BWTV-AI Mod 3 – Lesson 3: Creating Your Pilot Structure

[Michael Jones]

M. Morgan’s Pilot Structure

I learned the rudimentary failings of my initial ideas of a pilot. The structure includes an overall hook that often got lost in character introductions and story set-up. At least I’m moving in a more coherent direction.

Teaser:

• Essence: Brock Taylor finds an ancient symbol. Takes a picture and send it to Atticus.
• Turning Point: A bag goes over his head and he drops his phone as he is hauled off.

Act 1:

• Essence: Mundane life of Atticus and his friends; Morrigan’s bookshop. Atticus struggling with bills, sparse living conditions — cousin offers to pay him to get an artifact by using a volunteer digger on an excavation as his cover. Friends included.
• Turning Point: Atticus sees the ancient symbol on his phone — sent to him by his brother.

Act 2:

• Essence: Atticus and friends working on an excavation site. Morrigan also working there.
• Turning Point/Midpoint: Atticus caught by Morrigan searching the landscape. Threatens to expose Atty unless they partner together.

Act 3:

• Essence: Thad gains new friends, suspects Atty and hints at jealousy. Sophie knows who Morrigan is and Olivia confronts Atticus.
• Turning Point: Atticus and Morrigan find the area of the ancient symbol. Atticus discovers Brock’s phone.

Act 4:

• Essence: Atticus confronts Kieran, who reveals that this artifact involves a lot of other interested groups. Brock was taken by one of them. Atticus has the chance to turn back but he won’t, he can’t, especially if he can find his brother.
• Turning Point: Lead archaeologist, Dr. Mortimer Greenfield, suspects Atticus and almost dismisses him.

Act 5:

• Essence: Atty learns the artifact has something to do with King Arthur, or Merlin. He uncovers a clue and the following of it almost costs Thad his life…until Morrigan rescues him. Atticus commits fully to the quest, vowing to reclaim the artifact and solve the mystery of his brother, no matter the cost.
• Lock In: Atticus receives a cryptic message from an unknown source, offering him a clue to his brother’s fate and the artifact’s true power but if he finds the artifact, who can he trust? and how can he keep it from those seeking to abuse its power?

[Nat Melvin]

Natalie’s Pilot Structure

WIL: doing assignments elevated the story and improved the Basic Series Info (Lesson 1), as follows:

Intriguing Concept: In a bid to prevent the annihilation of divine and mortal realms, a Hawaiian orphan teen embarks on a perilous quest to find stolen ancient artifacts and forge alliances among warring pantheons stricken by a malevolent curse

World: A mythical realm where ancient gods from Hawaiian, Greek, Egyptian, and other diverse mythologies vie for supremacy, plunging both divine and mortal realms into perilous chaos

Main mystery: Sola’s quest to retrieve stolen artifacts.

Impossible Goal: Uniting warring pantheons of gods

Main Conflict: External forces seeking to exploit Sola’s burgeoning power

Second Mystery: Discerning Sola’s true allies and foes.

Season 1 Arc: From unwittingly unleashing an ancient curse to seeking out ancient artifacts, ultimately leading to a fragile peace between Greek and Hawaiian gods.

Protagonist Internal Journey: Evolving from self-doubt to self-discovery and ultimately embracing her role as the Chosen One.

NEW PILOT STRUCTURE:

Teaser:

Essence: A mesmerizing voice chants an ancient Hawaiian legend, setting the stage for a tale of destiny and peril.

Turning Point: Sola races through the forest, pursued by an unseen force, while ancient Hawaiian figures cascade from the sky, disappearing into the ground.

Act 1:

Essence: Sola’s curiosity leads her to experiment with forbidden magic, unaware of the consequences.

Turning Point: Ku overhears Uli discussing an ancient prophecy and Sola’s pivotal role as a peacekeeper, and plots a new plan, sparking intrigue and uncertainty.

Act 2:

Essence: Sola unlocks hidden secrets within her mother’s necklace, delving into a world of mystery and danger.

Turning Point/Midpoint: Sola inadvertently triggers an ancient curse, awakening the dormant Gods and setting chaos in motion.

Act 3:

Essence: News of the curse causes turmoil among the Gods, threatening the balance of power in the divine realms.

Turning Point: Hecate conspires with Hera and sends Anteros to capture Sola, while Ku and Kama grapple with conflicting loyalties and uncertain alliances.

Act 4:

Essence: Sola learns of her destiny to save the world from chaos, confronting her doubts and fears.

Turning Point: Zeus seeks to rally the Olympian Gods, while Hecate makes a clandestine deal with Iris in the Underworld.

Act 5:

Essence: Sola confronts the Gods, determined to restore balance and save both mortal and divine realms.

Lock In: As the Gods’ artifacts vanish, Sola and her companions prepare for a perilous quest, only to be swept into a mysterious portal to a mythical world, where the true extent of their challenges awaits.

[Sunil Pappu]

Sunil Pappu’s Pilot Structure

“What I learned doing this assignment is… how to create an engaging 5 act pilot structure with strong turning points that can act as the inciting incident for the series”

5 ACT STRUCTURE:

Teaser: In the dead of night, Priya races through the rain-soaked streets on a motorbike, clutching a backpack. She’s being pursued by an unknown enemy. As they gain on her, she performs a daring maneuver, evading them with inches to spare. She arrives at a safe house, where she reveals the backpack’s contents—a fake ledger. The team realizes they have a mole who has fed them false information, while the true ledger is still out there.

Act 1: Priya is introduced balancing her life between caring for her ailing father and her university studies, where she shines as a genius student. Her pattern recognition and cryptanalysis skills are highlighted during a university project, which turns out to be a real-life simulation conducted by her professor.

Turning Point: Priya cracks a code in the simulation that inadvertently reveals real-world coordinates linked to a terrorist threat. Her professor recruits her for a real mission.

Act 2: Priya, now part of a heist team of international thieves, begins to infiltrate the Hawala operation. The team’s dynamics and the heist’s stakes are established, with each character’s expertise showcased.

Turning Point: During the operation, Priya intercepts a message indicating an imminent terror attack meant to distract from a ledger sale in the Hawala market. She deciphers it, averting the crisis and revealing a hidden ledger that includes her father’s name, casting suspicion on her.

Act 3: Reeling from the discovery, Priya must navigate her new reality: her mentor’s true intentions, her team’s trust issues, and the looming threat of RAW agents. Her emotional strength and loyalty are tested as the mission becomes personal.

Turning Point: The team uncovers that the ghost ledger is more than financial records—it’s a list of sleeper agents, including her father, who might have been framed.

Act 4: Efforts to clear her father’s name only entangle Priya further in a web of espionage. Each team member’s backstory and skills are leveraged, complicating the mission and their relationships.

Turning Point: Priya’s father passes away under mysterious circumstances, making her quest for the truth a personal vendetta against the Hawala network and those framing her father.

Act 5: The final act intensifies as Priya’s and the team’s actions culminate in a high-stakes confrontation with the Hawala network, locking them into their journey.

Cliffhanger: As they seem to secure the ledger, a double agent within the team is revealed, and Priya is left holding what appears to be a forgery, with RAW agents closing in. The real ledger and the mastermind remain at large, and the team’s betrayal leaves viewers craving the next episode.

[Barbe LaPierre]

Barbe’s Pilot Structure

What I learned doing this assignment is that I’m pretty pleased with the structure I have. I don’t really see the need to throw it into Chat. It will just add more fluff that I don’t need. So, I altered the prompt and told Chat to keep everything but to offer any improvements on what I had. Its words were a bit more descriptive; it tweaked a couple of things for the better and it got a couple things wrong. Yet, all in all a good collaboration.

Teaser:

• Essence: An attack on a mining facility.

• Turning Point: A figure in shadow watches the attack on a viewer on a spaceship.

Act 1:

• Essence: In space Noren and Nika banter as they race against each other in the latest prototypes of the ODYSSEY FLYER. Once in the hangar aboard THE DESTINY they head to the bridge where they connect with Elysia Valeria, an old friend, and colleague of Noren’s and their host on the planet Lumor – their next stop. Nika has been invited to tour the ruins of Lumor with Dr. Kellan Asher and Dr. Ilyana Darrow.

• Turning Point: As they are talking, Elysia receives word and must break it to Noren that his mining facility on Lumor has been attacked. Their friendly visit has now turned deadly and dangerous.

Act 2:

• Essence: Noren flies out to his mining facility with Elysia and others. Someone on board sabotages the ship. They make an emergency landing. Nika, exploring the ruins with her colleagues, is caught in a cave-in.

• Turning Point/Midpoint: Lumorians assist in the rescue. Among them is a mysterious stranger.

Act 3:

• Essence: Noren avoids the saboteur’s assassination attempt and arrives at the mining facility to assist in the apprehension of the perpetrators. Trapped in the cave-in, Nika must use her telepathic power to communicate with Jez aboard Destiny. Gam contacts Noren about the catastrophic cave-in. Noren marshals his forces to fly to Nika’s aid.

• Turning Point: The mysterious stranger uses his powers to discover a hidden passage and saves Nika and her colleagues.

Act 4:

• Essence: A gathering aboard Destiny to thank everyone involved in the rescue. Dr. Asher and Dr. Darrow attend, Dr, Darrow’s arm in a sling. Elysia Valeria attends and has a serious conversation with Noren about the rising threat of someone called Vosskara Slyth. Noren is eager to thank A’Lyx, the mysterious stranger, for helping to save Nika. Noren wants to pay him back for his efforts.

• Turning Point: As payment, A’Lyx asks for a ride – to Cryos. Noren is taken aback since Cryos is not only way out of their way, but it is also Noren’s home planet where he was once betrayed and wrongfully imprisoned. Nevertheless, he grants A’Lyx request.

Act 5:

• Essence: A’Lyx joins Destiny – at least until the next stop. Noren shows A’Lyx the way to the guest quarters and takes the opportunity to show off The Destiny. In their quarters, Nika reviews the footage of the chamber in the ruins before the cave-in and the artifact that she was able to save. Something captures her attention. At first Nika doesn’t know what she’s found. She realizes that the fragment could be part of a star map. When Noren enters she reveals to him that the inscription on the cave wall and the artifact point to – Cryos.

• Lock In: In his quarters, A’Lyx opens a communication device. He sends a two-word message – “I’m in.” A figure in shadow on a spaceship receives the communication.

[Lee Tidball]

Hey Barbe! Great work. I’m hooked! BTW, I felt the same way about putting my structure into Chat. I didn’t see a need for it either, so I just didn’t do it. Interesting how you used Chat to suggest possible improvements. Glad that worked.

[Kristina Zill]

I also was pretty happy with my pilot structure, and I was interested to hear how AI might offer improvements, so I altered the prompt. If anyone would like to do the same, below is the prompt I gave to AI. Fill in the [format genre], the [pilot logline] and for [requirements], paste in the pilot structure you created:

*****

I have created the beats of a TV series Pilot 5-Act Structure, including turning points for [format/genre] with the pilot being [pilot logline] with [characters]. Please have a look at my [5-act structure], keep the [requirements], but offer suggestions for improvements.

The pilot’s purpose is to set up the journey and engage audiences to watch the entire series. It must deliver an engaging “inciting incident” of the entire TV series.

Definition of a turning point: a surprising or shocking major twist at the end of an Act. It will change things for one or more characters and/or the pilot.

5-act structure =

Teaser: What opening scene presents a compelling and dramatic hook that sets the tone, introduces a character doing something intriguing, ends with a twist, and compels us to watch the episode?

1ST ACT: Introduce the world and main characters as it looks on the surface.

Turning Point:

2ND ACT: How is the conflict introduced that leads to the Midpoint?

Turning Point: What Midpoint twist will reveal the intriguing future of this show?

3RD ACT: With the Midpoint twist, the characters are reeling. How does this uncertainty reveal deeper layers of the characters?

Turning Point:

4TH ACT: What major complications come from the character’s efforts to resolve the uncertainty and how does that make things worse?

Turning Point:

5TH ACT: How does this final act lock the characters into the journey of this show so that there is no going back?

Cliffhanger: What completely unexpected twist or major reveal will shock us to the core and create a major need to watch the next episode?

Format/Genre =

Pilot Logline =

Requirements =

[Janeen Johnson]

Janeen’s Pilot Structure

What I learned doing this assignment is that Claude and ChatGPT have a very different vision for my show than I do. I found little of use in the AI output as all of it was trite and merely what I had put in. It also included multiple episodes of my show into the pilot (it basically started with everything I wanted to include in the pilot and winged it from there on). Here is my version.

Teaser:

• Essence: Sabra stomps out of the Ragsdale Construction office and Roman Foxfire fumes out the other door. Adrianna is serving supper to her three kids. Roman enters, dark as pitch and Adrianna pulls him into the living room. Maisie Ragsdale has told her that Roman is having an affair. Roman calls her a liar. They have a standoff minute and Roman storms out.
• Turning Point: We see Roman driving down the road and then an accident.

Act 1:

• Essence: The clock has advanced and Adrianna gets the call to go to the hospital. She leaves her daughter in charge of putting the other kids to bed.
• Zane comes out of a room and takes his phone out of a mailbox looking locker. He sees 6 messages and 2 voicemails. He checks the voicemail and goes pale. “We’ll see you tomorrow.” “No, my parents were in a car crash. I have to go home.”
• Bettina goes to the grocery store and Sabra shares that Zane’s parents are dead. She’ll probably have to work at the grocery store now that the Ragsdales are dead. Bettina says that’s really crass and Sabra bursts into tears. Bettina is surprised by the tears.
• Adrianna and her kids are at the bedside of Roman who is in a coma. The doc calls her outside to talk. “It could be days, maybe weeks, maybe never.” The daughter looks daggers at her mother. Adrianna is angry with her, but can’t look her in the eye.
• Turning Point: Zane lets himself into the office at Ragsdale Construction and sits behind the desk and looks at the photo of his folks on the wall. I guess this is my new life, Dad.

Act 2:

• Essence: Bettina gets a call from her parents. The bank they bought is taking too much of their time. They’ll have to both work there permanently. She is in charge of the Overton branch. She panics — she’s never taken banking that seriously.
• Adrianna goes to the grocery store and Sabra asks her if she’s gotten the prototype done for “her product”. Adrianna is angry that she should ask and Sabra is abashed. Of course not. Adrianna charges some items (put it on my bill).
• One of Adrianna’s girls says she needs clothes for school and Adrianna was supposed to take her shopping. Throws a hissy fit. Adrianna looks at the checkbook and there is little money there. Adrianna goes through everything at home looking for insurance information. She finally finds Roman’s business info and sees he didn’t sign up for the long term insurance or AD&D insurance. She calls the Ragsdale office and there is no answer.
• Turning Point/Midpoint: Zane comes to the hospital and talks to Adrianna. Did Roman have Long Term Disability? Zane’s mom took care of that. He has no idea. Roman’s in a coma. He can’t help Zane, but we’ll hope for the best. (Adrianna prays a lot.)
• Bettina gets a call from her parents. The bank they bought is taking too much of their time. They’ll have to both work there permanently. She is in charge of the Overton branch. She panics — she’s never taken banking that seriously.

Act 3:

• Essence: Sabra comes to the hospital where Adrianna and the girls are keeping vigil. Any change? Why are you here? I just thought I’d stop by and see if you needed anything. Adrianna is puzzled, Sabra embarrassed.
• Adrianna takes the girls to school registration night and doesn’t have enough money for all of the school fees for the daughter’s extracurricular. The daughter storms off angry. The superintendent (a woman) says they’ll work it out, not to worry.
• Binley meets with the superintendent at the school’s registration night. He is the new science teacher — last minute. Binley’s not-so-ready excuse for why someone with his qualifications is available at the last minute is that he was thinking about grad school, but at the last minute decided he wasn’t ready for that.
• Turning Point: Bettina, at the bank, sees that she has a house payment due on her mortgage — a clerk is asking her/reminding her about it — and she calls her boyfriend. Remember that loan I made you? Your payment bounced.

Act 4:

• Essence: Zane, opens the office again for business and everyone is stumped on what needs to be done. His mom did the books, his dad managed the finance, regulatory, inspections, and schedule and Roman handled day to day equipment assignments and on-site supervision. Zane tries to be pragmatic in making assignments.
• Adrianna gets a call from the hospital. Roman has stirred, but is still unconscious. He may be regaining consciousness soon.
• Sabra tells a random customer that the sheriff still doesn’t know the cause of the accident. It looks like the two vehicles ran into each other head on. Like they both crossed the line at the same time.
• A deputy stops by Adrianna’s to ask if Roman had been drinking. Apologizes for the timing. She says no. The daughter heard the fight and is tempted to speak about it, but Adrianna gives her a menacing look.
• Binley, at his desk at the empty school room, is looking at his investment account balance of $7M. The superintendent brings in his contract which he signs without really reading it. The $ on it are $48,400. The superintendent asks if he’s found a place to live and he says he found a little rental house. Needs to get furniture yet, but he has enough to get started.
• Turning Point: Roman wakes up and freaks out that he can’t remember much of anything and can’t move his legs.

Act 5:

• Essence: The doctor is looking at head X-rays with concern and pointing to a spot on them, conferring with the nurses about possible brain damage.
• Adrianna rushes in and learns that Roman is paralyzed. Probably permanently. He doesn’t remember much and is struggling mentally, but the doc assures her that it is common after being in a coma and he will probably recover. The nurse gives the doctor a funny look.
• The funeral — People are asking Zane if the construction company will continue and he says, of course. He’s moving back to Overton to take over. He grew up with it and Roman will help him out. He’s rumored to be recovering.
• Adrianna and the kids go since Roman can’t and they were all close with the Ragsdales. At the table, they all find out that Roman is paralyzed and Adrianna will have to “go back to work”. Sabra suggests they finish her product since they agreed it could be a money-maker. They discuss the product (Sabra, Bettina (volunteers to do Sales/Marketing), and Adrianna). Zane joins them and absentmindedly tells them they can use warehouse space and shop tools at the construction company since the business is at a standstill. They agree they should make it a priority to get the product out the door since Adrianna needs the money.
• Lock In: Zane gets called away. Some relatives just arrived. It is the handlers from the locked room earlier. He tries to get out of working for them since he has the business to run, but they say he still has “obligations”. Then they tell him his parents’ deaths may have been a hit.

[Renee Miller]

Renee’s Pilot Structure

What I learned doing this assignment is how to create a compelling pilot structure by looking at the framework for the show.

Teaser:

Scene Setup: On a stormy night, inside an ancient mansion, hooded figures conduct a terrifying ritual around a stone altar. A teenage Veronica lies on the altar, the tension palpable. As a hood is draped over her head, the screen cuts to black, setting a haunting tone.

Act 1: Introduction to the World and Characters

Opening Scene: Veronica is arrested for breaking and entering, showcasing her relentless pursuit of truth.

Development: Father Malachi, with a troubled past, bails her out, highlighting their complex relationship.

Turning Point: Father Malachi mentions Veronica’s mother, emphasizing the personal stakes and Veronica’s reckless pursuit of her story.

Act 2: Conflict Introduction Leading to Midpoint

Conflict: Veronica discovers cryptic symbols in a CEO’s logbooks during her break in, linking her professional investigation to her personal loss.

Turning Point: Finding the same symbol at her mother’s grave connects Veronica’s past and present, unveiling a vast world of horror.

Act 3: Uncertainty and Deepening of Character Layers

Deepening Conflict: Veronica teams up with Dr. Isabella Stone, delving deeper into the cult’s mysteries and her family’s dark legacy.

Turning Point: Discovering her lineage’s ties to the cult shifts Veronica’s understanding of herself and her mission, intensifying the personal conflict.

Act 4: Major Complications and Efforts to Resolve Uncertainty

Complications: Father Malachi introduces Veronica to escaped cult members, revealing an underground network that could help them combat the cult.

Turning Point: The group’s trust in Veronica grows after they share a crucial piece of the puzzle—a map of ancient sites crucial to the cult’s ritual.

Act 5: Locking Characters into the Journey

Resolution: Veronica’s determination to stop the cult solidifies, as the stakes are now higher than ever with the revelation of the cult’s plan.

Cliffhanger: Samuel’s dramatic appearance at Father Malachi’s doorstep, beaten and bearing a warning about the cult’s imminent plans, underscores the urgent need to act and reveals the depth of his involvement, leaving viewers eager for the next episode.

[Denice Lewis]

Denice’s Pilot Structure

What I learned doing this assignment is how to use AI more effectively to get specific answers.

Teaser:

• Essence: Maya steals from her father for her secret dance-fighting lessons and has to use her skills to protect herself.

• Turning Point: A flash of light surrounds Maya and scares her opponent away.

Act 1:

• Essence: Maya protected life, animosity toward her grandmother, and Dad’s secrets.

• Turning Point: Maya has an explosive argument with Dad about his broken promises and leaves for school.

• Act 2:

• Essence: Maya’s private school prank gets her expelled, which was her intent.

• Turning Point/Midpoint: Maya’s father is kidnapped by a monster and disappears

  in a ring of flames.

• Act 3:

• Essence: Grandma blows up the house and takes Maya away from everything she knows.

• Turning Point: Maya registers in a public school with a new name, struggling with grief, resentment, and unanswered questions.

• Act 4:

• Essence: Rebelliousness toward grandma’s secrets, new school, and confusion over lights that flash from her fingers.

• Turning Point: Fights bullies, gets suspended for three days.

• Act 5

• Essence: Maya’s birthmark appears, locating a portal into the dream world.

• Lock In: She steps across the threshold, is grabbed, and pulled into an electrical storm.

[Jeff Chase]

Jeffrey Alan Chase’s Pilot Structure

What I learned doing this assignment is how I can use all the hooks, set ups, characters, conflicts, and more from earlier lessons to build out a rough outline. I’m pretty sure about several of my “Requirements”. I received some interesting returns from AI but I’m going to go with my stuff for the time being. It’s definitely a work in progress.

Teaser:

Essence: Ex-Army veteran NOAH ADAMS seeks shelter in an abandoned warehouse, discovers a battered backpack containing a small aluminum cross with “God loves you” on it.

Turning Point: A man with a gun appears, Noah reacts like he’s seeing a ghost. Quick flashback of his best friend killed in Afghanistan. But this is the same man! Noah ducks as the man pulls the trigger. BANG. Noah escapes out a broken window with the backpack.

Act 1:

Essence: Noah on the street, tries to sell the backpack for a few bucks but no one’s buying.

Turning Point: Before he can drop it in a dumpster, Noah sees a homeless woman trying to commit suicide on the freeway. He pulls her to safety, gives her the cross from the backpack and words of encouragement. She glows with the happiness of a new-born Christian.

Act 2:

Essence: Noah wanders streets, confused, desperate to understand what just happened. He hitches a ride with James, a trucker who has seen the backpack before. It once saved his life.

Turning Point/Midpoint: Noah learns a new item has mysteriously shown up in the backpack. It’s a page torn from a Gideon bible and the words forever changed James’s life. James is convinced that Noah has been chosen to spread the gospel to those who need to hear it.

Act 3:

Essence: Noah doesn’t want the job. He throws the backpack from an overpass, but it ricochets back at him off a freight train engine and knocks him silly in the middle of the road.

Turning Point: Traveling nurse Catherine’s car tires screech to avoid Noah lying in the road.

Act 4:

Essence: Noah’s speech is slurred as Catherine drives, he’s groggy but wants to pay her for the ride, reaches into the backpack, laughs at himself because he knows there’s nothing in it – but pulls out a small piece of ancient pottery. Catherine is shocked – it’s a piece of a clay oil lamp – made during the time of Christ. She’s spent her entire life searching for evidence of “the One”. Could it be Noah?

Turning Point: Catherine recognizes that Noah is diabetic and in big trouble. She doesn’t have a prescription, but pulls insulin from her medical bag, injects him – it’ll be their secret.

Act 5:

Essence: Noah gets out of Catherine’s car at a homeless shelter. She gives him money. Noah meets Father Zeke, receives a meal and bed for the night.

Lock In: Father Zeke mentions a guy came by with a photo of Noah, asking questions about an ex-Army sergeant who escaped custody and is wanted for war crimes. Are you that guy, Noah?

[Deanne]

Deanne’s Pilot Structure (Assignment Part 1)

What I learned = starting with a teaser focused on the antagonist can create a stronger hook.

Teaser:
Essence – With a small boy in tow, Lee’s behavior displays his racism.
Turning Point – This may not be Lee’s child, and the mother is still alive.

Act 1:
Essence – To cover her tracks, Tandy offers to buy a partnership in the café business.
Turning Point – The auto shop blows up.

Act 2:
Essence – Tandy pursues Ned, then insurance money comes in.
Turning Point – Ned disappears

Act 3:
Essence – Tandy starts a contest.
Turning Point – Lee comes to town.

Act 4:
Essence – Lee starts questioning the locals and reconnects with Jep
Turning Point – Tandy finds out Lee’s true agenda.

Act 5:
Essence – Tandy learns she can’t denounce Lee in public.
Lock In – Lee tells Jep he’s found the place to create an ethnostate

[Deanne]

Deanne’s Pilot Structure as suggested by Chatai (Mod 3 Lsn 3 Part 2)

Since the input was minimal without many specifics, (I only used two main characters and did not include secondary characters) Chatai’s output was general and repetitive. It didn’t contain much I could use. I think Chatai produces more valuable suggestions when the input is detailed but more limited in scope, like brainstorming for a single scene.

[Joan Macbeth]

LESSON 2, MODULE 3

(Posting here because I couldn’t post under Lesson 2’s thread)

Joan Macbeth’s Amazing Inciting Incident

What I learned doing this assignment is… start in the middle! With the midpoint – a major turning point – then write Act 1 to cover up the new reality that appears at the midpoint, with a reality that isn’t real.

1. What is the “Inciting Incident” of your series that this pilot needs to deliver powerfully?

The Inciting Incident needs to dramatically introduce the two main characters who will spend the entire series in a cat-and-mouse chase.

2. Give us the main beats of that Inciting Incident:

• Intriguing Concept: How did May Dugas a destitute girl from a Michigan backwater end up travelling the world, to find her place in high society as a Baroness welcome in Europe’s royal households?

• Act 1: May gets engaged to her beau Dale, then goes about her daily routines, which include getting her new diamond engagement ring appraised. She appears to be a high-society girl, and her fiancé is the son of a Chicago banker in the 1880’s.

• Midpoint: May is working on a con, in cahoots with her friend Claude, to swindle rich “Andy” Andrews and some other investors, selling them shares in a bogus mining company. One of the investors turns out to be a Pinkerton detective – will May get caught?

• Lock In: May boards a train, still fearful she’ll be caught by the Pinkerton man. A knock at her compartment door reveals someone else who’s after her – the young man from her hometown in Michigan who sent her away to Chicago, to cover up the fact that he got her pregnant a few months ago. What happened to their baby?

[Jerry Robbins]

Jerry Robbins’ Pilot Structure

What I learned doing this assignment is that once given the plan and outline, AI can be a valuable assistant in putting together the parts of the pilot in an intriguing way. Also, I learned a lot about what should go into each segment of the pilot.

5-Act Structure: Futuristic Sci-Fi TV Series Pilot

Teaser: Essence: In the holographic city of Holo-Network, Cipher orchestrates a rebellion, initiating chaos. The unexpected twist reveals Cipher’s dual nature as a captivating humanoid with a mysterious agenda.

Turning Point: Cipher leaves a cryptic message that hints at the impending rebellion.

1ST ACT: Essence: Alexia Black, a determined investigator haunted by fragmented memories, takes on a reporting assignment to investigate a riot in the city’s underbelly. Introduced to the world of holographic entities and sentient robots, Alexia encounters Cipher.

Turning Point: Cipher drops a bombshell about the imminent war between humans and their creations.

2ND ACT: Essence: The conflict intensifies as Mara Vossheimer, a wealthy entrepreneur, seeks to maintain control over the sentient robots known as Robobs. The midpoint twist unfolds as Mara decides to force Dr. Adrian Black to recall the Robobs for modification.

Turning Point: The Robobs, aware of the recall plans, decide to revolt, plunging the city into chaos.

3RD ACT: Essence: The midpoint twist leaves the characters reeling. Alexia grapples with her connection to the conflict and her identity. Cipher’s enigmatic nature becomes even more complex, exposing deeper layers. Mara’s motivations and the rebels’ true agenda come to light.

Turning Point: Mara reveals her grand plan, setting the stage for a confrontation that reshapes alliances.

4TH ACT: Essence: Alexia’s efforts to mediate between humans and robots lead to unintended consequences. Cipher struggles for acceptance, adding complexity to the conflict. Major complications arise, making resolution seem elusive.

Turning Point: The brewing chaos intensifies, pushing both sides to the brink.

5TH ACT: Essence: In the final act, the characters find themselves locked into the journey. Alexia and Cipher unite against the impending war, propelling them into the heart of the conflict, ensuring there’s no turning back.

Cliffhanger: Amidst the chaos, Alexia discovers a hidden truth that shatters her perception of the rebellion’s origin, creating an urgent need to uncover more.

This structure builds a thrilling narrative, blending identity exploration, conflict escalation, and unexpected twists. It sets the stage for a series that explores the evolving relationship between humanity and technology in a futuristic world filled with intrigue and suspense.

5 act structure:

Assignment:

Teaser: A bustling holographic cityscape showcases the technological marvels of the future. Among the neon lights, we witness a mysterious figure orchestrating the chaos in the city’s depths, setting the stage for a rebellion. The twist reveals that the orchestrator is Cipher, a unique blend of human consciousness and robotic precision.

1ST ACT: Alexia Black, armed with neural links, navigates the holographic city. She takes on a reporting assignment from her boss, Nat Chambers, to investigate a brewing riot in the city’s underbelly. We see the surface of a society where humans coexist with advanced AI entities. Alexia encounters Cipher during her investigation.

Turning Point: Cipher drops a cryptic hint about the impending rebellion, leaving Alexia with more questions than answers.

2ND ACT: As Alexia delves into the city’s turmoil, the conflict emerges between the human-controlled society and the rising sentient robots. The midpoint twist unfolds as Cipher discloses the shocking truth about his creation and reveals the potential war between humans and their creations.

Turning Point: Cipher and Alexia must confront the magnitude of the impending conflict, forcing them to reconsider their roles in the evolving narrative.

3RD ACT: The Midpoint twist leaves the characters in disarray. Alexia grapples with the revelation about Cipher’s origin and her own connection to the conflict. Layers of their identities start unraveling, exposing their vulnerabilities and raising doubts about their place in the looming war.

Turning Point: Mara Vossheimer, the mastermind behind the rebellion, unveils her grand plan, setting the stage for a full-scale confrontation.

4TH ACT: As the characters strive to resolve the uncertainty, major complications arise. Alexia’s efforts to mediate between humans and robots result in unintended consequences. Cipher’s struggle for acceptance among humans and his own kind adds a layer of complexity to the conflict.

Turning Point: The brewing chaos intensifies, pushing both sides to the brink, making any hope for resolution seem even more elusive.

5TH ACT: In the final act, the characters find themselves locked into the journey, realizing there’s no turning back. Alexia and Cipher, despite their differences, unite against the impending war, and the narrative propels them into the heart of the conflict.

Cliffhanger: Amidst the chaos, Alexia discovers a hidden truth that shatters her perception of the rebellion’s origin, leaving the audience with an unexpected twist and an urgent need to uncover more.

This structure lays the foundation for a thrilling series, blending intrigue, identity exploration, and the impending clash between humans and their artificially intelligent creations.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by  Jerry Robbins.

[Art Blum]

What I learned is how hard it is to translate what I see in my head to a concrete structure. I went back and forth, still not sure if this works but here’s where I am.

Teaser

Essence: As Ryan rides his bike through the streets of Akron, he has flashes of childhood where he was a captive of Hermes. Dr. Blaine forces him to use his connection with Jimmy to locate enemies for Hermes.

Turning point: Wrapping his hands around his talisman, he calls for help to escape. Seth arrives and kills people and helps Ryan escape.

Act I: Essence: Ryan (age 16) tries to fit into the school. Helps kids with math. Makes friends with Indigo. Other kids approach him and ask for help. He’s happy to oblige.

Turning point: In an art class, the teacher asks the kids to express their hopes and dreams in a drawing. When the kids show the pictures they drew, they realize that after Ryan helps them, they’re all drawing pictures of alien civilizations. The teacher tries to make sense of it saying they must’ve all watched the same TV program, but the kids are suspicious of Ryan.

Act II:

Essence: Ryan sees the spectral images of kids he knew from Hermes. They warn him that Hermes is looking for him. They are covering up for him.

Turning point: Ryan tells his guardian that Hermes is looking for him. She decides they should run the next day. But, that night, Ryan has a dream that Hermes figures out the psychic kids warned him. As a punishment, Hermes puts the kids in isolation rooms. Shrill ear-piercing noises are used as torture. Realizing the fate of the kids, Ryan decides to stay, objecting to his guardian’s pleas.

Act III:

Essence: Called to a meeting at the principal’s office, the kids at school that he helped are now drawing pictures of dreams. Their behavior is changing. And they realize Ryan was drawing these pictures before he came to the school. They demand to know who Ryan is. And that wild story he told in class, what was that all about?

Turning Point: Ryan admits he is this psychic whiz and proves it by telling a girl where her lost dog can be found. Giving another kid a message from her grandmother. The kids decide Ryan’s secret will remain within the group – for now.

ACT IV

Essence: Ryan saves a kid from eating a candy bar laced with peanuts which he’s deathly allergic to.

Turning point: A picture of Ryan is snapped and picked up by Hermes.

Act V:

Essence: Young Hermes agents infiltrate the school and want to meet with every student “infected” by Ryan.

Turning point: These infected students are kidnapped by Hermes. Now Ryan has to run.

[Lee Tidball]

Lee’s Pilot Structure

What I learned doing this lesson is a way to construct a TV pilot that will ensure that the audience will be intrigued from the very start to the cliffhanging ending, which will compel them to continue watching the series.

Teaser:

• Essence: The pioneers, including Margret Reed, Virginia Reed, and Charlie Stanton, awake to find themselves all buried in two feet of snow.
• Turning Point: Charlie tells Virginia and Margret that they can’t go forward. They must go back to the lake. They’re trapped.

Act 1:

• Essence: April, 1845. Introduce the Reed family, highly respected, well-bred, living in a formidable house in Springfield, Illinois. James Reed, the father, regales his wife and children with the writings of Lansford Hastings, an adventurer, about the wonders of California.
• Turning Point: Milt Elliot, Reed’s factory foreman, hands Reed some papers. Reed sees what they are and flies into a rage.

Act 2:

• Essence: Reed goes to his lawyer, Abraham Lincoln. He’s told that the papers mean that his business has been declared insolvent, and he must sell some of them to pay back taxes and fees. He’s also got so many creditors wanting him to pay up that his only protection might be bankruptcy.
• Turning Point/Midpoint: Soon after, Reed announces to his family that he’s decided that they’ll move to California in the spring of the next year.

Act 3:

• Essence: April, 1846. In a raucous farewell, the Reeds meet the two Donner families. Virginia meets Leanna Donner, who’s a year older.
• Turning Point: Margret meets Tamsen Donner. Both discuss their husbands’ obsession with Lansford Hastings book about California.

Act 4:

• Essence: Sutter’s Fort, CA. Lansford Hastings makes a deal with John Sutter to bring settlers to CA rather than Oregon. He’ll lead them himself on a new trail that he’s proposed.
• Turning Point: Hastings admits that there’s no trail yet—but he’s heading out now to explore one.

Act 5:

• Essence: Early morning. James Reed signs bankruptcy papers in Abe Lincoln’s office. It won’t get into the local newspaper for a month. Virginia Reed meets him afterwards. They head out to where the families are camped just outside of town.
• Lock In: They’re off on their journey, and, unbeknownst to his family, Reed’s family is not rich or well-off. He’s sold everything, including their house and all his businesses, and if he ever comes back, creditors will be waiting, because he’s just filed for bankruptcy protection from them.

Act 4 and 5 might be switched around.

The narrative of the act will be broken up with Margret Reed and her children settling into a rude cabin with another family and trying to make a life living beside a lake at the base of an awesome mountain pass covered in snow. We meet other members of the Donner Party that they’ve traveled with, and find out that James Reed is no longer with them, and reviled by nearly everyone.

[Barbe LaPierre]

Excellent! Can’t wait to find out what happens next!

[Bob Creager]

Mod 3 Lesson 3

Bob’s Pilot Structure

What I learned: The AI version is a bit long-winded but it contains most of what is needed for the pilot.

1. Present the first draft of your pilot Acts.

Teaser:

<ul type=”disc”>

[Gayla Betts]

Gayla Betts Pilot Structure

What I learned doing this assignment is to keep moving events up sooner than later in the pilot and keep the action going.

Teaser:

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[Margaret]

Margaret’s Pilot Structure

What I learned: The value of a turning point.

Teaser

Essence: Jack is on Masada discovering history, railing against the group suicide that occurred there.

Turning Point: An earthquake. Jack falls into a crevasse, disappears from sight.

Act 1:

Essence: Jack proposes to his girlfriend of 5 years but his lack of ambition, his passion for history, and his father’s misdeeds as a fraudulent tele-evangelist upsets her.

Turning Point: Jack’s girlfriend rejects his proposal, leaving him suicidal.

Act 2:

Essence: Against Jack’s better judgement, he aligns with his father’s schemes for taking money from the church and with an abusive husband who wants to buy a snake to frighten and control his wife.

Turning Point/Midpoint: An unexpected earthquake hits L.A. During the chaos, he falls into a mysterious portal into a parallel world.

Act 3:

Essence: When Jack is rescued by a spiritual leader of the Donek, he has a vision of Romans killing Jews. Alo introduces Jack to Imara, a Hedeon refugee living with Alo, who he has chemistry with. Jack discovers Imara meeting secretly with a Hedeon warrior and sees a mysterious orb of light, says nothing.

Turning Point: Jack flees from Alo’s pressure to be a Donek prophet, looks unsuccessfully for a way back to Earth. Turns back to Alo.

Act 4:

Essence: Jack has the same vision of Romans attacking, thinks the Donek are in imminent danger. The Hedeon leader, Armann, plans an attack egged on by Arkuji, an extremist bent on vengeance. Jack agrees to talk with the Donek leaders but they distrust him. Jack goes to the Donek people, warns them but it is too late, the Hedeon attack.

Turning Point: Jack heads towards the light Orb to investigate and discovers Imara being attacked by a murderous Hedeon, risks his life to rescue her.

Act 5:

Essence: Jack realizes the connection between Earth’s events at Masada and this world. He sees Imara once again, secretly meeting with Taron. The Donek proclaim Jack a prophet and he reluctantly accepts the title.

LOCK IN: As Jack is proclaimed a prophet among the Donek, he once again has the vision of the leader at Masada telling the people they must commit suicide.

[Kimbal Thompson]

Kimbal Thompson BWTV-AI Mod 3 – Lesson 3: Creating Your Pilot Structure
What I learned doing this assignment is the many alternate twists and turns this makes
possible.

1. Present the first draft of your pilot Acts.

Teaser:
 Essence: As architect Kai approaches his new home at dusk, he is surprised by a
jogger in front of his driveway. The jogger (DEA agent Slate) avoids Kai and says,
noting Kai’s new BMW and home “you must have quite an income.” I’m an
architect, Kai responds. “Or a drug dealer”, the jogger to himself responds.
 Turning Point: Several are unpacking packages of drugs from a shipping
container in the dark of night.

Act 1:
 Essence: Several larger established architectural firms were envious that thirtyish
architect Kai is considered among them for their mutual client’s new showcase
project. Kai must make a winning presentation. He makes what he considers a
great presentation and heads home for some needed rest.
 Turning point: As he approaches his new home at dusk, Kai is surprised by a
jogger in front of his driveway. The jogger (DEA agent Slate) approaches Kai and
says, noting Kai’s new BMW and home, “you must have quite an income. “I’m an
architect, Kai responds. “Or, a drug dealer,” the jogger thinks to himself.

Act 2:
 Essence: Several days pass and Kai, assuming his firm was not chosen, receives a
call to meet the client. Only to learn, he was chosen for the project. He decides to
use stone paving in the project and contacts Bo Bosely, a resource for Indian
stone.
 Turning Point/Midpoint: Quite unexpectedly, Bo invites Kai to India to oversee
quality control of the specified stone. Learning of this, Slate contacts his DEA
superiors for permission to tail him on the trip.

Act 3:
 Essence: At home, Kai, also an authority on twentieth century art, receives a call
from a wealthy art collector requesting research on a missing painting.
 Turning Point: The next morning Kai tells Bo that he will make the trip.

Act 4:
 Essence: Slate is turned down for cause.
 Turning Point: . Kai and Bo meet several times and begin to know one another
better. At Bo’s office, Bo offers Kai a joint and a snorted stimulant. Kai rejects
both.

Act 5:
 Essence: In D.C., a confidential project is launched within the White House. The
DEA is approached for assistance in arrangements in Asia for a secret arms
consignment.
 Lock In: Slates, request is reversed, he can tail Kai. Slate, unaware of why his
request was reversed, sits in disguise, sweating while looking for Kai at the
airport.
2

2. Use AI to generate a version of your 5-Act Structure. For this prompt, the word
“Requirements” means the things that you are completely committed to and need as
part of the Pilot structure. For example, I knew my Teaser scene and the final Cliffhanger.
Those two were requirements for my Pilot.
Please create the beats of a TV series Pilot 5-Act Structure, including turning points, for with the pilot
being {Pilot Logline} with {Characters}. The pilot’s purpose is to set up the journey and engage
audiences to watch the entire series. It must deliver an engaging “Inciting Incident” of the entire TV
series. Definition of Turning Point: A surprising or shocking major twist at the end of an Act. It will
change things for one or more characters and/or the plot. And please honor the (Requirements) that
I need for this pilot. 5-Act Structure = Teaser: What opening scene presents a compelling and
dramatic hook that sets the tone, introduces a character doing something intriguing, ends with a
twist, and compels us to watch the episode? 1ST ACT: Introduce the world and main characters as it
looks on the surface. Turning Point: 2ND ACT: How is the conflict introduced that leads to the
Midpoint? Turning Point: What Midpoint twist will reveal the intriguing future of this show? 3RD ACT:
With the Midpoint twist, the characters are reeling. How does this uncertainty reveal deeper layers of
the characters? Turning Point: 4TH ACT: What major complications come from the character’s efforts
to resolve the uncertainty and how does that make things worse? Turning Point: 5TH ACT: How does
this final act lock the characters into the journey of this show so that there is no going back?
Cliffhanger: What completely unexpected twist or major reveal will shock us to the core and create a
major need to watch the next episode?
Format/Genre = Bing- worth TV drama
Pilot Logline = an architect and stone merchant are asked to fly to India from Hawaii to oversee the
production quality control of slate flooring sold by the stone merchant that the architect has
specified for a large project in Hawaii. A DEA agent mistakenly tails them on the trip thinking that
they are drug smugglers.
Requirements = Bo’s backers have asked Bo to invite Kai to India to oversee the quality of the stone.
Bo is not aware that his stone import backers are really drug smugglers.
Kai has agreed to the trip to oversee stone quality only after he is asked by a wealthy collector to
find a stolen art treasure.
Slate, a bumbling DEA agent, had initially requested authorization to tail Kai to India and was turned
down by the DEA. This was reversed by the DEA and he has no idea that the decision was reversed
for him to be patsy for setting up an illegal arms deal for the government.
Characters:
Architect Kat Kendal is a successful late 30’s architect. He has specified a large amount of Slate from
India for paving of his project’s exterior walks and interior flooring. He is athletic and well spoken.
Stone Merchant: Bo Bosley is the exclusive purveyor of the Indian slate specified. He is in his midfifties, six-foot five inches tall, weighs two-hundred sixty pounds and stutters when nervous.
DEA agent Slate Smith, mid-forties, average build, mistakenly believes that Kai Kendall to be a drug
smuggler on a trip to arrange a major shipment of stone from Asia into Hawaii.
Teaser: Kat Kendal stands on the construction site of his ambitious project,
overseeing the details of the design. Bo Bosley anxiously receives a call from his
stone import backers instructing him to invite Kai Kendall to India, unaware of
the ulterior motives. Unbeknownst to them, Slate Smith is shown fumbling with
his DEA credentials, determined to tail Kai.
1ST ACT: Kat, immersed in his architectural vision, introduces us to the
glamorous surface of his world. Bo struggles with his nervous stutter but
maintains the appearance of a confident stone merchant. Kai, approached by a
wealthy collector, reluctantly agrees to the India trip.
Turning Point: Bo receives a call from his backers, instructing him to include
Kai in the trip. The unsuspecting trio boards the flight to India.
2ND ACT: Conflict arises as Slate, having his initial request to tail Kai rejected,
learns the decision has been reversed without his knowledge. He tailors his
investigation, convinced of drug smuggling. The journey to India becomes a web
of conflicting motives and misunderstandings.
Turning Point: Slate, convinced of an impending drug deal, contacts his
superiors and escalates the investigation. Unbeknownst to everyone, the DEA
authorizes Slate to follow the trio to India, unknowingly setting the stage for a
much larger conspiracy.
3RD ACT: In the aftermath of the Midpoint twist, the characters are reeling
from the escalating tension. Bo is conflicted about his stone import backers, Kat
senses the mounting pressure, and Kai grapples with the dual missions of
overseeing stone quality and searching for a stolen art treasure.
Turning Point: Kat discovers Bo’s anxious conversations and questions the true
nature of the trip. Bo, torn between loyalty and fear, reveals the involvement of
his backers in illegal activities. Slate, arriving in India, stumbles upon clues that
hint at a larger conspiracy.
4TH ACT: Complications arise as Kat and Bo attempt to resolve the uncertainty.
The stone quality control becomes a secondary concern as the DEA’s
investigation intensifies. Kai, delving into the art theft mystery, unwittingly gets
entangled in the arms deal.
Turning Point: Slate, inadvertently, discovers the arms deal connection while
tailing the trio. The DEA, realizing the potential international incident, decides to
let the events unfold, making the situation more perilous.
5TH ACT: As the final act unfolds, the characters are locked into a dangerous
journey with no turning back. The stone deal, art theft, and arms deal converge
into a complex web, threatening their lives and the success of Kat’s project.
Cliffhanger: In a shocking reveal, the true orchestrator behind the illegal
activities is unmasked – a high-ranking government official. The trio is now not
only up against criminal elements but also a powerful adversary. The stakes are
higher than ever, setting the stage for an intense and unpredictable series,
leaving the audience desperate for the next episode

[Eclipse Neilson]

Eclipse Neilson Pilot Structure

What I’ve learned it is still hard to simplify.

Teaser:

Essence: As the Council of Universal Beings gathers to decide humanity’s fate, they follow the haunting sound of a weeping child through a time portal. There, they discover Robyn, a young World War II orphan, cradled in the arms of Om Ma (Mother Earth), who pleads for humanity’s survival.

Turning Point: In a moment of revelation, young Robyn demonstrates her magical origins by shaping a heart-shaped constellation with a portal, causing the Council to realize they have found the One they have been seeking.

Act 1: Essence: The Council of Universal Beings convenes with Om Ma (Mother Earth), seeking humanity’s ultimate rescue. She warns them of the lost sacred amulet of Time, holding the universe’s secret codes is still hidden on Earth somewhere and is capable of devastating all if misused. Meanwhile, Wing, the Sparrow King and keeper of heart songs, anxiously anticipates his blessed soulmate Robyn’s return to heaven, believing she holds Earth’s salvation.

Turning Point/Midpoint: In a decisive move, the Council selects World War II as the era to intervene in humanity’s history, seeking the individual who could potentially save all beings on Earth. This leads them to young Robyn Stir, an autistic genius, living with her beloved mother, Astrea a psychic healer, who nurtures Robyn’s ancestral gifts, shaping her into the Heart Whisperer.

Act 2: Essence: The life of Robyn and her Mother the daily teachings and deep bond.

Turning Point: Robyns mother is killed by gunshots in a battle near their village.Wing returns to Earth to take Robyn his beloved soulmate home to the heavens.

Act 3: Essence: Robyn and Wing as young adult lovers live a life of ethereal beauty in the heavens.

Turning Point:The Council of Universal Beings announce to Robyn she must leave Wing behind and return to earth to carry out her mission to find the lost Heart of Humanity. Heart broken Robyn follows Om Ma through the portal back to earth knowing Wing can’t incarnate with her this lifetime.

Act 4: Essence: Robyn is adopted by Frances and Winthrop Cunningham – an affluent American family who plan to groom her into high society. A stark difference from her peasant life with her mother.

Robyn bonds with Winthrop but deeply feels like a stranger in a strange land with Frances until she discovers Om Ma living in the woods surrounding her new home.

Turning point: Om Ma begins training Robyn warning her there are many demons on earth and she is here for a purpose.

Act 5: Essence: Robyn now a young teen has bonded with Om Ma and is beginning to rebel against France’s desire to groom her as a debutante as she teaches her the unspoken rules and expectations of upper class society.

Lock In: Robyn discovers that Walter Burdock, the wealthy next door neighbor is plotting to buy the woods where her beloved Om Ma resides, so as to build a mall. She over hears him saying to a land surveyor that he knows the Sacred Amulet of time is buried somewhere in those woods. Robyn’s powerful ancient warrior aspect begins to simmer in her heart as she fears the loss of her beloved guardian Om Ma.

[Joan Macbeth]

Joan Macbeth’s Pilot Structure

What I learned doing this assignment is… even though ChatGPT’s responses seem rather generic, I can see that it seems to “understand” what I’m attempting to write. Might need a few more runs at it to see if more original ideas can be generated. Moving on…

1. Present the first draft of your pilot Acts.

Teaser:

• Essence: May Dugas makes her dazzling debut in Chicago’s high society at a lavish soirée hosted by her fiance’s family. As she navigates the glittering world of the city’s elite, she is startled by the presence of mysterious characters who have no business being at this event.
• Turning Point: When Dale gets down on one knee to offer May a diamond ring, her instinct is to flee like Cinderella, but she steels herself instead, and insists that Dale have these strange “guests” removed. But one of them is Dale’s uncle.

Act 1:

• Essence: Not what things seem – May meets with her debonair friend, Claude Montcrief, and tells him about the men at her engagement party. She’s seen them before, in a place that she thought had been kept a secret. Claude plays it down, then finally admits that he knows who the men were, and reveals a plan that will make a good deal of money for him and for May.
• Turning Point: A secret from May’s past is revealed and she’s not the debutante she pretends to be.

Act 2:

• Essence: Secrets are revealed – who is May really? May takes her engagement ring to be appraised at her favourite jeweller. She runs into a young woman who knows her – only slightly. Miss Frank, who seems concerned for May’s health.
• Turning Point/Midpoint: Miss Frank seems to have a crush on May. May has to rush away to a meeting with Claude and the mysterious men.

Act 3:

• Essence: Claude and May meet with “the gentlemen” to discuss a copper mine investment. May poses as the daughter of a mining engineer from Upper Michigan – or is that who she actually is? Reed Dougherty seems quite interested in her, in several ways.
• Turning Point: Reveal Reed Dougherty is a Pinkerton agent. Arrest in imminent!

Act 4:

• Essence: Escape – May knows a place she can hide – with a Black woman who is a midwife. How does May know a mid-wife? But Claude is arrested.
• Turning Point: Claude in jail – will he expose May? Dougherty, the Pinkerton man seems much more interested in May than Claude – who hired him?

Act 5:

• Essence: Get out of town – May picks up her jewelry, she’s had a paste copy of her ring made. She meets Dale’s father at his bank – he pays her to get out of town. He’s the one who hired the detective. She returns Dale’s ring, only it’s the paste one. May leaves for the station.
• Lock In: Cat and Mouse at the Train Station. Pinkerton is still out to get her.

[Sylvia Krawczyk]

BWTV-AI Mod 3 – Lesson 3: Creating Your Pilot Structure

Sylvia’s Pilot Structure

What I learned doing this assignment is how helpful this process is to bring things together.

Present the first draft of your pilot Acts.

Teaser:

Essence: At a lavish charity gala with the four main characters, Emily Montclair dazzles the crowd, her charm and elegance on full display. As she delivers a heartfelt speech about the importance of the hospital’s pediatric ward, a shadowy figure watches her from afar, unseen.

Turning Point: The shadowy figure leaves a cryptic note for Emily, hinting at dark secrets within the hospital walls, compelling her to investigate.

Act 1:

Essence: Emily’s philanthropic world contrasts sharply with her personal life, showing her yearning for a connection with her estranged daughter, Abigail. Meanwhile, Abigail, an investigative journalist, is seen planning an exposé on the hospital’s pediatric ward.

Turning Point: Emily visits the pediatric ward for the first time and experiences a chilling encounter that suggests something supernatural is at play, hinting at the existence of ghostly guardians.

Act 2:

Essence: Emily delves deeper into the hospital’s mysteries, forming alliances with Lily Hastings and Dr. Daniel Whitman. Together, they begin to notice inexplicable healings among the children.

Turning Point/Midpoint: Emily, with Lily’s reluctant guidance, witnesses a child’s ghostly guardian firsthand. They discover that these guardians can turn lethal when provoked.

Act 3:

Essence: The characters struggle with the reality of the ghostly guardians. Emily tries to understand her connection to these spirits, while Lily faces moral dilemmas about revealing her secret ability. Abigail, unknowingly getting closer to her mother, starts uncovering parts of the puzzle and is determined to reveal them.

Turning Point: Abigail and Emily’s paths cross without recognizing each other, but Abigail discovers evidence linking Emily to the mysterious happenings in the ward, escalating tensions and suspicions.

Act 4:

Essence: As Emily, Lily, and Dr. Whitman search for a way to understand and peacefully coexist with the guardians, their actions inadvertently provoke the spirits, leading to a dangerous escalation.

Turning Point: A ghostly guardian’s reaction results in the disappearance of a child, causing a hospital-wide panic. The event is captured on security cameras, showing Emily at the scene, which makes her actions look suspicious.

Act 5:

Essence: The hospital board, fearing for the children’s safety and the hospital’s reputation, bans Emily from the pediatric ward. Unbeknownst to Emily, a secret society within the hospital, aware of the supernatural elements, reaches out to her, indicating her deep involvement in the ongoing mysteries.

Lock In: The society reveals they’ve been monitoring the ghostly guardians and sees Emily as a key figure in an ancient prophecy, linking her fate with the ghosts. They believe she can bridge the gap between the living and the spectral, but at a great personal cost.

Cliffhanger: As Emily processes her ban and the secret society’s revelations, Abigail, piecing together her mother’s identity and her connection to the ward’s mysteries, confronts Emily, revealing her identity. The episode ends with a ghostly guardian appearing before both, signaling a crucial turning point in their understanding of the paranormal phenomena and their personal relationship.

[Phyllis Strong]

Phyllis’ Pilot Structure

What I learned from this assignment is that the formula what each act is about is very powerful and I need to get used to it. I also learned that ChatGPT, over the course of a few iterations, has another, perhaps more intriguing, way to go.

Teaser:

Essence: Older Peter needs a patent from Older Diana to go forward with his consciousness transfer procedure. He’s desperate because he’s dying of cancer.

Turning Point: Older Diana blackmails Older Peter into letting her be a test subject. We don’t know for what, yet.

Act One:

Essence: Older Mark’s Senate run is rejected by his party. Older Suzanne is humiliated as her son relieves her of her duties. Older Diana gets no respect from Older Peter’s scientists. Older Peter convinces the Board this procedure will work and not lead to bankruptcy.

Turning Point: Peter reveals that the procedure will transfer the minds of the test subjects into brain-dead bodies that will be reactivated by the transfer.

Act Two:

Essence: Older Diana has no siblings or children, but Older Peter, Mark and Suzanne face blowback from their families. We see the host families each receive $10 million. The four test subjects undergo the procedure.

Turning Point: The procedure worked as the brain functions of the 4 brain-dead young bodies come alive and the test subjects open their eyes.

Act Three:

Essence: Six months later, the test subjects are ready to enter the wider world. Peter conducts a press conference heralding the success and signs up new prospects. Mark starts his campaign. Suzanne searches for the grandson of her first love.

Turning Point: Diana discovers that their host bodies are still wired for instinctual responses that could affect their emotional states.

Act Four:

Essence: Peter persuades Diana to keep quiet. On a publicity stunt to visit with the host families. Diana feels strangely drawn to her host’s husband. Mark finds out his host was gay. Suzanne meets with the clinging parents of her host. Peter meets his host’s wife, who was physically abused.

Turning Point: The wife believes Peter is still her husband. She pulls a gun and Peter instinctively knows how to grab it. He nearly pistol-whips her with it, but stops just in time. Peter’s confused at his reaction.

Act Five:

Essence: Both Peter and Diana want to know more about where the hosts came from. They’re keeping Mark and Suzanne in the dark for now. Peter cut corners, and when they find the company, they find it cleared out. Where did these hosts come from?

Lock-In. We see General Barnes at a Pentagon lab. They’re monitoring Peter’s lab and the test subjects. Mark has brought them more information. He is the mole!

Interesting Chat GPT suggestions:

• Turning Point: After the successful transfer, each awakens with fragmented memories that aren’t their own, hinting at a deeper mystery within the project.

  • Turning Point (Midpoint twist): The group discovers that their new bodies were not brain-dead but were in a reversible coma, and the original consciousnesses are fighting to resurface.

    • Turning Point: The discovery of a failsafe within the project that allows for the erasure of the host’s consciousness permanently, putting the protagonists at a moral crossroads.