The Action Scene

Lights, Camera... Action?

I've been taking some time to script out some of the more intricate action scenes from the miniseries finale, Episode 6.

Episode 6 has always been a series of action scenes linked together by the narrative established by the previous 5 episodes. The first 5 episodes are meant to explain Rhett's evolution from Derek to Soundtrack and the motivations of his band for staying with him. While Derek Rhett is the main character for episodes 1-5, Soundtrack is the main character of Episode 6.

Most action scenes are typically written and choreographed by, well, a stunt/fight choreographer. Here in Dustin Bell land, I try to do things as cheaply and cut-cornerly as possible.

I've had the songs for the final episode picked out for some time. I've even had action scenes that synched up to those songs envisioned in my head for some time. But I have been finding it extremely difficult to put pen-to-paper and make these scenes more than just a vision. I've been encountering problems in making these scenes seem fluid, essential and entertaining.

I've gotten about ten pages of action scenes worked out for the final episode. Though the vision for the final fight had always been on top of two city sky-scrappers - the realities of shooting a scene like that began to sink in and I had to think of possible alternatives. The only alternative that I really liked was a showdown at a small airport (which just happens to exist in Oro-Medonte!), but I couldn't find a way to incorporate the shot that sets off the epilogue of the series. What I'm left with is two good ideas for the final fight, one with creative flaws and one with production flaws. There's a solution somewhere in the middle of this problem.

I've been running through episode titles for Episode 6. There's a few I really liked;

i. We Stand On Guard (For Thee); This is the main one I liked. One, it's the last phrase in "O' Canada" which I think would make an awesome title. Two, it describes the destination Derek's arrived at in his rivalry with Danielle Parsons. Three, the first episode title is "For Whom the Bell Tolls", which was taken from both an Ernest Hemmingway novel and a 17th century poem by John Donne, which ends in "For Thee". Finally, the pronoun in the title is "We", which doesn't just refer to Derek, but to Riley, Cain, Eddie and Steele who have taken on Derek's cause and given him the encouragement he needs to succeed.

ii. We Stand On Guard; For all the same reasons I liked number one, except that it's shorter and carries the more connotative and ambiguous meaning that Derek has merely become a super hero who will protect... all things that need protecting. It's the less political title of the two.

iii. For Thee; Again, the last words of "O' Canada", the last words of John Donne's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and a reference to why Derek fights. This episode finds Derek in the center of a hornet's test to rescue Eve. Though Derek will eventually fight for preservation of what is Canada, it is Eve who sets him down this path and thus the entire series has been from Derek to Eve, "For Thee".

Send me your input on which one you like the most, or any other title suggestions you may have!

I mentioned above that I've already picked out the songs I'd like to use for Episode 6, regardless of its title, and just to satisfy your curiosity, I'd like to list them;

Tegan and Sara - The Con (The Con, 2007)
Moneen - Don't Ever Tell Locke What He Can't Do (The Red Tree, 2006)
Metric - Gold, Guns, Girls (Fantasies, 2009)
Matthew Good Band - Indestructible (Underdogs, 1997)
The Constantines - On to You (Shines a Light, 2003)
Wintersleep - The Archeologist (Welcome to the Night Sky, 2007)

and maybe
Joel Plaskett - Extraordinary (Truthfully, Truthfully, 2003)

Hope that's enough to interest you in what Episode 6, and in a sense, the whole miniseries will shape out to be. I can't express enough how excited I am to tackle Episode 6 in its entirety, but for now, I'll continue with Episode 5 and give you updates whenever I can.

I had a pretty lousy day today, but it was Monday, so what can you expect? Here's a link to a cheesey band who doesn't realize it's not 1980 anymore - but that doesn't mean the song isn't awesome and relevant to my optimism. Except its a crappy live version - so DEAL WITH IT.

Peace and love ya'll.