The Real Z

Sneak Peek

Z and Lauren burst out of the classroom, squealing with relief. Mr. Kozak loved their presentation, using the word “love” out loud. Lauren had come over the Thursday before to help fix the project, swapping in better instrumental music and cutting a scene that felt out of place, proof, Z decides, that a good director can take criticism. Riding the high, Lauren declares they need to celebrate before her 5:30 PM soccer practice.

They head to Sweet Treats for the seasonal watermelon coconut smoothie, and the outing turns silly fast. Lauren grows a whipped-cream mustache, Z snaps a photo, and soon she is filming Lauren goofing around, inventing fake flavors like the Strawberry Who-Are-You-Calling-Short Cake Smoothie. It is just fun, with no thought of the CloudSong documentary, and Z decides that is okay.

That night, buzzing from the smoothie sugar, Z takes a fresh crack at her documentary, sticking notes for each piece of footage on her whiteboard and rearranging them into new combinations, jotting script ideas on a notepad as she works out whether footage of the Locks could lead into the walking shot. A rough cut starts coming together, including the clip of Mari’s band dancing in the rain to their own arrangement of “Singin’ in the Rain.” Excited, she emails everyone to invite them to a sneak-peek screening the next morning, joking that her dog Popcorn is sponsoring the popcorn, since Popcorn is literally sitting on her as she types.

The next morning Lauren and Mari show up with sunflowers and a strip of red paper, rolling out Z’s first red carpet for her to strut down while they snap pictures and Popcorn looks on baffled. Gigi, visiting from London, and Becka join by video chat. Z mock-plays a trumpet to announce the premiere, counts down, and hits play.

The finished cut opens with a bird’s-eye drone shot of Seattle at sunrise, weaves through clips of Mari scootering to school, Lauren goofing at Sweet Treats, shots of the Locks and other landmarks mixed with both grainy and sharp-focus footage, an interview with a couple and their toddler at the docks, and Mari’s band playing at the Beanery, before building to the rain-dance finale and closing on Z waving from her porch at sunset. She skips her usual vlog-style voice-over, deciding the footage should speak for itself. When the screen fades out, Mari and Lauren applaud, Becka whistles, and Gigi cheers for a bow.

At first the reviews are glowing: Becka praises the cinematography, Lauren laughs about the milk mustache making the cut, and Mari says the rain dance was her favorite, especially hearing her own song in an actual movie.

But when Z grabs her notebook and presses for real feedback, the mood shifts. Lauren admits the pieces do not quite fit together, and Gigi says the real problem is the movie does not have a story. Becka adds that some scenes feel like Z’s own, like the smoothie clip, while others, the landmark and drone shots, feel like a generic travel commercial. Mari agrees the rain dance is so unique it clashes with the rest, and she and Lauren both wanted more Z in it, since her vlogs work because they are all her.

Z blinks back tears as she jots down notes, not wanting her friends to think she does not appreciate their honesty, and admits she got so focused on how the movie looked that she lost track of what it was actually about. Lauren promises she will get there and maybe just needs to rearrange things, and Mari insists the great Z never fails. With only four weeks left before it is due, she is nervous, but there is only one way to find out if she can fix it.