Take Two

By Valerie Valdes

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PAGE ONE
EXT. ALLEYWAY – NIGHT
This page is black and white except for the bloody knife. Think
old-fashioned horror film or film noir. Everything is stylized and
high contrast.

PANEL 1
Medium shot of a young woman runs through an alleyway, wide-eyed,
frightened. The area is full of dumpsters, garbage, dark puddles and
mysterious foggy bits. In the distance behind her, at the alley
entrance, an ominous silhouette is visible.
WOMAN: “Someone, help!”

PANEL 2
The distant figure is closer, as is the woman, more frantic. Close up
of her head and shoulders with the figure in the background behind
her.
WOMAN: “Please, help me! Somebody!”

PANEL 3
Extreme close-up of the woman’s face, which fills one side of the
panel, glancing over her shoulder, screaming. The dark figure behind
her wears a black cowl and a white mask with a long pointed nose. He
raises a blood-stained stiletto.
WOMAN: “AAAAAAAAAH!”

PANEL 4
Same as panel 3, but the dark figure is engulfed in the blue glow of a
beam from the sky. He lowers the arm holding the stiletto. The woman
is now confused instead of scared.
SFX: “KRAZZAXX”
SCA-310: “Good afternoon, Isaac Goldstein. This is Satellite SCA-310.
You have been selected for Sentry Duty.”
DIRECTOR (OS): “What the hell is that?”

PAGE TWO
INT. SOUND STAGE – DAY
Switch to color and a more typical superhero comic style for the
remaining pages.

PANEL 1
Long shot of the entire scene from above. The alley is revealed as a
sound stage at a film studio, basically a giant warehouse. Cameras are
trained on the two actors. A boom operator holds the mic above them,
and a Steadicam operator stands in front of the actress. The director,
Eric, sits behind a bank of monitors with his assistant. Other crew
members are positioned strategically and cables are strewn everywhere.
Brights lights illuminate the room.
Title Text: “Take Two”
Credits: “Created by AJ Apelian, Written by Valerie Valdes, Drawn by ???”
ACTOR: “Shit, Eric, I’ve got sentry duty.”
ERIC: “Well reschedule! We’re already a week behind and a million over budget!”
ACTOR: “I don’t think the computer cares, man. It says I have to go
kill some kind of alien squid.”
ERIC: “Great. Just fucking peachy. Cut!”

PANEL 2
The same as panel 1 but a little closer to the ground and the
director. The actor flies off, shimmering and carrying the prop knife.
A production assistant approaches the actress holding out a bottle of
water. Eric leans forward, his face in his hands. Everyone is
beginning to relax. Rachel, a young assistant, stands next to Eric
holding a clipboard.
RACHEL: “Should I tell everyone to take five?”
ERIC: “I guess so. Damn it!”

PANEL 3
Close-up of Eric, who looks up, a devilish gleam in his eyes.
ERIC: “No. Wait. Scratch that, I have a better idea.”

PAGE 3
EXT. CITY STREET – DAY

PANEL 1
Long/medium shot. The actor flies a couple of stories above the
four-lane city street, the walls of buildings blurring behind him. He
is looking forward. His posture is streamlined, tense.

PANEL 2
Same as panel 1, but the actor is looking over his shoulder toward the ground.
ERIC (OS): “Isaac, nice, but could you bring your left knee up, maybe
make a fist with your–”
ACTOR: “What are you doing?”

PANEL 3
Long/medium shot. Street view with buildings on either side vanishing
into the distance and the actor in the middle looking over his
shoulder. Behind and below him, the film crew is crammed into vans and
trucks dodging traffic. The director hangs out a window with a
megaphone. The sound guy leans over the Steadicam operator. Cars are
stopped and pulled over on sidewalks, with some people pointing at
something off panel in front of the actor while others run in the
opposite direction.
ERIC: “Don’t mind us, just do your thing.”
ERIC: “Pretend we’re not even here.”
ERIC: “Do me a favor, try to look a little more heroic, will you?”
ACTOR: “I don’t have time to–”
ERIC: “Look out!”

PAGE 4
EXT. CITY STREET – DAY

PANEL 1
This is a reverse angle of page 3, panel 3. Long/medium shot. An
enormous squid-like creature with a cluster of round black eyes looms
over the street, as tall as the buildings on either side of it. Its
open beak reveals a slimy tongue. The actor, in the foreground,
narrowly misses being bludgeoned by one of its giant tentacles. The
film crew is just visible in the lower center of the panel.

PANEL 2
3/4 overhead shot, basically a tilted version of the previous panel.
The actor flies to one side and shoots the squid with red eye-beams.
The squid’s tentacles flail, knocking holes in the surrounding
buildings. The director has stepped closer and shouts through the
megaphone.
ERIC: “Hit him with your frost breath!”
ACTOR: “I don’t have frost breath!”

PANEL 3
Side shot, with one of the buildings flanking the squid as the
background. The actor punches the squid in one of its eyes and several
others close. The cameraman and boom mic operator shout at each other.
Eric shouts at both of them.
CAMERAMAN: “Watch it, you’re in the shot!”
MIC OPERATOR: “This is the only angle I can–”
ERIC: “We’ll fix it in post!”

PANEL 4
Similar to panel 1. The squid releases a black cloud of ink from its
mouth, spraying the actor and the rest of the crew. The actor is
thrown backward from the impact.
ACTOR: “AAAAAAAAAH!”

PAGE 5
EXT. CITY STREET – DAY

PANEL 1
Medium shot at ground level. The street and surrounding buildings are
in the background, with the crew’s vehicles parked haphazardly. The
crew members survey the damage. Everything is splattered with black
ink. A tentacle is visible, sneaking toward Rachel, who stands on the
left side of the panel.
RACHEL: “Is everyone okay?
CAMERAMAN: “The camera’s ruined!”
ERIC: “Use the handheld!”
MIC OPERATOR: “I think it shorted out the mic…”

PANEL 2
Same as previous. Rachel is grabbed around the waist by the tentacle
and hoisted backward into the air. The crew watches in horror. The
ink-covered actor lies on the ground nearby.
RACHEL: “Heeelp!”
ERIC: “Where is Isaac?”
ACTOR: “Uuuuggghhh…”

PANEL 3
Close-up of Eric, who leans over Isaac with the mic operator, shouting
in his ear with the megaphone. In the background, Rachel is seen being
pulled toward the squid’s mouth.
ERIC: “Isaac, get up, you have to save, uh… Rhonda?”
MIC OPERATOR: “Rachel.”
ERIC: “Rachel!”

PANEL 4
Similar to previous but not as close to Eric. Eric covers his face,
looking away. In the background, a blue beam of light engulfs Rachel.
The cameraman stares, mouth open.
MIC OPERATOR: “It’s no use, he’s out cold.”
ERIC: “Oh god, I can’t watch.”

PAGE 6
EXT. CITY STREET – DAY

PANEL 1
Similar to previous but the focus is now the action in the background.
Rachel, glowing blue, has pulled the tentacle off her waist and grips
it tightly. She stands on another portion of the same tentacle. If
possible, the squid looks slightly confused. The cameraman hoists his
camera toward his eye. Eric is still covering his face. The mic
operator pats his back.
ERIC: “What will I tell the studio?”
MIC OPERATOR: “Sentry duty happens. It’s not your fault.”

PANEL 2
Similar to previous. Rachel runs across the squid’s chest toward what
would be its shoulder, towing the tentacle behind her. She is moving
very fast. The cameraman grins. Eric covers his eyes with one hand and
gesticulates wildly with the other. The mic operator examines his
ink-covered palm.
ERIC: “What if she has family? I smell a lawsuit…”
MIC OPERATOR: “The studio lawyers will handle it.”

PANEL 3
Similar to previous. One tentacle is wrapped tightly around the
squid’s neck area, the end stuffed into its mouth. Rachel stands near
the ground, tying three other tentacles into a giant knot. Cameraman
is still grinning. The mic operator is now looking over his shoulder
and staring. Eric wipes black ink off his eyes. The production
assistant from earlier tries to hand Eric a bottle of water.
MIC OPERATOR: “Holy cow!”
ERIC: “What, what is it, I can’t see!”

PANEL 4
Similar to previous. Rachel stands some distance from the squid and
closer to the film crew, shooting beams of fire out of her hands. The
squid is engulfed in flames. The production assistant pours water over
Eric’s face as he wipes it clean.
MIC OPERATOR: “What about the sound?”
ERIC: “We’ll fix it in post!”

PAGE 7

FULL PAGE
Typical hero pose. Close-up of Rachel, who stands in front of the
stunned film crew, arms crossed over her chest, glowing blue. The
squid burns to a crisp in the background.
RACHEL: “Who ordered the calamari, extra crispy?”

PAGE 8

PANEL 1
Side shot, Rachel on the left and everyone else on the right. Street
and buildings in the background. Eric shouts into the megaphone.
Rachel looks confused and everyone else is still stunned.
ERIC: “Cut! Fabulous! Wonderful!”
ERIC: “Quick, get some coverage of the squid before it burns out!”

PANEL 2
Medium shot, angled, with a building and some street in the background
on the right side and the burning squid on the left. Everyone
scrambles to obey the director’s commands. He keeps shouting into the
megaphone. In the foreground, Rachel kneels down next to the fallen
actor, taking off his mask.
ERIC: “And some wild sound! Go! GO!”
RACHEL: “Hey, Isaac, are you okay?”

PANEL 3
Close-up. Isaac looks up at Rachel, who smiles down at him. Her blue
glow is beginning to fade. In the background, the director keeps
shouting.
ACTOR: “I think my arm is broken.”
RACHEL: “I’ll call an ambulance.”
ERIC: “I said move, people!”

PANEL 4
The view of the scene pulls back to a long shot, 3/4 overhead. Rachel
cradles Isaac, the director is flailing his arms, the crew is going
about their work. The squid is still on fire.
ERIC: “I’m not paying you people to stand around looking cute!”
ERIC: “What do you think you are, talent? Then act busy!”
ISAAC: “Wanna grab dinner after we wrap tonight?”
RACHEL: “Anything but seafood…”