EDITING THE DOCUMENTARY

syllabus

log, transcript & treatment

SCRIPT TEMPLATES

documentary films / styles

et cetera

 
 

 

 

THIS TEMPLATE FOR

making documentary paper edits makes use of the powerful "outline" function of Microsoft Word for the quick collapse, cutting, pasting and expansion of large sections of visuals and transcripts. This ability allows fast buildup and overview of your developing film structure. What you see on this screen is HTML-formatted and does not give you any sense of the immense power of this tool within Word. The file is written in traditional 12-point Courier and is downloadable as in Word. For Mac, Option+Click to download as Word file; for PC, right click. I wrote this in 1989 as Freeware. Feel free to pass it on to other filmmakers.

Template for paper edits using "outline" function of Word

Paragraph & Format Symbols

If you cannot see four paragraph symbols (¶) between this line and the file name above, select "Show ¶" under the VIEW menu, and they’ll pop into view. I strongly recommend that you activate this "Show ¶" mode when writing a script. With it activated you will have wealth of format information at your fingertips and will therefore know how to correct a format mistake (more on that, later). So, that being done....

Welcome to the "Outline" function, one of the greatest inventions for documentarians as they prepare paper edits.


Learning to Outline

1. Select "Help" under the WINDOW menu.

2. Scroll to "Outlining". Select it.

3. Read and learn.

Then, with this knowledge semi-securely under your belt, begin to practice what you have learned by moving the modular elements of the following outlined paper edit (demote, promote, go from level 1 to level 2 to level 3, drag a scene into a different part of the film, etc.).

Try it.

As you can now see, the outline format provides a filmmaker with a perspective what nothing else does: it allows you to jump from detail to overview and back again, and to tuck an entire scene (which might include pages of transcript) under a heading as you move that heading around to insert it into the proper sequence within the paper edit. You can change your mind and rearrange elements much easier than with cut-and-paste. You can expand a scene at your convenience. Invaluable! Unbelievable!

 

Using "Strikethrough"

you’ll notice that parts of the transcript in the sample 2-column script below are struckthrough. This is because I will edit these words out while at the same time keeping the words in their original places so
I don’t get lost when doing the off-line edit. There are two reasons you want to use "strikethrough" instead of cutting the words out:

1) You might change your mind tomorrow and decide the words really should be included.

2) You always want to know what you are choosing within the context of the whole speech. That is, if you start cutting and pasting too liberally, it is very easy to forget where the words came from as you are doing your off-line edit. You get "Strikethrough" by selecting those items you want to get rid of, then holding down the Shift-Command+"?".

 

Using Font Sizing

I‘ve reduced the size of the struckthrough words to get them out of the way, visually. To do this:

1. Select those items you have struck through.

2. Press the Shift-Command+",". To enlarge the selection, press Shift- Command + "." (period).

 

Using "Hidden Text"

There is a slightly wavy underline under the parts of the transcript that I have struck through. This means that the selected text is hidden if I make a printout of the paper edit in order to gage the flow of the edit decisions. To do this:

1. Select the text to be hidden.

2. Select "Character" under the FORMAT menu.

3. Under the Style options on the left, click the "Hidden" box.

(The shortcut: select what you want, then press Shift-Command + "X").

This means that when I print out a copy of the paper edit the parts I have selected out will not be printed unless I specifically choose "Print Hidden Text" at the lower left of the Print Dialog Box that comes on the screen when you print. This allows you to print out your updated version while still being able to access those parts you have edited out. A very handy tool....

Peter Thompson

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

excerpt from "THE APPRENTICE" a paper edit by Peter Thompson

 

FILM 1: Yucatan? Uicatan!---dur: 93:30

ARRIVALS & MISUNDERSTANDINGS--dur:9:36 (includes Titles and Eye & Time module)

HISTORY 1: ARRIVAL & MISNAMING

BLACK SCREEN--dur: 06
SFX: Fade up on CANOE PADDLING

ARIAL VIEW OF SEA AND YUCATAN--dur:42
SFX: SHIP BOW AND WAVES
SUBTITLE: Bartolomeo Columbus, the Admiral's cousin, in his Diary, 1504.
COMPUTERVO:--Having set sail off the coast of Fernandina Island, from afar we viewed a canoe and pursued it. The Indians in that canoe were Merchants and were not naked but clothed. The Indian merchants said they came from a certain province on the mainland called Maya of Yucatan.

BLACK SCREEN--dur:03
SFX: RUNNING FEET, THEN DISSOLVE TO QUILL SCRATCHING "YUCATAN" ON VELLUM AT END OF VO.

PANORAMAS IN MARKETPLACE--dur:1:22
SUBTITLE: Nakuk Pech, Maya noble, in his CHRONICLE OF Chac Xulub Chen,1562.
COMPUTERVO: When the Spanish ship first arrived and the Spaniard turned his eyes and feet upon this land, the Indian Merchants came when he had cast anchor and they saw the white banners waving and were asked in Spanish if they were baptized and what they called this land. As the Indian Merchants did not understand Spanish they said, Uic athan! which means We do not speak your language! We do not understand your words! Uic athan! The Spaniard then said, Yucatan? And the Merchants said Yes! Uic atan! We do not understand your language! And thus the Christian ordered it set down and written that this land here, our land, known to us as the Land of Cycles, be called Yucatan.

MONTAGE: ARRIVAL

BLACK SCREEN
SFX: AIRPLANE PROPELLERS

MAPS OF YUCATAN (DISSOLVING FROM ONE TO OTHER)
SUBTITLE: YUCATAN, MEXICO

SUB-subTITLES: fade up and fade out: HEAT/ALTITUDE/WATER/POPULATION

AIRPLANE LANDING IN YUCATAN

AUTO RIDE ON ROUGH DIRT ROAD
AUTO RIDE UP WHITE HILL INTO DARK SKY
RAIN ON WOODS
AUDIO/THUNDER AND RAIN

FILM PROBLEMS: BH in SHOWER

BH IN SHOWER/FEET TURNING UNDER SHOWER CURTAIN
AUDIO/WATER IN SHOWER

SUBTITLE:
YUCATAN, MEXICO.
HOTEL TOLEDO, MERIDA.
January. 17,1990. 10pm.
Bill Hanks speaks of negotiating
with Don Chabo to make a film
(Bill Hanks tells Peter Thompson about Don Chabo. when I arrive, Bill has located the shaman Don Chabo and . After meeting and good meal, bill fills me in on his negotiations to do a film with shaman Don Chabo....)

BH IN SHOWER/THIS FILM IT HAS TO BE RIGHT
BH IN SHOWER/TOMORROW WE'LL BE KNEE DEEP
BH SHOWER/THEN WE START TAKING PICTURES
BLACK SCREEN

Meeting Don Chabo

BH/HUT/THAT'S HOW YOU SEE THRU THE CAMERA
SUBTITLE: DON CHABO'S HOUSE, Southern Yucatan, MEXICO, JAN 19,1990.
BH/HUT/DID YOU SEE THAT IT WAS ME?
BH/HUT/NOW EVERYTHING IS CLEAR?
BH/HUT/DC UNDERSTOOD AN IMPROPER EXPLANATION?
BLACK SCREEN

TITLES: TEAM

TITLE/VIEWS FROM A MAYA ALTAR
SFX: MEXICAN POPULAR MUSIC AND NEWS REPORTS IN LAYERS
PART 1: YUCATAN? UIC ATHAN!
TITLE/A WORK BY
TITLE/DON CHABO, SHAMAN
SFX: DC chanting saantiguaar fragment

DRAWING/DON CHABO
TITLE/BILL HANKS, ANTHROPOLOGIST
DRAWING/BILL HANKS
SFX: BH speaking English anthro lecture frament (pedagogically explaining: "'Than' means speach, or tongue or word in Mayan, and....")
TITLE/PETER THOMPSON, FILMMAKER
DRAWING/PETER THOMPSON
SFX: PT speaking English about some aspect of filming with eye" "Then I

Eye & Time

BH IN HUT: "you see that way he's got his eye? that's the way to do it. Just look with one eye and close the other.

TEXT/IN'WIICH/MY EYES

PT ON PATH LOOKING UP INTO CAMERA

CAMERA ON PATH
BH'S SINGLE EYE

DC IN FRONT OF CAMERA, PT'S HAND POINTS TO LENS, BH SAYS "SALE SALE"

SUBTITLE: Let's go! Let's go!

BLACK SCREEN

OVERVIEW: SHAMANIC LIFE--dur:6:03

STORY: MIRROR OF VIRTUE (amªpm)

PAN UP DC'S LEGS
PTVO: "Friday, January 20, 8am. Don Chabo WANTS TO BEGIN FILMING WITH THE STORY OF HOW he BEGAN AS a shaman. THE story IS ABOUT THE altar, what he does as a shaman, and the people he does it for."

TEXT/ONCE UPON A TIME A MAGICIAN SAID TO A MAN
ITO RUNS UP PATH WITH BULL MASK ON
TEXT/YOU'LL ARRIVE AT A HOUSE
PATH TO HOME
TEXT/IN THE HOUSE YOU'LL FIND A TABLE
DRAWING/ALTAR
TEXT/ON THE TABLE IS THE MIRROR OF VIRTUE
DRAWING/ALTAR STRAIGHT ON
ALTAR STRAIGHT ON LIVE SHOT

MIRROR OF VIRTUE'S 7 PROMISES

TEXT/THE MIRROR OF VIRTUE IS YOURS. IN TURN IT EXACTS OF YOU 7 PROMISES.
TEXT/--CARE FOR IT.

DC MOVES ALTAR AND TIES ON ALTARCLOTH
TEXT/--GIVE IT VOICE
DC SINGS HIS SONG TO ALTAR WHILE HOLDING FLOWERS
TEXT/--OPEN YOUR DOOR TO THE SICK
WOMAN ENTERS DC'S HOME AND HE GREETS HER
TEXT/--SEE THEIR SICKNESS IN CRYSTALS
DC LOOKS INTO CRYSTALS AND ASKS QUESTION OFF CAMERA
TEXT/--SWEEP THEIR SICKNESS WITH FLOWERS
DC FINISHES SAANTIGUAAR ON OLD WOMAN WHO GETS UP
TEXT/--GIVE THEM THE MIRROR'S VIRTUES

DC HANDS PATIENT WATER GLASS AND SHE DRINKS IT
TEXT/--DO NOT GROW RICH FROM THE MIRROR
PATIENT PAYS DC, THEN LAUGHS AT HIS UNWORLDLINESS
TEXT/THE MAN'S WIFE THEN SAID
--SO I'M GOING TO CHOKE
ON POVERTY WITH YOU?
DCVO: Narration of above text

DC COUGHS AND COUGHS

DC RETURNS TO SLEEP (night)

TEXT/AND THE MIRROR SAID
--YES. RETURN TO YOUR HOME,
LIE DOWN AND SLEEP
DCVO: Narration of above text

DC SNUFFS CANDLE ON ALTAR
TEXT/SO THE MAN RETURNED
TO HIS HOUSE, LAY DOWN IN HIS
HAMMOCK AND WENT TO SLEEP
DCVO: Narration of above text

DC SLEEPING UPSIDE DOWN IN HAMMOCK (5 SHOTS)
DC GETTING UP FROM HAMMOCK, LEAVING WITH DOG SLEEPING ON FLOOR

DETAILS: SHAMANIC LIFE & THEOLOGY--dur: 36:26

EXORCISM: SANTIGUAR & el norte(am)--dur:12:10

PREPARATION

TEXT/AND WHEN THE MAN AWOKE
HIS EYES OPENED TO LIFE
IN FRONT OF HIM
DCVO: Narration of above text

KIDS PLAYING BALLOONBALL BY ALTAR
(3 SHOTS IN EARLY MORNING WITH RAIN POUNDING OUTSIDE)

UXMAL SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW AT NIGHT
SUBTITLE: UXMAL, YUCATAN.
SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW.

(NARRATOR VO: "THE LIGHT OF DAY IS ABOUT TO BREAK. MAYA PRIESTS WALK TOWARD THE TEMPLE")
DC YAWNS AT ALTAR IN THE EARLY MORNING
SUBTITLE: TUESDAY, February 4, 5: 40Am
LIGHTS CANDLES & PREPARES CROSS BEFORE THE IKON
TURNS TO EXORCISM GIRL.

SAANTIGUAAR

DC PERFORMS SAANTIGUAAR.
TEXT/8 MINUTES LATER
DC CONTINUES SAANTIGUAAR

MEDICINE

PAYMENT

IMMIGRANTION to Simi Valley

EXIT

OVERHEAD PHOTO/MOTHER LEAVING HOUSE
SFX: synch sound extends from previous scene.
PTVO: "She leaves with her daughter for the second time in two weeks.

EXORCISM: PAIIK--dur:10:16

EXORCISM: CASE STUDY (pm)--dur:14:00

MARKET: EMERGENCY AT DC'S HOUSE

OLD MAN AT MARKET IN FRONT OF VIDEOCATS
SUBTITLE: THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 11:15pm

PTVO, CONT'D: "One week earlier, DC's grandson told me YOU'RE ALREADY LIKE A NATIVE OF YUCATAN: COUGHING, AND AGING. AT MIDNIGHT, DC's grandaughter ARRIVES AT OUR TABLE, RAINDRENCHED, FLAILING. WE FOLLOW HER TO THE EDGE OF TOWN, UP THE PATH THROUGH THE WOODS to DC's house. FROM THE PATH OUTSIDE his BACK door I see this:"

GETTING INSIDE

DC ASKS PT TO MOVE INTO HOUSE WITH CAMERA

EXORCISM

EXORCISM: FROM BEGINNING TO GIRL CRYING OUT
TEXT/7 MINUTES LATER DON CHABO
SUDDENLY STOPS THE EXORCISM
AND LEAVES WITHOUT EXPLANATION
no SFX

GIRL AND BROTHER STAND BEWILDERED UNTIL DC RETURNS

MEDICINE

DC GIVES MEDICINE TO EXORCISM GIRL
SUBTITLE: 4 MINUTES LATER
no SFX

DISCUSSION OF GIRL'S SYMPTOMS WITH MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER.

PAYMENT

EXIT

DAUGHTER CARRIED OUT.

DISCUSSION OF EXORCISM

TEXT/DC, MARGOTTE AND BILL
DISCUSS THE EXORCISM CASE
no SFX

DC EXPLAINS EXORCISM CASE
SUBTITLE: 12:45AM
(1] CASE HISTORY, 2] NATURE OF EVIL WINDS, 3] MEDICINE, 4]MANI AUTHORITIES)

SUPPRESSION OF SHAMANISM --dur:2:25

HISTORY 2: Burning/Grinding & Water torture

UXMAL: "LIFE AFTER MANI" (night)

UXMAL TOURISTS AT SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW
NARRATOR VO: "The Maya have two lives, one before Mani and one after Mani."
BLACK SCREEN --dur: 1/2 sec.
SFX: FLAMES CRACKLING
TEXT: Mani Cathedral, Yucatan.
Site of Holy Inquisitions by
Spanish authorities. Burned:
27 Maya books, 12,000 Maya idols,
unknown number of Maya Indians.
BLACK SCREEN --dur: 1/2 sec.

MANI: ZOOM & CIRCLE PANS (noon)

ULTRA SLOW ZOOM AT SITE OF MAYA BURNINGS AT MANI CATHEDRAL (girl walks past at end)--dur:1:01
SFX: grinding
SUBTITLE: Friar Sanchez de Aguilar, Informe contra Idolarum Cultores,Yucatan,1613.

COMPUTERVO:--And it came to pass, in the year 1585, that a certain Maya Indian noble, a great idolator from the town of Mani, named Cocom, was hanged. This just punishment was against Maya idolators condemned to burn by order of the Holy Inquisition, and today at the CATHEDRAL we exhumed the bones of this Indian named Cocom who was from the town of Mani. His bones were thrown out of church and ground down and destroyed because in spite of being dead he was quite probably an idolator.
BLACK SCREEN--dur: 1/2 sec.
SFX: DRIPPING WATER

PANACAM CIRCLES OUTSIDE MANI CATHEDRAL, INSIDE NAVE, INSIDE COURTYARD--dur:1:00

SUBTITLE: Letter from Maya chiefs of Mani to the Spanish Crown, Yucatan, 1567

COMPUTERVO: --After we had the great good fortune of coming to know God our Father as the only True God and thus leaving behind our blindness and idolatry, and after we came to know Your Highness as our temporal ruler, and yet before having fully opened our eyes to the one and to the other, there befell us a persecution greater than can be imagined. We tell you this: It was in the year 1562 of Christian reckoning. We had brought priests to teach us Christian doctrine, but instead the priests began to torment us, hanging us by both of our hands and whipping us cruelly, hanging stones from both of our feet and forcing great quantities of water into our bodies, from which torment many of us Maya died and perished.
BLACK SCREEN
SFX: DRUM SOUNDS

MANI: MUSEUM & MURALS--dur: 1:00

ROCK SKULL IN MANI MUSEUM,
BH DRUMMING
MAYA GOLD MASK
SKULL & BONE MURALS
DC & ITO LOOKING DEPRESSED
DC ON SCREEN SAYS HAALIBE/THERE'S NO MORE TO SAY
SUBTITLE/HAALILBE, THERE'S NO MORE TO SAY

BLACK SCREEN

FILM 2: Religious Epiphany and Apprenticeships--dur: 94:00

ARRIVALS MISUNDERSTANDINGS

HISTORY 3: Food & Missed Connections--dur 1:45

TEXT: Mani Cathedral, Yucatan.
Site of Holy Inquisitions by
Spanish authorities. Burned:
27 Maya books,12,000 Maya idols,
unknown number of Maya Indians.

SFX: RATTLESNAKE

MANI: ZOOM OUT ON LAWN--dur:50

SFX: HUNGRY STOMACH GURGLING , or CHEWING

SUBTITLE: Friar Sanchez de Aguilar, Informe contra Idolarum Cultores, Yucatan, 1613

COMPUTER VO:- We Christian priests trip over Indian idols daily. I caught a native from Mani, in the act of enchanting. He had in his hand a rattlesnake and using words which I wrote down but are not worth the ink and paper to reproduce here, invoked the Devil and Prince of Darkness and Caves. We priests, who know our Maya Indians inside and out, should be consulted regarding the punishment of their idolatry. As it is holier to die of hunger than to eat idolatrous offerings, if your food was formerly offered to Maya idols, do not eat.
BLACK SCREEN
SFX: MEXICAN RADIO BROADCAST WITH AMERICAN POP MUSIC

PANACAM IN BACK YARD WITH PATH--dur:55
ENDING WITH MANUELITO WEARING CHICAGO T-SHIRT

Letter from Maya chiefs to the Spanish Crown, Yucatan, 1567
COMPUTER VO:--Even though the Christian priests teach us Christian doctrine, and we certainly do not wish to insult them, still they do not love us, and we are not in their hearts. We cannot accompany them on holy days nor can we address them with words. They do not know our Maya language here and we do not know theirs from Spain. They make no real effort to help us, and we engage with them in vain. And so we gather up the meanings of their ways, these Black Fathers....

BH to DC:CAN YOU SEE ME?--dur: 15

BLACK SCREEN--dur: 1/2 sec.
BH IN HUT/2) BH asks DC: So, how does the world look? DC: Great, I can see you. BH: can you hear me OK? DC Yes, I can hear your words.
BLACK SCREEN--dur: 1/2 sec.

TITLES: FILM 2--dur: 1:00?

TITLE/VIEWS FROM A MAYA ALTAR
SFX: MEXICAN POPULAR MUSIC AND NEWS REPORTS IN LAYERS
PART 2: THE MEANINGS OF THEIR WAYS
TITLE/A WORK BY
TITLE/DON CHABO, SHAMAN
SFX: DCVO: "Tene Don Chabo inkaaba"

DRAWING/DON CHABO
TITLE/BILL HANKS, ANTHROPOLOGIST
DRAWING/BILL HANKS
SFX: BHVO: "Tene William Francis Hanks inkaaba

TITLE/PETER THOMPSON, FILMMAKER
DRAWING/PETER THOMPSON
SFX: PTVO: "Tene Peter Hunt Thompson inkaaba

INDIAN AGENTS--dur: 2:00?

BLACK SCREEN--dur: 1/2 sec.

KIDS WAKE IN THEIR HAMMOCKS & PLAY TO CAMERA,

SUBTITLE: *THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1990.

A KNOCK ON THE DOOR AND GORDI GOES TO OPEN IT.
GORDI TALKS TO INDIAN AGENTS & CALLS DC.
GORDI INVITES AGENTS INTO HOUSE.
AGENTS ENTER & LOOK DISAPPROVINGLY AT PT AND CAMERA.

PT FOLLOWS AGENTS WITH CAMERA THRU HOUSE AND STOPS TO WHISPER WITH BH ABOUT WHO THEY MIGHT BE.
BH SAYS THEY ARE HERE TO BUY LAND.

WOMAN AGENT MOTIONS TO DC TO TALK WITH HER OUTSIDE CAMERA RANGE.

PTVO: "DC'S GRANDDAUGHTER JUST WHISPERED that THE two visitors are not here to BUY FAMILY land, and are not here TO PAY DC for A CURE. THEY'RE HERE AS self-appointed guardians of Maya CULTURE. THEY'RE TELLING DC THAT BILL AND I ARE contaminating him. DC is saying--"DON'T TAKE THEM AWAY. ONE'S MY APPRENTICE. ONE'S MAKING MY MOVIE, AND BESIDES, THEY HAVEN'T EATEN."
CONQUISTADOR WITH FEET ON MAYA HEADS
SFX: CHEWING OF MANY PEOPLE (MIKED CLOSE UP)
PHOTO/DC WEARING VEST SQUATTING ON PATH
CONQUISTADOR WITH FEET ON MAYA HEADS
PHOTO/DC WEARING VEST SQUATTING ON PATH
CONQUISTADOR WITH FEET ON MAYA HEADS
PHOTO/DC WEARING VEST SQUATTING ON PATH

CONVERSION & APPRENTICESHIP

CONVERSION: EPIPHANY (n)--dur:6:50

BH TELLS "CARRIED AWAY" STORY

BH IN SHOWER/"DC UNDERSTANDS WE'RE MAKING A MOVIE. DC LIT INTO THIS STORY ABOUT HOW HE WAS CARRIED AWAY"

DC TELLS "CARRIED AWAY": TEXTS & DRAWINGS

DC SITS AT ALTAR AND TELLS STORY TO CAMERA--dur:15?

SUBTITLES OF HIS STORY ABOVE

TEXT/After I heard the story of the Mirror of Virtue, I said goodbye to the fieldhands and left for home.

DCVO: DC SPEAKS THE ABOVE TEXT
SFX: FEET WALKING ON PATH MIKED CLOSE UP

DC WALKS UP PATH

TEXT/I walked the narrow path into the woods. I never arrived home. I disappeared.

SFX: FEET WALKING ON PATH MIKED CLOSE UP, THEN STOPS

DC WALKS UP PATH, THEN DISAPPEARS

TEXT/I AWOKE IN THE WOODS WITH MY ARMS STRETCHED WIDE
SFX: LOCUSTS

DRAWING/DC WITH ARMS OUTSTRETCHED
TEXT/I WAS PLASTERED UP AGAINST A TREE
SFX: LOCUSTS

DRAWINGS/TWO SCENES OF LAUREL TREE
TEXT/I KNELT AND SAID TO GOD THANK YOU VERY MUCH
SFX: LOCUSTS

DRAWING/SCANS OF GOD THE FATHER
DRAWING/DC WITH RIGHT ARM OUTSTRETCHED
DRAWINGS/SECOND SCAN UP GOD, THEN TWO CLOSE UPS
DRAWING/DC'S TWO FEET ON RED GLOBE
TEXT/THEN I HEARD SOUNDS, DOGS, WIND.
SFX: DOG BARKING

DRAWINGS/DC AND TREE, JUMBLED ORDER
DRAWING/DC'S FEET ON RED GLOBE

DC WALKS THROUGH DENSE WOODS

BH IN SHOWER/BH REENACTS DC'S BEING CARRIED AWAY, AND HOW HE OFFERS 5 GOURDS--dur:3:31

TEXT/I WALKED HOME ON A
NARROW PATH. WHEN I ENTERED
MY HOUSE THE WIFE WAS PISSED
SFX: WIND OR SILENCE

DC ENTERS HOUSE AND LOOKS DOWN (AT WIFE)

CEREMONY: 5 GOURDS (n-pm)--dur:11:40

DC & BH MAKE ALTAR--dur:4:21

TEXT/I WISHED TO THANK GOD SO I MADE AN ALTAR TO FEED HIM GRUEL
SFX: MACHETE HACKING WOOD

DC AND BH MAKE OUTDOOR ALTAR, PART 1
SFX: NOTE: LAYERED SOUNDS using machete hacks, pop radio broadcasts, etc., AS IN NOEL BURCH'S FILMS, WILL BE UNDER ALL SHOTS OF THE MAKING OF THE OUTDOOR ALTAR.

TEXT/I TOLD THE WIFE TO COOK CORN GRUEL AND I POURED IT INTO 5 GOURDS
SFX: GRIDING CORN
DC AND BH MAKE OUTDOOR ALTAR, PART 2
SFX: NOTE: LAYERED SOUNDS using machete hacks, pop radio broadcasts, etc., AS IN NOEL BURCH'S FILMS, WILL BE UNDER ALL SHOTS OF THE MAKING OF THE OUTDOOR ALTAR.
TEXT/I CUT A SMALL CROSS AND BROUGHT IT BACK TO THE ALTAR
SFX: MACHETE HACKING WOOD

DC RETURNS WITH CROSS AND TIES IT TO ALTAR
SFX: NOTE: LAYERED SOUNDS using machete hacks, pop radio broadcasts, etc., AS IN NOEL BURCH'S FILMS, WILL BE UNDER ALL SHOTS OF THE MAKING OF THE OUTDOOR ALTAR.
DC & BH MAKE OUTDOOR ALTAR, FINISH
SFX: NOTE: LAYERED SOUNDS using machete hacks, pop radio broadcasts, etc., AS IN NOEL BURCH'S FILMS, WILL BE UNDER ALL SHOTS OF THE MAKING OF THE OUTDOOR ALTAR.

DC'S CEREMONY AT ALTAR--dur: 7:18

TEXT/I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO PRAY
DCVO: Narration of the above.

SAKAH CEREMONY AT OUTDOOR ALTAR ABOUT TO BEGIN
SUBTITLE: *SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1990, 4:30PM.

SAKAH CEREMONY AT OUTDOOR ALTAR ABOUT TO BEGIN
TEXT/THE 5 GOURDS CEREMONY WAS INTERRUPTED BY THE ARRIVAL OF A PATIENT.
SAKAH CEREMONY AT OUTDOOR ALTAR
SUBTITLE: SAME DAY, 6:20PM

SUBTITLE: SAME DAY, 1 HOUR LATER
NOTE: SUBTITLE ENTIRE SAKAH CEREMONY TO FOLLOW

DC CONTINUES WITH 5 GOURDS CEREMONY
TEXT:12 MINUTES LATER

DC CONTINUES WITH 5 GOURDS CEREMONY
TEXT: 8 MINUTES LATER
DC JOINED BY BH WHO TRIES TO LIGHT CANDLES AT ALTAR, THEN WALKS AROUND ALTAR WITH COPAL

DC THROWS SAKAH IN FIVE DIRECTIONS, THEN SAYS "CUT"

APPRENTSHIP: 5 JAGUARS(pm)--dur:10:17

DC SLEEPS & KIDS PLAY MUSIC--dur: 1:43

TEXT/THEN I RETURNED HOME TO SLEEP AMIDST LIFE ALL AROUND ME
ITO LISTENS TO POP MUSIC ON TAPE RECORDER (FAST FORWARD), THEN PAN RIGHT TO ALTAR AND MIRROR OF VIRTUE IKON
DC SLEEPS IN HAMMOCK WITH DOG THAT SCRATCHES FLEAS
ITO EATS RAPIDLY AND DROPS POPCORN TO DOG
DC ASLEEP IN HAMMOCK
ENANO CRAWLS OUT OF HAMMOCK, PICKS UP PUPPY
GORDI RUNS AROUND HUT WITH PUPPY AND HOLDS IT OVER DC ASLEEP AS IF HE WAS GOING TO WAKE HIM

DC TAUGHT BY JAGUAR SPIRITS

DC AWAKENED/VOICES--dur: 2:42

TEXT/NINE DAYS LATER I WAS AWAKENED BY VOICES FROM THE ROOF
SFX: LEAVES RUSTLING

OVERHEAD/DC WRAPPED IN BLANKET ASLEEP

TEXT/I WALKED OUT INTO THE NIGHT
SFX: LOCUSTS, SLOW CYCLING

OVERHEAD/DC RISES FROM HAMMOCK, LEAVES HAMMOCK EMPTY
TEXT/I WAS LIKE AN ANIMAL FAR FROM HOME.
SFX: LOCUSTS, FASTER CYCLING

OVERHEADS/DOG SLEEPS ON FLOOR
TEXT/I RAISED MY GAZE TO 5 JAGUAR SPIRITS
SFX: LOCUSTS, FAST CYCLING

CU OF DC'S EYE
TEXT/5 JAGUAR SPIRITS SAID DON'T LOOK UP BUT I PEEKED AND SAW GOD
SFX: LOCUSTS, FRENETIC CYCLING

CU OF DC'S EYES
TEXT/GOD LOWERED HIS EYES AND SHOWERED MY HEAD WITH CORN GRUEL
SFX: WATER FALLING

CU DC'S EYES AND TOP BRIM OF HAT

DC LEARNS SONG--dur: 4:24

TEXT/JAGUAR SPIRITS TAUGHT ME THIS SONG
SFX: LONG INTACKE OF BREATH

DC SINGS AT SAKAH CEREMONY AT OUTDOOR ALTAR

TEXT: 5 JAGUAR SPIRITS SAID
--THIS SONG IS YOUR PATH. SO
I FOLLOWED MY NEW PATH HOME.
SFX: LOCUSTS AND FEET WALKING

DC GOES HOME TO SLEEP--dur: 1:28

OVERHEAD/DC ENTERS HOME WITH HAT AND DOG
OVERHEAD/DC SITS ON HAMMOCK WITH ARMS OUT
OVERHEAD/DC SITS ON HAMMOCK
OVERHEADS/DC SLEEPS ON HAMMOCK IN TWO POSITIONS

OVERHEADS/DC SLEEPS WITH DOG, THEN SITS UP AND FACES DOOR

TEXT: I awoke and opened my door
and saw life HAD ARRIVED
in front of me.
SFX: DOOR CREAKING OPEN

STORY: HEINRICK-PEDRO (am)--dur:5:15

H-P's STORY

Heinrick Pedro's STORY

GOLDEN HAIRED DOG, FRONT VIEW
SFX: MEXICAN POPULAR MUSIC

PTVO: "1982. One morning a man with golden hair arrives at DC's door. In broken Spanish he says --I walk from Norwayland. I run from cannibals.
GOLDEN HAIRED DOG, REAR VIEW
SFX: FEET ON PATH, WIND
CU: SYMBOLISKA LANDSKAP WITH ITO'S HANDS
PTVO CONT'D: The golden haired man then sAYS--I feed the stars. News that this star-feeder was kicked out of Belice arrives in Mani. Even so, DC will allow him to live on his land. There, Heinrick-Pedro will build a trumpet.
PHOTO/TEEPEE
DC MIMES TEEPEE
BH (SYNCH): "They call it a trumpet, but it is clear that they are describing a teepee shape."
SYMBOLISKA LANDSKAP WITH ITO'S HANDS
PTVO, CONT'D: Heinrick Pedro lives in his trumpet and eats from trees.
SUPER8: SWINGING CAMERA FROM FEET ON GROUND TO PATH AT HORIZON
ORANGE TREES IN JUNGLE, LS
ARM HOLDS HOMEMADE KITE INSIDE FRAME
PTVO CONT'D: The stars eat from the tail of his kite.
ENANO, ITO AND GORDI EATING ORANGES, GORDI SPITS SEEDS
SFX: SPITTING SEEDS
PTVO CONT'D: But now thethye learn why he was banished from Belice: HEINRICK PEDRO kills chickens and stalks children.
MAYA MAN WALKING DETERMINEDLY WITH MACHETE
SFX: MEN WALKING
PTVO CONT'D: One morning, men with no smiles arrive at the door of his trumpet and invite him to walk in the direction pointed to by their machetes.
ITO: WE DON'T KNOW WHAT ALCENA MEANS, THEN HE SHOWS BOOK WITH PEDRO'S WRITING

ALCENA NURSING HER PUPPIES, THEN RUNS AWAY

PTVO, cont'd: The golden haired man left behind two things: a Norwegian book, and a Mayan dog that understands Norwegian. Her name is Alcinea. She has had 52 puppies.

SYMBOLISKA LANDSKAP WITH CHICAGO T SHIRT
BH DISCUSSES DC BOND WITH PEDRO AS GREATER THAN HIS
BH WIPES TEAR FROM HIS EYE

DC AND BH BUILD ROOF FOR COOKING HUT

TEXT/From that time on 5 jaguar spirits
called me from my roof.
--Chabo, we're here to take you!

VIDEO/ITO SAYS HE DOESNT KNOW WHAT ALCINEA MEANS
DC AND BH ARMS OVERLAP AS THEY BUILD ROOF

SKINNY DOG STANDING UNDER TABLE
DOGS NURSING UNDER TABLE WITH SMOKE BLOWING
TORTILLAS COOKING, HAND TURNS THEM OVER
SYLVIA'S LEGS WAITING FOR TORTILLAS
SKINNY DOG TAKES REFUGE UNDER TABLE FROM LEGS

ITO HOLDING BOOK WITH MARGOTE IN BACKGROUND COOKING
SYLVIA'S FEET, CLOSE UP
MARGOTE MAKING TORTILLAS SITTING ON STOOL
SYLVIA'S LEGS, PAN UP TO HIDDEN FACE
ALCENA RUNNING AWAY FROM NURSING PUPPIES
CLOSE UP MARGOTE EATING WITH FAMILY IN COOKING HUT.
FAMILY EATING IN COOKING HUT
PUPPIES SLEEPING UNDER BH'S LEGS UNDER TABLE

TEXT/I would awaken and say
--Fine, Lords! And crawl into the forest, kneel in MUD, and wait.

STORIES: UXMAL--dur: 24:07

RAIN & IRRITANTS--dur: :36

BLUE SHIRT HANGING IN RAIN WITH OUT OF FOCUS PATH
CU, DC LOOKS OUT AT RAIN ON PATH, THEN DRINKS FROM BOWL

SUBTITLE: *MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1:00PM

CU, DC LOOKS OUT AT RAIN ON PATH, THEN DRINKS FROM BOWL
DOG UNDER TABLE LOOKS UP AT DC WHILE EATING
WIDE SHOT OF DC FINISHING HIS LUNCH AT TABLE IN POURING RAIN

PTVO: Bill says: (--dur: :38)
BHVO: "You're too pushy making this film.
The film's getting in everybody's way."
PTVO, CONT'D: I say to Bill:
"It's in the way of your fieldwork but we're here to do a film."
Bill says:
BHVO, CONT'D: "I'm here to protect them from your cameras.
PTVO, CONT'D: *Sunday, February 14. ??
I tell DC that Bill and I have to leave his house for a couple of days to film the Uxmal ruins.
I don't tell him I'm tired,
tired coughing,
tired tracking the parasite under my skin,
tired hearing his clients promise to pay the rest later.
I don't tell him that Bill and I need to learn to work together again.

TEXT/Then 5 jaguar spirits would
TEACH ME PRAYERS. So I went
along like that, learning.
DCVO: Narration of above scene.

SHOWS: UXMAL & BH--dur:13:07

UXMAL SWIMMING POOL--dur: 1:50

BH&PT IN UXMAL SWIMMING POOL--dur:45
PTVO, CONT'D: Fifty miles to the west, we swim shoulder to shoulder in the pool at Uxmal.
After the first mile we feel again like brothers. Years of swimming together in Chicago taught us how to fall into synch. Between laps at this pool in Chicago, Bill talked about the Maya language--how it felt in his ears and mouth. He talked of his arrival in Yucatan
UXMAL CEILING FAN--dur: 06
UXMAL SWIMMING POOL UNFRAMED--dur:45

PTVO, CONT'D: We emerge refreshed in this hotel for foreigners and walk down swept paths through pruned jungle to a white room with ceiling fans. We shave with plastic razors and nap on flat beds with white sheets and awake to walk again down swept paths and slip again into clean water and hear that the language at the pool has changed from Canadian French to German. We emerge as the sun sets, ask for menus, and speak Mayan to Maya men who circle gently around us wearing white coats. They bring plates of Yucatec turkey with pitchers of Mexican Margaritas. Bill plays with my Japanese camera.

UXMAL/CEILING FAN AT NIGHT THEN LIGHT TURNS OFF

TEXT/5 jaguar spirits brought me
to ruins full of Maya men. I walked
among them. I heard their prayers.

UXMAL SHOW--dur: 2:01

UXMAL/WALKING ON METAL GRATING IN THE NIGHT

PTVO: That night we join the other foreigners in the ruins to hear the Sound and Light show

UXMAL/SOUND AND LIGHT SHOW

UXMAL VO: "Though he was never told them, the Indian knows many things. With his sad eyes he reads what is written by the stars as they fly past. The ear of the Indian listens to what the wise bird says as the sun sets and he hears the trees speaking in the still of the night." OR NARRATOR TELLS OF HIGH PRIEST INSTRUCTING YOUTH
TOURISTS IN SILHOUETTE

BH'S SHOW--dur: 4:15

BH ARRIVAL--dur: 08

SFX of slide projector advancing
(Note: all following photos by Bill Hanks will have 1/2 second of BLACK SCREEN between each photo and is accompanied by SFX of slide projector advancing as if the photos were being projected within the Sound and Light show at Uxmal.)

FADE TO BLACK SCREEN.

BH SLIDE OF YUCATAN AT NIGHT
(photos by Bill Hanks with 1/2 second of black in between each photo with SFX of slide projector as if the photos are being projected.)
SFX: BUS MOTOR
BILL HANKS VO: June 17,1977.
I arrive in Yucatan to learn a foreign language.

BH LABOR--dur: 1:26

PHOTOS OF BUCKETS OF WATER
SFX: WATER BEING POURED
BHVO, CONT'D: I learn by sinking into a family.
I haul water--bucket after bucket,
I learn by working with MY TEACHER, Don Ponso.
PHOTO/TWO MEN CHOPPING WOODS

SFX: INSECTS and MACHETE CHOPS
BHVO, CONT'D: We clear woods, cut after cut,
PHOTO/CORN FIELD

SFX: CORN LEAVES RUSTLING
BHVO, CONT'D: My knowledge grows.
I dream of living as a Mayan.
PHOTO/BH AND LORI IN HAMMOCK

SFX: HAMMOCK SWINGING OR RANCHERO MUSIC
BHVO, CONT'D: A year later I meet Lori, who will become my wife.

BH APPRENTICESHIP--dur: 2:50

PHOTO/DC STANDS UNDER TREE WITH FIVE GOURDS

SFX: DC'S SONG
BHVO, CONT'D: A year later I hear a shaman...

BLACK SCREEN

SFX: AUDIO TAPE OF CONVERSATION BETWEEN BH AND DC
SUBTITLES: over AUDIO tape of DC telling the story of 5 gourds to BH in rain
(continues approx. 60 seconds)

BHVO, CONT'D: ..make an offering of 5 gourds.
His song goes up my spine.
We will talk into the night.
He will tell a story that I record:
how he saw God, and fed Him with 5 gourds.
I won't know what he's talking about.
By dawn rain is falling on the microphone and
Farmers have surrounded the altars.

I'm in the middle of a rain ceremony.
PHOTO/SINGLE OUTDOOR ALTAR AND TREE

SFX: JUNGLE BIRDS OR LOCUSTS
PHOTO/MULTIPLE OUTDOOR ALTARS TAKEN FROM SIDE

SFX: JUNGLE BIRDS OR LOCUSTS
PHOTO/OUTDOOR ALTARS AND TREE SEEN FROM STRAIGHT AHEAD

SFX: JUNGLE BIRDS OR LOCUSTS
BHVO, CONT'D: Later, I find myself photographing the altars.
BHVO, CONT'D: Then I'm at his home daily.

PHOTO OF FRONT OF DC'S HOUSE
PHOTO OF BACK OF DC'S HOUSE WITH PATH
PHOTO/DC'S HEAD WITH UNCOMBED HAIR CU

SFX: DC'S SAANTIGUAAR
PHOTO/DC'S HAND WITH FLOWER STEM AND BABY HEAD, CU

SFX: DC'S SAANTIGUAAR
PHOTO/WOMAN HOLDING INFANT CU

SFX: DC'S SAANTIGUAAR
PHOTO/WOMAN, INFANT, DC AT ALTAR

SFX: DC'S SAANTIGUAAR
PHOTO/HANDS AND SMOKE AT OUTDOOR ALTAR

SFX: DC'S SAKAH CEREMONY
PHOTO/CU OF FOOD ON OUTDOOR ALTAR
BHVO, CONT'D: DC will perform, explain, answer.
I will watch, ask, and photograph.
PHOTO CU OF WOMAN WITH CHILD'S HEAD
PHOTO CU OF DC'S HAND
PHOTO CU OF DC'S HEAD
PHOTO CU OF WOMAN HOLDING BABY WITH HER EYES SQUINTING
PHOTO, FAUSTO BA WITH WIFE AND BABY
PHOTO/ONE ONEHALF SECS BLACK, THEN DC WITH ARMS OUTSTRETCHED

sfx: consult with bh on these for all below,xxxxxxxxx
BHVO, CONT'D: I become his only apprentice.
I want to learn to be a shaman.
Now, I recall and think:
we were as hopeful as any new love.
As teacher and apprentice we would create something new.
As shaman and anthropologist we would create something new.
PHOTO/B&W/TORTILLAS ON OPEN FIRE

SFX: ?
BHVO, CONT'D: My apprenticeship gives way to membership in his family.
Apprenticeship and kinship are worlds apart.
PHOTO B/WPORTRAIT OF MANUEL AND MARGOTTE
PHOTO, DOORWAY WITH GIRLS AND MAN WITH RADIO
PHOTO OF MAN WITH RADIO AND PARTY GUESTS

NOTE: NEED FOOTAGE TO COVER BH'S VO HERE:

BHVO, CONT'D: I become compadre to his son and daughter in law,
godfather to his grandson.
I never figure out how to bridge the two worlds of apprentice and godfather.

With time my commitment settles on studying shamanism, not practicing it. I spend more and more time next door with Margot, my comadre.

She helps me to understand DC's practice in relation to the whole family.
One day DC asks:
--What do you want here, from me?
--I say, I want to learn, from everyone.
And we both feel his disappointment.
One day he says:
I got it straight from the spirits, but you've got me to teach you. Maybe you'll get the calling when I die.
He is old and sick now. All I know for sure is that I wrote a book about his practice.
I memorized everything but never performed.
You've got to stand up and work! he'd say.
He was right.
I could've stood up and performed at any time, but something in me held back.
I practiced his prayers hundreds of times, but they're still not mine.
This is the edge from which I watch,and wonder:
do I know too much to want it, or am I too different to really know it.
Instead of exorcising the girl from Mani,
I pass on DC's order to Peter.
--Get in close with your camera.

The film is our main focus now.
It has changed everything.
One day I ask DC:

xxxxxxxxxx
Why do you want to make a movie?
--So people will know the truth.
And the three of us will know the loss of his answer.
Don Chabo will say to us:
This footage is sacred.
And the two of us will FEEL the weight of his words.
Peter will ask me:
How honest can you let this film be?
And I'll know the danger.
At the point where honesty becomes violation, I won't. But what point is that?
I think:
This film has changed us all,
My anthropology is no longer based in innocence.
I no longer dream of living as a Mayan.
My marriage has ended.
As Don Chabo predicted.
I want to take my daughter to Yucatan.

END UXMAL--dur: 2:28

END OF UXMAL SHOW, LIGHTS UP, CLAPPING
END OF UXMAL SHOW, "HUGE BUILDINGS COMING UP OUT OF NOWHERE"
END OF UXMAL SHOW, "A LITTLE INCONSISTENT, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING"
LEFT VIEW OF UXMAL RUIN WITH MAN FOLDING CHAIRS
MAN FOLDS CHAIRS, EXITS WITH SHADOW

UXMAL CEILING FAN WITH AUDIO FADE OUT ON CHANNEL ONE

VISIT: DON PONZO--dur: 10:09

DRIVING--dur: 1:07

DRIVING ON HIGHWAY INTO SUNLIGHT
SUBTITLE: *TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1990. 10AM

PTVO: At dawn we find ourselves on the road, driving away from Don Chabo and towards Don Ponzo, Bill's first teacher.

BLACK SCREEN

TEXT: The 5 jaguar spirits said

--WHAT we TEACH you TO see and
hear you must remember and say.

DP CURSES SONS & SHOWS ORCHARD--dur: 5:47

DON PONZO SWEARS AT SONS AND WALKS INTO JUNGLE WITH HANKS
DON PONZO LEADS BH THRU ORCHARD

SUBTITLE: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1990.

DON PONZO'S WORKERS INTRODUCE THEMSELVES TO PT
DON PONZO'S SWAMP, WALKING BEHIND VICTOR
BH TAKES DON PONZO'S PICTURE, DP GOES TA DA!
CAMERA WALKS UP TO DON PONZO'S SWAMP
CORNSTALKS IN SWAMP WATER WITH INSECTS
CORNSTALKS IN SWAMP WATER, SECOND VIEW
BH LOOKS AT DP'S HIDDEN HOUSE, 2 SHOTS ENDING WITH WORKER
INSIDE DON PONZO'S CORN STORAGE HUT
CANDLE ON DON PONZO'S ALTAR
DON PONZO'S ALTAR, FLOWER VASE WITH SPIDER
DON PONZO'S ALTAR, ROOTS IN FLOWER VASE
DON PONZO'S ALTAR, SAINT AND FLOWER
DON PONZO'S ALTAR, FULL FRONT VIEW

DP'S FAMILY, BH'S PHOTOS--dur: 3:00

DP'S HUT: LITTLE BOY RUNS INTO COOKING HUT PAST DOG

SUBTITLE: *12 PM

DP'S HUT: LITTLE GIRL, CU, PHOTO OF BH, LORI AND BABY ON BEACH
DP'S HUT: LITTLE BOY AND DOG IN COOKING HUT WALK TOWARDS CAMERA
DP'S HUT: COLOR PHOTOS OF MADELEINE, CLOSE UP, ENDING WITH BEE COSTUME
DP'S HUT: WIFE IN KOOBEN, DP'S FOOT, PAN DOWN HAMMOCK TO DP'S HANDS
DP'S HUT: BABY'S FINGERS WHILE SUCKING, THEN CARRIED BY LITTLE GIRL

DON PONZO'S KIDS WAVE AT THE CAMERA, NO AUDIO

ITO'S DRAWING OF PT & BH WITH SNAKES--dur: 15

SUBTITLE: *WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1990.

PTVO: WHEN WE RETURN TO DC'S, HIS GRANDSON MANUELITO GIVES ME THIS DRAWING. HE SAYS, YOU'RE WARNING BILL THAT A SNAKE IS ready to bite HIM, AND BILL'S WARNING YOU THAT A SNAKE IS ready to bite YOU. I SAY, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?. HE SAYS, THAT MEANS YOU'RE BROTHERS.

STORY: HERMAN,ROSA,SYLVIA--dur:12:21

SNAKE, ELECTRICAL CORD, HAMMOCK--dur: 2:00

CROWD LOOKS ON AS SNAKE IS REMOVED FROM BRUSH

SUBTITLE: *FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1990. 3PM

DC'S ELECTRICAL BOX AND HOUSE FROM STREET
TWO VIEWS OF ELECTRICAL CORDS FROM STREET
TWO VIEWS OF CORD AS IT PROGRESSES TOWARDS DC'S HOUSE

BH IN SHOWER: "and I'm greeted at the door by some strange man I've never even seen before, but he was acting as if it were his own home"
ELECTRICAL CORD AND FORKED TREE LIMB

SNAKE LIFTED UP WITH BOY WALKING BEHIND IT
ELECTRICAL CORD ENTERS DC'S ROOF
SHADOW OF ELECTRICAL CORD ON WALL WITH TWO FLICKERS
ELECTRICAL PLUG AND WOUND WIRES
ELECTRICAL BOX AND ROOF WITH FLICKERS
SYLVIA ASLEEP IN HAMMOCK
AUDIO OF FIGHTING PUPPIES

DC SAYS TINTIN

CU OF HAMMOCK STRINGS MOVING
AUDIO OF FIGHTING PUPPIES, NUMBER TWO
SYLVIA WAKES UP IN HAMMOCK AND STRETCHES
MEDIUM SHOT OF SYLVIA WAKING IN HAMMOCK AND SHUSHING DOGS

PTVO: Sylvia's status in Don Chabo's household is unclear. Who is her father? Her mother, Rosa, once lived with Don Chabo. Now Rosa and her husband, Herman, both live with him. When Bill or Don Chabo's family arrive, Rosa and Herman disappear and leave Sylvia behind. Don Chabo treats Sylvia as his daughter and his family notices. They fear he will deed to Sylvia the last remnant of family land.

SYLVIA HOLDS UP TWO PHOTOS
DC SITS, SYLVIA BENDS DOWN AND LOOKS INTO CAMERA
SYLVIA HOLDS UP CHIQUITO TO CAMERA, THEN SITS, THEN LEAVES CHAIR
SNAKE'S TAIL BEING JABBED

FIRST CROSSROADS SHOT
SUBTITLE: *Tuesday, February 9, 5pm

Into their fear comes a second story:
The family, distrustful of Herman and Rosa, imagines this plot.

No one is sure which story is actually true.

BH IN SHOWER: "because everybody in the family has a different story". --dur :05
PTVO: I am sure what happens next.
SUBTITLE: *Wedesday, February 10, 5:30pm

PTVO: I am sure what happens next. Manuel and Margot voice their fear to Bill. He asks--but how could Mexican authorities believe two drunks who have repeatedly abandoned their child and then accuse an old man of abusing the child he treats as his? Manuel answers: --The Mexican authorities won't believe Papa. Papa's a shaman.
While Manuel, Margot, Don Chabo and Bill enlist the support of the Maya Mayor of Mani, I park at the crossroads to watch for Herman.
DON CHABO SITTING AT MARKET, DEPRESSED
Bill says:
BHVO: The Mayor wants Sylvia placed in a foster home. He said it's improper for an adolescent to live with a man who's not her father. So, we're to bring her to his office tomorrow.

ALTAR

PTVO:
That night we sit around the altar. Sylvia hovers. Don Chabo says
--You will live with others.
(cut to matches on the floor)
Sylvia smiles. Don Chabo drops his cup. Sylvia's eyes fill.
She takes matches from the altar, lights them, and puts them out on her tongue.
(Cut to door , then matches)

ALTAR WITH CUP AND MATCHES
BARRACADED BACK DOOR FROM INTERIOR
CHAIR, ALTAR WITH OVERTURNED CUP
CU OF FLOOR WITH LITTERED MATCHES
DC KNEELS ON FLOOR BY HAMMOCK
SUBTITLE: *Wednesday, February 10, 8am.

The next morning I film the story of the night before: Don Chabo's cup, Sylvia's matches, the door triple locked against the revenge of Rosa and Herman.

SECOND CROSSROADS SHOT ENDING WITH WHITE CAR

THIRD CROSSROADS SHOT ENDING WITH GIRL ON BIKE WIPING THE SCREEN

PTVO: That evening, in the Mayor's office, Sylvia will agree to live in a foster home. When, and with whom, no one knows. For the rest of our stay, Bill and I will wait for Herman and Rosa by sleeping with clubs in the cooking hut with the dogs. The authorities will search without success for Sylvia's birth certificate. They will issue to her a relacement birth certificate called a Certificate of Non-Existence.

SYLVIA UPSIDE DOWN PHOTOS--DUR:10:06

SYLVIA UPSIDE DOWN SERIES D1 00:23:12:19 00:23:17:28 01:04:35:12 01:04:40:21 --DUR: 15

Herman and Rosa in House, Sylvia & Puppies

DC AT ALTAR, PAN TO MEX MOTHER AND CHILD, ROSA AND HERMAN ENTER

SUBTITLE: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 6:50PM
ROSA AND HERMAN ATTEMPT TO MOVE BACK INTO DC'S HOUSE.

ROSA WALKS BACK AND FORTH INSIDE HOUSE, MEX WOMEN TALK
DC SEATS INFANT AND MEX MOTHER AND SAANTIGUAARS HER
SYLVIA TWIRLING IN CIRCLES WITH PUPPIES AND DOG WITH DC'S VO
SNAKE BEING DRAGGED AWAY ON BIKES, CUT TO NEIGHBOR HOUSES

BH IN SHOWER: Damn thing about your life.

BH IN SHOWER: "And I said to him, you know.... (silence) Well, I don't have a right to say a damn thing about your life. --DUR: 12

HISTORY 4: Body Wars--dur: 1:21

MANI ZOOM OUT

sfx:

SUBTITLE: Beltran de Santa Rosa, HISTORIA? Yucatan, 1740.

COMPUTER VO: --Our Hail Mary is now translated into Mayan beginning with "Yumbil yan auokol": "The Father is on top of you". This "on top of"--Father on top of"--must be changed for it means something very ugly! Such words should be as far as possible from Our Most Pure Queen and Mother, especially given the weakness of these Natives.--DUR:45
BLACK SCREEN
SFX: FIRE BURNING OR WOOD FILE OR PORNO MOANS FROM SPANISH SPEAKING PORNO FLICK .

PANACAM OF COOKING HUT AND ITO FLOWING WITH CHICAGO T SHIRT--DUR: 1:10
SUBTITLE: Maya petition, Yucatan, 1600

COMPUTER VO: --I, the informer of the truth, tell you what you should know about Father Torres, Father Diaz, Father Granado and Father Maldonado: These Christian Fathers perform false confession, false last rites, false mass. God does not descend in the Consecrated Host when they say mass because they have erections. As for Father Torres, all he does is play with (the cunt of ) that ugly black devil Rita. Likewise Father Diaz who repeatedly screws a woman from Bolonchen before the whole town and squad corporal Father Granada who humps Manuela Pacheco all night long. God willing that smallpox be rubbed into their penis heads. Amen.

BLACK SCREEN
SFX:

DC SAYS FUCK YOU

DC SAYS BAHKATIK, FUCK YOU
ITO FUCK YOU DRAWING
DC FUCK YOU DEMO

FAMILY LAND--dur: 5:00??

SHOTS OF SPANISH CONQUISTADORS WITH FEET ON HEADS OF MAYA.

DC EXPLAINS HISTORY OF FAMILY LAND TO LEYTE

PTVO: "DON CHABO IS EXPLAINING THE HISTORY OF THE LOSS OF FAMILY LAND TO LETYE, HIS GRANDDAUGHTER. SHE SPEAKS LITTLE MAYA AND HE SPEAKS LITTLE SPANISH.

DC EXPLAINS FAMILY LAND TO LEYTE (WHITNEY)
LEYTE DRAWS TREES
FULL MAP OF FIRST FAMILY LAND
SECOND FULL MAP OF FAMILY LAND
FCM: NON-DROP FRAME
CU BOUNDARY OF TIA'S AND DC'S LAND
CU COOKING HUT AND PATH
CU COOKING HUT NUMBER TWO
CU PATH
CU HUT WITH BLUE DOOR

(NOTE: THIS SECTION NEEDS TO BE EDITED--SHOULD INCLUDE PUPPIES CRYING AT MANUEL'S OLD HOUSE, DUCK HIDDING IN RUINED OVEN, CLOSED GATES, RUINS, WALK AROUND LAND, NEIGHBOR HOUSES, BH: FAMILY MEMBERS DON'T KNOW WHERE EACH OTHER LIVES")

FAMILY: MERIDA--dur: 4:27+

ADD PATH SHOTS of gordi and ito playing bullfighter and bull

PTVO: "DON CHABO'S GRANDCHILDREN ARE NOT IN SCHOOL BECAUSE I HIRED THEIR MOTHER TO COOK. MARGARITA COOKS FOR 13 MEMBERS OF THE EXTENDED FAMILY WHILE WE FILM. AND NOW, WITH HER SECOND GRADE EDUCATION, MARGARITA ASKS BILL IF THE MALNUTRIRION HER CHILDREN SUFFERED AS INFANTS WILL PREVENT THEM FROM ATTENDING UNIVERSITY. SHE'S RIGHT--THEY'VE BEEN OUT OF GRAMMAR SCHOOL TOO LONG. WE ARRANGE TO HIRE MARGARITA NEXT YEAR.

ADD dc blessing the film or saying something else to camera.

PTVO: Don Chabo has asked me to bring him the exposed video and films for him to bless.

BUS PHOTOS TO MERIDA--dur: 15

ITO BLURRED PHOTO, RED WITH OUT OF FOCUS GREEN
ITO PHOTO, BLURRED GREEN BRANCHES AGAINST SKY
ITO PHOTO, BLURRED GREEN NO SKY
ITO PHOTO, BLURRED GREEN WITH SKY OPENING UP IN UPPER THIRD

PTVO: "I GIVE Margot's oldest son, Manuelito, A CAMERA. MANUELITO, WHO DREAMS OF BEING A PHOTOGRAPHER, BEGINS HIS CAREER ON THE BUS TO MERIDA."

MERIDA: PARTY (noon & pm)--dur: 4:12

KITE FLYING, RACK FOCUS TO WINDOW
FIRST DANCING IN MERIDA HOME
MAYA DRAWING OF DEER AND DANCING
BRIEF MAYA DEER DRAWING, END OF DANCE, MAYA DRAWING
ITO FUCK YOU DRAWING
KITE IN WINDOW, BUS, BH'S HAND, WINDOW WITH THREE RUNNING GIRLS
ITO WITH HEADPHONES DRUNK, BH MAKES PAPER HAT FOR GORDI
FOOD ON TABLE, LETI AND BH, ITO DRUNK, ITO PHOTO OF FLYING SAUCER
WINDOW, DC SAYING MAGIC TRICK, ITO FOLDING PAPER, DOING TRICK
ITO WITH STRING, PT SAYS "I'M FLYING TO CHICAGO", WHITEOUT

PART 3: The Mirror of Virtue

CHICAGO DREAM & CAMERAS--DUR:4:40

WHITESCREEN--dur:06
SFX: FALLING SNOW AND SOFT WIND

PHOTOS: CHICAGO SNOW (am)--

PHOTOS/CHICAGO LAKEFRONT, SHOW, 7 SCENES

SFX: FALLING SNOW AND SOFT WIND

SUBTITLE: CHICAGO, USA, 1991.

PTVO: "I ARRIVE IN SNOW AND SHIVER UNCONTROLLABLY. I HAVE this dream:

DRAWINGS: PT DREAM/CAMERAS--

SEVEN DREAM DRAWINGS

SFX: FALLING SNOW AND SOFT WIND

PTVO: "I'm clearing snow from inside don Chabo's roof. A voice FROM HIS roof says--Look!. The four BLIND directions HAVE ARRIVED AND STOOD THEIR FEET ON THE GROUND. Each wants your eyes.

PT DRAWING OF DC'S HOUSE AND ALTAR AREA WITH DIMENSIONS
FOUR CAMERA DRAWINGS
TWO DRAWINGS BY JNO

I CALL JNO COOK, THE CAMERA DESIGNER, AND TELL HIM ABOUT THE DREAM. COOK GETS INTERESTED. WE MEET FOR BREAKFAST OVER THE WINTER. I EXPLAIN FOUR WAYS I VIEW DON CHABO'S LIFE. By the last snow of the YEAR COOK has CREATED four cameras:
One will view inside DON CHABO'S house.
One will view outside HIS house.
One will MOVE IN CLOSER OR BACK OFF SLOWLY.
One will VIEW in circles.

DEMO: CAMERAS--

JNO'S DOG WALKS UP SPIRAL STAIRCASE AND FOLLOWS JNO INTO KITCHEN
JNO SHOWS PT THE CAMERA TIMER
JNO DEMOS PANACAM

JNO DEMOS PANACAM ON TRIPOD AND SAYS "I SHOULD MOTORIZE THIS"
PTVO: "He does.
TWO DRAWINGS BY JNO OF TILTING TRIPOD AND PANACAM

TITLES: PART 3--DUR: 35

WHITE SCREEN
SFX: JET IN AIR

YUCATAN: ARIAL VIEW, PLANE WING, SHIFTING CLOUDS--DUR:20

PTVO: "AND ONE YEAR LATER THE motorized tripod, COOK'S four cameras AND MY CAMCORDER are IN THE AIR AND DUE TO ARRIVE IN Yucatan. IT IS JANUARY --, 1991, two days after the start of the Persian Gulf War.

TITLE (BLACK LETTERS ON WHITE BACKGROUND): VIEWS FROM A MAYA ALTAR
SFX: MEXICAN POPULAR MUSIC AND NEWS REPORTS ABOUT PERSIAN GULF WAR IN LAYERS
PART 3: ============
TITLE/A WORK BY
TITLE/DON CHABO, SHAMAN
SFX: DC chanting saantiguaar fragment

DRAWING/DON CHABO
TITLE/BILL HANKS, ANTHROPOLOGIST
DRAWING/BILL HANKS
SFX: BH speaking English anthro lecture frament (pedagogically explaining Uic particle, or another)
TITLE/PETER THOMPSON, FILMMAKER
DRAWING/PETER THOMPSON
SFX: PT speaking English about some aspect of filming with eye

BLACK SCREEN

HISTORY 5: NOTE: CHOOSE SET

ARRIVALS

ARRIVAL: YUCATAN (pm)--dur:1:00

AUTO: NIGHT STREET SCENE, "PARA MERIDA?"
AUTO: PASSING TRUCK AT NIGHT. IT TURNS IN FRONT OF CAR
AUTO: BH WALKS AWAY FROM CAR
PUMP JOCKEY PUMPS GAS WHILE BH WAITS
AUTO: BRIGHT LIGHTS AND WINDSHIELD WIPERS IN RAIN
NIGHT SHOT, CAR PASSES TRUCK ON ROAD

ARRIVAL: MERIDA (noonªpm)--dur:

ARRIVAL: NEW APARTMENT--dur:1:44

AUTO: MERIDA HOME SHOT FROM WITHIN CAR

GOING INTO HOUSE: ITO & LETI LEGS WITH CAT
CAT PUSHED INTO HOUSE
MARGOTTE SITS DOWN, ITO SITS AT EXTREME RIGHT OF FRAME
PT COMMENTS ON ITOS VOICE HAVING DEEPENED
MARGOTTE'S HEAD WITH KIDS PASSING IN FRONT
PT VO: EMBRACES LETI, THEN SAYS THIS IS BEAUTIFUL

MERIDA: CU OF ENANO WITH TANK C16 16:08:08:12 16:08:17:05 02:25:08:21 02:25:17:14
MERIDA: GORDI FLIPS TRUCK OVER
MERIDA: ENANO PUTS STRING ON TRUCK AXEL XCU
MERIDA: IRAG IS BAD, NO?

ADD NEWSPAPER PHOTOS OF PERSIAN GULF WAR AND EXPLOSION HERE cover ariel photo of bombing --dur:10

EATING, FAMILY NEWS, FINDING DC'S EX--dur:13:42

EATING--dur: 5:00

MARGOTTE EATS, FIRST COCA COLA DRINK
MARGOTTE EATING, SECOND COKE
MARGOTTE EATING, THIRD COKE
MARGOTTE'S HANDS IN MIRROR, CU

STOLEN CAMERA --dur: 3:45

MARGOTTE AT TABLE EXPLAINING HOW SHE GOT THE RUN AROUND ABOUT ITO'S CAMERA
MARGOTTE IN MIRROR, ITO AT LOWER LEFT FRAME OF TABLE
ITO EXPLAINS THE CAMERA THEFT WITH HIS FACE REFLECTED IN MIRROR
ITO AND MARGOTTE FROM RIGHT SIDE OF TABLE, THEN ITO AND PT IN MIRROR
ITO HANDS CAMERA TO PT AND PT HANDS IT BACK TO ITO WHO TAKES PICTURE
PAN FROM MARGOTTES SKIRT TO BH LISTENING TO MANUEL AT THE TABLE

MANUEL ARRIVES HOME--dur:1:30

CU PHOTO OF DC AT OUTDOOR ALTAR IN BH'S BOOK
MANUEL TRIES ON T SHIRT AND SAYS IT IS GOOD FOR THE COLD
MANUEL TOASTS THE CAMERA, SAYS DC DOES NOT WANT PHOTOS OF ROSA

ITO TAKES PHOTOGRAPHS--dur:1:50

ITO TAKES FLASH PHOTO, PAN TO BH, THEN MANUEL, THEN MAR
MANUEL TELLING BH ABOUT VENEMOUS SNAKES
ITO TAKES FLASH OF BH
ITO'S PHOTO OF BH AT TABLE
PAN OF FAMILY AT TABLE FROM OTHER SIDE OF VENETIAN BLINDS

ITO'S PHOTOS OF FAMILY IN MERIDA--dur:15

ITO PHOTOS, TWO XCU SELF PORTRAITS
ITO PHOTO, LIGHT ON CHAIR WITH BH'S ARM
GORDI HOLDING PHOTO OF PARENTS
ITO PHOTO, ENANO PEEKING OUT OF WINDOW

FINDING DC'S EX-WIFE IN MERIDA MARKET--dur:1:22

PTVO: "I ASK TO MEET DON CHABO'S EX WIFE. MANUELITO SAYS HE CAN FIND HER."
MARKET SCENE OF SEARCHING FOR DC'S EX WIFE

MARKET SCENE WITH DC'S EX WIFE
ITO PHOTO OF DC'S EX WIFE

DC SAYS TINTTIN
TEXT: TINTIN

ITO AND BH WALK OUT OF MERIDA MARKET

ARRIVAL: MANI (pm)--dur:31

PHOTOS OF BUS TRIP (afternoon)--dur: 15

PTVO: "WITH PROVISIONS FROM THE MARKET, MARGARITA AND THE CHILDREN TRAVEL ON THE BUS FROM MERIDA TO MANI. WE TAKE THE CAMERAS AND EQUIPMENT BY CAR TO DON CHABO'S HOUSE.

ITO PHOTOS, BLURRED WITH BRIGHT SKY, BLURRED STONE FENCE
ITO PHOTO, FULL FRAME WITH TELEPHONE POLE
ITO PHOTOS, FENCE, SHADOW

BLACK SCREEN
SFX: DOGS BARKING

ARRIVAL: DC'S HOUSE (night)--dur:16

REUNION: BH, PT AND DC, SYLVIA

TEXT: SO 5 SPIRITS TAUGHT ME, BUT
I DIDNT' KNOW WHAT PRAYERS WERE
GOOD FOR UNTIL MY KIDS WERE BORN.

DOGS YAWN AS WE FOLLOW DC INTO ALTAR AREA

FAMILY & SHAMANIC LIFE

DC'S NEWS--dur: 9:47

HEALTH--dur:1:30

DC SITS AT ALTAR AND SAYS HIS EYES ARE WEAK
DC PICKS UP BOOK, BEGINS TO READ, TAPS BOOK AND TALKS ABOUT HIS WEAK EYE.
DC RUBS INJURED ARM.

DOGS--dur:3:22

DC TALKS ABOUT TORO: "IT'S A SIN TO KILL DOGS"
DC THREATENS CHIQUITO THE DOG, PAN TO SYLVIA THEN BH.

DC CHASES DOG OUT OF HOUSE.
DOG SNEAKS BACK INTO HOUSE AND LIES DOWN
SECOND DOG ENTERS HOUSE AND LEAVES

TEXT: So I said
--God, take her. End her sufferings.
I'm exhausted going to the doctor.

SORCERERS & EVANGELICALS--dur:4:55

DC SITS AT ALTAR AND TALKS ABOUT SORCERERS IN THE AREA
DC TALKS ABOUT GETTING NEW PATIENTS
DC SAYS HE CAN'T ADVERTISE HIS SERVICES
BH EXPLAINS TO PT HOW DC WILL NOT EXPLOIT PEOPLE

TEXT: Then I saw the eyes of my
second daughter. And I said
--Doctor, my other child is sick, too!

FAMILY LIFE--dur:17:20

ARRIVAL: PHOTOS--dur: 15

PTVO: MARGARITA AND THE GRANDCHILDREN ARRIVE AT MIDNIGHT.

ITO DRAWING/DC AT DOORWAY OF HUT
ITO PHOTO/DC OPENS DOOR OF HUT
ITO PHOTO/DC STANDS WITH SYLVIA
ITO PHOTOS/TWO SETS OF DOGS FIGHTING

TEXT: And Doctor said

--No, no, she's not sick.

So I paid him, I was so happy.

KIDS PLAY BALLOONBALL--dur: 1:00

KIDS PLAYING BALLOONBALL AT NIGHT
D1 00:08:06:06 00:08:09:21 08:36:11:06 08:36:14:21
PHOTO/SYL,ENANO,DOG PLAYING BALLOONBALL
PHOTO/SYL,ENANO, GORDI IN HAMMOCK PLAYING BALLOONBALL
PHOTO/SYL, ENANO, GORDI IN HAMMOCK PLAYING BALLOONBALL
PHOTO/SYL REACHING UP FOR BALL
TWO PHOTOS OF BALLOONBALL
PHOTO/ENANO AND GORDI LEAN INTO HAMMOCK
TWO PHOTOS OF BALLOONBALL

KIDS READY FOR BED--dur: 1:20

TWO PHOTOS OF SYLVIA SPREADING HAMMOCK AND SITTING IN IT
PHOTO/SYLVIA RESPREADING HAMMOCK
ITO PHOTOS/STRUNG HAMMOCKS, BH WITH HAMMOCKS
ITO PHOTOS/SYLVIA WITH DOG, SYLVIA SITTING IN HAMMOCK

TEXT: My daughter suddenly became light in my arms, and died. Going to fields I wept. Coming home I wept. Continually.

ITO PHOTOS/SLUNG HAMMOCKS, BH WITH SLUNG HAMMOCKS
ITO PHOTO/DC IN HAMMOCK

SLEEPING (OVERHEADS)--dur :33

PHOTO/SYLVIA UPSIDE DOWN IN HAMMOCK WITH DOG

TEXT: My first daughter was still dry and covered with flies. She lay in her hammock opening and closing her mouth.

PHOTO/ENANO SLEEPING IN HAMMOCK WRAPPED UP
PHOTO/ENANO WITH PUPPY IN HAMMOCK WITH FEET APART
PHOTO/DC ASLEEP UPSIDE DOWN IN HAMMOCK WITH SUNLIGHT
PHOTO/DC SITS UP IN HAMMOCK WITH HAT ON
PHOTO/DC LEANS FORWARD IN HAMMOCK WITH HAT ON AND SUNLIGHT
PHOTO/SUNLIGHT ON FLOOR
TWO PHOTOS/DC LEANS FORWARD IN HAMMOCK, THEN BACK
PHOTO/DC SLEEPS UPSIDE DOWN WITH LIGHT FROM DOORWAY

TEXT: I AWOKE AND OPENED
MY DOOR AND SAW MY PATH
HAD BECOME BEAUTIFUL AND HARD.

LEYTE SWEEPS--dur: 49

LEYTE SWEEPING FLOOR
LEYTE SWEEPS, GORDI ENTERS THEN RUNS OUT LAUGHING

MARGOT LIGHTS FIRE--dur: 1:15

CU MARGOTTE LIGHTING FIRE
MARGOT PUTS KETTLE ON FIRE
MARGOT ADJUSTS KETTLE AND BEGINS TO SWEEP

MARGOT SWEEPS #1--dur: 1:14

MARGOT SAYS MISTIK, TO SWEEP
MARGOT SWEEPS DEBRIS OUT OF COOKING HUT
MARGOT TIES MARGARITA FLOWER AND SAYS ITS NAME
MARGARITA INTRODUCES HERSELF TO CAMERA

BIO: MARGOT--dur: 1:30??

TEXT: EXTENDED TEXT ON HER LIFE

MARGOT SWEEPS #2--dur: 4:28?

MARGOT FINISHES SWEEPING BY COOKING HUT AND WALKS UP PATH
TRUCK, MARGOT WITH BUCKET, SWEEPS, WALKS BACK TO REAR PATH

BACKYARD LITTER--dur: 30

GARDEN LITTER/COMIC AMONGST LEAVES AND VINES
GARDEN LITTER/CLOSE UP OF COMIX OF MAN AND WOMAN IN BED
GARGEN LITTER/CIGARETTE WRAPPER AND COMIX
GARDEN LITTER/CIG WRAPPER AND GOURD
GARDEN LITTER/CIG WRAPPER AND GOURD
GARDEN LITTER/WRAPPER, GOURD, DRYING MEDICINES
GARDEN LITTER/CIGARETTE WRAPPER AND COMIC
GARDEN LITTER/CIGARETTE WRAPPER CLOSE UP
GARDEN LITTER/DRYING MEDECINES ON OIL CLOTH
GARDEN LITTER/2 HEAPS OF MEDICINES BY PATH

DC'S OUTDOOR ALTAR: REMNANTS

DC AT OUTDOOR ALTAR, LEAVES TO LITE FIRE, KIDS RUN UP PATH

OUTDOOR ALTAR/XCU, VINE RINGS AND SLATS COME INTO FOCUS
OUTDOOR ALTAR/CU, FOUR VINE RINGS ON SLATS
OUTDOOR ALTAR/SIDE VIEW OF SLATS AND PALM TREE
OUTDOOR ALTAR/TWO SHOTS BELOW ALTAR TWO SLATS LEAN INTO PALM
SHOTS OF KNOTS ON OUTDOOR ALTAR
TWO SHOTS/TOP OF OUTDOOR ALTAR, CU OF KNOTTED TWINE

DC LIGHTS BRUSHWOOD FIRE AND FANS IT

MARGOT COOKS--dur:3:08

CU OF POT ON FIRE WITH CROSSBEAM OUT OF FOCUS
CU POT COVER, MARGOT'S HAND ENTERS REMOVES LID, BOILING WATER
MARGOTTE LADLES WATER FROM POT INTO GREEN PAN
TWO SHOTS OF GOURD IN WATER, WATER IN BLUE BUCKET
MEDIUM SHOT OF WATER IN BLUE BUCKET
MARGOT FOLDS GREEN HOSE AND PLACES IT ON POST
MARGOT WRINGS HANDS, POINTS TO BH AND DC WHO STRETCH
DC STRETCHES
ALCINEA TWISTS AND HUNTS FOR FLEAS IN SUN ON PATH BY DOOR

MARGOT SAYS TINTIN

DC STRETCHES WITH ARMS HIGH, THEN BENDS OVER
B2 08:19:38:13 08:19:47:04 01:21:54:02 01:22:02:25
MARGOT SWEEPS ASHES THEN BENDS OVER TO FIRE
DC CONTINUES TO STRETCH

MARGOT TIES--dur: 1:31

MARGOT TIES UP YELLOW FLOWER WITH TWINE

MARGOT SAYS KAXHIK, TO TIE

DC FINISHES HIS STRETCHES BY IMITATING A BIRD FLAPPING HIS WINGS

ADD BH TAKING PHOTO OF MANUEL AND MARGOTTE

HOSE WITH WATER DRIPPING, PUPPY HEAD ENTERS AND LICKS WATER
ITO GETS GOURD OF WATER FROM BLUE BUCKET
WIRE KNOTS ON LOGS

SHAMANIC LIFE

DC TIES ALTAR (am)--Dur:1:04

LETI DRAWING, LEFT SIDE OF ALTAR
LETI DRAWINGS, RIGHT SIDE OF DC'S ALTAR
LETI DRAWING OF MIRROR OF VIRTUE
DC TIES ALTARCLOTH WHILE BH TAKES PHOTO
BH PHOTO, DC TYING ALTARCLOTH
PT FILMING
BH PHOTO, DC TYING ALTARCLOTH FROM LEFT SIDE
PT FILMING
BH PHOTO, DC TYING ALTARCLOTH FROM LEFT
PT FILMING

FAMILY EATING --dur: ?

SCENES OF MARGOT COOKING, SYLVIA'S FEET WAITING, EVERYBODY EATING

DC MAKES MEDICINE--dur: ?

DC GATHERS MEDICINE--dur: ?

DC NUMBERS UNO DOS
DC NUMBERS ONE, TWO
DC NUMBERS THREE FOUR FIVE SIX
DC WRAPS MEDECINES AND GIVES TO PATIENT

DC, ALTAR, WOMEN & EXPLOSION--dur: ?

ALTAR CLOSE UP (WHITNEY EDL)
CU OF FLOWERS AND NIDO CANS
ALTAR, FLOWERS, NIDO CANS
ALTAR, FRONT VIEW
CU OF CHRIST
TWO CHRISTS
CU OF HAND WITH DYNAMITE
CROSS CU
MAN JAMMING STICK AT WELL
CANDLE WITH WICK
MAN'S HEAD ABOVE HOLE
PAN FROM FIRST TO SECOND MAN AT WELL
DC & TWO WOMEN AT ALTAR & EXPLOSION
CARTOON WOMAN SURPRISED
SURPRISED CARTOON WOMAN
SURPRISED CARTOON MAN
MISSLE
GRAVE CONFUSION
FIRE EXPLOSION
WELL EXPLOSION

TIICHKAK WITH FIDGETING GIRL (am)

SUBTITLE: *FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 5:40AM

GIRL FIGETS ON CHAIR, YAWNS

GIRL FIGETS ON CHAIR, YAWNS, MEDECINE IS GIVEN

GIRL FIGETS ON CHAIR, YAWNS, EXIT

medecines, bark drying, folding, etc.

dc 's sleep interrupted by new patients (b12:40)

MANI WOMAN HIRES DC--dur:2:25

SUBTITLE: *SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 11:15PM

ALTAR, WOMAN ENTERS, DC FREES HER, WOMAN AND CHILD LEAVE BY FRONT DOOR.

ENANO LEARNS TO MAKE BIRD FLY WITH HAND

TEXT/The 5 jaguar spirits would say

--We're going to tell you again so you retain it in your BODY'S earth.

 

Then the 5 jaguar spirits would repeat the saantiguaar. So I went along like that, learning.
UXMAL NARRATORS: WISE INDIAN KNOWS MANY THINGS

The 5 jaguar spirits brought me to ruins full of Maya men. I walked among them. I heard their prayers.

UXMAL RUINS

The 5 jaguar spirits said

--Everything we let you see and hear you must remember and say.

The 5 jaguar spirits said to me

--Listen. Feed yourself on the back of True God, and his Lord Winds.

.

The 5 jaguar spirits said

--Listen! Feed your earth following True God, and his Jaguar Spirits.

The 5 jaguar spirits said

--Listen! Do not use your heat to kill. Follow the narrow path.

The 5 jaguar spirits said to me

--Listen. If you kill with the heat of your mouth, you'll die.

MANI WOMAN

The 5 jaguar spirits said to me

--Listen. If you make money with the heat of your mouth, you'll die.

I said to the 5 jaguar spirits

--Fine, my Lords! I really like what you've said.

And then I awoke in my house in my hammock and opened my eyes and viewed life in front of me.

incurable man, commentary on mani woman (a16:08)

MANI DANCE, SYLVIA STOOD UP, HICK, FIESTA, WAR, black dog stalking me, SYLVI'S DRAWINGS ON WALL WITH MEX NEWS (B20:46)

DANCE

PHOTOS: LEYTI MAKEUP SERIES

*Saturday, February 4, 11am.
A young man invites Leyti to the dance the next day at Mani.
She puts on makeup all afternoon.and is not ready when he arrives.

OVERHEAD PHOTOS: SYLVIA RED DRESS SERIES

*Sunday, February 5 10am:
A young man invites Sylvia to the dance in Mani.
Margotte borrows a red dress.
Sylvia awaits his return that afternoon and night.
The young man never returns.

MAYA HICK: TIICHKAK

MAYA HICK TELLS DC ABOUT BULLFIGHT IN MANI

DC VISITS MANI CATHEDRAL

MANI: DC TURNS AWAY FROM CATHEDRAL WINDOW WITH TAMRAC BAG ON TUMPLINE
MANI: DC IN DARK CORRIDOR ENTERS BACKLIT ROOM
MANI: CATHEDRAL GRATE AT TOP OF ROOF
MANI: CATHEDRAL STAIRS ON TOP OF ROOF
MANI: DC ON ROOF TURNS HEAD TO LOOK DOWN AT MANI FIESTA
MANI: DC SITTING ON TOP OF MANI CATHEDRAL
MANI: BH WALKING UP TO THE TOP OF THE OUTSIDE MANI DOME
MANI: DC LOOKS OUT OVER THE MANI FIESTA FROM THE TOP OF THE MANI CATHEDRAL
MANI: LS OF MAN SWEEPING
MANI: LEFT SIDE FRONT OF MANI CATHEDRAL WITH TREE AND SEATED MAN
MANI: SHADOW OF MAN ADJUSTING RIDE, THEN SWEEPER ENTERS FROM BOTTOM
MANI: WOMAN WASHING CLOTHES ON TRUCK AS PEOPLE WALK AND RIDE BY
MANI: RIGHT FRONT OF CATHEDRAL WITH PASSING CAR AND EXPLOSION
MANI: DC ON ROOF LISTENING TO EXPLOSION
MANI: VIEW INTO BULLRING WITH MEN CARRYING BUNDLES AND TALKING IN STREET
MANI: RIGHT FRONT OF CATHEDRAL WITH MAN WITH BUNDLE CROSSING PATHS WITH GIRL

MANI BULLFIGHT

MANI: MAN WALKING BEHIND BRIGHTLY COLORED BOOTHS NEAR BULLRING
MANI: MAN MAKES GESTURE INSIDE MANI FIESTA BULLRING, QUICK BLURRED PAN RIGHT

PHOTOS: MANI FIESTA COSTUMES

COLOR NEWS PHOTO: CARNIVAL COSTUMED MEN AND WOMEN LOOKING CONFUSED
COLOR NEWS PHOTO: CARNIVAL COSTUMED GIRLS LOOKING INTO CAMERA
COLOR NEWS PHOTO: TWO MEN COSTUMED AS BEES
COLOR NEWS PHOTOS: CLOWN CARROUSEL, THEN TWO GIRLS STRAINING UPWARD
COLOR NEWS PHOTO: TWO GIRLS IN COSTUME LOOKING AT CAMERA
COLOR NEWS PHOTO: TWO COCACOLA GIRLS IN LOW ANGLE SHOT
COLOR NEWS PHOTO: TWO COCACOLA GIRLS WITH BIG BIRD LOOMING OVERHEAD

PHOTOS: SADDAM THE BULL

COLOR PHOTO: MANI: TORRERO WITH BULL
COLOR PHOTOT: MANI: CHASING THE BULL ON HORSEBACK
COLOR PHOTOS: MANI:SADDAM THE BULL IN LONG SHOT AND THEN IN CLOSE UP

DC EXPLAINS PLANT PARTS

DC EXPLAINS COSMOS

DC SITTING ON HAMMOCK WITH COSMOS DRAWING (WHITNEY)
DC SITTING ON SIDE WITH COSMOS DRAWING
DC LYING BACK WITH COSMOS DRAWING
DC LYING BACK NUMBER TWO
DC GETS READY TO LEAVE HAMMOCK
EMPTY HAMMOCK
DC EXPLAINS COSMOS

DC & EVANGELISTS

DC TALKS re EVANGELISTS at night

EVANGELISTS' night SERVICE

HISTORY 6: RELIGION

BLACK SCREEN
SFX: STONE CHIPPING

SLOW ZOOM INTO MAYA GLYPH IN STONE WALL

SUBTITLE TEXT RE NAME OF MERIDA CATHEDRAL
SUBTITLE: Friar Pedro Sanchez de Aguilar, Yucatan,1613

COMPUTER VO:--If the Sodomites, according to the Law of the Kingdom, were burned alive for having mutated and changed the Natural Order, all the more reason that these Maya Indians should be burned alive for having twisted the Divine Order, for having removed the honor from worship by the multitude of gods whom they adore and hide among rocks. In this province of Yucatan, it is a vast flat jungle, so dense and so dark from the multitude of trees and ROCKS upon it that an Indian can hide ten feet from the PATH and not be seen. In these jungles there are innumerable PATHS TO caves among the rocks where the Indians hide and adore their idols.

PANACAM ON PATH IN DC'S GARDEN ENDING WITH ITO IN CHICAGO SHIRT
SUBTITLE: Letter from Maya chiefs to the Spanish Crown, Yucatan, 1567

COMPUTER VO: --So being lowly commoners, we misunderstood their meanings and became peaved with the Christian priests. Meanwhile the priests bore down ever more heavily upon us, and took themselves to be our sole judges, so that they could put an end to our evil. For truly we were caught and mired beneath the violent demands of the devil. Often we follow the PATH of our Maya fathers, which is our PATH too. And we cannot improve as long as we speak the devil's language and form images of our Maya devil. For these STONES, these are the vulgar (clay ) STONES that we intensely adore in the fantasies of our hearts.

DC PRAYS for EARTH

TEXT/"50 years ago this stuff I do began. It doesn't come from me. It comes from the Mirror of Virtue.

BH IN SHOWER: "And he kept coming back to "well, there's this and there's this, but that's espiritual' how are we going to show it.

DC'S FINAL PRAYER AND EXIT

END OF PAPER EDIT EXCERPT

 

This is Freeware written in 1989 by Peter Thompson. Feel free to pass it on to other filmmakers with my blessing.