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Day 2 Assignments
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My project is failing abysmally for a plethora of reasons so I decided to brainstorm options for all ten categories and then combine. Remember that my novel isn’t long enough and that is the most important thing.
TYPES OF OPENINGS:
1. Instant Conflict Opening
Make Jake fight with Ibrahim and Ibrahim fight with BB or Litonya instead of just chatting. They should argue about some of the major themes or bringing up kids or show jealousy or something equally stressful..
2. Contrast Opening
There is a contrast between BB’s homelessness and Ibrahim’s wealth but dress them up and down more.
3. The Shocking Opening
It is shocking what they are doing with COVID. I could make it more obvious.
4. The Setup/Twist Opening
I could twist something on the roof to make the conflict more passive-aggressive. Since Ibrahim is so polite and Jake so optimistically on the nose, it would be better if Ibrahim twisted his anger into something.
The
5. The VO that’s unusual
I should bring back the MM VO because it is unusual.
6. The unique character
Litonya’s ability to climb rocks and talk to rocks is her most intriguing trait.
7. The action opening
I could show off Litonya more rock scrambling and bouldering.
8. Plunge us deep into a unique world (Moulin Rouge/Platoon)
With Litonya and the rock VO I could hint at the unique world she accesses with geology research including deep time.
9. Intriguing scene from another place in the movie
I could have the MM VO tell the viewer/reader that Litonya will die in an earthquake before she can get social security. 99 percent sure. There is always a slight chance the future will not come true. I can’t reveal the future of the bad guys or Jake or I will give away too much of the linear suspense.
10. The “trick” opening
The tricks could be other rockslides, or the seesaw in the playground or something. Or it could be dying human cells blown up or a close on someone’s face and a rapid transformation until their dying face.
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Amy’s Openings!
What I learned from this assignment is my current opening doesn’t really set up the rest of the movie.
1. Opening 1-Instant Conflict-There is breaking news and Andrea has to work late. She calls home to tell Josh. He’s not happy.
2. Opening 5-The VO that’s unusual-have Andrea talk about how she’s always been fascinated with the idea of time travel but that she doesn’t think it will ever be possible.
3. Opening 6-The unique character- I believe this is what I have already, but my character really isn’t coming off as all that unique. I need to put her in a situation showing how good she is covering hard news, but also how much she really hates it.
4. Opening 7-The action opening-have Andrea covering a hostage situation and the gunman comes out shooting. Her husband Josh runs at her and knocks her to the ground to get her out of the line of fire.
5. Opening 9-Intriguing scene from another place in the movie-Andrea pops out of the time machine after having just spent a couple of months in the future. She runs immediately home to tell Josh and the kids how much they mean to her and that she’s not going to work so hard anymore. They are all confused as to why she’s acting this way.
Opening I chose: #5 Intriguing scene from another place in the movie.
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Budinscak Openings!
Day 2
What I learned doing this assignment:
o Great exercise to focus on what experiences you desire to convey to the audience/reader, and then build it in.
o You know the powerful ending you now have, frame it with the setups in the beginning.
Voice Over with an Unique Character
This would be Jack telling the story as if he’s a CEO running a company with 30+ employees and how their livelihood depends on me (Jack). It’s taken years to build the business and only seconds to destroy it – you can’t make a mistake and you can’t control everything. Imagine that mistake was because of something you saw (Inciting Incident). What if your building was hit by lightning. Could you stop that if you knew it was coming? (Plot Point 1). How do you know when a lightning strike will happen? Cuz you’ve been told if you don’t do something, your restaurant will be burnt to the ground. And those 30+ employees, well, they’re all your family members and you would put them all out of business and completely in harm’s way. What would you do?
Contrast Opening with Voice Over
Here we’d show the innocence of children – not innocent children, but their innocence – contrasted by them being thrown together with a bad role model (Uncle Jack), a free spirit who only worries about himself and walks a fine line between illegal and just barely legal.
Instant Conflict
Pair Jack and Don Vito together, Jack will disavow any knowledge of what he’s seen, have Don Vito discuss what will happen if he doesn’t come clean – highlight the Inciting Incident and Jack’s role – and the punishment to come.
Intriguing Opening
The FBI shakedown in Las Vegas is Plot Point 2 and would make an interesting opening since it shows our protagonist as his lowest point, offers an interesting antagonist that he will overcome.
Trick Opening
In this opening, the restaurant will be razed by fire, burnt completely to the ground – and then Jack wakes up in bed in a cold sweat. It was just a dream.
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Elizabeth’s Openings!
What i learned: Lord, do I need to keep listening to Hal’s advice to brainstorm! Not at all sure how to pick at this point, but some thoughts I never would have otherwise had…
Instant conflict/ Intriguing scene from another place in the movie: Open with the crisis/climax scene where Ed’s shitfaced drunk in an empty, unfurnished apartment, facing his internal demons in flashback form—another ratchet apartment 70 years ago: Ed’s drugged-out father and his father’s friends, a low-class Ghislaine Maxwell-Jeffrey Epstein/ more perverse Richie-Sydney (American Hustle) pair who sexually exploit a 10 year-old Ed, causing his life-long sexual (and other) “issues”. – OR –
Open with a fight between the other ensemble characters, Mike and Grace: Mike’s just lost a job because he can’t focus and overslept after some especially “heavy marijuana” – end with Grace just picking up the pieces for everyone rather than forcing him to get the help he needs.
Contrast Opening: Notting Hill-like series of shots: Ed with his compulsive neat-ness, to-the-second schedule (wake, continental breakfast, perfunctory nods to home-mates, bus, grave, warehouse, perfunctory nods, dinner in his room, bed like he expects it will be his coffin) meets Mike and Grace: utter chaos, how does this even work? Fight with a kiss to start the day, kids screaming, mess of a house, Chris from the basement looking like death itself, parasite-mother Linda doing her nails, Mike distractible at work, gets fired, smokes a joint as he walks home b/c his car has been booted, Grace a frazzled mess at the theater after he calls to tell her all this.
The Shocking Opening/Intriguing scene from another place in the movie: Ed in his car in the garage – a suicide attempt that gets thwarted when he’s car-jacked, dumped in a forested park.
The Setup/Twist Opening/Trick: Huge fight between Michael and Grace on the stage of Grace’s Teen Theater ends with a near-violent heated decision to break up — but then we see the audience (teen students) and this has been a demonstration of Method Acting, how to channel your own demons (ala Heath Ledger) — and we feel the remaining tension between Michael and Grace. What has this demo done to their relationship?
The VO that’s unusual: Ed dictating obsessional/dry, missing-the-important emotion, self-analysis psych notes for the book he’s trying to write, intercut with Grace’s—the diary of an empath, with a touch of histrionic/schizotypal, who’s impressionism is preventing/“defending her from making” logical decisions that just need to be made.
Unique Character: intro as it currently is: Ed as a dignified, empathic retired psychiatrist, stopping briefly to respond to several different emotional needs of his home-mate’s, but with a bee in his bonnet to get quickly back to his room. We think this is to work on his very important book, but find that actually he’s powerfully grief-stricken and engaging in a strange ritual. Each night he eats a lifesaver each before he get into bed in a “coffin pose” and hopes he’ll die naturally. When the last lifesaver is gone, if he’s still alive he’s going take all the tranquilizers at once
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Armand Openings!
Example 1: Our sarcastic ghost narrates how he ended up stuck in the after-life, while also narrating the serial killer spree from 20 years ago (where he was killed
Unusual V.O. with shocking opening
Example 2: The ghost who is afraid of the serial killer who killed him is introduced as the killer murders a new victim.
Unique character with scene from later in the movie
Example 3: We think we’re seeing a murder, in reality our ghost is watching kids watching a slasher film, when the serial killer strikes.
Trick
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Janeen’s Openings!
What I learned from this assignment is that there are a number of more interesting ways to open the movie than my current rather bland one. I’ll definitely be changing it.
Opening Ideas:
Instant Conflict Opening:
A. Morgan and Gavin fight/tiff about her Waterman work. He treats it like a pastime.
B. Amber and Daniel fight.
Contrast Opening:
A. Amber and Morgan’s lives are shown in contrast as is Daniel’s relationship with both — obsequious to Morgan, domineering and dangerous to Amber.
The Shocking Opening
A. Daniel beats up on Amber
The Setup/Twist Opening:
A. Daniel is really nice to Amber, then he beats her when she drops something on the floor.
B. Gavin praises for Morgan for attending the classes and doing her homework religiously, then she overhears him on the phone trivializing her and the Waterman method.
The VO that’s unusual:
A. The Waterman professor describing it and how it cannot be used for evil while we watch Morgan using it.
B. Gavin talking about how much he loves to have Morgan on his arm — definitely defining her as a trophy wife while he smiles at her in silence reading while she does Waterman.
The Unique Character:
A. Daniel telling how he has to contort himself to please his clients and about how he tolerates his wife’s serious failings.
The Action Opening:
A. The bustle of a fashion show or the bustle of a red carpet event.
B. Daniel, we think, punching a punching bag, but then we see that it is Amber.
Plunge us deep into a unique world — a personal approach:
A. Fashion design/tailoring
B. Waterman capabilities.
Intriguing scene from another place in the movie
A. The police coming into the guild meeting to arrest them all.
The Trick Opening:
A. Morgan dreams about being a renowned Waterman practitioner, saving the world, getting the kind of accolades usually reserved for her husband. Then she realizes the applause is real and her husband kisses her, she smiles and he goes to the dais to collect his award.
SELECTED OPTIONS:
1. The Trick Opening — Morgan fantasizes she is more than a trophy wife.
2. The VO that is unusual — Gavin talking about how much he loves to have Morgan on his arm — definitely defining her as a trophy wife while he smiles at her in silence reading while she does Waterman.
3. The VO that is unusual — The Waterman professor describing it and how it cannot be used for evil while we watch Morgan using it.
4. The Action Opening — The bustle of a fashion show or the bustle of a red carpet event.
5. The Action Opening — Daniel, we think, punching a punching bag, but then we see that it is Amber.
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BOB SMITH OPENINGS!
WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS ASSIGNMENT IS…?
That brainstorming is the key to coming up with creative screenwriting. I found myself attracted to combining the brainstorms of a number of the categories of openings together.
My script is “Moths Around a Flame: The Making of “The Blue Angel”
LOGLINE: The ultimate lives and fates of the feuding lead actors of “The Blue Angel” (Marlene Dietrich and Emil Jannings) follow a trajectory of success and ruin that parallels their characters in the film.
With this in mind here are the openings I have brainstormed, eventually the opening I”ll go with is a combination.
1. Instant Conflict Opening.
Documentary footage of the Allies fighting the German Army. Images of the surrender of Berlin.
Iconic footage of the blowing up of the huge Swastika above the Zepelinfeld Stadium.
General Eisenhower (V.O.) announces: “From General Order 1067: “Denazification: All who have rendered public support to the Nazi Party shall be barred from public appearances.”
2. Contrast Opening:
A USO entertainment show for the US troops on the European front. MARLENE DIETRICH is at the microphone. She tells the troops, “Hey, guys! Give those Nazis the licking they deserve!”
The Troops applaud.
Marlene Dietrich says, “Here is my song from “The Blue Angel” Dietrich begins to sing “Falling in Love again.” The troops applaud as the song begins. Her song continues over the following actions.
General Eisenhower (VO) announces: “From General Order 1067: “Denazification: All who have rendered public support to the Nazi Party shall be barred from public appearances.”
Dietrich’s song fades and ends.
EMIL JANNINGS appears at the US Headquarters Berlin, waving his Oscar statuette yelling to the guards: “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! I won an Oscar!”
He tells the guards he wants to revive his acting career but the guards tell him he must be vetted and perhaps denazified.
4. The Set up// twist opening.
Emil Janning appears at the US Headquarters Berlin, waving his Oscar statuette yelling to the guards: “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! I won an Oscar!”
He tells the guards he wants to revive his acting career but the guards tell him he must be vetted and perhaps denazified.
7. The Action Opening:
Documentary footage of the Allies fighting the German Army. Images of the surrender of Berlin.
General Eisenhower (VO) announces: “From General Order 1067: “Denazification: All who have rendered public support to the Nazi Party shall be barred from public appearances.”
8. Plunge us deep into a unique world.
Jannings and Dietrich are just off the set of “The Blue Angel” and they agree to patch things up between them in order to make a great motion picture.
9. Intriguing scene from another place in the movie.
The gay cabaret Club Silouette being attacked by Nazi brownshirts. Dr. Magnes Hirschfeld predicts an eventual Nazi take over. We see Jannings disturbed by the prospects.
Opening titles. Title: Fifteen Years later. Berlin 1945. Proceed with Jannings approaching American Army Headquarters waving his Oscar Statuette shouting to the guards, “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! I won an Oscar!”
My choice of opening is a set up/twist opening combined with a contrast and action opening.
Documentary footage of the Allies fighting the German Army.
A USO entertainment show for the US troops on the European front. MARLENE DIETRICH is at the microphone. She tells the troops, “Hey, guys! Give those Nazis the licking they deserve!”
The Troops applaud.
Marlene Dietrich says, “Here is my song from “The Blue Angel” Dietrich begins to sing “Falling in Love again.” The troops applaud as the song begins. Her song continues over the following actions.
General Eisenhower (VO) announces: “From General Order 1067: “Denazification: All who have rendered public support to the Nazi Party shall be barred from public appearances.”
Dietrich’s song fades and ends.
EMIL JANNINGS appears at the US Headquarters Berlin, waving his Oscar statuette yelling to the guards: “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! I won an Oscar!”
He tells the guards he wants to revive his acting career but the guards tell him he must be vetted and perhaps denazified.
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PS80 Michelle Damis Openings
What I learned from this assignment is that the opening that I already wrote is a mix of #5) V.O unusual. It is the Vampire explaining his existence and felling about the world. It is a #6)unique character in a #8)unique world. And there is a bit of a#10) trick or twist, in that the viewer should think a story is being told and at the end it is revealed that it was the vampire telling the story and revealing himself.
I did think through all the Types of Opening to see if there was anything else I wanted to do. As I poilish up the opening I am mindful to get something around page three that pops a bit more.
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Pablo’s Openings
What I learned: I feel like all of these are better than my original opening, though its not quite there yet. Like before, I think I can blend some of these openings; ie, VO describing a unique world. Instant conflict into a shocking opener. This was helpful.
1. Instant Conflict Opening
Ricardo comes home, beat and bloody. He demands money from Irma to gamble with. Irma refuses and suffers a beating. Her sons come to defend her. She tells Ricardo that she is leaving as that she is taking the kids with. He laughs it off as they have no where to go. She threatens to cross the border. He scoffs and leaves.
The next day, as Irma decides grab the boys and stay with her friend nearby, she is approached by Sapo, the owner of the local casino, who shakes her down for money that Ricardo owes. Not knowing where he is, Sapo threatens her as she would then be responsible for his debt. When she returns to the house, she discovers Ricardo’s body. Murdered by Sapo, she now has no choice but to leave Mexico with her sons and head for the border.
2. Contrast Opening
Irma and her sons are camping out in the desert, on their way to Texas. Freezing and tired, the try to keep a meager fire alive. Meanwhile, Frank and his team watch them on screen as their drones capture their every movement. They are snug and comfy compared to Irma and her family. They drink warm coffee and eat microwave burritos.
We come to realize Irma and her sons are contestants on a reality game show. People can place bets on their success. It has become one of the most watch programs on the internet and Frank is pulling in lots of money. Irma and her sons are struggling but each time they look like they may falter, Frank sends a drone to drop off supplies. Irma has no idea.
3. The Shocking Opening
After Ricardo wins big at a local Casino, he rushes to a bank to put all his earnings a an account. When he arrives at home, it is revealed that he owed money to another rival casino and they came to collect. Ricardo expected this and tells them he already spent his earnings and they brutally murdered him on the spot.
Ricardo never had to chance to tell his estranged wife or children. When Sapo, the casino owner shows up to shake Irma for the money Ricardo owed, she is oblivious. After she hears of this death, she heads to the bank to clear out any funds and leave town. It is there she discovers her youngest son’s bank account now has for $100,000.
5. The VO that’s unusual
An old man tells the audience the extreme statistics of migrant’s crossing the border illegally, numbers rising every year, forcing the US govt to ramp up their border security. But the voice explains the hardships that the poor and the needy must face in a now dangerous and struggling Mexican nation. The meek of Mexico will not let up. So there are those that exploit the situation for their own gain by documenting their attempts and creating gambling rings on the dark web.
The old man is Andres, the youngest son of Irma Escandon. He begins to tell the story of how he and his brother successfully cross the border.
6. The unique character
Frank is caught red-handed smuggling drugs across the border using high-tech drones. The Border recognizes him as right-wing conservative personality on the internet. Instead of turning him in to the DEA, force him to help them catch migrants trying to cross the border using his drones. Otherwise, goes to prison.
No longer able to smuggle drugs, Frank needs a new way to make money. Knowing that his capture now would make the BP look bad for working with a drug smuggler, he uses this advantage to his advantage and comes up with an idea: Televise migrants attempting to cross the border and allow viewers to place bets.
7. The action opening
A team of migrant’s races to the border line in almost a military like approach. Some cover some dodge booby traps, and some some shoot primitive weaponry at the drones that pursue them. Most don’t make it and the few that do are met by a highly weaponized border patrol. They are caught and sent back as a new team prepare’s themselves for their chance to make it across.
It is one of the highest watched programs on the internet: Border Dash. Contestants try to make their way into the states and if they make it far enough, they gain sponsors and endorsements though their ultimate goes to actually make it through. Viewers tune it and place bets. Irma, mother of two makes the bold decision to enter the competition. The odds are against her, but she has no choice as her life is in danger.
8. Plunge us deep into a unique world (Moulin Rouge/Platoon)
In the not too distant future, the worlds resources are all but diminished. Developing countries suffer and only the few govt superpowers have established a clean water system and a renewable energy program.
The people of Mexico beg for help from their neighboring ally, but the US does nothing. Many families have no choice but to make their attempt to cross the border. The odds are against them as the US uses high tech drones and fortress-like defense. Irma must find a way to get her sons across to safety as they are on the run from the local gangsters for money owed.
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Rob Bertrand’s Openings
What I learned: I learned that the first 10 pages are the most important of your screenplay. You need a powerful hook to keep the reader engaged.
Instant Conflict Opening: Driving home from a wedding, Annie gets into an argument with her father, Jack, over his homophobic comments. Annie is distracted and gets into a car accident, killing her mother.
The Shocking Opening: We open on a funeral, as Annie and Jessica approach their mother’s open casket. The casket becomes the wreckage of Nora’s crashed 69 Ford Mustang. Her body still trapped in the mangled metal. Nora’s hand shoots out and grabs Annie. Her mangled corpse screaming that it’s Annie’s fault. Annie wakes, screaming. It was only a nightmare.
The V.O. That’s Unusual: Annie gives an opening narration, filled with brutal sarcasm over the funeral of her mother.
Intriguing Scene from Another Place in the Movie: Script opens with a sliver of the séance scene. Ends when the ghost of Nora Andrews blames Annie for her death. Cuts to 7 months earlier.
The Trick Opening: Over the sound of wedding vows, lipstick is carefully applied to a woman’s lips. Her nails are painted red. Her hair expertly styled. We think it’s for a wedding, but it’s revealed to be for the funeral of Nora Andrews.
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Emmanuel’s Openings!
What I learned from this assignment is opening events, usually, the first 1-3 pages in a script must pull in the audience and give them an idea of what the movie will present to the end.
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