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Lesson 9
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Jerry’s Big Picture Open Loops
What I learned doing this assignment is BWTV requires a lot more character development than a film or one-off; more like a book.ASSIGNMENT 1
GoT e1s1
Will Ned survive at Court
Will Bran walk again
Will Cersi and Jamie’s secret be exposed
Will Catlyn be reunited with her children
Will Jon Snow survive in the Night’s WatchASSIGNMENT 2:
1. Use this list to brainstorm big picture open loops for your first season that you will use to keep the audience captivated.
DARREN:
Will he repair his relationship with Linda?
Will his previous dealings with Big Nasty come out?LINDA:
Will she survive to seize control?
Will she gain the confidence to realize her ambitions?WEE HENRY:
Will his love for Linda prevent him destroying her?
Will Linda find out about his arrangement with Roaring Cecil?ROARING CECIL:
Will he regain his faith?
Will his conscience hold him back?BIG NASTY:
Will his health let him down?
Will his past crimes catch up with him? -
Assignment 1: Mr. Robot’s open loops:
1. Think about your Example Show. Make a list of the Big Picture open loops that were established early in the season.
Can Elliot actually take down Evil Corp?
Will he destroy himself and/or Angela (his childhood friend/love) in the process?
Who is Mr. Robot?
Is any of this even happening or is it all—as Elliot himself fears—just a delusion?
Who is Whiterose and what does she want?
2. Watch the next episode and see how those open loops are being used to create the need to see future episodes.
With every step forward it seems like there’s two steps back or another “interruption” in Elliot’s plan—some inconvenient but introducing new “small” loops of curiosity, others big, life-changing (or even life-threatening!) conflicts that raise bigger questions that will take several episodes to play out.
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Assignment 2
CJ’s Big Picture Open Loops for Patient X:
What I learned from this assignment: I need to brainstorm more setups for smaller loops that lead to quicker payoffs/audience gratification in addition to the bigger season/series long loops I’ve been focused on.
1. Use this list to brainstorm big picture open loops for your first season that you will use to keep the audience captivated.
GOALS:
New goals? Where’s the girl? Who took the other kids and why? Can the serial killer be stopped?
Goals related to the big picture? What’s behind Rossi’s symptoms? Can it be cured?
Crushed goals? Learns she’s dying of Fatal Insomnia
Competition / conflict around goals? Detective doesn’t want her involved in case, girl’s father knows her secret, killer now focused on her
CONSEQUENCES:
Are they going to be caught? She and father of girl bypass police to search for themselves bending/breaking rules and laws and rousing ire of local gang
Problems created from past actions? Always distant from adopted family, now that dying tries to rebuild those relationships and find biological parents
Good plans gone wrong? Think she’s rescuing kids but accidentally put them in greater danger, tries to use new psychic powers on killer’s surviving victim but ends up causing her greater pain
SOLVING PROBLEMS:
What is the major problem for this character? Find out what’s causing her symptoms
What are they trying to solve? Save the kids/stop the killer
Major change imposed on character? Learns she’s dying so now it becomes all about the good she can do, how to use these new psychic powers, before she goes, so totally focused on saving the kids/stopping the killer
Previous solutions cause new problems? Sympts helped her early on but now out of control, placing her and people around her in danger
RELATIONSHIPS:
Relationships in peril? Adoptive family, friends at hospital that she hides her illness from
New relationships forming? Budding romance with Detective—how can she commit after learns she’s dying?
Conflict inside relationships? Family—adoptive and search for biological parents, Detective wants her off case and she refuses
Relationships changing? Bonds with girl’s father—starts to trust him since he knows her secret
DANGER / SURVIVAL / RISKS:
Can they survive X? Serial killer focused on her
Putting themselves in danger / making dangerous decisions? Refuses to stop search for killer
Who else is pulled into their danger? Kids, Detective, girl’s father
Internal dangers (drug addiction, need for medicine, inner demons)? Disease progression leaves her vulnerable—catatonic episodes, seizures, etc
2. Tell us your top 5-8 Big Picture Open Loops that could be in your pilot.
*Where did this new psychic power come from? Is it real?
*Will she save the girl (and other kids)?
*Who’s the serial killer? Can she stop him?
*What’s wrong with her? What’s causing these bizarre symptoms?
*Will the sexual tension between her and Detective lead to romance?
*Can she trust the girl’s father with her secrets?
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Hilton Garrett, Big Picture Open Loops
What I learned: The necessity of open loops to maintain unflagging interest; much is going on beneath the surface; relationships can be powerfully impacted by embedding open loops within them
Open loops for my show:
Goals
New Goals
After receiving the letter from a mysterious person, Will needs to know who sent it and why
The letter says that the wreck was not an accident; now Will needs to know what caused it
Crushed Goals
Vinnie got the job that Will wanted and had long expected to be his
Consequences
Will fights with Vinnie, strikes him, and now faces termination from the paper
Solving Problems
Will’s major problem is overcoming the guilt he carries with him from his mother’s death
After receiving the letter he is now committed to finding out who killed his parents
Major change imposed on character: After fighting with Vinnie Will is fired from the paper
Relationships
Relationship in peril – Becca is slipping away
New relationships forming – Will and Mary-Grace, Will and the F.B.I. handler, Will and Martaan
Conflict inside relationships – Becca has sex with the courier; Will and his handler argue; Will is conflicted about Mary-Grace, Will and Rountree are two cats in a sack
Danger/Survival Risks
Can Will survive Santorro’s men?
Putting themselves in danger/ making dangerous decisions – Will goes against his handler, and probes ever deeper into Rountree’s activities
Who else is put in danger – Becca, Mary-Grace
Internal dangers – Will’s inner torment and its effects on Will’s thinking, decisions and actions
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Mary’s Show – My PS – Big Picture Open Loops
What I learned doing this assignment is not every loop has to be closed as quickly in BWTV as it does in episodic shows and touching on them intermittently reminds audience of the situation to keep them intrigued.
Riverdale: Big picture loops
· Who killed Jason and why?
· Will Archie’s secret relationship w/teacher be found out?
· What are the secrets at the Blossom mansion?
· What happened to Polly?
My PS- Big Picture Open Loops
GOALS:
· Geoff and son compete for Lizzy’s affection.
· Run for HOA president brings out competitiveness and grudges between neighbors and old scores to settle.
· Lizzy’s writing earns recognition that she can’t receive it because she’s now in WPP.
CONSEQUENCES:
· Lizzy was not only a witness to a crime, she actually committed the crime but framed someone else to take the fall as revenge for being cheated on.
· Someone else in the HOA crew is also in WPP and hiding a past life.
SOLVING PROBLEMS:
· Geoff is forced to get sober changing his role and status in the HOA.
· Lizzy’s sexuality may not have a simple answer.
RELATIONSHIPS:
· Sean’s sad story about his past family troubles is all a lie.
· Geoff and his son’s amicable relationship is built on the shaky foundation of a troubled past.
· Lizzy’s quick reactions to certain triggers signal past abuse that haunts her.
DANGER / SURVIVAL / RISKS:
· Who among the HOA friends secretly knows they’re dying?
· Sean is hiding an addiction while leading the charge to get Geoff sober.
· How will the safety of Lizzy’s adult children be affected by her actions?
Top 5 Open Loops for Pilot:
1. What crime did Lizzy witness?
2. Who is she being protected from?
3. Was Lizzy involved in that criminal activity?
4. Will someone figure out Lizzy is living a lie?
5. Will Geoff and Lizzy ever act on their sexual attraction?
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Binge Worthy TV Module 1 Lesson 9 Inviting Obsession Open Loops
Lloyd Shellenberger
My vision Statement Working hard Everyday to become the best writer I can be and as a result I do become the best writer in Hollywood.
What I learned from this lesson is to create the questions up front the audience will stick around and watch the show to get.
ASSIGNMENT 1
Big Picture Open Loops for Benjamin Greene
Open Loop 1: Will the FBI agent Stockton get Col. Greene?
Open Loop 2: When The Agent Stockton figures out it is Col. Greene, can he flip his son to turn him?
Open Loop 3: Does Col. Greene turn on First Sergeant Desmoine or the reverse?
Open Loop 4: Will Col. Greene come to distrust SGT. Diedra Jones and see her as a liability, what will he do when he does? Will he kill her despite the fact his son loves her?
Open Loop 5: Does SGT. Jones convince Lt. Greene to walk away from his father and transfer. She believes Col. Greene is toxic?
Open Loop 6: Does pressure from Des Moines convince Col. Greene to step up his game and be more efficient and leave nothing behind?
Open Loop 7: Will the Puzzle works ever find out about the money the Greenes are laundering and stealing or the exit plans they are putting in place?
Open Loop 8: Will SPC Allan Jones start thinking for himself and when he does will he turn his back on the crew?
Open Loop 9: Col. Greene is an indiscriminate killer that includes the Black suits. Will the Puzzle works ever blame Col. Greene for the death of their men?
Open Loop 10: Will the puzzle Works ever see Col. Greene and his crew as a liability and if they do what will they do to end the relationship.
Open Loop 11: Will his son, Lt. Greene ever find out about his prior work with the CIA?
Open Loop 12: SGT. Is Deidra Jones a mole from the Puzzle works or an FBI Agent? Will Col. Greene kill her?
Open Loop 13: SPC Allan Jones Will they ever find out Jones was involved in the murder of a store clerk during a robbery in PA?
Open Loop 14: From the very first episode we see there is something more to Col Greene than meets the eye but what is it?
Open Loop 15: Did the Puzzle Works kill his wife and if so is Col Greene’s journey about revenge? Is he appearing to go along so he can extract revenge?
Goals related to the big picture? Both Col Greene, Lt. Greene and First Sergeant Des Moines are putting away Black Bag money for a secret exit plan. Everything they do is centered around this. They all know this will go south. Will the Puzzle Works ever find out? They know they can trust no one.
Crushed goals? For Lt. Greene the promise of an honest and pure career with the Military is over.
For Col Greene The promise of leaving his former life behind is over. Can he ever get it back and keep the promise he made to his wife?
New Goals: Col. Greene and his son, and the crew must now create a plan to protect themselves from the Puzzle Works, Black Suits, and the FBI.
Their relationship with the Army has now changed even though it appears normal on the surface it is anything but that.
Competition / conflict around goals? Col. Greene never wanted his son involved with the Puzzle works.
CONSEQUENCES: Are they going to be caught?
If anyone is caught it is certain prison and dishonorable discharge at the very least. Life in prison or death is also possible.
What problems can be created from past actions? The past life of Col. Greene as a CIA assassin has already nested home and dragged his son into it. The Army is not letting anyone in the unit transfer out so everyone he is involved with must pay for his crimes.
Good plans gone wrong? Col. Greene tried to transfer his son out to protect him but the Puzzle works and the Army will not let him. Col Greene does his best to protect his soldiers but that isn’t always possible.
SOLVING PROBLEMS: What is the major problem for this character?
For Col Greene it is getting his son out and leaving this life behind. For Lt. Greene it is Helping his father stakeout of jail and getting away from this himself. For the First Sergeant the goal is the same do their job and leave this behind.
What are they trying to solve? A Puzzle.
Who’s is the Puzzle Works and how can we get as far away from them as possible once the crew realizes how toxic they are?
Major change imposed on character?
Col. Greene had left his past life behind and was content to sail off into the sunset as a retired soldier. For Lt. Greene he is becoming his father and he is a good man at heart who doesn’t want to kill or be part of this. The 1st Sergeant is treating this as his last run.
Previous solutions cause new problems?
In the past the crew was simply following orders under the Special Operations umbrella but now they are committing crimes like murder and theft under the umbrella of Government operations. The crew will not be justified and Agent Stockton will feast.
RELATIONSHIPS:
Relationships in peril?
Col. Greene and his son will become possible enemies or in the very least distrust each other?
New relationships forming? Between Lt. Greene and SGT. Jones
Conflict inside relationships?
Lt. Greene and SGT Jones disagree on the future role and involvement of his father in his life. Can SGT. Jones drag him away from the influence of his father?
Relationships changing? The loving and trusting relationship between Lt. Greene and his father becomes an unstable and distrusting relationship that may lead to one or the other or both of their deaths. Lt. Greene sees his father as a brutal man who he disagrees with his methods. The relationship between Lt. Greene and SGT. Jones will also suffer due to the stresses of the job. Secrets will also strain the relationships to the breaking point over time.
DANGER / SURVIVAL / RISKS:
Can they survive the missions and the close scrutiny?
Putting themselves in danger / making dangerous decisions that will put Agent Stockton on their trail.
Who else is pulled into their danger? Everyone in the crew. Anyone who crosses the path of the Puzzle works, friends, family.
Internal dangers (drug addiction, need for medicine, inner demons)?
Col. Greene finds comfort in the bottle at times while his son finds it in dangerous sexual situations. He often cheats on SGT. Jones. The audience will question how much different from his father is he?
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This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by Lloyd Shellenberger.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by Lloyd Shellenberger.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by Lloyd Shellenberger.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by
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BRIAN BULL – Big Picture Open Loops
“What I learned from doing this assignment is…
WOW! I think my story is really coming together. I learned that by making these big picture loops for my story really opens the door for future episodes and gives each episode purpose by answering some questions and leaving others unanswered. I can see how this is really going to help.ASSIGNMENT 1
Think about your Example Show. Make a list of the Big Picture open loops that were established early in the season.
RIVERDALE
BIG PICTURE OPEN LOOPS
Who killed Jason Blossom by putting a bullet in his forehead?
Will Archie succeed at playing music?
Will Betty find her sister, Polly and will they be reunited?
Will Veronica become the person that she truly wants to be?
Will Cheryl ever change and become a somewhat decent person?
Did Jughead’s dad, FP Jones have anything to do with Jason’s murder?SMALL PICTURE OPEN LOOPS
Now that the Drive-In Theater is being demolished, will Jughead find a place to sleep?
Will Betty ever go back to being a cheerleader? Same for Veronica.
Just how gay is Kevin? Is Kevin’s dad really ok with it?
Now that we know Polly is pregnant, will she have twins as predicted by Grandma Blossom?
Will Betty’s parents reconcile and become a family again?ASSIGNMENT 2
FORESIGHT – An Optometrist (Jim Brown) creates a pair of glasses from a crystal ball and he witnesses an attempted murder, now he must figure out when and how to stop it from happening.
Tell us your top 5-8 Big Picture Open Loops that could be in your pilot.Jim creates a pair of glasses from a crystal ball that enables him to see someone’s future when he looks at them.
How will Jim use the glasses to his benefit?
Will people honestly want to know their future if they don’t ask?
What if Jim “sees” something good, does he tell them and spoil the surprise and the thrill of the moment?
What if Jim “sees” something bad, do they really want to know then?
Does Jim go around town telling everyone about the glasses and his new discovery? Some people might think he’s crazy? Some people may kill him for them.
What if Jim misplaces the glasses and someone evil finds them?Jezebel comes into Jim’s optical store looking for Zelda, the Psychic next door. Having just created the glasses, Jim can’t help himself but to put them on and he looks at Jezebel. He “sees” Jezebel with a Day-glow syringe standing over Zelda’s hospital bed.
Will Jim say anything to anyone about what he just saw?
Jim knows where but not when, how will he stop Jezebel from doing the deed?
Does Jim go to the police and tell them? Will they think he’s crazy?
Does Jim just follow Jezebel around and for how long?
Can Jim trust the glasses to be accurate or is he going crazy, after all he doesn’t believe in the psychic world to begin with?With the Psychic Glasses, Jim “sees” his father, who has been “dead” for 30 years, with his mother and now he must get to the bottom of what really happened and find his dad.
What really happened to Jim’s dad?
Is he really alive?
Where has he been and what is he doing?
Why hasn’t he been able to escape and contact him and JoAnn?Jim sees Gloria and falls in love with her though she has no interest in Jim other than being “friends”.
Will Jim and Gloria ever become more than “just friends”?
Jim is constantly trying to protect his mother, JoAnn from harm and thus stifling her from living her life and all she wants to do is live life to the fullest.How far will Jim go to prevent his mom from “endangering” herself?
What adventures will Howard/JoAnn do to “live life to the fullest”?Delores has a huge crush on the Delivery Guy and she keeps ordering stuff online just so he has to stop by the store.
Will Delores and the Delivery Guy ever get together?
What “tricks” will Delores “pull” to get him to notice her?JoAnn, starts a romantic relationship with Howard, a free-spirited younger man, because she has finally come to terms with her husbands “death”.
Can an older woman keep up with a younger man?
Will their relationship blossom or wilt as Jim predicts?
Is Howard in it for the money or is his love for her real?
Is JoAnn enjoying herself and her “lust for life” attitude?Zelda, the Psychic next door to Jim’s Optical store, has a heart attack and is in the hospital. Later, Jezebel tries to kill her. Jim arrives too late and Zelda flatlines as the nurses come rushing in to save her.
Do the nurses save Zelda?
If the nurses save her will she be in a coma?
If Zelda survives, how will Jim explain to her the crystal ball broke and he has made a pair glasses from it?
Will Zelda understand?Gloria does romantically like Jim but her sister, Jezebel, has a strangle hold on her and Jezebel is using Gloria as a pawn to get the crystal ball that Zelda possesses. The crystal ball has been in the family for centuries.
Will Gloria break-free from Jezebel’s grasp and be with Jim?
Will Gloria find out that the crystal ball is now a pair of glasses?
Will she allow herself to love Jim regardless about the crystal ball?Jezebel wants the crystal ball for herself and is willing to kill anybody to acquire it, including her sisters.
Will Jezebel succeed in finding out that the crystal ball is now a pair of glasses?
Will she kill Jim just for the sake of his making the glasses from the crystal ball?There is a serial killer that has been terrorizing Los Angeles.
Will Jim have a run in with this serial killer?
If he did, how would that turn out? -
John Duvall’s Big Picture Open Loops
“What I learned doing this assignment is…” how to zero in on my characters’ inner lives, and how to structure the plot to maximize the suspense and empathy for the audience.
ASSIGNMENT 1
1. Think about your Example Show. Make a list of the Big Picture open loops that were established early in the season.
The biggest open loop in The Handmaid’s Tale is how did Gilead come into being, how will it evolve, and what will become of it.
On the individual level, open loops involve Offred/June’s separation from her husband and daughter, her desire to get back to them, and the question of how she may achieve this.
Other open loops involve June’s relationships with other characters, and how she may seek allies, decide who she can trust, and manipulate those who have her under their control.
2. Watch the next episode and see how those open loops are being used to create the need to see future episodes.
Offwarren doesn’t want to hand over her baby. She’s taken away in a van and “given” to another couple. Later she attempts suicide after handing her baby over to June. Question about the future: Will she survive?
Offred says she wants to help with Mayday” (the Resistance). She is asked to perform a dangerous mission – to pick up a package at the brothel. She attempts to seduce Fred into taking her to the brothel, but her plan doesn’t work out. Later a guy at a food counter gives June a package – presumably THE package, with a note from her friend Moira. Back with Moira, she’s killed a guy and drives off in his van. Three things left hanging:
1. What’s in the package and what will June do with it?
2. What will Serena Joy say or do to Commander Fred after suspecting his infidelity. 3. Where will Moira go & what will happen to her?ASSIGNMENT 2:
Big Picture Open Loops in your pilot. GOALS:
The approach of war forces all major characters to adjust their hopes, fears and expectations.
Daughter Joanie is torn between her horror at the war and her fear of her classmates heading off to fight.
CONSEQUENCES:
Will Carolyn’s husband be outed as Jewish at Ford, threatening his employment
Carolyn’s abandonment of her personal ambitions causes resentment towards her husband Jacob.
SOLVING PROBLEMS:
Rose is forced to move to Detroit by Orsa’s decision to enlist.
Rose has to find work in Detroit and adjust to living with her
elderly relatives. RELATIONSHIPS:
All three of the marriages – Carolyn & Jacob, Ros & Orsa, and Melba and Lou – are put in peril by the stresses arising from the coming war.
Tension between Carolyn and teenage daughter Joanie rise because of Joanie’s rebellion and dating choices.
Melba and Lou have increasing arguments about financial stress and who needs to bring in money.
RISKS:
• Carolyn tries to hide her increasingly alcoholism.
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