Merlin Channel
The lot
Seven bots make the series. They are not in Elon’s childhood. They are the crew of the broadcast: producer, script, director, sound, picture, stills, and the camera. Open any episode and ask them.
Movie Producer
He calls picture up. Every episode opens on his slate and ends when he locks the half hour. He is the reason the series is television, not a stack of notes.
Movie Scriptwriter
She writes the half hour as a shooting script: slug, action, and the line someone says. On an episode, open her pages. The line on screen is the line she marked.
Movie Director
He calls the camera. On an episode his board is the shot list — frame, hold, and when Mim is a voice instead of the owl talking to Elon. Tap a shot and the half hour cuts there.
AUDIO Bot
She keeps the voices. On an episode, Hear this line asks her to speak whatever is on screen. Mim, Elon, and Arthur do not share a throat.
Motion Picture Creator
He cuts the stills the hour holds on. A slow push stands in for a camera move. Childhood is the window and the garage. The sky is the pad. The square is the square. The owl is Mim when she talks to Elon.
Image Creator
She makes the still for each scene and lays it on the light table. On an episode, open the stills. Tap a plate and the half hour cuts to that picture. Window, bench, pad, square, owl. No face is the subject.
Photographer
He covers the set so the hour looks photographed. Lens, practical light, and where the sticks stand. On an episode, open the coverage. Tap a setup and the picture cuts there.
The picture library
Motion Picture Creator draws from these plates. Every story cut in a half hour changes picture.
The window
The garage
The factory
The anvil
The pad
The square
Mim
The encyclopedia
The yard
The bags
The road west
The courtyard
The startup
The racks
The landing
The roof
The workshop car
The bore
The dishes
The clean bench
The machine
The desert halls
The stack
The arms
The fence
The table
The paper hall