I posted this as a bit of a joke, but I am genuinely looking for a way to leave this scene at the school without Hanly/Cooper's discussion about the faked moon landing. It's some nice world-building, but this scene mostly provides an excuse for Murphy to be home from school, so I'm trimming it to improve pacing. Plus, even in the original movie, we don't actually see what leads to her being suspended. Presumably things go down hill after Cooper says, "I think I'll take her to that". My hope is that Cooper's body language after the discussion about Tom is enough to sell that things don't go well re: Murphy, but I need a solid beat for the joke to work.
I've tried a hard cut after "...about Murph", and also a hard cut after, "...she's really bright" (which I sort of like 'cause it's often a euphemism). I think they both work, but maybe only because I'm familiar with the movie. I'm now experimenting with a way to let ambient noise drown out what Hanly is saying, since that forces the audience to say focused on Cooper's reaction instead of her words.
drive.google.com
Thoughts?
Would it work with improved sound effects, or is this a lost cause?
I may try a slow motion shot of Principle/Hanley before the cut, but I think that would be noticed too...I don't have software to smooth it out with frame interpolation.
NOTE: Mods, sorry if I share this incorrectly again.