Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Blackthorne--Scene Four



image borrowed from bing


Blackthorne

Cinemagenic Four

Arrival

“Matter itself is the starting point, and the point of arrival
is the Soul--Hydra at the beginning and Angel at the end.”
--Victor Hugo

1(wide shot) the solitary rider is in the center of the frame.
2(hold on the shot for a 4-count) as the stranger approaches.
3(sound cue) acoustic guitar, Spanish chords.
4(cut to low angle medium shot) the stranger stops mid-street.
he is mounted on a big red stallion, tail up, neck arched, rapping
the dirt with one front hoof. sun is behind him to the east, keeping
his face in dark shadow. 
5(sound cue) a low dangerous growl.
6 a very large black dog, big as a mastiff, appears alongside
the horse. 
7(medium traveling wide shot) stranger walks his spirited steed,
that prances sideways a bit as the tall man urges him on.
8(sound cue) violins playing a slow waltz.
9the stranger reins up abreast of the three loafers in front
of the saloon.
10(sound cues) clinking beer glasses, piano playing briskly. 
11(medium four-shot) seeing the stranger’s wide back &
shoulders, leather fringed, as he faces the three men.
12(cut to a slow pan of the three men’s faces) left to right,
the hatless man, the fat man, & the beanpole--each of
them noticeably uncomfortable.
13(sound cue) juice harp thwacking, piano music fading.
14(cut to medium shot) stranger guides his horse to the right,
facing the camera, and continues to walk it toward the lens--
the loafers all standing motionless as he moved down the street.
15(close up) stranger’s face, shoulder-length dark locks, bright
blue eyes, full untrimmed beard with thick silver streaks to each
side of his strong jaw; wearing a flat-brimmed black hat with a
rattlesnake skin sweat band.
16(medium close-up) a .55-120 Sharps buffalo rifle being cradled
across the pommel, held steady with his left hand, holding the
reins with his right. 
17(cut to close-up) first holster, black leather with a silver inlay of
a rearing stallion, tied down snugly to his right leg.
18(extreme close-up) the pistol is a Colt .41 Thunderer, with deer-horn
handle grips.
19(sound cue) Spanish guitar chords
20(pull back to medium close-up) panning down his right leg,
revealing Mexican-style vaquero leather pants, cinched with
white bone buttons, and shin-high buckskin boots, decorated
with Dakota Sioux markings on the sides.
21(sound cue) Native American flute & rattlesnake tail rattle.
22(cut to medium wide shot) the front of WALLACE’S GENERAL
STORE, ranch & mining tools in one window, and calico dresses
and denim cowboy shirts on mannequins in the other window. 
23(hold on previous shot set-up) as the stranger enters the frame,
dismounts & ties off at a hitching rail, slides the Sharps into a 
scabbard, moving toward two steps cutup onto the board walkway.
24(medium close-up) his second holster, wide & thick, tied down
with a rawhide lace to his left leg, holding a sawed-off shotgun.
25(sound cue) trumpet riffs, then fade to buffalo herd hooves.
26(another medium close-up) we see the stranger’s massive
back & shoulders, lifting up with muscular tension.
27(sound cue) silence.
28a soft breeze makes the leather fringes on his shirt dance.
29(cut to medium shot) the black dog trots past the red horse
and plops down in front of the steps, staring back at the loafers
as the stranger stepped up onto the boardwalk.
30(sound cue) gentle harmonica riffs.
31the stranger leans in to read a hanging sign on the inside of
the glass-paned door.
32(close-up) in bright red capital letters: OUT TO LUNCH. 



Glenn Buttkus

September 2013

Posted over on dVerse Poets Poetics for OLN112. 

Would you like to hear the author read this poem to you?

14 comments:

Mary said...

So much detail here, Glenn; and then....the ending surprised me and made me smile. Perfect!

mrs mediocrity said...

Yes, a perfect smile at the end... you make me see it all, just perfectly.

Anonymous said...

Glen, I just love these. I know I'm repeating myself, but being a film buff I can never get enough.>KB

Manicddaily said...

This is very funny, Glenn - amazing to think of scenes (sort of- ha!) being written in this way. Thanks. k.

Brian Miller said...

i appreciate you casting me as the stranger...i mean the silver streaked beard and muscular back it has to be me, right? smiles....def the detail wins....the rattlesnake rustle...the mannequins in the window....the tension you create.....

Claudia said...

ok - i loved the spanish chords - you gave the piece a melody with this... the piano playing... the flute and rattlesnake...think it were the sounds that got me most in this one...very cool glenn

brudberg said...

So visual and so many great details ... your are really creating a lot of details and a big smile at the end...

Anonymous said...

I like to think that is the ultimate reality...

author.nara.malone said...

I feel like I just watched a movie. :)

Scarlet said...

I was expecting fireworks but the ending made me smile ~ Happy day Glenn ~

Anonymous said...

Hey, what a ride. I think I've seen this Western, heard the Spanish guitar chords. Cool.
Gardenlilie.com

Unknown said...

Per your twitter comment: I'm no longer on social media. I've always been an introvert and it was like being at a party all the time, so stressful. I am fascinated by this project conceptually but have not kept up on my reading (major life transitions including an aging parent moving in). I will try to stop by more often to see how it develops.

Beth Winter said...

I saw and became part of your poem. Wonderful.

Beachanny said...

Wow - detailed stuff. I have never even read movie or television scripts but I assume this is the way they go - so it is great to see how it goes together with sound, camera angle, set ups, and then your poetic parting shot to the high drama. A big surprise indeed!