v.6, machines, shadows, belief, drama!

There are about four topics I've been revisting in the past month—problems with the bird scene, machines to buy, shadows & visual effects, and belief and persistence. This post covers all of them!

Bird scene
Here's the latest version: Ben is still driving back home through the desert consulting the portable Memex. But this time it's night. The car is filled with the glow of his device. Ben's looking at the Memex screen, doing research. Scary images. We get closer to his face and see the projected images playing across his face. Then there's a flash of light from outside, almost as if a car is headed toward him. He looks up. Medium shot. Slow motion. Ben is staring in fear and awe as a bird shadow dances across his face. Everything is glowing in the foggy air. Time is suspended as if this is some kind of religious moment. Then we cut back to real time and Ben's POV with a whack! Red blood on the windshield backlit. Ben turns off the road, etc.

Machines to buy
You know I never bought the tube radio. Part of me was satiated by my sister who's getting me one of those Gakken Berliner player recorder kits from Japan (see above). They're really cheap in Japan, about $25. You record on any etchable round surface and can play back as well. I see it as great for getting real analog distortion. I'm also really tempted to get the dragonfly because, uh... SEAN would like it. The dragon fly can hover which would make shooting easier. I'll probably try it with the old ornithopter first. But that thing is really difficult to aim.

Shadows & visual effects
Yes, I'm back to shadows again. But really, it will work this time! Dan and I once talked about the idea that all malevolent forces would be shown as shadows. Common but effective if you can make it work.

Belief and persistence
I believe that persistence comes from belief. I think I mentioned this before—you really have to believe that your next solution is going to work. If you don't have that belief, you won't have the motivation to try your solution. This is the drama of getting this sequence to work. I've tried strategy upon strategy, all of them failing. Will this next version work? Stay tuned...