Character sketch

[Note to Reviewers - This is just a character sketch, because character is one of the weaknesses in my writing. I'm going for economy here - the lack of which is another weakness. I'd appreciate feedback specifically on those things, as well as anything else you feel would help. By the way, the names are spelled correctly, as they belong to people I know. Thanks.]

"Burke," John said, "remember that you're a farily well-off graphic designer and you have finally decided to get a handle on your financial situation. Natacha, your role as a financial advisor is to find out exactly what he wants and offer only the bank's services that'll help him get it.

"Aaand...action!"

He listened with half his attention to the badly-written script as he framed his shot. He wished, for the hundredth time, that Natacha wouldn't keep looking at the teleprompter to her left - in the camera lens, it was obvious that she wasn't looking at her "client".Oh well, he told himself, these are the actors the bank wanted; it wasn't his fault they really weren't that good. At least Nick, his gaffer, knew his job - the scene, in all its inanity, would be properly lit.

John's mind wandered, as it sometimes did, to his current pet project. He was still working out a way to get his tourism film produced and into stores. As the actors went through their paces and he kept the shot steady, he mused on his latest approach: working with the government's tourism department to have them distribute the DVD at their highway information centres and their foreign consulates. If only...

"Ah, John, can we stop here and go back about two lines?" asked Louise, the French language consultant. "They're not reading the script as it's written. She should have said 'notre services', not "nos services'. The script is very formal, and she shouldn't..."

"The script is too formal", said Natacha, "I think, if I'm supposed to be making some kind of personal contact with him, I should be a little folksier."

"But the script..." began Louise.

John wanted to tell them both to be quiet and just get on with it, but he knew that would never work.

"Natacha, can you just use your tone of voice for the feeling you want?" He tried to keep exasperation out of his voice. "I see your point, but you know it's too late to go back and get approval for changes in the dialogue."

That was the thing with the bank, he thought. Once they finally got everything written and approved, it would take them a month to agree to a change. And their staff would watch the video with the script in hand, marking every deviation. They'd scream if there was even a word out of place, and demand to have the whole thing re-shot.

Natacha knew this as well as he did. "Well, if it's that important," she began.

"Great, thank you.

"So, from the beginning of the scene. Aaand...action!"

They began again. His mind went back to the meeting with the deputy minister. That had shown promise; she had been interested in the project. He knew, if he could get them lined up to distribute the DVD, he could get funding to actually make the film. Then, maybe, he wouldn't need to worry about losing the bank's business.

"Aaand...cut!"

He moved around so he could re-shoot the scene from Natacha's point of view. Nick got busy with the lights while Eric, grateful for the break, put down the boom mike. That was something else he was grateful for - Eric, while he could be a pain, was one of the best sound men in the business. John positioned himself behind Natacha and focused on Burke, while the make-up woman - what was her name again? - dusted his face with powder to reduce the glare. Louise came over to talk to Burke, bumping against the make-up woman.

John could see that Louise was annoying everyone. It was a gift, he guessed, although in her business it probably paid to be a nit-picker. It was too bad she had such an inflated idea of her importance to the program. You'd think this was an adaptation of Moliere instead of a bank training video. Takes all kinds, he told himself.

At last Nick was finished. John called for quiet, the red warning light flashed "Aaand...action!"

Once more into the breach, he thought to himself. This was the last scene, and then they could wrap. And not a moment too soon. Once again he was off, thinking about tourism and how to get his DVD distributed, while the actors went through their lines and Louise interrupted every few minutes over some minor point. When he said "Cut!" for the last time, Burke and Natacha headed straight out the door without even pausing to remove their make-up. Louise had that effect on people.

Resignedly, John switched off all the gear, and he, Eric and Nick packed everything up in silence. Louise had left, but John knew he would hear from her tomorrow about the actors. Well, that was tomorrow's problem. He said goodnight to his staff and headed out to the SUV. If he was lucky, he'd be able to do a little more planning for his next meeting with the ministry.