-
Day 4 Assignments
Reply to post your assignments.
-
19 Replies
-
Hello Cheryl,
I’m not sure how to contact you or Hal directly, but I will not be able to submit this assignment within the 24 hour deadline. I am in the middle of a move and will not have computer access until Tuesday afternoon. I will submit the assignment as soon as I am able.
Thank you.
-
Day 4 – Assignment 1 – Basic Instinct.
What I Learned watching Basic Instinct.
I learned that Basic Instinct has held up for 30 years because it has M.I.S. in nearly every scene of the movie and in nearly every character in the movie. The only aspect of the movie that doesn’t contain a lot of M.I.S. is the Gus character who is used throughout and up to his murder as essentially an exposition/plot device. I learned that in order for a Thriller to really work, the audience has to be guessing as to who the true villain is and what will happen all the way up until the final frame of the movie. This works in Basic Instinct in that you don’t know if Beth or Catherine or both are the villain and you don’t know if Catherine will kill Nick up until the final frame of the movie. Even ending on the shot of the ice pick leaves the ending ambiguous. I liked this movie more than I thought I would. I was 7 when it was released, so I knew Basic Instinct through the controversial scenes and not through the prism of being a great thriller. I’m glad I got to experience it with Hal’s M.I.S. chart too – that will be really helpful for watching other thrillers and charting how they incorporate M.I.S. into the plot and characters.
-
Mary Emmick’s BI Stacking Suspense
Make a list of everything you learn in the process that can help you write stronger thrillers.
Give a list of things you learned about Thrillers as you did this assignment.
· Hal’s M.I.S. chart really helps break down each scene to ensure and track M.I.S. is included in every scene.
· I noticed eerie, exciting, or thrilling music is playing that increases the suspense in many of the scenes. For instance: car chase scenes have thrilling music that increases the suspense.
· Keep the viewer wondering, confused, questioning….
· Twists and turns keep us wondering…what really happened?
· B.I. included lots of twists and intrigue that made the viewer question who was guilty.
· In most scenes action, mystery, intrigue, character MIS and stakes are powerfully used and developed.
· Even at the end of the film you’re not sure if Catherine will kill Nick.
· Each scene keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat…makes the film fly
-
Budinscak’s Basic Instinct Stacking Suspense – Day 4
What I learned Doing This Assignment:
o The presence of most of the thriller elements during every scene.
o Every scene has a purpose. Weaving MIS throughout the story – including dialog – builds a taut story line.
o Sharon Stone’s performance was exceptional.
o How much more impactful we can make any scene by employing MIS, and spreading those principles throughout the script.
o I learned a lot about the movie I hadn’t noticed earlier watching it this way. Having Hal’s handout and analysis was crucial for me.
o Impressive Nick survived Catherine’s and Beth’s worlds. Helluva movie that withstands the test of time (30+ years)
o I appreciated the subtler applications of MIS in Basic Instinct – from the world, characters and dialog – that I hadn’t noticed until reviewing Hal’s handout.
o Many questions, many twists, many surprises. It kept you guessing even at the end of the movie with the ice pick shot. Tremendous.
-
Lesley Harter’s Basic Instinct Stacking Suspense
What I learned doing this assignment:
– Despite its age, the film remains as intense, taut, and compelling as it was when it first came out.
– Thanks to the MIS model, I saw things in the movie that I didn’t notice when I first saw it.
– Almost every scene adds to the mystery & suspense.
– The characters keep you interested as much as the twists.
– I’m starting to understand the power of using the MIS model & breaking down each scene.
– Oh, and I loved the ambiguous ending!
-
Claudine Chalet Assignments 1 and 2
Basic Instinct, Stacking Suspense
The main thing that I learned is “Sex Sells.”
It’s a suspenseful thriller and all that, but the main thing that everybody talks about for this film is that scene where she crosses/uncrosses her legs.
For most people, this seems to be much more important than the thriller component of the film.
However I like the film noir aspects.
I also like the idea of having the detective character involved with a suspect–not a new idea but I like it anyway.
Putting the sleuth in danger adds to the thrill.
Silence of the Lambs, Stacking Suspense
I learned that having a disadvantaged protagonist increases the suspense.
From the first scene we know Clarice is isolated but ambitious to the point of exhaustion.
From her accent we soon learn she’s southern and we may suspect (correctly) from a poor and rural background—as Lecter puts it, “poor white trash.”
In the second scene we learn she’s almost the only female in a man’s world, and that she’s smaller and therefore, weaker and less powerful than the men.
As a woman, she’s not taken seriously by most of the men (such as Chilton) she encounters. The only two men in the film who come close to treating her well are Barney the intern at the asylum and, ironically, Lecter himself.
She’s not even well treated by her mentor, Crawford, who uses her as bait to draw out Lecter, lies to her, and embarrasses her for her gender in front of the men at the autopsy.
Worse, Crawford inadvertently and ignorantly puts her in danger and almost gets her killed, for when she encounters Buffalo Bill, she’s utterly out of her league.
But nevertheless she prevails.
Conversely, having the initial antagonist, Lecter, be a brilliant psychiatrist, also adds to the suspense because he can so easily outwit his opponents.
As he does in the end, for he, too, prevails.
-
THRILLER ASSIGNMENT DAY 4:1
Alfred’s BI Stacking Suspense
What I learned doing this assignment is:
I. Definitions for the categories for the Stacking Suspense Chart of scenes:
1. Action: essence of what happens that may need a solution
2. Mystery: obscure, ambiguity, cryptic, undefined
3. Intrigue: something devious, covert, concealed, etc.
4. Suspense: danger, worry that something bad will happen
5. Character: with the MIS of that character
6. Stakes: what is at stake, risk, dangerous?
II. I noticed a progression of devices used, so I made-up my own more generalized list of devices:
1. Actions where the character(s) are not reveled (Mystery)
2. Actions that point to a possible bad (or perhaps good) outcome (Intrigue)
3. Actions that suggest something is about to happen (Suspense)
4. MIS Character traits (MIS), like lying, generalizing, avoidance, tics, etc.
5. Objects or actions to suggest high levels of meanness or brutality, etc.
6. Discussions, especially in whispered tones.
7. Personal problems of a Character, like addictions, unusual behavior, etc.
8. Manipulative behaviors (especially)
9. Discovery, by many different methods, of evidence that may be relevant
10. Objects of suggestive value, ice picks, scarves, ropes, wire, guns, knives, etc.
11. Blame suggests the Character has something to hide
12. Test results – medical, forensic, psychological, etc.
13. Unusual levels of visible violence or violent ideology
14. Hidden relationships that become revealed, including hidden identity.
15. Clustered opinions, i.e. all the neighbors note certain questionable behaviors
16. Threats that raise the stakes, such as prison, career, being murdered, loss
17. Warnings – same as threats
18. Money received or lost, especially in large amounts
19. Jealousy displayed (especially when it is trying to be kept secret)
20. Pictures from hidden cameras or from security cameras
And for other movies, there are probably even more devices to add to the list.
These are the repeated devices used throughout this movie. Presented in slightly different ways, the possibilities become exponential, so there is little likelihood or necessity for any Scene to be quite like any other scene, if done right.
Cliches one should be wary of — Chases (especially car), smoking, drinking, drugs, sex – these can be boring and a waste of good film footage. I’ve been watching some old B&W films that are half use up with lighting up, blowing smoke, and gulping booze. That is off-putting after a while.
III. Stacking Suspense Chart
Scene 1:
1. Mystery — We don’t see the face of the killer
2. Intrigue — Killer hides the murder weapon —
3. Suspense — The hand reaching for the hidden weapon
4. Character – The killer is manipulative and without a conscience
5. Stakes — Brutality
Scene 2:
1. Mystery — We don’t know who the murdered guy is, or who did it
2. Mystery — The guy’s girlfriend becomes a suspect – is she?
3. Suspense – Mayo’s office wants no mistakes – why?
4. Character –Nick is a problem
Scene 3:
1. Mystery – What is the Roxy/Catherine relationship?
2. Intrigue – Gus and Nick mistake Roxy for Catherine and she allows it and claims Catherine’s innocence – why?
3. Character: — Roxy is mysterious, sexy, intriguing
Scene 4:
1. Character MIS – Roxy’s behavior patterns – sexy, mysterious, intriguing
Scene 5:
1. Mystery: — What is Nicks medical problem
Scene 6:
1. Mystery: — We’re still wondering if Catherin did it.
2. Intrigue: — Catherine published a Thriller about a rock star who got murdered by his girlfriend – is this just coincidence, or not?
3. Catherine’s profile – Psych. Major, inherited 1 Million $$$ when parents killed, she was engaged to a boxer who died – what does this all mean?
Scene 7:
1. Action: — Nick reads Catherine’s book… calls Gus – Why?
ETC.
-
Busy’s BI Stacking Suspense
I learned, watching BI and using the Stacking Suspense grid, that thrillers go big – subtlety can get lost. Showing an action but not revealing the face of the person taking the action immediately adds mystery in the short term. Each main and supporting character has their own MIS and a hidden backstory that is revealed as part not just as a backstory but how it affects what’s happening on screen now really ratchets up the suspense. Making a killer not just a stone-cold psychopath but someone who does actually feel provides a depth of character to disarm the audience but still leaves you with doubt (creating intrigue) as to whether she is being honest for once or if it is all part of a/the ruse.
MIS used throughout the script keeps the tension very high.
-
Day 4 – Assignment 2.
What I learned watching Silence of the Lambs and filling out the M.I.S. Sheet.
Silence of the Lambs is effective as a thriller because there are two villains at play. One, Dr. Lecter, we know who he is but we don’t know how his plan to escape will operate and the two, Buffalo Bill who we don’t know but we do know his plan is to kill and skin women to transform into a woman. This dynamic gives Clarice, an FBI trainee, more than enough to investigate and pursue.
Silence of the Lambs is effective as a thriller because every scene contains M.I.S. and often on both the Dr. Lecter level and the Buffalo Bill level. Every scene creates more questions which can only be answered by continuing to watch the film.
Placing the protagonist in dangerous situations in which they have to outthink their opponent is inherently intriguing and suspenseful given the danger involved.
Making the villains seem unstoppable is an effective tool for a thriller because it makes the audience wonder how they will ever be stopped. In Dr. Lecter’s case, he was not stopped.
The dynamic between the protagonist and the villain is paramount to a good thriller. There should be plenty of scenes with them going head to head and if one or both think they can work together that only serves to increase the tension and suspense, because we know it won’t work and it will have to unfold somehow.
The protagonist can win and lose, as Clarice does in SotL. She catches and kills Buffalo Bill, saving Catherine’s life, but she also accidentally aids in the release of Dr. Lecter who brutally kills many people and tells Clarice that he’s going to continue killing.
It’s effective to have a mentor to the protagonist and to have their motives and actions be in question as they are seemingly guiding the protagonist. We don’t know if they really have the protagonist’s best interest at heart or if they are using them for some other reason we don’t know.
It’s important to have captivating villains. In Basic Instinct, the women are compelling villains. Michael Douglas is a compelling anti-hero. There are many sides and shades to these people. In SotL Dr. Lecter and Buffalo Bill are both fascinating villains because we don’t know their motives and they seem to be unstoppable evil. Lecter is refined and gentlemanly (when he’s not ripping someone’s throat out with his teeth) Buffalo Bill is more visceral and terrifying because he’s clearly unhinged and capable of unspeakable evil. They’re both compelling villains and this gives the movie much more depth and nuance.
I learned many things from this exercise and I appreciate the model of going through the film and stopping it after every scene to analyze the M.I.S.
-
Lesley’s SOTL Stacking Suspense
What I learned:
Phew, this was a tough assignment for me, compounded by the fact that I closed my eyes through a significant number of scenes.
I can see how to start layering each element in each scene and how effective the MIS technique is.
It was really interesting to watch BI and then SOTL. For me, BI had a simpler plot and used sexuality to escalate the tension where SOTL leaned more on character development.
I discovered that the filled-in chart develops the story if you read the columns “top-to-bottom” or “across.”
Also, noticed that the movie score mirrors the beats in the script.
I wasn’t sure that I correctly identified some of the elements (creating redundancies on my chart) but I didn’t sweat it — which was a great lesson.
-
Busy’s SOTL Stacking Suspense
What I learned: SOTL was a more intricate story and script with multiple villains and a flawed but trying-to-do-her-best hero than in BI, which had a truly terrible cop (her0) who is flawed and just terrible at his job and immediately is out gunned mentally by the villain. But that has little to do with the MIS stacking and is just an observation.
By going offer BI scene by scene first, I was able to identify the MIS for each main and important supporting character as well as the driving MIS for each scene. This was a great exercise in viewing the scenes differently than I normally do. Creating a ladder on which to hang M.I. & S. within the action and characters.
-
Mary Emmick’s SOLT stacking suspense
What I learned:
Both of these films I had never watched before, because they seemed too creepy.
-This was a good exercise because going through each scene to analyze the M.I.S. is critical to learning how to write a thriller.
-SOLT relied more on character development, which I actually appreciated.
-This was a more intricate story with multiple villains (Dr. Lecter and Buffalo Bill). Each scene contains M.I.S.
-
Assignment: 4.1
Pat Galbraith’s Basic Instinct Stacking Suspense.
What I learned: Every scene has a purpose; better understanding of Stacking.
MIS Elements are in every scene
Hal’s Handout was very beneficial.
Great characters.
The movie keeps you guessing throughout including the ending.
Assignment 4.2
Pat Galbraith’s SOTL Stacking Suspense
What I learned watching Silence of the Lambs and filling out the M.I.S.
3. Learned how the M.I.S works and filled it in for my practice.
1. Watched Silence of the Lambs Movie .
2. Stopped at end of each scene to fill in my SOLT Chart
-
Budinscak’s SOTL Stacking Suspense – Day 4
What I learned Doing This Assignment:
o I initially had problems defining Mystery from Intrigue from Suspense, but I had a much better understanding after completing the exercise from “SILENCE OF THE LAMBS”.
o A much different movie than “BASIC INSTINCT” to chart the MIS.
o Great exercise. I have a much better idea what to look for and add to my script.
Excellent surprises and twists in the movie. Tough but worthwhile exercise.
-
Day 4 Assignment 1 – Basic Instinct Ann-Marie Brennan’s BI Stacking Suspense
What I learned watching Basic Instinct scene by scene:
The main thing I learned is that every scene is built on creating suspense, intrigue and mystery in the story , the characters and the world they inhabit, with absolutely nothing extraneous (dialogue, action) that doesn’t add to at least 2 of these three characteristics.
Also, the little things are big things in terms of character depth and development –
a. Nick gives up smoking. Catherine offers him a cigarette – a simple way to get to him – through his weakness/addiction . Suddenly Nick is chain smoking, a very easy visual to see how Catherine is getting into his head.
b. Nick – Catherine calls him Nickie – -2 letters reveal a lot –Nickie was what Nick’s wife called him (I’m not sure what happened to her?) – this shows she has studied him, how she’s getting closer to him physically and psychologically
c. The tiny imperceptible things become more poignant when looked at a second time. Once you know Beth is the killer, her tiny outbursts add more intrigue and make sense. Her facial reaction (but it is not shown in close up) when the other psychologist says “you’re dealing with an extremely dangerous person”
d. It was a perfectly structured Red Herring with Catherine, even so far as to how similiar the Hero and suspect Villain are pitched. Even when he was interrogated exactly like Catherine, lighting the cigarette and repeating Catherine’s retort about getting arrested for smoking. ( His uncrossing of his legs would have been funny …sorry an un-necessary aside 🙂
I also didn’t realise how good an actor Sharon Stone actually was in this movie.
-
THRILLER ASSIGNMENT DAY 4:2
Alfred’s SOTL Stacking Suspense
What I learned doing this assignment is:
I. This film is harder to get at, as the actions are more psychiatric than physical, even though the physical component is vented in some of the grossest of ways. They (the actions) stem more from a disturbed mental state than from the easier to see things like greed or fear or anger or even disgust. However, these also stem from altered mental states distinctly related to the grosser forms found in this story. Bill’s hatred becomes internalized and Hannibal nails it – it’s often coveting what is not “yours” or what one cannot do. The writer can easily play-up almost anything to create M.I.S. And a little fantasy doesn’t hurt the story. If you have tomatoes in your backyard is probably full of horn worms! The moths in the movie wore tiny jackets with skulls painted on them.
II. Stacking Suspense Chart
SCENE 1: Logon, Main Title/Intro
ACTION: Clarice is seen jogging through a wooded area with military-type obstacles. The logon reads Quantico, VA – that’s FBI – music is somewhat ominous… suggestive
MYSTERY: Where is she, exactly? Why is she jogging alone? Going up and over hurdles… FBI training?
INTREGUE: Does Clarice have the “right stuff?” – Her qualifications are outlined.
SUSPENSE: Lone joggers can be in grave danger
CHARATER: Clarice: Who is she, what is she up to, is something bad about to happen. She appears smart and well-liked
STAKES: her career
SCENE 2: An Interesting Errand
ACTION: Clarice is called into Jack Crawford’s office
MYSTERY: What’s up?
INTREGUE: She has been picked to get information out of Hannibal the Cannibal. The rules….
SUSPENSE: Posted pictures of “Buffalo Bill’s” handiwork on the bulletin board.
CHARATER: Clarice: Who is she, what is she up to, is something bad about to happen
STAKES: Her career, her life
SCENE 3: Don’t Touch the Glass
ACTION: Clarice is led into a prison dungeon, underground
Dr. Chilton brags, half-hits on Clarice
MYSTERY: Hannibal is psychopathic cannibalistic killer, yes, but what else? He sniffs the air, tells Clarice what sort of body lotion she uses, is angry with
Dr. Chilton seems self- absorbed. Refers to Hannibal as his prized asset.
INTREGUE: He’s housed in a dungeon with other similar men. He asks personal questions
SUSPENSE: He yells at her for only being a trainee… then relents
CHARATER: Clarice – shows fear and uncertainty but does not fold… stands up to Hannibal
Hannibal – seems downright cool and civil… until the questions… loses his temper
STAKES: Clarice –Her life, her psyche
Dr. Chilton – his career
Hannibal – his reputation – he has quite an ego
SCENE 4: “Closer”
ACTION: Clarice moves closer to the glass, but does not touch, as instructed, Flashback as a child with her police father, his later told that Miggs is dead (apparently by Hannibal for insulting Clarice.
MYSTERY: What is Hannibal up to? Nothing gets past him. Figures Clarice is a student from her badge
INTREGUE: Hannibal is toying with Clarice, seeing how far he can push her. She suggests maybe he’s afraid, and he comes back with his tale of “eating his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti”
SUSPENSE: Will Clarice “stumble” on some technicality? She’s intelligent, open, business-like. He sends her back to school, but calls her back to suggest (shouting) she look up Mr. Mofet
CHARATER: She does shows fear but also caution, discipline. Outside the facility, she cries.
STAKES: being taken in – career, her life is in danger… like Miggs?
SCENE 5: Your Self Storage
ACTION: Breaks into the old storage with a car jack, gives Mr. Hester Mofet a card with a number to call if she gets trapped. She researches Hannibal on microfilm. Returns to Hannibal with more questions.
MYSTERY: All sorts of odd junk, but especially an old limousine, covered with an American flag, with a headless mannequin inside. Also a head in a jar is found.
INTREGUE: .
SUSPENSE: What’s this got to do with Buffalo Bill?
CHARATER: Buffalo Bill is neither gay nor a transvestite. He simply hates himself. He is trying to transform
STAKES: Absolutely nothing gets past Hannibal, and he seems attracted to Clarice. Not good.
SCENE 6: Hannibal’s Helping Head
ACTION: He gives her a towel for her wet hair, asks about her bleeding finger, scratched on the Storage door.
MYSTERY: How does he know about so much? Clarice’s cut finger.
INTREGUE: A head in a jar. Why? Hannibal confronts Clarice with Jack Crawford’s motives, and she rejects it, suggests that Hannibal sounds more like Miggs
SUSPENSE: “I’ll help you find Buffalo Bill if… “ + conditions
CHARATER: Hannibal seems jealous of Crawford, hates Dr. Chilton
STAKES: She gets Hannibal to backoff and help. The discovery of who Bill is.
SCENE 7: Help from a Size 14
ACTION: A young woman drives down a road at night singing. Happy
MYSTERY: She is watched through night vision goggles, and we don’t know who.
INTREGUE: A man is trying to load a big chair into a van. The young woman offers to help.
SUSPENSE: he coaxes her inside the van to pull the chair in, jumps in, kills her. A young woman shows up in the river 3 days later.
CHARATER: The girl is Frederica Brimwell. We find his out, later
STAKES: Death
SCENE 8: Girl from the River
ACTION: Clarice is in the morgue in a tiny town
MYSTERY: Clarice lists her findings, discovers a moth cocoon down her throat.
INTREGUE: What is it? Where did it come from? Why is it there?
SUSPENSE: Clarice goes through her examination of the corpse
CHARATER:
STAKES:
SCENE 9: A Little Privacy
ACTION: Jack leads the sheriff into a side room to discuss the sexual part of the crime
MYSTERY: Clarice gets side-tracked by a funeral going on
INTREGUE: The young police guys can’t take their eyes off Clarice – the chrysalis in her throat
SUSPENSE: Examination of the body of the dead girl
CHARATER: Bill: Clarice is beginning to understand what Hannibal has told her about Bill
STAKES:
SCENE 10: Signs of Bill
ACTION: The M.O. is Bill’s. Clarice returns to talk to Hannibal, Dr. Chilton gets furious
MYSTERY: The “star-shaped cuts,” bound hands but not feet, etc.
INTREGUE: What is he doing with the skin?
SUSPENSE: Dr. Chilton listens in on the conversation, records it
CHARATER:
STAKES: Chilton is covetous of Hannibal’s insights, fears for his career
SCENE 11: Moth Men
ACTION: Clarice goes to a museum. For an ID. of the cocoon/chrysalis
MYSTERY: Why down the girl’s throat? Bill loves the moths. It’s symbolic
INTREGUE: Museum – the cocoon is identified as an Asian horn worm moth
SUSPENSE: The mythology associated with this moth species
CHARATER:
STAKES:
SCENE 12: A Senator’s Plea
ACTION: T.V. – Senator Ruth Martin pleads for her daughter’s life, but she is very smart about it.
MYSTERY:
INTREGUE: Ruth presents he daughter as a person, not a thing.
SUSPENSE: Will Bill listen?
CHARATER:
STAKES: Catherine’s life
SCENE 13: Quid Pro Quo
ACTION: The back-and-forth reveals are dangerous – Hannibal is attempting to get into Clarices head, but settles for Quid Pro Quo.
MYSTERY: Hannibal gets Clarice to reveal her worst memory
INTREGUE: Hannibal explains the meaning of the moth, to Bill – metamorphosis – change
SUSPENSE: Each round of reveals is met with a “will it continue? Quid Pro Quo!
CHARATER: Catherine has faults, but she is NOT an object.
STAKES: Catherine’s life is on the line, now. Will she be the lamb that is saved?
SCENE 14: Lotion in the Basket
ACTION: Bill demands Catherine put her lotion in the bucket, threatens her dog
MYSTERY: Why is he so intent on getting the lotion?
INTREGUE: What’s he going to do with it?
SUSPENSE: She’s about to fall apart
CHARATER: Bill tries to be female-like in his mimicked caterwauling
STAKES: Catherine goes to pieces… wants her mommy
SCENE 15: A Deal for Dr. Chilton
ACTION: Clarice presents Hannibal with a deal. He wants more.
MYSTERY:
INTREGUE: Dr. Chilton listens-in on the conversation, is angry some senator is offering him a deal –
SUSPENSE:
CHARATER:
STAKES: Dr. Chilton is about to lose his only claim to fame.
SCENE 16: Muzzled for the Senator
ACTION: Dr. Chilton has Hannibal in a wire mask that is crushing his nose. He then threatens that there will be no Island deal.
MYSTERY: Dr. Chilton transfers Hannibal out of state, bound and masked.
INTREGUE: Hannibal and Ruth sign a deal.
SUSPENSE: A pen gets passed around, Hannibal make sexual remarks to Ruth, there is a bit of a scuffle
CHARATER:
STAKES: Hannibal’s freedom, Catherine’s freedom, Clarice’s career
SCENE 17: The Screaming Lambs
ACTION: Boyle allows Clarice’s visit, Clarice takes us down a personal memory lane – her attempt to save the innocent lamb/Catherine, Dr. Chilton hauls of Clarice off, then offers her information to the press as his.
MYSTERY: Her inner strength is being revealed… but what is it? Where is it?
INTREGUE: She failed to save the one lamb – in what way is this driving her to save Catherine? We see a drawing of Clarice holding a lamb
SUSPENSE: Is Hannibal now in her head, or will she deal with it… and him?
CHARATER: Clarice – her reveal is unsettling, how will this interfere with her investigation
Hannibal – his skill of manipulation, what is he planning? – will he be able to own her?
STAKES: Information that can lead to Catherine’s release, the riddance of screaming lambs in Clarice’s head – Hannibal seems to be on Clarice’s side (hopeful???)
SCENE 18: His Second Meal
ACTION: Hannibal palms a small piece of metal (from the pen?)
MYSTERY: cuffing Hannibal to the bars of his cage
INTREGUE: Is the piece of metal in his mouth part of the pen he sees Dr. Chilton pocket?
SUSPENSE: The police get careless. Will he get loose? Tiny slip-ups
CHARATER: Hannibal’s intelligence and resourcefulness underscored.
STAKES: Hannibal’ freedom, death of the officers
SCENE 19: “Lecter’s Missing”
ACTION: Hannibal frees his hands from the cuffs with the piece of metal, he cuffs one officer to the bars, incapacitates the second officer. From the lobby, the elevator goes up and down
MYSTERY: Who is using the elevator?
INTREGUE: Is it Hannibal?
SUSPENSE: They search the third floor, discover the officers… one is hoisted spread eagle, sliced open, the other is beaten to a pulp.
CHARATER:
STAKES: Hannibal’s freedom
SCENE 20: Pembry’s Ambulance
ACTION: The beaten officer, still alive, is placed in an ambulance – drives off – but it isn’t him, it’s Hannibal
MYSTERY: How did he do this?
INTREGUE: Hannibal thinks on multiple levels, never gets upset (except for effect), never misses anything, and now he makes his move to escape.
SUSPENSE: So who’s blood is dripping from the roof of the elevator? Hannibal has switched clothes with one officer, strung up the other officer, put the one in his clothes on the roof of the elevator, disfigured himself enough so he is not recognized, and is carried out on the ambulance gurney.
CHARATER:
STAKES: Hannibal’s escape
SCENE 21: What Do We Covet?
ACTION: Clarice gets the name of the murdered girl, Frederica Brimwell, races to her home, meets the father who lets her examine the girls room.
MYSTERY: “We covet what we see.” Clarice figures it out.
INTREGUE: Clues in the girl’s room. Sewing equipment, a dress with tailoring marks on it, a window view. He knew his victim.
SUSPENSE: She knows where Bill is.
CHARATER:
STAKES:
SCENE 22: The Tailor You Know
ACTION: Clarice goes through things,
MYSTERY: What was she like?
INTREGUE: Books, clothes, butterfly wallpaper, sewing/tailoring, a music box with hidden pictures
SUSPENSE: The pictures are of the girl in her underwear, there is a window nearby, Bill could see her, coveted her skin, will Catherine be next?
CHARATER:
STAKES: Catherine’s safety.
SCENE 23: A Treat for Precious
ACTION: Bill sews, struts his “stuff”
MYSTERY: He promises a treat for the dog.
INTREGUE: Will the treat be a piece of Caherine?
SUSPENSE: Catherine pleads to get out of the well
CHARATER: Catherine goes from cowering infant to sassy, vulgar, and combative.
STAKES: Catherine’s life.
SCENE 24: “Sewing Was Her Life”
ACTION: Clarice knocks on the door and is let in.
MYSTERY: Who was Mrs. Lippman.
INTREGUE: The man (Bill), asked id he took the house over after she died?
SUSPENSE: Clarice is stalling for time, waiting for the FBI. Scenes get rapid
CHARATER:
STAKES:
SCENE 25: A Raid in Illinois
ACTION: Planes fly into Illinois, land. They are in communication with Clarice. The Lippman house is surrounded.
MYSTERY: Did they get there in time?
INTREGUE: Where is Clarice – what do they do?
SUSPENSE: Each step is dangerous. Scenes are intercut to add suspense and action
CHARATER:
STAKES: Will Catherine get rescued?
SCENE 26: Mrs. Lippman’s House
ACTION: Clarice is let into the Lippman house by Bill. She lived to sew. Bill gets suspicious.
MYSTERY: Where is Catherine?
INTREGUE: The house is a maze of rooms, doors, passages
SUSPENSE: Awkward conversation. Clarice gets the drop on Bill, but he escapes.
CHARATER:
STAKES: The lives of both Clarice and Catherine. Also Bill’s, now.
SCENE 27: Sniper in the Dark
ACTION: Bill stalks Clarice in the dark using night vision equipment, she hears the gun click, she shoots at the sound, Bill is killed.
MYSTERY: The house is a filthy maze of doors and passageways – she seems lost
INTREGUE: Why is he doing this? We hear the gun cock
SUSPENSE: Will this be the end of Clarice?
CHARATER: Bill is a voyeur, so he must be getting a thrill out of the stalking
STAKES: Death or worse for Catherine – she’s saved
The screaming lambs will still be in Clarice’s head—they are apparently gone.
SCENE 28: Dinner Date/Credits
ACTION: Clarice graduates, gets a call from Hannibal – short – congratulates her
MYSTERY: He seems to be on some Caribbean Island.
INTREGUE: “I’m having an old friend over for dinner.”
SUSPENSE: We see Dr. Chilton getting off a plane. We see a disguised Hannibal walking away, down a street.
CHARATER:
STAKES: The end of Dr. Chilton?
-
Ann-Marie Brennan SOTL Stacking Suspense
Things I learned from doing this exercise that will help me write stronger thrillers are:
There is nothing superfluous in any of the scenes, in terms of the action, dialogue, plot, setting, that does not add a combination of at least 2 of the 3 MIS traits – mystery, intrigue, suspense, to both plot and character. I didn’t realise how much MIS was involved in character until doing both exercises. Every sentence of my future thriller scripts will be analysed with this in mind.
SOTL was a very elaborate plot which had 2 serial killers – talk about stacking right there!
It’s quite a long film yet keeps you watching because there is so much intrigue and suspense… and the character of Hannibal is deeply embedded in MIS, whereas Buffalo Bill is less intricately drawn but more terrifying in a way.
The edit of that knocking on the door, when the FBI surrounded the house where ‘Buffalo Bill lives’ in Chicago, sending Clarice off on more mundane work to Mrs Lipman’s, was genius. Suspense to the very end, with the close up of Bill on the floor, you could see his throat breathing, I did wonder was he going to throw out an arm and grab her by the leg. Thankfully no.
I also learned that Hannibal has quite a good sense of humour and can pull off a blonde wig. I also didn’t realise he’s quite short.
-
Bree’s BI and SotL Stacking Suspense
Hi everyone, I’m back after being locked out of the website for a few days and getting nothing but error messages when I tried to sign in. Grr.
If you can believe it, I’d never seen Basic Instinct OR Silence of the Lambs! And I call myself a human on earth. So much to learn from both…
BASIC INSTINCT
What a great example of a movie that ratchets up the suspense (and intrigue. and mystery.) at every turn. It was hard not to get lost in the movie—I didn’t WANT to pause after every scene to do the assignment! But I persevered.
Some stray observations/things I learned:
✴ Everything about Catherine—including that infamous white-dress scene—is a picture-perfect example of Hal’s “Intrigue” theory. You really get the sense from the get-go that she has her own master plan, and by the time she says it out loud (she’s writing a novel about a police detective and using Nick for inspiration), it all clicks into place.
✴ The more Nick falls for her, the more the suspense escalates, because we see him getting sucked into her web.
✴ What is that horrible sweater he wears at the club and why doesn’t it fit him better.
✴ I gotta say: I don’t think there’s really enough evidence to support Beth as the killer. The fact that only Catherine could have known how Nick would find his dead partner in the elevator, which we know from the scene Nick peeps in her novel… that final shot of the ice pick under the bed… I guess I’m a Catherine girl myself. Besides: the director, Sharon Stone, et al. have said that it was absolutely Sharon in that first scene, killing the coked-out rock star.
✴ Also, re: Hal’s theory of Beth being the killer: why would her initial goal have been to put Catherine in prison and have Nick under her total control when Nick has no idea who Catherine is at the beginning of the movie? It’s not like Nick is obsessed with Catherine and Beth feels she has to intervene. If Beth were the killer, then it would in fact be her actions that create the path toward Nick’s obsession with Catherine, by introducing them in the first place. So I couldn’t quite make that fit.
✴ Food for thought: can a woman that sexy be “the fuck of the century” and NOT the killer? I mean, in Hollywood, an atomic blonde is either a Madonna or a whore… and I don’t think she’s a Madonna!
✴ Random aside: Why does every single movie or TV show with cops/detectives have tensions between the different groups of cops (state, city, FBI, etc.)? Is this real life? Because in my mind, thanks to a lifelong diet of film and TV, no investigation has ever had a team of investigators who just, like… get along.
And, you know. I thought the sex scenes were hot. 😉
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
What a great movie! I now see what I’ve been missing! It 100 percent deserved all those Oscar wins.
Stray observations/lessons learned:
✴ I love the opening sequence of Clarice running, alone and determined, through the FBI obstacle course. I read that wasn’t the original scene—it was her and another officer on a drug bust—but that Jodie Foster asked to change it because the drug bust bit was overdone. It’s such a great establishment of the Mystery part of the MIS. What is she running from? Or toward? And why?
✴ Hannibal Lecter is perhaps the best example EVER of Intrigue: he puts his plan into action from the very first unblinking stare. I knew he was getting inside her head, but I didn’t actually know he was doing it to plot his escape.
✴ I found Clarice to be a really compelling hero—and not what I expected. She is scared, green, shaking, crying. It was actually cool to discover a nice complexity to the “strong woman” trope we’ve all seen ad nauseum. Like, she is tough as hell, and sharp as a whip. But she’s also human, and understandably terrified. That final scene, with Buffalo Bill in the night goggles right behind her, was hard to watch. She’s just so vulnerable and open to attack. Just like in the earlier scene where she fucks up the training drill and gets “shot.”
✴ The whole pen sequence felt like a master lesson in suspense. We know from the moment Hannibal eyes that pen he’s going to do something nefarious. And then the ripple effect of what he does with it… you might say it’s clinically insane.
✴ A question I had: Who is our red herring here? It feels like there’s not one in this film—I mean, unless you argue that Buffalo Bill is the red herring, when Hannibal is the true villain. But then again… Buffalo Bill does have a girl in a dungeon well that he is going to skin. So like: hard to call that a herring (though definitely red!).
✴ And lastly: I felt like this was a really interesting example of a thriller where we know from the beginning who the bad guy(s) are. There’s no suspense about finding out WHO the killer/villain is, but how they’re going to be caught… or not.
-
Day 4 Assignments: Basic Instinct and Silence of the Lambs…
What I learned:
Every scene works to enhance and elevate the mystery, intrigue and/or suspense. No wasted moments; the writer takes every single opportunity to ratchet up the MIS all the way to the endings.
This “stacking suspense model” helps me see the importance of the road map and also the necessity of good villains with a plan of their own. Both elements can only help to give the writer a concrete foundation to build upon.
Log in to reply.