What a Beautiful Simulation (SHORT FILM)
Kat Carson for Technician
Each excerpt is in a specific moment for both Steve and the Technician.
The Technician is well mannered, gentle, and seems caring. However the technician also keeps everything professional and seems to view the experiment as more important than the subject.
In Excerpt A: The Technician is gently trying to keep Steve committed to his involvement in the simulation. The Technician calmly persuades Steve into starting the test while keeping hard boundaries on certain aspects of the simulation.
In Excerpt B: The Technician is patiently trying to get Steve to communicate everything that he experiences. The Technician can't see anything themself so they try their best to get feedback from Steve for the sake of the experiment and project. They also are in charge of fixing any bugs that Steve experiences in the system so they try to listen out for keywords to cue them on when to rewind/fix that portion of the simulation. They also reassure Steve in times of need.
In Excerpt C: This is perhaps the most jarring moment in the film. The Technician comes off harder than normal. The Technician notices something wrong and unusual and uses a line of quick, semi-harsh questioning to see if the patient is thinking properly. In this moment, the Technician is also confused and a bit concerned for the well being of Steve. The Technician is the one who notices that they clearly weren't on the same page during this simulation. Their thinking isn't as cohesive as it was before the test (unsaid and unseen or heard on screen.)
All of these notes (including the parentheticals in the script itself) are simply guidance tools. We don't want to limit our actors or their vision in the script so we aren't expecting you to be strict on all of these notes. Our goal here is to simply give as much understanding to what our writer is trying to convey in each moment and the background of our characters that aren't included in the script. Please feel free to contact us for more clarity.
*ReAD for TECHNICIAN ONLY
EXCERPT A:TECHNICIANThis will be good for you. This should be a very helpful exercise. We’ve gathered and collected a group of experiences that you’ll see firsthand. What sounds like an ECG monitor is being setupSTEVEI mean, how safe is it? I have to admit that I'm really intrigued by this concept and I'm eager to be done with it-TECHNICIANMost people find that it’s quite insightful and reflective as well. I honestly think you will too.STEVE(Letting out a sigh)Will this hurt me?TECHNICIANIn order to preserve the nature of the simulation, I‘m not allowed to go into depth on that kind of information.2.*READ FOR TECHNICIAN ONLY
EXCERPT B:STEVENow I can see something. TECHNICIANCan you describe it for me?The animation makes a series of changes and takes the form of a ceiling fan that is spinning. The animation is wobbly and repetitive.STEVEI see the fan from before, but it looks funny. It doesn’t seem quite right.TECHNICIANOkay great. Don’t worry that’s normal for this system. You’ll get used to it. You might run into some moments in the memory pool that are incomplete as well. This is typical and the machine might run through it a few times to sort of put it back together. 3.*READ FOR TECHNICIAN ONLY
EXCERPT C:TECHNICIANWhat year is it?STEVEThe year— I-I don’t knowTECHNICIANWith everything that you said, do you even remember why you came in here?STEVEWell of course, to be part of the study! To further understand the human experience in all shapes and formsTECHNICIAN(Concerned)Study? Human experience? I’m afraid something has gone wrong.STEVEWhat do you mean?? Nothing wrong. You said yourself that there’s so much to explore and that the system was built on a memory pool of other people or something like that. TECHNICIANOther people? Listen carefully Mr. Richards, I don’t how else to say this. This system isn’t some sort of study to empathize with others from their memories. This system IS built on a memory pool, but it’s not just any memory pool. It's YOUR memory pool. It’s collected from things that you’ve forgotten. Whether it's from your childhood or old age, it lets you experience one last time the moments that you don’t remember.
