Sunday, June 19, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Sword of Merlin
Title Card
Establishing shot
Pan Down
Pan Down
Past Merlins Face
Pan Down
Close up on feet in water
Cose up on face
Push in
Fade Transition
Up shot
Close up
Merlin: "Lady of the Lake"
Point of View
Long shot
Long Shot
Wide Close Up
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Sword of Merlin
The light of the moon filled up the sky on this cloudless night as Merlin slowly crept to the edge of the water. The hem of his long robes were now soaked as he stood there wondering what to say to her. He knew she would not help him again, but he had already run out of ideas and his spells could no longer protect the people. The war had reached Camelot and the well trained knights were no match for the magical creatures conjured by the dark wizard Blaise. This wizard cared nothing for human life as he scoured Britain's countryside destroying the villages and collecting the souls of its inhabitants. Merlin tried to stop his siege at the city of Bath, but his powers where stronger than any he had encountered before. The only thing the aging wizard could do was watch as the cities walls crumbled. And so, as he stood at the waters edge, he finally mustered the strength to call out, "Lady of the Lake!"
As soon as the words escaped his lips, the waters surface began to move. The water glowed as it bubbled into the air in the form of a woman. "You dare call to me Merlin? After what you did?" With his eyes turned down he said, "I know I am not worthy of you my lady, but I come to you now with the humblest of hearts." The light of the moon shimmered on her wet skin and marlin could see that she was just as young and beautiful as she was 30 years ago. "I need a way to defeat the wizard Blaise, his power has increased and I have grown weak. I need a weapon…I need…Excalibur!"
She said nothing for a moment as she stared deeply into his clear blue eyes, and then said slyly, "I will give you the one sword, but when it has done its task you must return here with it and surrender what’s left of your magic to me!" His gift of foresight allowed him to know the consequence of his actions before he came here, and in a way he was relieved. The years had made him grow weary and he welcomed an end to this life. "I will do whatever you ask of me my lady, just help me save my people."
The lady moved slowly away from Merlin as water flows down a river and as she reached the center of the lake the waters began to bubble and splash, "I give you Excalibur!" The silver sword burst out of the water and flew through the air toward the wizard. As it moved, he could see the silver blade cutting through the air and its jeweled hilt that followed behind it. Merlin snatched the sword out of the air and, as soon as it was in his grip, he felt a strange magic flow though him. Merlin was now years younger and he could feel his strength return to him. "You know have the power to defeat the dark wizard, but remember Merlin, you now belong to me." Merlin looked across the water at the lady and he could see that she had grown old and weak. He could only stare in disbelief at what she had done for him and without a word she slowly sank into the water. With his strength restored and a powerful blade a new hope grew in Merlin’s heart. He knew what he had to do but he was now running out of time. Blaise’s evil army of demonic creature was descending on Camelot and only he had the power to save the kingdom.
The sun slowly crept over the hills as Merlin raced back to the once glorious city. As he rode, the memories of his past with the Lady of the Lake flowed through his mind. They were in love once and when he called to her then, he called her Nimue. He was in love with her from the first time he saw her. He was looking at his reflection in the water and instead of himself, he saw a beautiful girl with pale skin and clear blue eyes. They were both made of old magic and they were drawn to each other immediately. The time they spent together were the happiest times of his life. But now those days were over, and he had to focus on what lies ahead of him. He could see the devastation the evil army had left in their wake as he sped closer to Camelot. The villages he passed through were burned to the ground and not a soul was left in them. He couldn't let the same thing happen to the people that he cared so much for. He couldn't let the dark wizard destroy the peace that he and the knights of the round table worked so hard for.
The evil army had now reached the gates of Camelot, stationed ready for the command of their master. The dark wizard moved slowly among his evil creations feeding off of their hunger for souls. He was a being made of pure evil, created by the pagan craft and destined to destroy human life. As the light of the sun crept over the hill he new his time had come. He would rule the world and allow the creatures of the dark to roam the conquered earth. The dawn broke over the hill as he gave the command to attack, but the only rays of light they could see was shining from the sword Excalibur. Merlin had reached the city and was ready for battle that had come. As he swung the blade the song of the sword was deafening to the ears of the creatures. They came at him from every direction but they were no match for the might of the sword. Every stroke of the blade decimated the monsters in its wake. The hundreds now lay in pieces scattered around the city as Merlin turned to face the wizard Blaise, "You cannot defeat me Merlin! You have tried before and failed! No man made object can kill me and your magic is to weak to even hurt me!" he laughed, as he approached Merlin with no fear. "Your reign of evil will now come to an end Blaise and I will cast all the evil you have unleashed back into the underworld!" Merlin drew up the sword and plunged it deep into the dark wizard. "How could this be?" he gasped as he sank to the ground. "The magic that flows through this sword is deeper and purer than any magic you could muster. Your time has come to and end and you will be forgotten." He pulled the blade out and a black evil poured out of him. Blaise fell to the ground and was no more. Merlin had stopped the spread of evil and saved his people one last time.
A few days had passed as Merlin again approached the edge of the lake. He called out for its lady like he had done so many times before. The surface of the water was moving but there was no light, no bubbling water. He called again and agin, but no one answered. He knelt in the water and stared at his reflection, hoping he would see her again but he only saw himself. She had sacrificed herself for him and now he was truly alone in the world. She said that his soul would belong to her and, in the end, she was right.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The video game that has influenced me the most has been The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. From the moment I picked up the controller of my Nintendo 64, I have been in love with this game. From the design of its characters to its innovative game play, it continues to be one of the games I revisit time and time again.
The Legend of Zelda was one of the first games that I became obsessed with because of its immersive qualities. The programmers of this game created an entire world for Link to explore, not just levels to pass, but a continues journey throughout the land of Hyrule. By intertwining an action-adventure game with mini puzzles, this became a truly entertaining world. This is what set this game apart from other games of that time, it made you a part of the game and not just another player.
The story of the game re-imagined the world of Link and his friends and allowed us to follow him from an innocent child to a noble warrior. It took the characters we already knew and allowed us to see them in a more dramatic, adventurous, and sometimes, scary way. This was important because it allowed the gamer to see other dynamics of the video game genre. For the first time we were not only playing a game but also watching a narrative tale unfold as we continued on our journey. The combination of a role-playing game, mini puzzles and short animated scenes made this one of the greatest interactive games to this day.
I must have played this game from beginning to end at least ten times. Even with more advanced platforms and other Zelda releases, I still go back to this game, its characters, and its world.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
"Out of Time" Short Story, Part 3
From what he could make out of the writing on the crumpled paper, Sam knew that his old friend had stumbled upon something extraordinary. After a laying the body on the table, he left his friend behind and went into his office down the hall. The small office seemed even smaller with all of the artifacts, documents and personal treasures that Mata had collected throughout the years. He bagman to search through the organized mess in search of something that might give him some insight into what his mentor had discovered. He searched through piles of notes, cluttered shelves and stacks of boxes and found nothing out of the ordinary.
His frustration was now getting the better of him. He looked over the paper over and over again but couldn't make sense of the why Mata had this piece of a growing puzzle. He thought back at the time he had spent here a few years ago and all of the things this man had taught him. He thought about the carved rock and the god king that stared back at him. Just then, he shot up from the seat of his teachers desk. He remembered what the god king had left behind. A secret chamber was discovered underneath Zoomorph B in 1902. It contained personal possessions of the king which included flint blades and decorative jewelry and several small carved stones. One of the stones was that of the Mayan symbol for "time."
Sam ran out of the office and into the small museum of the cultural center. The carved stones had been on display here for only the last decade. He had seen them in the case many times but had never inspected them himself. He grabbed an imported Chinese replica of a Mayan stone Stela from the museums gift shop and smashed the glass of the display case. He grabbed the rocks and examined them closely to try and see what Mata had seen. The carvings were glyphs of the symbols of time, the human man, an eye from heaven, and the earth. With these images running through his head he thought of any connections with the stone stela.
"Out of Time" Short Story, Part 2
The hot air filled his lungs as he sprinted toward a gap in the gate. This had to be where they came in, Sam thought as he examined the tire tracks that led back down the path that had brought him here. The path through the jungle was only known by the scientists and researchers who worked on the site. Questions like, "Who would do this?," and "how could anyone enter a protected site unnoticed?" raced through his mind. Sam ran through the trees, past giant monument to men long since dead. He had always had the feeling that the stone eyes were watching him whenever he walked the grounds of the ancient city. As he ran toward the conservation center, an absent stare suddenly stopped him in his tracks. The multi-ton boulder, known as Zoomorph B, was no longer at the center of the great plaza. His stomach turned at the throughout of one Mayan histories earliest treasures was gone without a trace. A new question filled his mind, "who could move a 13 ton rock from the middle of the Guatemalan jungle?"
The sun was now peaking over the trees as he looked into the empty space. The moment of shock was now passing, as he snapped back into reality. He bolted for the conservation center in search for anyone who could help him answer his questions. As he turned the corner of the modern building he saw the door to the main office was pried open. Without hesitation, he ran through the door only to be shacked once again. He had found the guards who where on watch that night, their bodies lay strewn about the floor. They had all been shot through the head and their blood was now pooling around the center of the room. He had seen dead bodies before, but these where not wrapped in ceremonial cloth or buried deep within Egyptian tombs.
The sun was now peaking over the trees as he looked into the empty space. The moment of shock was now passing, as he snapped back into reality. He bolted for the conservation center in search for anyone who could help him answer his questions. As he turned the corner of the modern building he saw the door to the main office was pried open. Without hesitation, he ran through the door only to be shacked once again. He had found the guards who where on watch that night, their bodies lay strewn about the floor. They had all been shot through the head and their blood was now pooling around the center of the room. He had seen dead bodies before, but these where not wrapped in ceremonial cloth or buried deep within Egyptian tombs.
He recoiled back into the adjacent board room still dark with drawn curtains. He tried to catch his breath as he searched for the light switch. He walked around the long table to the switch plate across the room. As he searched through the dark with his hands, his feet stumbled over something strange. He reached the switch on the far wall, as he flicked it on he turned to see what was there. He could see the hands of a man sticking out from under the long oak table. His heart still racing, he slowly walked around the black chairs that surrounded the room. He could see the body now, and reached for the shoulder to turn the mans limp body over. As he turned the body, he could see the bloody and bruised face. Through the red and purple he began to recognize the face beneath it.
It was his friend and colleague Dr. Rodrigo Mata, a local anthropologist who taken him under his wing when he first came here as a novice archeologist. He held his lifeless friend and mentor in his lap for a moment, and as he stared at the his friends battered body he noticed a lump under his shirt. Sam reached under his red stained shirt and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. He opened the wad and glanced over the hand written notes that had been torn out of a journal or diary. He examined the words and symbols written in the familiar scribble he had learned to decipher years ago. His eyes stopped at a few words surrounding the Mayan symbol for "time."
It was his friend and colleague Dr. Rodrigo Mata, a local anthropologist who taken him under his wing when he first came here as a novice archeologist. He held his lifeless friend and mentor in his lap for a moment, and as he stared at the his friends battered body he noticed a lump under his shirt. Sam reached under his red stained shirt and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. He opened the wad and glanced over the hand written notes that had been torn out of a journal or diary. He examined the words and symbols written in the familiar scribble he had learned to decipher years ago. His eyes stopped at a few words surrounding the Mayan symbol for "time."
"Out of Time" Short Story Part 1
As he sat in the darkened room of the basement of the Society for American Archeology, Sam Freese could only wonder what his friends where doing on a Friday night. He was at the top of his graduating class at Harvard but, as the rookie, he was forced to work odd hours and night shifts. The years of study, research, and accolade for his field research and the only work he could find was monitoring the satellite feed from the Global Heritage Fund, a multi-million dollar organization for the preservation of endangers cultural sites. His explosive article on archeological looting of major dig sites was a scandal around the world. The scathing report, which named some of the world’s top archeologists, accused them of improprieties such as destroying ancient structures and looting sites for personal collections. This article blacklisted him from any major operations which resulted in him losing the funding for his research. This is also how he ended up in the basement of the Society in Memphis, Tennessee.
Since the article was published in the March issue of National Geographic, his once burgeoning career as a protector of history had now waned into that of a security guard. He knew what he had written was the truth and he was willing to anything to get his reputation back. As he watched the screens for any kind of unusual activity, he couldn't help but wonder how this would do the world any good. This "armchair archeology" wasn't what he had in mind when he was working on his masters at Oxford.
The 12 screens flickered as they scrolled through the 600 sites worldwide. He stared at the screens and wished he could be at one of these exotic places, imagining he was walking through the jungle or charting a course through the desert. He could almost see himself walking through the Mayan ruins of Quirigua, when suddenly he realized he wasn't imagining things. He could see that there was someone there, someone who isn't supposed to be there at 2 AM. He could see the flickering of the flashlight….then another….and another. He zoomed in on the site and began to stare in amazement to see the small group of men converging on the site and he knew he had to do something.
He immediately sent an alert through the Global Heritage Network and picked up the phone to contact the authorities in Quirigua. The phone line rang as he waited for someone to answer. It felt like an eternity as the phone continued to ring unanswered. He tried again and again but no one was there. He had to do something. He grabbed his bag and ran through the door. As he drove down the highway toward the airport he knew he would never get there in time, but he had to try. The plane trip would only take two hours, and it would take another hour to get to the site. Racing now, at over 90 miles per hour, he soon made it to the airport and booked the first flight to Guatemala City.
As soon as the airplane doors opened he bolted through the terminal. He knew he didn't have time for a cab or to rent a car so he took the first car he could get. He didn't know what he would find at the site, if the men would still be there, or if he did all of this for nothing. He went with his instinct and was no going on the adrenaline running through his body. The old car wasn't as fast as he had hoped but it was getting him closer and closer to his goal. He had been here many times before, so he knew his way through the narrow roads of the covered jungle. It was a shortcut he had taken to avoid the tourist riddled main highway. Now, he's taking it to see what was done to his beloved Mayan stale. These massive stone carvings were said to be monument to their kings as gods and used as calendars to map world events. The 84' Datsun cut through the jungle as fast as it could go and, as the sun came up, he finally made it to the city of Quirigua.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
News of the Bizarre
Spy satellites watch ancient ruins
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2011-04-15-archeology-satellites_N.htm
Saturday, April 16, 2011
The Film That Affected Me the Most
We can all relate to the protagonist,Jack Skellington, in some way. We all get tired of our everyday lives until someone shows us that our lives really aren't as bad as at seems. No matter how hard we think it is or how boring life can get, we always have friends to save us from our own bad choices. Just like Jack, we can all get a little carried away with an idea or an obsession that really isn't the best for us. Its only when we have people around us who care enough to tell us when we're wrong, that we can begin to see how wrong we are.
I love this film for the great characters, music and an original story that has affected the way I see the world. It has showed me how to bring together opposing ideas to create a successful way to tell and unusual story
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