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Lesson 5
Reply and post your assignment.
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11 Replies
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Mark’s Action Track
What I learned doing this assignment is the value of detailed brainstorming. Even though I had most of these stages in mind already, detailing them in this way gave me more opportunities to explore both the Hero and Villain and get some fun out of them.
1.Mystery Prologue: A Bad Apple, fired from Bomb Squad, takes his former Commander hostage and holes up in a cabin which, when surrounded by cops, blows to smithereens. No bodies are found.
Purpose: Creates a mystery. Uncertainty whether the Bad Apple is dead… or not?
2.Female Hero, newly recruited to the Bomb Squad, a mission to disarm an IED (improvised explosive device), witnesses two experienced Operatives taken out by a booby trapped bomb.
Purpose: Tells her there’s a Villain out there.
3. While she’s learning basic disarmament techniques, a truck loaded with explosives trundles into the Bomb Squad headquarters. She narrowly averts the elimination of the whole squad.
Purpose: She may be a novice, but she’s smarter, more quick-witted and resourceful than most of the Squad.
4.More IEDs spring up around Los Angeles. Members of the Bomb Squad are maimed and injured.
Purpose: The Villain’s plan is becoming clearer: wipe out the Squad. But to what end?
5.Villain orders more IEDs spread around the city and more Bomb Squad members taken out. Use similar wiring with a booby trap in each, but the bombs will be triggered if cut correctly.
Purpose: Insight into the Villain and increased jeopardy for our hero.
6.Twist: Hero is sent into the field to disarm an IED. But she cuts the wires in ‘the wrong’ order, thus preventing an explosion.
Purpose: Our hero may not be the most experienced in Bomb disarmament, but boy is she street smart and lucky.
7.Villain frustrated, thinks hero is dangerous and sends his killers to her home.
Purpose: Hero against the Villain’s killers who outnumber her.
8.Action Twist: She defeats killers with her pest control arsenal.
Purpose: Increased stakes and innovative fight sequence as she uses her knowledge of pest control weapons, etc to defeat them.
9.Villain getting nervous. Orders all out distribution of IEDs and advances the date of the final plan.
Purpose: Insight into Villain, who still has not revealed himself.
10.Hero unmasks the Villain…only to realise she’s made a mistake and challenged an innocent man. Or is he?
Purpose: Sows confusion in audience’s minds and ramps up the tension.
11.Villain makes his demands. Free the Russian prisoner.
Purpose: Misdirection. He wants to appear political: if things go wrong, the authorities will be looking for Russian terrorists.
12.Villain sets up his smart bomb: plutonium that will contaminate the city.
Purpose: Heighten tension.
13.Hero tracks Villain, confronts him.
Purpose: Reveal the Villain’s true plan: hold the City hostage, get a massive payoff and then destroy the city anyway.
14.Hero and Villain do battle: part action, part battle of wits –
Purpose: Reveal more of Hero’s character in an entertaining way.
15.Villain tricked into entering his own device. He is trapped inside and blown to pieces – but Hero has removed the plutonium.
Purpose: Hero has saved the day.
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Patricia’s Action Track!
What I learned doing this assignment is that I’m still working on the type of action each scene requires. Also, does the movie need to end at the standoff with the villain, or is the final battle against the storm still necessary? I think it is because our hero is actually fighting two adversaries — Sykes and the storm. So, I think we need a resolution for both.
1 DISCOVERY: Donovan is found in his survivalist camp in the woods
Purpose: Creates a mystery about his identity and reveals some of his skills, which will come into play later in the film.
2 FIGHT: As law enforcement tries to take him in, Donovan fights back
Purpose: Gives us a glimpse of Donovan’s strength and some backstory
3 DANGEROUS SITUATION/SHOOTING: As tensions run high inside the prison, an inexperienced/scared young guard shoots in inmate in the yard when he fears an attack.
Purpose: Gives us a glimpse into the group dynamics in the prison and reveals a lot about the young guard’s backstory.
4 DANGEROUS SITUATION: A bus filled with inmates leaves the prison as the storm descends, despite warnings. They get stuck, an explosion occurs, nearly everyone on the bus dies — except the villain who is responsible for them being there.
Purpose: Reveals the villain’s arrogance at ignoring warnings and places him in a situation that there is no coming back from.
5 DANGEROUS SITUATION: Storm descends and rocks the prison tower. Power goes out.
Purpose: Creates a clear picture of the peril our hero and the remaining inmates face.
6 DANGEROUS SITUATION: Pipes burst, sending flooding and freezing water down the shafts and throughout the building. Windows begin blowing out.
Purpose: Creates additional dangers for those left behind — any movement could risk electrocution, but staying risks freezing to death.
7 ESCAPE: Decision made to leave the unit and move to another floor, but the building is crumbling and water still cascades down an already faulty elevator shaft.
Purpose: Challenges our hero and his crew with nearly impossible obstacles toward getting to the ground.
8 RESCUE: At the elevator shaft, they hear screams from below — SEG is being flooded, and a young inmate, who our hero tried to take under his wing earlier, is in SEG. A mission is hatched for our hero and two other men to go try to save the kid.
Purpose: Hero feels responsible for the death of his brother, and this unrealistic push to go down into a flooding SEG is a chance at redemption for him.
9 DANGEROUS SITUATION/NEW ESCAPE PLAN: Blocked from going down, the gang regroups and agrees to go up to the guard level. But a fried security door means that someone will have to hold the door open, in order for people to get out and then try to escape before it closes.
Purpose: Redemption for one of the inmates and an escalation in the danger.
10 DANGEROUS SITUATION/NEW ESCAPE PLAN: The remaining men, including our hero, make it to the guard level, only to find a hellscape. Electrical has sparked a fire, and the windows had already blown out in the storm. Fire and ice combine. There is no relief here. The hero formulates a new plan, but first, they need to get across the fire to the control room.
Purpose: Escalate the danger, while our hero becomes the leader the men need to survive.
11 ESCAPE: The inmates go out what is left of the window to scale down the building in the height of the storm.
Purpose: Show the best option in a no-win situation and the faith trust that has grown between this group of survivors.
12 STANDOFF: The villain somehow made it across the bridge and onto the guard level. There’s a standoff between Donovan and Sykes. Donovan is stalling in hopes that the men get to safety.
Purpose: Escalate the tension and show the antagonist’s frame of mind.
13 SHOOTOUT: Villain shoots at Donovan, but the young guard pushes him out of the way and takes the bullet.
Purpose: Redemption for the earlier shooting of the inmate in the yard.
14 DANGEROUS SITUATION/SHOOTOUT: Donovan tries to talk Sykes out of doing anymore damage. Tells him that he can help him. That they can all walk away from this. But Sykes is beyond listening and raises the gun again. Not knowing that the bullet that hit the young guard, also hit one of the last standing supports for the ceiling. As Sykes fires, the ceiling comes down on him and kills him.
Purpose: The Villain is dead. Donovan can escape, carrying the young guard, to an uncertain future in the storm.
15 DANGEROUS SITUATION: Donovan takes the guard down the building — when it looks like there is no way that they’ll get to shelter fast enough to survive, they are met by the surviving men who have managed to start one of the prison vehicles.
Purpose: Donovan and the other survivors earn some level of redemption. Donovan is free.
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Action Lesson 5: Create Your ACTION Track
ASSIGNMENT
BG’s Action Track!
What I learned doing this assignment: Coming up with types of events and the purposes behind them is helping me flesh out my ideas.
3. Sequence the action scenes to deliver your story. Give us your list of action scenes and the purpose of each scene.
A CLUB FOR PATRIOTS
WEAPONS: Weapons of war being unloaded from a cargo plane at a remote airport in MALDOVINIA.
Purpose: Creates the mystery of who they are for and for what purpose.BREAK IN: REPORTER climbs in through an open window and plants a listening device in the thermostat of the St. Michael conference room.
Purpose: Insight into Hero. He’s taking more risks, moving up the ladder of deception.DISCOVERY: REPORTER learns about the aims of the conspiracy via the listening device he planted. He’s horrified.
Purpose: Insight into Hero. Now, he’s pissed off enough to want to stop them. He’s coming out of his funk!THE ORDER: The CIA Deputy Director says, “Getting an American reporter would create legal issues. No such impediment to the abduction of a foreigner for national security purposes! I want HACKER in the safe house by tomorrow!”
Purpose: Insight into the Villain’s enablers. The Villain is not just the NORTHSTAR conspiracy. Major intelligence agencies support it! Increases the stakes for REPORTER.ABDUCTION: REPORTER’s friend and ally, HACKER, is captured and interrogated (euphemism for tortured) at a CIA safe house.
Purpose: Insight into the rotten nature of Villain’s enablers. Increases the stakes for REPORTER.DISCOVERY: REPORTER discovers that his friend HACKER is missing, his flat has been ransacked and all his electronic equipment is missing.
Purpose: Gives us a glimpse into his growing skills — his tools, sneaking around at night, climbing up to HACKER’s flat, jimmying open a window…FIGHT: REPORTER fights off ASSASSIN, a professional hitman.
Purpose: Gives us another glimpse into his skills — No training in fighting or weapons. Not his specialty. He’s a mechanical engineer-turned-reporter. Yet he can improvise and uses his engineering knowledge to topple him down.SURVEILLANCE and DISCOVERY: REPORTER tails HOSTESS and catches her in the act of communicating with her control. She’s a German spy!
Purpose: Gives us two people who need each other.TORTURE: At the CIA safe house, Hacker has been interrogated, he’s in bad shape, and he insists he didn’t hack or send any hacked materials to REPORTER. STATION CHIEF does not believe. She tells DOCTOR to keep on trying.
Purpose: Insight into the rotten nature of Villain’s enablers. Increases the stakes for REPORTER.ESCAPE: His friend’s disappearance has caused REPORTER to realize he needs a new plan. He brainstorms and decides staying as a waiter at The Club is no longer safe or useful. He tenders his resignation and moves in the night to another cheap hotel.
Purpose: Insight into Hero. He learns, adapts, makes new plans.BATTLE AT THE SAFE HOUSE: Using tools and a plan made by him, REPORTER, HOSTESS, and her allies rescue HACKER from the CIA safe house, and take him to an undisclosed safe house.
Purpose: Insight into Hero: REPORTER will take on great risk to rescue a friend! Plus, cool weapons and fight scenes to watch;))AMBUSH: ASSASSIN attacks REPORTER again, this time with a taser. HOSTESS, who is secretly following him to protect him, flies out of the shadows and flattens ASSASSIN! REPORTER asks her not to kill him!
Purpose: Hero against Villain’s representatives. But now, he has a guardian angel — who can fight and uses her weight as a weapon! Also creates intrigue: Is it just that REPORTER doesn’t want to kill anybody, or does he have a longer term plan that will need ASSASSIN’s services?STOPS A KILLING: REPORTER stops HOSTESS from crushing ASSASSIN’s rib cage and lungs.
Purpose: Insight into Hero. REPORTER does not want to kill bad guys, he’d rather they kill each other.HIT: BILLIONAIRE cancels ASSASSIN’s contract with ENERGY MOGUL regarding REPORTER, and instead, hires ASSASSIN to kill ENERGY MOGUL, his second-in-command.
Purpose: The Villain needs to do cleanup in order to protect his reputation and the rest of his plans. He’s not done yet! -
Evelyn’s Action Track! What I learned doing this assignment is to fill in the blanks, knowing I can elevate each answer as I keep developing the script.
Hero is Mikki, a champion MMA fighter; Villain is her cousin Shayla, an underground fighter whose goal is to kill Mikki and usurp her place in the family.
AMBUSH–Mikki is coming out of a local Las Vegas talk show studio after promoting her upcoming MMA bout when she is attacked by two masked thugs. She defeats them with skilled martial arts and no weapons except her hands and stiletto high heels.
Purpose–Demonstrate Mikki’s skill level in martial arts. Create mystery of who would be attacking her–is it one of her MMA rivals?
FAILED KILLING–Mikki is at a carnival with her husband and their little girl when a sniper aims but the shot goes wild and no one notices.
Purpose–create mystery: who was the target: Mikki or her husband? is the sniper in alliance with the two thugs and if so, what are they trying to accomplish?
CAR CRASH–Hit and run driver kills Mikki’s husband and injures Mikki and her little girl
Purpose–create more mystery and suspense; was it really an accident or was it deliberate? and if it was deliberate, was Mikki the real target?
THREAT– at the funeral, Mikki receives an anonymous note warning her to drop out of the upcoming fight or face the consequences, threatening that something bad will happen to Mikki’s daughter
Purpose–Shayla’s misdirection to make Mikki believe her MMA rivals are responsible for her husband’s death and the attacks on Mikki
FIGHT–Shayla fights an unsanctioned bout against a ruthless female fighter but Shayla wins
Purpose–demonstrate Shayla’s ability and desire to fight no-holds-barred, increasing her threat to Mikki; creating more mystery about Mikki’s cousin and what she is hiding from her family about her life and her skills
MURDER– Shayla’s mother, Jayne, discovers evidence of Shayla’s secret life. Terrified, she tries to sneak off and pretend she didn’t see anything, but Shayla catches her and kills her.
Purpose–midpoint revelation to us that Shayla is the villain, and showing her original plan to kill Mikki, and then marry Mikki’s husband and adopt Mikki’s little girl and live in Mikki’s house etc–taking over Mikki’s life which Shayla feels entitled to
KIDNAP–masked thugs kidnap Mikki’s little girl and hold her for ransom
Purpose–escalate the danger when Mikki refuses to call off the MMA fight; Now Mikki is up against kidnappers who warn her that they will kill her child if she goes to the FBI or police.
DEMO FIGHT– a publicity scheme set up by Shayla (who is Mikki’s publicity and social media director) pairs Mikki with a retired fighter to demonstrate a few moves they’ll see in the upcoming pro bout, but actually Shayla has paid the fighter to injure Mikki for real instead of faking it.
Purpose–show how quickly Mikki can defend herself even from surprise attacks
TELEVISED FIGHT–the big bout in Vegas that all the publicity has led up to; Mikki wins
Purpose– show Mikki’s skillset, show her resilience in fighting despite her recent grief over husband’s death and her panic about her daughter’s kidnapping! She couldn’t reschedule the fight and had to show up or lose by default. Since she donates 10% of her net earnings on all fights to Women’s Cancer Research, she pushes herself to suit up and show up in the cage
DISCOVERY–Mikki has done all she can to raise the ransom, but most of her wealth is tied up in her house and mortgages and she can’t get the cash. She begs the kidnappers to allow her more time. They allow another 48 hours
Purpose–show how ruthless the kidnappers are. At this point, we know that Shayla is the kidnapper, but Mikki still thinks it must be a stranger who targeted her for her apparent ability to pay a large ransom
ILLEGAL FIGHT–Mikki agrees to an illegal bout that will help her earn the rest of the ransom money, even though it could mean killing her career in the professional fight arenas
Purpose–show the length Mikki will go to get her daughter back; show how ruthless Shayla is with her intent to destroy all aspects of Mikki’s life
AMBUSH–after Mikki wins the illegal bout, the two thugs attack her and take the prize money
Purpose–what will Mikki do now to get the money? The clock is ticking to save her daughter’s life! Mikki doesn’t know how to reach the kidnappers to explain she is still short of the ransom amount, through no fault of her own.
DISCOVERY–Mikki tracks her daughter’s location and enlists Shayla’s help to go rescue her.
Purpose–set up more tension because we know that Shayla is actually the kidnapper who wants to kill Mikki
FAILED RESCUE–Shayla diverts Mikki from the real hiding place, and leads both of them into a supposed attack by the thugs; Shayla pretends to be injured
Purpose–reinforce Mikki’s belief that Shayla is on her side
CAR CHASE–Mikki wants to get something from Shayla’s mother Jayne (who is the sister of Mikki’s dad). Shayla is on Mikki’s trail
Purpose– villain is closing in on Mikki and yet Mikki still doesn’t know where her daughter is being held captive
DISCOVERY–Mikki goes to her Aunt Jayne’s house to get a weapon that belonged to her dad, and finds Jayne’s body.
Purpose–accelerate the action and fear
FIGHT– Shayla bursts in and attacks Mikki; Mikki fights back, gets evidence about where her daughter is and runs out, leaving Shayla tied up
Purpose–seeming victory for Mikki
RESCUE–Mikki finds her daughter and is carrying her to her car to take her home when Shayla drives up, blocking Mikki’s car so she cannot leave
Purpose–heightened tension for another battle
FINAL BATTLE– Mikki fights Shayla, using every illegal move she knows and some she invents on the spot!
Purpose–continue the battle to the end
FITTING END– Shayla’s hired thugs who were guarding the child come out and kill Shayla when she berates them for being losers. When the thugs turn on Mikki, she fights and defeats them without killing them, then calls the police and locks herself in her car with her daughter.
Purpose–show Mikki victorious in saving her daughter’s life and defeating her enemies.
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ASSIGNMENT: #5
Subject line: Pat Galbraith’s Action Track!
What I’ve learned in this assignment is how to think about Villain and Mission tracks while doing the action track.
Create a rough draft of your Action Track.
1. Answer the Action Questions:
• A. Considering the concept from Lesson 1, what action could naturally show up in this movie? Chases, Fights, shootouts, rescues, escape/Evade, dangerous situations, torture.
• B. Considering the Mission and Villain Tracks, what action could work for this track? All the above
• C. How can the action start well, build in the 2nd Act, and escalate to a climax in the 3rd Act?
A. Although she is a young lady she proves she can hold her own with a gun.
B. She joins her brother in the fight to stop renegades from burning and killing.
C. She continues to fight even after her brother is killed.
2. Select the types of action you’ll use.
Chases, escapes, fights, rescues, attacks, competition and dangerous situations.
3. Sequence the action scenes to deliver your story. Give us your list of action scenes and purposes.
1. Chase/Pursuit-Steals medicine at gunpoint to save her dying brother.
Purpose: Creates her ability to be more than a sophisticated young lady. Builds character.
2. Escape: Sheriff chases after her.
Purpose: When she outwits the sheriff by leaving her home, increases stakes she’ll have to deal with later.
3. Fight: Joins her brother in fight against renegades to stop Renegades from killing and burning out homes.
Purpose: Makes her a stronger character
4. Rescue: She goes into a burning home to save a baby that was left in the burning home.
Purpose: The gang starts to give her more respect. Gives insight into the character.
5. Attack: Overpowered by renegades.
Purpose: Insight to the Hero. She knows they can’t overpower them. Need a new plan. Raises stakes.
6. Competition: Her own gang were always trying to outdo her.
Purpose: She knows she’ll have to continuously prove them wrong.
7. Dangerous Situations: With Myra leading the fight. They attack the renegades at night and wipe them out.
Purpose: Myra becomes an even stronger character. But the renegades now know who she is. Raising the stakes
8. Fitting Ending: She goes after the one who killed her brother. She kills him but lets his family go.
Purpose: She has no fear. Helps to resolve the hurt.
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Paul’s Action Track
What I learned – So far, this excersize has been one of the best. It seems, the more you fill in the blanks the better the ideas become.
1. Answer the Action Questions:
A. What action could naturally show up in this movie?— I’ve chosen the SYFY/Action genres set in the Wild West with a Supernatural Villian. My Hero natural abilities are strong but he will need to find a way to out-think and outmaneuver his opponents.
B. What action could work for this track? My First Fallen Angel is Black, beautiful, dark, deadly and extremely dangerous. He is the master of all, his motivation is run by revenge and hate of mankind. The Second Fallen Angel is Asian. She is a thinker, methodical, blind and a healer. She controls the Asian demon population of the Mission. With her I could insert a Kung-Fu and weapons theme. My third Fallen angel is a strong, deformed misfit who controls the dregs of the Demon population. Each Angel rewards his/her followers with a BITE and a small percent of their traited powers. After three bites the semi demons become Immortal and belong to the Army of Darkness.
A Demon by himself is a formidable foe. An Angel is unbeatable. Combined, three Angels and an Army of Demons is quite the impossible mission.
C. How can the action start well, build in the 2nd Act, and escalate to a climax in the 3rd Act?
I plan to introduce the main Hero in a bank Heist. The robbery and the escape will showcase his skills and perception of his world.
2. Select the types of action you’ll use.
A. Chase/Pursuit – The scene — a bank robbery full of armed citizens, the Hero, his outlaw gang, Mexican Soldiers, and innocent townspeople. This situation is ripe for gunplay, quick thinking, a horse chase, and an escape plan.
Purpose – This will show the bond between our Hero and his Outlaw gang as well as develope his sense of humanity and his faults.
B. Fight – The scene — A saloon full of undesirables in a town where men go to sell their souls. Mexican soldiers spot our Hero and pick a fight. The scene turns from questions and accusations to punches and gun play and the Encounter with the first of many demons.
Purpose – Develope the problematic world the Hero just stepped into how to make the most of his skills.
C. Shootout – The first gunfight demonstrates the idea of battle with a Demon with an EXTRA Skill set.
Purpose – Demonstrates the power of the Demons and the consequences of losing. Its not just death. If you lose the duel and are not dead by the bullet, it’s death by being torn to pieces, drained of blood and then if your still coherent you’re devoured. All that’s left is a pile of bones.
D. Rescue – Our Hero showed up to rescue his brother and finds himself trapped as well. There has never been an escape. Death at the wall of stones comes from the Apache who have trapped the Fallen Angels and secure the world from the domination of the Fallen Angels and thier Demon army. ( Apache massacre all who try to escape the boundries of the SPanish Mission. ) Surviving the night without dying, becoming food or losing your soul is the only path to escape the Spanish Mission of Paloma Blanca. Mornig brings the sun which will destroy any Demon caught in its path.
Purpose. The only way to escape is to fight, hide or take your chances at the salt wall surrounding the Mission and Village of Paloma Blanca. This heightens the level of action and the foreboding reality of the situation at hand. Something has to give. It makes our Hero develope a better plan.
E. Escape/Evade The escape fails miserably. Our Hero and his co-horts are separated in the tunnels beneith the Spanish Mission.
Purpose – To show the thought process of the Fallen Angels. They have set traps for men who choose to try to escape. There is no way out of Paloma Blanca unless you are dead or become a servant of Lord Balin.
F. Interrogation/Torture – I moved this section up to fit my story. Our Hero is captured and tortured by an Apache Skinwalker who has infiltrated the Army in hopes of destroying it from within. Here, our Hero has a choice. 1. Become a Skinwalker ( pronounced skills and streangths ) and help kill the Angels and their Demon Army or 2. Face the Angels as a mortal.
Purpose – This situation can raise the bar of my Hero and give him the powers needed to KILL an Angel. Raises the type of action of future fight scenes.
G. Competition – Brother against brother. Pulling a heist scenario from their past the HERO and his Brother trick Lord Balin and his Army and start the equivilant of a mini apocalypse.
Purpose: This raises our action to the highest point placing the Hero and his co horts in the most danger they have experienced in their lives.
H. Dangerous Situations – No one is safe. Our Hero must face the monster that Killed his father in a one to one battle to save his life and destroy Lord Balin.
Purpose – This is the last action scequence of the story. It has to be thought out and show that our Hero’s character arc has been completed.
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Dan’s Draft of the Action Track
I learned from this assignment that I’ll need to take the “Writing Bingeworthy TV” course after this, but this is a needful prerequisite.
1. Answer the Action Questions:
A.
Considering the concept from Lesson 1, what action could naturally show
up in this movie?D.I.G. 4 is a spacious venue for all the action categories. Since it has a decidedly uncontained script (subterranean, space, undersea, Earth’s surface, and alien worlds) wielding state-of-the-art human weaponry and vehicles, and those adapted from tools/machines designed to deal with these survival nodes. Also, the Protagonist is a lover of rare and eclectic martial arts. The added input from the ancient Earth races and alien civilizations encountered puts it over the top.
B.
Considering the Mission and Villain Tracks, what action could work for
this track?Every form of action from the Major Action Categories .pdf works well. Since the aim of this scripted series is a PG-13 rating, intense torture scenes and excessive blood/gore are non-starters.
C.
How can the action start well, build in the 2nd Act, and escalate to a
climax in the 3rd Act?My answer has to be based on the series pilot, which I haven’t written about much in this course. The 1st act rides the drama of the world’s reactions to the sudden-onset ice age. The 2nd act balances humanity coming to grips with a dark destiny and the gritty fight ahead, human monsters, and vulnerabilities. The 3rd act is “ready or not” shove into the unknown.
2. Select the types of action you’ll use.
At the risk of looking like I’m dodging work, during the D.I.G. 4 series, I can envision using every action type. My heroes, often “average” folks of all descriptions, will fight, plan, improvise, selflessly serve and sacrifice, compete, escape, evade, and otherwise defend their families and fellow travelers. My villains will pursue, sabotage, shoot, stab, blow up, poison, kidnap, interrogate, seduce, and surveil, exploiting every possible amoral means to shape humanity’s future in the galaxy.
3. Sequence the action scenes to deliver your story. Give us your list of action scenes and the purpose of each scene.
<These are broad strokes from the pilot>
Discovery – An Iranian-born citizen of Singapore, 71 years old and wheelchair-bound, Markus Mohebby lost both his legs below the knee as an officer in the 1982 Iran/Iraq war. This self-made billionaire deals in rare earth geology. In 2030, he is the first to sound the alarm for the Ice Age on the international stage. Spending a considerable sum to get the word out, he overcomes scoffers by publicizing and predicting three global disasters in succession.
Purpose – to jolt a very smug humanity and spur them into action. Introduce the calamity-of-scale impacts we’re dealing with (abused natural world as the villain), pressurizing all character’s strengths and flaws.
Machinations – the world plots and plans, as does Claudette Martz. Motives are mixed.
Pilot synopsis(for clarity, as I’ve been addressing different throughlines until now)
‘Global Warming’ proved a misnomer for the planetary ice age it affected. The NAO (North Atlantic Overcurrent) strengthened and expanded until there was constructive interference in the weather patterns of both poles. It was recognized for the threat it was in October 2027, and by March 2028, the whole world knew we were in serious trouble. Thirty months later, the entire planet was uninhabitable.
The human response ran the gamut. Nations galvanized and held summits, resources appeared from secret caches, and all efforts not at least tangential to halting or surviving the ice age were shunned. Countless plans, schemes, and scams emerged, from relocating near the equator, summoning aliens for help, or outlasting the freeze in cryosleep. The wealthy attempted personal solutions, or waxed philanthropic and threw in behind the think tanks and large corporations.
Per usual, most of us leaned on God and government. Some nations tried to change the NAO’s tide, hoping for a global Alaska — cold but livable. Others hedged their bets, working both to stop the freeze and to establish a survivability system elsewhere. Flailing governments acted little better than individuals. For instance, as the hour darkened, China realized it had too few months and resources for its populace and planned to seize all it could not build.
The expected NATO and European alliances held. Japan and Australia joined forces, as discoveries in deep ocean geology suggested that coalition. Hotter climates were contested, as they promised a few more precious months.
When raw panic set in, there simply wasn’t enough space, time, or cooperation. Gaia had her revenge: far too many lay frozen in testimony to our folly. The few eugenicists alive hide their sustainable smiles.
Purpose – to lock conflicts early, against nature and between nations/survival nodes, and to establish protagonists/antagonists. To start the clock for the impossible timetables, only to have the ice age arrive almost four months ahead of predictions. To raise the stakes as bad actors insinuate themselves into positions, pursue selfish ambitions, and exploit others because they can. The audience O.D.’s on adrenaline, good and evil forces are on clear collision courses, and an unhinged day dawns.
Death Arrives Early – survival preparations nearest the poles are cut fatally short, and the four-month encroachment of the ice age hobbles other efforts.
Purpose – Creating drive and drama for the protagonist. Jordan Hendrix must reconcile himself with the fact that his daughter and ex-wife must be placed in cryogenic sleep in Okinawa, halfway across the globe, or perish. He must honor his commitment to those aboard D4, or thousands will die. This gives insight into the hero. Many survival nodes fail outright, and unintended crews with unintended passengers man others (i.e., WIG Japan). Tension builds as opportunists brutalize others for survival, and fights on every scale leave a very diverse moral variety alive to attempt to move into the total freeze or escape Earth entirely.
Survival Nodes Go Operational – or epically fail. As a final insult, the planet has an instantaneous polarity shift, rending many craft attempting to escape orbit and shredding many orbiting too closely—trillions in survival resources burn in. Claudette Martz christens the APEX complex with the arrival of her personal army as D.I.G. 4 begins its descent. ECGs 2 and 3 head into deep space, parting ways just past an inchoate international Moon base. Critical roles start to solidify, and those that can, do.
Purpose – the cliffhanger leading into the regular season; buckle up.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by Daniel Burt.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by Daniel Burt.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by Daniel Burt.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by
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<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Subject line: Monica’s Action Track!
What I learned doing this assignment is the breakdown of an action movie is very complex and requires a great deal of thought.
Sequence the action scenes to deliver your story. Give us your list of action scenes and the purpose of each scene.
1. DISCOVERY: Heroine returns to her hometown with a lead in her sister’s disappearance.
Purpose: Introduces our heroine, why she’s there and creates hope/fear as she meets her lead after being introduced to him by an old friend.
2. INTERROGATION: Heroine is arrested when the police raid the night club she’s “working” in.
Purpose: She’s undercover and passes information she has gathered to the team supporting her.
3. RESCUE: The police have rescued the victims from the club and our heroine and her partner go to interview them.
Purpose: To determine if the girls were recruited by the people they think they were.
4. FIGHT: One of the girls is thrown down the stairs.
Purpose: Our heroine goes after the girl who through the other one down the stairs and arrests her.
5. DANGEROUS SITUATION: The Heroine meets up with the bad guy at his hide-away. She downloads his computer for more intel. Sirens in the background. He thinks she called the cops.
Purpose: Our Heroine will do anything to find her sister. Including meeting up alone with the bad guy because she can take care of herself.
6. FIGHT: Once the sirens are heard, our bad guy throws something at the Heroine and runs away.
Purpose: To demonstrate her skills in having to defend herself and chase him.
7. CHASE/PURSUIT: Our Heroine meets up with her partner and they chase him to his mother’s property.
Purpose: To show another side of the villain who is really just a mommy’s boy with an Oedipus complex.
8. DANGEROUS SITUATION: The Heroine and her partner break-in to “mommy’s” house while the villains are checking something else out.
Purpose: To gather more intel that these people are, in fact, behind the human trafficking ring and Hope/Fear.
9. CHASE/PURSUIT: The villains are returning to the house. Time to go.
Purpose: The Heroine and her partner carry everything they can and escape out the window as the villain breaks the door down.
10. DANGEROUS SITUATION: Our heroine and the villain go to pick up girls at an unmarked border crossing.
Purpose: She has to play her part (undercover) and try to rescue the girls.
11. EVADE: Our Heroine and her partner stake out the motel where the villain has taken the victims.
Purpose: She has a moral code and an obligation to limit collateral damage.
12. COMPETITION: Our Heroine interrupts the villain’s sex and informs mommy that her darling boy killed the men who supplied the victims.
Purpose: To try and getting mommy to ban her boy and leave our Heroine a clean shot at bringing down the ring.
13. KIDNAPPING: The villain kidnaps the heroine and takes her to a place to teach her a lesson.
Purpose: To show that the villain has more tricks up his sleeve.
14. TORTURE: The villain ties the heroine to a chair and hits her. He shows her that he’s going to rape her.
Purpose: Show off more of her skill set.
15. RESCUE: After she brings down the villain and his friends, the villain shoots her and then escapes. But she is rescued by her partner.
Purpose: To send the story in another direction as she has to recover from her wounds and is taking off the case.
16. DANGEROUS SITUATION: Our Heroine and her friend (from before who’s also undercover) track the villain to his hide-away and break down the attic door.
Purpose: To discover her sister who’s been held hostage by the villain for all these years.
17. DANGEROUS SITUATION: Our Heroine goes back undercover at a yacht party but is identified by mommy (who’s been arrested but a deal was made).
Purpose: To set up the ending.
18. TORTURE: The villain strings up our heroine and whips her. With all her remaining strength she kills the villain.
Purpose: Fitting end for the villain.
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Subject line: John Woodward’s Action Track!
What I learned doing this assignment is to avoid judging while brainstorming.
1. Answer the Action Questions:
A. Considering the concept from Lesson 1, what action could naturally show up in this movie?
Chase/Pursuit, Fights, pistol and rifle battles, Rescue, Escape/Evade, Dangerous Situations, Interrogation, extreme weapon battles, car chases, battles aboard ferry, villian must battle the hero, police, FBI, and secret service.
B. Considering the Mission and Villain Tracks, what action could work for this track?
Battles with unusual weapons and tactics necessary for this specific undead villain.
C. How can the action start well, build in the 2nd Act, and escalate to a climax in the 3rd Act?
Act 1. Initially the hero battles the villian with traditional weapons and tactics. These weapons and tactics have little effect on the undead racist fiend.
Act 2. Hero is forced to brainstorm the use of a variety of unusual weapons, which he resourcefully employs.
Act 3. Hero’s resourcefulness leads to the use of increasingly violent and inventive weapons. The final showdown requires unique weapons and tactics.
2. Select the types of action you’ll use.
Chase/Pursuit, Fights, rescues, pistol and rifle battles, Escape/Evade, Dangerous Situations, Interrogation, battles with extreme weapons, car chases, battles aboard a ferry, increasingly violent and inventive weapons with unique weapons and tactics, villian must battle the hero, police, FBI, and secret service.
3. Sequence the action scenes to deliver your story. Give us your list of action scenes and the purpose of each scene.
1. GANGBANGERS CHASE TREY & DOMINO
Purpose: It endears the hero to the audience based on his need to fight gangbangers during utterly innocent daily activities. Shows relationship between Trey and his brother Domino. Shows how much Trey relies on his brother for leadership, guidance, and advice. Audience appreciates that the two brothers rely on each other. Insight into Trey’s environment . Gang leader wants Trey dead. Why? Shows the stakes for Trey.
2. TO ESCAPE IMPRISONMENT from the crude cage, MAKEPEACE EMPLOYS TRICKERY and EXTREME violence as he slaughters GANGBANGERS. Makepeace escapes and kills all the gangbangers who chased Trey and his brother, and forced them to hide in the tenement sub-basement. Villain effectively turns the gangbangers’ weapons against them. Makepeace realizes he must destroy Trey before he rallies forces to thwart his assassination plan. The gang’s survivors assume thatTrey killed their homies, and begin to hunt him.
Purpose: Hero against Villain. Trey up against an undead immortal assassin with the evil intentions of an extreme racist. Increases stakes. Exciting fight with gun battles. Establishes Villain Makepeace as a clever, devious, ruthless villain who is willing to kill to achieve his goals. Trey’s mission becomes more impossible because he is now hunted by both Makepeace and the surviving gangbangers. Trey learns that Makepeace plans to assassinate black leaders, but will he step up to the challenge and effectively prevent the monster’s mission.
3. MAKEPEACE KILLS TREY’S BROTHER. Trey alone escapes from the sub-basement. He blames himself for his brother’s murder because the brother did not want to descend into the sub-basement in order to hide from the ganbangers.
Purpose: It motivates Trey to kill Makepeace and avenge his brother’s murder. It motivates Makepeace to kill Trey before he can attain revenge.
4. MAKEPEACE KILLS the shaman KWA who has kept him imprisoned.
Purpose: Once Kwa is dead, nobody knows how to fight the immortal assassin. It forces Trey to discover the secret of an effective kryptonite for Makepeace.
5. MAKEPEACE CHASES TREY thru the ghetto. The chase forces Trey into a tough adjacent neighborhood. Joe, a world-weary construction foreman, discovers TREY breaking into his house and holds him at gunpoint for the police. Makepeace arrives first. Trey and Joe fight Makepeace then flee together.
Purpose: Trey and Joe are unlikely allies in a fight against an immortal racist. Their forced alliance makes them rely on each other to fight the menace. They must decide if they will risk their lives for the greater good of the country. Will they accept their unique situations as the only soldiers in a fight against evil?
6. Neighbor videos TREY and JOE as they appear to murder an elderly white man who is actually the monster Makepeace. The video goes viral on the internet and makes the national news. The police, the gangbangers and Makepeace hunt Trey and Joe. Makepeace continues to pursue the unlikely allies. Joe removes himself from the fight to save the targeted civil rights leaders.
Purpose: Trey and Joe are wanted for murder by the police so they can’t go to the police for assistance, which makes their mission even more impossible. When Joe abandons Trey, the youngster is once again alone in the battle against Makepeace.
7. MAKEPEACE assassinates revered civil rights leader Walker Jones. The atmosphere in the city becomes increasingly chaotic and violent. Joe returns to help Trey after realizing he failed to believe Trey’s story and now Walker Jones is dead.
PURPOSE: The unlikely allies are now stuck with each other and will grow to rely on each other. Trey and Joe realize the urgency of their mission.
8. Trey attacks MAKEPEACE with a bow and arrow. AS POLICE ARREST TREY, MAKEPEACE arrives and kills them. The undead monster realizes that Trey is resourcefully seeking weapons that can slow him down. And therefore, Makepeace doubles his effort to kill Trey.
PURPOSE: When Makepeace finally has Trey at his mercy, Joe dramatically re-enters the battle to rescue Trey from Makepeace at the very last second. This cements the growing friendship and partnership between Trey and Joe.
9. MAKEPEACE initiates his hunt for Presidential candidate Patricia Hamilton. Knowing Trey and Joe are in pursuit, Makepeace accelerates his mission to assassinate Hamilton. Makepeace endures Joe’s attack with more powerful firearms. Another intense gun battle and chase ensues. Makepeace follows Hamilton as her campaign moves from New York to Delaware. Based on news reports for Hamilton’s next campaign stop, Trey and Joe try to get Makepeace before he gets Hamilton.
Purpose: Once Hamilton is in jeopardy from Makepeace, the stakes are elevated for America, Trey, Joe, and the audience.
10. MAKEPEACE steals a car to pursue Trey and Joe. Gun battle ensues during an intense car chase on the open highway. Trey fires a bazooka that destroys the undead slave trader’s Cadillac. But once again the immortal villain emerges from the fiery crash damaged but not destroyed.
Purpose: Reinforces Makepeace as an enemy that cannot be killed even by the most powerful weapons.
11. MAKEPEACE battles the unlikely duo on a claustrophobic ferry ride across Delaware bay.
Purpose: Cool battle action in an environment with little chance for escape. MAKEPEACE appeals to Joe, white man to white man, in order to convince him to betray Trey. WIll he?
12. MAKEPEACE tracks Hamilton to a rural hunting-lodge style hotel that she uses to rest up for a campaign appearance. Makepeace battles then kills a dozen secret service agents on his way to Hamilton’s room. Hamilton resourcefully defends herself long enough for Trey and Joe to join the battle with the immortal villain. Trey and Joe help to rescue her for the time being.
Purpose: Introduces Hamilton in an action scene. She is a person willing to physically fight her attacker. Shows the stakes for Trey, Joe, Hamilton, and the country. Increases stakes. Intense fight scene to watch.
13. The climactic BATTLE continues from the hotel to an industrial area of the waterfront. Joe appears to be trapped in a boat as it sinks offshore. Makepeace pursues Trey and Hamilton. Eventually Joe re-enters the battle. A commercial speargun (used to hunt whales) slams threw Makepeace and pins him to a huge wooden dock pilon. Not dead, but not free, Makepeace curses the pair as they transport him to his final resting place. Or is it?
Purpose: Intense and entertaining action provides an engaging experience for the audience.
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Subject line: Andre’s Action Track!
“What I learned doing this assignment is…
there are multiple Action Tracks. I chose is Dangerous Situation.
Brain Storming a Rough Draft of My Action Track.
1. Answer the Action Questions:
A Considering the CONCEPT from Lesson 1, what Action could naturally show up in this movie?
a. Considering Nature/Space is the Antagonist…List all possible and actual equipment failure and the possible and accurate result of that equipment failure. What worked, what didn’t work?
b. The math. Timing of landing, was everything perfect? What resources were expended that cannot be used later when the landing was off mark?
c. How was there enough fuel to lift off moon surface?
d. How does redocking with orbiter work? Specifically exact. Applied Science.
e. How did heat shield work, when technology today is just been perfected?
f. What medical conditions existed prior and post.
B. Considering the MISSION and VILLAIN Tracks, what Action could work for this track?
<b align=”center”>
<b align=”center”>Mission Track:
To get to the Moon, land, perform experiments, safely return –back to earth.
<b align=”center”>
<b align=”center”>Villain Track (updated):
· What: Nature/Space. Time. The Forces of Nature, Space. Is space considered nature? Is atmosphere a Characteristic for Action in atmospheric reentry?
· Plan/Goal: Test mankind’s acumen and ability to live off-planet.
What they lose if Hero survives: They represent the circumstances of failure. Advancement. Man becomes a space fairing species.· Weakness (how to defeat it): Unbeatable.
C. How can the Action
start well, build in the 2nd Act, and escalate to a climax in the 3rd Act? Build on TIME and RESOURCES EXPENDED/UNEXPENDED added with impending
doom Dangerous Situation and ALL the things that must go right. MUSIC SCORE. Sound FX for all the SILENCE of Space but the SOUND of Humans and the
wear and tear of equipment during mission. MAKEUP. WARDROBE. BUDGET.2. Basic types of action you’ll use. See downloaded list. Add others…
A. Chase/Pursuit
B. Fight
C. Shootout
D. Rescue
E. Escape/Evade
F. Competition
G. Dangerous Situations
H. Interrogation
I. Torture3. Sequence the action scenes to deliver your story. Give us your list of action scenes and the purpose of each scene.
Dangerous Situations. Where EVERY Action could result in death, or preferably Life. For our Location and Setting, Space; Space is unforgiving.
Sequence of Action Scenes (6) and Their Purpose: (to be updated…)
1. Opening- 240K miles above earth, in Space, in Space Vehicle.
2. Act1- To the Moon, orbit. Undock. Descend.
3. Act2- Moon activity.
4. Act3- Lift Off from Moon. Redocking with Orbiter. Reentry.
5. Act4-Lift Off from Moon. Redocking with Orbiter. Reentry. Landing.
6. Closing- On earth, looking up, at the Moon, and beyond.
****TO BE UPDATED****
-Andre
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Bent’s action track!!
what I learned doing this assignment is this ……… I noticed in the movie The Wrestler , each scene has reason why it is in the movie. I will do the same. Aronofsky made an incredibly great film and I want to do the same.
santa vs krampus
TORTURE – Scout elf is caught by the demons of Krampus and is painfully hurt
Purpose – we see what will happen to the rest of the elf crew and Santa if Krampus gets his hands on them.
ESCAPE EVADE – A scout elf is gets away but the damage is done.
Purpose = Krampus intends on kidnapping children for his meals and he comes out of his cave. Demons find the elf and attack. Elf gets away but is dead and sleigh is damaged.
DANGEROUS SITUATIONS – Santa and elves deliver presents and the threat of Krampus and the demons hangs over them.
Purpose – They know they must watch out for the unknown dangers
COMPETITION – A brother and a sister elf. The sister elf stows away on one of the many sleighs that takes presents to the countries. Her brother accidentally falls into a sleigh as he’s digging around and goes off to a country to deliver.
Purpose – the brother elf wants his sister to remain at the North Pole since she’s too young and reckless to be visiting the outside world. And family is a big deal to him.
CHASE PURSUIT – the demons case after Santa’s sleigh and housing is destroyed by smashing sleighs as they get away.
Purpose – The damage and threat that Krampus is capable of is exemplified.
KIDNAPPING – the little sister elf is taken by Krampus
Purpose – a reason to go after Krampus because elves cannot be left behind.
FIGHT – the elves fight the demons in an attempt to save the sister elf.
Purpose – it is discovered that Krampus has kidnapped some children too.
TORTURE – Krampus threatens the sister elf and the children
Purpose – the sister elf has leadership qualities by protecting the children
RESCUE – The elves and the brother elf save the kids and his sister. It seems this is all over. The children are left at a police station in another state.
Purpose – Family is reunited, children will be reunited. It appears to be over.
SHOOTOUT – Krampus and the remaining demons find Santa and his elves in their sleighs. The final battle ensues. Demons are killed off. Reindeer are killed off. Santa and Krampus battle. Santa is almost down. The brother and sister elf save the day.
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