Post-Processing

by Bookish Delight

Scene 6: Vignette Valencia: The First Gofer (Pt. 1)

Applewood
Years Earlier

Vignette Valencia walked across the length of the spacious movie studio, stifling a tired yawn as she did so. Along the way, she passed several mementos of past productions: myriad sets for every genre, from mock spaceship bridges to mock jungles to not-so-mock urban city blocks. She passed lights, umbrellas, superhero costumes, prop weapons, ropes, and even a large animatronic tyrannosaurus rex.

The T-Rex in particular was under strict orders to be protected by all on the lot—after all, it'd made its corporate masters a veritable mint with just one movie. Quite frankly, Vignette thought Rexy (her pet name for it) would be far better served as a tourist attraction, to be celebrated by the people—not unlike the fictional park it had starred in—but she knew she was far too low on the food chain for those opinions to carry any weight.

One day.

For now, she walked past the crew for the current production's set, blowing kisses to all present, from grips to makeup, until she at last reached the director's chair, where a stout, bearded man sat. She opened her mouth to greet him, but another yawn came out first.

Vignette quickly moved her hand to her mouth. "Huh. Well, that's embarrassing. Morning, boss," she singsonged. "Pretend you never saw that, mkay?"

"Only if you explain why it even happened in the first place, and for the love of everything, quit calling me 'boss'." The stout director—Canter Zoom—rolled his eyes. "You already know I hate that."

Vignette chuckled. "Sorry, Uncle C. Forgot for a second, and for the same reason." She sat in a nearby chair, lounging with crossed legs and rolling her wrist. "I tried to convince myself that I could do with one less hour of sleep than usual. Was up late looking over the public reaction to our movie's announcement online."

Canter nodded. "Yeah, never do that again, okay? The sleep-dep thing, I mean. The well-being of my crew is important to me, and you're part of that."

"I'll be alright," she said, standing to plant a kiss to her uncle's cheek. "But thanks for thinking of me."

"Your mother would kill me if I didn't," Canter said, stroking his chin with a small smile. "But good initiative on the research! Come across anything good?"

"'Good' is in the eye of the beholder, in this case." Vignette opened the beige messenger bag she'd brought with her, taking out several printouts. "The buzz around Trucks II is... reserved, to say the least. Barely even counts as 'buzz', if I'm being super-honest. More like a mild, disinterested humming."

Canter raised his eyebrows. "Really.? That's not what I've heard. I was told public response so far has been 'on trajectory.'"

Vignette gasped, and laughed. "Oh, I just love coming across new sleazy buzzwords! I'll have to steal that one." She paced around her uncle, taking in the nearby sights of the set—wind machines, a green screen and two large scale-model eighteen-wheelers—with a playful air. "With all due respect to them—but mainly you, Uncle C—that's because they're not in the know. They're old. They sit in isolated, stuffy offices, and look at the communication methods of today's people as tools at best, rather than... well, mediums. And always with disdain and disregard. It's absolutely the worst."

"So you're saying there's something our marketing and promotion departments are missing?" Canter asked.

"Only in capital-A Awareness," Vignette replied. "I'm sure they're very skilled people who know how to market and promote, but there are rooms that some people just don't know how to read. Especially if they didn't get in on the ground floor."

"Hmmm." Canter stroked his chin again. "Let's say I believe you. Which I'm inclined to. But... I mean, everyone loved Trucks, and this movie's literally called Trucks II: the Truckening. What more do people want?"

"I think that's it," Vignette said. "All our promotional material does right now is just put the number two next to the Name of the Movie That Did Well, and call it a day. Which I can totally see the reasoning for, but..." Vignette shrugged. "People want to know that they're not just going to be watching the capital-E Exact same movie over again. Can we promise them that?"

Canter stood there, visibly thinking long and hard about the question.

Comments

[The Voice in the Water]

Ah, the age old question of what the suits see, and what the public sees. I've got friends in the film industry, and its a pretty scary place. Even on the scale of what most people are aware of.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Long ago, before the era of hashtags...[/akuvoice]

It's easy to overlook how Vignette really does have the mind of a brilliant marketer. Goodness knows I have. The key is making sure she's focused on promoting something worth consuming and not just the positive feedback loop. Hopefully her cousin will help her learn that lesson.

And, of course, there's the more immediate lesson of "the public will get sick of the same old thing given enough repetition."

[Starlight Nova]

Can I please get a timeline for the stories in this universe?

[Bookish Delight]

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https://www.fimfiction.net/group/214431/the-montage-cinematic-universe/thread/408039/mcu-timeline