Kent State University Honors College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for Departmental Honors

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LAPLACE’S DEMON

A thesis submitted to the Kent State University Honors College in partial fulfillment of the requirement for Departmental Honors

Daniel Nelsen

May 2014

Thesis produced and written by

Daniel Nelsen

Approved by

______, Advisor

______, Director, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Accepted by

______, Dean, Honors College

Table of Contents

Chapter

1. A Determined Future . . . .1

2. Chaos Cinema ...... 5

3. Cut What? ...... 17

4. A New Reality ...... 25

Work Cited ...... 27

Appendix

1. Casting Flier ...... 29

2. Shooting Schedule ...... 30

3. Story Board ...... 31

4. Shot List ...... 58

5. Shooting Script ...... 63

6. Link to Laplace’s Demon . 79

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PREFACE

The following document is an accompaniment to the included thesis film Laplace’s

Demon. The film can be watched via:

Google Drive

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my Thesis advisor Professor David Smeltzer, along with my oral defense committee, Dr. Allen Whaley, Professor Traci Williams, and Professor Candace

Bowen. I would like to give a special thanks to the Equipment Services Lab and Josh

Talbott for providing the necessary equipment to make this film. I would like to thank

Matt Petrunak for showing me his film at the right time. Finally, I would like to thank the amazing cast and crew. This film would not have been possible without them.

Chapter 1

A Determined Future

“ZAK walks over to a door and knocks. Moments pass. The door opens and ZAK fires his Gun. The VICTIM flies back into the room. ZAK takes a Cloth to cover his hand, locks the door and pulls it shut. He walks away” (Nelsen 1). Storytelling is the oldest art form in human history. It is the human story. It requires attention to detail, persuasion, hard work, time commitment and embellishment. It has many forms, from the campfire to the page to music. One such form is film. Filmmaking is a difficult process. It has all the tangibles of storytelling, from embellishment to an extra emphasis on time commitment and yet, it is also unique in that it involves other forms of storytelling as well. Most films begin on a page and finish with music over the credits. Filmmaking is a long, exhausting and complicated process, one that I did not truly understand until I decided to make my own film, my Senior Honors Thesis Project.

I was finishing my sophomore year in college when it was recommended that I apply for the Honors College and undertake a Senior Honors Thesis Project. I was hesitant at first, but after careful deliberation I decided to do it. I was an Electronic Media

Production major and the thesis would pertain to my field of study, thus, it would be a film. What better way to truly learn about filmmaking than hands on experience? I was

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part of Kent State University Independent Films and worked as a production assistant and assistant editor for their 2011 outing, Research: The Musical. Now

I could make my own film, with complete creative control and get a taste of real independent filmmaking.

Film had always mesmerized me. It was something that I decided I wanted to do in high school after years of fooling around with cameras, costumes and scripts. It was a determined future and now the future had become the present. I had a choice. I could do either a documentary or a fiction film. The answer was easy. It would be an original idea.

Something I could call my own. I was not unfamiliar with writing scripts. I had written some before for class assignments, but this time there was an air of freedom. What genre?

What would the main character be like? Would he or she be sympathetic or an antihero?

The questions were endless and I dove into it.

In a few weeks, I narrowed it down to a romantic comedy or a Chaplin-like slapstick silent film. I had begun writing when I happened upon my notebook from 7 Ideas that

Shook the Universe, a class I had taken in the spring semester of my freshman year. I have always enjoyed science. I maintain that if I were better at math, I would have studied to be a theoretical physicist. It was this discovery that led me back to an idea I had developed after learning about Newtonian determinism.

Determinism is the philosophical consequence of studying Newton’s laws of motion.

Newton’s laws are so precise that one can use them to predict the future, thus it can lead one to believe that the future is already set. Everything has been determined. There is no

free will. This has since been disproven by the onset of quantum mechanics in the early

20th century and Werner Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, which affirms that no exact outcome can be known; the universe is ruled by probability. Nonetheless, I had developed an idea about a person trying to avoid his or her fate, yet ultimately doing what was needed for it to come true.

I quickly discarded the other ideas and honed in on this new one: A philosophical science fiction film. During this time, I approached Professor David Smeltzer and asked if he would be my thesis advisor. After he agreed to advise me, I got to work. I researched the topic and happened upon the theory itself, “Laplace’s Demon” the first document pertaining to scientific or causal determinism, theorized by the French mathematician and astronomer Pierre-Simon Laplace. It was then that I had my title,

Laplace’s Demon.

After absorbing information about the topic, I sat down and wrote a one-page treatment, which outlined the general story and characters and would be my guide as I wrote the script. My goal was a 15- to 16-minute finished product. A common rule of thumb in the film business is that one page of script will generally equal about one minute worth of screen time. My story revolved around Zak, a cleaner for a crime syndicate, no one’s idea of a hero.

I knew the film was only going to be approximately 15 to 16 minutes in length. To get the audience involved immediately, I wanted the audience to experience Zak’s profession. There would be no dialogue, just action. As Syd Field wrote in his book,

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, “Action is character and character,

action; what a person does is who he is …” (Field 69). This established my character and story not by voice over or dialogue, but by action: quick, immediate and full of impact.

This became a great lead for understanding the character Zak as well. From the beginning, I made a point not to make Zak a sympathetic character. He was not redeemable. He killed for a living and showed no remorse. Throughout the rest of the film, we saw Zak change from the predator to the prey. He had to rely on his skill set to live. His last victim would be himself.

As a habit, I like to physically write my scripts first. It gets me emotionally invested in the words and characters; the pain from the hand cramps, the black smear from the graphite and the goose bumps when the eraser runs down to a nub get me into the story; something that I believe lacks in the typing process. After writing the outline and script, I typed the first draft, read it over and polished it into a workable second draft, which I then emailed to my faculty advisor Professor David Smeltzer. I felt as if I had climbed a mountain and decided to reward myself by going to see a movie.

Chapter 2

Chaos Cinema

At the first meeting, Professor Smetlzer asked me to tell him the story. He had read the script but he wanted to hear it from me. I told him how I came up with the idea and what I had planned for approaching the project. First, however, Professor Smeltzer said we had to sit and have a table read between the two of us. After the read, it was evident there was more script work to be done. I had to tighten up the story, give supporting characters actual names (not Smalls or Boss) and explain the over arching theory without laboring down the story with scientific terms that the average audience member would not understand.

After the third, fourth and fifth rewrite, the story started to click and I got closer to script lock. By the sixth draft, I finally had the story I wanted to tell. The most significant change was that the science aspect of the film would be explained through the action, resolution and the film’s title. In addition, I named every character. Even if the character is a minor one, they have a role to play. They need to be real people with names. After getting the story locked, I went through the script and made sure I had everything arranged correctly, from labeling scenes and having the dialogue formatted properly.

It was then that I realized this was no ordinary class project. This was the real thing.

Moreover, nothing was set in stone. Even though I worked off the sixth draft of the film, the script changed constantly. This was due to location issues or cast availability. One

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such example was in the aftermath of a shootout. The antagonist arrives on the scene with three cohorts. However, on that shooting day, only one of the supporting actors was available. It was not a drastic change in the story, the lines stayed the same, but it was an unanticipated change nonetheless. It made the one supporting character become more of an adversary to Zak, the protagonist.

Additionally, while I was writing the various drafts of the script I had begun drawing a storyboard, creating a shot list, location scouting, organizing a small, but efficient crew with whom I would be able to bring my vision to the screen, setting dates, gathering equipment and props and casting the roles. This, save for casting, was the easiest process of the entire production.

The storyboard was comprised of simple stick figures and crude drawings of the locations, illustrating the framing and angles I was looking for. This was done to help the production process run more smoothly. Instead of deciding on set what a shot should look like, the storyboard allowed the crew and me to have a pre-composed shot on paper.

Storyboards are comic books of films. I also made a shot list, which was a description of the different setups for the scene. The shots were listed in order from the first shot of the day to the last shot of the day. It helped the cinematographer and gaffer better understand how to set up the lights and camera to complement the storyboard. It also saved time.

These were the go-to tools during production. For future projects, I will always have a storyboard and a shot list. They were and are invaluable.

For the locations, my story did not require elaborate ones. It took place in everyday life. I was able to get permission from Ellen Losh, the building manager in Franklin Hall,

to use one of the conference rooms, room 116, in Franklin Hall as the mob’s hangout. I needed ample space for several actors, lights, and an action sequence and the room allowed me to cheat the space, which was a plus. My friends’ house in Akron was both

Zak’s house and Geoff Laplace’s house. It was important to have Zak’s room be bare with little clutter and to appear that someone is only there to sleep. What better place than a fellow college student’s room. As for Geoff Laplace’s house, all I needed was a long entrance hallway and my friend’s house had that as well. The convenience was great. I was able to film several scenes in one location.

For the other locations, a classmate volunteered his house for the location of the first killing. It fit the storyboard perfectly with its stairs leading up to a second floor. The dark poker room was filmed in the TV2 studio, which allowed us to make the room as dark as possible and black out the background. Finally, my aunt’s house was able to serve as both a one-shot location and Mr. Smither’s house. It had the appropriate amount of space for the required action of the scenes, which included a gun battle. When scouting for locations, I realized how important connections with other people were and the trust one has build with the owners to be able to film there. I could not have gotten into the TV2 studio or Franklin Hall if I had not worked with Josh Talbott and Ellen Losh before and earned their trust.

Once I had the location situation settled, I moved onto organizing a small crew. I needed a director of photography, a production sound mixer, a gaffer, an assistant director and a production assistant, who could perform a variety of jobs when needed. I asked around in my classes and sent out emails and within a week I had a talented and

competent crew. Paul Weidt was my director of photography, also known as the cinematographer. He was responsible for operating the camera and capturing the image.

Donnie Levandowski was my production sound mixer. It was his duty to capture the on set audio, the dialogue and natural sound. Andrew Albaugh was my gaffer. The gaffer is responsible for lighting the production. He or she works hand in hand with the cinematographer to create the desired balance of color and light for the shots. Charles

Hughes was my assistant director. He was responsible for keeping the production on time and handling the crew when I, the director, was with the actors. He was also my script supervisor. It was his job to make sure the cast and crew were following the script, detail for detail. Felix Pavolotsky was my production assistant, who assists the needs of the other crewmembers. I served as director, writer, producer, props master, costume designer, locations manager, production manager, crafts services and actor. It was important that my crew be competent because of all the other responsibilities I had.

Fortunately, they proved to be so. Once I had their availability I set the dates; May 22 –

28 and gave Paul Weidt and Andrew Albaugh copies of my storyboard and shot list so they could prepare what camera work would be required and what lighting design would be best for each scene.

Once I had the dates, I sent them to ESL, the Equipment Services Lab, which would provide the equipment for the shoot. I paid a semester fee of $35 and had access to a plethora of professional video equipment. For the props, I wrote the story keeping in mind what props were needed and what were easily accessible. Outside of the prop guns, everything else was items I had at my disposal, from a duffel bag to a six-inch

pocketknife. The most difficult aspect of the props was the guns. I originally had struck a deal with my uncle, who is a police officer, to use his department training guns, which were realistic except that they did not fire real bullets. Everything was a go, until the

Boston Marathon bombings occurred. After that, the chief reconsidered and felt it would be better to not let us use the firearms. I was disappointed, but my gaffer, Andrew

Albaugh, had prop guns that worked really well. It was during this time that Andrew displayed his competence and reliability for other parts of the production. He was as enthusiastic about it as I was. I decided to make him associate producer in addition to being a gaffer. He was my right hand man throughout the rest of the process. As I stated above, when I wrote the film, I tried to keep the props to what was in reach. This was a smart move. Outside of the guns, everything was gathered in a day from a closet at my house. Props can be a tricky business, so it is important to write your story, keeping in mind what is at your disposal and what is a phone call away. The next and final step before production was casting and it was by far the most difficult.

It was late February when Professor Smetlzer told me that I had everything in order to start casting. I created casting fliers and hung them throughout the Music and Speech

Building, emailed every professor in the theatre department and contacted the person who operated the building’s list-serve. I included information such as audition and callback dates and my contact information if they needed more information regarding the production.

The audition dates were March 8, March 15 and March 22. Not one person showed up. It was the most difficult process of the entire production. March came and went and

not a word from anyone. I made more fliers, sent more emails, made phone calls, visited classes, but nothing. After mid-April, and still no showings, I decided to prep for acting myself. I would be the lead. I started filling the small roles with friends and family, but for the four major roles I needed actors and my plate was already filled with enough responsibility. It felt as if I was in a downward spiral.

Then, with three weeks until production I started getting emails from interested theatre students. I wasted no time in locking them down. Within two days I had the roles filled. Joe Adams was Carl, the primary antagonist. While he was not the head of the mob, he was the man who ran the show. I thought of him as a shift manager. P.J. Dennis was Bell, Carl’s right hand man, who has a confrontational relationship with Zak. Daniel

O’Donnell was Tunde, a fellow mobster and the only person Zak considers a friend.

Finally, Michael Glavan was Zak, the protagonist. The other roles I rounded out with family, friends and myself. I was able to take a sigh of relief. That is until I was thrown another curveball.

Just two days after locking down my leads, Michael Glavan contacted me and told me that he was flying to New York to meet an acting agency and that I would have to rearrange the dates to use him. That I could not do. I had accommodated everybody else, reserved the equipment and locked locations into a tight week of shooting. Also, three days after production wrapped I was to have surgery to remove my wisdom teeth. As much as I wanted to work with Michael, I had to let him go.

Anxiety set in. I started asking fellow students if they knew any actors. Within three hours after Michael contacted me with the bad news, I was on the phone with someone

else, Devin Bates. Devin had come by me through Matt Petrunak, a fellow Electronic

Media Production student. I asked Matt if he knew any actor that could give me a week of his time. He mentioned Devin and I asked for information about him. Petrunak then proceeded to show me his film, The Modern Ideal, with Devin as a supporting character.

It was those ten minutes that made me confident that Devin could be Zak. By ten o’clock that night, after many calls, text messages and a promise of pizza and with no audition or script read, I made Devin Bates the new Zak.

It was during the casting process that I became aware of how difficult recruiting for a film can be. I felt very vulnerable and alone in my efforts. To get the cast I wanted, I had to pound pavement day in and day out. There were no days off and when a conflict arose,

I had to act quickly and resourcefully. I will not go as far to say I am a resourceful person who can handle any conflict. I was very fortunate with whom I was connected to in my major and to have the drive and ambition that I did. Determination was everything.

The next three weeks went by fast. I was in constant contact with my cast and crew concerning the production. I was picking up equipment from ESL and Professor

Smeltzer, who was kind enough to loan me a Dana Dolly and some foam core. I learned how fortunate I was to be able to have access to the equipment that I did and for as long as I needed. Filmmaking is not cheap and to have all that equipment for $35 dollars was great. On the evening of May 21st, I went to bed with more nerves than I had ever had before. Crew call was eight o’clock in the morning the next day, with a nine o’clock shooting call.

The first day of shooting went well. We filmed at my friend’s house in Akron, off the university’s campus. It was a hot day and our location did not have air conditioning, but everyone pulled through. It was the first time I had met Devin Bates in person and he fit the role perfectly. That day only required him and PJ Dennis, in the role of Bell. They were both dedicated actors who listened and were ready to go when called upon. I tried my best to act as if I knew what I was doing, but the majority of the time I was acting on instinct and that day I had to act myself, which was an interesting experience. It was difficult to direct the crew and act at the same time. It got to be quite frustrating at moments because I was in a pivotal scene to the film. After several bad takes I decided to re-block the scene with Felix Pavalotsky, the production assistant, as my character. It was then that the crew and I were able to visualize what needed to be done and when I got back into character, the rest of the filming of the scene went smoothly.

However, the biggest issue that day was the sound. The camera we had rented turned out to have a damaged headphone jack. All we could get for sound were the sound levels that showed us that sound was being picked up. Luckily we had no dialogue that day, but there was still concern, we had an action sequence and I wanted as much live sound as possible. We worked for six hours straight with no breaks and filming wrapped around two o’clock in the afternoon. When I got home, I immediately uploaded the footage and luckily we had picked up sound and it was usable, with minor postproduction corrections needed. I contacted my sound mixer and he and I rejoiced but knew that for future reference we needed to be ready to act if it should fail completely and that when we were filming, absolute quiet was a must.

For day two, shooting took place at my aunt’s house. This time, the day called for

Devin Bates plus four additional actors. The second day was smooth. There was some dialogue that day, but again it was mostly action. I had a stronger sense of what was required of me and that same attitude appeared in my crew. People were there on time and worked their tails off and we wrapped around three o’clock in the afternoon. I knew then that I was fortunate to have this cast and crew. They did not complain and showed as much passion for the project as I did. It may have been a real process and at moments painful to get them, but in the end, it was worth it. Once day two wrapped, I saw how efficient filmmaking can be when everyone is prepared and the conditions are right, however, I found myself nervous for the next day of shooting. Day three was going to be a big day, with a lot of dialogue, six actors and the climax.

I was ready to go when I turned on my phone and noticed that Devin Bates had left a message. When he had gotten home that afternoon he received a court summons for a traffic violation from January and he had to report to court tomorrow, our big filming day. I was not happy, but I knew that I had a competent crew and cast and that Devin would be available again in the late afternoon and evening. I am a big proponent for time management so I decided to film everyone else’s scenes before his, which meant I would have to feed lines for the actors. The day, with its one early bump, got off to a good start until two of my actors who were coming from Akron got lost. They were needed for several shots, a few with the other actors in there. This forced us to cheat the space with

Joe Adams as much as possible until they arrived, which we did, and once they arrived, we filmed the shots that required them. We worked for a solid six hours, filming various

angles and scenes, with me reading Devin’s lines off camera. Eventually the day dwindled down to just me, the crew, Joe Adams and P.J Dennis, who were needed for shots with Devin and could not be cheated. We finished our major workload by two in the afternoon. For two hours we waited for Devin. This was another aspect of the job that

I did not intend. While I was responsible for the vision of the film, I also spent as much or more time motivating the crew and keeping them occupied during the down time on set. With filmmaking, there can be a busy hour, followed by two hours of nothing. It was important to keep the crew motivated during this time and keep them alert so when they were called to action, they were ready to go.

Finally, by four thirty in the afternoon Devin showed up. I had mentioned before of how lucky I was to have the cast and crew that I did. It was no more evident than that day. In two hours, we busted our backs filming. It was guerilla warfare. We went at it with a workman’s resolve, filming his angles and by six thirty in the evening we were on the last shot. We impressed ourselves. That was the biggest day and we had hoops to jump through. However, by keeping the crew motivated and using the time wisely, I was able to have a productive day. Self-discipline and time management were important for that day succeeding. They may be the most important aspects of filmmaking. For some filmmakers they would have canceled that day all together. I don’t believe in that and I demonstrated it that day. Fortunately, the next two days were going to be simple scenes and for the most part easy days.

Day four of filming covered the first killing and exterior shots and it was over within three hours. We filmed in and around the house that was offered up by my classmate. We

wrapped at noon and everyone had a three-day vacation over the Memorial Day weekend.

I could see I had made the right decision by following the long day with a short one. The crew was more eager and innovative, finishing ahead of time so we could get some good exterior shots that we had thought of that day. Plus, with the three-day weekend coming we could rest and re-energize. The weekend was nice and relaxing, until Sunday evening when I got a call from Andrew Albaugh, who told me he would not make it tomorrow, the last day of shooting, because he had gotten into an accident and had suffered damage to one of his retinas. I immediately made sure he was all right and once he confirmed that he was, I told him not to worry and that healing was more important; however, tomorrow was the poker scene and that required the most innovative lighting.

The final day of shooting went well. We had a short dialogue scene that was the smoothest of all of production and we finished the day filming the poker room scene. The most time consuming issue was the lighting. As Sidney Lumet wrote in his book, Making

Movies, “There are four primary elements that affect the picture produced in the camera.

First there is the light that exists even before it enters the lens. This can be natural, artificial or a combination of both” (Lumet 76 – 77). I wanted no natural light to enter the shot. I wanted complete control via artificial lighting. I wanted to black out the background so all that was in the shot was the actor and poker table. To do this we filmed in the TV2 studio. With all the lights turned off it was pitch black, and there was a platform with a black curtain that was stretched to cover the entire set. It was there we set up the poker table. We shut all the lights off, used the black curtain to black out the background and then used just one of our lights to light the scene. Everyone helped and

after adjusting the iris on the camera a little bit, the scene looked perfect. It had a great balance of color.

Every filmmaker should know that lighting is arguably the most laborious task in filmmaking. Lighting is what makes the image. It can takes hours to light a scene properly. While it did not take us an hour to light the scene, it still showed me how intense it can be. This day also illustrated how important preparation was. My plan for the lighting was conceived weeks before the shooting day. Andrew Albaugh and I had diagramed the scene so we knew what to do and where to place the lights and camera on that day. That drawing on college ruled, loose-leaf notebook paper saved us a considerable amount of time. Preparation was key and it worked wonderfully.

By noon that day, I was turning in ESL equipment and giving Professor Smetlzer his equipment. I said farewell to my crew and thanked my actors, especially Devin Bates, who stepped up to be the lead. I drove home with the radio blaring and a smile on my face. It was a trying week, but we had done it. It was a good feeling.

Chapter 3

Cut What?

After production wrapped I had to focus on my internship at Kent State University

Independent Films where I was the supervising editor on their film, Hell at Heathridge, and could not return to working on my film until December. My internship was a six month long headache, but it was also an eye-opening experience. I was able to gain knowledge that in turn, I put into the editing process of my film. Before my internship started I had created the project on the editing platform Avid Media Composer, uploaded all of my footage and labeled the dailies appropriately. Organization was key in the editing process because it prevented the workstation from becoming messy and confusing. Since I had accomplished these tasks before my internship had started, I was able to dive straight into editing and build the sequence.

The editing process was where the film came to life. It was amazing to see the work take on a life of its own, but it was horrifying when all the mistakes that were made during production became visible. From framing issues to continuity goofs, editing showed it all. Regardless, one could not dwell on those mistakes. They were made in the past and the past could not change. They had to be fixed and that was the magic of postproduction.

Within a week, I had an assembly edit, the first sequence built in the editing process.

The assembly edit allowed me to watch the film, see all the mistakes and make story

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corrections in postproduction, such as moving one scene before another, which was not how it was written in the script, however, this was unnecessary for my project. The assembly cut also showed me how to fool an audience to cover a mistake, what could be trimmed or completely left out. One such example was in the final scene. As I had alluded to above, none of my actors were technically together when their scenes were filmed. Devin Bates was in court, others got lost. During production I was only concerned about getting the footage and staying on schedule and if those goals were accomplished I was satisfied; however, this did open up the window for a mistake to be made. When Joe Adams, as Carl, was talking to Devin, he had his three cohorts behind him in the wide shot, but in Joe’s medium close-up and close ups, there were no cohorts where there should have been some. To correct this mistake, I had to choose my shot order carefully and make sure that certain shots did not follow others. This would fool the audience into thinking the other people were still there.

Another issue was line mix-ups. I will admit I did not have the easiest dialogue to read and the actors tried their best, but there were some lines that did not sound right or were completely jumbled. Thankfully, the lines were ones I could cut and the absence would not affect the story. An example would be what Zak gets paid for his job. In the script,

Carl’s line was “… the usual … I take 17%.” In brackets I wrote a reference number just for an idea. The reference number was five grand and Joe read this line. When viewing other films about hit men, such as Killing Them Softly (2012), one finds out killing someone below fifteen thousand dollars is bad business. In the editing process, I was able to eliminate the amount and Carl’s take. This made a more cohesive scene by not being

bogged down by numbers. The audience was allowed to guess what the “usual” was. By the end of the second week I had a rough cut, the second to final cut of the film. A rough cut is very much like a rough draft for a term paper. There can be several versions, but I only needed one. Within days of that I was at picture lock. Picture lock is when the film reaches its established running time. It will not change its length. This allows the editor to start working on other aspects of the postproduction process that rely on an established running time, such as framing, color correction, visual effects, graphics and titles, music, sound effects editing and the sound mix

After achieving picture lock, it was time to start working on other aspects of editing.

An issue I discovered was that some equipment would creep into the shots from time to time. I tried resizing the shots when necessary, but for some shots it distorted the image.

Luckily, I was able to drop a 16:9 frame on the film, which was black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, and this allowed me to hide the equipment. However, resizing was still needed for the 16:9 frame. While the framing worked for equipment, it cut off the actor’s heads at the eyebrow. This was unacceptable because actors need headroom for a good image. To correct this I went through every shot and dragged the image up and down to find the appropriate body room. It was labor intensive and not all of it worked to how I had hoped, but overall the picture benefited from it.

Once I had the framing finished, I moved on to color correction. This was also a labor- intensive project and in some instances was on going. I decided early on that I wanted to bring as much color out as possible with some nice saturation. I looked to films such as

The Departed (2006) for color references. I tried not to put too much red or green in the

image, but instead keep with a bluish look. During color correction, I went through every shot and color corrected them individually, making sure the shots matched where necessary, such as location and the previous and following shots. After that, I then applied a color effect over the entire sequence. With this, I was able to add the bluish tone I was hoping to give the film. In some instances, the color effect would over take the shot’s color correction. This required tweaking where necessary because color must match. If it does not, it can ruin the film. After long days and nights, I had the colors I was going for. However, this was not the end of the editing process.

The fourth aspect that I had to work on in relation to the images was logo blurring. In some instances there were trademarks in the shots that we did not see during production or could not remove from the set. To fix this, I had to locate the logos and add a mask and blur over the logos. I did this using a title tool application in Avid Media Composer. I created a circle over an area and within that circle I used the effect palette to move from solid, the natural state of the image, to blur. Thus, I was able to mask out noticeable logos and license plates.

Finally, in relation to the image, I added titles and graphics, which were the opening and closing credits. I made the graphics using Adobe After Effects, a program I learned how to use in my Motion Graphics for Video Editing class. I had left space in the sequence for the graphics and timed them so they would fit in the gaps without disturbing picture lock. When I was creating the graphics, I realized I needed a production slide. For my production company, I decided to take a trip into the past. The first film I made was titled Loose Cannon. I made it with my brother and cousin when I was fifteen and the

story revolved around a game of Catch Phrase that was taken too seriously. Many filmmakers, such as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, reference his or her previous works in their films, so I thought now was my opportunity to do so. I was very satisfied when I saw the fist break the glass and the slide reading” A Loose Cannon Pictures

Production.”

In addition to the production slide, when I was assembling the graphics I ran into an issue with the script. Originally, I was to open the film with a short statement relating to classical mechanics, the property of physics I was basing my script off of. The more I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that it did not work. My audience would be confused and classical mechanics cannot be explained with a short statement. Second, I was not dealing with classical mechanics itself. I was concentrating on the philosophical consequences of the phenomenon. The film was dealing with an omnipresent fate and the inability to escape one’s doom. Therefore, I opened texts and scoured the Internet to find quotes or passages that would best illustrate my story, and eventually I was able to find one. It was a quote from The Iliad, by Homer. It read, “Why so much grief for me? No man will hurl me down to Death, against my fate. And fate? No one alive has ever escaped it, neither brave man nor coward, I tell you - it’s born with us the day that we are born” (Mellor 103). I found it fitting for the film and it made me feel a little more intelligent as well.

Beyond the quote, the rest of the graphics were screen shots taken from my film and doctored in Adobe Photoshop. I did not know how to work Photoshop and still do not, but somehow I found a way to inverse the colors to black and white and change the

saturation levels. It gave the images the graphic novel or stencil look that I was going for.

The speed and tempo of the graphics were fast and crazy by design. Electrons, protons and such are fast and crazy subatomic particles that bounce around everywhere and are part of quantum mechanics. I wanted the opening titles to have a lot of energy and with the score attached, to get the audience pumped up like a good action movie. This is in contrast to the end credits. I slowed them down to have a more meditative feel. There had just been a major action climax and the inability to escape one’s doom was the last image the audience had seen. I wanted the audience to think about that.

After I finished tailoring my image or getting enough done with it that I could, I started moving to other aspects, eventually getting started on the sound design. I had made eight audio tracks for the sound design. My experience with my internship prepared me for how intense a sound design was and how much was required to create a fitting soundtrack. After deciding to mix the sound at the ten volume setting on my Mac speakers, I went through every track of dialogue and did noise reduction, dialogue cleaning and equalization. There would be no chance of ADR, which is Automated, or

Automatic, Dialog Recording, a process where actors come in and dub his or her lines, because my actors had graduated or moved on to other projects. So this process was extremely important. I also used the process to correct the boom rattle that was captured.

As I had alluded to above we could not hear the audio we were picking up on set and there were instances where we caught some boom rattle. To fix this, I used a 3-7-band equalization tool in my audio mixer tool and was able to eliminate the boom rattle completely or drown it enough that it could not be heard.

Second, I started creating and putting sound effects into the film. The more I listened the more I realized that sound effects were needed everywhere. Some I was capable of creating, an example would be the click of the knife blade, and getting, an example would be the gunshot sound effect. For others, I had to live with the captured audio. Everywhere

I could, I placed a sound effect, from sitting in a chair to getting off the bed. I also created unique lock sounds for each door. Not a one is the same. I also created ambience for scenes. Ambience is audio that gives a setting or location sonic character. An example would be adding traffic noises to a scene if it takes place on city sidewalk or crickets if the scene takes place at dusk in a cornfield. Ambience can make or break a scene.

Additionally, I used room tone, which was the recording of the natural sound on set.

Together these were used to correct noise issues captured in the dialogue. This was an ongoing process right up to the final export of the film. This was an exhausting procedure. It was as if I was editing the entire picture all over again, but by sound.

However, it was extremely important. It breathed new life into my film.

Finally, for music, I recruited my cousin to compose the score of the film. He is a talented guitarist in a band and is a student at Kent State Stark studying music production and technology. I wanted an electric, guitar heavy score. The dream would have been an orchestra, but dreaming was not a solution. To get the score and sound I wanted, my cousin and I sat down and listened to themes from other films with sounds similar to what

I envisioned, something heavy and blood pumping, like the score from The Girl with the

Dragon Tattoo (2011). It is a heavy, electronic synthesized score, the kind of music that I wanted for my film. This was a chase movie and in many instances the music needed to

carry the action. The right instruments were needed to accomplish this. However, the music needed to be slow when necessary. I felt that in scenes where the power of fate was evident, the music needed to bring in an omnipresent theme that was both dark and light.

I imagined an eerie peacefulness or a peaceful darkness. This too was an ongoing process that went right up to the final export. In many instances, music can make a film. That was the case with mine. Music added tension and excitation to the chase scene. I learned that if one is to make an action or thriller film, music, along with the sound design, is arguably the most important aspect in its credibility.

Once I had all the music, sound effects, ambience, room tone and cleaned dialogue, I started the final mix down, in which all the levels of the audio were mixed appropriately on their respective tracks and made louder and softer where needed. Professor Smeltzer loaned me two M - Audio BX5 D2 mixing speakers for a professional mix, but I had nothing to connect them to my laptop. The cables that were provided were the wrong type, so I had to settle for my computer speakers. It was important that I mixed at a consistent level of volume so the audio did not jump all over the place in terms of being able to be heard. This was a slow process and at moments it felt like I was watching paint dry, or hear it dry, however, as is with the magic of filmmaking, my film took an a new and more real life during the sound mix. It was truly something to be a part of. For films such as mine, the sound effects and music can make or break the film. It did not matter how good they were, if the mix was bad, they would suffer. The mix was the final part of the postproduction process and I learned that it was a procedure that needed precision.

Chapter Four

A New Reality

After postproduction was completed and I exported the final picture, I was able to reflect and see what influenced my film. Science fiction and horror films from the

Hammer Canon influenced me subconsciously because they were the first films I saw. In terms of story, films such as Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) and Steven Spielberg’s

Minority Report (2002) helped see how to take complex scientific ideas and mold them into a comprehensible storyline. I also found Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly

(2012) influential in terms of story, via the characters and their relationships with each other. In technique, Martin Scorsese’s The Departed (2006) influenced me with its color and editing style. Additionally, David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence (2005) and

Eastern Promises (2007) were also influential in the camera work and editing style. The climatic scene in Philadelphia from A History of Violence had a powerful affect on my approach to my climax scene and for music, the soundtracks to films such as The Social

Network (2010) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) played huge roles in achieving the sound I wanted. But more than anything else, the chief influences were the films of the Coen Brothers. I consider them the masters of filmmaking and their ability to mix the absurd, the serious and the comedy of storytelling into one cohesive narrative was something I strived for with this film. From the mixture of a strange amount for rent, the need to purchase milk, discussing suicide and the omnipresent power of fate, I feel their influence was noticeable in every frame of my picture.

25 26

Outside of influences, when it came to the process of making the film, my favorite part of the project was writing, production and postproduction. Seeing your story come alive on paper, then set, then take a on a whole new life in postproduction was something to watch. This allowed me to see where I want to take my career as a filmmaker. The worst part of the project was preproduction, specifically the casting. I had never felt more vulnerable and alone then I did during those months. It was a miracle I got the cast that I did. The paperwork and phone calls were daunting as well. Nevertheless, these trials and tribulations allowed me to grow as a filmmaker and made me feel more comfortable and confident in my ability to pursue my goal of working in the film industry.

I believe I achieved the goals I set out to accomplish at the beginning of this eighteen- month project. There were some sections that I was very proud of and some surprised me by being better than I thought they were. However, there were some things I would have liked to do better. I wish I had had more time for some scenes and not have to rely on editing to fix what were simple mistakes that could have been corrected during production, such as blocking and framing. Nonetheless, I am very proud of my project and believe that the past four years I have been at Kent State University have prepared me to apply my skills to a real-world situation, which is very exciting.

Works Cited

A History of Violence. Dir. David Cronenberg. Prod. Chris Bender and J.C. Spink. Adapt.

Josh Olson. Perf. Viggo Mortensen and William Hurt. New Line Cinema., 2005.

DVD.

Blade Runner. Dir. Ridley Scott. Prod. Michael Deeley. Adapt. David Peoples and

Hampton Fancher. Perf. Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer. Warner Bros., 1982.

DVD.

Eastern Promises. Dir. David Cronenberg. Prod. Paul Webster and Robert Lantos. By

Steven Knight. Perf. Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. Focus Features., 2007.

DVD.

Field, Syd. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, A Step-by-Step Guide from

Concept to Finished Script. Expanded ed. New York: Dell, 1994. Print

Killing Them Softly. Dir. Andrew Dominik. Prod. Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner. Adapt.

Andrew Dominik. Perf. Brad Pitt. The Weinstein Company., 2012. DVD.

Lumet, Sidney. Making Movies. New York: Vintage, 1996. Print

Mellor, Ronald, and Amanda H. Podany. "Section 47." The World in Ancient Times. New

York: Oxford UP, 2005. 103. Google Books. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

http://books.google.com/books

Minority Report. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Prod. Gerald R. Molen, Bonnie Curtis, Walter F.

Parkes, Jan de Bont. Adapt. Scott Frank, Jon Cohen. Perf. Tom Cruise and Max

Von Sydow. 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Pictures., 2002. DVD.

Nelsen, Daniel. “Laplace’s Demon.” Film Script, 2012.

The Departed. Dir. Martin Scorsese. Prod. Graham King. Adapt. William Monahan. Perf.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon. Warner Bros., 2006. DVD.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Dir. David Fincher. Prod. Scott Rudin. Adapt. Steve

Zaillian. Perf. Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer &

Columbia Pictures., 2011. DVD.

The Social Network. Dir. David Fincher. Prod. Scott Rudin. Adapt. Aaron Sorkin. Perf.

Jesses Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield. Columbia Pictures., 2010. DVD.

APPENDIX 1: CASTING FLIER

If you’ve dreamed of being in film, this is for YOU! “A Film is a ribbon of dreams. The camera is much more than a recording apparatus; it AUDITIONS/CALLBACKS BEING HELD is a medium where messages reach us from MARCH 8: 10 am to 2 pm another world that is not ours and that brings us to the heart of a great secret. MARCH 15: 11 am to 4:30 pm Here magic begins.” MARCH 22: 10 am to 2 pm

IN ROOM 116 IN FRANKLIN HALL - Orson Welles

CONTACT DAN NELSEN CONTACT DAN NELSEN CONTACT DAN NELSEN Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Phone: (330) – 322 – 9418 Phone: (330) – 322 – 9418 Phone: (330) – 322 - 9418

APPENDIX 2: SHOOTING SCHEDULE

APPENDIX 3: Story Board(s)

APPENDIX 3: STORY BOARD (S)

APPENDIX 4: LAPLACE’S DEMON SHOT LIST

SCENE 1

SHOT 1 – TRIPOD [CU] SHOT 2 – TRIPOD [CU/MCU] SHOT 3 – TRIPOD [MCU] SHOT 4 – TRIPOD [MCU/MS] > COVERAGE SHOT 5 – TRIPOD [MCU, CU] > COVERAGE SHOT 6 – TRIPOD [MCU, MS] > COVERAGE SHOT 7 – TRIPOD [CU/WS] SHOT 8 – TRIPOD [CU/MCU]

SCENE 2

SHOT 9 – TRIPOD [CU] SHOT 10 – TRIPOD [MS/OTS/CU]/SHOT 10A – TRIPOD [MCU~LOOKING UP]

SCENE 3

SHOT 11 – STEADICAM [CU]

SCENE 3A

SHOT 12 – STEADICAM [CU] SHOT 13 – TRIPOD [MCU, MS, WS]

SCENE 4

SHOT 14 – TRIPOD [MS] SHOT 15 – TRIPOD [MS, WS] SHOT 16 – STEADICAM [OTS/CU]/SHOT 16A – TRIPOD [MCU] SHOT 17 – TRIPOD [OTS]

SCENE 5

SHOT 18 – TRIPOD [MS] SHOT 19 – TRIPOD [MS] SHOT 20 – TRIPOD [MS] SHOT 21 – TRIPOD [MS] > COVERAGE {NOT COMPLETE PROFILE} SHOT 22 – TRIPOD [MS] > COVERAGE {NOT COMPLETE PROFILE} SHOT 23 – TRIPOD [MS]

SCENE 6

SHOT 24 – TRIPOD [MS] SHOT 33 – TRIPOD [MCU] > COVERAGE

SCENE 7

SHOT 25 - TRIPOD [MS]

SCENE 10

SHOT 29 – TRIPOD [CU] SHOT 30 – TRIPOD [2 SHOT]/SHOT 30A – TRIPOD [CU] {FACE CARD BEING FLIPPED}

SCENE 11

SHOT 31 – TRIPOD [CU]

SCENE 12

SHOT 32 – TRIPOD [MS]

SCENE 13

USE SHOT 4 – TRIPOD [MCU/MS] > COVERAGE USE SHOT 5 – TRIPOD [MCU, CU] > COVERAGE USE SHOT 6 – TRIPOD [MCU, MS] > COVERAGE SHOT 34 – TRIPOD [CU] SHOT 35 – TRIPOD [CU] SHOT 36 – TRIPOD [CU] SHOT 37 – TRIPOD [MS] SHOT 38 – TRIPOD [MS, WS]

SCENE 14

SHOT 39 – TRIPOD [CU/ECU]

SCENE 16

SHOT 41 – TRIPOD [MCU/MS] > COVERAGE SHOT 42 – TRIPOD [MCU, CU] > COVERAGE SHOT 43 – TRIPOD [MCU, MS] > COVERAGE SHOT 44 – TRIPOD [MCU, MS] > COVERAGE SHOT 45 – TRIPOD [CU] SHOT 46 – TRIPOD [MCU] SHOT 47 – TRIPOD [MCU] SHOT 48 – TRIPOD [ECU] SHOT 49 – DELETED SHOT 50 – TRIPOD [MCU] > COVERAGE SHOT 51 – TRIPOD [CU/LOOSE CU] SHOT 52 – TRIPOD [CU/ECU] SHOT 53 – TRIPOD [CU]

SCENE 17

SHOT 54 – TRIPOD [WS DOLLEY INTO CU/MCU]

SCENE 18

SHOT 55 – TRIPOD [CU]

SHOT 56 – TRIPOD [CU/ECU] SHOT 57 – TRIPOD [MCU] > COVERAGE SHOT 58 – TRIPOD [MCU] > COVERAGE SHOT 59 – TRIPOD [MCU]

SCENE 19

SHOT 60 – TRIPOD [MS] SHOT 61 – TRIPOD [MCU] SHOT 62 – TRIPOD [CU/ECU] SHOT 63 – TRIPOD [MS]

SCENE 20

SHOT 64 – TRIPOD [WS] SHOT 65 – TRIPOD [CU] {FRANKENHEIMER/BERGMAN}

SCENE 21

SHOT 66 – TRIPOD [3/4, WS]

SCENE 22

SHOT 67 – TRIPOD [MS]

SCENE 23

SHOT 68 – TRIPOD [WS] SHOT 69 – TRIPOD [OTS, CU, WS] SHOT 70 – TRIPOD [OTS, CU, WS] SHOT 71 – TRIPOD [OTS, CU, WS]

SCENE 24

SHOT 72 – TRIPOD [CU] {ACTOR TURNS, MAKE PROFILE, CAMERA REVOLVES, MAKE PROFIEL}

SCENE 25

SHOT 73 – TRIPOD [MS]

SCENE 26

SHOT 74 – TRIPOD [MS/WS] SHOT 75 – TRIPOD [ECU] SHOT 76 – TRIPOD [ECU] SHOT 77 – TRIPOD [MS, WS] SHOT 78 – TRIPOD [MCU] SHOT 79 – TRIPOD [WS] SHOT 80 – TRIPOD [MS] SHOT 81 – TRIPOD [MCU] SHOT 82 – TRIPOD [ECU] SHOT 83 – TRIPOD [CU/ECU]

SHOT 84 – TRIPOD [MS/MCU] SHOT 85 – TRIPOD [MS/MCU] SHOT 86 – TRIPOD [TIGHT WS]

SCENE 27

SHOT 87 – STEADICAM [MS/WS] SHOT 88 – STEADICAM/TRIPOD [CU] SHOT 89 – STEADICAM/DOLLY [CU]{SOFTD/MOVINF CAMERA} SCENE 28

SHOT 90 – TRIPOD [WS->CU]/SHOT 90A – DOLLY/STEADICAM [MS]

SCENE 29

SHOT 91 – TRIPOD [MS] > COVERAGE SHOT 92 – TRIPOD [MCU/LOOSE CU] > COVERAGE

SCENE 30

SHOT 93 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [WS] SHOT 94 – TRIPOD [MS/PROFILE] SHOT 95 – TRIPOD [CU/ECU]

SCENE 31

SHOT 96 – TRIPOD [WS] SHOT 97 – STEADICAM/DOLLY [MS/MCU] SHOT 98 – TRIPOD [MS] SHOT 99 – TRIPOD [ECU/CU] SHOT 100 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [MS/MCU] > COVERAGE SHOT 101 – TRIPOD [CU] SHOT 102 – TRIPOD [CU] SHOT 103 – TRIPOD /STEADICAM [MS/MCU] > COVERAGE SHOT 104 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [MCU/CU] > COVERAGE SHOT 105 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [MS] > COVERAGE SHOT 106 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [MS/MCU] SHOT 107 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM/DOLLY [CU, WS]

SCENE 32

SHOT 119 – STEADICAM/DOLLY [MS/MCU]

SCENE 33

SHOT 120 – TRIPOD [MS] > COVERAGE SHOT 121 – TRIPOD [MS/MCU] > COVERAGE SHOT 122 – TRIPOD [CU] SHOT 123 – TRIPOD [CU/ECU] SHOT 124 – TRIPOD [TIGHT MCU] SHOT 125 – TRIPOD [LOOSE CU] SHOT 126 – TRIPOD [LOOSE MCU/MS]

SCENE 34

SHOT 127 – TRIPOD [TIGHT MCU] > COVERAGE SHOT 128 – TRIPOD [[TIGHT MCU] > COVERAGE SHOT 129 – TRIPOD [CU] {FRANKENHEIMER/BERGMAN} SHOT 130 – TRIPOD [CU] {FRANKENHEIMER/BERGMAN} SHOT 131 – TRIPOD [LOOSE MS, WS, 50/50 SHOT] SHOT 132 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [MCU] {KINETIC} SHOT 133 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [MCU] {KINETIC} SHOT 134 – TRIPOD [MCU] > COVERAGE SHOT 134A – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [CU] SHOT 134B – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [CU] SHOT 135 – TRIPOD [LOOSE MS] > COVERAGE SHOT 136 – TRIPOD [MCU, TIGHT MS, MS] SHOT 137 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [MS, MCU] SHOT 138 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [MS, TIGHT MCU] SHOT 138A – TRIPOD [CU, ECU] {FLASHING LIGHTS} SHOT 139B – TRIPOD [CU, ECU] {FLASHING LIGHTS} SHOT 139 – TRIPOD [MCU] SHOT 140 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [WS] SHOT 141 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [MS] SHOT 142 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [MCU] SHOT 143 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [CU] SHOT 144 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [CU] SHOT 145 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [LOOSE CU] SHOT 146 – TRIPOD/STEADICAM [LOOSE CU/CU]

APPENDIX 5: SHOOTING SCRIPT

LAPLACE'S DEMON

Dan Nelsen

A Black Screen. White letters appear.

In classical physics the exact location and momentum of every atom in the universe, their past and future values for any given time are ... determined. Everything has been determined. From the moment time began...

CUT TO: 1. INT - ZAK'S ROOM - MORNING

ZAK does some basic exercises: Push-ups, Crunches and Pull- ups. An Envelope slides under a door. ZAK walks over and gets it. He pulls out a Picture and a Paper. He takes a Jacket off the chair, puts it on, picks up a Duffel Bag and is out the door.

CUT TO:

2. EXT - ALLEY - MORNING

ZAK is looking at a Picture of someone. He puts the Picture down, pulls up the Duffel Bag and proceeds to put together a Gun. It clicks and snaps together like Legos.

CUT TO:

3. EXT - OUTSIDE BLDG. - MORNING

ZAK walks over to a door and knocks. Moments pass. The door opens and ZAK fires his Gun. The VICTIM flies back into the room. ZAK takes a Cloth to cover his hand and locks the door and pulls it shut. He walks away.

CUT TO:

4. INT – CARL'S BLDG. – DAY

A door opens and ZAK enters. TUNDE nods his head in hello [They're Friends]. ZAK returns the favor. ZAK walks through the building. It's not well kept, probably abandoned and is home to an illegal business. ZAK walks to a door and knocks. BELL (O.S.) Who is it?

ZAK

Zak.

The door opens and ZAK enters.

CUT TO: 5. INT – CARL’S ROOM - DAY

CARL rises from a folding chair and table. BELL pats Zak down. ZAK's arrogance is apparent.

CARL Get your hands off him! ... How ya' doin' Zak? ZAK Fine. You?

CARL Bene ... I've been brushing up on my Mexican.

ZAK Spanish. CARL Spanish.

CARL sits down in his chair. ZAK sits across from him. CARL takes out of a Bag and pulls out some bound Cash and tosses it to ZAK. ZAK catches it.

CARL Spend wisely.

ZAK inspects the Cash.

CARL You know, there are more honest ways to make a living. You could sell drugs?

ZAK If you're good at something, never do it for free, right?

CARL Couldn't say it better myself. So, right in the doorway, huh?

CARL acts as if he shot a shotgun. He makes sound effects and everything. CARL Fucking brilliant. So, can you do another?

CARL Well do you want another one? It'll the usual [$5,000]. I take 17%.

ZAK I'll see what I can do.

ZAK rises out of his chair. [He's had enough.]

CARL I'll get it to you as soon as I can.

CUT TO:

6. INT - CARL'S BLDG. - DAY

ZAK arrives at the door. TUNDE opens the door to let him out. ZAK gives him a Tip, leaves, but stops himself.

ZAK Hey, You hitting the cards tonight? I figured we can partner up on some Uker.

TUNDE Naw, man. I crashin' early tonight.

ZAK You? TUNDE Yeah, so?

ZAK I just didn't figure you had a bedtime.

TUNDE Why'd you think that?

ZAK shrugs his shoulders. TUNDE looks around. He takes ZAK to the side. Makes sure it's just him and ZAK.

TUNDE

I'm leaving.

ZAK What?

TUNDE I'm gone.

ZAK You can't just leave. They'll get you.

TUNDE I am, man. I need a change.

ZAK From what?

TUNDE Do you ever feel like as hard as you try, you can't change your luck?

ZAK Don't really think about it.

TUNDE I do and it scares the shit out of me. I need some change. Do my own thing.

ZAK Like what?

TUNDE Not this ... sorry man.

ZAK Just ... [catches his words] I won't tell them.

TUNDE I trust ya' man.

CUT TO:

7. INT - ZAK'S ROOM - DAY

ZAK cleans his Gun. He's gentle but efficient. He finishes and sets his Gun aside. He pulls a stick of Gum out of his pocket and throws it in his mouth. His mind is elsewhere.

CUT TO:

8. INT - ZAK'S ROOM - EVENING SCENE CUT OUT OF SCRIPT

CUT TO:

9. INT - BAR - EVENING SCENE CUT OUT OF SCRIPT

CUT TO:

10. INT - DARK POKER ROOM - NIGHT

Poker game in progress. ZAK has a distant look in his eyes. He flips over a Card [King of Hearts]. CARMEN and CLYDE throw down their Cards.

CUT TO:

11. INT - DARK POKER ROOM - NIGHT

Money is counted. ZAK takes it when it is finished.

CUT TO:

12. INT - ZAK'S ROOM - NIGHT

ZAK lies down on his bed. He counts his Cash and then stuffs it under his mattress. He turns off the Lights.

CUT TO:

13. INT - ZAK'S ROOM - MORNING

ZAK does his exercises. He glances over to the door. Nothing. He checks the Clock. It reads 9:59, then turns to 10:00. He walks over, throws on his Jacket and leaves.

CUT TO:

14. INT - DARK POKER ROOM - NIGHT

ZAK's hands pull Chips towards him. Someone counts Money. ZAK takes it.

FADE OUT:

15. SCENE CUT OUT OF SCRIPT

CUT TO:

16. INT - ZAK'S ROOM - MORNING

ZAK does basic exercises. An Envelope slides under his door. His eyes glance over to it and he picks up the Envelope. He opens it. He reads the Paper. Then looks at the Picture. ZAK freezes. His world shatters. He looks back at the Paper and reads it. ZAK's eyes look up. An "oh shit" expression is smeared over his face. Money is stuffed in a Bag filled with Clothes. The Bag is zipped up. A Gun is loaded.

CUT TO:

17. EXT - SIDEWALK - MORNING

ZAK is at the corner of a sidewalk. He takes a stick of Gum and puts it in his mouth. He looks both ways and then crosses the street.

CUT TO:

18. INT - CARL'S ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON CARL raps his fingers on the table. He looks at his Watch.

CARL What time do you have?

BELL 5 past 5.

CARL He got his envelope today?

BELL

Yeah.

CARL And no body? ... shit ... [groans] call Geoff. He'll know what to do.

CUT TO:

19. INT - RENT A ROOM - EVENING

ZAK hands Money to a LANDLADY for the night. He enters the room, locks the door, sets his things down, and pulls out his Gun. He takes off his Shoes, sits on the bed, leaning against the wall and faces the door. He cocks the Gun. He calmly sits and gets comfortable.

CUT TO:

20. INT - ZAK'S ROOM - NIGHT

The door flies open and BELL enters. He looks around. The room is just like somebody got up and left.

CUT TO:

21. EXT - OUTSIDE RENT A ROOM - MORNING

ZAK shoulders his Bag and continues on foot.

CUT TO: 22. INT - CARL'S ROOM - DAY

CARL is on the Phone.

CARL I know ... I know ... GEOFF, GEOFF ... calm down. I'm handling it ... This'll be fixed before tomorrow, guarantee it.

CARL hangs up the Phone.

CUT TO: 23. EXT - MR. SMITHERS' HOUSE - DAY

ZAK arrives at a house. He walks over to the Mr. SMITHERS, who's working in the yard.

ZAK Sign says you've got a room available?

MR. SMITHERS $373.52 down. $200 a month.

ZAK I just need it for the night.

MR. SMITHERS Ahh, no ... I'm sorry.

ZAK pulls out some Cash. MR. SMITHERS looks at it and counts. MR. SMITHERS One night ... follow me.

MR. SMITHERS leads ZAK into the house.

CUT TO:

24. EXT - MR. SMITHERS' HOUSE - LATE AFTERNOON

BELL picks up his Cell Phone.

BELL Got him.

CUT TO:

25. INT - CARL'S ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON

CARL See. I told ya' we'd get him! How far did he get? Whoa. All right, keep it clean. CUT TO:

26. INT - MR. SMITHERS' - LATE AFTERNOON

ZAK lies on the bed the same way he did the previous night. His eyes are shut. He's exhausted. A Water Bottle is lying next to him, as is an Empty plate. A crash. Zak's eyes open. He cocks his Gun and aims at the door. Silence. Zak

scoots off the bed and gets by the door. He listens. He opens the door and walks out.

CUT TO:

26A. INT - MR. SMITHERS' HOUSE - LATE AFTERNOON

He goes down a flight of steps until he reaches the first floor. He inspects the area. He walks over a little ways and then sees the shoes of MR. SMITHERS. His eyes widen. Click. ZAK spins and fires. BELL stumbles back and drops. ZAK keeps his Gun ready and walks over to BELL and searches him. He pulls out a Notepad. He looks outside to see if the coast is clear.

CUT TO:

27. INT - MR. SMITHERS' - LATE AFTERNOON ZAK comes down the stairs with his Stuff. He gets to the door.

BELL ... he'll get you ... who was it ... a bitch?

A look of anger and trepidation comes over ZAK. He pulls out his Gun, spins.

BANG!

CUT TO:

28. EXT - MR. SMITHERS' HOUSE - LATE AFTERNOON

ZAK walks away from the house. He looks back at the house then turns forward again. He knows he can't keep running. He's going to have to face the music. He pulls out a small Notepad and flips through it. He stops at a certain page. It reads:

GEOFF LAPLACE

ZAK flips the small Notepad shut.

CUT TO:

29. INT - MR. SMITHERS' HOUSE - EVENING

CARL and 3 HOODS (SKINNY, STRETCH & PHIL) stand over BELL's body. CARL And the owner is over there?

SKINNY Yep. CARL Ugghh [sighs] let's clean up.

SKINNY What about ZAK?

CARL Hand me the phone.

SKINNY hands CARL a Cell Phone. CARL speed dials a number.

CARL Hey, GEOFF ... yeah, well it happened again ... Yes I figured he's after me now ... okay ... you bet ya.'

GEOFF screams something. CARL jerks the Phone from his ear. CARL hands the Phone back to SKINNY.

CUT TO:

30. EXT - SIDEWALK - EVENING

SCENE ADDED TO SCENE 28 CUT TO:

31. EXT - GEOFF LAPLACE'S HOUSE - MORNING

It is a beautiful morning. ZAK walks up to the house. He takes a deep breath. He rings the doorbell. ZAK pushes his jacket tails away from his waste, easy access to his Gun. He puts his hand on it. The door opens.

ZAK Geoff Laplace?

GEOFF How the-?

ZAK throws up his Gun. GEOFF slams the door shut again, trapping ZAK's forearm. ZAK drops the Gun. ZAK shoulders the door open.

CUT TO:

31A. INT - GEOFF LAPLACE'S HOUSE - MORNING

The door whaps GEOFF in the face. GEOFF stumbles and falls on his ass. A cut emerges on his forehead. ZAK massages his arm as he enters. GEOFF, in fear, scoots away from ZAK. ZAK, holding his arm approaches him. He pulls out a Knife. ZAK approaches GEOFF with only one thing on his mind. Kill. GEOFF is in fear; as he yells, ZAK grabs him.

CUT TO:

32. EXT - GEOFF LAPLACE'S HOUSE - MORNING

ZAK walks into frame. He looks hurt and tired. He holds his arm. He walks over to a bush, picks up his Duffel Bag and throws it on his shoulder.

CUT TO:

33. INT - CARL'S BLDG. - DAY CARL enters the BLDG., SKINNY, STRETCH and PHIL with him.

CARL Somebody may need to make an errand run. We're running low on milk - CARL freezes.

ZAK is right in front of him.

ZAK You're out. I had a glass.

CARL Thanks.

SKINNY slowly reaches for his Gun. ZAK waves his finger "No." ZAK shows his. CARL signals SKINNY to stop.

CUT TO:

34. INT - CARL'S ROOM - DAY

CARL sits in his chair. ZAK sits across from him. SKINNY, STRETCH and PHIL stand behind CARL at a little distance.

CARL Okay, this needs to stop. So was the target a woman or something?

ZAK [Annoyed and arrogance is shining through] It was me.

CARL What?

ZAK The target was me.

ZAK tosses him the Envelope. CARL opens it and looks.

CARL I'll be damned. Then it should've been real easy for ya.'

ZAK I'm not going to kill myself.

CARL Why not? People do it every day.

ZAK So I'm just suppose to shoot myself if I get my picture in the envelope.

CARL I'll leave the gory details to you, but yes. That's what you signed up for.

ZAK I didn't sign anything.

CARL Metaphorically. It was your job to exterminate whomever was in this envelope.

ZAK Even if it's me.

CARL Precisely.

ZAK Why not give my picture to someone else, like SKINNY.

CARL I dunno. It was addressed to you.

ZAK [Sighs] Better question. Why was my picture in there?

CARL How the fuck do I know!

ZAK You don't check?

CARL They're not addressed to me! That's a federal crime, opening someone else's mail. Besides, what if it's someone I know.

ZAK Like me?

CARL I was thinking somebody more intimate, but for conversation purposes, yes you.

ZAK If you got an envelope with you in it, would you kill yourself?

CARL I'd have my reservations.

ZAK Exactly.

CARL But that's beside the point. You got an envelope. And it had your picture. Your job is to ... exterminate ... whoever is in that envelope, even if it is ... you.

ZAK No.

CARL You're not grasping the point you little shit! I am sorry you ended up in one, but that's how it goes. Do you think all those other people wanted to begin their day staring at cold steel. No. But it wasn't up to them. Nor is it up to you.

ZAK I'm not going to let that happen.

CARL I figured as much ... so you thought by killing all of us; you wouldn't have to go through with it.

ZAK After BELL came after me I figured I fix the problem.

CARL He'll still come after you. GEOFF is not the type of guy you piss off. You're done, like TUNDE.

It's like ZAK got smacked in the face.

CARL Man tried to run.

ZAK [Arrogant confidence returns]... I don't have to worry about GEOFF ... you know for a mob boss; you'd think he'd have bodyguards.

CARL What the fuck are you talking about?

ZAK slides CARL the Notepad. It slides across the table. CARL grabs it. He flips it open. He stops at the page with GEOFF. ZAK Pulled it off BELL.

CARL ... You killed GEOFF?

ZAK places the bloody Knife on the table. CARL is flabbergasted. CARL Son of a bitch.

ZAK'S Gun clicks.

CARL Fuck.

BANG!

ZAK fires under the table. CARL drops face first onto the table with a thud. ZAK falls out of his chair and onto his side. SKINNY, STRETCH and PHIL go for their Guns. ZAK fires. All shots ring out. Silence. ZAK picks himself up. He's breathing heavy. The Hoods lay there cold. ZAK looks at CARL. It's all good again. ZAK takes a small breath of relief. Suddenly ZAK collapses. His hand goes to his gut; he's bleeding. ZAK'S eyes dart straight ahead. He's stunned, shocked, confused. He looks down to his hand. In it lays a bloody Bullet, his Bullet. Flashbacks, snippets of memories and past actions bombard Zak's mind. His Gun drops. He drops a little. ZAK'S expression is confused, angry. ZAK takes his last breath.

THE END

APPENDIX 6: LINK TO LAPLACE’S DEMON

The following websites are currently streaming the final copy of

Laplace’s Demon (2014): Google Drive