Kayaking Short Treatment
The scene opens up with a father and a son
loading up camping gear into the bed of a 1988 Maroon and Silver Chevy
Silverado. On top of the truck are racks holding two brightly colored Kayaks,
blue and orange. The boy is about 6-10 years old, and the father is 37-40 years
old. They each give the mom a kiss on the cheek goodbye, and as soon as the
little boy jumps into the front passenger seat and closes the door, she sets an
army green fishing hat on top of his head, adorned with a few fly fishing
lures. The opening scene ends with the son and father getting into the truck,
and driving down the street.
The next scene follows the father and the
son driving on a long stretch of desert highway. There will be shots of the son
laughing, the father laughing, the son looking up at the father. The father
changing the radio station, adjusting the rearview mirror… The drive will take
place around golden hour, and the sunshine will be bouncing around the truck
cab. The father and son get out of the truck when they reach their destination
near a lake side. The sun has almost set, but the left over light from the sun
set turns everything blue, and barely visible. The son and father make a
tee-pee shaped fire, in a fire pit surrounded by rocks, and begin to set up
their tent for the night. The father and son roast marshmallows over the fire,
and make s’mores. The little boy falls asleep with his head against his
father’s shoulder, so the father picks him up and carries him to the tent to
sleep. The next scene opens up as the morning light floods into the tent
(possibly a time lapse of the sun rising?). The little boy wakes up first, and
drags his father out of the tent. They both emerge from the tent dressed for
the day. The little boy is extremely ecstatic, but the viewers can tell that
the father is still tired from being woken so early, he is happy that his son
is happy. They unload the kayaks from the truck and pack lunch, water, and
other necessary items for the excursion into the kayaks. There is a scene of
the kayaks touching the water as they are set in. The father picks his son up,
and sets him in the kayak. The father teaches his son how to use the paddle,
but the son struggles. The father smiles, and tells him to slow down and try
again. The son figures it out. There are several landscape shots of the father
and son floating in and out of red rock canyons. The father and son dock on a
sandy shore embellished with shrubbery. The father gets two lunch boxes out of
the kayak, and two bottles of water. They find a rock and sit to enjoy their
lunch in the noon sun. By this time the little boys fishing hat has been
removed so that it’s hanging around the back of his neck. The father picks up
the top of the hat and places it on his sons head to ensure that he doesn’t get
sun burnt.
As the son and the father are finishing up
their lunch the father notices that clouds are beginning to roll in, but he
doesn’t worry and figures that they will have plenty of time to get back to
their camp. They load up the kayaks and head back out onto the water. The
father paddles with haste, as the clouds become darker and darker but his son
is growing tired and slows down to almost a stop. “I’m so tired, dad. I don’t
think I can paddle any longer.” Says the son. “Son, the clouds are moving in
fast and if we get caught in a storm out here on the lake we’ll be in big
trouble. These little boats aren’t meant to ride on white capped water.” The
father replies, with worry in his voice. The father attaches the boats together
so that he is also pulling part of the weight of his son’s kayak. The wind
picks up even harder and the father becomes extremely worried, and is also
growing tired with the added weight of his son, and the second boat. He begins
to look for a place to take shelter, because by now it is clear that they won’t
make it back to camp by the time the rain starts. He spots a cave about a half
a mile away, and makes the decision to head for it. As he begins heading for
the cave, rain begins to fall and by this time the father is shouting orders at
the son. “Secure your life vest, and hang on to your paddle! If you fall out of
the boat keep your head above water, and try to hang onto one of the boats.”
Because of the wind whipping back and forth and the chaos of the moment, the
boy starts to cry. The father paddles as fast as he can, and eventually makes
it into the cave. They secure the boats to some rocks on the edge of the cave
and try to take refuge in the cave. The young boy and his father spend the next
couple of hours in the cave, but eventually the storm lets up enough for them
to get back out onto the water and try and make it back to camp for a second
time.
The sunshine breaks through the grey
clouds, as the boy and the father make their way back to camp. Their little
detour cost them a few hours that they had not planned on, so the father
figured that it wouldn’t be until sunset that they get back to camp. As they
paddle along, the boy still a bit shaken, he looks at his father with a new
found respect. Their camp is finally in view, and they begin to pull up to the
shore just as the sun is setting. They pack up their camp, and the boy cannot
stop marveling at the courage of his father. They load the kayaks into the
truck with the last light of the day dying before them.
