Sunday July 31st, 2011

The exercise:

Let us write about: home movies.

Spent a relaxing day with my parents after seeing Kat off this morning. She's heading up north with her mother to help with the preparations for her brother's wedding. I'll be flying up on Friday with Kat's dad and then we'll all drive back together after the celebrations.

I'll be spending most of tomorrow with the weeds in the garden. I suspect they will not appreciate my presence.

Mine:

"Katie, where's your sister?" Their father looked up from the instruction manual for the video camera long enough to fix his youngest daughter with a stern glare. "I thought I told both of you to be ready for exactly one o'clock."

"Well at least I'm ready," Katie replied, hands on hips.

"And your sister?"

"She's refusing to come out of her trailer until someone does her makeup."

"And where, exactly, is her trailer?" He knew he shouldn't have asked but they were running behind schedule and he needed to find his other daughter fast. Katie gave him an unreadable look before pointing solemnly at the doghouse in the backyard.

"You don't want to know what she's done with Rusty."

10 comments:

Ruby said...

i love this topic!!!

Although our movies are not as good as the ones with the celebrities in them, at least they bring back lasting memories of my childhood.
Dad is the camera operator, Mum is the director, my older sister is the makeup artist and all my brothers and younger sister are in the movies but I am the star of ALL of the movies that we make.

Biggest Fan said...

You've got to love home movies and you've described your family's movie making times with great gusto! You make me want to see one of your movies just so I can watch the star! Keep on writing :)

Greg said...

@Ruby: There's nothing quite like being the star!

@Marc: Kat's off again? Have you said something to upset her? It sounds like this is turning into quite a busy summer for you at this rate though!
Poor Rusty... evicted from his home by a movie star. Katie's sister is clearly destined for Hollywood already, though Katie seems as though she's getting there too (I loved the 'hands on her hips' line).

Home Movies
Miss Snippet stood at the front of the assembled children glowering. The children in the front row, at least though who weren't noticeably injured or mauled, were quivering with fear at being within reach. The look on her face was very nearly demonic.
"Bring your pet to school day was not exactly the success we were hoping for," she said between gritted teeth. Her jaw ached, but she couldn't calm down enough to unclench it. "I feel I should make very clear here and now though, that if, if, you should happen to be the son of the owners of the local safari park then it is not appropriate to bring along most of the animals, because, and here I quote: I wanted to bring enough to share with everyone!"
She hadn't wanted to end on a scream, but she did, and the front row ducked as one, even the child on crutches and the girl with only one leg left.
"As punishment we shall all spend the next four hours sitting quietly in here watching Miss Devonport's home movies. Miss Devonport likes collecting small, crocheted items; making coochy-coo noises over injured amphibians, and reciting the alphabet backwards to the tune of Singing in the Rain. Understand this though, you brought this on yourselves!"
Miss Snippet pressed the buttons on the remote in her hand, and the lights in the hall dimmed and the projector started up.
Across the carpark, Miss Devonport stared at the tape on the front seat of the car and realised with horror that the home movie she'd given Miss Snippet was the wrong one; the children were about to find out all about the many uses of Spandex....

Anonymous said...

My brothers and I always make home movies. We have fun getting changed into the costumes, we always like planning and trying everything possible. It's always fun to see the finished product though the best part is the memories. (And of course the bloopers!!!). Making home movies is alway a great way to bring the family together and have a great time.

Marc said...

Ruby - glad to hear it :)

Well, *somebody* has to be the star, right? :D

Biggest Fan - welcome to the blog, feel free to share your writing with us!

Greg - pfft, no! Well, maybe there were one too many 'get in the kitchen and bake me a pie's, but that's a hard thing to measure accurately.

But yes, busy summer indeed.

There are indeed situations in which 'enough to share with everyone' is not advisable...

Anon - I've never been a big fan of being in front of the camera, so the idea of making home movies did not appeal to me in the least. Though I suspect should I ever have kids they will not have any choice in the matter... :)

WolfRider5/6 said...

You are right avartman5/6 I love home movies that involve action. But by "action" I mean fun people accidently hurt them selves. :D

Marc said...

Avartorman - I think you conveyed the repetition that must be a huge part of any movie very well.

Kim - ... as long as they don't hurt themselves *too* badly!

avartorman5/6 said...

thanks mark and Kim
I have written two addiction hickus

WolfRider5/6 said...

I just wrote a comments on that topic as well, avartorman5/6.
Marc, your exactly right not too badly.

avartorman5/6 said...

I yell, "action!" and everything comes alive as actors chase one-another and relay their lines again. I say "cut" then "places and action" as if i'm in a loop hole in time but eventually I say "cut" and i realise i am a director.