Keys II

The awkwardness by the end was quickly dispersed and all that was left was for the trio to digest. To digest their meals and the information that was put out.

Alexander was tired from all the exertion of maturity factors he had given out, so he went to bed earlier.

It was up to the older duo to wash the dishes again along with the deliberations that were to follow.

"Dad, when are we going to start with all those things that Alexander required?" Mark was in full support at this point and he was also eager to know what his son had up his little sleeve.

"Although I said that I can get it done, it would still be quite troublesome, so it might take a while." Sullivan had his thoughts stirred as he started to think of acquiring the corresponding technologies.

"Even though Alex hasn't pointed it out but it is implicit in his words that he wants to tinker with the mechanics behind them. It would be easier to just buy the equipment and peeking behind the secrets of how they work would be tantamount to offending others."

His father's words finally made Mark realize what he had missed from his son's presentation. "So, Alex actually plans on doing that! How haven't I thought of it sooner? If I did, I wouldn't have accumulated negative points in my son's charisma chart by now!"

"If those virtual effects methods don't work quite well, then why not just break them down and use what you can to your advantage!" Mark had his closed-off mind become open to newer possibilities.

If he did this, then that would have worked!

If he had tweaked this, then he could practically pull it off!

Doing this and that together would have resulted in this!

The impoverished director found his moments of enlightenment and realized when, where, and what his previous works needed

Even though his peers call his work crappy, the fantastic visuals and film illusions he amassed were still impressive to this era's standards.

He long had a nagging feeling that although his filming techniques were already at the top, they were still short of being acceptable to his standard.

When he realized what his son was trying to imply with his plans, he could not help himself but be giddy and euphoric by the implications of his enlightenment.

Mark had his head wrapped up in his potential discoveries that he hadn't noticed that he was swimming in his thoughts for minutes.

It was a worrying situation that Sullivan had to tap him out of his trance. "Hey, brat! You better not be drifting off to no man's land again. Did you remember Emily again?"

"No, dad! Not that!" Mark eased his father's worries with the excited shine that his eyes were reflecting. "I finally found out what Alexander means about the need for an adventurous spirit!"

"Oh, you must have an idea of what the kid is planning then!"

"Of course! It was simple all along and I wasted years without noticing it." Mark was in between lamentation and happiness. "Am I too dumb that I had to wait for my son to show me the simplest solutions?"

"Nah! Don't put yourself down!" Old Sullivan had to pat his shoulder as a means of encouragement. "It is just that your son is too smart for his own good."

"Don't forget that there are hundreds like you in Hollywood but they haven't come up with solutions as well."

"If I were to liken all of you to Newton and Archimedes, then Alexander is the appropriate falling apple and eureka moment!"

Mark had no choice but to smile at that, his son was being praised after all. "Haha! I guess we really need to label the boy as supergenius now!"

"I guess we do!" Sullivan chimed with pride as well, his grandson was being praised after all. "But we shouldn't give the boy too much credit or he'll grow up to be too arrogant with a bloated head!"

"Since you more or less know what he is planning, let us formulate it ahead of time to surprise the secretive brat!"

Mark had to agree on that. With those remarks, an all-nighter was to be done again as they strategized the way that they would acquire the necessary technologies!

Manipulating film strips are a necessity for filmmakers and the science in how they work is mastered by Mark, so manipulating the mechanics behind it is easy for him.

However, his gut feeling was telling him the his son has a much rather innovative idea on this matter, so he will just set it aside for later.

Green screens may not be too ubiquitous but Mark knows that they follow the same principle as the much more popular blue screen.

He knows who to approach in such matters and it was up to old Sullivan to do the convincing.

Even if it doesn't work out, there are still other people messing around with the same technologies, so it was only a matter of knowing where to look.

Accumulating practical effects such as costumes and the like is also easy in their hands. Their family technically runs and manages a toy manufacturing company, so designing stuff here and there isn't that much of a problem.

As for computers, they aren't too familiar with them. However, there are universities and professionals in the end, so there was not much more to worry about.

Those were the four components down on their list of priorities. The fifth and arguably the most important one did not need many reiterations.

As they are planning and mapping things out, the duo was already exuding much enthusiasm that their latent spirit did not need half-hearted inspiration to call out.

The busy night ensued as their existing businesses also needed some adjustments to be made.

Their efforts and workaholic energy were unparalleled on this particular night. On the other hand, young Alexander was fast asleep.

He would have a similarly busy next day and he needed to bank the appropriate sleep hours for his four-year-old body.