Practice Makes Comfortable

By Trent Lyon

Scene 1 – Practice Begins

• A young student approaches his instrument. As he does so, the camera pans slowly over the length of the marimba from a distance to highlight its beauty.

• The student places his music on the stand in front of the instrument and reaches down for mallets.

• He begins to play and gradually learn bits of the music, slowly building them into bigger ‘chunks.’

Scene 2 – Getting Familiar

• The student now has the music under better control. The length of the shots slowly shortens as the camera moves in toward the student.

• The music builds slowly in intensity, too, and the student becomes more focused.

Scene 3 – Finally Together

• The shots become closer in on the practicing student, and then alternate distances as he practices various sections of the now-together music.

• Finally feeling comfortable, the student begins to works harder to place each note. The intensity develops on his face, and the camera zooms in close on his hands as they move.

Scene 4 – It All Comes to a Halt

• Suddenly, the student strikes a key too hard and snaps the birch shaft of his mallet.

• Feeling defeated and dazed, the student pauses for a beat before discarding the broken mallet in favor of a new one.

• The music has stopped with the broken mallet, and once he picks up the new one, it will begin again, at the same intensity level that it broke in.

Scene 5 – Finally Ready

• The student finally has the piece under control and is ready to play it live.

• The music is moving quickly, and the camera zooms in to show his quick mallet work.

• The camera then fades to…

Scene 6 – Live! In Concert

• The camera blends from the previous footage to the student playing in a live show with the rest on an ensemble.

• It’s finally been perfected, and the video shows and audience cheering and a score/finishing place at the National competition.

• The video ends with a shot of the team all smiling together, finally successful and happy.

(That’s me!)