Today’s Music: The Sword – Arrows In The Dark
Note on Today’s Post: This has been taking up real estate in my head for too long, so I thought I’d let it out. Gonna need a better title though…
EXTERIOR
New Zealand
The camera dollies slowly through the FOREST. The lush landscape of the forest is alive in hues of green and brown, sun dappling through the leaves casting light on the forest floor. The dolly continues as the camera slowly pans right. The lens begins to zoom in, catching insects and birds moving along the trees and through the air.
As the dolly continues, the camera closes on a juncture of BRANCHES and zooms in
VOICEOVER
They say that everything is interconnected, that all events flow into each other, affect other events and are affected by them.
The camera zooms in tightly to the juncture where we see a COCOON, It is shaking on the branches, a small rift appearing at the front bulge. A pair of antennae, followed by a long body and bright WINGS appears.
VOICEOVER
That something as simple as the flap of the wings of a butterfly here can stir the winds of a hurricane there.
The BUTTERFLY emerges and flies off. It’s brightly colored WINGS sparkle in the flashes of sunlight. The camera follows its irregular flight, wavering between close and medium distance
VOICEOVER
It flaps its wings rapidly, enough thrust to lift its body through the air, pushing it against currents, pressure, eddies…
A powerful THRUST and we see the force of the small SWIRL OF AIR. The butterfly leaves the frame of the camera which continues onward, following the swirl of air.
Some LEAVES fall together, wafting in one direction. The SWIRL nudges one, pushing it in a different direction. The camera follows the swirl to the edge of the island and across the water.
VOICEOVER
Once it has begun, the stir from the wings of that butterfly take on a life of its own. It travels free, picking up momentum, affecting what it runs into…
We see WHITECAPS moving with the current. As the SWIRL intersects, one breaks off, moving away at a different angle, pushed by the swirl.
VOICEOVER
The force of nature, the inexorable, inevitable push and pull, back and forth of different forces competing, opposing, uniting drives on and grow in the strength of its cycle…
The WHITECAP and SWIRL are entwined, dancing around each other. They grow in strength and frenzy. Other SWIRLS join, other WHITECAPS come in. They push against each other, unite and break away. The camera pulls back to a longer shot so we can see the pattern, whipping around faster and faster, reaching up from the waves to the sky
VOICEOVER
They say the wings of a butterfly someplace can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world.
The view zooms in to a tight shot. The WIND howls and the WAVES crash over and over on each other, stronger and stronger, more and more furiously until-
VOICEOVER
They’re full of shit. Butterflies don’t cause hurricanes…
The camera speeds back in a birds-eye shot as the WIND and WATER crash into a cliff and splash back to the surface. The camera continues up to the side of a cliff…and a MAN on a MOTORCYCLE looking down. The camera slows, still rising above him as he looks down at the settling water.
Camera changes to medium shot on his bald head. He lifts his head from watching the water and we see a SNEER on his lips beneath his SUNGLASSES. Zipping the BEAT UP LEATHER JACKET over his FADED JEANS and MOTORCYCLE BOOTS, he kicks the motorcycle to life, revs the engine and speeds away. The camera focuses on the SWIRL from his exhaust
VOICEOVER
Butterflies don’t cause hurricanes.
I do.
Upward angle shot of MAN riding away.
El G…continuing to place you higher still on my pedestal tower.
LikeLike
Thanks!
(But it’s more fun to be down on the ground where everyone can play together.)
LikeLike
Tower is at ground game-playing level….it just appears tall.
LikeLike
You da MAN, Guap.
(right?)
LikeLike
Nah, I’m just this guy…
LikeLike
Butterflies are evil. Evil!
LikeLike
I hear they’re responsible for the brief Twinkie outage, and the US gov’t shutdown.
LikeLike
That was cool… but butterflies cause global warming… which makes storms worse… so in a way…
LikeLike
Butterflies are nothing without the bald guy on the motorcycle.
NOTHING!
LikeLike
I suspected as much.
LikeLike
This was great. I liked that the story worked in at least two ways. There was the (I believe) intended message about climate change, but I think someone could miss that altogether and appreciate the story from a bizarrely absurdist viewpoint (“I’m so badass I cause hurricanes” ala Chuck Norris).
Confession: I like butterflies.
And if you need someone to do the voiceover for you, I know a guy. Great voice. Sexy? And how!
LikeLike
Your interpretation of climate change vis-a-vis the Fellini-esque laissez faire attitude of the players and geographical poise of the piece leads me to believe that you Sir, are a hardcore Dada-ist.
Actually, I had the last line in my head, and the rest just sort of sprouted backward from it…
LikeLike
Loved this. Powerful ending. Go you!
LikeLike
Thanks Carrie!
LikeLike
Fantastic. I want more. (I always want more.) What’s the rest of the tale? Please! Pretty please! (Is this working? I can grovel if you want….)
LikeLike
That is an axcellent question.
I’ve only just started thinking ahead.
Perhaps I’ll portray the rest using Lego…
LikeLike
I approve.
LikeLike
But is he for good or for awesome?
LikeLike
Probably for mayhem.
But don’t tell him I said that.
LikeLike
wonderfull pic, really …
LikeLike
Thanks.
Sadly, “cliff road Harley bald rider” didn’t get me quite what I was looking for in google images.
LikeLike
Awesome…
LikeLike
Thank you Kayjai, you’re too kind.
LikeLike
I sometimes wonder how your brains work! This is so badass. If you’d make a female version of this, please pick me ;).
LikeLike
hehehe
*brain gears turning slowly*
LikeLike
Loved this!!! You definitely painted a picture and placed visuals in my head.
LikeLike
Thank you.
For some reason, I someties think in screenplay format. No idea why…
LikeLike
Cool. Or, he could do his best Jackson Pollack… “I am the hurricane”…
LikeLike
Ooh, nice! I may work that in later on…
LikeLike
And also, where IS your first screenplay??! You are such a visual writer with a great and original sense of humor. 🙂
LikeLike
I wrote one a long time ago that was Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes bad, without whatever it is that makes Attack… a classic.
LikeLike
This is a great piece of writing as it draws one’s attention whilst the imagination ignites with an eager expectation, visualising each encounter, almost touching upon the waves as the ebb and flow tilts the lens.
The rhythm thrusting every angle to the edge of refraction, feeding creativity into light bending to form spectacular scenes, likened to reflections of the mind upon a blank canvas, until synthesised masterpieces emerge enriching the soul where a blend near perfection is realised.
Have a great rest of evening Guap 🙂
Andro
LikeLike
Woah! If I could write like you did in your comment, I’d be retired by now!
Thank you.
LikeLike
Thanks Guap, you are too kind though…
Hey the characters are almost ready for
entering the dungeon of wickedness, I
hope that nobody gets lost in there 😦 lol
Andro
LikeLike
I like it! Get that stuff outcha head and down on paper. Yanno, these butterflies have a hold on so many cultures. The Hopi Indians believe the butterfly lives in their art and music, and basically everything else. Of course, the Hopis ain’t running low on peyote, so there’s that.
LikeLike
Butterflies are fantastic for myths.
Of course, so is peyote…
LikeLike
Peyote is some fine kinda madness. I never went there. I’m holding off till the golden years.
LikeLike
I was falling for the voiceover, it was kind of mysterious and tethering on romantic until the penultimate voiceover. It doused the starry starry thoughts that was emerging. Wow! cold water. Shish! LOL!!!
LikeLike
Thank you! I’d have written it as prose, but I had no idea how to work out the mechanics.
LikeLike
Everybody knows that butterflies cause earthquakes. Sheesh.
LikeLike
Hey, poetic license!
Besides, should we really limit butterflies to just one disaster?
LikeLike
The may be responsible for melting the icebergs too. This summer I was kayaking in Maine and an enormous flock (?) of several hundred flew by from the northeast. They looked guilty.
LikeLike
Oh, and don’t forget the ozone layer, caused by the brilliant reflection of their wings! Damn butterflies, they mess up everything…
And I miss seeing them. They are ever more sparse, it seems to me. Amy
LikeLike
Yeah. They shouldn’t be so damn colorful!
LikeLike
This beckons Screenwriter of the Year!
LikeLike
Thanks Frank. I don’t even care if I don’t win the award. I just want to go to the dinner.
LikeLike
Dude! When did you get a PR job with Ducati?!? Lucky dog!
LikeLike
It’s surprisingly difficult to find an image of a lone rider on a desert road.
That silhouette was the best I could do.
LikeLike
I’ll have to see if I can find you an image of a rider on a particular bike – basically paired wheels front and back with a Viper 8-litre V-10 in between. The engine is so massive, the rider literally lays on top of it when driving. Now THAT is a motorcycle to cause earthquakes! (Well, except for that one my people left me. Pity you humans haven’t invented hypersonic wave nullifiers. And a big “whoops” to Pakistan, though I hope that new island makes up for it. 😉 )
LikeLike
Great stuff – I have seen those butterflies in New Zealand – hard bastards to a pupae – the biker reminded me of Brando in Apocalypse Now
LikeLike
I was going for James Brolin as Pee Wee Herman in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, but I guess Brando isn’t bad either…
LikeLike
Pee Wee never stuck a chord over here
LikeLike
oh that was awesome Guap!
LikeLike
Thanks Steph!
LikeLike
I don’t know about butterflies, Guapo, but we can’t live without the bees!! Tough guy on the motorcycle. Look out. I’m getting out of his way!
LikeLike
Maybe bees will make an appearance later as the real tough guys…
LikeLike
I. LOVE. THIS!!!!!
LikeLike
Thanks, wim2s! Still dredging my brain to see if there’s a part two…
LikeLike
Guap. thanks for your comments on my peace poem. This would make a fanfuckintastic short, in my opinion, if only for the breathtaking views and the final punchline.
In fact, WE do cause them – humankind has screwed over this planet like the town bicycle. Amy
LikeLike
Thanks Amy. I’m glad I was able to get some approximation of teh image in my head on to the page.
And you’re absolutely right, though the term “screwed like the town bicycle” is new to me….
LikeLike
This was very creative!
LikeLike
Why thank you!
LikeLike
That reminds me the movie of Butterfly Effect! That was a great story!
LikeLike
That was you on that bike, wasn’t it, Guap?
Love the story. ❤
LikeLike
Especially if the exhaust from his motorcycle contributes to global warming – changing weather patterns.
LikeLike
Well, you know, he’s an antihero.
LikeLike