in which Darryl tries to help/save Van but only hinders their relationship while Marcus comes to save the day. As a resolution Darryl will find some other todder of interest who potentially consoles Darryl with a bottle or lollypop. If this is taken to a more toddleresque perspective the resolution will be more of a "lets play tag" or some other game that allows everyone to appear to be happy in the end.

Julia's

My idea for the screenplay is crap. I am going to develop my idea into one that I love by working out that major details. I am going to pin point the setting, the characters, and their conflict. Right now, I just have a plot, nothing else.

Pitch

I came to class today with a jumble of random ideas that didn't really have a figure, just a fuzzy shadow. I didn't really like ANY of them, I realized, when we were watching the how-to-screenwrite videos in class. So I came up with a new one on the spot, and I am falling in love with it (or at least I really like it).

Basically, my story will try to justify why severe haircut lady is the way she is. I don't believe that anyone is born truly evil, yet in Little Brother that's what she seemed to be. I want to focus on her background story, and how she got to the point where she was when she met Markus.

It's going to start with her interrogating Markus, with the water drowning treatment and etc. And after that a huge chunk of the movie will be flashbacks of her life in the past, that help to show her in a different light, so that we could understand her a little more. I'm thinking that maybe her whole family died in a terrorist attack, or some kind of murder involving not enough security. She was a very kind person, involved in a lot of community service activities, but after she found out her family died, she was BROKEN FOREVER and CRIPPLED from sadness. So some concerned friends got her a PSYCHIASTRIST who urged her to get herself together. She goes back to work, with a HEART OF ICE.

Eventually she ends up in the DHS, and gets raised to a pretty high position because of how DEDICATED she was to her job and how successful she was in getting info. out of her prisoners.

Anyways, in the end something happens (I still need to figure this out), and she realizes how horrible she's been to others, and her ICY HEART melts (I dunno maybe one of the characters in Little Brother reminds her of her dead kid). And then she WEEPS, sorry for all her wrongdoings, and either apologizes and spends the rest of her life doing good (moves to Africa to help educate the children, gives paychecks to homeless shelters) OR she jumps off a building.

Yes, this is a tragedy.

The End.
I had crap for a screenplay plan. My idea is now to essentially combine Little Brother with the movie Braveheart. I want to set up the movie back in a time closer to the setting of Braveheart so that there is not a ton of technology and with the characters very upset at how the DHS has been treating them and feeling discouraged. Then I want to make Marcus a war hero like William Wallace, and have him convince the people to go to war with the DHS. It will feature one large battle where they beat the DHS and get their freedom. Before the battle Marcus is going to give an inspirational speech like he does when he gathers the people he and Jolu trust together. Then after the very inspirational speech the fight will start. At the end they will beat the DHS army they are fighting and the DHS will stop oppressing them.

Well it sucked so I gave up.

I walked into class with my idea from my previous blog post, and it sucked apparently, so after crying a little I wiped away my tears came up with a better idea. I want to displace marcus and stern haircut woman into our modern day world and take away the danger and volatility of their situation, while retaining the conflict between the two of them. I plan on essentially trivializing the argument between a revolutionary kid and a military woman who believes in order and the hierarchy of government above all. This fighting will take place somewhere like the jerry springer show or a counselor. They will begrudgingly grow to learn that they have the same goal, they just believe in different systems, which in the non-dystopia of the normal world, doesn't matter as much. They ride off happily into the sunset.

Script idea- Rebecca

I do not like my script idea, in any way. I need to develop it into something that is more relevant to Little Brother and be able to create characters that the audience can identify with. I think that the first step is picking a genre for my script, after that I will be able to brainstorm more ideas and zero in on one. My top picks for genre would be comedy or drama, and since these are two very different genres it is proving itself difficult to just decide on one.
I must think of an idea that I am willing to marry.
I think I would really like to pitch the idea of Ange's point of view when falling "in love" with Marcus. Since I believe her character to be oddly obsessive and controlling I would like to be able to portray her thoughts while going through the story line of the novel. The movie will be mostly a dramatic love story, borderline melodramatic since that is basically what the novel is, and with sparse comedy, only to emphasize her obsession. Ange would be the protagonist with her main conflict being her journey in pursuing Marcus. The antagonist would have to be Marcus' resistance, and his previous attraction to Van.

Machinima discussion

My site: http://webpages.scu.edu/ftp/wburke/Surveillance/splash-surveil.htm

I came into this having seen a small amount of machinima, and what I hadn’t realized is how well it was done. Machinima clearly takes much more time and effort than I had previously realized, especially when you consider the time it takes to come up with a quality creative script beforehand, and then combine that with well planned and carefully laid out filming, which often requires working around obstructions that are inherent to working within video games or virtual worlds. One thing I took for granted in the machinima I had seen, Red vs. Blue, is the work that is put into making the illusion of speaking. Every time a character speaks the people controlling them have to move their heads up and down in conjunction with their talking. That is in fact what I find to be impressive about the good machinima, and lacking in the less well made machinima. In Red vs. Blue and others, the focal points of production are the dialogue, and camera work. Almost no movement occurs due to the clumsiness of the characters in Halo, where they options for movement are so limited. The other huge strength I see in their machinima is the theme of playing off the art form of machinima. Often jokes or plotlines are built around the fact that these characters exist within ridiculous conditions and constraints, and are unable to do many basic things. With camera work that gives the characters and surroundings a good feel, all they put into it is character development and humor, focusing on the intricacies of the dialogue, and they come out with an excellent and entertaining machinima. For my own machinima script, I would like to aim for this same sort of goal. While I realize this may conflict with the goal of keeping Little Brother central to the machinima, I think it can work very well. In my machinima I plan to displace a number of the characters from Little Brother into Second Life into a neutral (maybe humorous) environment. Here they will engage in some sort of reconciliatory dialogue but will continue to run into their inadequacies, highlighted by the literal inadequacies of second life.

Machina Ideas

After watching the machinimas, I noticed that this project will probably be pretty hard. But it will be really cool to see everyone's at the end of the quarter. I'm not sure what I want to write my screenplay about yet but the machinimas and discussions in class gave me a few ideas for my own machinima. I'm pretty good at a few different accents so I thought that would be cool to use some funny accents for the voice overs. I don't want anything annoying, like that little guy in the corner who kept popping up in the machinima we watched in class. Also, I'm disappointed that we cannot use music because of copyright issues but it will be fun and interesting to make our own music! I've never used Garage Band before!! In one of the machinimas I watched, the characters had a strong sense of humor. I want my machinima to be funny! I'll have to think of some ideas for the screenplay.

It sucked then I changed it

I want to change the setting of "Little Brother" a modern day Nazi Germany. I would keep the same characters and change the plot a little bit. The story would begin with an attack from America on a German city and Marcus and his friends are captured and suspected for making the attack. The Nazis take them to a concentration camp (which would be similar to Treasure Island). This is the conflict. They are interrogated harshly though they didn't do anything and Severe Haircut Lady would be Hitler. I would touch upon another issue that Doctorow talked about which is race. The Nazi's suspect Marcus and his friends since they look American. They finally escape (instead of being realised. There is no Xnet since unlike American interrogation like water boarding, Nazi interrogation is something you would die than go through again. They start out as happy kids and end up as scarred souless youth.

Screen Play Development

To be totally honest at the beginning of the class period I really did not have an idea of what i was going to for my screenplay. But after watching the videos in class and having the peer discussions I feel like I have an idea of what I want to do for the screenplay that I actually like. I was going to have a protagonist in his late 20's who just got back from the war in the middle east. When he returns to his home in a very small innocent town he sees that his community has been corrupted by the government and through out the film the protagonist is fighting back to remove the corrupt government in his town and return the community to how it was before he had left. This still relates to Little Brother because when Marcus gets back from his imprisonment he realizes when he returns that all of San Francisco has changed when he was gone and the whole book is on how he fights back against the Department of Homeland Security to return the privacy back to his home town.

Script Idea

I started off the day with this idea and it sucked. I had a vegue idea of the theme I wanted to focus on and now I have a much more solid understanding of where I want the story to go. With the help of my fellow students I was able to narrow my idea into a story about Darryll and what he was going through while the events of Little Brother were happening. Initially Darryll is scared but hopeful that he will be released. As time wears on he realizes that he may never be free again. Multiple flashes of thoughts are shown: what he thinks Marcus is doing now, how he thinks his dad is doing, Van. He becomes more and more resentful toward Marcus for doing this to him. He hears news about Xnet and wonders if Marcus even remembers he exists. One day some time later his cell door is opened and he discovers that Marcus has overthrown the DHS. He is torn between the deep hatred that has grown for Marcus and his grateful feelings for his release. This tension leaves him speechless combined with his extremely weak physical state.

Screen Play Development

At the beginning of the day, I began with an ambitious character who has wanted to be involved in the CIA his entire life. Ever since childhood, it has been his dream to become an agent in the CIA and has devoted every aspect of his life into becoming just that. The story begins with the man at appproximately age 30. He has become an agent and has been involved with this job for about a year. At about this time, he begins to become exposed to the dark secrets of the CIA. Many of the operations done by the CIA have dark motives and are done for the personal gain of those government officials that are at the top of the order. Many of them are simply power hungry. Upon this discovery, the protagonist realizes that he wanted to join the CIA to help the country for the greater good, not to gain power. So, he, like Marcus in Little Brother, attempts to work against the CIA secretly in order to sabotage their corrupt operations. He hopes that this work will put away the corrupt leaders in the CIA.

Machinima Idea Brainstorming

Today, I started with the simple idea of Little brother from Van's Perspective. It sucked because a large portion of the story has her dissappear for a while. Then I decided to incorporate her in a more behind the scenes role. In my story, Van actually helps Marcus without him knowing. These scenes will involve the party, the vampire party and the concert. But i didn't have a way that i would fit this in 8 mins. After talking to my peers, the ideas of inner monologue and a sort of montage. Also, Incorporating Jolu became a great idea so the whole film wasn't just Van talking to you. Now to put it in a story format. The set up is that The terrorist attack happened which leads to Van and Marcus fighting. The main conflict is that she cannot get herself to tell Marcus how she feels about him. Finally the resolution is the kiss they share, and how she finally musters up the courage. The story is a typical shy, teenage girl story, but with cyber terrorism thrown in to mix it up.

screenplay idea

I started the day with a lot of scattered ideas. My ideas where not very good or plausible. I got the idea from the video we watched to make it a news cast and i that helped. Then i moved on to using my hypertext ideas to drive my screenplay. I come up with an awesome idea for a screenplay. I want to create a news cast about four student who's teacher failed them and they wanted to get even. They come up with a plan to fail the standardized test so that the teacher would look bad but the plan back lashed and the students got all college admissions revoked! After the news cast end with a warning to student about the importance of standardized testing the screen will go black and success stories of the kids in the story will appear. The storeys will be along the line of major susses even after what happened. For example Marcus will become a major computer programmer, creating a system that causes Microsoft to look like a glitch.

Script Writing

I started out the day with a vague idea about a love story between Marcus and Van and it turned into something dark and disturbed and I love it! Initially, I wanted Marcus to end up with Van somehow, but I wans't quite sure how I wanted this to take place. Therefore, I mentally started thinking about a cool intro to a movie and I came up with this...

Scene 1: Marcus walking down a stone hallway inside a jail cell looking for his best friend Daryll and his girlfriend Ange after he just dismantled the Department of Homeland Security. A voice over is discussing betrayal of trust pertaining to friends and women. A security camera follows his progress down the hall. Close up on his face... focused... determined to find his friends.

Scene 2: Marcus enters into a high security room... to a sight that will change his world. He walks in on Ange and Daryll passionately intertwined. Marcus is horrified. His whole world has been shattered. His best friend and his girlfriend... Ange calls out to him to wait as he runs away.

Scene 3: Sitting alone on his bed... Marcus is wearing all black. He's a dark and disturbed young man... sorta like Spider Man 3 when he starts a black Spiderman suit. He's lost all faith in humanity. Suddenly, his cell phone beeps. Nobody talks to Marcus anymore, he had cut off all ties with humanity.
Cell Phone Screen : VAN: Hey... I Need To Talk To You. Can You Meet Me At Our Spot?

Scene 4: (Van and Marcus' meeting... need to think more deeply about conversation that takes place... general idea that Marcus will say very little at first while Van tries to explain a lot of things and he will gradually warm up and start talking about his feelings and then this scene will conclude with them smiling at each other bceause they've made amends)

Scene 5: *several months later* Marcus is happy again. Voice over explains that he and Van rekindled their friendship and are now dating. Camera walks behind them holding hands. Focuses in from the front of them laughing and enjoying each others presence after Marcus tells a nerdy technology joke. They see Ange and Daryll drive by in Daryll's new convertible. Marcus follows them with his eyes as they drive past. Suddenly at the intersection their car gets T-boned by a semi-truck. They both die instantly. Screen goes black. The following words appear : "Karma's a Bitch"

Screenplay Writing

I started off with this idea earlier today and it sucked. Now, I have solidified my theme and characters and really like it. I decided more on who my characters were going to be, what was going to be the conflict for these characters, how they would deal with these conflicts, and how they screenplay would eventually end. At the beginning of the period, I wanted to use the idea of over-surveillance and the invasion of an individual's privacy, but I didn't know how to get this idea across to my viewers. Now, I have two basic protagonist characters. The first, is a husband who accidentally falls on a lady at a public place and his wife catches him and thinks she is cheating. After, his wife goes to extreme measures to know what is going on with her husband and puts her on a tracking device. He gets so angry that he leaves her. The other character, a teenage girl gets caught holding a cigartette by her parents and they are horrified because they think she is smoking. However, she was really just picking the cigarette off the ground to throw in the trash. Her parents don't believe her and make her start homeschool where they can watch her every actions. The teenager ends up running away because she can't deal with being watched constantly. Later, both the wife of the husband and the parent of the teenager find out that the protagonists were telling the truth. However, it is too late. I think this would be an appropriate time to go back to the protagonists who both meet in a public place and tell their stories to each other. I want them to talk about how the extreme surveillance got to be too much for them and now they are much happier. I think it may be funny for them to actually fall for each other because they have so much in common because of their past events, but this may detract from the theme of other people prying into other's lives. I think this idea is creative, and will be fun to try and create. I hope to add a lot of comedic aspects to it, if this is possible. I think it won't be as successful if I tried to portray it in a serious, more dramatic way. I feel much more confident about my idea now that I have taken more time to think about it and write it out in detail and hope I can master it.