The Trapper's Glass Eye
In the dusty confines of the Mattawan Community Museum, a small, misplaced object sets two boys on a quiet collision course with a town's buried history, testing the fragile boundary of their own.
# The Trapper's Glass Eye
**Format:** Short Film / Anthology Episode | **Est. Length:** 10-12 minutes
## Logline
Two curious boys working in a small-town museum discover a mysterious button placed in a taxidermied beaver's eye, leading them on a late-night hunt for a hidden secret that lies right beneath their feet.
## Themes
* **Childhood Curiosity vs. Adult Indifference:** The boys' imaginative quest for meaning and adventure contrasts sharply with the mundane, bureaucratic world of the museum's adult caretaker.
* **The Past in the Present:** The official, curated history of the museum is disrupted by a hidden, personal history, suggesting that secrets and stories exist just beneath the surface of the accepted narrative.
* **The Allure of the Unknown:** A small, out-of-place object transforms a familiar, boring space into a landscape of mystery, compelling the protagonists to break rules and face their fears.
* **Transgression and Discovery:** The journey from innocent game to a genuine act of trespass marks a loss of innocence, as the boys cross a threshold into a potentially adult secret.
## Stakes
The boys risk getting caught and losing their sanctuary in the museum, shattering their innocent game by uncovering a potentially adult secret they may not be ready for.
## Synopsis
BEN (13), a quiet and observant boy, performs his mundane after-school job dusting exhibits at the local historical museum. The place is a mausoleum of mothballs and forgotten stories. During his rounds in the empty Fur Trade room, he discovers something that doesn't belong: a small, pearlescent girl's button meticulously placed in the eye socket of a taxidermied beaver.
His more impulsive and imaginative friend, SAM (13), arrives and dismisses the idea that it's just a lost item. He is convinced it's a "code button," a secret message left for them to find. He notes that the beaver's one good eye is aimed directly at a large, framed surveyor's map from 1888.
After their oblivious boss, MR. JACKSON, locks up for the night, the boys remain behind, plunged into the eerie silence of the darkened museum. Armed with a weak keychain flashlight, their treasure hunt begins. The familiar exhibits now seem ominous in the shadows, and Sam unnerves them both by recounting a local legend about the rusty traps on display. Their investigation of the map yields no clues, leading to a moment of frustration.
In a fit of impatience, Sam kicks a loose floorboard directly beneath the map, producing a hollow thud. Prying it open, they discover a small, modern mint tin, caked in mud, hidden in the crawlspace below. The game has suddenly become real and tense. With their hearts pounding, they struggle to open the rusted box, which finally pops open, revealing its mysterious contents.
## Character Breakdown
* **BEN (13):** The narrator. He is cautious, observant, and more grounded than his friend. He notices the details others miss but is hesitant to break the rules. He is the anchor of the story, through whose eyes we experience the growing mystery.
* **Psychological Arc:** Ben begins as a passive observer, dutifully and dispassionately going through the motions of his job, content within the established boundaries. By the end, he becomes an active conspirator, driven by curiosity to commit a genuine transgression, transforming his perception of the museum from a place of dead history to one of living secrets.
* **SAM (13):** The catalyst. Impulsive, imaginative, and hungry for adventure. He sees patterns and codes in the mundane and consistently pushes the action forward, convincing Ben to take risks he otherwise wouldn't. His bravado masks a deeper fear that surfaces in moments of high tension.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE ANOMALY:** In the silent, closing-time museum, Ben discovers the pearlescent button in the taxidermied beaver's eye. It is clean, deliberate, and jarringly out of place.
2. **THE THEORY:** Sam arrives and immediately frames the button as a clue in a secret game. He connects the beaver's line of sight to an old surveyor's map on the wall, convincing a skeptical Ben that it's a message meant only for them.
3. **THE LOCK-IN:** Mr. Jackson, the curator, finishes his work and locks the front door. The finality of the bolt sliding home isolates the boys in the dark, cavernous space. The museum is now theirs.
4. **THE HUNT:** Using a weak flashlight, the boys examine the map. The atmosphere is tense; shadows warp the exhibits into monstrous shapes. Sam's story about the nearby traps amplifies their fear. The map offers no answers.
5. **THE SOUND:** Frustrated, Sam kicks a floorboard beneath the map. The hollow thud cuts through the silence. They realize the clue wasn't on the map, but under it.
6. **THE TREASURE:** They pry up the board, revealing a small, mud-caked mint tin. The sight of a modern object hidden in the historical foundation shifts the tone from a game to a serious discovery.
7. **THE REVEAL:** With trembling hands, Sam works the lid open. A soft pop breaks the tension as they peer inside, their faces illuminated by the flashlight's weak beam.
## Visual Style & Tone
The visual style will be grounded and atmospheric, emphasizing texture and shadow. The museum's palette is muted and dusty—browns, grays, and faded ochres—which makes the clean, pearlescent button pop. Lighting will be naturalistic, transitioning to low-key and high-contrast during the night sequence, with a single, mobile light source (the flashlight) creating deep shadows and a sense of claustrophobia. Close-ups will focus on tactile details: the dust on glass, the rust on metal, the mud on the tin box, the boys' wide eyes.
The tone blends the childhood wonder of *Stand By Me* with the quiet, atmospheric suspense of a slow-burn thriller. It aims for the nostalgic mystery of *Stranger Things* but on a more intimate, grounded scale, capturing the feeling that a secret world exists just beneath the surface of the mundane.
**Format:** Short Film / Anthology Episode | **Est. Length:** 10-12 minutes
## Logline
Two curious boys working in a small-town museum discover a mysterious button placed in a taxidermied beaver's eye, leading them on a late-night hunt for a hidden secret that lies right beneath their feet.
## Themes
* **Childhood Curiosity vs. Adult Indifference:** The boys' imaginative quest for meaning and adventure contrasts sharply with the mundane, bureaucratic world of the museum's adult caretaker.
* **The Past in the Present:** The official, curated history of the museum is disrupted by a hidden, personal history, suggesting that secrets and stories exist just beneath the surface of the accepted narrative.
* **The Allure of the Unknown:** A small, out-of-place object transforms a familiar, boring space into a landscape of mystery, compelling the protagonists to break rules and face their fears.
* **Transgression and Discovery:** The journey from innocent game to a genuine act of trespass marks a loss of innocence, as the boys cross a threshold into a potentially adult secret.
## Stakes
The boys risk getting caught and losing their sanctuary in the museum, shattering their innocent game by uncovering a potentially adult secret they may not be ready for.
## Synopsis
BEN (13), a quiet and observant boy, performs his mundane after-school job dusting exhibits at the local historical museum. The place is a mausoleum of mothballs and forgotten stories. During his rounds in the empty Fur Trade room, he discovers something that doesn't belong: a small, pearlescent girl's button meticulously placed in the eye socket of a taxidermied beaver.
His more impulsive and imaginative friend, SAM (13), arrives and dismisses the idea that it's just a lost item. He is convinced it's a "code button," a secret message left for them to find. He notes that the beaver's one good eye is aimed directly at a large, framed surveyor's map from 1888.
After their oblivious boss, MR. JACKSON, locks up for the night, the boys remain behind, plunged into the eerie silence of the darkened museum. Armed with a weak keychain flashlight, their treasure hunt begins. The familiar exhibits now seem ominous in the shadows, and Sam unnerves them both by recounting a local legend about the rusty traps on display. Their investigation of the map yields no clues, leading to a moment of frustration.
In a fit of impatience, Sam kicks a loose floorboard directly beneath the map, producing a hollow thud. Prying it open, they discover a small, modern mint tin, caked in mud, hidden in the crawlspace below. The game has suddenly become real and tense. With their hearts pounding, they struggle to open the rusted box, which finally pops open, revealing its mysterious contents.
## Character Breakdown
* **BEN (13):** The narrator. He is cautious, observant, and more grounded than his friend. He notices the details others miss but is hesitant to break the rules. He is the anchor of the story, through whose eyes we experience the growing mystery.
* **Psychological Arc:** Ben begins as a passive observer, dutifully and dispassionately going through the motions of his job, content within the established boundaries. By the end, he becomes an active conspirator, driven by curiosity to commit a genuine transgression, transforming his perception of the museum from a place of dead history to one of living secrets.
* **SAM (13):** The catalyst. Impulsive, imaginative, and hungry for adventure. He sees patterns and codes in the mundane and consistently pushes the action forward, convincing Ben to take risks he otherwise wouldn't. His bravado masks a deeper fear that surfaces in moments of high tension.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE ANOMALY:** In the silent, closing-time museum, Ben discovers the pearlescent button in the taxidermied beaver's eye. It is clean, deliberate, and jarringly out of place.
2. **THE THEORY:** Sam arrives and immediately frames the button as a clue in a secret game. He connects the beaver's line of sight to an old surveyor's map on the wall, convincing a skeptical Ben that it's a message meant only for them.
3. **THE LOCK-IN:** Mr. Jackson, the curator, finishes his work and locks the front door. The finality of the bolt sliding home isolates the boys in the dark, cavernous space. The museum is now theirs.
4. **THE HUNT:** Using a weak flashlight, the boys examine the map. The atmosphere is tense; shadows warp the exhibits into monstrous shapes. Sam's story about the nearby traps amplifies their fear. The map offers no answers.
5. **THE SOUND:** Frustrated, Sam kicks a floorboard beneath the map. The hollow thud cuts through the silence. They realize the clue wasn't on the map, but under it.
6. **THE TREASURE:** They pry up the board, revealing a small, mud-caked mint tin. The sight of a modern object hidden in the historical foundation shifts the tone from a game to a serious discovery.
7. **THE REVEAL:** With trembling hands, Sam works the lid open. A soft pop breaks the tension as they peer inside, their faces illuminated by the flashlight's weak beam.
## Visual Style & Tone
The visual style will be grounded and atmospheric, emphasizing texture and shadow. The museum's palette is muted and dusty—browns, grays, and faded ochres—which makes the clean, pearlescent button pop. Lighting will be naturalistic, transitioning to low-key and high-contrast during the night sequence, with a single, mobile light source (the flashlight) creating deep shadows and a sense of claustrophobia. Close-ups will focus on tactile details: the dust on glass, the rust on metal, the mud on the tin box, the boys' wide eyes.
The tone blends the childhood wonder of *Stand By Me* with the quiet, atmospheric suspense of a slow-burn thriller. It aims for the nostalgic mystery of *Stranger Things* but on a more intimate, grounded scale, capturing the feeling that a secret world exists just beneath the surface of the mundane.