Editorial notes:
One of Shai’s unique talents was writing stories in the style of famous authors. In the story below, retrieved from his Google Drive, he convincingly imitates a vampire genre, Twilight-like movie script, as if it were directed by Wes Anderson.
Scene 1:
A fixed camera shows the following: A man (henceforth the “Father”) is waiting in the shade of his garden on a lounge chair. He is reading a book. To his side is a table with a silver platter on which rests a plate with a piece of toast cut into quarters – of one quarter only crumbs remain, a glass filled with orange juice, ice-cubes, and a straight straw, and next to these is a letter obviously unopened (a ribbon is tied around it?). There is an unlit cigar in the Father’s mouth, which he moves from one side of the mouth to the other, at which point the camera moves. (On the other side of the path, on the grass are two young twin boys wearing identical track clothes are serving tennis balls into the bush).
Ideally, the camera will be standing on the path and will zoom out, then pivot around so that the path is bisection the field of view. (Perhaps the camera moves slight too far, cuts, then rotates back a tiny bit. This cut can be used to move the Father and his table etcetera so that they are very slightly in the field of view. This is only worthwhile doing if some sort of wide lens effect can be achieved.)
An Indian man (henceforth the “Butler) in grey walks up the path carrying three identically-patterned suitcases. Behind him is a girl (henceforth the “Daughter”) in a uniform suggesting a private school (blue skirt past the knees, a white shirt, hair in a bun is hidden beneath a straw hat, a navy tie is done up tight but not quite symmetrical). The camera waits for them to walk up the path, while the two boys keep hitting balls away.
Father: Kumar! Who is that?
Butler: It’s your daughter. Isabella.
Father: Isabella?
Butler: Your daughter.
Daughter: I sent you a letter.
Father: I’m sorry dear. It never arrived.
Daughter: Renee says that…
Father: She’s your mother. Call her Mom. Or maybe just…
Daughter: Why? (Pulls out a silver case from her breast pocket, removes a cigarette, and lights it with a match).
Father: (Was standing up, now sits down.) I don’t know. (Puts his own cigar down on the table, puts a cigarette of his own in his mouth which is lit by the Butler).
Daughter: Do you want me to call you ‘Dad’
Father: Maybe just Mr Bell for now
Scene 2:
A classroom. Four rows of desks (perhaps long-single desks) each with four students. The students are arranged by type. The first row all wear glasses and varied button shirts. The second row is (inexplicably) in a sports uniform. The third row is in smart casual and includes in the very centre the Daughter. The fourth row is the vampires who are wearing a dark school uniform, and all with their arms resting parallel identically on the table. The camera moves forward, into the first, then the second table. Facing the Daughter who is still staring straight ahead. A teacher begins to talk in the background. The camera then moves to be on the side of Daughter who it reveals writing in her notebook. There is a big title, “Plan to get Renee and Charlie to fall in love”. There are numbers, “1” through “10” listed down the page, but only “10” has words next to it, which read “Dad proposes to mom. I am Renee’s bridesmaid.”
Bell turns her head to look behind her, the camera turns to match the direction of her gaze, which is Handsome, he stares at her, then the camera swooshes back to Daughter [nb. for all these the camera’s frame needs to be symmetrical with details in the background], there is a sound, the camera moves back again to see Handsome leaving the room.
Scenes 3,4 (Corridor and Roof):
Cut to seeing Daughter running away from the camera down a corridor and turning into a stairwell. Camera pointing up follows the noise and movements of daughter running upstairs. Now daughter is coming through the door on the roof, trips (the frame-rate slows for just an instance, matched by the music, just before the trip which is sped up). The camera does very rough cut that also involves a slight change of angle and lighting, and then Daughter is caught by Handsome.
Daughter and Handsome are standing near the roof’s edge. She is smoking. The camera does the usual Anderson-move between the two talkers (i.e. blurred movement between faces, framing the faces to be symmetrical with background details).
Daughter: I love you.
Handsome: I’m a vampire.
Daughter: I want to be a vampire as well.
Handsome: What about your father.
Daughter: He doesn’t love me.
Handsome: Oh. (Takes the cigarette from Daughter’s fingers and take a puff). Are you sure?
Daughter: It’s complicated. (Pause). Do you think I should do it?
Handsome: I never met my father.
End.
