-
Day 1 Assignments
Reply to post your assignment.
-
16 Replies
-
I have my assignment ready in a word doc, but I can’t paste it here. Is there something else I can do, or do I have to rewrite it all?
Thanks
-
Hey Kevin, do you work on a Mac? I do and I had the same issue. To get around it, I copied and pasted the text into an email, sent it to myself (at another email address), then copied and pasted the text from the email I received. And it worked! No idea why or how, but it might work for you too – good luck!
-
Yes, I’m on a Macbook. Thanks. I will give that a try!
-
-
-
DRAG ME TO HELL HORROR CONVENTIONS
Concept: a woman tries to undo a curse that will result in her being dragged to Hell at the end of three days
Terrorize The Characters: Christine must endure three days of mental torment and physical anguish before a demon finally comes to drag her to Hell
Isolation: some scenes take place in isolated locations, such as the mansion where the exorcism is attempted, or the cemetery where Christine digs up the gypsy woman’s body. Additionally, she is isolated from all those around her in that her torments can only be seen and experienced by her, preventing others, including her boyfriend, from understanding or believing her plight.
Death: if Christine can’t find a way of lifting the curse within three days, she will be killed and taken to Hell.
Monster/Villain: the gypsy woman Sylvia inflicts the curse on Christine as punishment for not granting her a loan extension. Lamia the demon torments Christine for three days before taking her soul.
High Tension: every method Christine tries to lift the curse is thwarted. The danger of these attempts, both physical and emotional, escalates throughout the film. The curse continually interrupts Christine’s personal and professional life, taking away everything that is important to her.
Departure from Reality: this is a dark fantasy, involving gypsy curses and demons from Hell. The tone is very tongue in cheek, the demonic visitations wild and extravagant.
Moral Statement: Christine is cursed because she chooses not to extend the gypsy Sylvia’s bank loan, a decision she makes in hopes of impressing her boss and landing a major promotion.
The constant shifting between the supernatural torment and Christine’s normal life dilemmas, which increasingly compound one another, help make this movie as strong as it is, as do the ethical dilemmas Christine is put in. The varying methods Christine tries to lift the curse are increasingly risky, though the risk alternates between being physical, emotional, and moral. Finally, the film is merciless toward its characters and audience as the demon hungers for Christine’s soul.
UNLUCKY (MY MOVIE)
CONCEPT:
The Monster/Villain: a murderous curse that inflicts everyone near Barry
The Interesting Terror: grave misfortune befalls anyone within proximity to the cursed Barry
Isolated/Horrific Environment: a high hotel floor where people become trapped with Barry
People Who Will Be Terrorized: Barry and the hotel guests trapped with him, including his daughter
CONVENTIONS:
Concept: a man is cursed so that everyone around him suffers increasingly deadly misfortune
Terrorize The Characters: Barry Long is helpless to prevent those around him from being injured or killed. The people near Barry suffer one horrible misfortune after another.
Isolation: Barry and the others are trapped on a high floor (top floor?) of a hotel, unable to escape as the range of the curse’s affect increases.
Death: as the curse grows stronger, the misfortunes suffered by the people around Barry become fatal.
Monster/Villain: the jinx causes everyone around Barry to suffer grave misfortune, including being trapped in close proximity to Barry.
High Tension: As time goes on, the severity of the misfortunes people suffer becomes deadlier. The range of the curse’s affect grows, making it harder for people to get away from Barry. Finally, the jinx prevents Barry from being able to commit suicide.
Departure from Reality: there’s a curse, sucka.
Moral Statement: Barry is a privileged man who doesn’t see how people around him suffer; he is therefore cursed to be the literal cause of everyone’s deadly misfortune, including innocent people such as a pregnant woman and his daughter.
What I learned from doing this assignment is that, by forcing myself to make a moral statement, it becomes easier to find a story theme and a flaw for my protagonist.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by Micah Delhauer.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by
-
What I learned doing this assignment is how close the movie adheres to the conventions outlined. In the genre other conventions such as unique or complex character relationships aren’t required nor is conflict and drama. The ending was not as satisfying or entertaining as the journey to get there was.
MOVIE – House of the Witch.
Concept – Sinister spirit crashes a teen Halloween party held in an abandoned country estate.
Isolation – Country Estate, abandoned. Once inside, locked in, no cell service no contact to outside.
Death: In order: Cannibalism, Drowning, Decapitation, Rapid Aging, Disembowelment, Burning, another drowning.
Monster/Villain – Annabel Foster – the witch.
High Tension – Seeing things that aren’t there, unexplained phenomena, worried parents, increasing storm, separating the friends, panic attacks, hysteria, no way to escape. Third party POV’s. Missing friend calling from unknown locations in the house.
Departure from Reality. A witch with magical powers, a unescapable house, photographs subjects change before our eyes. Childhood belongings show up inside the house. Skin peeling, unexplained rashes/boils.
Moral Statement – Don’t trust pass in off limits places & listen to your parents.
Well done – mostly single location shoot, small cast, decent acting, dialogue was natural and contributing to tension. Ending was not great, no twist, no one else to kill so it ended. Contained what was expected for a horror film and low budget production.
-
Curse of the Forty-Niner – Horror Conventions
What I learned doing this assignment is a concept can sound similar but be wildly different based on tone.
Title / Concept: Curse of the Forty-Niner
Terrorize The Characters: Chase with pick axe and shovel.
Isolation: Ghost Town and woods.
Death: Bloody kills. Explosions. Set on fire.
Monster/Villain: Zombie Gold Miner.
High Tension: Chase down people.
Departure from Reality: Zombie Miner back from dead.
Moral Statement: Don’t steal.
A few jump scares, but was terrible in almost every way. It was the closest to my idea I could find, though.
My concept:
Concept: Ghost of a gold miner terrorizes campers.
Terrorize The Characters: Haunts, chases them down and kills with mining equipment or his Hell Hound dog. Fall off cliffs, get trapped under cave-in.
Isolation: Woods near abandoned mine and inside old mine.
Death: Claustrophobia inside mine, a ghost that can’t be killed, no escape.
Monster/Villain: Ghost of gold miner and his Hell Hound.
High Tension: Ghost story comes to life. City people lost in woods and old mine, have no outdoor skills. Don’t know how to escape the paranormal entity.
Departure from Reality: Abandoned gold mine labyrinth haunted by ghost.
Moral Statement: Don’t mess with things you don’t understand. Let sleeping dogs lie.
-
What I learened,
1) Mike Flannagan is an amazing horror write and director.
2) Taking a well-worn trope and tweaking it can reinvigorate that trope.
3) You have to learn how to build tension in a smart manner.
4) Sometimes the monster isn’t as important as the victims they choose.
5) I can’t see yet that a departure from reality is necessary.
Hush (the movie I watched)
Concept- A deaf woman in an isolated cabin is terrorized by a masked killer.
Terrorize the characters-She is trapped in the house as the killer plays a cat and mouse game with her. He kills others and terrorizes her. We, as the audience, know what’s going on through sound, but the character doesn’t. The killer tells her that he can come in at any time but won’t until she wishes she was dead.
Isolation- Classic cabin in the woods. He neighbor has been murdered, so there is no one else around.
Death- Only three people die, including the killer. This is more about the terror of the possible then the kills themself.
Monster/villian-Psychotic killer
High tension-She depends on technology to communicate. As the story progresses, he takes the tech away from her so she can only depend upon herself.
Departure from reality- I couldn’t find an obvious departure from reality. The only thing is that a large number of people are hearing, so for any hearing person the loss of the sense of sound is a departure. She can’t depend on one of the senses that many people have.
Moral statement- You can only depend on your own strengths. Horrible things happen to normal people. The way you choose to deal with those things determine the outcome of your life.
What I loved about this is that both the monster and the victim are very smart. Either one could win, so it keeps you involved. Maddie, the deaf woman, doesn’t deserve this. She could be any random person, which makes this much scarier to me. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and because of that her life changes forever.
The Unsightly (My Concept)
In the near future the extreme religious right has overthrown the government. They hunt down anyone who does not confirm to their ideology. Two at a time, The Unsightly are placed in the salvation arena and forced to compete while ibeing live streamed. One must kill the other. The survivor then is put through conversion therapy and reborn into society.
Terrorize the characters- Hunted down, forced to fight to the death, then put through conversion therapy.
Isolation- Must hide from society to escape the extremists. They are hunted down, placed in the salvation arena and only one comes out.
Death- Each arena is set up based on the victims “perversion” forcing them to do something abhorant to them to survive. The first to do it lives, then is forced to kill the other.
Monster/Villian-Religious extremists
High tension- Life or death situations, having to kill another to survive, then forced to deny your true nature to live.
Departure from reality- The salvation arena is a modern day gladiator arena which no longer exist.
Moral-Doing horrible things in the name of religion is wrong and always has been.
-
What I learned from this lesson was all of the horror film conventions and how to apply them to my concept.
Chosen film: Krampus
Terrorize the characters: An evil Santa-type figure visits a family at Christmas and picks them off, one by one, after the youngest son decides he no longer believes in Santa.
Isolation: there has been a huge snowstorm and they are unable to escape – and all of their neighbours have disappeared
Death: Characters are either taken or killed by Krampus himself or his evil acolytes.
Monster/Villain: Krampus is the main monster, but his evil toys are also monstrous.
High Tension: The family are holed up in their home with Krampus and his toys coming to get them. They also try to escape but end up going around in circles until being attacked by an underground monster.
Departure from Reality: Monsters, monstrous toys, a storm that cuts them off from the rest of the world
Moral Statement: Don’t dis Santa!
What I loved about this film: it has great acting, lots of interesting, different monsters, as well as Krampus, and plenty of tension. The ending is also brilliant and extremely downbeat!
My film: Sugar Sweet Revenge
Concept:
Monster: The spirit of a dead woman murdered by one of the victims. She can take over the mind and body of any woman and then commit murder.
Terror: Each of the group of friends is being murdered one by one. No one knows who is doing it, no one unknown is seen at the scene of the crime. There are no suspects.
Environment: They can be got at anywhere at any time – the spirit is able to channel any female that they are close to – friend, girlfriend, mom, sister.
Victims: Eight male friends who covered up the crime of rape and murder of a woman, which one of them committed. There are different levels of guilt, but all of them could have stopped it from happening.
Conventions:
Terrorize the characters: As they discover they are being targeted as a group, they realize that there is no escape. Eventually the surviving friends work out that the spirit of the dead woman is doing this, using innocent women as her conduit.
Isolation: The surviving friends have to isolate themselves to feel even remotely safe. They work out that the woman’s spirit is killing them through girlfriends and women they meet, so they stay away from any women they think could be possessed.
Death: The first three victims were killed in horrible ways: each one had their genitalia ripped out and shoved up their own ass, pre-mortem. Some of them were the first to find the victims and are traumatized by what they see, and terrified by the thought that this could happen to them.
Monster/villain: While the actual monster is the spirit of the dead woman, the killer could be any woman that the men meet or already know and trust.
High tension: They know that sleeping with a woman puts them at risk.
Departure from reality: the monster is the spirit of a dead woman whose death is on them and she is able to possess the body of any woman and act through it to kill and maim them.
Moral statement: The people who stand by as others kill or harm people are just as guilty as the ones committing the act.
-
BLUMHOUSE’S FANTASY ISLAND Horror Conventions
WHAT I LEARNED: There are conventions to horror films and I can find them in a movie if I look for them. And if other writers can use these conventions to write their scripts, I can use them to write my great horror script. I also learned the differences between the horror and thriller genres.
Concept:A horror version of the TV series FANTASY ISLAND, in which people have their fantasies realized, but they turn into nightmares.
Terrorize The Characters: The “guests” are happy because they are there to have a fantasy come to life. But as they enjoy their living fantasy, things change, and the fantasies become nightmares. Two brothers are captured by bad guys, and one is killed. A man becomes a soldier like his dead father and watches his father turn coward and then watches his father die and then he is killed. A woman watches her high school bully being physically tortured and maimed.
Isolation: an isolated island with no way on or off.
Death: four people we care about are killed, as well as some creepy villains we are happy to see die.
Monster/Villain: the magic of the island and the characters it creates
High Tension:
Running from people with guns; running from a madman with a knife; reliving a fire where you still can’t save someone; running through a dark a watery cave.
Departure from Reality:
People can come back to life; you can change the past
Moral Statement:
You should be kind to others and help them when they are in trouble.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by CLAIRE RILEY.
-
This reply was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by
-
Day 1 Assignments:
Watch the movie and as you do, note its conventions.
Title / Concept: The Mist: townspeople are terrorized by a strange mist full of creatures
Terrorize The Characters: Wild storms, weather/fog, the Mist, Strange Creatures, End Times, Frenzied mob
Isolation: No power, no radio, no phone signal, stuck in the supermarket
Death: Flesh ripped open, dragged away, bitten, eaten, burned
Monster/Villain: The mist, giant bugs and flying creatures
High Tension: The Unknown, Lack of Visibility, Earthquakes, separation, in-fighting
Departure from Reality: creatures that don’t exist – “what we saw was impossible”
Moral Statement: Love thy neighbor, Have faith but do not be a zealot
Anything else you’d like to say about what made this movie a great horror film?
I wouldn’t say it was great at all. It had a few good performances, and the isolation and unknowing at the beginning was the best part – but the creatures were kind of ridiculous and the climax was lackluster and unfulfilling.My Concept:
A. Monster: Sentient Fire Creature (spirit of dead fire chief)
B. Terror: Being trapped, Burning, Asphyxiation, Pain, Death
C. Environment: Skyscraper
D. Victims: Corrupt Builders/Developers
Then combine it with one or more of the Primal Fears.
Fear that something terrible will happen
Fear of pain or torture
Fear of death
Fear of being alone
Fear of going insaneTerrorize The Characters: Characters are burned and disfigured but killed slowly.
Isolation: The characters are all trapped in a skyscraper with no way out. Specific characters are isolated and trapped in stairwells, offices, closets, etc.
Death: Characters are first burned but not killed, then they are killed in various ways including burned alive, asphyxiated, crushed by debris, fall from building, etc.
Monster/Villain: Sentient fire creature possessed by the soul of a dead fire chief
High Tension: Smoke, Spreading fire, no way out, collapsing building
Departure from Reality: Fire is a sentient creature
Moral Statement: Cutting corners for greed puts you and others in danger
-
Subject line: IN THE TALL GRASS Horror Conventions
What I learned doing this assignment is that horror movies really do follow prescribed conventions, and that if I want to write a successful horror script, I need to follow them.
A smart horror is one that is high concept, has a unique monster/villain, has a unique brand of terror, forces the characters on a journey of horror that does not depend on any mistakes they might make, and that is low budget.
I analyzed
Title: IN THE TALL GRASS. This film is based on a short story by Stephen King and Joe Hill.
Concept: “After hearing a boy’s cry for help, a pregnant woman and her brother wade into a vast field of grass, only to discover there may be no way out.”
Terrorize The Characters: The characters find themselves in a field of tall grass where there may be no way out.
Isolation: The characters become separated in the tall grass. They can hear one another’s voices, but they can’t see one another. Nor can they find one another without help from characters who have been there before them and touched the “rock”.
Death: All the characters die at one time or another, but most of them re-animate.
Monster/Evil: The monster/villain is the “ancient rock” in the center of the field, the tall grass, and those who have touched the rock.
High Tension: Life and death puzzles, morbid dilemmas, and impending doom.
Departure from Reality: The satanic rock and the field of tall grass which imprisons the characters are not things we find in ordinary life. People dying and returning to life also are not normal.
Moral Statement: Family is everything and redemption requires sacrifice.
My Story Conventions
Title: Not sure yet.
Concept: On a dark and stormy night, two young girls, riding their bikes home from a birthday party, take shelter in a rickety old two-story house. They have the run of the place when they first gain entrance, but then when the storm abates and the girls try to leave, they are blocked at every turn by a ghost, who calls them his playmates.
Terrorize The Characters: The girls find themselves in a house where there may be no way out.
Isolation: The old house is on the outskirts of town. No one goes there except by appointment to buy antiques. The girls become separated from one another in the house. They can’t find each other in the dark.
Death: The ghost is of a little boy who died at someone else’s hand.
Monster/Villain: The ghost.
High Tension: Life and death puzzles (one of the girls becomes ill and may die if she doesn’t receive medical help), impending doom (the threat of death is everywhere). Every antique for sale has its own diabolical past and curse.
Departure from Reality: Being trapped in an old house by a boy ghost is not normal. Neither are cursed antiques.
Moral Statement: For now, my moral statement is this: Be careful where you seek shelter.
-
Sie Khalil
Till Death — Starring Megan Fox & Eoin Macken
1:27 running time
What I learned: I don’t usually watch films and report on them. I watch and make mental notes of what I like and don’t like for my own knowledge. This exercise pushes my mind to think in terms of improving the craft of discussing the story and I can see merit in terms of it helping the way I craft a story.
Concept: Can a controlling, unfaithful, hard-nose husband forgive his cheating wife or will one of them end up in a bloody mess?
Convention: The husband plans the perfect night for their anniversary. His premeditated plan of taking his wife to their far away cabin ends in a blood bath. He handcuffs her to him and after she wakes, he blows a hole in his head as she witnesses the gruesome mess. He spatters his brain and blood all over her face. He empties the house so she has no tools, no gas in the vehicle, and destroys any form of communication. She is forced to drag his corpse around the house and on the frozen ground.
When the man she cheated on shows up, they are surprised to learn that it wasn’t her that texted him, but her dead husband. Her husband hired the man who attacked his wife and helped put him away for years prior to seeking revenge for both of them.
Terrorize: The monster here is her husband and the man he hired to kill her.
Isolation: The story mostly takes place in one location. It is a desolate frozen Iceland far away and without any neighbors.
Death: Several people die in a variety of ways.
High Tension: There are many reversals and pulsing moments that keep you, at times, on the edge of your seat. Kill or be killed.
Departure: She finally has to butcher her dead husband’s hand to break free of the chains that bind her to save herself.
Moral Statement: Don’t ever trust anyone, because even your spouse might want to see you without your head.
What made the movie great? I wouldn’t say it was a great movie. However, I would say that once it got going, it was definitely worth watching. It was filled with some nice twists and turns, although I could pick out some very stupid moments. Overall, I would give it three stars.
Till Death
-
What I learned from this assignment:
From the movie, I learned that sanity is a construct that is barely held together. Our default state may be insanity. What I learned from this assignment is that screenplays and stories are held together by parts that are as functional as a body’s organs and appendages. They breathe life into the story, move it forward, and give it purpose and relief.
Movie: The Amityville Horror
Concept: A family is terrorized by evil after moving into a house haunted by a history of bloodcurdling torture and murder.
Terrorize The Characters: A man, his wife, and their three children undergo horrific battles with demonic forces for 28 days.
Isolation: Almost all of the scenes take place in the haunted house and its nearby boathouse, on a lake in Amityville, Long Island, New York. The house is set apart from neighboring homes by its massive size and aged grandeur. After the family moves in, they become increasingly detached from each other, victims of the horrific evil that runs rampant in the house. In particular, the father, isolated and insulated in his basement/office, progressively loses his humanity and sanity. He is devoured by the “katch ’em an kill ’em” impulse to murder his family.
Death: Torture and killing of 20 victims hundreds of years ago. Mass murder of a family as they slept, by rifle. Murder of a dog by rifle. Attempted murder of a family by axe.
Monster/Villain: Originally built as a mission for Indians in 1692, the house was run by a wretched, monstrous man – Reverend Ketcham – who tortured and killed 20 victims during his earthly life. Now, as an evil force in the house, he hisses commands to “katch ’em and kill ’em,” first to a young man who obeys and murders his family, and then to a father who terrorizes his wife and step-children.
High Tension: A fast progression of emotions takes place, from lighthearted gaiety, to “pins and needles” uneasiness, to full-throttle, insane terror. As the father is devoured by evil, fear and terror explode.
Departure from Reality: The unreal and real overlap and collide. Pipes bleed black blood. Boundaries of the living and the dead disintegrate. The past, present, and future converge in a bloodbath.
Moral Statement: Evil is unconquerable. There is only submission or escape.
-
MALIGNANT Horror Conventions
What I learned doing this assignment is there are many interesting ways Horror can create intrigue, suspense, tension and play for keeps.
James Wan, Director (SAW). New line Cinema, Atomic Monster, Starlight Media, My Entertainment. Warner Bros. 2021 Rating: R Horror, Mystery & thriller. Gross: $13.4 M US, $34M World
Concept: Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.
Terrorize the Characters: Monster kills mental hospital orderlies, jailed women, a dozen cops; makes creepy calls to Madison; husband beats up pregnant wife; uses surgical instrument used on him to kill her; lights on in police station explode.
Isolation: After monster kills her husband, Madison lives alone in her old mansion. Puts HD locks on doors.
Death: Bludgeons people to death, blood splatters walls. Stabs them in face with sword; slashes a doctor’s face and neck;
Monster: Gabriel’s an evil teratoma, a parasitic twin; capable of being invisible, flying, superhuman strength; hangs from ceilings; kills anyone who gets in his way; flies across a room and kills; switches street lights and house lights on and off; loves to maim and torture people; drinks mental hospital’s electricity and uses it to operate machinery; suddenly becomes visible and kills; Thunder rumbles; he’s heavily scarred, eerie green eyes; superhuman dives and loops down the outside of the fire escape: laughs manically; leaps up, flips backwards and kills; flies thru the air like a Ninja and stabs multiple uniform cops;
High Tension: She had 3 miscarriages in the last 2 years. Music that’s unnerving, low foreboding sinister, dark, dramatic, eerie, screeching, creepy and evil. Static on phone; windows abruptly open; a dozen low lives sneer at her; jailed woman urinates in pot. Rumbling noise; Muffled clanging; Roaring thunder and lightning; threatening phone calls; loud ringing noise; makes Madison watch him kill people in her dreams while she’s home in bed; Static crackles, phone beeps; Gunshots. Gasps; police station overhead lights explode; Indistinct shouting; hospital lights flash, pacemaker in guard’s chest explodes; lights go off; electronic feedback whines; Throws heavy hospital bed on Madison’s sister; guns fires; Madison cracks bones in her hands; muffled groan: chokes his mother in hospital until she flatlines; Rustling. Walls crumble.
Departure from Reality:
Monster can fly, control electricity, has superhuman strength, can commit murders miles from someone he shows it to in real time.
Moral Statement:
Sometimes we can be closer to people we aren’t blood related to than to those we are.
I’m late arriving at this genre and will complete my script conventions ASAP.
-
(Further above is my assignment regarding “The Amityville Horror.”)
Conventions for My Story:
Concept: A small group of graduate students is victimized by a psychotic killer.
Terrorize The Characters: Ten male and female graduate students are tortured and/or horrifically slain.
Isolation: A cabin and its facilities on a miniscule, remote island.
Death: Grisly torture and/or death by various means.
Monster/Villain: Killer who shifts between sanity and insanity.
High Tension: Uneasiness escalates to raging terror as the body count rises and number of killer suspects shrinks.
Departure from Reality: The killer shifts in and out of reality. Ironically, the killer is even more threatening and dangerous when sane than when insane.
Moral Statement: The pleasure of killing when sane is more horrific than any slaughter caused by insanity.
-
Hell Fest Horror Conventions
What I learned doing this assignment is I am over-thinking the story and not writing enough.
Title / Concept: Hell Fest
Terrorize The Characters:
Characters go to a travelling Horror carnival, where each section/maze is built up to be more terrifying, more interactive than the previous one.
Isolation:
Characters are separated, pushed to travel forward through dark passages with random live actor jump scares.
Death:
The lines between reality and make=believe are blurred. Difficult to tell what is part of the Horror Carnival and what is a true threat to their safety.
Monster/Villain:
A hidden killer is referred to as The Other.
High Tension:
Different rooms within the maze have real weapons and a lurking killer, who hides the bodies among the props.
Departure from Reality:
The Horror carnival was supposed to be carefree, fun with a group of friends but turned into a night of survival.
Moral Statement:
The characters who felt directionless and weak were put to the test, digging down for their strengths.
3. Hell Fest is a solid slasher film. It is simple but classic in its pattern of gore and scares.
4. Concept: Urban Legend becomes weaponized by the government
Terrorize The Characters: UL uses their upgraded skills
Isolation: UL escapes while being held in high security, secret lab
Death: UL terrorizes individuals before inflicting pain, leading to death.
Monster/Villain: La Llorona
High Tension: Weaponized skills makes it impossible to predict La Llorona’s movements or actions.
Departure from Reality: The lab and secrecy mean no one is coming to help those trapped in the lab.
Moral Statement: Actions have consequences
Log in to reply.