Day 5 Assignments

[Maria Helena Nascimento]

Maria Helena Nascimento – three gradients ASSIGNMENT day 5

What I learned doing this assignment:

To look for actions that translate emotions.

What is the Emotional Gradient you’ll
use?

Forced change

For each emotion of that gradient, tell
us the following:

DENIAL

EMOTIONAL GRADIENT: She is in shock when she discovers the father that abandoned her when she was 3 is the leader of the community and has rescued her from the police, saving her life

ACTION: Tries to escape

CHALLENGE/ WEAKNESS: She has to escape by herself through the forest – She has no resources to do that

ANGER

EMOTIONAL GRADIENT: She allows herself to feel all the anger she repressed for years

ACTION: She confronts her father about everything he did and does, tries to demoralize him in front of all the community

CHALLENGE/ WEAKNESS: She challenges his authority/ She depends on him to escape the police

BARGAINING

EMOTIONAL GRADIENT: She wants to go away, but not blindly this time

ACTION: She uses her father’s girlfriend helicopter to get out

CHALLENGE/ WEAKNESS: She has to lure the pilot/ she does not trust her abilities to seduce the pilot

DEPRESSION

EMOTIONAL GRADIENT: She understands that she shouldn’t have escaped but faced her father/ her feelings.

ACTION: She gets home, to her mother, to their old ways

CHALLENGE/ WEAKNESS: She is in panic when she discovers that her mother’s boyfriend is a police officer

ACCEPTANCE:

EMOTIONAL GRADIENT: She uses something her father has taught her

ACTION: She takes a huge risk sending to the foreign press proof of the dictatorship violence against civilians

CHALLENGE/ WEAKNESS: She understands that she does not belong in the community, nor with her mother. she has to discover her own place in the world.

(no weakness here, I guess)

[Terrell Harris]

Terrell’s Three Gradients

What I learned doing this assignment is I thought I had a decent second act but this definitely punches up some things that needed work. It naturally highlights other areas that needs work.

The lead character is excited to watch a popular underground fighter (the change agent) in a fight to the death. He’s nearly kidnapped and ends up spend the night with the change agent.

A. Excitement

B. Down to lower Seattle to watch underground fight. Spends the evening there with Cyndi and her friends. Enjoys himself despite not quite fitting in.

C. Challenge(s): struggles to fit in Weakness: >Callous and over self confident

A. Hope

Makes pleas to board or him step mom to not destroy the slum area.

shallow or weak argument.

A. discouragement<

B. Plea is rejected heartlessly

C. Challenge(s): Battle of wills Weakness(s) loses, feeling insecure for the first time

A. Courage

B. Goes against orders in front a crowd of elites.

C:Challenge(s) flips script at last moment, tries to gain allies before big event, going against status quo

A. Triumph or loss

B. stops destruction of city, save lives or the city is destroyed

C. Challenge(s): confesses he knew about the plan all along. Weakness(s):the woman he loves hates him now.

Can he win her back and make up for a grand mistake.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by  Terrell Harris. Reason: code got posted

[andrea cabanas]

Andrea Cabañas, The Three Gradients.

Interesting that I did my exercise at first with the wrong Emotional Gradient (my bad!), and I struggled a bit to find the answers. Just before submitting my answers, I realized I was going on the wrong path. Once I changed the Emotional Gradient, everything clicked instantly and made more sense to the story I want to tell. What did I learn from this? It’s really important to use the right gradient to make your characters grow.

I chose Forced Change.

Denial: Zoe’s mother hires a private detective. Even with pictures showing her with Paula, she rages and denies it.

Challenge: to get over it and accept she also likes women.

Weakness: her prejudice doesn’t allow her to be happy.

Anger: James disappears as usual; Zoe’s feelings for Paula intensify. Zoe’s rude to a woman who flirts with her.

Challenge: Zoe struggles with her feelings/beliefs.

Weakness: indecisive, naive. Unable to make a decision by herself.

Bargaining: Zoe leaves temporarily with Georgia, and gets busier with work. Her mother has a breakdown, and she’s back to live with her.

Challenge: How to leave peacefully with her mother. She’s close to getting a deposit to buy her new flat.

Weakness: Submissive. Zoe still doesn’t want to upset her mother.

Acceptance: During a kidnap attempt, Zoe kisses Paula after being shot in front of her distressed mother. Paula is deported. During Georgia’s gallery opening night, Zoe meets a new woman.

Challenge: Zoe must live independently, without her mother’s shadow, and be free to be herself.

Weakness: She still loves James.

[Dietrich Oppeln]

Dietrich: Three gradients
Emotional Gradients
Emotion: Anger and frustration
Challenge: I need a new Piano Player
Weakness: Arrogance

Emotion: I am madly in Love
Challenge: Is his Characer good enough.
Weakness: I don’t look (denial)

Emotion: I hope
Challenge: I hope he is trustworthy.
Weakness: I am still not looking closely (delusion)

Emotion: I am in Rage and despair
Challenge: How can I change the situation (force)
Weakness: My dagger is my friend (revenge)

[Diane Lorene Phelps]

Diane Phelps’ Three Gradients

What I learned doing this assignment is the deliberate placement of these emotional steps will emotionally trigger the audience to go on this emotional journey with my character. That I need to spend more time working on the inside, soggy middle of my story, that has not been fleshed out just yet.

1. What is the Emotional Gradient you’ll use?

Forced Change

A. Emotion: B. Action: C. Challenge / Weakness:

Emo: Denial –

Action: Sami breaks her ankle.

C: forced to stop doing what she loves.

W: has no backup plan. All her eggs in the I’m a famous dancer basket.

Emo: Anger

Action: Sami returns home defeated

C: Anger that she has to come home.

W: only good at being a diva, a prima donna.

Emo: Bargaining

Action: Sami forced to plan the holiday dance.

C: Painful memories and depression relapse.

W: Never going to be happy again.

Emo: Depression

Action: Sami dances alone.

C: Painful memories and depression relapse

W: tbd

Emo: Acceptance

Action: Sami falls in love and the holiday dance is a success.

C: Find peace with new life

W: let her dream die to grow another one.