Eddie had started his job, the only thing that annoyed him was that Shiller insisted on sitting behind him, watching him work.
Those who have engaged in artistic work should understand how annoying it is when someone insists on peeking over your shoulder while you are focused on your work, but for the sake of money, Eddie still held his nose and endured it.
To direct a movie, having just these surveillance camera footages was not enough. He first needed to create a script based on the timeline, then reconstruct the scene using special effects, and finally shoot it with cameras.
So, the first task Eddie did was to watch all the surveillance videos and write a draft of the script.
Of course, the first batch of surveillance footage was about the Invisible Man, which also included some of Robbins's resume. After thinking, Eddie began writing:
"Scene: On the campus
Time: The busy dismissal time when people come and go
Characters: High school student Robbins and his two best buddies
Dialogue content: Robbins picked up a magical cloak last night, tried it at home, and discovered that the magical cloak could make him completely invisible. So, he invited his two best buddies to his house, planning to use the cloak for pranks."
Eddie casually wrote some dialogue, the image of a rebellious teenager and his two bad influences vividly appeared on the paper. The following content involved creating various pranks—playing tricks on teachers and students at school, and getting back at those they didn't get along with.
Since this part was not crucial, Eddie designed several transitions to mold Robbins's mischievous image and fully demonstrated the capabilities of the cloak.
Then the plot twist came. One of the bad influences wanted to use the cloak to get back at his rival after his girlfriend was stolen by another. He planned to sabotage the rival's party, but Robbins disagreed.
At this point, Eddie emphasized Robbins's expressions. His eyes were glaring, his face distorted, and there was an indescribable desire in his eyes, obviously a foreshadowing laid by the camera.
Neither could persuade the other, and they parted unhappily. But that friend secretly sneaked into Robbins's house and stole the cloak.
Robbins discovered the cloak was missing, but the emotion that appeared wasn't anger from betrayal but a deep panic and even madness.
The friend who took the cloak and wanted to cause trouble also encountered problems. The cloak went out of control at the party, wrapped around his rival, and swallowed him.
When an angry Robbins arrived at the scene, only the cloak remained, but he didn't care much about it. He wrapped the cloak around himself like a greedy addict.
He set out to kill another friend who knew about the cloak. The cloak could only belong to him.
The successful Robbins grew crazier and started allowing the cloak to devour anyone he disliked. Nearly the entire police force of the block chased him, but he didn't care at all.
All he wanted to know was how to make the cloak stronger.
It was then he heard news that there was not just one cloak. This powerful divine artifact had a twin sibling when it was created, stored in the mysterious Himalayas.
Robbins caused a commotion at Kamar-Taj's headquarters in the Himalayas. Eventually, amidst the obstruction of countless mages, the cloak revealed its true form—this was actually a ploy of Dormammu.
Robbins successfully repelled the mages, reached the treasure hall of Kamar-Taj, but just as Dormammu's dark hand reached for another treasure, the Supreme Magician arrived.
After a fierce battle, the Supreme Magician successfully defeated Dormammu. Robbins came to his senses, realized he had been controlled by the cloak to commit wrongdoings, and felt terrified by all that had transpired.
However, the Supreme Magician saw a potential for wielding divine artifacts in him. He took off his own cloak, held it in his hand, and reached out to Robbins, asking if he wanted to learn more about the secrets of Kamar-Taj.
After putting down the last stroke, Eddie looked at his work with a degree of pride. Not bad, a well-rounded teenage magic adventure story. Though not particularly novel, it should appeal to the youth.
After all, many young people dream of picking up a divine artifact on the streets and becoming a superhero. With many such movies in recent years, the feedback from the youth demographic has been good.
The Supreme Magician also has quite a few fans, as people have always been fascinated by the mystery of magic, and the special effects of the Supreme Magician are indeed powerful. He matches everyone's stereotype of a mage while also being a highly skilled, life-saving doctor; it's unsurprising he has followers.
Eddie was confident that the movie would be a hit. Of course, since it was naturally a commercial popcorn movie, making money would mean completing the mission.
Before he could show the completed script to Shiller with pride, he saw Shiller narrowing his eyes and pursing his lips, saying, "How come you only wrote Robbins's story, what about the rest?"
Eddie was bemused by the question, and he said, "What rest?"
"I gave you so much surveillance footage," Shiller pointed at the computer screen and said. "You're only shooting the very first tenth?"
"Yes, this is the first part," Eddie nodded as a matter of course, but upon seeing Shiller's dissatisfied expression, he had a bad feeling and was shocked as he turned to the screen.
"You're not expecting me to turn all of this into a movie, are you???"
Shiller nodded.
He actually nodded! Eddie was horrified. How could he nod?!
Eddie stood frozen for a long while before he remembered Shiller was not a director and probably lacked the expertise, so he began earnestly explaining to Shiller.
"Movies are known as condensed dynamic art because they have the shortest duration among all types of visual arts, except for those incomprehensible art films. Most movies should not exceed four hours, and it is best to keep them under three hours."
"Especially commercial films, because the time is so limited, the story must be clear and logical, without too many tangents; otherwise, it loses focus, confuses the viewers, and it's hard to capture the key points when promoting, making it difficult to attract audiences."
"The most important thing in a popcorn movie is to make the story clear." Eddie pointed at his script and said, "I know this story might seem a bit naive, but basically every type of story has its audience. As long as you can make the story clear, you can sell tickets to those people, at least not at a loss."
"Are you trying to make me shoot an art film aiming for awards? Maybe I could add more of Robbins's psychological movements, or change one of the friends to his girlfriend, adding some subplots about teenage love troubles."
Under Eddie's gaze, Shiller slowly shook his head, firmly pointing at the computer screen, "I want you to make a movie out of all these surveillance videos."
Eddie was dumbstruck.
He wanted to explain more, but Shiller cut him off, saying, "I am the investor, listen to me."
What else could Eddie do? He reluctantly continued to watch the next part of the video, which told the story of Sandman Beck.
After watching for a while, Eddie couldn't help but start writing again, but his pen was heavier this time because many experiences of Sandman were a reflection of the changing times.
"Scene: Brooklyn streets
Time: The scorching noon sun
Character: William Beck, dressed modestly, holding a job advertisement flyer
Character Action: William covers his forehead with the job newspaper, squinting as he weaves through the busy street. He accidentally bumps into someone but must hastily apologize as he is on his way to a job interview."
After turning the page, Eddie began writing the first plot twist. The job application did not go smoothly. The present Shuttle Central Station and sky rail transport dispatch stations no longer needed employees like William who were unfamiliar with new technologies.
William felt dejected, and on his way home, he encountered an accident that gave him Sandman's superpowers. Without a job, both to make ends meet and to help his equally destitute neighbors, he chose to steal from construction sites.
But because his powers were unstable at first and coincidentally ran into an unlucky patrolling security guard, he seriously injured him and himself ended up being wanted.
After that, his days only got worse: homeless and in hiding, with no sources of income, he could only resort to committing crimes, which brought him into contact with Spider-Man.
Following an accident, his powers completely spiraled out of control, turning into a terrifying sandstorm that swept from the East Coast to the West Coast until finally, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, and other veteran superheroes joined hands, and The Avengers barely managed to stop him.
After his arrest, everyone assumed he was destined for a life in prison, including himself. But at that time, Spider-Man sought him out, offering to find him a lawyer. With a good lawyer's help, the case initially defined as a terrorist attack was eventually redefined as a case of mutant-like superpower instability, and he was granted bail.
But just then, tragedy struck again as he developed mental issues. When the disorder struck, he was utterly incoherent and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital where he met a highly professional psychologist.
Spider-Man also visited him frequently. The two sat by the hospital room window, watching shuttles roar past, and through their conversations about the shuttles, an improving William keenly realized Spider-Man might have been one of the shuttle's developers.
This greatly encouraged him, and during his hospital stay, he began diligently studying new electrical engineering knowledge. Tirelessly, Spider-Man brought him many relevant materials, helping him acquire new job skills. The neighbors he had previously helped also came by, offering him great comfort.
Eventually, William left the psychiatric hospital and soon after received an acceptance letter for his application to work at the Stella Core Space Station. Carrying his luggage, he boarded the last spaceship bound for the space station to work.
After finishing, Eddie turned back a few pages to make some edits, showing a more satisfied expression than before when writing Robbins's story. Indeed, no director prefers to direct commercial films; those themes that delve deep into societal issues are more appreciated.
Eddie handed the notebook to Shiller, feeling that although the theme did not explore the impact of changing times too deeply, it was simple, understandable, and easily resonant. As long as the filming technique was solid, it could likely be both critically and commercially successful.
Who knew Shiller shook his head again.