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.