Tyler (writer_ty) wrote in mcdermott_game, @ 2009-09-18 19:34:00 |
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Current mood: | indescribable |
Entry tags: | josh, josh/tyler, tyler |
Tyler and Josh
Who: Tyler and Josh
What: Josh is missing a few assignments...Tyler is being Tyler.
Rating: PG for language
Where; Tyler's office
When: Friday afternoon Sept 18
See me in my office. Josh emailed Professor Sykes about his late homework policy and that essentially was the response he got back. See me in my office. Perfect. So far, Josh's junior year wasn't going the way he had planned. The first couple weeks of the year, he'd been so busy at work, the only time he had when he wasn't sleeping was devoted to The General and his photography classes. So, his attendance in screenwriting wasn't great, but so what? Josh wasn't going to be a screenwriter and it was as if there wasn't still time to catch. Besides, it was his grade and his choice - getting an A wasn't the choice he was making. All he needed to do was pass, fulfill a requirement and get back to being behind the camera. But now it was see me in my office. Another shitty start to the year, just like everything else.
Josh dug his syllabus out of where he'd shoved it in his bag. He scanned Professor Sykes's office hours and grabbed his camera bag - once this was over with he'd go and check in at The General to start reviewing photos for the next issue. The door was open when Josh got there and he didn't bother knocking. "You wanted to see me?"
Tyler had been spending his office hours working on a screenplay adaptation of his own. Which he knew he really shouldn't be doing but he'd graded the last papers and had an hour left where he had to be in his office he figured he should use the time to be somewhat productive. He'd heard footsteps approaching (tyler always did, it came with the years in combat duty, he was still a very keen observer) but he didn't look up until he heard the voice in the doorway.
Josh something or other, Tyler decided as he looked at the student. The name sticking in his mind because he was pretty sure he'd only seen the kid one or twice. He'd remembered the email though and he nodded an acknowledgment. "I did." he admitted. "Come on in, take a seat."
Josh shuffled in and folded himself into a chair in front of the desk. He settled his camera bag down at his feet and glanced at his shoes. Hopefully, they could get this over quick. Josh brushed his hand through his hair and glanced back up at Professor Sykes, waiting for whatever it was.
"I think I've seen you in maybe two classes so far." Tyler stated quietly, firmly as he focused his attention solely on Josh. "Which I understand it's college you don't have to show up for every class. You have a total of six assignments due the whole semester and you're missing one and asking for an extension on the second." Tyler explained. "It's not a good start for you so far Josh."
"I've just been really busy," Josh explained, feeling a little uncomfortable. "I've got a lot going on right now. I mean, I'll still turn the first one in if you take stuff late."
"I don't." Tyler told succinctly. Well for the most part he was an extremley easygoing guy he wasn't when it came to working for something and never had been. "I space the assignments out and only assign a few because I realize this might not be your major and that you have a life and other classes. You had two weeks to turn in a simple transcription of a conversation you had. It's a five minute assignment. I've got to deduce that you just don't want to do the work."
Well, Josh didn't really want to do it. Eavesdropping on people and writing down what they said was stupid. Especially not when he had another professor going on about shades of grey on film and giving him so much work his darkroom lab wasn't enough time by half. Not when he had to close at the bar and still be up for class at nine. "So, what? You want me to drop the class or something?"
No Kid, I want you to do the work. Tyler thought it but couldn't say it so , or at least not in the tone of voice he wanted to. He could pull the authoritative act and often did in class and in his office but he wasn't sure if that would work right now. "I'd actually hate for you to drop the class," Tyler admitted, "because the one assignment you did do showed promise."
Josh didn't know what to do with that. Showed promise? Showed promise for what? And what for? "What do you want me to do?" Josh asked. "I'm not a writer or a film student or anything. This isn't my thing. I've been really busy and I'm missing work which I can't make up. So what do I do? Am I failing?"
"Not yet." Tyler wasn't going to buy the busy thing, he made it very difficult to fail his begining classes and he also made a point of not assigning too much work or too difficult work. "You will be if you miss more than two assignments though, since there are so few. I don't expect you to want to ace the class, but It's pretty damn hard to fail as long as you get off your ass and do the work." Was he being blunt? yes but he couldn't quite understand when students were so resistant to doing very little work.
Josh looked surprised; were teachers allowed to talk like that? "Okay," he said, a bit more subdued. "I'll do the homework, okay?"
Tyler saw the surprise but he'd expected that. He'd said the words in that way for the effect. "You saying that so I'll get off your case or because you'll actually do it?" he asked with genuine curiosity. "Because if it's the former I'm going to ask why you can't seem to do the work."
Mostly Josh was saying it to get the professor off his back. "I'm busy," he said again. "I work until two am, I've still got my other classes and my darkroom time. Plus my stuff for the paper." That was pretty much the definition of busy. He had a lot going on and when it came to prioritizing, an elective didn't make the cut.
If he was claiming being that busy then Tyler felt that there was no chance in the world that he was going to actually do the work and one thing Tyler truly hated was failing people, especially in an elective class. It was why he worked so hard to make the class accommodating but he wouldn't accept an easy either. His students did at least have to try for a grade. "Fair enough," he mused as he leaned back in his chair. "You're busy. So's everyone else. You're not the only student...or teacher, who has another job you know."
Josh slouched and crossed his arms. He hadn't come here just to get bitched out. "I'm here for photography; that's what I'm focusing on but I don't want to fail. I'll do the work." There. Josh had promised to do the homework - he would have done it anyway, but he'd been so busy. Could he go now?
Tyler almost wanted to laugh at the sullen behavior. it never ceased to amaze him how students were always so eager to be adults and yet in a situation like this they acted like little kids. Practically outing with his body language. He wanted to help though, because he'd seen it before and he knew that he probably didn't want to fail. Not an elective course it was just hard to be interested in things that weren't what you were set on studying. Tyler knew that he did. "Look I don't take late assignments but I can offer something for partial credit if you really don't want to fail." Tyler figured it was a way to raise the kids grade and also a way to help out in a tiny way. He wanted to peak his interests in writing. he always wanted to do that.
No late work, but an offer for partial credit. That was almost nice. Well, nicer anyways. Josh sat back up and tried to look attentive. "What is it?"
Tyler sat back inn his seat contemplating this for a moment . Josh had said he was a photography student right? Maybe a Storyboarding option... if he wrote dialogue for the photos it would work in something akin to the transcribing assignment and might help him learn the basic lesson of what makes good dialogue. "Are you familiar with the concept of storyboards?"
"Um, I think I saw something about that on some DVD special features. It's like, drawing what the movie will look like, right?" Josh didn't really see where this was going. "I don't draw."
"Yea it's something like that." TYler nodded. "A storyboard is used by a director to give the producers or whatever movie team needs it a visual representation of a movie before it's made. And I wasn't thinking of you drawing actually." He paused as he formed the thought more thoroughly in his mind. "What if you created a storyboard out of say a series of ten photographs? and then captioned them with dialogue. You'd combine your interest in photography with the writing dialogue lesson you missed."
That was nice. "You want me to take pictures?" Josh asked, smiling for once. "That's easy; I can do that. No problem." Ten photos, say a half an hour of shooting. If Professor Sykes wanted to make things difficult, he wasn't trying hard enough.
"You also have to read the chapter on good VS bad dialogue." Tyler reminded him. "And caption the photos with real dialogue, so they have to be of people having a conversation and you do have to listen to the conversation." It was actually more work than the original assignment and yet Tyler had a feeling that Josh really wouldn't see it that way. Not considering it utilizing his real interests.
Listening was easy if he was close enough to take photos. Sure, he had a tendency to tune out sometimes when he was shooting, so he would have to pay extra attention but still, how hard could it be? "Sure. When do I have to have it done by?"
"You have a week to get it in to me." Tyler decided as he glanced at the calendar on his blackberry. "A week to do that one and I'm assigning something tomorrow in class so you'll have to do that one also. Although it is a two week assignment."
Josh slumped a little at the idea of having to do two at once. Stupid catch. "Okay, I'll give it to you next week."
"Okay. You can give it to me during class, drop it off here or email it to me." Tyler reminded him. he tried to be as flexible as possible as helping people make due dates. "And I was serious earlier you're not bad at the writing aspect when you actually do it. It might be worth attempting it... Someone has to caption your pictures when you make your first coffee table book, right?"
"Someone has to caption all my books," Josh grinned. He was going to be a successful photographer and why have one book when you could have lots. "Anyways, thanks, I guess. Can I go now?"
"Yea." Tyler nodded with an actual warm smile at Josh. "I'll look for that assignment. And good luck with it Josh." He added before turning his attention back to the task that he had been working on.