Opeth-Closure

Heal myself - a feather on my heart
Look inside - there never was a start
Peel myself - dispose of severed skin
All subsides - around me and within
There's nothing painful in this
There's no upheaval
Redemption for my pathos
All sins undone
Awaiting word on what's to come
In helpless prayers a hope lives on
'Cause I've come clean, I've forgotten what I promised
In the rays of the sun, I am longing for the darkness


Scene 1: /The bottom of a swamp in Pickwick Tennessee/
Lyrics

/Video/

Heal myself - a feather on my heart: /Clay (kneeling) washing his hands in the water/
Look inside - there never was a start: /Daytime reflection of his face in the swamp/
Peel myself - dispose of severed skin: /Clay (kneeling) starts tearing pieces of his skin off his arms and face. (Latex make up effects for fake skin)/
All subsides - around me and within:

/Camera circles around Clay (standing) to get a
complete view of the swamp surroundings/

Scene 2: /Cemetery in the middle of the woods/

There's nothing painful in this
There's no upheaval:
Redemption for my pathos
All sins undone:

/Camera view rises out of a grave, passes two other tombstones through the woods and heads straight for Clay/ @ 1minute, 7seconds into the song camera runs straight into Clay. Clay sticks his chest out as if he was overpowered by some unknown force, picks up a shovel that’s stuck in the mud next to him and heads down a path for the woods/ Camera angle shows the side of his face (covered in blood)/

1:31 Scene 3: /Clay disappears into the woods. He comes to an opening and looks towards the graveyard, then walks towards a tombstone/

1:55 Scene 4: /Clay starts digging up the grave

2:19 Scene 5: /Clay sticks his arm in the grave and starts pulling bones out/ walking towards the opposite end of the woods.

2:31 Scene 6: /Clay throws a brown bag over his shoulder and starts walking towards the opposite end of the woods.


2:44 Scene 7: /Marion is laying on a concrete slab (Dead) wearing a white dress, with her arms spread out. (Camera rises up from Marion’s view to Clay standing next to her with the bag of bones. Clay starts laying the bones on top of her and around her.

Awaiting word on what's to come
In helpless prayers a hope lives on
'Cause I've come clean, I've forgotten
what I promised
In the rays of the sun, I am longing for
The darkness:

/Clay picks up a cup of blood that’s sitting
next to her and pours it on her forehead

3:28 Scene 8: /Clay walks back towards the woods and continues to dig up the next grave. He repeats the bone bagging and walks back towards Marion. After he digs the last grave, he lays the last skull next to Marion, then lights a pentagram (made out of straw and gasoline). Marion awakes from the dead and her and Clay walk off into the woods together.

4-3-08 Terra Firma

leave comments please.
thanks.
I constructed a three and a half minute long song using a Roland x8 Phantom and a Mac. The measures below are time codes that are structured for the narration of this film. There are four beats per measure, so that should help give an idea of how long each scene will be. This movie will be filmed in Greers Ferry, Arkansas. I am most likely going to play the character in the film and have a friend or the tripod help film. Arkansas will definitely provide all of the natural shots I need. I estimate three days to shoot.

Terra Firma

Measure 1-16
(Man sitting under a tree in the middle of a park, wearing a rain coat and an oversized rain hat. He has a camping bag filled with clothes and he is staring at the ground.)


Measure 17-32
(Man is walking off down a dark road in Arkansas. Trees are completely surrounding the area, which allows him to finally feels isolated from the world. –Maybe rain?)
Narration: It’s all over now. I have left this world. There is no returning this time. My family, friends, technology: all forgotten. I am returning to the jungle. As the Lysergic acid diethylamide enters my system, I am touched by the hands of my ancestors and reminded that we humans were put here for a much greater purpose than destroying the earth and savaging the land. All I need are my hands and feet, no concrete street. A home of sticks and stones, and most of all peace. A place to breath, a place to eat and a world where I’m actually free. I’m returning to an earth that believes.


Measure 33-40
(Man cutting down a tree to construct a small sheltered area to sleep in, hunting for food with a spear and building a fire pit to cook on in a highly wooded area.)


Measure 41-60
(Man standing on the edge of a cliff, yelling at the gods.)
Narration: I have found my place of rest, A breath beneath my chest, salvation at it’s best. I have conquered death a million times from stress. I scream at the God’s: leave me blessed.


Measure 61-90
(Man sitting next to a lake writing a letter)
Narration: To the people I love, I’ll be ok. Alone on this mountaintop, there’s no pain to decay. I’ve started my new life; actually it’s just begun. Never again the feeling of wanting to run. Believe in me and believe in this earth, for I have reconnected with a most perfect worth. Maybe a day will come filled with recognition of what wrong we’ve done. Until this day I will remain in the valley of one. (Walks off into the wooded area, and briefly looks back.

write up

I wish I had more time to shoot this movie. The outcome is decent, but could of been a lot better. I had very little camera help while shooting, so most scenes were a little difficult to shoot exactly how I wanted it. There are problems with the sound that at this point would have to be completely redone. This will probably become a project that I work on again in the near future.

The Habit

The Departure

Corner of Cooper and Madison

Nonconnah

Riverdale Exit

Police stake out location

Where I was pulled over

Schedule

Monday, Feb. 11: Scenes 1-4 @ 2:00pm (My house and Lenny's) Me and my camera help
Tuesday, Feb. 12: Scenes 5-9 @ 2:00pm (Nonconnah Blvd., Circle K, Riverdale) Me, cop and my camera help
Wednesday, Feb. 13: Scene 10 @ 2:00pm (Office room) me, cop and my camera help

Write Up:

My first approach to the script was me walking down a dark, Mid-town street, with narration behind it and maybe flashbacks of the actual events taking place. I then decided to give references for the events instead. The viewers can now make out in their head what they imagine the characters and scenes look like. Basically, how you would visualize things when you read a book. The last scene will only show the cops mouth yelling at me, while the remainder of the scene is me alone in this room, handcuffed to a chair, reacting to the narration, as if the character was really right there in front of me. I think this approach will resolve a nice ending.

Location Scout:

Power: Other than the house, all of the locations are outside, so I will be using the battery on the camera and natural sunlight. The house obviously has convenient locations for powering the lights to illuminate the second scene.

Sound: This will not be of any concern, because the narration will be layered on top. I have a recording studio inside of my house that I will use to record the narration to prevent outside sounds from interfering.

Photos: Locations are chosen, unfortunately I have some how lost my camera. I am borrowing one today, so the pictures will be added soon.

The Script:

Scene 1: (My House) Me laying in my bed with my head in the pillow (Narration from The Habit) It was the kind of morning that doesn’t even come late. The kind of morning that doesn’t come, because the queen-size, pillow-top mattress that rests on a king-size, Sealy mattress feels too good to awake from. If I had only stayed in bed, what now seems like a dream to me today wouldn’t be reality.

Scene 2:(My House) Me, slowly getting out of bed, putting my guns on, grabbing the duffle bag and walking out the front door (Narration from The Habit) With great struggle, my legs began to slide off the edge of the bed. With one pair of brown sandals, a pair of khaki shorts, a cold, sleeveless t-shirt from the bedroom floor, a blue Nautica jacket, two hand cannons at a net worth of one- thousand, nine hundred dollars, one of which was tucked in my waist and the other strapped to my back, below my shoulder, and a black duffle bag, weighing approximately twelve pounds, I proceeded out the front door.

Scene 3:(My house) Me walking out with duffle bag and staring off into the distance (Narration from The Habit) The kind of day where habit overrides any doubt or fear and the mere thought of a problem occurring doesn’t exist.

Scene 4: (Lenny's) Me getting out of my car, shutting the door and walking into the sub shop (Narration from The Habit) As my car door slammed shut in front of a populated, Mid-town sub shop, I was reminded that I could take as long as I desired, for the type of job I had never came with deadlines.

Scene 5: (Nonconnah Blvd.) Me driving on the highway and turning into the left lane (Narration from The Habit) The stretch of highway in front of me seemed to know me better than ever, and as it opened up for me I turned into the left lane and continued down the road.

Scene 6: (Nonconnah Blvd. and Riverdale Rd.) Me turning off interstate and passing the gas station (Narration from The Habit) As my destination became close, I turned off the ever-familiar stretch of concrete and passed a bright, orange gas station. Why was there an unmarked, white car pulling out of the almost deserted parking lot, I thought, and better yet why were they following me so closely?

Scene 7: (Hickory Hill) Special effect: Film a flashing blue light on the road and in rear view mirror. Me releasing the button that's holding the gun under my shoulder and putting it beside me in the crack between the drivers seat and the door (Narration from The Habit)Then, suddenly, the gray road I was driving on, turned blue. As the fierce, blue-lit enforcer proceeded to pull me over, I calmly reached under my arm and released the buttoned-snap that held a Kimber, nineteen-eleven under my shoulder and quickly placed it in the crack between the driver seat and the door.

Scene 8: (Hickory Hill) Me sitting in my car pulled over on the side of the street with a look of shock on my face (Narration from The Stench) What seemed to be a perfectly normal routine to me, seemed to be a real hassle to try and explain to an enforcer of the law such as this man. He stood six-foot tall and to me appeared to resemble the Devil. On his back was a black t-shirt and on his legs, a pair of old, worn-out, blue jeans. As I heard footsteps drawing closer to the front of the car, I wondered to myself, had I been set up? Did the tall man approaching my vehicle already know what was in the black duffle bag? I took one incredibly deep breath and postured myself in an upright position.

Scene 9: (Hickory Hill) Me, slowly rolling down my window, while the cop walks up to it, I look towards him (Narration from The Stench) As I began to roll down the window, the smell of the air changed with his presence. Instead of the once existing piney smell coming from my trunk, the air filled my nostrils with a fowl stench of black coffee and donuts. The bacon had arrived, and I felt as if I was on my deathbed.

Scene 10: (Office) Me sitting in a chair in an empty room with my head pointed towards the floor (Narration from The Fuck Off ) This place was much colder than the ride over, and at this point in the game, I had become used to the position that my arms were placed. The air smelled of old offices and paper clips. In the room sat a single, up-right chair that I was attached to. I could her voices from the hallway laughing and talking about how screwed I was and all I could think about is how I wasn’t going to give these pigs a single thing. - (I look up towards the door, as if the cop is coming in.) - (Narration) Suddenly, the door opened and in walked the man that pulled me over in the white car. As he stepped towards me, I could here the splashes of sweat dripping from his face onto the floor. This only led me to wonder if he was doing laps from the excitement of a great bust or if he was just frightened to think of the gun collection found in my house. - (Film the cops mouth shouting) - (Narration/Cop) You do realize what kind of time your going to be doing if you don’t help us out right? Just tell us who you were taking it too and getting it from, and we’ll let you drive right out of here. - (Me still sitting in the chair, handcuffed, staring at the floor) - (Narration) Although, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, the thought of working for the police and helping them bring down my friends was the last thing on my mind. As I sat in the cold, uncomfortable seat, all I could think about was the fact that they had no clue where the safe house was, which happened to contain many more pounds of the leafy substance they obtained from the trunk of my car. - (Camera is on my face and as I look up, the camera focuses in on my eyes) - (Narration)I looked at the man in a great deal of respect, and then told him to fuck off.

Synopsis:

This is the look into the life of Zach Waters, a young artist that happened to be the main supplier of hydroponic marijuana in Memphis, TN at the young age of twenty. On the day of November ninth, 2005, his life changed forever. Have you ever felt as if you had everything in your life under control? Whenever that feeling arrives, rest assure that something horrible is right around the corner. Prepare to venture into a day of a life that most people will never see.

Break Down:

A. Me, myself and a cop are the only characters in the film.
B. I will be in ninety percent of the film, while the cops legs will be in one scene.
C. Midtown, My house, Lennys sub shop, Nonconnah Blvd., gas station(Riverdale), side of Hickory Hill street and an office room are all of the locations needed.
D. Special effect blue light on pavement and in rear view mirror is needed for scene 7.
E. Costume: undercover cop, wearing a badge and gun on his hip. (I will wear the clothing from the narration)
F. Props: Duffle bag, shoulder strap, two handguns and a pair of handcuffs

Character Analysis:

Kid: (20 years old)
A.This kid wants the entire world in his hands before the age of twenty five.
B. He has a well constructed business that has become habit forming, yet he will do whatever it takes to rise above the minimum wage life he has been thrown into.
C. When disaster strikes, he tells the world to fuck off.
D. Not giving into the cop and turning in his friends.
E. A sense of contentness.
F. The distribution of large amounts of marijuana.
Cop: (40 years old)
A. This guy spends his life sending people to jail. He loves his job and enjoys nothing more than the smell of a good bust.
B. The turning of friends against friends for the satisfaction of a drug bust.
C. Illegal traffic stop and detaining of the kid, so he can search the car.
D. He attempts to persuade the kid to work for the police and turn his friends in.
E. His actions towards my refusal to help are never shown.
F. The pursuing, pulling over, arrest and interrogation of the kid.

Write up:

This assignment has greatly strengthened my sense of detail. My original intention was to go out for a walk and write about something, anything that I saw occur. I ended up trying to pick through my brain and narrow it down to 1 story and then write 3 different parts. Storyboard is decent, you get the point at least.

Part 1: The Habit

It was the kind of morning that doesn’t even come late. The kind of morning that doesn’t come, because the queen-size, pillow-top mattress that rests on a king-size, Sealy mattress feels too good to awake from. If I had only stayed in bed, what now seems like a dream to me today wouldn’t be reality. With great struggle, my legs began to slide off the edge of the bed. With one pair of brown sandals, a pair of khaki shorts, a cold, sleeveless t-shirt from the bedroom floor, a blue Nautica jacket, two hand cannons at a net worth of one- thousand, nine hundred dollars, one of which was tucked in my waist and the other strapped to my back, below my shoulder, and a black duffle bag, weighing approximately twelve pounds, I proceeded out the front door. The kind of day where habit overrides any doubt or fear and the mere thought of a problem occurring doesn’t exist. As my car door slammed shut in front of a populated, Mid-town sub shop, I was reminded that I could take as long as I desired, for the type of job I had never came with deadlines. The stretch of highway in front of me seemed to know me better than ever, and as it opened up for me I turned into the left lane and continued down the road. As my destination became close, I turned off the ever-familiar stretch of concrete and passed a bright, orange gas station. Why was there an unmarked, white car pulling out of the almost deserted parking lot, I thought, and better yet why were they following me so closely? Then, suddenly, the gray road I was driving on, turned blue. As the fierce, blue-lit enforcer proceeded to pull me over, I calmly reached under my arm and released the buttoned-snap that held a Kimber, nineteen-eleven under my shoulder and quickly placed it in the crack between the driver seat and the door.

Part 2: The Stench

What seemed to be a perfectly normal routine to me, seemed to be a real hassle to try and explain to an enforcer of the law such as this man. He stood six-foot tall and to me appeared to resemble the Devil. On his back was a black t-shirt and on his legs, a pair of old, worn-out, blue jeans. As I heard footsteps drawing closer to the front of the car, I wondered to myself, had I been set up? Did the tall man approaching my vehicle already know what was in the black duffle bag? I took one incredibly deep breath and postured myself in an upright position. As I began to roll down the window, the smell of the air changed with his presence. Instead of the once existing piney smell coming from my trunk, the air filled my nostrils with a fowl stench of black coffee and donuts. The bacon had arrived, and I felt as if I was on my deathbed.

Part 3: The Fuck Off

This place was much colder than the ride over, and at this point in the game, I had become used to the position that my arms were placed. The air smelled of old offices and paper clips. In the room sat a single, up-right chair that I was attached to. I could her voices from the hallway laughing and talking about how screwed I was and all I could think about is how I wasn’t going to give these pigs a single thing. Suddenly, the door opened and in walked the man that pulled me over in the white car. As he stepped towards me, I could here the splashes of sweat dripping from his face onto the floor. This only led me to wonder if he was doing laps from the excitement of a great bust or if he was just frightened to think of the gun collection found in my house. “ You do realize what kind of time your going to be doing if you don’t help us out right? Just tell us who you were taking it too and getting it from, and we’ll let you drive right out of here.” Although, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, the thought of working for the police and helping them bring down my friends was the last thing on my mind. As I sat in the cold, uncomfortable seat, all I could think about was the fact that they had no clue where the safe house was, which happened to contain many more pounds of the leafy substance they obtained from the trunk of my car. I looked at the man in a great deal of respect, and then told him to fuck off.

Storyboard: 1

Storyboard: 2

Storyboard: 3

Storyboard: 4

Evidence Photo:

place write up

This ended up being a lot better of a movie than I thought it would. I had problems with the sound (I forgot to tweak the gain on the audio box) Anyways I guess that’s the idea: realize what you did wrong and fix it. I do plan to re shoot the sound sometime soon. This short film of Memphis just might lead to a full-length mockumentary of the city we all love and hate so much.

Place3

I have a well sense of place. My place in this world, the place I have to live in for the time being, my place in history and my place in peoples lives today. People have been shaping this place we live in since the beginning of time, since society has become conformed and shaped to the place that we have built. There are definitely more places to explore in a creative mind.

Place2

As I place my art into the world, I think of the place i will have on the bus when it arrives, accompanied by a new place of leisure. A place where no one knows my face, because this is no longer the time or place. Maybe, just maybe then my cards will fall in place.

Place

Place is everything. My placement in this city has made me who I am today. Moving to a different place, say Oregon would completely change my life. It is always my place to decide to act on what I feel is best for myself and that places me in a small percentage of the world. My place in this world is creation.