UPDATE: we revised the dollar amount in the script to match Claremont Institute’s final report.

Give me feedback on this script I wrote for a YouTube ad. Are you willing to create this ad? What other ideas do you have for YouTube ads to reach Democrats in western Oregon? We’re going to spend money to promote them. Contact me here. UPDATE: read about our $2500 film making contest!

For my script, the cast could be a young person representing eastern Oregon who marries a another person representing Idaho, plus an older married couple (eastern Oregon’s parents) representing western Oregon. Or if casting is a problem, then the cast could just be a person representing western Oregon and a man representing eastern Oregon and we’ll forget the engagement proposal at the end.  Western Oregon people can wear University of Oregon gear. Eastern Oregon person can wear a cowboy hat, gear from our merchandise shop (Move Oregon’s Border) or maybe Eastern Oregon University gear or even Oregon Institute of Tech gear. It helps if western Oregon is dressed like a Portlander.

Video starts looking at a chalk map of Oregon on concrete pavement, split by our proposed location for the Oregon/Idaho state line that is shown on our recent (since May) maps (like the logo at our homepage but without Idaho). The map is four feet wide. Eastern Oregon is labelled and shaded yellow, western Oregon is labelled and shaded green. The feet of the cast are already standing in their side of the state, facing each other across our proposed state line.  The camera is panning up to the faces. There is no silence before or after the dialogue begins, so the YouTube viewers won’t skip our ad.

Script if the cast has a younger person as eastern Oregon and his/her parents play western Oregon:

Hey western Oregon, I can’t put up with the state government I’ve got here. Would you let me join Idaho? It’s a real red state.

> Come on eastern Oregon, is it really that bad?

[while putting hand on western Oregon’s shoulder and gazing straight in the eyes to emphasize the point] Yes, eleven counties have already voted for it here. It really is that bad.

> But eastern Oregon, you’re a part of Oregon! Why should we agree to move the state line?

Because you and I don’t agree on what government is for and I’m really costing you a lot of money. The average wage earner in northwestern Oregon pays 690 dollars in taxes every year to subsidize southern and eastern Oregon.  As long as Oregon relies on income taxes, the state is going to be subsidized by high-income areas like Portland.  Do you really want to keep spending  all that just so that you can have me be a part of Oregon?

>Well, no… I don’t think I want to spend anything on that.

So wouldn’t you rather cut your losses and let me off of your budget?

> Is this even legal?

Yes, state lines have been moved small distances many times in US history.

> Why don’t you just move out?

We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of people. Our communities are conservative. It’s easier to move an invisible state line than to tear apart each of our communities. It would be wasteful for us to build that many houses in Idaho. And all the Idaho farm land is already being farmed.

Besides, you should be glad that our Republican senators wouldn’t be bogging down your state legislature anymore, and our voters wouldn’t be wading into your state ballot initiatives.

So, are our counties free to go, or are you going to hold them captive like districts in the Hunger Games?

> we’re not going to bar the door if you want to go.

[Heartfelt “thanks, guys” or “awesome!”]

> Can we still visit?

Sure! Crossing a state line is easy!  We’ll still be close by

> So what are you asking  us to do?

Just contact the president of the Oregon Senate, Rob Wagner and ask him to give our Greater Idaho bill a hearing so that we can make our case, and then ask your own state legislators to do the same thing. Go to greater idaho dot org  to learn how.  That’s greater idaho dot O-R-G

There are 2 possible endings for this script, depending on the cast.

BRIDE VERSION ENDING (eastern Oregon is the younger woman, Idaho is the younger man)

[a male actor playing Idaho steps into the shot. He is facing away from the camera toward eastern Oregon, but the camera sees both. On his back is a sign saying “Idaho” so we know he represents Idaho. Or his T-shirt is painted to say Idaho. He gets on one knee and presents an engagement ring.  Eastern Oregon looks at her parents and says:]

 “Do I have your permission?”

GROOM VERSION ENDING (I prefer this version because people are more likely to want to marry off their son than their daughter):

If the younger man is willing to say the lines, then he can play eastern Oregon and the younger woman plays Idaho.  Idaho would remain standing and eastern Oregon could say “Here’s Idaho, and I have an engagement ring here. Do I have your permission?” while taking the ring box out of his pocket. It looks like he’s asking out of the side of his mouth and a bit under his breath (but we still need to be able to hear him very clearly.) His parents are nodding so he turns to Idaho and drops to one knee while opening the ring box as the video ends.

PEER VERSION: The Peer version of this script is very similar but it only 2 actors to make casting easy. They are peers. The last part about the engagement is deleted.

The shot of the actors speaking to each other should be pretty tight, so you could have people holding cue cards to the left and right of the frame (standing behind the actors) if it doesn’t harm the audio. If an actor consistently stares at the cue card location rather than the other actor, we won’t notice that his eyes are not pointed at the other actor’s face, assuming the cue card location is at a similar angle to the other actor’s head and doesn’t move around.