#Permit and Location Scouting

[mrlocationscout]

The team at Mr. Location Scout recently completed this electric school bus project for International School Bus Company. Several organic film settings were located throughout Los Angeles, Pasadena and Culver City for this unique commercial production.

[productionbynomad]

The Art of Filmmaking- A Comprehensive Guide to Film Production Services

Film production services encompass a range of services that support the creation and production of film content, from pre-production planning to post production editing. These services are crucial to the success of any film project, whether it's a short film, feature-length movie, or TV show.

Pre-Production Services: Pre-production services are the first step in any film project, and they involve the planning and preparation necessary to bring the project to life. This includes services such as:

Scriptwriting: A well-written script is the foundation of any film project. Professional screenwriters can help develop a compelling story that resonates with audiences.

Storyboarding: Storyboarding helps visualize the script by creating a sequence of images that map out the visual flow of the film.

Location Scouting: Location scouting involves finding the perfect filming location that matches the vision of the project. A good location can make or break a film.

Casting: The right actors can bring the story to life and create a connection with the audience. Casting directors can help find the right talent for the project.

Production Services: Production services are the next step in the film project and involve capturing the vision of the project. These services include:

Cinematography: Cinematographers are responsible for capturing the visuals of the project. They use their expertise to create stunning shots that help tell the story.

Lighting: Lighting is an essential aspect of any film project. Professional lighting can enhance the mood and atmosphere of a scene.

Sound: Professional sound design can make or break a film. From dialogue to sound effects, sound professionals can create an immersive experience for the audience.

Production Management: A production manager oversees the logistics of the production. They manage the schedule, budget, and crew to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Post-Production Services: Post-production services are the final step in the film project and involve editing and polishing the film to bring it to completion. These services include:

Editing: Professional editors use their expertise to create a compelling and cohesive story. They work with the director to create a final cut that matches the vision of the project.

Color Grading: Color grading involves adjusting the color and tone of the footage to enhance the mood and atmosphere of the film.

Sound Mixing: Sound mixing involves combining all the sound elements to create a final mix that matches the vision of the project.

Visual Effects: Visual effects are used to enhance the visuals of the film. From adding special effects to removing unwanted elements, visual effects professionals can create a seamless experience for the audience.

In conclusion, film production company services play a critical role in bringing a film project to life. From pre-production planning to post-production editing, these services are essential to creating a compelling and engaging film that resonates with audiences.

Original Source: film production services uae

[stormblessed95]

Okay so I’m on my fourth watch of the travel show

It gets better the more you watch, they are just so much fun

They have me smiling from ear to ear the whole way through

I know there is a lot of conversation about the car conversation but seriously, apart from Jungkooks beautiful ‘finally’ (and I’m glad that is in English so we hear it without mistranslation), what struck me upon this watch, is that he could actually mean them being in content together. 

Hear me out, but the kid spent the better part of the first half, and even to a degree still asking in the later half, of 2023 begging to go live with Jimin, inviting him over on lives. Including the bed begging live days after this filming, and now I’m framing it that he was probably thinking they have filmed this show, why can’t they have a live? I know that the show wasn’t going to be aired straight away but I can totally see him going with that thought. 

But it just struck me, he’d been asking and probably denied so many times, whereas Jimin had gone live with Yoongi and Hobi etc during work promotions, but denied JK. This was his olive branch, his two birds one stone, a trip for them to spend time together when free, but also for them to be alone in content (albeit airing a year later atp). If we remember too that they could not leave SK without work and a permit, the chicken and egg, hence the show. Jimin had the time at that point to plan it with the company, it makes sense he pushed it, though I’m sure Jungkook was involved too. 

People are moaning about Jungkooks attitude and they are so wrong and miserable, not to mention they misunderstand him. They guy is glowing with his Jimin, he’s being cheeky and kids around and it’s so beautiful to see it. To see their dynamic, as they are. 

Seeing them say they hasn’t planned another trip in NY, and the Forbes article said this too, they must have thought it a success enough to plan jeju and so on. I think a post from another blogger here also helped frame this for me, bc at the end of the day they talked about and proposed the show, just the two of them, to the company and needed a deliverable product. This involved planning to a degree, scouting locations and a vague idea of activities. They definitely had more freedom than Bv, and they had to rely on their natural chemistry, which is there in spades, but they still had to deliver/ this is where Jimins panic comes in when he is sick, bc he has to power through to make the show work, hence the are you sure? It’s so logical when I think about it all in that framed way. 

And mainly I think this also because they do not present as people who had had a falling out, or massive distance, or had issues, or something more ridiculous people are proposing. I mean logically do we really think Jimin (sensible Jimin) would even think it a good idea to do this if there was bad blood or feelings. Exactly, he would not.  There was no tension there, not that I saw anyway. They just vibe with each other. They present as pretty domestic, in tune and loveable goofballs. 

Also when you think about MS application being a month after this, they had to have seen and spoken to each other, it’s a complete reach to think they didn’t. Also, it’s their habit, Jimin literally said the same sentence in the very brief restaurant scene, that JK says to him in the doc and we know that was a complete fib. Also I feel the way JK looks at the camera in that scene and in the hand holding scene is very telling about how he felt around the cameras at first, especially when Jimin touches his throat, like he hesitated. 

I also hold in mind that at the end of the day we got about 5/10% of their time on screen, the rest is on the cutting room floor, and also probably not even filmed (esp given Jimins condition). Leaving them plenty of time for them. 

Just my thoughts. 

.

[avatarmerida]

So on twitter the other day, @rebeccaartsy mentioned she was thinking about how different things would be if Hunter was there from the beginning and it really got my mind moving.

So like my totally self indulgent headcanon or whatever,is that Hunter in season one is spending his time hunting wild witches and no one really takes him seriously so the whole time he’s trying to prove himself by trying to capture the most famous wild witch, Eda. But I like to think he doesn’t have a very strong artificial staff at this point and isn’t seen as much of a threat. He’s also either not the Golden Guard yet or just wears normal scout stuff to draw less attention. So he is always setting traps and stuff and Luz meets him and his vibe is like an annoying neighbor kid. He just gets roped into the occasional adventure because he’s there and just when he's starting to question life in the coven he gets promoted to coven head and he works even harder to be taken seriously.

Because I love how Hunter and Willow meet so much where they see the true version of each other right away in a way no one else has, I imagine their first meeting is still outside Luz and everything. Like, Hunter is messing with something plant related (maybe making a trap or liking for a rare plant to help Belos, idk) and gets tangled in some aggressive vines and Willow finds him and helps him. But the vines are from like a really complicated plant that requires extreme patience and talent and he’s like even Terra would have trouble with it and while his spitting facts Willow just untangles him effortlessly. She’s just like “boop! You’re good :)” and at first he’s worried she’s gonna tell someone or blackmail him but she’s just “no prob yo.” But she’s also very impressed that he found the plant that he did, cause they're super elusive and he’s like uhhh thanks.

So he offers to walk her to where she’s going and they start talking and he’s info dumping things on plant magic and they’re vibing and he realizes no one has ever let him talk so much before. And she likes talking to him. Then he realizes exactly where they are and before he can make an excuse to leave, Luz comes out to greet Willow and when she sees Hunter she groans. And they dive into their sibling banter slinging shots back and forth and Willow just stands there thinking like “huh, this is the guy who’s always annoying her? He’s not that bad.”

And so it’s just like a little bit where he’s always like “ugh you guys are the worst! But not you Willow, you’re great obvi.” Like he has no idea anyone would ever think she’s weak because he still met her in her element and she just thinks he’s a dork. But the crushing doesn't really start until Understanding Willow because I love that episode and I say so:

“Gus, listen,” said Hunter, as he walked through the open door of the Owl House. “Obviously, there is much I can’t divulge but upon consideration I am willing to grant you an interview for your class. The Emperor’s Coven values education, and so I could definitely offer you information on our selection process which I’m sure your teachers will find impressive and- why is Willow upside down?”

“Oh, Amity set Willow’s mind on fire and now she’s losing all her memories,” said Luz with a nervous chuckle. “But uh, what’s up with you?”

“What?” He said running over to her side and helping her sit correctly on the couch. “Is she okay?”

“Don’t worry blondie, we’re gonna get these knuckleheads in there to set things right,” said Eda. “Or at least less wrong.”

“You’re gonna entrust Willow’s mind in the hands of… them?” Said Hunter in disdain as he glared at Luz and Amity who honestly couldn’t argue with him. “They were the ones who put her in this situation in the first place! Not to mention, this location isn’t zoned for a spell of that caliber and as a member of the Emperor’s Coven I could-.”

“Listen, do you want it done soon or do you want it done legally?” Asked Eda. “Cause by the time we get the permits to do it your way Goldie, there won’t be any of Willow’s memories left to save.”

“Very well then,” said Hunter, pretending as though it was a hard decision. “I’ll allow it. Just… be careful with her.”

“Alright then,” said Eda. “Lemme whip up something to put her to sleep. She’s not gonna wanna be awake for this.”

“Oh look, the prince is here,” giggled Willow, leaning on Hunter’s shoulder for support as she noticed his presence for the first time. “Helloooo, your highness.”

“Uh, hi,” he said, not expecting her to be this close to him. “A-re you oka-.”

“Shhh,” she said, putting her finger to his lips, whispering as though it was the most serious thing on earth. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“What?” he said despite his lips being smushed, hanging on to her words with concern.

She took a deep breath. “You have beautiful eyes.” She whispered with intensity.

His face turned bright crimson as he tried to laugh, assuming it must be a joke of some sort. But Willow’s voice didn’t carry the disdain most jokes at Hunter’s expense carried. She wasn’t in her right mind, but maybe that didn’t mean she wasn’t serious.

“Oh uh… thank you?” He said, clearing his throat. “So uh so do you?”

“Hmmm,” she giggled then hiccuped, squinting at him and then leaning in closer as though she couldn’t quite see something. “Do they make you wear that mask because you're so handsome all the time?”

“What?”

“Woo, you could cut something with that jaw ouch,” she said, her voice low and playful before erupting into another sea of giggles.

“I uh, I don’t think that’s-.”

“Nap time!” Said Eda, and Willow instantly fell asleep, leaning forward onto Hunter’s shoulder. He was unprepared to say the least, but tentatively put an arm around her to keep her steady, his eyes wide as his movements were careful.

“Alright coven boy, you keep Princess Planter comfy while I tell these two how to keep things from getting worse,” instructed Eda, pointing to Luz and Amity.

“Yeah sure okay,” replied Hunter, barely listening. Eda was telling Luz and Amity something but all Hunter could hear was the gentle sound of Willow snoring, her breathing slow and deep and peaceful. He has never been so close to her, he could see every delicate freckle that decorated her face. Her glasses were askew so he carefully removed them, because it just seemed like the thing to do. Her mind was on fire, the least he could do was make her more comfortable.

—

He watched as her eyes shifted behind her eyelids as she… dreamed? Would she think this was all a dream? She would mumble things occasionally, hopefully that meant something good? She just looked so-

“Hey Hunter, you want in on this?” Asked Gus.

“Huh?” He looked up quickly as though he was being accused of something. He hadn’t been listening. Hadn’t he been tasked with monitoring her? Is that what Eda said or had he just done it naturally? “Sorry, what?”

“King and Eda are competing to be the subject of my interview,” repeated Gus. “You want in?”

Hunter had forgotten all about being the subject of Gus’ report as he became engrossed in watching Willow sleep. Was that creepy? He didn’t mean it to be. He just felt… protective. He felt responsible. He could never fall asleep like this with anyone unless he trusted them completely. He had never fallen asleep around anyone. And he knew Willow did not have a choice in the matter but he wanted to be worthy of her trust anyway.

“Uh, no thanks maybe next time,” he said, uncharacteristically soft. “Someone should keep an eye on Willow.”

“Eh, she’s not going anywhere goldie,” said Eda as a twinkle entered her eye. “Buuuut when she does wake up, she’s probably gonna be hungry. Having the essence of your inner being threatened really takes alot out of you.”

“Oh yeah, sure,” said Hunter, looking at her in wonder. She seemed to be doing fine, but no doubt there would be brutal side effects. “Should I-.”

“Snacks! Snacks! Snacks!” chanted King.

“Oh yeah, uh I guess I could… do that,” he said softly. He wasn’t sure why he was being quiet, no one else was. But his usual tone didn’t seem fitting now. Normally, he would not take orders (or even suggestions) from civilians but if it was for Willow then it didn’t feel like succumbing to rank. It felt like helping. It felt purposeful. He carefully removed himself from Willow’s presence, mourning the loss of warmth for only a moment, and placed her comfortably on the couch. As he made his way to the kitchen, his eyes were glued to her until it was impossible to continue. Eda,King, and Gus were too occupied in their debate to notice.

---

Willow was going to be fine, she had to be. Everyone would be acting more worried if she wasn’t, right? She had always been strong and capable, he knew her mind couldn’t be much different. He turned his focus from concern into purpose. He wouldn’t admit it to the others, but he was thankful for the distraction. He felt foolish just sitting there not being able to do anything for her. He had never actually made something before, but how hard could it be? He had studied under the head of the Potions coven, how different was baking from that?

As he looked through Eda’s cupboards, Willow’s words echoed in his ears. Well, not all of them. There was one in particular, occupied by the way the ends of her mouth turned up as she said it that made his stomach flip.

Handsome.

No one had ever called him that before, not even ironically. Did she really think that? Why did he care so much if she did? Why, suddenly, did he want so much for her to?

Was it really suddenly though?

Ugh! Why hadn’t he said something cooler? He wasn’t sure she’d even remember saying it, but if she did he didn’t want his surprised reaction to prevent her from possibly repeating herself! He had never had issue thinking of clever retorts (though, to be fair he did do a fair deal of practicing in his bedroom mirror each night) and they often fell into a comfortable conversation. But sometimes she would say something a certain way or look at him too long and it would throw him off. Not in a bad way, no nothing at all like that, just… unexpected. She laughed at the jokes people would roll their eyes at or ask him to continue where normally he was cut off and all the little things just kept adding and piling up until Hunter didn’t know how he was supposed to carry them. She was so many little things, like the way she tilted her head when she asked him a silly question or how her glasses would slide off her edge of her knows when she got excited or the way she would stand close to him and sometimes their hands would brush like she didn’t care if they-

Focus! He thought, taking ingredients from the cabinets. There wasn’t much and what there was seemed to have no organizational system but he could resolve that after he figured out what to whip up. Something simple, something to show Willow he wanted to help. He didn’t know her well enough to enter her mind with Luz and Amity, but secretly he hoped he was getting there.

---

He managed to make something that resembled cookies, the smell filled the kitchen and it surprisingly wasn't an awful smell?. He remembered Willow mentioned once she was eager to get home as her father had made some and they were waiting for her. Truthfully, Hunter had never tasted a cookie but he had seen them when he walked by the bakery in town and knew the basics of their structure. Surely if he had taken a wrong turn the smell would reflect that, right? He imagined the look on Willow’s face when she saw his creation, and maybe even liked it. The flipped feeling returned to his stomach and spread through his whole chest like a wild fire when the potential look of delight on her face graced his mind.

In his efforts, he had made quite the mess. But he couldn’t help but feel pride as he quickly plated his creation, eager to return to Willow’s side. He didn’t think too much into this, he was always excited to see Willow. He tried not to think too much into that, chalking it up to the fact that she was interesting and a good listener and funny and smart and pretty and-

The point was she didn’t find him totally annoying, so why shouldn’t he enjoy her company?

And if she happened to think he was a little handsome then, well, that wasn’t the worst thing.

As he set the cookies to cool, he heard a sudden commotion from the next room. He quickly ran to see the cause, hoping it was a good sign. There was a bright flash and then he heard Luz and Amity. He stood back a moment, trying to deduce their tone before he heard Willow speak. Her voice was horse and soft, but he could tell she was back to normal. Good, he thought, feeling as though he could finally breathe again. She’s okay, she’s okay.

He went to greet her but before he could leave the kitchen, he was stopped by Luz. Before he could offer a snarky question as to what exactly she thought she was doing, she looked at him with wide, concerned eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, furrowing his brow. He tried to looked past her to see what was going on. “Is she okay? Did something happen to-?”

“Willow’s fine.” she assured him, putting her arm up to stop him. “There was just some… complications.”

“What complications? Was she hurt? Does she need-?”

“No no, nothing like that but um there were some memories… we couldn’t save,” said Luz carefully.

“Like what? Did she forget something for a test she has? Because I can always-.”

“No, no uh there were more… recent memories,” Luz tried to figure out the nicest way to say this. ”Hunter, I’m sorry but we were still figuring out how things worked and it all happened so fast but… Willow doesn’t remember you.”

“What?” He felt something shatter.

“I’m so sorry, but hey, it’s an easy fix! Right? We can just introduce you now!”

“Yeah, uh I guess…” he said, looking at his current state. He had thrown on an old apron and was covered in flour, his hair a mess. This night was already so chaotic, it hardly seemed like a time Willow would want to meet someone new.

And then it dawned on Hunter: he had a second chance at a first impression.

Their first meeting had been… interesting. If you count hanging upside down by your ankle until a girl who took a wrong turn stumbles upon you helps untangle you interesting. Hunter did. But he had been so grumpy and flustered, and he wouldn’t have been had he only known who exactly had come to his rescue. She didn’t seem to care or be bothered by it, but he had come to value her opinion and he’d like to start again on the best foot possible. He had a chance for her to see him exactly as he wanted to be seen from the beginning and it felt like a chance he needed to seize.

His mind made up, he looked around for a way out before the human could return with Willow. Quickly, he climbed out the window and landed in a bush, He ducked beneath the window and pressed his back againythe wall as he heard Willow and Luz enter the kitchen,

“Huh, where did he go?” he heard Luz wonder.

“Who was this again?” Willow asked, her voice still raspy as though she was utterly exhausted.

“Uh, it’s kinda hard to explain,” Luz admitted. “But, he’ll be around again. I know he really wants to meet you!”

“Okay,” said Willow, uncertain. “If you say so.”

He couldn't help but think about the chill that went up his spine when she looked into his eyes. He didn’t understand exactly what it was but he knew it wasn’t nothing. He wanted Willow to know a better version of him. He cared what she thought. When she met him this time, he wanted it to be a meeting worth remembering.

—-

And so for the rest of the series up until ASIAS he’s trying to work up the nerve to meet Willow again as Hunter. Just when he’s ready, he gets promoted to coven bead and that’s when I’m also promoting him to Golden Guard or maybe like Golden Guard full time. So now he has more on his plate and he gets a more advanced staff and now he’s a real threat. But of course because he’s a loser and can’t stay away from her so they do interact when he’s the Golden Guard and he has that masked confidence. He’s still getting to know her so he’ll like run into her in the market or something and flirt but didn’t realize it’s flirting and he’s planning the perfect way to “re-meet.” The whole time Willow is like bugging because there’s something so familiar about him but she doesn’t know what and the others don’t tell her because they’re like still figuring out his deal. So when he does come to Hexside during ASIAS it’s much more thought through and intentional and feelings have already been caught.

Anyway sorry for a long pointless post but that’s just been on my mind k thanks bye.

[67-romeo]

For this week's Photo Friday feature, we highlight the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. The Kiowa is a two-seat, single engine, armed light reconnaissance helicopter originally designed as an unarmed interim scout, and will remain in the current force structure until replaced by the ARH-70 by the end of FY 2014. It performs reconnaissance, security, command and control, target acquisition/designation, and defensive air combat missions. The Kiowa is equipped with a Mast-Mounted Sight that houses a Thermal-Imaging System, Low Light Television, and a Laser Rangefinder/Designator. A highly accurate navigation system permits precise target location that can be handed off to other engagement systems via the Airborne Target Handover System. Do we have any Kiowa fans in our audience? Ever flown or worked on this platform?

[danielsiegelalonso]

Going Social: How Social Media Platforms Shape Music Careers of Artists | Daniel Siegel Alonso

Once upon a time, making it in the music industry meant playing gigs at every dive bar, hoping a record exec might be in the audience. Today, while talent and hard work are still essential, there's a new stage where stars are born—social media. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have become the modern-day springboards for music careers, providing artists direct access to their audiences and unprecedented control over their look and sound. Daniel Siegel Alonso examines how social media is reshaping the music industry, one post at a time.

The New A&R

Siegel Alonso notes that in the pre-digital era, unknown artists used to rely on A&R (Artists and Repertoire) scouts to discover them. However, today, algorithms are doing much of that leg work. Platforms like TikTok have turned music discovery on its head. The app's For You Page (FYP) is the new A&R office, where a catchy beat or a witty lyric can go viral and propel an obscure artist into the limelight.

Take Lil Nas X, for example. His breakout hit "Old Town Road" started as a viral TikTok sensation, with users creating videos around the song's catchy hook. Before long, it was the number one song in the world, and Lil Nas X went from an internet meme to a controversial, Grammy-winning artist. In this digital age, virality is the new word of mouth, and it can make or break a music career in record time.

Building a Brand, One Post at a Time

Social media isn't just about amplifying content; it's also about building a brand. Today's artists are expected to be more than just musicians—they need to be content creators, influencers, and entrepreneurs. Platforms like Instagram and X permit artists to showcase their personalities, interact with fans, and create a brand that transcends their music.

Siegel Alonso considers how artists like Lizzo have used social media to their advantage. Lizzo's Instagram is a masterclass in branding—she posts everything from body-positive messages to behind-the-scenes glimpses of her life, all while keeping her music front and center. By being authentic and engaging, Lizzo has built a loyal fan base that's just as invested in her as a person as they are in her music. In today's music industry, a robust social media presence is often as significant as a strong vocal range.

Cutting Out the Middleman

One of social media's biggest benefits is that it allows artists to connect directly with their fans. Gone are the days when artists had to rely on record labels or PR teams to manage their public persona. Now, artists can tweet, post, or live stream whenever they want, sharing new music, announcing tours, or simply chatting with fans.

This direct engagement has led to a more personal connection between artists and their audiences. Fans feel like they know their favorite artists on a deeper level, which can translate into increased loyalty and support. For example, Billie Eilish built her career by connecting with fans on platforms like Instagram and X, sharing snippets of her songs and thoughts long before she hit the mainstream. This direct line to her audience helped her cultivate a devoted fan base ready to support her when she released her debut album.

The Power of Community

Social media has also made it easier for artists to collaborate and engage in creative challenges that keep their content fresh. TikTok has become a hotbed for musical collaborations, with artists jumping on trends, remixing each other's songs, and participating in challenges that showcase their talents.

Take the "Savage Love" remix, for instance. Initially a TikTok hit by New Zealand producer Jawsh 685, the track caught the attention of Jason Derulo, who added his own vocals and turned it into a global smash. This type of cross-pollination was only possible with social media, where artists can quickly discover and work with one another, regardless of genre or location.

The Double-Edged Sword

While social media offers incredible opportunities, it's not without its challenges. The pressure to constantly create content, maintain an online persona, and engage with fans can be overwhelming, especially for emerging artists still finding their footing. However, for those who can navigate the highs and lows, social media offers an unprecedented platform to shape their careers on their own terms. 

Daniel Siegel Alonso concludes that social media is no longer just a marketing tool; it's an integral part of the music industry. Whether you're an aspiring musician or an established artist, mastering social media can be the key to success in today's fast-paced digital world. 

[sayaka-mga2024mi4017]

Cinematography

What is Cinematography?

It is the craft of photographing motion pictures, where the series of images is strung together to communicate a visual story. Cinematography requires a keen eye, attention to detail, and a big imagination. 

Cinematography essentially visually communicates the mood or theme behind the scene and it can be done through lighting, colour, camera movement, framing/ shot selection, and shot size

The role of a Cinematographer 

Even referred to as a Director of Photography, play a key role in film as they manage framing, lighting, and camera movement.

Cinematographers have to work with the Director, Production Designer, Gaffer adn other key personnel. 

The Cinematographer is tasked to create a unique look to the scene the director has in mind and has to attain it. 

Duties

Spanning from Pre-production to Post-production. There is thorough planning discussed prior shooting, these discussions concern themselves with factors such as location, lighting, costumes, the camera gear and so on. Location scouting; is crucial to cinematography as it essential to storytelling, as it can enhance the narrative, evoke emotions, and immerse the audience into the world you created 

Factors such as; -Aesthetic appeal -Accessibility -Safety -Lighting conditions -Noise levels -Permits and permissions 

Cinematography: Pre-Production 

This only occurs after a project is “green-lit”. The Director and Cinematographer plan out the visual components and the energy it will exude, as it will support and visually translate the narrative to the audience.

This process will take place in storyboards and shot lists to get a basic idea of how the scenes will play out. 

This stage is necessary as Cinematographers can prepare equipment and know what needs to be done 

Storyboards; the blueprints for a film/ television show. Used to outline and map out their vision for a film using images and notes

Shot Lists; includes every shot of a film/ television show. It contains a numbered list of shots in order (but it is more complex as shots are rarely shot in sequence with the script). Used throughout production and is vital, it also contains details for the camera and lightning crew such as; -the scene and shot numbers -the location of the scene  -the subject/ characters of the scene -brief description of the shot -size and angle of the shot

Cinematography: Production

During this period, handling the visual components come into play. They collaborate with the Director on many aspects;

 -the design of the shot for the scene -best focal length and camera angle, camera setup, placement, position, and movement -lighting for contrast, depth, and colour -camera movement for necessary dramatization in scene -supervising the camera, grip, and electrical departments -advising on the initial selection of the camera equipment, choice of format (digital vs film)

Cinematographers and Directors must also be able to improvise, where they must also oversee three key departments. 

The Camera Department Cinematographer, Camera Operator, First AC, Second AC, DIT or Media Manager

The Electric Department  Gaffer, Best Boy/ Girl Electric, Set Lighting Technicians 

The Grip Department  Key Grip Best Boy Grip  Dolly Grip  Grips 

Cinematography: Post-Production 

Raw footage is transformed into finalized masterpieces; it involves; editing, colour correction, sound design, visual effects, and more. 

The cinematographer works with a processing lab to ensure that the colour and visuals align with the creative vision of the director.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 5 C’s of Cinematography

Outlined by Joseph V. Mascelli could then be argued to be fundamental concepts essential to filmmaking. 

Camera Angles

Continuity

Cutting

Close Ups

Composition

1. Camera Angles

this is essential to communicate the dynamic of the relationship between characters, along with their environment.

2. Continuity

Is done to avoid the viewer becoming distracted from factors such as the inconsistencies with the character or objects, storyline, appearances from characters or objects from one to the next frame.

How this predicament is tackled is through Continuity editing

Continuity editing: maintain consistency of both time and space in film to ensure that there is a level of reality and establishes a clear and structured narrative.

Techniques; -Eye line -Eye trace -180 degree rule -Matching action

3. Cutting

referring to variety of shots being strung together in sequence in order to communicate the story being told in the film, is done through the cutting process. as it is essential to evoke the desired effect upon a viewer.

"All shots withing a scene and the scenes themselves should be linked together so that their combined effect, rather than their individual contents, produces the desired audience reactions."

4. Close-Ups

the size of the character/object and the amount of space used in the shot can convey the meaning and emotion of the scene.

5. Composition

the visual elements arranged in the camera frame is used convey the intended message.

i) Rule of Thirds

ii) Balance and Symmetry

iii) Leading Lines

iv) Focus and Depth of Field

------------------------------------------Examples of good cinematography;

[pandor-pandorkful]

New list time:

Take serious portfolio pics of commission ✔️

Take fun pics of commission ✔️

Final rotation video and then I'm done I swear ✔️

Package and mail commission ✔️

Set up tentative Streaming schedule...

STREAM ✔️

Debut pngtuber

Stream more (3-4 times until affliate)

Acquire 50 followers on twitch (8 so far)

Get 5 people chatting at once (up to 3.5)

Get that Twitch affiliate status \o/

Finish studying for drivers permit renewal test

Call DMV to set up permit renewal gah

Succeed at permit renewal

Practice driving :B

Is this the Summer of Driver's License??? ❌️ summer basically over d'oh but maybe this fall?? Or winter???

Clean living room carpet, Part 1: The Phantom Poopies ✔️

Clean living room carpet, Part 2: Attack of the Rug Brush ✔️

Clean living room carpet, Part 3: Revenge of the Dust Buster ✔️

Assess The Mountain ✔️

Move coffee table to living room

Address The Mountain

Konmari The Mountain (with the assistance of coffee table and clean carpet allies)

Sewing table and smallest storage shelf swap places

Clear off living room craft shelf B

Move sewing/fabric notions to living room craft shelf B

Tidy living room craft shelf A

Integrate non-sewing B items into A

The Dishes, Part 3: Requiem for a Tupperware Stack

Wash the Stovetop it's gross

Rearrange pantry shelf to be more accessible ✔️

Hang up rest of kitchen wall stuff

Arrange bookcrates to be more *chefs kiss*

The Laundry.....✔️

Clear access to bedroom art supplies ✔️

Draw a thing on actual paper ✔️

Scan some things!!

Update✔️/Queue posts to Patreon

Get ko-fi more up to date with patreon

Enable ko-fi tiers

Photograph stickers ✔️

Edit sticker pics ✔️

List stickers on Fourthwall (&ko-fi maybe??)

Photograph destash stuff

List destash stuff

Tidy MidZel nook :3

Hang up rest of MidZel art!!

Scout location for Lunar collection nook...

Make doll head sealant rig

Spray dolls

Obitsu Ghaleon resurrection

This one is dangerously organized, but hopefully color coding by general area/task family takes off some of the mental load/anxiety.... XD

[melonteee]

I think you are disregarding some elements in a series budget. Let’s break it down the amount of stuff they need to think about budget wise:

Above the Line costs:

Respective rates of writers, producers, director, and main cast,

Cost of script development and rewrites

There are expenses like airfare, accommodation, transportation, food, equipment, and etc only for the main cast, writers, directors etc.

Below the line costs:

Different Crew and extra casts wages; their expenses are very different in terms of rates like accommodation, transportation, catering, travel, hotel stay

Choreographing, rehearsing, and planning stunts, make sure the actors are all right

The casting department have different wages

Concept art and location scouting costs money too

Rental location fees

There is Production design costs, set building costs, props development, prosthetics (there were a lot of fish men), live set and studio costs, costumes, catering (food and drinks etc.), etc.

Post-production costs like editing

Insurance for all sort of stuff

Location and equipment permits, vehicles, transportation, equipment rentals, and wire work

CGI work, depending largely on the amount of work (the building in arlong park is cgi and not real)

Sound design, music licensing, music budget; people really underestimate how much money is put on the music

Then there’s marketing costs

You realise how insane this all sounds when they were literally making the live action DURING the time of writers, actors AND CGI workers not getting a fair pay - ie, before the strike. I'm sorry but saying they didn't have enough 'money' in terms of being unable to bring certain properties and characters to life is just a straight up lie, especially if you're going all in on a live action from a multi MILLION dollar company such as Netflix that has no doubt made their money back tenfold.

I'm very well aware how much money goes into this stuff, but again, apparently this is THE highest paid tv show PER episode to date since Game of Thrones. And if not even THAT can bring all the elements of One Piece to life, then my point stands. If you're having extreme issues making a live action with the medium, to the point you have to exclude important characters, then perhaps (for artistic purposes) a live action should not be adapted in the first place? Especially when a cheaper made anime with a MUCH cheaper budget CAN include everything lmao.

Maybe because One Piece is made for and much better suited to its animation medium but! Perhaps that's just me.

[magiclcss]

Acadia School for the Gifted and Talented was a school located in the center of a large city somewhere in Japan, and the school Kaede went to prior to joining the Port Mafia. It taught students from the ages of 10-18, and unlike normal schools, the students were scouted by the school itself. Sending recruiters from the school to look around the various schools and observe the children in their classes until ultimately choosing which students they want attending their school.

While it seemed like a normal school on the outside, school was secretly teaching and training the next generation of assassin’s under the government’s nose. Using psychological conditioning, manipulation, and fear mongering to keep the students in line and under their thumbs until the graduated.

Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's were dedicated to normal curriculum that one would learn in any school. Tuesday's, Thursday's, and Saturday's were dedicated to learning gruesome assassin training ( including hand-to-hand combat training, acrobatics, weapons training, tactical skills, ect. ect. ), and learning how to use and control ones special ability. Sunday's were usually the day the student's were able to rest, catch up on studies, or participate in extra training. Older students were permitted to leave campus, but the had to return by curfew.

Speaking of curfew; each and every student, regardless of age, had a curfew of 10 pm. Unless there's an emergency regarding the school or a students family, no one is permitted to leave or enter the school past 10 pm.

The school itself was a very "Everyone for themselves" type of situation. While there were different types of friend groups and cliques, no one really trusted each other. Relying on each other for emotional support was not an option because you could never tell just who was willing to stab you in the back at any given moment, nor who would report you to the staff if you spoke negatively about the school.

The "Graduation Ceremony" takes place during ones senior year. After successfully passing a series of physical and mental tests, as well as written exams- the students have to take everything they've learned for the past eight years and kill someone of the higher ups choosing. They don't have a choice and if they do refuse, then they automatically fail. It's only once a student successfully makes their first kill then they get to graduate. Throughout the history of the school, only five people failed the Graduation Ceremony. The story of those five varies depending on who's telling the story, so nobody know exactly what happened to them.

Cellphones, social media to be more precise, were strictly prohibited due to the off chance that the true nature of the school would be exposed. There were televisions, yes- however, the list of tv shows and movies they were allowed to watch was extremely limited. The only access to the internet students were allowed to have were in the computer lab- but even then, they were strictly monitored by faculty and were only allowed in during certain hours during the week.

The school has been under investigation only three times, and all the times, the people investigating were bribed by the headmistress with copious amount of yen to turn the other way.

[modded-xcom2-aar]

The Tutorial: Part 2

With utmost priority, Commander began to organize Operation Necrotizing Key.

Dan's Notes: Due to a graphical glitch, two of the soldiers, both of whom normally wear modded-in clothes, appeared in clean-generation outfits. I believe there may be some mod conflicts, as some modded assets were determined to be clean-generation outfits anyways. At the time, I was not permitted to customize soldiers, but this will not be the case after the tutorial section is completed.

Excerpt from Commander Stumpe's Journal:

We were in such a rush to get the mission done that I just told the two closest rookies to slap on whatever the closest pieces of armor they could find lying around and hop in the Skyranger. They seemed a little cheesed off about it, but that's lesson 1 for you: If you wanna wear something besides the basics, you gotta make sure you've got it prepped.

Operation Necrotizing Key After Action Report:

Dan's notes: Not really sure why the game decided the "wilderness of New India" was in the "Greater Anchorage Area", but even without the mod I added that adds more locations, the game is weird about the names of mission locations, often going for a much more general area than wherever it appears on to be on the map.

Central Officer Bradford's Pre-Mission Briefing:

CENTRAL: Communications with resistance forces in the area have gone dark...which can only mean one thing. These people sacrificed everything to give us this shot. We need to recover that converter at all costs.

With the first priority of recruiting the Commander out of the way, the next major mission for reviving XCOM needed to be accomplished: Acquiring an ADVENT power converter needed for base operations.

Prior to undertaking Operation Gatecrasher, regional resistance cells were contacted to find the power converter. Serendipitously, they managed to block the ADVENT convoy meant to deliver the converter to the next location.

Operating in this mission were Squaddie Ranger Jane Kelly, and Rookies Cain Juntley, The Wanderer, and Christopher "Troopz" Taylor.

Dan's Notes: It was at this point going through my footage that I realized that the Steam overlay was on. Whoops! Disabled it between the first and second session.

Enemy forces included ADVENT troops, Officers, and a Sectoid.

Mission Control's notes on the enemy forces:

CENTRAL: The ADVENT Officers seem more capable than the grunts. We're not sure whether to chalk it up to training or stricter mind control. TYGAN: Although they bear some resemblance to the Sectoids first encountered during the invasion, their genetic structure now includes human DNA. They're stronger than ever with an even greater psionic potential. COMMANDER: Oh jeez, those sectoids are real scary now, eh? I miss the old ones, they were a lot cuter and way less of a threat.

The combat began with The Wanderer ambushing a Troop and an Officer by throwing a grenade at the pod while they were scouting the area on a rooftop.

Commander Stumpe's Notes:

Good old grenades. Guaranteed damage and great for destroying cover. Oldest trick in the book is to land an explosive grenade at a rooftop. If the explosion doesn't kill 'em, the fall will.

Unfortunately, just before Kelly could stabilize the Converter, The Wanderer was mind-controlled by the sectoid. While the sectoid hijacked The Wanderer's mind, The Wanderer was dragged over to Cain Juntley and fired on him, killing him in a single burst of fire.

Mercifully, once Kelly had stabilized the converter, she was able to kill the sectoid using her sword.

Commander Stumpe's notes:

Those fellas looked so darn frail. I'd say get 'em a sandwich but they probably eat people. I figure a good whack will hurt them way more than a gunshot.

Dan's notes: Sectoids have a weakness to melee attacks and can easily be oneshotted by any melee class.

With the converter stabilized and ripe for the taking, the mission was considered a success.

For surviving the mission, Troopz and The Wanderer were both promoted to Squaddie. Troopz decided to specialize as a Sharpshooter, while The Wanderer took the path of the Stormrider.

Bradford's Notes:

Just like it sounds, our sharpshooters engage enemy targets with pinpoint accuracy from extreme range. They're also trained in pistol marksmanship for the occassional close encounter.

Raze's(???) Notes:

We are the ultimate weapon, and we will not rest until every last alien is dead. The Storm is coming, Commander. Let's ride it together.

Dan's Notes: I don't utilize sharpshooters as much as I do other classes, however I find training a sharpshooter in pistol skills to be extremely fun and versatile. Sniping-focused sharpshooters are also handy, but when the game is designed to be focused on pushing forward, it's something I put less focus on.

As for Stormriders, I have only gotten to try them out while doing a test run I did during signup week, but they're pretty interestingly designed as a non-templar melee-only class. No idea who Raze is.

In addition to our key objective, XCOM managed to recover an expanded magazine. And as according to original XCOM procedures, bodies were collected and placed into cold storage.

Tygan: These items should prove useful in our ongoing efforts against the aliens. When you have a moment, Commander, I've made some interestesting discoveries as they relate to the implant we removed from you earlier.

Dan's Notes: Forgot to check the loot descriptions for the other pick-ups during the recording. Will see if I can find them later.

Tutorial Geoscape: Part 2

Personnel Logs:

The Wanderer and Kelly sat in the bar. While it was a nice place to relax, it also served as a memorial for all those lost in the fight against ADVENT. Osei, Rodriguez, and Juntley's portraits had been taken and placed on it. This wasn't the only memorial. There was another, much larger one that was dedicated to any original XCOM members that had been lost during the original invasion, which was kept off of The Avenger and in the resistance haven the Avenger was currently docked in, and many resistance havens kept their own personal memorials. Death was a constant risk for those who chose to deny the Elders. The Wanderer had gotten their usual headgear back on: A gasmask and a hat that was good for keeping the sun out of their eyes. They had a special tape deck they liked to use instead of speaking. Not because it was practical or tactical, they just found it aesthetically pleasing. If they needed to explain things more thoroughly, they had other means. Signing. Tablets. A whiteboard if absolutely necessary. Tactical signing was more handy when prepping an ambush anyways. Kelly had her head in her hands. Three operatives were dead in one night. It's not that she wasn't used to death, but on some level she was frustrated with herself. Scouting further away from the convoy, there was no way could've gotten to the Sectoid before The Wanderer started firing on Juntley. She downed another shot. The Wanderer tapped on her shoulder. They began signing to her. She was drunk, but she was familiar enough with signing that she could get the gist. Mind control was like a bad dream, they signed. You could see what you were doing and feel what you were doing, but you couldn't control it. With a dream, you could wake up and remind yourself there's no way any of that could've happened. When you were freed of mind control, you just had to live with whatever the controller decided on. "You know," she said aloud, for she was too sluggish to try signing herself, "I checked the reports and the footage and the stuff. If I, If I had tried shooting him, I don't think it would've worked. Would've missed, or it would've hit and that asshole would keep moving Juntley around. It's not your fault, it's not my fault, it's just," She readjusted her position so she could lean her back against the counter. "It's just like, circrumstatial bullshit. And that fuckin' sectoid The Wanderer nodded. They pulled out the tape record and pressed a button. "[Thank you for your time.]" Said the recorder. They offered her their hand. And then they started arm wrestling, because Kelly was drunk and didn't realize it was supposed to be a handshake.

Jane Kelly and The Wanderer developed the start of a friendship together.

Commander Stumpe was summoned to Engineering to speak with Chief Engineer Lily Shen.

Excerpt from Commander Stumpe's Personal Journal:

Shen's gone? Darn shame...well, I knew it wasn't particularly likely he'd survive 20 years of an alien empire. But his daughter looks like she's got a good head on her shoulders. Love those little robots she's got flying all over the place.

SHEN: I can't promise any miracles, Commander, but I should be able to put some of this stuff together in no time at all. I'd suggest we get started with a medikit, it'll probably come in handy sooner rather than later.

Dan's notes: Medikits are a massive boon in the battlefield. I highly suggest keeping at least two on hand, one for the combat unit and one for the reconnaissance unit. At this point in the game they're very limited, but that won't be the case once we get Specialists in our roster.

Commander Stumpe was quickly thereafter summoned to Research, where Tygan had made completed his research on the implant chip.

From Commander Stumpe's personal journal:

He's right. I can't really explain it, but it was like I was in some kinda endless war commanding endless missions. Every so often it felt like victory had been achieved only to find myself back at the beginning. Kinda like when there's only reruns on TV. I wonder if TV's still around? That's beside the point, I guess. When it was happening I couldn't really tell I was in a loop. It just sorta happened, ya know? Wonder how much of it was real. I remember we had mech troops and gene splicing and every so often you could get a psi soldier. Not to mention all those battles with EXALT. I wonder if they were just simulations or if I was really commanding alien soldiers with an XCOM paint job. Pretty scary stuff.

With the research efforts completed, the Commander went about ordering the next research project, Modular Weapons.

Commander Stumpe's notes:

The most important thing to prioritize are the guns. It's not good when a soldier gets shot to pieces, but the best defense is a good offense. If the enemy goes down before they get a shot in, that's a soldier that never got shot to begin with.

Shortly thereafter, the commander returned to the bridge, where more developments occurred.

Excerpt from Commader Stumpe's personal journal:

Ya know, one of the things people say when they're flying is "I can see my house from here!" Course, we didn't fly over Manitoba, and even if we did my house is probably a crater nowadays. But it was pretty exciting! We'll be flying all over the place now, so I'll have to get used to that. And the cramped quarters. Reminds me of the old days with the UN.

END OF PART 2

Dan's notes: Unfortunately, I accidentally set off another mod-based glitch during mission select that softlocked the game, so the first recording session ended here. Expect more updates soon!

[productionbynomad]

Corporate Film Production Services Company in Dubai

Film production services Dubai, stunning coasts and jagged mountains to historical souks, unmatched anywhere else in the world. Our experienced location scouting team knows the Dubai intimately, and are ready to help you find the best location for your shoot, whether it is a hidden gem, or an iconic regional landmark.

Choosing the first media production company you come across to manage your project could be a regret you don't want to be burdened with. Just because you might feel they can do the job to your specifications doesn't mean there isn't a better deal out there. You could be shooting yourself in the foot going with the first company you come across so please don't make this mistake.Compare one company against another and be sure to way each of their strengths against their weaknesses. You might have to compromise professionalism for cost depending on your film budget. Also find out how long they have been in the industry for. I'm not saying a new company can't out perform an established one and vice versa but generally an established company has been around for a while for a reason, they have happy clients

Quality film production uae companies will have a stream of satisfied customers. Don't be afraid to ask potential companies for testimonials of their previous clients and samples of their work. They should gladly agree and this will give you a rough idea of the quality of their work and client relations. If you know anyone who has dealt with film production companies before, be sure to ask them on their experiences and what to look out for.

You have to have a budget in mind before you approach a company. If you don't have a clue as to what your budget should be ask all the potential companies to quote you and compare them against each other. If you have a figure in mind don't get too attached to it as what you think will be an easy job might actually be quite hard to achieve from a professional perspective so you might have to increase your budget or make a production sacrifice, the choice is yours.

Original Source: film production services dubai

[my-timing-is-digital]

first study the enemy, then seek weakness. — Tasha

Instructive, if not a trifle redundant; his programming was equipped with a feature that automatically permitted him to conduct thorough analyses and seek out the vulnerabilities in his enemies and utilise these flaws to his advantage. It was a part of his programming he did not, and would never, take pride in; terminating the life of another individual, be they organic or synthetic, was unethical. Therefore, he had always endeavoured to resort to different, less permanent avenues to neutralise his foes; the Vulcan nerve pinch was exemplary in this regard. He had perfected the prowess on the holodeck, but though it worked immaculately in a simulated and semi-governed environment, in reality, this technique required him to be within the adversary’s immediate proximity before he could accomplishing the desired effects, which consequently entailed jeopardising his own life...

Obediently, he retrieved the binoculars to his eyes, although he did not require the synthetic enhancement ⸺ he could discern their opponents from afar without this visual aid. The blazing sun scorched the back of his head as he lay on his stomach in the sand, obscured by strategically positioned rocks on a barren mountain that provided an adequate view of the wasteland, the red team and their asset.

‘Ensign Vozenilek is remiss in her duty to guard the south-east flank of the flag, Commander Riker still appears to be assigning tasks and contriving an assault team. Lieutenant Worf and Lieutenant D’Sora are absent, therefore it is plausible to postulate that they are already en route to establish the location of our flag,’ Data inferred as he scanned the sun-drenched location the computer had randomised for the red team. ‘It is difficult to extrapolate where the precise vulnerability of their team will manifest itself. Perhaps it is part of Commander Riker’s strategy; he must have made the prognosis that you would deploy me as a scout. If that is the case, this could be his stratagem to misguide me as I attempt to assess their tactics, situation and approach.’

The android lowered the binoculars and observed their opponent for several hydraulic circulations before his yellow eyes settled on Tasha, awaiting her acknowledgement. They could not remain here until Commander Riker effectuated his plans. They were not supplied with means of long-range communication; if they wished to apprise the rest of the blue team of their progress and their findings, they would have to do so in person...

[graftisms]

CALLIE & FRANKIE — DAY TWENTY-SEVEN

location :   late afternoon / pool

featuring :   @absolutesort

FRANKIE

when she'd told callie she'd be there in a sec she'd severely underestimated the amount of time it took to make a frozen cocktail. on the most part, cocktails aren't really frankie's thing — they're too sugary and take fucking twelve years to make, and she can take three shots in half the time and get just as wasted if that's the end goal — but frozen cocktails are callie's favourite  (she'd even scouted out dylan to double check), so she's making the effort. at least callie's managed to get her laps in while frankie faffs about with the blender. when she finally makes her way over, almost fifteen painstaking minutes later, it's with a spring in her step and a poco grande glass in each hand. "in this bar in naples they have an alcoholic slushie machine that does this thing called a miami vice?" frankie explains, as if a miami vice is something exclusive to florida dive bars. she sets them down on the pool side, an umbrella and a slice of pineapple perched precariously on rim of each. "it's like... half frozen pina colada, half frozen strawberry daquiri, total deliciousness." her eyes shoot towards callie with a wink. "anyway, i tried to make us some but we don't have the slushie machine, so i can't make it swirl layer by layer like a cyclone popsicle? i just had to mix it in a blender, and by the time i got round to the daquiri the pina colada had started to melt back into normal liquid blah, blah, blah, so the swirls are totally off, but here." frankie squats down, taking a sip of her drink and then makes her way towards the deep end of the pool, where diving is just about permitted. toes on the edge, she stretches her body out, circles her arms and springs forward in a graceful arch, swan-diving into the pool.

CALLIE

she's floating in a T-shape on her back when frankie comes over with the drinks finally. ears in the water, callie can't hear her, but she sits up just in time, as if she just knew. she has absolutely no idea what that drink she hands her is supposed to be, but callie takes it with a smile anyway, leaning against the edge of the pool. she can't tell if she should be disgusted or intrigued at her resourcefulness, but what she mostly feels (shockingly) is charmed. "i'm sure it's great," she tells her, taking a sip for good measure. there's a little too many flavors in it to focus on how it tastes, but it's definitely not bad. really, she mostly tastes rum, which is never a bad thing. back against the wall of the pool, she sips on her drink while she watches frankie give a perfect dive into the pool, eyebrows raising for a beat. she's all skin and muscle, and maybe right now she's thinking about her conversation with naomi about not yet seeing her naked... shaking her head, she smiles once frankie comes up for water. "this is good," she jingles the cup in her hand, "i owe you one." callie looks like she's about to say something else for a moment, the reminder of their closed conversation from earlier in her head about kissing other people—but with zero idea how to bring it up, she chickens out. "next time i'll teach you how to make a mudslide. a lot easier, i promise," she says instead.

FRANKIE

when she surfaces, it's with a spray of water, throwing her head back with a whip of her hair like a jet2holidays commercial. her eyes lock on callie across the pool and she closes the distance between them with a few short strides of her front crawl. "hey," she says, when she finally reaches her, leaving a degree of space between them in a futile attempt at not touching her. "you don't owe me anything after this morning." warmth glints from her smile. she pushes onto the edge to take a hearty glug from her cocktail, then settles back into the water. "sure thing, you can be my senpai." she pauses. "or is it like, cuturally insensitive to say that now? you can be my jedi, and i'll be your padawan." she's never actually seen star wars the whole way through, but with four brothers you pick things up. her eyes scan around the villa, checking to see that the other islanders are occupied in their various grafting, moping, and exercising activities, before she inches closer, catching callie's eyes with a conspiratorial look.  "so... i just saw something weird."

CALLIE

"you look like a shampoo commercial," she laughs, flicking some water over at her with her two fingers. callie makes sure to shield her drink as frankie nears, in case she gets any big ideas on splashing. she waited long enough for this cocktail to not be ruined by pool water. "i think we're one for one after this morning." catching the girl's eye makes callie grin. it's hard to be coy about it when it's just the two of them, and it's not replaying in her head over and over. "y'know, i've never actually seen star wars," she admits, leaning her back against the wall of the pool, propping her arms up onto it. "you're not one of those star wars nerds that's going to dump me for that, are you?" frankie definitely seems nerdy enough to be into it. the mention of this morning feels like an opening to bring it up, but instead the blonde inches closer, with a change of subject interesting enough to make callie's eyebrows raise. "weird, like two geckos humping each other again, or something else?" she's not going to pretend like frankie doesn't have a unique definition of the term weird.

FRANKIE

"yeah? well you look like a fuckin' sports illustrated cover shoot, so..." frankie pauses, warmth flowing into her smile as she looks at callie, sees the brightness pouring out from her like an aura.  "you're glowing," she notes, to explain the way her eyes are lingering, mushy and soft when she stares at her. "someone must've scored last night." whether callie means it to be or not, the way she leans against the side is unbelievably hot. it's like she's draping herself out, purely for frankie's eyes to follow over her skin, dribbling with the pool water. "hey! okay, woah. firstly, i've not even seen star wars, i just have brothers. secondly, a nerd? me? how dare you. i was fuckin' cool, at school, okay? i threw ragers all the time. everybody wanted an invite to a frankie castro party." though a frankie castro party would mostly involve breaking into some abandonned warehouse just off the interstate with a can of UV spray paint and a bunch of speakers in the back of her brother's van, somebody usually cutting themself on a rusty nail and tragically getting tetanus. she breaks the no-touch record she'd been keeping in her head, leaning in to bop the tip of callie's nose with her finger. "nah, i'm not gonna dump you." she presses up onto the side again, hips flush to the wall when she takes a glug of her cocktail, shaking her ass as it briefly rises above the water, and then sinking back down to callie's side. "yeah, if the geckos were like, two islanders who should one hundred percent not be humping." eyes narrowed, she turns to look at callie. "can you keep a secret? i mean, like, tell no one not even dylan or naomi, especially not naomi type secret?"

CALLIE

she's never really been the type to blush like a schoolgirl, not even the type that cares much about compliments. but frankie tells her she's glowing and how can callie not flush a little? she can feel it radiating off of her, though she'd say it's less about her own aura and more about the energy between them too, so strong it's actually tangible. "and this morning," she gives her a look, smile smug, before she takes another sip of her drink. the hand not holding the drink raises in place, as if there's a gun held to her. "okay, okay! so defensive about nerd movies, wow. this coming from the girl with cartoons on her knickers." nose wrinkling at the boop, callie doesn't hold back when frankie's ass rises above the water, giving it a playful smack. "good," she says, flashing her a grin. "star wars movie night when we get out of here?" never in her twenty-four years of life has she had any interest in watching those space movies, but she'll turn crumbs into potential plans between them on the outside, a subtle reminder that frankie is where her head's at—without being too suffocating about it, she hopes. "oh?" callie is already leaning in, too tempted at the gossip. having to promise to keep something from her brother makes her hesitate for a second, especially when naomi's name is mentioned, hard not to think of the worst case scenario. but she nods anyway, brown eyes intense. "what happened?"

FRANKIE

heat rises in the apples of callie's cheeks, round and bright like a red delicious plucked from the top of a tree, back when she'd climb her way up the orchard in search of leo's favourite fruit, keep it safe in the front pocket of her dungarees, and shine it against the denim all the way home. how can she help but care for her ? her body slides closer in the pool, taking her face in her hands, gaze soft when it darts between callie's eyes, attempting to pick a favourite.  "you're totally blushing," she whispers, narrowing her eyes, a slow shake of her head. "i see you." they dip between meaningful exchanges of future plans, wayward ideas of how each of them might slot into the others world, and casual sexuality like it's a sport they've both trained in, the playful jabs, the slap against her ass, the spirited desperation with which she'd asked if she'd save her lips just for callie. she wouldn't have it any other way, except for the fact that maybe she'd have it slower, give her feelings time to catch up with the surging want in her body, figure out if it's the honeymoon phase that's got her feeling this way, or just callie. her ass is still stinging from the slap when she leans in to meet her mouth, tender despite her less than pious thoughts. "i would love a star wars movie night with you." but considering their track record, they probably wouldn't make it past the opening credits without getting distracted by each others skin. "i thought you liked my cartoon panties." frankie huffs, arm coiling around callie's shoulders, knees finally knocking beneath the water. the touch barrier's been broken and now her affection flows freely, a hole cut into the hoover dam. "guess you won't be taking them off tonight then..."

hands slide up from her cheeks to tuck callie's hair behind her ears, finger twisting itself into a curl. she knows that if she tells her, the knowledge is no longer hers alone. she's got no guarantee callie won't tell someone, that this highly flammable piece of information won't make it away around the villa, affecting not only jenny, but the reputation of max in his absence. "um... don't tell anyone, but i walked in on jenny and max. not just humping, either, like, fully going at it." her eyes are wide, teeth sinking into her lips, something inherently awkward about disclosing it. "it was in the showers. like, maybe an hour ago. but i'm only telling you because i trust you. i'm not planning on spreading it."

CALLIE

her eyes roll at frankie pointing it out, as if she can't feel the heat in her own cheeks. some people might think it's cute, but callie thinks it's her being ridiculous. what is she, some blushing bride? if only her body shared the same sentiment. "i'm aware," she drawls, smiling up at frankie anyway, already leaning in when the blonde kisses her. as if she hadn't been waiting for that kiss since they both got in the pool, but callie's nothing if not patient. that's what she tells herself, at least. clumsily callie puts down her drink on the wall behind her so she can rest her hand on the side of frankie's neck, her hand cold from the condensation on the glass. she's lost track of how many plans they've made together during the past few days, events that will probably never come to fruition. is she had brought a journal to the villa like her friend had told her to do, she would be keeping a careful list of everything, not wanting to miss out. instead only memory serves as their proof, and as the days stretch on callie finds it hard to remember what she even ate for lunch. "you know i like them very much," she grins, leaning up to press a single kiss to her jawline. "sounds like more of a punishment for you then for me, but okay." as if they're really not coming off tonight.

callie doesn't know what she's expecting from the gossip, but it isn't that. her hand pulls away from frankie to cover her mouth, barely holding back her surprise. "no shit." god... god. the full realization that frankie had walked in on them in the shower makes her pull her hand away, so she can see her grimace. "oh, gross. i'm never going to feel clean in that thing again." and to think, that had once been a place where her and frankie sought refuge for alone time. at least their clothes were on at the time. "i don't tell anyone, i promise." jenny and max are two people that she has virtually no relationship with, and frankly, it's none of her business. "did they see you?"

FRANKIE

"yeah? you're aware?" frankie teases, dipping back to catch callie's bottom lip with her mouth, her kiss sliding to the edge of her mouth, then her cheek. "are you aware that you also do it when you're close?"  she's still giddy with the post-high glow. beneath the water, her thumb trails over callie's abdomen, one last kiss planted against her lips before she pulls back slightly, hands returning to the safety of callie's shoulders with grand notions of being good. her eyes flutter shut like a cat's slow-blink at the press of a kiss against her jaw. "sure, but it's a punishment for both of us. you should have seen your face when you were touching me..." she sighs, dreamily, her lips pulling up into a stupid smile. "you love to get me off. you looked so happy." says frankie, who looks giddy as a nun on easter sunday. 

callie's expression tickles something in her, so much so that she snorts, covering her own mouth, though it's hardly funny. the 'gossip' they're dealing with is potentially devastating. it's explosive enough that in the wrong hands, it could completely unravel a couple who, prior to jenny's slip up, were as deserving of the win as any of them. "yeah, they've totally tainted it. we can literally never go for round two there. gutted." her finger slides beneath callie's chin and lifts it up, admiring the way the sunlight catches on her jaw. "jenny screamed 'fuck' at me and i think max, in classic max fashion, invited me to join them. i can't really remember though, i basically blocked it out as soon as i left." one hand leaves callie's shoulders, reaching to grab her cocktail from the pool side. she takes a large gulp and sucks an ice cube into her mouth, hoping it'll help her make a rational decision on what to do with this information. "jenny seems pretty scared." her voice is garbled. "i won't be surpised if she pulls me today. do you think i should tell josh? not now, obviously." not with everything that had gone on last night. "but like, later..." 

CALLIE

"crikey," callie laughs, ducking her head a little to hide a deeper blush. now it's just the fact that frankie's attention is on her so closely, coupled with having to hear her talk about what she looks like before she gets off. when frankie touches her under the water, she half fears that things are going to get slutty again, and there is a little bit of a warning bell in her head about it. not because she doesn't want to keep touching her, but because callie doesn't think it's in either of their best interest to be too handsy until they set some clearer relationship boundaries. granted, she's making no effort to pull away from frankie's arms around hers, her own hands still on the blonde. this comment about getting frankie off makes her smile despite itself, but she looks to the sky as she does it, not wanting to give the other girl the satisfaction of being proven right. her mouth opens to mention the weird kissing moment they shared... but the jenny and max scandal take over the conversation, justifiably. "yeah, we absolutely can't. shit," she makes another face, not sure if she should be disappointed in the waste of a future opportunity, or disgusted by the picture frankie is painting. mostly she just feels bad for them—even though she probably shouldn't, considering jenny is very clearly with someone else. still, getting caught doing that is just embarrassing, especially when they weren't supposed to be. "well yeah, i don't blame her," she says, cringing a little. "it doesn't make her look very good, now does it?" the thought of telling josh is so far from callie's head; frankie bringing it up makes her blink in surprise. are they friends? "later like when?" she asks. "i mean, what is jenny and josh's situation, anyway? they've only been together a few days, right? maybe they're not exclusive." but callie is doubting it as soon as the words leave her lips. "i don't know, do you want to get in the middle of their drama?"

FRANKIE

for a moment, frankie considers the unshakable truth that if anybody else she was dating had said 'crikey', she'd develop the ick, swiftly run eight miles, and potentially explode on the spot. but since it's callie, it's somehow permissable— maybe even adorable — forehead bumping against hers as she draws herself back from their embrace. her hand slides from her shoulder down to callie's wrist, threading their fingers so that the only part of them that remains touching is their hands, interlocked like loom bands on a friendship bracelet. "jenny's like... a textbook people pleaser, approval seeker. she wants everyone to like her and she can't stand it if you don't. for all we know, fucking max could have just been part of that." although frankie's met some militant people-pleasers in her life, and she's not sure any of them would ever go as far as to fuck someone to win their favour. jenny's a rare breed. "they've been together the same amount of time as us, maybe longer, and i'd want to know if you fucked someone else. i don't know, just... later in like a few days when he's not just been beaten up by a boxer."  she considers callie's questions, a voice of reason when the runaway train of her mind seems to unhinge itself from the tracks, the slow hand of a child's hand guiding a model engine back on it's course. "maybe i won't. i don't know if it'd do any good. and i definitely don't want to be involved in their drama." gossiping about it is one thing, but actually placing herself into the narrative? ugly, messy, not her vibe. she'll watch from the bleachers with her popcorn, thanks. "i'll just see what jenny says."  that's all she can do. as if to close the book on that conversation, she dips closer, pressing her lips to callie's in a chaste peck. "thanks for being my voice of reason, babe." at that, she ducks away to swim a lap of the pool.

CALLIE

"so you think she slept with max... why, to make him like her?" callie gives frankie a look, finding it hard to follow that logic. she doesn't know jenny very well, nor would she make any assumptions about her when everything she says is currently being filmed, but callie is willing to guess that jenny just wanted to fuck max, consequences be damned. knowing how hard she grafted josh before him and naomi broke up, it seems more likely she got bored in a happy couple. or maybe josh is just bad in bed. eyes soften a little when frankie points out how long they've been together, and it does make her second-guess frankie not saying anything. "i guess say something to him if you genuinely think he should know, not just because you want to throw jenny under the bus," she adds, knowing frankie and jenny clearly aren't besties. that much was obvious on the mechanical bull last night. hearing jenny out sounds like a reasonable request, nodding. callie grabs her drink as frankie does a lap, waiting for her to come back over before she finally dares herself to speak up. "hey," she calls, "uh, we should probably talk about this morning." she doubts she needs to elaborate, but she does anyway, words tumbling out of her quickly. "i, um, don't think things we say during sex are much of a binding agreement, but... i just wanted to make it clear that i'm really not interested in sleeping around. like, i don't plan on doing it with anyone else." a pause, and she tugs on her bottom lip gently. "and about the kissing thing... i don't want you to think i'm trying to lock us down and be exclusive, because i know it's a little early. i think my only thing is i don't want to find out you're interested in someone else after the fact, y'know? like if you wanna crack on with someone else then fine, just give me a warning. i don't want to have to turn a corner and see you making out with some rando, and i'm sure you feel the same."

FRANKIE

swimming settles her — in another life, she's sure she was a mermaid, or a sting-ray, or a shark. as a kid, frankie'd found a vhs of help! i'm a fish in a goodwill and watched it obsessively until her dad had to stick it in a donation bin just to get some peace. she's about to do another lap when she lifts her head above the water long enough to clock callie's expression. her hey feels loaded, and a ripple of fear rolls through her, the sudden realisation that she can't evade this conversation any more. she can't just bob along, horse-blinders on, ignoring any responsibility in favour of just having a good time. maybe that's always been frankie's issue — she'll take the instability and the potential for fun over a safety net, a life on the road rather than trawling through lettings ads, a job that has her travelling every day rather than picking a place and sticking with it. her whole life is one big failure to commit. as callie talks, there's an urge in her to reach out and touch her, but this isn't the time. swallowing, she hangs onto her words, tries to shrink the anxious feeling that's nestling itself in her belly. 

frankie wants to swallow her own head back into her body like a turtle's neck, wants to dunk her head beneath the water so that the words are faraway and disconnected, a conversation happening to somebody else. she wishes they could be back in that sunny, carefree space where everything was sexy and fun and without consequence, that they could talk about japan, and euro-railing, and elvis the dog, and not draw up an agreement of terms that makes this relationship feel less like the meeting of two souls vibing and more like a binding contract. on the outside, this is the part where she runs. but frankie can't do that in here, and moreover she doesn't want to run from callie, because as much as she's scared, she’s also really fucking excited, gets a pulse in her stomach and a spring in her step whenever callie’s even near her.

being asked so directly where her head’s at is an uncomfortable feeling, but she decides to lean into it rather than shirk responsibility. "hey… listen. i want you,” she starts, grappling for the words, one hand sliding up her arm to rest against callie’s neck. “i've been like, tunnel vision on you since the day i came in, anyone can see that. i'm like, stupidly into you. but…” she falters, thumb padding against callie’s lower lip, her stomach tying in nervous knots as she tries to catch her breath. “i just don't know if i’m ready to go all-in after two days. like how well do we really know each other? how can you be sure that i'm your person when you've not even known me a week?"

already she can feel callie’s face fall, but if there's one thing frankie's reiterated since she came in, it's that she's honest, even when that brutally honest mouth can land her up shit’s creek without a paddle. “it’s not that i want to sleep around and kiss other people, because i don’t.” most of the time, when she thinks about kissing marcus, or naomi, or literally anyone, it’s not about the kissing itself — because kissing callie would trump them all — it’s about having the option. she chases that feeling of opportunity, gets high off the idea of choice. she'd make an absolutely killer suffragette, that's for sure. “i like you, and i want to continue getting to know you, but closing us off when we’ve known each other less than a week feels like we’re rushing. it’s just a lot of pressure. and i’ve done that before, like, i’ve been in situations where i’ve gotten super invested straight away and rushed into something without really thinking it through, and it just ends up messy and someone gets hurt, and i don’t want to do that here, i want to take our time and not feel like it's an impulse decision.” she can feel her words all starting to jumble together in an effort to get everything she’s feeling out in the open, so that there’s no room for doubt, or dishonesty. she just wants to lay everything on the table and for callie to see the cluttered traffic of her thoughts and still say she’ll give her a shot, restless and unpredictable and unpindownable as she is. “i know you’re saying you're not trying to make us exclusive, but that’s what it feels like to me.” her eyes are wide, a doe in the headlights, stress lining every crease of her features as her hands fiddle anxiously with callie’s fingers. “so i’d just rather be straight up with you and tell you that i'm not ready, and i need more time before i can make a massive decision like that.”

CALLIE

there's something about the way frankie slinks back over to her, like how elvis looks at her after not coming over to her until the fifth time he's called, that sets the tone of the conversation for callie. she can feel her stomach drop as she already prepares for the worst, but honestly, it's good they're doing this now. it doesn't take an idiot to see that callie is smitten, but she thinks some people here are mistaking her for a quick-to-fall love-blinded idiot. it kind of feel like frankie thinks of her that way, from the way this conversation goes. she's grateful for the drink in her hand, still casually draped over the wall of the pool as she sips and listens to what frankie has to say. the i want you doesn't feel as nice as it normally does, knowing there's a giant but that's going to come along with it. it's not one she hasn't heard already, from frankie and from other people. callie's face doesn't fall at the news, because it's nothing she didn't expect. instead her lips purse, holding back her comments until frankie's done talking.

the annoying thing is that in the real world, callie would agree with her. less than a week is too long to rush into something. but it's like frankie has forgotten where they are right now, or the show they're on. isn't that the whole point of love island: to find one person you like enough to want to stick with, and maybe get something good out of it? it's either the connection is good enough to keep going with, or it's not. sure, she had been open getting to know both liam and kenny at the same time, but that had been brief, and her feelings for either of them paled in comparison to whatever this is. maybe dylan had been right when he said to bring this up a few days ago, waiting until it feels too late to have this conversation. she wishes she could springboard her thoughts onto him right now, but instead frankie is unlucky enough to get them unfiltered.

"i'm not trying to make us exclusive," is the first thing she says, and she can't help a bit of annoyance seeping into her tone, because it's what's frustrating her the most. "i don't think asking for a heads up before you decide to crack on with somebody else is asking for a lot." her shoulder nudges frankie out of the way as she takes a few steps to put space between them, because the juxtaposition of them touching during this conversation is only annoying her more. "i don't really get where you're going with this," she admits, looking up to meet her eye. "is there someone right now you're interested in getting to know? i won't be mad if there is, but i think it's fair of me to ask. or are you waiting for the possibility of someone else coming in?" she can hear her words crackling with defensiveness, and callie's annoyed at herself for caring. but what else is she supposed to do? "i still want to get to know you regardless, but if you want to be more open... i'm going to need to pump the breaks a little." which is maybe what frankie wants to hear, but callie is referring more to the constant touching, and their terrace activities. "i like you, but i'm not looking to get blindsided in all of this. i can't be making these big plans with you when my fingers are inside you, and not know if tomorrow i'm going to see your tongue in someone else's mouth. i'm sorry if that's not what you want to hear."

FRANKIE

as soon as callie purses her lips, she knows she's about to get it, and no amount of telling her how hot she is when she's possessive will dampen the fact that she's pissed. oh fuck. maybe she should've just told her what she wanted to hear, but she already knows that callie doesn't like being pandered to, that she'd prefer to hear things straight up, and she loves that about her, that she won’t take shit from anyone. frankie's trying to be authentic, and she can't do that if she's lying, but it hurts to look at her face knowing she's said the wrong thing, even when she’s trying to avoid her getting heard. her heart's in her throat before she's even started speaking, breath quickening, eyes wide as the saucers she'd leave out for stray cats around the trailer park, and the nudge against her shoulder to rid her of frankie's affection stings more than a slap to the face ever could. if she squeezes her eyes shut, she could probably still feel the phantom smack of callie's hand against her ass, only moments before, when things were still fun and unserious.  “it's not asking for a lot!” she agrees, biting on her lip, fingers balling from the urge to reach out and touch her. “and i will give you a heads up if there's someone else i wanna crack on with, obviously i will, but right now there isn't!” not in any substantial way, her only notions of 'cracking on' coming when the alcohol's flowing and her tongue's loose in a split-second of impulse before her thoughts return to the angelic figure in her bed. “i just... i don't want to be like, yeah, i promise not to kiss anyone else, when it’s still such early days.” and asking her not to kiss anyone else is asking to be exclusive. everyone keeps talking about fucking tests, but frankie hated school. she could count on one hand the number of test she’d passed, and this conversation feels like another one she’s bungled her way through and failed without even knowing it was a test in the first place.

there's something else that's flashing through her mind. callie had kissed frankie when she was happily coupled up with kenny, and since they've coupled up, she's been asking herself if that's a decision she regrets. given the option, would she do the same again? would she do it to frankie? it's not a fair thought to have, not when callie was the one to suggest they firm things up, agree to put one hundred percent into this, and no one else. “you’ve been in four relationships in here,” she says, when she’s certain her voice won’t shake, one hand on the side of the pool, inches from her frozen pina colada. “and this is my first go at being with someone in a really long time. so i’m sorry that i’m not a hundred percent yet, and that i want to take things slow.” she’s spinning out, afraid that this fragile, gorgeous, intoxicating thing that exists between them is slipping through her grip, and she can feel her eyes start to prick, the hand on the poolside clenching as she inhales, in for four, out for four, and starts to list things she can see, (painted turtles on the bottom of the pool tiles, the wrinkle that lines callie’s brow) smell, (the sickly sweet contents of two defrosting miami vice) and taste (guilt that wells up in the back of her throat and threatens to choke her). “the reason i’m saying this is because i don’t want to blindside you. i don’t want to promise you things when i’m not sure if i’m ready, but that’s not because i don’t like you enough to commit. callie, i…” her voice cracks then, and for a moment she has to tear her gaze away, afraid that it’ll betray how much she wants this, how deep the fear of fucking it up spans.

“i meant it when i say i really like you." her voice is strained with emotion, breathing almost as heavily as she was this morning, the two of them lying in bed. "more than i’ve liked anyone, in like… ages. it's actually gross and embarrassing how much i like you. and i can see a future for us, and i want that future, but that future’s like, ten steps away from where we are right now, and you have to give me time to catch up.” she wants to touch her, to pull her into her arms and kiss her and tell her that they’ll be okay, but touch is part of the problem. when she starts touching her, she can’t stop. “i really don’t want to lose you. and i want you to feel like this is an emotional relationship, not just a physical one. so we can take a break on the touching and stuff if you need that. we can take as much time as you need.” there's no way frankie wants it, but she'll do it if callie needs it. tentatively, she reaches out a hand to trail her finger over callie’s knuckles.  is there a way she can backtrack, and say that she's thought about it more, and now she's ready? that she'll marry her in vegas this second if she wants. that she'll sign a no-kiss pact, do the u-haul, whatever she wants if it means she gets to keep her. “please, just... can we still be us?”  part of her feels like she's already lost her.

CALLIE

for callie, the worst part about this conversation is how ridiculous it is. how it's not ending. by the end of frankie's second sentence — i will give you a heads up if there's someone else i wanna crack on with, obviously i will, but right now there isn't! — the conversation could be closed. really, it's the only thing that callie is looking for, to know whether she's interested in anyone right now, and to let her know if that'll change. but it's the rest that makes it hard, the way that frankie keeps driving home that she can't promise not to kiss anyone else. it's not like callie is some chaste, fair-hearted girl who falls in love at the first kiss. she had kissed naomi last night and it had been hot. honestly, watching frankie kiss naomi and marcus had been hot too. clearly frankie must have thought it was hot herself, some wires crossed somewhere that doesn't make her want to let go of potentially kissing someone else. it's one thing to cross that bridge when they get there, but to have her already asking for callie to not get upset if something were to inevitably happen makes callie think that's it's not an if after all, but a when.

this isn't the first time that her four relationships have been brought up before, and by now it feels like it's just going to be something that's constantly used against her, when callie doesn't see it as a bad thing at all. "i've been coupled up with four people, yeah," she says, letting go of her drink so her arms can cross over her chest. "it's not like i didn't like any of them, but it was pretty clear that things weren't going the way they needed to be. i'm not the kind of person that's going to force something if i'm not feeling it. but i also didn't do it just to date four people." if callie had come in and frankie had already been in the villa, she wouldn't have wanted to bother with anyone else the rest of the time. the same can't be said for the blonde, though, and while she's trying not to let it sting, it does. 

it's hard not to feel defensive when it feels like frankie is trying to reject her, despite everything they're saying being mostly on the same page. "i'm not asking you to commit, frankie, okay?" her voice gets louder than she intended, lips pressing together tightly so she can take a breath through her nose and regroup. it almost feels worse to hear her say how much she likes callie, because while she knows it's true, it doesn't soften the blow any less. "stop acting like i'm asking you to leave with me and actually get a u-haul. you want to take things slow, and i want to take things slow. so... really, we're in agreement here." for as forward as callie is, she doesn't particularly enjoy conflict. it seems easier to end this argument now when they can both reach a consensus, rather than drag it out before more is said that will make her feel worse.

the brush of her knuckles makes callie soften a little, enough to let frankie's words sink in. turning her hand, she lets their fingers lace together. "i do feel like this is an emotional relationship," she insists, eyes moving from their interlocked hands up to frankie's eyes. "i guess that's why it's so hard. i can do just physical, and i can do just emotional. but together... it makes it complicated." complicated feels like the understatement of the century right now. "but i don't want to lose you either. and i like you, obviously," eyes roll lightly, letting out a short laugh to expel some of the tension out of her shoulders. "you say you don't want to get to know anyone here right now, but if that changes, i just want you to let me know. and i'll do the same." because callie's starting to think maybe she should be keeping her options open too, even if she doesn't want to. "okay?"

FRANKIE

the whole time callie's speaking her, there's a hyperactive part of her that's seconds away from screaming, and screaming, and not stopping. she doesn’t speak, doesn’t respond ; it’s like callie has the conch and while she’s holding it all frankie to do is listen to understand, but not to respond. she's blinking rapidly like a cursed china doll, all glassy eyed and beating herself up because there's no way she's gonna start crying over something she caused, even if it was unintentional. later on, when decisions are made around the fire pit, when the situation between her and callie once again grows tense, when max is sent home she'll be less concerned about holding back tears, content to lean into the discomfort and grow from it, learn from it. later on, she’ll lie in bed wondering if she made the wrong choice by choosing out of fear that her worst habits would catch up with her and ruin what they have before her mouth could. when callie’s voice rises in volume she almost winces, but she knows it comes from a place of hurt, because she cares — maybe even more than frankie realised — and there’s anger that comes with that caring, and maybe fear that she’s wasting her time, or that frankie doesn’t like her as much, which (considering her hesitance to close things off) is understandable, even if it isn’t true. she doesn’t address the more snappy comments, feeling like responding to them will only make them linger, permeate the air between them and damage it somehow.  “okay. so we’re in agreement.” she breathes, beginning the slow climb back towards the place that they were. “let's just… take things slow, and then in a few days, or a week, we can have this conversation again. see how we both feel.”  maybe then it won’t feel like it’s too soon. things move fast in here, but she doesn’t want to feel like she’s rushing into something just to catch up with other couples who’ve had far longer to get to know each other. “does that sound like a good compromise?”

when callie links their fingers, her heart falls from her mouth right back down her throat, lodges itself back into place in her rib cage and seems to grow two sizes at that contact. like the grinch in reverse, her heart's two sizes too big. she’s never craved the feeling of another hand in hers as much as she does in that moment, her own fingers offering a tentative squeeze as she releases a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. when callie meets her eyes, she’s butter in a hot pan, sizzling and melting under that stare, and feeling once again that familiar twinge in her gut, like she’d bend under her will in a second, do anything she asked, if she asked it like this. why couldn’t they have had the conversation now, when everything’s softer, more vulnerable, when they’re not both on the defence and simmering in their own stubbornness, but instead focused on understanding. “of course i’ll tell you if i start liking someone else. obviously. and if your mind changes... and you suddenly decide to graft seb," she snorts, watery eyed in her attempt at humour. "well, i won't like it, but i'll try to understand.” although it feels impossible that she could like anyone as much as she likes her. the trajectory this conversation has taken — from frozen cocktails and gossiping about jenny and max to the painful ache of finding common ground — has felt like emotional whiplash. “are we done arguing?” frankie asks, tentatively. her thumb rubs over callie’s thumb in soothing little circles, and she risks the sting of rejection by closing the distance, pressing her nose to callie’s, breathing in the coconut and sandalwood scent of her skin. “please can i kiss you now?”

CALLIE

she's relieved that frankie doesn't hurl anymore remarks about keeping their options open towards her any longer, smart or just content enough to just agree with her. her lips twitch at the word week (seriously, how long could she possibly need??), but there's a light at the end of the tunnel that is this conversation, so she's selfish enough to grab it, nodding in agreement. she already knows she's going to be annoyed when this future conversation happens, if frankie actually bothers to be the one to bring it up first or not, but callie has to remind herself what she's been telling everyone: that she can be patient. she's always thought patience is a virtue she possesses, but when it's related to something she really wants, dangling in front of her face like a cookie, it's hard not to make a grab for it. 

there's no denying that before frankie, callie had been skating by in the villa. all she has to show for herself are couples that never lasted more than a few days, jumping from one person to the next to find some kind of spark. she hadn't known what she had been missing until she felt it when frankie came in, and she still feels it now, when their eyes meet and she can feel the space between them get ten degrees hotter.  if this wasn't what she felt with frankie—a clear connection, one that she knows is reciprocated—then callie would already be ending it right now, or at least taking a giant step back. for now she only nods, ready to put this thing behind them. "don't hold your breath," she deadpans, about grafting seb. he's hardly the first person she'd go for in the villa right now. "yes, we're done arguing." and if that wasn't clear, the way she reaches for frankie's face to close the distance of their lips together does the trick nicely.

[nickcarr-scoutstories]

It’s 9:30pm. I’m watching TV. My phone rings. A number I don’t recognize. I’m about to let it go to voicemail, but at this hour, I’m curious. I answer. “Hello?” I say.

“Well, congratulations! You cased the joint!” says the elderly voice on the other end. Angry and sarcastic, it sounds a lot like Estelle Getty catching a cat burglar in her kitchen.

I pause. A long pause. “I’m sorry. What?” I say.

“Oh, I know what you were up to,” she says. “Well, you did it. You’ve got pictures of everything. Congraaaatulations. You cased the joint.”

I sit up, trying to figure out why I’m suddenly involved in a conversation from a 1930s pulp noir.

I think I’ve heard this phrase before, but I want to be sure. I grab my laptop and look it up. “Case the joint.” As per Wikipedia, “to thoroughly observe or examine a place, in order to familiarize oneself with its workings in preparation for criminal activity, often robbery.”

Then I realize the voice sounds familiar. In fact, it sounds a lot like the elderly woman whose house I scouted earlier in the day.

“Maude?” I ask with surprise.

“You know who it is,” she says bitterly.

And then I put the pieces together and I know exactly what’s going on.

Most of the time, when I “cold scout” houses (i.e. go door-to-door hoping to find a house open to the idea of filming), I just leave a flyer with all the pertinent information about both the show and myself, and let the homeowner call me back at their own convenience after they’ve had some time to think it over.

But once in a while, there’s an emergency situation and you have to work a lot faster. This is the situation now. We had a midcentury home drop out of filming at the very last minute, and we are scrambling to find a replacement by the permit deadline.

In these situations, I’ll typically knock on the door and talk to the homeowner directly in the hopes that I can scout on the spot. Some homeowners will ask for time to think about it. Others will welcome you right in.

Maude had done just this. She had ushered me right in to her exquisitely period living room, and even offered me tea. She talked about how long she’d lived in the home, how she’d raised three children here, and how she was excited at the idea of having some excitement again.

I scout a lot of homes in which an older person lives alone, and this is common. What should be a five minute scouting appointment will often extend to fifteen or twenty minutes as I hear stories about family, work, illness, death, grandchildren, past loves, and so on. I’ve come to realize that for many, I’m a rare interruption in a life where each new day tends to be a carbon copy of the previous, and I very much value the stories and histories life these homeowners opt to share with me.

When I left Maude’s home earlier in the day, the scout had gone wonderfully, and she couldn’t have been more excited at the prospect of having filming. But there is a very different woman on the phone. And I think I know what happened.

After I leave, she calls someone. Say, one of her children. She gushes about how a movie location scout just showed up at her door, and how her home might be featured in a big TV show, and that she might even get paid thousands of dollars for it.  

And then, that person reads her the riot act. “How could you be so stupid, Maude!” they yell at her, making her feel like an old fool. “There’s no TV show! He’s a crook! He was taking a pictures of everything so he could come back later and steel it all! He was casing the joint!”

Maybe Maude says no, that the scout showed his credentials. “They were fake! You really think someone out of the blue is going to knock at your door and pay you thousands of dollars to film a TV show? They were casing the joint!”

And Maude hangs up from the conversation, feeling foolish and scared and hurt and angry.

I hate that this has happened, knowing that her fake tough-guy attitude is actually her doing her best to deter me from carrying out the terrible plans she imagines I have cooked up.

“Maude, it’s me! It’s Nick, the location scout. Everything I told you is real! In fact, it was the director’s top choice!” This is true. There’s a very strong likelihood we will film at her home, with a fee approaching $10,000 for just a couple days.

But she refuses to believe me. I beg her to do a Google search for my name, or call my union, or call our production office, but none of it makes a dent. She just keeps saying, “yeah, right,” very sarcastically.

Finally, I realize there’s nothing I can say that will convince her. I tell her not to worry, that she won’t hear from us again, and that I’ll delete the pictures. “You better,” she says, and hangs up the phone.

I learn a very important lesson from this encounter. Now, when I’m cold-scouting and a homeowner invites me in on the spot, I stop them in their tracks. I tell them that first, it’s very important to me that they are sure I am who I say I am. I give a list of ways to verify my identity, and I encourage them to check before letting a total stranger in their homes. Most thank me later, saying I’d opened their eyes to just how easily they could have made a very bad decision if I were actually a criminal.

I’ve never had an interaction like my encounter with Maude since. And I also realized it explained a lingering mystery from my earlier years of scouting.

Back in New York, we were always under the gun to find locations as quickly as possible, and I became an expert at talking my way into homes to scout on the spot. But midway through, as I was taking pictures, I’d consistently notice the conversation suddenly take a noticeably awkward and uncomfortable turn. I could never put my finger on why that was.

Now I realize: it’s the moment the homeowner suddenly realized they had let a total stranger in their home, and that he just might be casing the joint.

--

Please like/share/follow if you enjoyed!

More stories: nickcarr.com

[hemontamondal]

Photography WordPress Website By Elementor Pro

🔶🔶𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥

☑️ 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞: https://thefoxesphotography.com/

👉 They are not a collective of associate photographers – They are an actual photography team. Meaning they work together, communicating every day about elopement logistics, day-of planning ideas, road closures, trail statuses, scouting new locations, permit changes… the list goes on.

☑️ 𝐂𝐌𝐒 - 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬

☑️ 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫- 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫

📌 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐞 𝐎𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐫: https://www.fiverr.com/s/XLN1BPk 📌 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐞 𝐎𝐧 𝐔𝐩𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤: https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01e9d4bb7b16a5bce9 📌 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞: https://hemontamondal.com/ 📌 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐍𝐨𝐰: https://calendly.com/hemontamondal/consultation

📌 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽: +8801793310293

HemontaMondal | #WordPressWebsite | #ResponsiveWebsite | #WordpressExpert | #PhotographyWebsite | #WordPressElementor | #WebDesign | #WebDevelopment | #Hemonta93 | #Hemonto