Day 2 Assignments

[Dave Arena]

What we learned doing this assignment is that this formula made it really easy for us to think about what our pilot needed to accomplish and then from there, we already have a good idea of the beginning, middle, and end.

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

After 15 years of being secret swingers, Liz and Eric are outed.

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

Intriguing Concept: After her best friend finds out that she’s been a secret swinger for over 15 years, Liz finally feels like she’s living authentically and starts using her hair salon as a front to give sex and relationship advice behind her husband’s back.

Act 1: Liz and Eric are a lot like most other couples. They have a teen daughter. Liz owns a hair salon, Eric is miserable in the corporate rat race. Liz is the black sheep of her family. Most people consider their marriage “couple goals” but nobody knows they’ve been swingers for 15 years.

Midpoint: Then, we see that Liz is actually a badass in the swinger lifestyle. She knows what makes this work and what blows up relationships. When Liz’s best friend Michelle tells her she’s considering swinging to help save her marriage, it puts Liz in a major dilemma but she decides not to tell her secret thinking Michelle won’t go through with it.

Lock In: When Michelle shows up at the local swing club and is about to make a big mistake, Liz decides to help her and outs herself and Eric in the process. But, now, she feels alive with this off her chest and wants to keep helping people even though her husband Eric wants nothing to do with this being public.

[Megan Schemenauer]

Megan’s Amazing Inciting Incident

What I learned doing this assignment is…that in my original pilot planning, I actually stopped the pilot at the midpoint, the cliffhanger when Lexie receives the email response. What my pilot was missing is the lock in. I realized that I needed Lexie to start changing by the end of the pilot in order to show why she will continue communicating with her future self: because she sees potential self-improvement through the connection (the lock in).

Intriguing Concept: Lexie, a bright but overlooked middle child on the verge of running away from home discovers she can communicate with her future self, an ability that eventually transforms her into the badass undercover agent coaching her.

Act 1: Lexie is bright but shy and fearful. High school is a terrifying place and she feels shut out by her high-achieving family.

Brainstorm ways to show:

Fearful of the noisy, crowded cafeteria

Mean cafeteria lady

Mean bus driver

Mean PE teacher

Ignored by parents who are more interested in siblings

Mom forgot to pick her up

Biology lab accident

Stolen gym shoes

Terrifying speech class

Dad doesn’t have time to teach her how to drive (her sister learned at her age)

Parents go to brother’s game instead of her parent-teacher conference

Ignored at dinner conversations

Getting bullied: grossed out by owl pellet in bio, bully puts pellet in her lunch

Friend getting bullied

Midpoint: Lexie receives a response to an email sent to her future self. At first, she’s not sure what to think.

Lock In: Lexie is able to face the fear at the end of the episode that she couldn’t face at the beginning because of the courage or advice Alexis gives her.

Finally eats lunch in the cafeteria

Stand up for her friend who is getting bullied

Stands up to mean cafeteria lady, bus driver, PE teacher, or bully

As for Alexis, her lock in to continue communicating with Lexie is it gives her lonely, empty life a purpose.

[Suzanne Frank]

Suzanne’s Amazing Inciting Incident

What I learned in this assignment … I love these processes. And the lectures give SO MUCH beyond the written lessons.

Intriguing Concept: Costumed figures fighting/dancing in French Quarter’s darkened streets and when they leave, the pothole has been repaired with mosaic art. The leading figure climbs into a French Quarter mansion, and when she gets to the balcony, toasts the moon to “tiny rebellions. Because what else can I do?”

Act 1: A Monday in Mardi Gras season NOLA. Tilda works in a big office, she eats red beans and rice, she has her Tarot read and it tells her she’s living a lie. (TP) Tonight is the big “family meeting” where their future will be decided.

Midpoint: (TP) Grandmere shoots the leader of the dissenting family group

Lock In: Tilda escapes into the 18th century and the same “family meeting” is taking place. She gets to the Looking Glass, and it screams “free me!” She has a vision of a catastrophe in the Gulf/NOLA if she doesn’t do it. (TP) She is seen and runs away, with her (ancestors) calling after her: “Stop! Quadroon!”

• This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by  Suzanne Frank.

[Sharilyn Kyle]

Sharilyn’s Amazing Inciting Incident

What I learned doing this assignment is…I have to continuously break down the big picture ideas.

Intriguing Concept : Bedridden 600pounder unknowingly becomes and internet porn star as her hacked phone camera records her struggles with family, friends, food and fat.

Act 1 : Erin presented as a funny, fat girl who tutors the migrant kids in her neighborhood. She can’t leave the house ( and doesn’t want to!) due to her weight. She’s kind. Cool. Comfortable with her friends and family, until she falls and can’t get up.

Midpoint : Erin’s parents and caretaker install a camera in her room unbeknownst to her. They monitor her and know immediately that she’s fallen. They alert 1st responders who barge in, badger Erin. A XXX hacker captures all the video, uploads it and send s it out to a porn site.

Lock in : 1st Responders / Medical Examiner confirm Erin was preggers. Erin’s parents/caretakers, friends wonder how? Erin is fat-shamed into weight loss. Erin’s weight loss journey goes viral. Can she handle it? Accept it?

[Tom Minier]

Tom’s Amazing Inciting Incident

This lesson was much more difficult than I anticipated. I honestly believed writing this pilot would be easy, but I am seeing now that what I had in my mind was a very watered down version of what is necessary to be binge-worthy. The lock in was most difficult, because I didn’t want to reveal the abduction of the group until far later in the story, so I needed to come up with a reason why the characters couldn’t return to their normal lives. This lesson really has me questioning the trajectory of the pilot and the series. I really wish there were examples of a binge-worthy comedy being cited.

Intriguing Concept: Florida Man will lead a group tasked with stopping a violent uprising predicted to happen in the near future, which will lead to the fall of democracy and end the world as we know it.

Act 1: A lone wolf conspiracy theorist prone to making poor choices for what he believes are the best of intentions is arrested and faced with jail time. Representing himself, he strikes a plea deal with the attorney to do community service and attend a support group that will help the community. This leads him to a pandemic support group that will connect him with an unlikely family tasked with starting a revolution.

Midpoint: Florida Man meets the group that will take him from lone wolf to the leader of a revolution that ultimately saves mankind by following what he believes is a court order to avoid jail time.

Lock In: All of the characters, desperate for change, discover that if they can learn to work together, they will be given the tools to inspire a revolution.