Tinkerers

Klaus : Late forties, well-built, grey hair, works as a repairman for the government

Trenton : Early forties, Clara’s father, Klaus’s friend, works as a manufacturer at the central branch factory

CLARA : Late teens, Trenton’s daughter, Klaus’s assistant after her father is killed

Setting : Dystopian-esque wasteland. The central government is a gated “haven” that is heavily watched over by the government via hidden cameras. Twenty years ago, there was an uprising by the workers of the central branch factory (who have been banished to the wasteland) and many have snuck through the city walls and have integrated themselves into the society, as the secret “Operation-C”. While technology is constantly being innovated on, the people of the ghettos find it difficult to constantly embrace these newer technologies. In an attempt to combat this and further establish control, technologies are installed with a universal “suicide” button controlled by the government. This forces the people to purchase the newest ware.

INT. KLAUS’S WORKSHOP – EARLY DUSK

(Clara forcefully pushes the door open. She enters the workshop. She is breathing heavily and is clearly in distress.)

CLARA

They’re here for me!

(Klaus looks over his shoulder from his work bench. He quickly walks over and looks out the door to see that The Factory is up in flames. He closes the door. He grabs Clara’s arm.)

KLAUS

Come. (He drags CLARA over to an empty cabinet and quickly pushes her inside. He returns to work.)

(There is a knock at the door. Klaus does not answer.)

(Silence.)

OFFICER 1

Open up. 

KLAUS

What is it you want. (He puts down his tools.)

OFFICER 2

If you are innocent, don’t act guilty. Now open up.

(Klaus walks to and opens the door. The officers are startled, and step back. Officer 1 has a similar frame to that of KLAUS. Officer 2 is shorter, but emits a sense of order)

KLAUS

What. Is. It. You. Want.

(Officer 2 adjusts his posture in an attempt to match KLAUS’s size. He elbows Officer 1 to do the same. Officer 1 does nothing.)

OFFICER 2

We have reason to believe that there is a criminal in your home.

KLAUS

And why is that? (Klaus walks back to his work station)

OFFICER 1

We follo–

(Officer 2 kicks Officer 1)

OFFICER 2

Sir, we must search your home. This person is in relation to an infamous leader linked to The Great Uprising.

(Klaus squints and turns to face the officers)

KLAUS

Hm, tell me more.

OFFICER 2

We don’t need to tell you anything. Search ‘im.

(Officer 1 walks forwards. KLAUS quickly gets up. Officer 1 takes a step back. Officer 2 reacts and shoots Klaus with a paralyzing contraption. Klaus falls to the ground.)

KLAUS

(Audible grunt)

(Officer 1 laughs nervously and continues his task. Officer 2 uses his foot and rolls KLAUS over, so that he’s facing upward.)

OFFICER 2

Wouldn’t want to get hurt on the job. No more sick days. (He chuckles. He proceeds to help with the searching.)

(They open compartment after compartment, until they finally get the the one that contains Clara. As Officer 1 reaches for the handle, Clararushes out, startling and knocking him back. He knocks his head on a work counter, knocking himself out. Officer 2 is unable to catch Clara as she rushes out the door.)

OFFICER 2

Hey get back here! (When he reaches the door, to glances back onto the workshop. He sighs loudly and continues chasing the girl.)

(This whole time, Klaus is trying to regain movement, is able to move shortly after Officer 2 leaves. He stands up, and addresses the situation. He grabs the unconscious officer and removes his armor to reveal a cyborg. He glares at the cyborg, disapprovingly. KLAUS equips the armor, and disposes of the body. He goes back to the location of the previously fainted officer.)

(Moments pass.)

CLARA

Let go of me! (She is struggling as Officer 2 pulls her into the workshop. She is handcuffed.)

OFFICER 2

Got her! (He sees that Officer 1 is still down) Hey. Hey! Lets go. (Officer 2 kicks Officer 2. Klaus jolts up.) Lets go. (He looks around and sees that Klaus is nowhere to be seen) Hey where’s the big guy. (He looks at Officer 1, who shrugs) Whatever, we got what we came for. Here, hold on to her, and don’t. Let. Go. (He hands Klaus Clara. Clara resists, but it proves to be futile.)

CLARA

Argh! (She proceeds to kick Officer 1’s shin) Let go of me!

OFFICER 2

Quiet you. It’s about time all this caught up to you, you criminal.

CLARA

You all are monsters.

OFFICER 2

Speak for yourself. Your father was much more of a monster.

CLARA

Was? (Silence.) YOU MONSTERS! (She tries to shake off Klaus, and at the same time kicks at Officer 2. Klaus holds her back. She breaks down crying.) You monsters.(Quietly)

(Officer 2 motions at Klaus)

OFFICER 2

We’re done here. Lets–

(Klaus knocks out Officer 2. Clara gasps and is confused. Klaus takes off his helmet.He reaches down and grabs Officer 2’s gun, and throws it to Clara.)

KLAUS

Lets go. (He bends down to dismantle Officer 2’s suit. CLARA bends down immediately afterwards to help.)

CLARA

W-w-where are we going?

KLAUS

To the Capitol.

[END OF SCENE]

The Rationale

Composition #1

As I was writing this script, I found that I enjoy writing scripts. I felt a similar feeling when I had written scripts for previous classes. I find enjoyment in the art of telling a story, which, I think, links to why I enjoy doing art.

The purpose of movies, I believe, is to entertain. No one goes to the theatre to be bored. I find that in addition to entertain, movies are often also out to share a message. Sometimes, the message may not be clear, but it’s really fulfilling to explore that meaning. I often consume this type of media through the form of video essays on YouTube. It takes the enjoyment of learning or just addressing an argument, from the whole looking-at-words spiel. A recent example would be “Parasite”, a widely-popular Korean film that has achieved world-wide acclaim. Imbued within the narrative of “Parasite”, are symbols of class, social critique, climate change, and much more. To tell a worthy story and to leave the viewers with a deep message about society or life as a whole, is what I believe movies are for.

The purpose of the script is for people within industry to read and judge your story. “Does your script peek anyone’s interest?”. If so, it will be picked up, and transformed into a movie.

This story takes place in a dystopian wasteland, but it centers over the center city, which from the outside seems like a wonderful metropolis, filled with the great wonders of technology. However, it clear that the government has a tight grasp on most of what happens. As Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation often says, government should never be involved in business/corporation. In this world, the government closely surveys the city street, whether it be through the numerous officers or the many hidden cameras. Because the government is intertwined with technology manufacturing, they can control the future of the city. Technology is constantly being improved on, and older models are continually decommissioned. In order to encourage the people to continually purchase newer tech, the government requires that all technology to be equipped with a universal “suicide” button that immediately renders an entire model of technology useless. While this is kind of extreme, it isn’t unlike what happens today. The only example I’m familiar with is Apple, the company that many say is at the forefront of innovation in the tech world. I like it when consumable media experiments with extremes, and how eccentric characters live with the limitations or lack thereof. This idea of the “suicide” switch is also somewhat extreme, but it’s also relevant in today’s world. Today’s machines aren’t built to last. People often say that older models often work better and longer than today’s technology. Within the city, there are the ghettos, where most of the poorer population live. This “suicide” switch horribly affects their economic status, as many extremely relevant technology are rendered obselete on a week by week basis.

In this movie, we follow Klaus, an older male, who remembers what the city was before The Great Uprising. Additionally, we follow Clara, someone who has lived her whole life post-uprising. This is analogous to the modern day population. There are the people who lived before technology, and revolt against it, the people who lived before, but have adapted, and finally the people who were born into it. The story itself explores technology and its relationship with the contributors of a community. 

Composition #2

Movie posters are very interesting. They scream, “This is who is in the movie!”. Many movies these days are more so about the actors who are in them, rather than the content of the movie itself. This can be seen with a simple Google search. A notable example would be the poster for Avengers Endgame, where every character is plastered onto the poster. I also saw that this is less relevant in horror movies, where the “threat” is more of the focus.

The title is most often in the lower center of the poster. It’s easy to see and read. I placed the title in the center, because that was the format I was going for. It’s still easy to read, and I didn’t have a large array of protagonists. Some posters will also include the names of prominent actors, as though putting their faces on the poster wasn’t enough. Finally, most of the movies included when they would be in theatres. This is important, because without this key information, people wouldn’t have the knowledge of when to line up at theatres. I was sure to include these three important parts.

A Reflection

Even in writing a single part of a larger movie, I believe that you need to know your purpose. In addition to entertain an audience, I believed that this movie’s purpose was to make observations on technology’s role in society, and how people choose to use it or not use it. 

The desire to construct a movie script was rather sudden. It fitted well with my other idea, which was a movie poster. Many different people watch movies. I would say, less so the older generation. I’m not really sure what draws people towards certain movies. I feel the critics are who control your movie’s future. The choices of characters I made were an attempt at trying to gauge who my audience would be: younger to middle-aged people.

I don’t believe I’ve made a stance in my movie. What the movie says is that there are people who act in certain ways when approaching technology. If we were to put then in a specific setting, how would they adapt. That is kind of the basis of story building. As to why a movie like this should exist, or may already exist, I believe that technology is a fascinating them to construct around. Like another popular theme, magic, there are no limitations. The idea that there are no bounds is what keeps people watching and continually curious. Additionally, our lives are surrounded by technology. While the stories that occur in these movies are unlikely, they could (barely) be real, unlike those of magic.

Posters are meant to spread the word of a movie/film, and this poster is no different.  They include the who, what, when, where, and why of the movie. My movie poster tells the onlooker that there are two protagonists, there is some sort of technology involved, that some newspaper considers it the best movie ever created, and that it is in theatres now. The only stance I could come up with, would be that according to a random newspaper, that this movie was worth the watch.