These are some of my best pieces:
Videos:
Here are the links to my productions:
IUP Food Pantry News Package
Disney+ News Package
Pondering Life
Living Together
Scripts:
The Attorneys
Demographic
Our demographic for the show would be men 18-40. The show would contain more mature content and would be more relatable and easier to understand for those in this age range.
Characters
- Jake
- He is the mastermind and the brains of the whole operation. He’s very quick to hop into judgments about people and is very arrogant when it comes to his knowledge and feeling to use it as a power over others. Without him, the other two in the group would be way off.
- Jamal
- He is the laziest out of the group and spends most of his time being stoned and somewhat out of the mix. He’s a very calm and laid back individual and whenever there is a problem with the guys in the group he’s the one to settle it down.
- Brandon
- This character has the biggest personality out of all three characters. He brings up all the chaos for the group and usually doesn’t make the smartest of the decisions and end ups dragging the boys into their problems. He is the rebel of the group and is only becoming a lawyer because his family wants him to.
Premise
The premise of this show is three guys who all met in college are trying to become well known and established lawyers. They want to start their own lawyer business themselves one day, but they have to start at the bottom. They all come together and pitch in for an apartment and will work out of their home until they can afford an actual office space. They quickly learn how hard it is to have their own business without being highly credited so they are forced to take the cases that most people would not want to deal with otherwise. The group of guys usually end up in very sticky situations and all hope seems lost until they are able to think of a way to get themselves out of their issues.
Additional Episodes
- A flashback episode to learn how these characters met each other. Jake formed a club for potential young lawyers and put flyers up around campus. He meets Jamal in the quad and hands him a flyer while he is smoking with some other stoners. He pretends to roll it up like a joint and smoke it. His buddies laugh as Jake walks away, but Jamal seems intrigued by the meeting. After failing to hand out a lot of flyers, Jake throws them in a garbage can. Brandon stumbles upon the flyers in the garbage can when he tries to light it on fire for no good reason. Because the flyer is half burned, he mistakes the meeting for being an anarchist’s club and decides to go. Once the meeting starts, nobody shows up besides the main characters and this is how they become friends.
- The guys decide to try and tackle the different sides of the lawyer business. Jake finds a job working as a filing clerk at law firm while Brandon and Jamal continue to try and find “shady” postings on Craigslist again. For Brandon, this is the only thing that has worked for him so far, so he sees no reason to fix what isn’t broken. The guys find a case about a guy who is looking for representation for money laundering. Not knowing the full extent of what money laundering fully is, they take the case without question. They meet the guy and quickly find out that he is working for a drug cartel. When they try to walk away from the case, they are threatened by the cartel. This arc could go on for a couple of episodes or could be the new premise of the entire show.
- Brandon and Jamal have still hidden the fact that they are mixed up with a drug cartel from Jake. Jake is starting to form a lot of good relationships and networking opportunities for himself working at his new firm, even though he is only a filing clerk. Jake starts to develop a close relationship with a woman, whose name is Terri, he meets at his firm. Terri shares with Jake that she hears about a potential case being built against a drug cartel (the same cartel that Brandon and Jamal are working for.) Jake shares this information with the others, and Brandon and Jamal become worried Jake will find out what they are doing.
Script for Scene
SHOT LIST | AUDIO |
The opening shot of the apartment
|
Catchy opening song
0:00-0:05
|
(Wide shot) of the Three lawyers | Brandon- Alright guys just got the ad posted, the B.J. & J. Law Firm is open for business.
0:05-0:10 |
(Close up) of Jamal | Jamal- (laughs to himself hysterically) |
(Medium Shot) of Brandon and Jamal | Brandon- What’s so funny dude?
|
(Close up) of Jamal | Jamal- Our firm name (laughing) is called (laughing) BJ? |
(Close Up) of Brandon | Brandon- (throws pillow at jamal) Shut up dude. I just hope this works. |
(Close up) of Jake | Jake- You posted it to craigslist?
0:10-0:12 |
(Close up) of Brandon | Brandon- Yeah you know I figured that’s where sketchy stuff happens, so someone is bound to need a lawyer
0:12-0:16 |
(Close up) of Jamal | Jamal- You didn’t post our address right?
0:16-0:18 |
(Wide shot) of the three guys, Brandon reads very confidently. | Brandon- Boom, first message. Aaron needs a lawyer for his speeding ticket!
0:18-0:20 |
(Close up) of Jake | Jake- He needs a lawyer for a speeding ticket? That’s an easy first case!
0:20-:022 |
(Medium shot) of Brandon. | Brandon- Wait, he’s still typing (pause) Speeding ticket, resisting arrest, soliciting an officer, public indecency, and hit and run.
0:22-0:26 |
(Medium shot) of Jake, angry at Brandon
|
Jake- Man, there’s no way we can take that! That’s way too much for us to handle.
0:26-0:30 |
(Medium shot) of Brandon | Brandon- He just sent the money, how hard can it be to defend this guy? Listen even if we do lose he still has to pay us fees and stuff.
0:30-0:36 |
(Wide shot) of all three guys | Jamal- Easy money. That’s exactly why we got into this business. All we do is show up in fancy suits, say big words, and get paid a stupid amount of money.
Jake- This is our business though, we can’t give ourselves a bad rep, especially since we’re just starting out. Every client counts and we have to make this work somehow.
0:36-0:50 |
(Medium shot) of Brandon | Brandon- You guys are worrying too much. Just think of everything we can buy with all this money!
0:50-0:54 |
(Close up) shot of Jake, who is angry at Brandon | Jake- How much money did you charge him?
0:54-0:56 |
(Medium shot) of Brandon | Brandon- 300 DOLLARS!!!
0:56-0:58 |
(Wide shot) of Brandon and Jake, Jake getting angrier each sentence | Jake- You charged him 300 DOLLARS!!! For us to take the case?
Brandon – It’s our first case, we can’t charge that much money.
Jake- You only charged him 300 dollars?! I could go make more working at McDonalds and only work half of my shifts!
0:58-1:10 |
(Medium shot) of Jamal and Jake | Jamal- I can’t even buy a bong for that much, you know I’ve been eyeing that pink one at the store.
Jake- How about we tell the client that we raised our prices?
1:10-1:20 |
(Wide shot) of all three guys | Brandon- that’s a bad look for our business
Jake-this is a bad look for my wallet dude.
1:20-1:22 |
(Close up) of Jamal | Jamal- If rent is $500 and my bong is $400 how am I supposed to survive?
1:22-1:25 |
(Wide shot) of all three guys | Brandon- A bong is not an essential you pothead, we will raise our prices after our first client.
Jake- So when is the court date?
Brandon- Next week
Jamal- Damn, can we move it I can’t go
Brandon- Jamal it’s a court date, we can’t just have them change it because you already have plans. We would have to fill out paperwork and talk to the judges… It’s too much work for too short of a notice.
Jake- What are your BIG PLANS, anyway?
Jamal- Well, me and the shawty are going bong watching.
1:22-1:40 |
(Medium shot) of Jake and Jamal | Jake-What is that?
Jamal- it’s like window shopping (pause)
(Brandon and Jake look at each other)
Jamal- but we look at bongs.
Brandon- So why not just call it bong shopping?
Jamal- Because shopping is when you can actually buy it. Watching is when you just take in all its beauty and move on.
1:40-1:52 |
(Close up) of Jake | Jake- Jamal, how did you even become a lawyer?
1:52-1:54 |
(Medium shot) of all three | Jamal- Well, anytime I ever did bad in school, I would just say they failed me because of my skin color and it’s worked so far up to this point.
1:54-2:10 |
(Close up) of Jake | Jake- Listen, guys, all this bong and racism talk have been great, but we really need to focus on this case.
2:10-2:15 |
(Medium shot) of Brandon and Jake, Jake is very sarcastic. | Brandon- Why don’t we just look in the textbook for some examples?
Jake- (sarcastically) Oh yeah that’s right, I remember that exact section where the lawyer helped a client who had a speeding ticket, resisting arrest, soliciting an officer, public indecency, and a hit and run and got him off the hook for all of it!
Jamal- Oh man that chapter was crazy, I still don’t know how he did it. That’s like some OJ lawyer type stuff.
Jake- What? I just made that up Jamal.
Jamal- Nah man, I remember reading something exactly like that. (sparks up a joint)
2:15-2:40 |
(Close up) of Brandon sitting at his desk. Brandon is serious | Brandon- Okay so we gotta try and save this guy. Lets start with the speeding ticket. Any reasonable excuses for him to speed?
2:40-2:45 |
A (Medium shot) of Jamal slouched in his chair with his feet on his desk. | Jamal- Yeah man this is perfect. He was late going to his weed man!
2:45-2:50 |
(Medium shot) of Jake pacing around the room | Jake- Jamal, why would that work as an excuse? It would probably add a charge to his case instead of taking one away.
2:50-2:57 |
(Medium shot) of Brandon slamming his desk and standing up filled with rage. | Brandon- Are you stoned right now or are your brain cells completely burned out from smoking your way through college?
2:57-3:05 |
(Wide shot) of Jamal surrounded by a slight haze still in his lazy position. | Jamal- How do you think I’m coming up with all these good ideas? Creative thinking man.
3:05-3:12 |
(Wide shot) of the three guys
|
Jake- Guys the speeding ticket is our last worry, he is being charged for hit and run too. How do we even try to help that?
Jamal- Alright I got this one for sure, he was on his way to the weed…
Jake and Brandon- Jamal!
Jamal- He was on his way to the store, and when he parked in the parking lot, he didn’t realize he hit someone and went about his business.
Brandon- He said he did it in the middle of the night on a busy street and they have him on camera.
Jake- Is there some way to prove it wasn’t him driving? Or maybe the damage was caused by another car?
Brandon- He drives a pink car with blue doors, it’s pretty obvious.
3:12-3:40 |
(Close up) on Jamal with a devilish smile. (Medium shot) of Brandon looking confused. | Jamal- Yo! I got a cousin who has a pink car with blue doors too!
Brandon- How does that help?
Jamal- we can blame her!
Brandon- First of all, that’s your cousin dude… Why would you want to incriminate her?
Jamal- She has owed me $20 since we were 17. Because of her, I had to skip an entire day of smoking. She deserves the death penalty
3:40-3:50 |
(Wide shot) of Jake and Jamal scheming a plan, Brandon shakes his head in disbelief. | Jake- does she live around here
Jamal-actually yes she does
Jake- let’s blame it on her and then sue the police department for defamation of character. And both should walk out free because they didn’t capture the license plate or the driver.
3:50-4:10 |
Clout Chaser
Demographic:
18-36 (men)
Character analysis:
Miguel and Shawn are 3 years out of high school, they thought that they were too smart for college. They decided that they would move out to LA together to try and become skating Youtubers. Miguel (22) is of Spanish descent but doesn’t really know what being Spanish is really like, growing up he was surrounded by Caucasian people and his parents wanted him to blend in with the school, so they threw out their traditions and language. Miguel is not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he cares deeply for Shawn and is willing to do anything to make their dreams happen. Shawn (23) is of Caucasian descent, he is not as driven as Miguel but for the sake of Miguel, he will do it. Shawn is lazy and loves to sleep but is knowledgeable and understands their financial crisis at the moment. He will not put any extra work into anything unless he knows it is absolutely necessary. Shawn only went to LA to get away from his mother’s nagging but is happy to try and make Miguel’s dream happen, even if he does not like to skate that much. He will not tell Miguel because he doesn’t want to hurt him or crush his dreams. The two guys begin transforming their house into an indoor skatepark and which ultimately fails and is very janky. They break things in the house and hurt themselves trying to skate. The real reason for the video’s popularity isn’t because they’re good but because of how bad they failed.
Miguel then decides while Shawn is at work, he’s going to build an indoor skatepark in their apartment, which ends up being very janky, but Shawn loves it. Miguel then records Shawn skating and uploads to YouTube, they see it go viral within the next hour and realize it’s not because they’re good but because they’re terrible.
Premise:
Miguel and Shawn, two new roommates who just moved to Los Angeles, are trying to figure out how to make money and pay bills, but, more importantly, become popular internet stars on YouTube. During their shift at a local call center, Miguel watches a YouTube video of some skateboarders that is really poorly edited. He thinks he could do much better and takes the video and remakes it with Shawn by adding cool effects and transitions. He uploads it to YouTube, thinking not much of it, until he finds out the video becomes massively popular with thousands and thousands of views.
Episode Ideas:
Episode 2
Shawn and Miguel upload the video and it gets a lot of great feedback and a ton of views. Miguel doesn’t think it’s enough, and he thinks his subscribers will leave if he doesn’t do different content other than just skating. He decides to start pranking people, these new prank videos are gaining success. But after constant days of pranking people and uploading it, Shawn and Miguel are arrested and charged for disturbing the peace and assault. Bail is $2000 each. Shawn and Miguel both phone their parents to tell them the news, but both said they got to figure it out on their own and it was their choice to move out all the way to LA.
Episode 3
Shawn and Miguel are in a cell with two other inmates. Both of the inmates are extremely muscular and covered with gang tattoos. One thinks that Shawn is very cute and would like for him to spend a night on his bunk. The other inmate really likes Miguel’s hair, he keeps asking Miguel for his hair. After a week of harassment from the inmates. They are let out of prison, a man in a suit and a top hat has made their bail. He tells Shawn and Miguel that he will make them a lot of money, Miguel and Shawn tell the man no. The man threatens them to agree or he will retract his bail money, Shawn and Miguel look back at the inmates, the inmate blows kisses at Miguel and the other makes a scissor sign with his hands towards Shawn. Shawn and Miguel happily accept the man’s offer, they are now sitting in a black escalade in front of the man who bailed them out.
Episode 4
When they sit in the Escalade, the man in the top hat makes them put on blind folds. They arrive at a mansion, when they walk inside there are multiple thugs carrying guns, and drugs are everywhere. The man in the top hat tells the boys to sit, he introduces himself as raven. Raven tells the boys that he saw their YouTube channel and likes what they are doing and notices their popularity and growth. He wants the boys to continue to make their channel grow with whatever methods they have to use. Shawn tells Raven what else he wants. Raven answers by saying that he wants them to use their fanbase to sell them drugs. Miguel and Shawn decline and then Raven tells them if they truly decline then they will have to kill them and their family. Miguel and Shawn are driven back home, Shawn runs to the phone to try and call the police. Miguel stops him and tells Shawn they have to do it.
Scene 1:
Miguel is woken up to Shawn jumping on his bed, yelling at him to go to the skate park.
Shawn (Jumps harder on the bed to wake Miguel up) |
Shawn: (Bird Noise) Wake up!
Miguel: Come on man it’s too early for this right now.
Shawn: It’s never too early to skate man, we gotta find out how Skates “R” Us is doing those tricks.
Miguel: We can find out in an hour or two, I’m going back to sleep.
Shawn: Nah we gotta go now, there are going to be other people that are going to steal their moves first. Those slimy bastards.
Miguel: We’re doing it too, so what does that say about us.
Shawn: They’re just thieves, there is a certain elegance to our method of hiding in a bush. Either way, we gotta go now dude, let’s GO!!! 0:00-0:20 |
They both start to get ready for the day by showering and eating breakfast
|
Shawn: Did you watch the new video yet?
Miguel: I was too busy watching the back of my eyelids 5 minutes ago… it’s a great program by the way.
Shawn: Well can you change channel then.
Miguel: sorry I only have the basic satellEYE coverage… No, alright I’ll watch it now. 0:20-0:30 |
They both proceed to watch the video together, and we see Shawn giddy and jumpy behind Miguel
|
Shawn: SEE WHAT I MEAN? Those moves were SICK. We gotta get down to the skatepark NOW to start practicing.
Miguel: Why don’t you go practice in your room while I finish waking up. I didn’t even drink my coffee yet and you’re yelling at me about this stupid video… (trails off under his breath)
Miguel: We gotta figure out how we’re gonna pay these bills coming up. I was thinking about picking up an extra couple shifts at the call center… (interrupted by breaking glass) 0:30-0:50 |
Miguel runs into Shawns room. He finds Shawn laying on the ground with a broken skateboard. | Shawn: Man those moves are tough…
Miguel: Were you ACTUALLY practicing in here?!
Shawn: Yeah you told me too…
Miguel: (facepalms and shakes head) Whatever dude, it looks like we gotta go get you a new deck.
Shawn: That one sucked anyway, Tony Hawk wouldn’t even bother looking at that board.
Miguel: I don’t even want to look at it
0:50-1:00 |
Scene 2:
Shot of Miguel on the couch, drawing a very rough outline of his idea for their indoor skatepark, speaking while he draws. | Miguel – Alright so we move the couch by the window then put a ramp there, maybe towards the window so he could grind on the ledge then drop back off… I honestly deserve an award for being the best roommate.
1:00-1:12 |
Shot of miguel walking around holding the paper and envisioning the final product | Miguel- He’s gonna love this no doubt, he will be like a kid in the candy store. Only he’s 25… which is a little weird but as long as he keeps his distance he will be fine.
1:12-1:20 |
Sped up shot of Miguel turning the apartment into a skatepark. Edited as if it was a cinematic montage scene. | 1:20-1:30 |
Shot of Shawn entering with his new skateboard, back from work. | Shawn- Yo Miguel, you won’t believe it! I finally tried that pick up line about astronauts….
1:30-1:33 |
Close up of Shawns eyes lighting up, then zooms out | Shawn- Bro you did it, you’ve created the ultimate indoor park, all we need is some beer and girls and it will be just like those Skates R Us videos…. Actually you know what, we don’t even need that. I just spent $200 on this new board I can do anything.1:33-1:45 |
Medium shot of Miguel and Shawn standing in front of their kitchen | Miguel- You spent $200 on the board?
Shawn- Yeah you know its basically an investment, Mariah Carey doesn’t record her voice on a $20 microphone so why should I skate on a $20 board. Miguel- But man… that’s Mariah Carey shes like talented and famous already Shawn- It doesn’t matter… you’re missing the point. Anyways should I drop off the window ledge first or ride up the ramp and ollie the couch? 1:45-2:05 |
Close up shot of Miguel | Miguel- Whatever you wanna do Tony Hawk, just let me know when to record? Try the couch first though, our insurance isn’t window ledge proof.
Shawn- You think I should use pads? Miguel- What? Dude do you want to get made fun of? Shawn- But like isn’t that unsafe? Miguel- It’s uncool, just ollie the couch first and say something cool to the camera before you do it. 2:05-2:20 |
Close up shot of Shawn, Miguel is pointing the camera at him. | Shawn- Whats up internet, it’s your boy Shawn Skates and were about to show those guys over at Skates R us, just how lame they “R”. This is our indoor skatepark, with NO PADS, if you think you can handle this well you’re wrong.
2:20-2:30 |
Wide shot of Shawn running onto the skateboard and then falls horrible, face first into the edge of the couch, Miguel then drops his camera to go help Shawn. | 2:30-2:35 |
Shot of Shawn on the floor, then cuts wide shot of Miguel helping Shawn up. | Shawn- Miguel, do you think that insurance will cover a broken foot?
Miguel- Aw cmon man, you only nailed your head right off the hardest side of the couch. You’ll be fine. What’s that line your dad always said? Shawn- Rub some dirt on it? Miguel- Ha yeah, rub some dirt on it, you’ll be fine champ you still got another 50 feet of the skatepark to tear up. 2:35-2:50 |
Shot of shawn holding his head | Shawn- Did you at least record it?
2:50-2:53 |
Close up of Miguel looking at his phone watching the video | Miguel – Oh trust me man I got it, we need to get a few more shots before we can upload it. No one wants to watch a skateboard video with only one clip.
2:53-3:00 |
More montage edited shots fo Shawn trying to skate but basically hurting himself in their house | 3:00-3:10 |
Shot of Miguel laughing hysterically with Shawn holding his back his pain | Miguel- Man, you’re going to be the next big thing for sure! Honestly, if this doesn’t go viral then I think the internet is broken.
Shawn- You think so? I only had to destroy my body for fame, is that even worth it? Miguel- Cmon man, now you’re sounding like an old rockstar. Shawn- Honestly, man just upload the video, I’ll watch it after I’m done laying down. Also, man do we have a heating pad. Miguel- Yeah actually I think it’s right next to the tampons we keep for you in the bottom closet. 3:10-3:30 |
Monologue:
Spanish Parents
You would think that growing up with parents that are native to the Dominican Republic and don’t speak a lick of English would make me a good Spanish speaker. Right… WRONG, it hasn’t helped my Spanish at all. Sure, I could speak a bit to get by, but I am nowhere near fluent. My Spanish sounds like I am speaking with my tongue cut off. Nobody cares if you can say the color red or roll your tongue, what gets the heads turning is full-on sentences. Just five to seven words that mean something no matter the complexity of the words in the sentence. For example, cual es tu especial hoy? Which means, what is your special today? Mind you I had to go on google translate to figure out how to say that in Spanish, but I rest my case. It sucks not being able to have a full conversation with my parents… but it does come with its benefits like parent-teacher conferences. They can’t know if I did something bad because they don’t speak English, so, during school, I was a complete nut case; absolutely wild. Didn’t listen to the teachers, I teased students, I was horrible… but my parents never knew, at home, I was their golden child. During the first couple of conferences, I was smiling, grinning from ear to ear. My parents would be at the conference talking to my teacher shaking their head in agreement, but I knew damn well they didn’t know what the hell my teacher was saying. My father would just lick his lips and shake his head in agreement and my mother would smile and say “AY SI, AY SI” but sometimes she would bust out the occasional laugh. Sometimes they would be so random and nowhere near the context of what my teacher is saying. Then my father would follow with the laughter to not feel left out. Every parent-teacher conference went that way, in the fifth grade this was about to be the fourth conference and I was practically a pro a this. We’re all sitting down at a round table I am next to my parents and my teacher is sitting in front of us. Miss. Bigelow was my homeroom teacher… I knew that she didn’t like me, and the feeling was mutual, I was such an evil kid. Purposely breaking her stapler and constantly talking in class. But I knew nothing was going to happen to me since my parent doesn’t know English, so I was in the clear. I’m just sitting, chilling smiling getting ready to join in for the random laughs that my parents do. But something was different, my parents started talking and I couldn’t understand what they are saying. My mom’s “AYE SI’S” turned into “AYE NO NO NO”. Miss. Bigelow knows Spanish, this pasty old lady, the same lady who eats food with no seasoning is speaking to my parents in their native tongue. I got my ass handed to that day by both of my parents, they would tag each other in and out like it was a WWE match. Taking turns in jumping me, cursing me out in Spanish. Moral of the story, I never acted out in class again. To this day that whooping is etched into my mind however I do know how to curse in Spanish now.
Brotherly Love
You ever look at someone you’re related to and wonder why or how. When you look at their face you start to question your own philosophies. We all have that one person in our lives, aunty, uncle, fish…you have to love them. But if you had no connection with them you would just have a quick look of confusion and keep it moving, but your just stuck together. For me, this person is my older brother, Bradley. I love my brother to death but sometimes he just does not make the best decisions. I remember growing up and wondering, “are you sure you’re the older brother”? He just a big kid, he likes to go to the park and play on it. There is nothing wrong with that. However, when you get into a serious argument with a five-year-old about who gets to go down the slide first, there is something wrong with you especially when you are 22. The kid was cursing Bradley out and he was speechless. I am thinking to myself, “come on Brad defend yourself. You’re making the Mateo name look bad”. This was a special type of kid. He was witty and quick with the comebacks. Bradley finally mustered up the courage and called him stupid… The kid responded with “your father should have left you on the bed sheets drying.” The other five-year-old children around them started screaming and chanting “loser” and “scrub” to Brad. They were all just evil. I was sitting on a bench and Bradley looks at me for assistance, wanting me to tag in. This child immediately looked right at me eyes piercing through my soul, he yelled out, “you want some too”? The Mateo family sticks up for one another… that being said, I wanted no smoke from this toddler. I just slowly took out my phone and acted like I was doing something on it. Bradley left that park with sadness in his heart and our family name is forever sullied. That was probably the quietest car ride of my life. So, I turned on the radio to kill the silence. The first song that played was Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston, it so happened to be on the part that goes “They only wanna do you dirt, they’ll have you suicidal, suicidal”. I changed the station immediately; the next station was promoting a funeral home… they were going on about their great selections of coffins to choose from. I decided to just keep the radio off and remain in silence. Either way, he just does not make the best decisions. Brad should not have challenged that kid. He is probably a legend on that playground now. The body of a five-year-old with the vocal cords punch like Mike Tyson. During the ride, I started to think about what the kid said. I thought to myself, “you were the fastest to reach our mother’s Fallopian Tubes (Ladies, I looked that up)”. Think of this race as a job interview, the most qualified gets the job. Brad got the job… the competition must not have been that steep. I definitely was not job searching at the time.