Where short-form creators grow

SCENE 1 – THE STRANGE BEGINNING Exterior, Modena city walls, early morning, 1325. Dark clouds gather over medieval Italy. The camera slowly pushes in toward MATTEO OF MODENA, a battle-worn soldier in steel armor and chainmail, standing waist-up on the stone wall facing the camera. Soldiers move behind him preparing weapons. [Matteo of Modena – Veteran Soldier of Modena] (looking directly at the viewer) You’d think wars start over land… or gold. But the war I fought in… started because of a bucket. --- SCENE 2 – THE BUCKET Camera slowly circles Matteo as he walks along the city well in Modena’s courtyard. He bends down and lifts an old wooden bucket. Townspeople move nervously in the background. [Matteo] A few of our men snuck into Bologna one night. They didn’t steal treasure… or weapons. (raises the bucket slightly toward camera) They stole this. A simple bucket from the city well. --- SCENE 3 – THE INSULT Camera pans with Matteo as he walks toward the edge of the wall overlooking distant hills. He points across the landscape. The city of Bologna can be seen faintly in the distance. [Matteo] Over those hills… lies Bologna. And to them… this wasn’t a joke. It was an insult. --- SCENE 4 – AN ARMY FOR A BUCKET Wide shot as Matteo walks through soldiers preparing armor and sharpening swords. The camera tracks backward while he walks toward it. Behind him thousands of soldiers gather. [Matteo] So Bologna did something unbelievable. They raised an army. Thirty thousand men… All marching here… For a bucket. --- SCENE 5 – THE BATTLE OF ZAPPOLINO Camera cuts to Matteo standing waist-up on a dusty battlefield. Smoke rises. Soldiers clash behind him. The camera slowly pushes in while arrows fly overhead. [Matteo] We had barely seven thousand. But we met them at Zappolino. Steel crashed. Arrows filled the sky. And suddenly… A joke turned into a war. --- SCENE 6 – CHAOS OF WAR Camera handheld now, moving slightly to create urgency. Matteo ducks slightly as soldiers rush past him fighting behind him. He gestures toward the chaos behind him. [Matteo] Look behind me. That’s Bologna’s army. Thirty thousand men… Running. --- SCENE 7 – THE RETREAT Tracking shot as Matteo walks forward through the battlefield while defeated soldiers flee behind him. [Matteo] The great army of Bologna broke. And they ran all the way back to their city walls. We chased them the entire way. --- SCENE 8 – THE TROPHY Camera slows and centers Matteo again. He now stands inside a stone tower room lit by torches. The bucket sits on a pedestal beside him. He places a hand on it. [Matteo] When the fighting ended… We still had the bucket. --- SCENE 9 – THE LEGEND The camera slowly pushes in close on Matteo's face. The room is quiet now. [Matteo] Seven hundred years later… People still come to see it. --- SCENE 10 – FINAL LINE Matteo lifts the bucket slightly and looks directly at the camera. [Matteo] The strangest trophy in history. A war… Fought over a bucket.