Invisible Ink

My own process

Following is the screenplay for my short film White Face. When I set out to make this film, I was told by those in the know that short films do not make money. There are few venues for them. It got distribution, makes money, and shows no sign of slowing down.

Here's what I'd like you to do: Read the script twice. The first time, just read it without thinking too much about structure. Just get a feel for it. On the second read, see how much invisible ink you can find. 

An X-RAY on a light-board. TWO VOICES off-screen discuss the patient's condition. Their language is highly technical and difficult to understand. Fingers point out different areas of the x-ray.

PULL BACK TO REVEAL

INT. HOSPITAL-DAY.

TWO DOCTORS in blue surgical scrubs. One of them wears full CLOWN MAKE-UP, and a stethoscope around his neck. As the two doctors continue to confer with one another, none of the passers-by seem to take notice that one of them is a clown. Their talk is sober and; this is serious business.

CLOWN DOCTOR (V.O.)

I'm not going to sit here and tell you it was easy to get here.

EXT. HOSPITAL-LATER.

The CLOWN DOCTOR sits on a bench outside the hospital. He speaks to an off camera interviewer. A caption reads:

Dr. Howard Blinky.

CLOWN DOCTOR (CONT'D)

But I mean it's hard for everybody, right? I never thought being a clown would hold me back—I just didn't let it stand in my way. Sure there are

the usual "Bozo" jokes. I've even

ED YUK-YUK (V.O.) (CONT'D)

Over there nobody cared if you were a clown or not. Every now and then some smart-ass would think it was funny to spray you with a seltzer bottle. with a seltzer bottle.

Ed holds up his fist.

ED YUK-YUK

Nobody ever did that crap more'n once.

INT. OLD CLOWN WOMAN'S HOUSE-DAY.

The house is decorated with all types of CLOWN FAMILY PHOTOS as well as Circus knick-knacks and statuettes. The OLD CLOWN WOMAN walks out of her kitchen with a cup of hot tea. She talks to the off-screen interviewer.

OLD CLOWN WOMAN

When my parents got here from the old country it was a real bad place for clowns. People would point at them and laugh everywhere they went It was awful. Just awful.

The woman sits. Her caption reads: Mrs. Clarabelle Confetti.

INSERT: Old black and white film footage of signs in windows: "NO CLOWNS ALLOWED" and another which reads: "CLOWNS NEED NOT APPLY.

PROF. BAILEY

There was so much prejudice at that time that audiences would rather pay to see someone pretending to be a clown rather than the real people.

Depression footage of HOBO CLOWNS.

PROF. BAILEY (V.O.)

This is were we get the stereotype of the "Hobo Clown." "Hobo" is a very common name in the old country. In America, however, it has become a synonym for "Bum."

BACK TO PROF. BAILEY.

PROF. BAILEY (CONT'D)

Well, really look at our entire language. Everything associated with being a clown has negative connotations. I dare anyone watching this show to go to work tomorrow morning and call their boss "a damn Clown" to his face. Or call someone a Bozo—see if you don't get your lights turned out.

EXT. MIDDLE SCHOOL PARKING LOT-DAY.

Dr. Blinky arms his car alarm with his key chain remote and walks away from his BMW. The camera follows close behind. Again the doctor talks to the unseen interviewer.

PRINCIPAL

I'm sorry I had to have you come down here again—Cameron can't seem to stay out of trouble.

The Doctor lets out a nose-sigh and then speaks to his son.

DR. BLINKY

What happened?

The boy shrugs.

DR. BLINKY (CONT'D)

Look, I can't leave work every time you decide to get into a fight. Now you are going to tell me what happened. You know one more fight

and you're expelled. Expelled.

You're not going to tell me again that these boys are picking on you for no reason—you must be doing something.

(to the Principal)

What happened?

PRINCIPAL

Well, you know how boys are. He and two other boys were clowning around—

DR. BLINKY (interrupts)

—Whoa whoa wait a sec—I don't appreciate that kind of—

Cameron, now wearing his jacket, approaches the car. He also sports quite big floppy shoes. They can be heard slapping the pavement.

INT. COLLEGE PROFESSOR'S OFFICE-DAY.

Prof. Bailey addresses the interviewer.

PROF. BAILEY

Many people erroneously believe that things have changed because of certain celebrity Clowns. And, indeed, some Clowns have done quite well for themselves—many by playing up offensive circus stereotypes. Ronald McDonald and Bozo for example. I honestly don't know how they sleep at night.

EXT. ED YUK-YUK'S-DAY.

Near a car with its hood open the Clown mechanic is involved in a heated discussion with a customer.

CUSTOMER

…But how do I know they needed to be replaced?

ED YUK-YUK

You want to see your old parts— I can show you the old parts. (Calling to a Clown in the shop) Rollo, bring out the old parts.

film, so he explains his position right into the camera.

CUSTOMER (CONT'D)

Look, I'm not prejudiced or anything it's just that if you're gonna come to this country I think you should learn to speak American. It's for their own good. Besides who knows what they're talking about. They could be talking about you right in front of your face and you wouldn't even know it.

(Back to Ed)

What do I owe you? I'm going to a real mechanic, one that at least speaks the language!

The mechanic slams the car's hood shut.

ED YUK-YUK

I don't want your money, why don't you just get the hell outta here before you find yourself pulling my size thirty-six shoes outta your ass.

The man gets in his car and backs out into the street. Rollo is pissed off and he HONKS angrily at the car. The customer HONKS his CAR HORN back at Rollo as his car speeds away.

EXT. ED YUK-YUK'S GARAGE-DAY.

(Whispers, confidentially)

His wife is a Mime.

(Normal voice)

What made him go out and do something like that I don't know. Those people aren't like us—but it's his life. I'm just glad his father didn't live to see it. It's really the children that I feel sorry for. They won't know if they're Clowns or Mimes. Oh, and his wife, I can't understand one word that woman says.

She mimics being trapped in a box—then suddenly concerned:

CLARABELLE (CONT'D)

She's not going to see this is she?

EXT. PARK BENCH-DAY.

Dr. Blinky sits on a park bench, enjoying an ice cream cone, with Cameron. There are no tears drawn on his face. He talks to the interviewer.

DR. BLINKY

This thing with my son has really made me stop and take a long hard look at that man in the mirror. I thought that a good job, a Beamer and a house in the 'burbs was gonna fix everything. That

PROF. BAILEY (CONT'D)

Perhaps some of you watching this film have some clowns in your family tree. You need to stand up and say to America that you are clowns and proud of it!

DISSOLVE TO:

A photo of Clarabelle Confetti against a black background on the left hand side of the screen. The following captions fade up, on the right and side, in turn.

CAPTIONS

This film is dedicated to the memory of Miss Clarabelle Confetti who passed away shortly after filming was completed.

She was well loved in her community and her memorial was attended by over one

hundred Clowns.

They all arrived in one limousine.

FADE OUT:

confronted by the bigotry of a customer. And the old woman reveals her own prejudice.

It makes me laugh, when people see the film, that they always mention how the film really gets going when the doctor and the principal have their scene together. Of course, it's the first conflict in the film. Conflict keeps people interested. But act 2 only works because of act 1. Act 1 becomes the invisible ink that makes the rest of the film work.

The doctor is often regarded as the main character. It is because he's the character of change in the story. In the second act his belief system is challenged. It's more than just something funny happening.

Each of the characters has his/her three acts. The second act for the mechanic is when he has a run-in with the bigoted customer. Through his intro in act 1, we know that Ed Yuk-Yuk is an American who grew up in the Bronx and fought for his country. So we understand how deep the insult cuts when he is accused of cheating a customer.

With Clarabelle, the conflict is her own bigotry. She thinks it's her son's choice of a wife, but we know different. How do we know? We know this because we have established a reality in which racists are bad people whose hatred can hurt others. Never mind that most of us believe that this is true in life; what is important is that it is dramatized by the story.

Act 3 is tricky to see here in these stories because it appears to be a part of act 2.

With Doctor Blinky, the scene at his car where he cries and we see the reaction to his experience is act 3.

In the mechanic's story, Rollo, the horn-honking Clown, is a less defined character and is more the internal voice of Ed. Is this country everything he thought it would be? Ed's beliefs are challenged here. The scene with Rollo's speech is that story's act 3.

Clarabelle's death is a combination act 3 and dénouement ("Ever since that day"). How does her story resolve itself? She dies. What is her "Ever since that day?" She dies. And you can bet her racist attitudes remained with her the remainder of her life. She did not change.

Tell them what you told them

 I wasn't sure how to end this book until I gave it to a friend to read and she told me that she enjoyed the book because she and I share the same taste in films. I knew then that I had failed to get my point across. This is not about personal taste.

The idea that one could view a story through the lens of objectivity is so foreign to some that they don't even know it is a possibility. But if you are to master this craft, that is what you must strive to do.

When you read a sentence and find a misspelled word or grammar mistake, do you think for an instant that it might just be your opinion? You probably don't. That's because you understand the language and its rules. When you are speaking with someone who has only rudimentary skills in your language, you can tell immediately, just as you will soon be able to do with the language of drama.

One of your tasks as a storyteller is to understand that the language of story has its own rules of grammar and syntax. If you were watching The Wizard of Oz and, in it, they decided the idea should be Dorothy's about how to get the apples from the trees; and then they had Tin Man come up with other plans; and at the end of the story, they said it was Scarecrow who had the brains all along—it would all be bad grammar. It would be a mistake, and you would know it.

Drama is a language, and its principles can be observed, learned, and executed. One way to master this skill is to try to understand what you respond to in a story. Ask yourself if you are having a personal reaction to something outside the story. If you abhor violence in stories and you read a book that has violence in it, ask yourself if it is there to support the story's armature.

Conversely, if you enjoy violence, ask yourself the same question. Is it necessary for the story to be told this way? If the story were The Godfather then the answer would be yes. If the story is Toy Story, then the answer is probably no.

Ask yourself this question about dialogue, costumes, scenery, photography, religion, language, personal philosophy, politics, a particular