Before managing the Transfer Station’s 3D Unit, Sami had acted as Guru Baba’s assistant. During this period he had also taken freelance jobs, such as local project manager for the global launch of the film HUMANITY, by auteur Manish. Nobody knew if Manish was his first name or last name; being so artsy he only required a single moniker.
The film could have been launched in London, New York, Paris or Mumbai, but the idea had come to Manish whilst climbing mountains in the Lucerne Valley, and he wanted to “return the idea home”.
The film received huge media attention, and being part of the launch crew got Sami noticed. He received requests to help out with films around the world, but many of the producers seemed hokey. They didn’t know anything at all about Sami, they just wanted him involved. After harassment on social media he had gone underground, but people still tracked him down.
His cell phone rang. “Hello, Sami? Oh good! I called you a few times yesterday but couldn’t get through. Where are you these days? Out in the bush?” It was Manish’s assistant, Sarah.
“Hello, Sarah, I’m at Lucerne Industrial Park. Cell reception is terrible here. Sorry about that. What can I do for you?”
“Manish is in Lucerne for three days. His visit was spur of the moment. He dreamt about the end of the world, but he said it could also be its beginning, and he wants to film his vision right now. He wants a mix of audio, video, photography and virtual reality. We can do the optical effects on set, and CGI after, but we need props for mechanical effects. Manish wants you to make monsters.”
“Make monsters? What kind?”
“He says it doesn’t matter,” Sarah attempted a Manish accent, a hybrid Hindi-American. “I can work with anything, okay?”
Sami attempted the accent too. “I am not saying that I am genius, but I have the genius gene.”
Sarah burst out laughing. “He said you decide – make them prehistoric or futuristic; he will use them either way.”
“Okay, when do you need them? I’ve got a busy day today. I could probably fit them in tonight.”
“Definitely?”
“Yes, definitely. I’ll have them done by twelve. Can you send me reference materials? Ideally in CAD, but I can work with photos and models too, and give them a Sami Style makeover.”
“Thanks, Sami, can I come over at… oh, hang on, it’s Manish on the other line. Why doesn’t he just come over? He is literally 10 metres away. Can I call you back?”
“Sure.” Sami put down the phone and then became nervous. This work takes careful planning and choreography. What had he been talked into – making monsters today for use tomorrow!
An hour later, he still hadn’t heard back from Sarah. He’d better start thinking. What was the nastiest monster he could think of?
He wrote down a list of scary things.
Huge. Uncontrollable. Unstoppable. Bloodthirsty. Destructive.
He could add the worst human qualities to give it personality.
Violent. Extreme. Paedophile. Murderer. Deranged.
We don’t want to overhype. Maybe tone them down a bit.
Trivial. Superficial. Anarchist. Lying. Cheating. Controlling.
He realized he didn’t have to invent anything. He just logged into his social media account for further inspiration. Everything he needed was there.
babarjaved.com 