A Split Log and Dusting Pines
Cody grapples with a stubborn fence post and the weight of a town's fractured spirit, as the annual Spring Muster looms and the mysterious Crimson Badlands stir.
# A Split Log and Dusting Pines
**Format:** Short Film / Anthology Episode | **Est. Length:** 10-12 minutes
## Logline
In a dying frontier town besieged by a mysterious, encroaching wasteland, a cynical teenager must embrace his community's forgotten traditions to lead them on a perilous pilgrimage that represents their last stand against both the supernatural threat and their own crumbling morale.
## Themes
* **Tradition vs. Pragmatism:** The tension between upholding ancient, seemingly abstract rituals (the Muster) and addressing immediate, tangible decay (the rotting fence).
* **Hope vs. Apathy:** The struggle to maintain collective spirit and purpose in the face of overwhelming despair and the seductive pull of indifference.
* **Community vs. Isolation:** The necessity of collective action and shared belief for survival against a threat that preys on division and weakness.
* **Man vs. The Unknowable:** Humanity's fight to impose order and meaning on a landscape that is actively hostile, alien, and governed by incomprehensible rules.
## Stakes
The physical survival and spiritual soul of the entire community are at stake, threatened by both the encroaching supernatural wasteland and the internal decay of their own hope.
## Synopsis
CODY, a pragmatic seventeen-year-old, struggles to mend a rotting fence on the edge of his decaying town, a task that mirrors the community's larger decline. The town sits on the border of the Crimson Badlands, a strange, glowing wasteland that seems to be actively encroaching, inflicting a "Badlands Tax" of strange illnesses and vanishing livestock. His frustration is interrupted by MARA, a peer who informs him that the town elder, TYLER, has called a meeting about the annual "Spring Muster."
At the tense meeting in the town's dilapidated hall, the few remaining residents voice their weariness and fear. Tyler argues that their practical problems are symptoms of a spiritual decay. He proposes a radical solution: a full muster of every family, traveling deep into the Badlands to the "Canyon of Whispers" to renew the "old pacts" that once kept the wasteland at bay. The idea is met with fear; the Canyon is considered dangerously close to the heart of the Badlands' strange energy.
Tyler counters that inaction is the greater risk, as the Badlands are "stirring" more than ever. He makes a direct appeal to Cody and Mara, charging their generation with the responsibility of leading the muster and reminding people what they are fighting for. Spurred by a reluctant sense of duty, Cody agrees. His acceptance shifts the room's energy from weary resignation to fragile, pragmatic planning. As the meeting ends, DILLON, a youth defined by his profound apathy, confronts Cody, questioning if any of it will make a difference. Dillon leaves Cody unsettled, watching the Badlands pulse with an ominous, living light in the darkness.
## Character Breakdown
* **CODY (17):** Grounded, weary, and deeply pragmatic. He sees the world in terms of what is broken and what needs fixing with his own two hands. He has a deep, unspoken connection to the land but is cynical about the traditions his elders cling to.
* **Psychological Arc:** **Start:** A cynical and isolated pragmatist, focused on tangible problems (a broken fence) and feeling disconnected from his community's traditions. **End:** Accepts a leadership role, embracing the necessity of collective hope and tradition as a vital tool for survival, even if he remains uncertain of the outcome.
* **TYLER (60s):** The town elder. His body is worn, but his eyes hold a deep, unwavering conviction. He is the keeper of the "old ways" and believes the town's spiritual health is intrinsically linked to its physical survival. He sees the potential for leadership in Cody.
* **MARA (17):** A sharp, observant organizer. She serves as a bridge between Cody's cynicism and Tyler's faith, possessing a practical mind but retaining a flicker of hope that the old ways might still hold power.
* **DILLON (18):** The embodiment of nihilism. His apathy is not aggressive but a heavy, suffocating presence. He represents the final stage of giving up, making him a more insidious threat to morale than an outright opponent. His sudden, unreadable interest in the dangerous muster is deeply unsettling.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE ROTTING FENCE:** Cody's frustrating, solitary work on a fence post establishes the physical decay of the town and his own weary pragmatism. The ominous, glowing Crimson Badlands loom on the horizon.
2. **THE MESSENGER:** Mara appears, delivering Tyler's summons to a meeting. Their conversation reveals Cody's cynicism about the "old ways" and the community's dwindling spirit.
3. **THE GATHERING:** The town meeting. A sparse, weary crowd gathers under a single bare bulb. The air is thick with tension and unspoken grievances about their slow decline and the "Badlands Tax."
4. **THE PROPOSAL:** Tyler silences the complaints with a radical plan: a full muster to the dangerous Canyon of Whispers to renew the old pacts. The proposal is met with shock and fear.
5. **THE SPARK:** Tyler argues that inaction is a death sentence and makes a direct appeal to Cody's generation to lead. Reluctantly, Cody nods his assent. This small act breaks the tension, and a fragile, pragmatic planning session begins.
6. **THE UNCERTAIN PATH:** As the meeting ends, Dillon confronts Cody, his apathetic voice laced with a strange curiosity. He questions the purpose of their efforts, leaving Cody to stare out at the Badlands, which pulse with a deep, menacing light.
## Visual Style & Tone
The visual style is a gritty, atmospheric folk-horror set in a post-apocalyptic dustbowl. The palette for the town is desaturated and bleached, dominated by browns, grays, and the texture of rust and splintered wood. Camerawork will be grounded, often handheld, to create a sense of immediacy and unease.
In stark contrast, the Crimson Badlands will be rendered with a surreal, hyper-real quality. The light there is unnatural, casting everything in bruised purples and deep reds, with heat haze that subtly distorts the landscape. The tone is one of slow-burn dread and existential weariness, focusing on the psychological toll of living on the edge of an unknowable horror.
**Tonal Comparisons:** The grounded human drama and survivalist aesthetic of *The Last of Us*, the encroaching, beautiful, and terrifying alien nature of *Annihilation*, and the stark, weary atmosphere of Cormac McCarthy's *The Road*.
**Format:** Short Film / Anthology Episode | **Est. Length:** 10-12 minutes
## Logline
In a dying frontier town besieged by a mysterious, encroaching wasteland, a cynical teenager must embrace his community's forgotten traditions to lead them on a perilous pilgrimage that represents their last stand against both the supernatural threat and their own crumbling morale.
## Themes
* **Tradition vs. Pragmatism:** The tension between upholding ancient, seemingly abstract rituals (the Muster) and addressing immediate, tangible decay (the rotting fence).
* **Hope vs. Apathy:** The struggle to maintain collective spirit and purpose in the face of overwhelming despair and the seductive pull of indifference.
* **Community vs. Isolation:** The necessity of collective action and shared belief for survival against a threat that preys on division and weakness.
* **Man vs. The Unknowable:** Humanity's fight to impose order and meaning on a landscape that is actively hostile, alien, and governed by incomprehensible rules.
## Stakes
The physical survival and spiritual soul of the entire community are at stake, threatened by both the encroaching supernatural wasteland and the internal decay of their own hope.
## Synopsis
CODY, a pragmatic seventeen-year-old, struggles to mend a rotting fence on the edge of his decaying town, a task that mirrors the community's larger decline. The town sits on the border of the Crimson Badlands, a strange, glowing wasteland that seems to be actively encroaching, inflicting a "Badlands Tax" of strange illnesses and vanishing livestock. His frustration is interrupted by MARA, a peer who informs him that the town elder, TYLER, has called a meeting about the annual "Spring Muster."
At the tense meeting in the town's dilapidated hall, the few remaining residents voice their weariness and fear. Tyler argues that their practical problems are symptoms of a spiritual decay. He proposes a radical solution: a full muster of every family, traveling deep into the Badlands to the "Canyon of Whispers" to renew the "old pacts" that once kept the wasteland at bay. The idea is met with fear; the Canyon is considered dangerously close to the heart of the Badlands' strange energy.
Tyler counters that inaction is the greater risk, as the Badlands are "stirring" more than ever. He makes a direct appeal to Cody and Mara, charging their generation with the responsibility of leading the muster and reminding people what they are fighting for. Spurred by a reluctant sense of duty, Cody agrees. His acceptance shifts the room's energy from weary resignation to fragile, pragmatic planning. As the meeting ends, DILLON, a youth defined by his profound apathy, confronts Cody, questioning if any of it will make a difference. Dillon leaves Cody unsettled, watching the Badlands pulse with an ominous, living light in the darkness.
## Character Breakdown
* **CODY (17):** Grounded, weary, and deeply pragmatic. He sees the world in terms of what is broken and what needs fixing with his own two hands. He has a deep, unspoken connection to the land but is cynical about the traditions his elders cling to.
* **Psychological Arc:** **Start:** A cynical and isolated pragmatist, focused on tangible problems (a broken fence) and feeling disconnected from his community's traditions. **End:** Accepts a leadership role, embracing the necessity of collective hope and tradition as a vital tool for survival, even if he remains uncertain of the outcome.
* **TYLER (60s):** The town elder. His body is worn, but his eyes hold a deep, unwavering conviction. He is the keeper of the "old ways" and believes the town's spiritual health is intrinsically linked to its physical survival. He sees the potential for leadership in Cody.
* **MARA (17):** A sharp, observant organizer. She serves as a bridge between Cody's cynicism and Tyler's faith, possessing a practical mind but retaining a flicker of hope that the old ways might still hold power.
* **DILLON (18):** The embodiment of nihilism. His apathy is not aggressive but a heavy, suffocating presence. He represents the final stage of giving up, making him a more insidious threat to morale than an outright opponent. His sudden, unreadable interest in the dangerous muster is deeply unsettling.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE ROTTING FENCE:** Cody's frustrating, solitary work on a fence post establishes the physical decay of the town and his own weary pragmatism. The ominous, glowing Crimson Badlands loom on the horizon.
2. **THE MESSENGER:** Mara appears, delivering Tyler's summons to a meeting. Their conversation reveals Cody's cynicism about the "old ways" and the community's dwindling spirit.
3. **THE GATHERING:** The town meeting. A sparse, weary crowd gathers under a single bare bulb. The air is thick with tension and unspoken grievances about their slow decline and the "Badlands Tax."
4. **THE PROPOSAL:** Tyler silences the complaints with a radical plan: a full muster to the dangerous Canyon of Whispers to renew the old pacts. The proposal is met with shock and fear.
5. **THE SPARK:** Tyler argues that inaction is a death sentence and makes a direct appeal to Cody's generation to lead. Reluctantly, Cody nods his assent. This small act breaks the tension, and a fragile, pragmatic planning session begins.
6. **THE UNCERTAIN PATH:** As the meeting ends, Dillon confronts Cody, his apathetic voice laced with a strange curiosity. He questions the purpose of their efforts, leaving Cody to stare out at the Badlands, which pulse with a deep, menacing light.
## Visual Style & Tone
The visual style is a gritty, atmospheric folk-horror set in a post-apocalyptic dustbowl. The palette for the town is desaturated and bleached, dominated by browns, grays, and the texture of rust and splintered wood. Camerawork will be grounded, often handheld, to create a sense of immediacy and unease.
In stark contrast, the Crimson Badlands will be rendered with a surreal, hyper-real quality. The light there is unnatural, casting everything in bruised purples and deep reds, with heat haze that subtly distorts the landscape. The tone is one of slow-burn dread and existential weariness, focusing on the psychological toll of living on the edge of an unknowable horror.
**Tonal Comparisons:** The grounded human drama and survivalist aesthetic of *The Last of Us*, the encroaching, beautiful, and terrifying alien nature of *Annihilation*, and the stark, weary atmosphere of Cormac McCarthy's *The Road*.