Chapter 3 - BT

Okay, here's a Zack D. Films script about Botulinum Toxin, designed to be unsettling and educational:[0:00] Did you know that a single GRAM of Botulinum toxin could KILL one million people? (Animation: Close up on a single, glistening crystal of Botulinum toxin. The camera slowly zooms in, revealing a grotesque face reflected in its surface.)[0:05] Let's SIMULATE what this DEADLY neurotoxin does. (Animation: Transition to a 3D model of the human neuromuscular junction. Botulinum toxin molecules, rendered in sickly green, swarm the synapse.)[0:10] Imagine your muscles are puppets. Botulinum toxin is the puppet master cutting the strings. (Animation: The puppet strings, representing nerve signals, are severed one by one. The puppet representing a human begins to slump and contort in unnatural ways.)[0:20] First, ASCENDING PARALYSIS. Your legs become USELESS. (Animation: Focus on the legs of the 3D model, which begin to twitch and then become limp.) Then, it creeps UPWARD, shutting down your ability to breathe.[0:30] Or, perhaps, DESCENDING PARALYSIS. Starting with your face. (Animation: The face contorts into a grotesque, frozen smile as the toxin attacks the facial muscles.) You're TRAPPED, fully aware, as your body BETRAYS you.[0:40] Now, add AUTONOMIC INSTABILITY. Your heart races, then PLUMMETS. (Animation: A heart rate monitor displays erratic spikes and dips, accompanied by disturbing sound effects.) Sweat POOLS as your body malfunctions.[0:50] But here's the TWIST: Botulinum toxin, in small doses, is used for…cosmetics. (Animation: Transition from the paralyzed figure to a glamorous face being injected with Botox.) Erasing wrinkles, one paralysis at a time. You could DIE from a wrinkle cream. (Animation: The glamorous face slowly morphs back into the paralyzed figure, a single tear rolling down its cheek.)