“Go With the Flow” Written By Robert Lundahl 415.205.3481
FADE IN:
CU/WATER DRIPPING FROM A FAUCET
CUT TO: MS/PERSON BEHIND CLOUDY GLASS IN THE SHOWER
NARRATOR OLDER FEMALE: Your health, your family’s health and the health of all Californians depends on clean water.
DISSOLVE TO:
SERIES OF CUTS: GLASS OF WATER SET DOWN ON A KITCHEN TABLE. ASPARAGUS OR OTHER DELTA AG IN THE FIELD WITH DEW DROPS.
CUT TO: CU SHOT OF WATER SKIER OR DELTA RECREATION
AND/OR… CUT TO: SF BAY WINDSURFER
NARRATOR: The water we drink, the food we eat, and the fun we have all depend on clean water.
CUT TO: RESTAURANT INTERIOR/WAITER WITH WATER GLASSES. CHIP FAB ENGINEER IN CLEAN SUIT.
NARRATOR: Our jobs depend on it too.
DISSOLVE TO: VAST AERIAL SHOTS DELTA, FLYOVERS. USGS MAP OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY (PUSH IN).
NARRATOR: The Sacramento/San Joaquin Bay Delta is a vast estuary system for the entire San Francisco Bay Area Region, and the State of California.
RELAXED DISSOLVE – TO MONTAGE SCENES OF WATER FLOWING THROUGH TRIBUTARIES AND ALONG THE BANKS OF THE SACRAMENTO.
NARRATOR: It all comes down to flow.
TRANSITION – FLIP OR PAGE TURN –
DISSOLVE SEQUENCE WITH MATCHED PUSH INS CHEMICAL FACTORIES, AGRIBUSINESS, PUMPING STATIONS, CANALS, FREEWAYS, LANDFILLS, SIGN – NO DUMPING, RUNS TO BAY, WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT. (NOTE: We can use the Sac treatment plant shot like documentary but we want the rest of these shots outside of the Delta).
NARRATOR: Mercury, Salts, Selenium, Boron, Nitrogens, bacteria, insecticides and other compounds may be found in water, fish and plants because upstream watersheds drain into the Delta.
MONTAGE OF WATER FLOWING, TRICKLING, AROUND OBSTACLES, ROCKS, PIERS, SANDBARS, MARSHES AND WETLANDS.
DISSOLVE TO: MONTAGE KIDS ALONG THE SHORE PLAY WITH SMALL BOATS (STOW LAKE?)/FOR EFFECT, SHORELINE DELTA, KIDS FISHING.
NARRATOR: Toxic soils can leach back into the water. Low water and reduced flow allow mercury mentholated in higher concentrations.
DISSOLVE TO: SEQUENCE OF CUTS. SIGNS, BEACH CLOSURE, NO FISHING, DO NOT EAT FISH. (Note: no fishing signs down by port).
NARRATOR: Water diversion, water sales, and over-pumping reduce the flow — and turn the Delta from a place– that is an interwoven blend of wetland habitat, farms, and communities — a unique ecological and cultural place, to something far less desirable.
DISSOLVE TO: SEQUENCE OF CUTS. BROWN SPEAKING, TUNNELS RENDERING, NEWSPAPER HEADLINE CU PAN, “ALMONDS TO BE SHIPPED TO CHINA” OR SIMILAR. LOS ANGELES SKYLINE.
NARRATOR:
Politicians also get it wrong. Governor Brown’s proposed $25 billion twin-tunnel project would worsen the problem. By diverting excessive amounts of water, the tunnels would both undermine the health of the Delta, the San Francisco Bay, and the ability for cities like Los Angeles to secure their own water future. Water quality will not meet drinking water standards for health and human safety for millions of people living near the Delta and Bay.
DISSOLVE TO: GRASSES/WETLANDS, DISSOLVE TO: MT. SHASTA SCENIC DISSOLVE TO: SIERRA PEAKS. YOSEMITE VALLEY, DISSOLVE TO: AMERICAN RIVER RAPIDS, CUT TO: FLY FISHERMAN, DISSOLVE TO: SHOTS OF THE KERN AND THE SAN JOAQUIN.
NARRATOR: Our San Francisco Bay Delta is a natural wonder. It naturally drains an enormous area from Mt. Shasta to the North, to the Sierras in the East and the South.
Clear water flows from the snowpacks, down the Sacramento and the Feather, the American, and the Kern, and the San Joaquin, the Molkulumne, Calaveras, and Tuolumne.
DISSOLVE TO: SEQUENCE DELTA BEAUTY SHOTS
NARRATOR: This estuary is the largest in the Western Hemisphere.
MONTAGE: KAYAKERS SPILL OVER RAPIDS, SALMON TRAWLER UNLOADS FROZEN CHINOOK ON THE DOCKS AT HALF MOON BAY, CANADIAN GEESE PASS OVERHEAD IN A V FORMATION.
TOURISTS HAVE LUNCH AT BARBARA’S FISH TRAP ON THE WHARF. KIDS RUN AND PLAY ON THE JETTY AND ON THE BEACH.
NARRATOR: The Bay-Delta estuary is a place that connects rivers, ocean and sky. Communities all up and down the Pacific Coast rely on its riches.
Let’s make sure these riches continue to sustain us for generations to come.
FADE OUT.
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