SHADOW-LIGHT SAMPLE SCRIPT
Megan James
AXIS Grafix
May, 2002

Back story: Jeff and Jade Wing (father and daughter) have discovered that the evil-powers-that-be have decided to take advantage of a state championship basketball game to implant subdermal micro-transmitters in several high-ranking people who will be attending. Their plan is for Jade to don her armor and “crash the party” while Jeff assists through his computer (he will hack into the computer system at the arena). Since he is wearing his visor and it is connected to his computer, he can see whatever visual images Jade’s visor sends it, and we can see them as well on his computer monitor.

PAGE 1 -- 4 Panels

Panel 1:Establishing shot. Jeff and Jade Wing are in their helicopter hovering over the basketball arena. We can see them inside it, and the building and the crowd beneath.

Although mundane daily life in this city, its people and its buildings might not appear on the surface to be too much different than they are in 2002, this helicopter should be a reminder that this is the future! It needs to be technologically advanced, both a work of beauty and an efficient, well-armed fighting machine. Use your discretion and imagination. Although it is technically a helicopter, it uses a new solar power source (hyper-light crystal, the technological star of this series), so you don’t need to feel limited by today’s ideas of what makes a helicopter a helicopter, such as, say, dimensions. Normally the helicopter would be cloaked and therefore invisible on a sortie such as this, but they’ve come straight from a covert mission and need to recharge their cloaking device (otherwise this would be a very boring panel, no?).

The arena is the size of a large high school or small college arena. A large crowd of people has arrived and is moving toward it from the parking lot. If any of the people are clearly visible, there should be a mix of ages and races, including mixed-race families. A few cars might be visible, but it’s not necessary to see the full lot. A limousine is pulling up to the front of the arena.

All of the following may not be visible in this particular panel, but should guide you for the following pages:
Jeff Wing is a middle-aged, slender Asian man. He’s had a hard life - it shows in his face, but not in his body, which he keeps in good condition. He’s wearing black, perhaps a jumpsuit or perhaps something like a turtleneck and utilitarian pants. His eyes are covered by a variation of his fighting visor (they are smaller and could almost pass as wrap-around sunglasses). They are connected by wires to the impressive computer system inside the helicopter.
Jade is his fifteen year old daughter. She is half Asian, half Caucasian. She is also trim and fit, and is in full armor.

Panel 2: Interior of the helicopter. Jeff is kissing Jade goodbye on the top of her head. Her tense body language and hand reaching out and gripping the exit show that she’s chomping at the bit, eager to go. She might even be half-way out the door.

Panel 3: Low angle, looking up at Jade as she glides down toward the roof of the arena. Her cloak helps her glide, and she can also, if necessary, use the small rocket blasters on her ankles. Part of the building should be visible at the bottom of the panel.

Panel 4: High angle, long shot of the outside of the arena, from behind or behind/to-the-side-of the building. Jade is crouched on top of the building, looking down at the crowd. Several men in uniforms something like riot gear, their faces covered, are getting out of a nondescript van (it should not appear “governmental”) parked on the side of the building. Jade and the men are hid from the pedestrians by the architecture of the building, and from each other’s view as well. A man - the Governor - is getting out of the limousine, its door help open by the driver.

PAGE 2 -- 3 Panels

Panel 1: The Governor is entering the building. He is African-American, aging, dressed in a tailored suit, and very refined/distinguished in appearance. His driver is holding the door open. Several excited teenagers are squeezing through, too, and he can’t help but be amused by their enthusiasm.

Panel 2: Interior of the arena. The Governor has reached his seat in the front row by the floor of the court. Some of the audience members are staring at the overhead scoreboard, transfixed by lights flashing on it. Others are still focused on each other or are in the process of sitting down.

Panel 3: Large panel, inside the control room for the arena. In the foreground we see a close-up on a control board covered with knobs, switches and sliders. A gloved hand is flipping a large, important-looking switch. Visual FX shows the switch is being thrown.
In the background there is a large viewing window, through which we can see the court area and audience. Every person (again, show mixed ages and races) is staringup toward the scoreboard, slack-jawed. They are all transfixed now; someone has used a light sequence to mesmerize/hypnotize them.

PAGE 3 -- 9 Panels

Panel 1: A medium shot reveals that the gloved man is dressed in the same gear as the men getting out of the van on Page 1. The room is dark enough to indicate that he has cut off the lights, and through a corner of the viewing window we can see it is also dark in the court area.

Panel 2: A group of the uniformed men are standing in the doorway leading into the court area. The panel is very dark and shadowy, too dark for us to clearly see what is going on, but we can make out that the point-man is using a sweeping arm movement to tell the others to move into the area.

Panel 3: Worms-eye view of Jade sliding through a rooftop access into some nondescript portion of the arena (probably an upper level janitor’s closet). The daylight is visible on the outside, but she’s lowering herself into the darkened room.

Panel 4: The people in the darkened arena are still staring straight ahead. More of the uniformed men are moving through them.

Panel 5: Jade, determined, is running through a dark corridor, illuminated by the glow from her suit.

Panel 6: One of the uniformed men is by the front row and is standing beside the Governor, holding something. Again (see lighting for Panel 2), these panels are sodark/shadowy that we can’t quite make out exactly what is going on, but all will be clear soon.

Panel 7: Jade bursts into the court area.

Panel 8: Jade’s point of view. She is using her visor to view the room. We need a special panel to use whenever this is happening (indicated by a specially shaped panel or fancy border, or some other stylistic device), plus special effects for the different wavelength settings of the visor. In this panel she’s using the infrared setting, which allows her to see heat, so she see the heat-imprints of the people in the front row. We should see at least one uniformed man, the same colors as the others but standing instead of sitting. Perhaps he can be in the cross-hair of her visor.

Panel 9: Jade’s point of view. Her visor is now on the radio waves setting. Radio waves are emanating from the place on her visor where the uniformed man is standing (again, using cross-hairs?). The artist should use his judgment whether the radio wave setting should also allow visible light to be seen, so that dark shapes or shadows, or even the people themselves, will also be visible at this point.

PAGE 4 -- 6 Panels. Note: There is some firing of weapons following. It must not appear that Jade is firing into the crowd or endangering the audience.

Panel 1: Jade has fired one wrist blaster at the uniformed man. It is only on the light setting, so it does no damage, but clearly illuminates the scene (like a massively powerful flashlight). He is holding the mesmerized Governor by the wrist, and has already depressed the plunger of a large syringe sticking into the governor’s arm.

Panel 2: Inset into Panel 1. Over-the-shoulder shot of Jeff at the computer in the helicopter. He has on his visor, and wires run to the computer. We can see the monitor, and it is showing the same scene that Jade is seeing (since he is getting the feed from her visor).

Panel 3: Jade is firing - this time a real blast - toward the uniformed man, unaware that a second uniformed man is coming up behind her.

Panel 4: Jade is hit from behind by weapon fire. It hits her cloak and propels her forward slightly, back arched, but she is protected by the armored cloak (although it flows and drapes like a normal cloak, it is coated with a powdered substance which gives it this capability).

Panel 5: Close-up. Jade is crouched down, looking over her shoulder toward where the shot came from. She is annoyed - as in, how dare he?

Panel 6: Jade is leaping into the air, propelled by the rockets on her ankles. The two uniformed men are simultaneously firing at the spot where she just was, and their weapons’ blasts are hitting each other, with impressive reaction, below her.

PAGE 5 -- 6 Panels

Panel 1: Jade is hanging from a piece of architecture, or possibly the scoreboard. She has suction devices on the soles of her boots, and may also have similar devices on her gloves (although she can also just grip with her fingers). She is firing down toward one of the uniformed men. A second uniformed man is speaking urgently into his radio.

Panel 2: Inset into Panel 1. Jeff is before his computer monitor, which shows the scene from Jade’s POV. He’s typing furiously on the keyboard (he’s trying to turn the lights back on).

Panel 3: The lights come back on. The surprised uniformed men flee for the exit.

Panel 4: Jade alights next to the Governor.

Panel 5: Close up of Jade’s hand as she reaches out to touch her index finger to a small welt on the Governor’s arm (where the transmitter was injected). The wiring in her glove should be clearly visible.

Panel 6: Back in the helicopter, Jeff is pushing away from his computer, a triumphant look on his face. On his monitor, we see Jade’s view of her finger making contact with the spot on the Governor’s arm. A visual FX indicates something electrical is happening (she is scrambling the transmitter).