Myth or Legend

Not Your Everyday Narrative

Title: Myth vs. Legend

Tagline:  "What will you see?" 

Logline:  A mysterious menace has been terrorizing South Bend for quite some time.  Is it an urban myth or are there more to the stories? And is it escalating…?

Treatment: This short narrative will be told in the form of a news story/mockumentary. It is the story of a phantom creature/thing that is causing little bits of chaos all around South Bend. People have only seen glimpses, there are grainy photographs and security camera feeds that provide good, but not conclusive, evidence. We will have off-camera interviews with people that have seen it. Just imagine a “I saw bigfoot” vibe. The interviews will be done to feel “unstaged” - just an interviewer catching people out in their neighborhood. One interview will focus on the urban legend surrounding the creature. This interview will include a “re-enactment” - which will be shown as the interviewee describes the theory. There will be a shots of the filmmaker traveling to an interview location. (The cliche “camera in the backseat filming the front seat person talking about the investigation” shot. If cliches are wrong I don’t want to be right.) And of course there will be a chance to see some of the problems around town. (A destroyed flowerbed, yard decor in disarray, etc.- think Loki. Often in a spiral pattern...) This will all escalate into a heated interaction between the camera crew and a "person of interest." Some, but not all, questions will be answered.

Five Phrases and a Script

 “No one is going to be offended, we’re all open about this.” -loud student to his group of 5 classmates as they attempted to complete some type of group assignment about a controversial topic. The group remained quiet.

“Well you could have taken the lettuce and turkey off and eaten it plain.” -mother to her college-age son after he complained that he was hungry because hadn’t eaten a freely provided lunch. It was unclear what his issue was with the variety of sandwiches, but he was equally displeased with turkey, vegetarian, Italian, and ‘other’.

“Oh, you’re gay? I’ve always wanted a gay best friend!” -student in an EA hallway sharing a story with a friend about an encounter he had had at some point in his life.

“We have about 5 refrigerators full of stool.” -student talking to a small group of anthropology students after a presentation about chimpanzees.

“And that is why the pineapples are in the water.” -young man on an upper floor. I have no context as that was the only sentence I heard. I suspect it had to do with a piece of art, but I’d like to think it didn’t.

____________________________________________

Number Seven

by

Marissa Williams

INT. LOFT APARTMENT - TASTEFUL NEUTRAL TONES - NATURAL FIBERS

LAUREN opens the front door, steps into the entryway, and turns on the light. She takes off her jacket and throws it on a chair near the door. THOMAS enters behind her and mirrors her actions with his own jacket. LAUREN leans against the wall next to the door and massages her temples.

LAUREN

It’s almost as though you want us to become shut-ins. Is that it? Would you like us to simply have no outside life whatsoever?

THOMAS flops into a nearby armchair, throwing his leg over one of the arms and leans back in a high-power pose. His expression is mildly perplexed.

THOMAS

I don’t know why you’re getting upset. We’ve only been banned from one or two places.

LAUREN steps in front of him with her hands on her hips and stares down at him in dismay.

LAUREN

Seven. We have been banned from SEVEN different establishments.

THOMAS

Well, sure, if you’re counting. But did you SEE their faces when they saw all of those pineapples in the water?

THOMAS slowly closes his eyes and smiles.

THOMAS

Worth it.

Documentary Poster

A Person of Interest for a Potential Interview

Zack Arnold is a professional editor who has worked on trailers, television, and documentaries for over 15 years. After growing up in a small Midwest town, he studied film theory and production at the University of Michigan before moving to Los Angeles to begin his career. After a few short years of working on movie trailers and DVD content he decided to make the transition to scripted features. The list of independent movies and television shows that he has been a part of is quite extensive and includes “The Bannen Way”, “Burn Notice”, and, most recently, “Empire”.  Zack’s directorial debut occurred in 2015 with his documentary “Go Far: The Christopher Rush Story”. He also manages his podcast and online health program “Fitness in Post” while still finding time for his family in his busy schedule.

With the target audience in mind, an interview with Zack could prove very insightful and even inspirational to current video and motion media students. It may, perhaps, even be a motivator for other INMS students of varying concentrations to change their focus. This interview could help make working in Hollywood seem more accessible, considering that the interviewee has a very similar background to many of them. It could be used not only to give students a glimpse into their future, but also to provide practical guidelines for how to get the most out of their video and media programs here at IUSB.

1. Could you tell me what a normal working day in your life is like?
2. What is your favorite and least favorite part about editing?
3. Backing up, can you tell me a little about college? 
4. What kind of projects were you assigned?
5.  Did you have very many group projects? Which one/ones were the most memorable?
6. Do you feel like those projects prepared you for working with others in the industry (before Trello)?
7. What was your least favorite thing about school? Have you used those skills?
8.  Is there anything you wish you had done differently in school?
9. What was your biggest take-away?
10. In once sentence, what would you want to say to a group of college students studying video?

Style Book

"The Time to Run" 

A Sensible Chuckle

Music - Scott Holmes