The Layman's blog: "The Layman's World"

Robin: Sitting in a Tree Page 1 Panel 1: Open on a close-up shot of an open textbook. This is a criminal psychology text, so that should be easy to tell. Maybe with a photo and caption visible on the page. You can see the reader’s fingers on the right side. • Caption 1: April 27th. • Caption 2: I don’t know why I have to do this. . . I never have time to suit up, anymore. • Caption 3: All this freakin’ studying. . . Sometimes, I think Bruce doesn’t even want me out there with him. Panel 2: Pull back to show and overhead shot of Jason Todd sitting at a table in the public library. He has a stack of books on the table, and his backpack is on the floor, beside him. A CD player on the table, and Jason has his headphones on. Jason should be slouched and looking bored. The surrounding tables are crowded. There is a teenage girl, Shelly, approaching Jason’s table from the right. Shelly is about 15 years old. The same age as Jason. She’s holding a stack of books. • Caption 1: Maybe tonight I’ll get in some cape time. Shelly: Hey. . . Is someone sitting here? • Caption 2: I need to blow off some steam. . . Panel 3: Change angle. Camera on Jason’s left side. She’s still holding the stack of books. Jason is listening to his music. Shelly is trying to get Jason’s attention. Maybe she could wave her hand in front of him, or Jason could be taking his headphones off, after seeing her at the table. Shelly: Hello. . ? You there? Shelly: Hey!! Jason (distracted): Huh. . ? Sorry. . . What’s that? Shelly: You mind if I sit here? The other tables are all full. . . Jason (excited): Yeah!! *Ahem* Umm. . . Sure. Whatever. • Caption 1: Hmmm. . . Maybe hittin’ the books isn’t so bad, after all. Panel 4: Change angle again. Shelly sits at the end of the table to Jason’s right, with the corner between them. Camera is now positioned opposite Jason, with both kids in the shot. Shelly is putting her books in order. Jason is making some room, and has set his headphones on the table, next to him. • Caption 1: She’s hot! This is a good day. Shelly: Criminal psych, huh? That’s cool. . . Who are you listening to? Jason: This? It’s the new Crazy Mime Crew. Just got it today. Shelly: Ooooh, cool!! I love them. That song, Creep on Two Feet, is kickin’. Panel 5: Move in and get a good close up with both kids’ faces in the shot. They’re looking at each other, and making deep eye contact for the first time. Shelly’s on the left, Jason’s on the right. Maybe Shelly is brushing her hair back behind her ear, or showing some kind of flirtatious body language. Same with Jason. Both should be a little lovestruck. Love at first sight. Shelly and Jason (simultaneously): Life Ain’t Great is my favorite. . . Shelly: Shelly. Jason: Wha. . ? Oh! Me. . ? I mean. . . Jason. I’m Jason. • Caption 1: Wow. . . Panel 6: Pull back again to an angle similar to Panel 4. Both kids are blushing. Shelly is looking down at her books. Jason is looking off to his left. They’re not making eye contact now, because they’re a little embarrassed. Imagine that they just shared a really mushy moment, looking into each other’s eyes. As sappy as you can think of. Shelly: **giggle** Jason: Heh. . . • Caption 1: Gorgeous. . . Speechless. . . Page 2 Panel 1: Kind of a wide shot, facing the audience inside a movie theater. Like the camera is right in front of the movie screen. Jason and Shelly are off-center in the panel. Sitting together, watching the movie. We can see them clearly, so it may not have to be that wide of a shot. Maybe Jason’s arm is around Shelly’s shoulder. They’ve known each other for a few weeks, at this point. • Caption 1: May 18th. Caption 2: My dad was never really around when I was a kid. Seemed like he was always working. And he was, I guess. For Two-Face. Got himself killed. • Caption 3: When Mom died, I was alone. Lived on the streets for a while. It was tough. I had a pretty good squat. Better than a lot of the kids. But I was always lookin’ over my shoulder. Panel 2: Jason and Shelly are bowling. Maybe that “fluorescent bowling.” “Cosmic bowling,” where I come from. Not sure if that’s a universal name. We can see a few other people in the shot, but Jason and Shelly have a lane to themselves. • Caption 1: May 24th. • Caption 2: I’ve had to take care of myself for most of my life. I had a few friends who came and went. Some of them just vanished. . . • Caption 3: Street life makes you pretty suspicious of other people. Everybody wants something from you. It’s hard to trust your friends. You have to be a thief or a liar to survive. Panel 3: Here we have Jason and Shelly standing in the crowd at the Crazy Mime Crew concert. Shelly’s dancing and Jason is cheering. It’s a rock/rap kinda’ crowd. Go nuts with them. Get the band in the shot, so everyone knows what’s going on. • Caption 1: June 3rd. • Caption 2: So, I’ve always been kind of a loner. A lot like Bruce, in some ways. Maybe that’s why he took me in. • Caption 3: Living with him has been good. Bruce and Alfred are my family now, I guess. But Bruce has an agenda. I know he’s always had his own plans for me. Panel 4: Exterior. Jason and Shelly walking into a coffee shop. Maybe an internet café. Something very mid- or late-nineties. Sitting at the tables outside should be several people in tie-dyes. Piercings and tattoos, maybe. Couple of people at a chessboard. • Caption 1: June 16th • Caption 2: And I feel like I’m gonna’ get kicked out of the cave, these days. Bruce is always yellin’ at me about something. I’m just doin’ the job. • Caption 3: I keep tellin’ him that I can think for myself, but Bruce doesn’t want anything except a kid to take his orders. He says we’re partners, but we’re not. He will always be “the boss.” Panel 5: Jason and Shelly sitting at a table in the coffee shop. There should be some affection shown here. Jason has really fallen deep in it for Shelly. And she seems to like him a lot. Maybe they’re just holding hands and staring at each other. A couple of starry-eyed teens in love. More crazy looking folks in the shop. Maybe a wider shot, with everything kind of pushed away from Jason and Shelly. Showing that they are only seeing each other. And there has to be some room for the captions, of course. • Caption 1: Being Batman’s partner is lonely, sometimes. It’s hard to make friends, with this secret to protect. My schedule doesn’t allow much playtime, anyway. And Bruce doesn’t want me to let anyone get too close. • Caption 2: But I’m fifteen. . . And Shelly’s so great. . . Jason: You want to come to dinner with me an’ Bruce, next week. . ? He has this big thing goin’ on. Fund raising or something. Celebs and rich people. I can get you in. . . Shelly: That would be awesome! I’d love that. Shelly: But, I’ll have to get something to wear. . . • Caption 3: Bruce is gonna’ kill me for this. I know it. Page 3 SPLASH: This is a dramatic, upward shot. Different in tone from the previous, sappy-looking pages. Some use of perspective may be good. It’s early evening, and the sun is down. The main lighting is from streetlamps and artificial sources. We’re looking at the front of Mazzuchelli’s, a swanky department store in downtown Gotham. Sort of like a Saks or Macy’s. A group of teens has been caught lifting some merchandise from the store. They’re trying to get away. Closeup on one teenage boy, 14-17 years old, looking over his shoulder. He doesn’t have to be too clean-looking, but he should look like a “normal” kid. Frightened? Maybe not. But certainly intense and determined to get away. He should look like he’s running away, but towards the reader. One of his partners is seen over his shoulder. Maybe the partner is taking off in a different direction. There’s a third partner, who we don’t see. At the top of the page, we see Robin perched on the roof of the store, batarang and line out, ready to leap into action. • Caption 1: June 23. • Caption 2: Slow night. Bruce didn’t want me along, for some reason. Don’t know what he’s workin’ on. . . Security Guard (off-panel): STOP!! You boys get back here! Security Guard (off-panel): Settle down, honey. . . You’re not going anywhere ‘til the police get here. Nicky: Hurry up, Jamie!! Let’s get outta’ here! Jamie: But, what about. . . Nicky: They got her! Just go!! Nicky: And don’t tell me where you’re goin’!! • Caption 3: I’ll finish up with these guys then head back. Gotta’ meet up with Alfred and pick up Shelly at eight. Bruce’ll show up late, of course. . . • Caption 4: Can’t wait for him to meet Shelly. I think she’s pretty nervous. TITLE AND CREDITS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE ROBIN: SITTING IN A TREE Page 4 Panel 1: Robin in action. He’s on autopilot, because these thugs are not even close to his league. But he’s on the scene, so he takes off after them. We see him from behind and a little overhead, as he leaps off of the store roof and swings down on his batrope. This panel should have Robin moving from right to left across the panel. The two boys are running away, and Robin is swooping down on them. We can see that each boy has a handful of stolen merchandise. Maybe duffel bags or backpacks. Nicky is out in front, and looks like he’ll get away. Jamie is falling behind. The police have not yet arrived on the scene. Robin: C’mon, guys. . . Robin: I know crime doesn’t pay. . . Panel 2: Robin lands running behind Jamie. Jamie is looking back over his shoulder and surprised/scared. This is not what he had in mind for the evening. Nicky is still running away, up ahead. Maybe about to duck around a corner. Robin: . . . but that doesn’t mean you get your clothes for free. Panel 3: Robin tosses his batarang and nabs Jamie in his batline. Jamie drops his bag of stuff. Nicky is nowhere to be seen. Robin: Hey!! Hold up, man! Panel 4: Robin ties Jamie to a post or mailbox or something, detaining him for the police. He is kind of looking around, absently. Searching for the other boy. Robin: Why don’t you stick around? I know some guys who would love to meet you. . . Robin: Hmmm. Now. . . Panel 5: Cut to Nicky, in a dark alleyway, full backpack in hand. He’s running past a dumpster. A homeless guy is sitting there, having a drink, and watching him run by. Looks like he’s getting away. • Caption 1: Where’d your buddy get to. . ? Nicky: Ha ha!! Nicky: No cops! And I’m long gone. . . Page 5 Panel 1: Nicky is still on the run. He’s ducking into an alley. Trying to stay out of sight. He looks back over his shoulder. An alleycat, jumps off to the side, chasing a rat into the same alley. Nicky: **huff huff huff** Cat: Rrrooowwwrr!! Panel 2: An overhead shot of Nicky running through the alley. The action moves from bottom-left to top-right. We see Robin jumping across the alley. Maybe we only see his cape. . . Like he just flashed across the panel. He’s stalking Nicky, watching from the rooftops. And maybe we can still see the cat, chasing the rat through the alley. Panel 3: More of Nicky’s escape. Now he’s standing against the wall. Getting ready to move out of the alley and back onto the street. He’s confident that he got away. He’s checking his pack, making sure he still has everything. We see the cat pounce on the rat. . . Nicky (quietly): **huff huff** Long gone. . . **huff huff** Nicky (quietly): Heh. Robin (off-panel on the left): Almost three minutes. Not bad at all. . . Panel 4: Nicky is startled and jumps in surprise. The bag falls out of his hand, maybe spilling some stuff. CDs, video games, sneakers, etc. . . Robin is now leaning against the wall, opposite Nicky. Imagine him looking at Nicky and giving a wink. Like he just won at hide and seek, or something. Robin was just playing with Nicky, after all. Nicky (startled): AGGHH!! Robin: Ummm. . . Boo? • Caption 1: This guy’s no Catwoman. But, no big deal. I’m in a hurry, anyway. Page 6 Panel 1: Back to the store entrance. Maybe an overhead angle, again. . . Robin approaching, leading Nicky along by the arm. Nicky’s hands are cuffed behind his back. Robin has the backpack full of stolen merchandise in his left hand. The police are now on the scene. And the squad car’s lights are flashing. . . Jamie is sitting on the curb with his hands bound behind his back, just waiting. One officer is standing with the security guard, talking into his radio, he notices Robin approaching with Nicky. • Caption 1: Five minutes later. . . Police Officer 1: . . . were three, yeah. Two males, one female. All fourteen to seventeen. Police Officer 1: Hmph. . . Looks like we had some. . . help. . . catchin’ a couple of ‘em. . . Panel 2: Robin drops Nicky on the curb, beside Jamie. He’s ready to go. Just has to drop off the stolen loot, and meet Alfred at the pickup point. The officer is still talking into his radio. Police Officer 1: Nah. Store security nabbed the girl before she got out of the store. Nicky (quietly): Where’s Shelly? Jamie (quietly): They still got her inside. • Caption 1: Shelly. . ? Panel 3: This would be the reveal. Robin looking over his shoulder to see the second police officer bringing Shelly out of the store in handcuffs. She was the third in the gang. Robin should be shocked. Maybe with his jaw dropped open. Shelly’s head should be hanging, but we should see clearly that this is Jason’s girl. Police Officer 1: Yeah. Reilly’s bringin’ her out, now. • Caption 1: Oh, no!! • Caption 2: Shelly. . . Why? How could you do this. . ? Page 7 Panel 1: Robin watches as Shelly is taken to sit on the curb with Nicky and Jamie. The squad car’s lights are flashing. A little pedestrian traffic passes by. Shelly is still looking down at the ground. Imagine her eyes are misty with tears. • Caption 1: How could you do this to me? This was such a big night for us. . . • Caption 2: I wanted you to meet my da. . . To meet Bruce. Panel 2: A shot of all three of the kids, sitting on the curb, waiting to be taken downtown so the police can call their parents. We can see one officer in the background, filling out a report. The second is standing back, but watching the suspects. Maybe Robin is not in the shot. . . Or maybe he’s only small in the background. He should be somehow detached from the scene, even though he’s standing in the middle of it. • Caption 1: What will I tell him. . ? How am I going to explain this? • Caption 2: Bruce will never approve of her. . . Not now. Panel 3: Robin has approached the group of suspects on the curb. He stands in front of Shelly, looking down at her. . . He should have a hurt look on his face. Maybe a little angry. His perfect girl doesn’t seem so perfect to him, anymore. He feels a little lonelier than he did, before. • Caption 1: Shelly, how are you gonna’ explain this to me!!? Robin (to Shelly): So. . . Why’d you do this. . ? You don’t look like street kids. . . Shelly: I dunno’. . . Sometimes life gets a little boring. Shelly: Just needed to spice it up. Panel 4: Close up of Robin. We should really get the feeling that he’s looking down at Shelly, now. He is angry, disappointed, and very hurt. Maybe we can see Shelly’s head in the shot, or something. Robin: Spice it up. . ? Spice it up? Robin: Lemme’ tell you somethin’, Shelly. . . Life ain’t great. Y’know what I mean? • Caption 1: I guess that’s it, then. I can’t waste anymore time here. Alfred’s waiting. Page 8 Panel 1: Robin tosses his line and swings away, back to the rooftop. He wants to get out of sight. . . Shelly watches him, a little stunned. Nicky is sitting by Shelly, watching. Jamie is looking at his shoes. The passersby on the street watch Robin as he swings away. • Caption 1: Is this the way my life has to be? Robin (over his shoulder): Good luck to you guys. Nicky (quietly, to Shelly): How’d he know your name. . ? Shelly (quietly): “Life ain’t great. . ?” Jason. . ? • Caption 2: Do I have to be alone, all the time? I just want someone to make me feel normal. To make me fit in. Someone I can talk to. . . Panel 2: Robin is on top of the store again, where he started on page 3. He’s sitting on the ledge, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. Maybe he took his mask off and is wiping his eyes. A good profile shot of him may be good. . . Something that will make him look thoughtful and sad. • Caption 1: Being Robin is great. . . But sometimes it’s too much. Batman (over comlink): Robin. Come in. • Caption 2: Alfred’s an old man. Bruce is. . . preoccupied, most of the time. I feel like I’m still on my own. Same as when Mom died. Panel 3: Final shot. Pull back to show Robin/Jason still sitting on the ledge. Now we can see down to the street. The kids are being loaded into the squad car. Shelly is looking up at Robin. He is not looking at her. Maybe a small inserted panel of Shelly, with tears in her eyes. Jason is looking down at her from his perch. This is end of their romance. They both know they won’t speak anymore. • Caption 1: One thing’s for sure. . . Batman (over comlink): Robin. I need you. Now. • Caption 2: . . . if something doesn’t change soon. . . Batman (over comlink): Alfred’s waiting. He’ll give you the location. Batman out. • Caption 3: I swear, I’m gonna’ explode. END