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Day 5 Assignments
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Subject line: Ben’s Layers and Reveals
What I learned doing this assignment is
Making sure that there is some sort of layers and reveals in every act, which increases audience interest.
ASSIGNMENT
4. Tell us which Layers, Cover Ups, and Reveals you’ve added to the outline.
Act 1:
Surface: Rain is an ugly beggar girl.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: Rain was abandoned.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: She has been searching for her father for years.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>How revealed: Rain’s adopted father, Old Beggar, tells her that he found her real father.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Surface: Rain’s birth father, Eucher, abandoned her because she caused her mother’s death in childbirth.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: Eucher abandoned Rain because she is ugly to learn magic and bring pride to the family.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: Eucher abandoned Rain because magic is taught to pretty ones.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>How revealed: Rain confronts Eucher to find out the truth about her abandonment.
Act 2:
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Surface: Mo is the head of the Affinity Academy.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: He is acting head.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: He is the head of the Sparrow Agency.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: He is plotting with Kins and teachers to take over Terra’s position.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: Kins and teachers address him as the true head of the Affinity Academy.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>How revealed: Zin is suspicious that Mo conspired with Array. Kins is worried that Zin knows about their plan.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Surface: Array burns down supplies building.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: Array is using supplies run as his plan to escape.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>How revealed: Array asks Jitt what Affinity Academy is planning to do about the supplies.
Act 3:
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Surface: Beggars are just homeless people.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: They were abandoned by their families because magic is taught to pretty ones.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>How revealed: Two teens talk about how they are luck their families didn’t abandon them like beggars.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Surface: Mani can get Rain into the Affinity Academy.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: He is a con man.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>How revealed: Old Beggar finds him to know what Mo has done to Array.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Surface: Array burned supplies and Mo orders people go for supplies run.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: Mo is using Array’s plan against him to lure him into a trap.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>How revealed: Array joins the people going for supplies run and is caught.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Surface: Jitt is a student in Affinity Academy.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: Jitt is not real. Just a wood.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: Mo is using him to lure Array and also as a mark to identify Array.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>How revealed: Before Mo executes Array, Sparrow agents bring in dead body of Jitt. He turns out to be a wood Mo used to lure Array.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Surface: Array has committed a crime.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: He is wearing disguise.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: He is ugly.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: He broke the rule to learn magic.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>How revealed: Natchez arrests Array and takes him to execution ground. Before Mo executes him, Array who disguised as Jitt turns out to be an ugly one and has broken the rule.
Act 4:
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Surface: Authorities have found out about Rain planning to break the rule and arrest her.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: Mani informed authorities and conspired with the man in charge.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>How revealed: Authority man shows Mani Rain being tortured.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Surface: The special disguise can help Rain get into the Affinity Academy.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: The special disguise requires one’s life force and will kill the wearer.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>How revealed: Strange sorcerer tells Rain the special disguise comes at a cost and she has to decide whether to continue or not.
Act 5:
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Surface: Old Beggar is Rain’s adopted father and a beggar.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: He is actually Terra the head of Affinity Academy.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: He is wearing disguise.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: He is Shard’s lord
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: He conspired with Array.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Layer beneath: He exposed Array.
Layer beneath: He conspired with Mani.
How revealed: After helping Rain get into the Affinity Academy, he finds Mani to know what Mo has done to Array.
Surface: Mani can get Rain into the Affinity Academy.
Layer beneath: He is wearing disguise.
Layer beneath: He is actually Shard.
Layer beneath: He is Terra’s man.
Layer beneath: He conspired with Terra.
How revealed: Old Beggar finds him to know what Mo has done to Array.
Surface: Affinity Academy knows about children using disguise to break the rule.
Layer beneath: It’s part of Terra’s plan.
How revealed: Old Beggar finds Mani to know about what Mo has done to Array.
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Wendy Weising’s Layers and Reveals
What I learned doing this assignment is that I had way too much talking and telling. I tried to put actions in places where there was talking. I still need to do more of this.
Look through your current outline and find opportunities for Layers and Reveals, either in the plot, situation, or characters.
Jane’s husband
Acts very loving and interested in Jane sexually.
He call’s her my sweet tart.
She shares about a dream that she has where she is a warrior. He laughs hysterically. When she questions him, he says that she couldn’t even hurt a fly and then kisses her.
Encourages her to confront the kids’ coach. When she seems hesitant, he says he’ll take care of it.
He receives a phone call and goes out on the deck so that Jane can’t hear. When he comes in, he seems very happy. He grabs Jane, pushes her against the wall, and begins kissing her. She tells him he’ll be late for work, and he stops. He says, “To be continued, my sweet tart.” He goes out and gets into his gold mustang as Jane watches.
As soon as she gets to the kitchen, he calls her. She grumbles but heads to the mailbox, where she find a note, “Au Revoir, my sweet tart.” Then a gold mustang plows through her.
Rather than tell Jane that she’s not in a real hospital, she needs to run out of the Do Not Enter area, looking for a way out of the hospital. She’s trying doors and pounding on them. She finally finds a small window to the outside world. She wipes the condensation off. It’s dark. She sees men dragging bodies to a pit. These bodies no longer have skullcaps or brains.
Jane sees Dr. Zyn drinking the gelatinous substance.
Dr. Jones tells her that superior species will do what it takes to survive. Even Dr. Zyn partakes.
Polly sees the hideous man take Ava to the bedroom. She comes back with Dr. Zyn, who enters bedroom with apologies and tells man that Dr. Jones is waiting to toast him. He wraps Ava in a sheet and walks her out.
Ava wants to become pregnant so that men won’t want her. She asks Dr. Zyn to do this. He doesn’t want to but is conflicted.
Polly’s hides things in her nest and retrieves them when needed. Finds key on floor while cleaning. Checks it in different doors until she reaches outer door. Doesn’t open it because of alarm, but the key works. She stashes it in nest. Dr. Jones catches Polly by surprise. Begins to question her about where she has found that item. Polly thinks it’s the key, but Dr. Jones thinks it’s a broach. When she snatches it up and wacks Polly, Polly exhales slowly.
When Dr. Zyn enters Jane’s room, he says her name and goes to her bedside. She is asleep. He waits until Dr. Smith is entertaining friends. He ultrasounds Jane’s abdomen. A baby shows up on the screen. He smiles.
Dr. Jones threatens Polly by drawing a bulls-eye on the place where she’ll harvest Polly’s brain.
While in bed with Dr. Zyn, Dr. Jones mentions that she will be taking Polly’s brain soon. Dr. Zyn is upset and objects. Dr. Jones pins him to the bed and tells him she can do anything she wants. She is the god of that world.
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Tim Barley’s Layers and Reveals
What I learned from doing this lesson is that the layers and reveals are right there for the taking and adding into the show (pilot).
PILOT EPISODE OUTLINE (1ST VERSION) – with added layers, cover ups and reveals
ACT 1:
Beginning: Alex is working in his boring office job. Feenix arrives as the new hire to Alex’s office. Billy asks if he wants to get together with the others in the office.
Turning Point: He wishes he had more sugar for his coffee on the way home and he is attacked by dark malevolent forces. Allistar shows up and barely saves him. High above the street, Feenix watches, seething. Across the street, someone else (Billy) looks on.
ACT 2:
Essence: Edris gets his new assignment and travels to LA. While Feenix corners Alex in the office with information about him and his family. Billy wants to be part of the conversation with information that both find odd.
Turning point: Alex returns home to find his neighbor waiting, who comes in and fills him in on his family legacy. Feenix shows up and they have a fight that gets wild. Outside someone is watching.
REVEALS:
– Feenix and Allistar are sister and brother!
ACT 3:
Essence: Edris arrives in LA and begins to make trouble.
Turning point: Alex finally gets Feenix and Allistar to quit fighting and between their family squabbling, they two of them tell him about his past and who he is what he needs to do.
REVEALS:
– Alex’s life, good fortune and abilities are the result of eons of breeding
– Reveal what humanity really is
COVER UP:
– WHY Alex’s life is the way it is, when it wasn’t on the Houses’ radar.
ACT 4:
Essence: Alex faces the truth about his power and navigates his office in a new light.
Turning point: Alex has to now figure out who wants to help him and who wants to kill him or worse. Edris shows up and lays out his side of the story.
REVEAL:
– Alex is being lied to by the brother and sister
ACT 5:
Essence: Alex enters the world of the unseen to learn more about who he is as Edris arrives in LA and tells him his side of things.
Turning point: Alex accepts that his life is no longer something he can hide from. Feenix and Allistar tell him he has to speak to someone else. Billy types on his old computer…
LAYERS:
– There is more to Billy than meets the eye about who/what he is and where he gets all his information
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REVEALS:
– Allistar and Feenix tell Alex there are more of them out there
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(Laurie Brown’s) Layers and Reveals
What I learned from doing this assignment was the importance of updating the framework and making it work for me.
Geri’s Dad is head of Dept of Interior
• Pulls rank on police re: opening an investigationo Geri overhears this – driving her goal
• Col Martin coldly drops her off at military school o Col Martin knows The Headmaster
§ Acts strange o Col Martin knows Leo.
§ Acts strange
§ They agree to something before Leo proposes to Geri o Leo acts different with Marge after Geri leaves dance
§ Marge arrives home disheveled
Leo is a war hero
• The marriage gets called off. o He is unleashed
o Col Martin says Leo’s vengeful nature has been seen before § In Korea
Marge goes from teachers pet to informant
Marge treated special by Headmaster Learned
Someone is coming into Marge’s bed at night (HL?)
After Officer Club Dance Marge acts sick
o Leo authorizes sick leave and quarantined
o Marge moves in with Leo’s sister • Leo blackmails Marge
o Marge agrees to inform on Geri.
o In exchange for keeping quiet about her baby.The hat is the key to solving the crime
A paper Army hat is prop between Geri Martin and her mother when they played Col and
Identical hat, not paper, is found by Geri at scene of mother
o Geri sets it aside when she takes the picture
o Geri denies having the hat to her father.
Geri tells Bette about the hat that she’s hid on campus
She and Bette go to find the hat – it’s gone.
On graduation Day Geri and Bette find the hat that they have obviously found before and take it.
On graduation day Col Martin and Headmaster go to get the hat. It’s gone.
Bette befriends Geri
• Bette crawls in bed with Geri o Bette kisses Geri
o Geri freaks out
• Bette goes to Korea but Geri and Marge stay hereMrs. Johnson knows something
Brings Geri over to her house a
She talks to the police
She packs Geri
Intriguing or dangerous parts of the sub-world – Military school and DOI investigations
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Module 3 Lesson 5 Layers and Reveals
Elizabeth Dickinson’s Layers and Reveals
What I learned doing this assignment was that there are some deeper levels I’d like to hint at in the pilot (and develop more fully throughout the season), but I don’t know how to do it so it doesn’t slow down the main story.
And that some of the existing turning points are both layers and reveals.
What is beneath the story as you know it?
What I’m grappling with is how to write/reveal (not necessarily in the pilot) is not only the idea that Celt believes the gods exist and can speak to him (that’s straightforward and already done).
But I also want to integrate these ideas:
For the character of the modern female writer (who has only been cursorily introduced), all the gods are really just psychological impulses that ancient cultures have anthropomorphized.
For the Oversoul, all those gods are both psychological impulses AND have been given ‘lives’ by humankind’s belief in them.
The Celtic and Roman gods realize that humankind’s beliefs ‘created’ them, and they resent that Christianity ‘demoted’ them to fairies or to superstition or to paganism.
So their motivation is to deepen Celt’s reliance on them.
I have no idea how they’ll interact with Oversoul.
What deeper meaning might exist? Does it mean one
thing on the surface, but another under the surface?Celt interprets accepting Taranis’ thunderbolt as direction to volunteer to go with Romans because he sees his mother threatened by Romans. But Taranis later reveals that he didn’t really care about that – he only cares that Celt uses his physical strength (which he could easily have done by resisting the Romans/running away from them/leading a revolt against them).
Who might be deceiving other characters?
Sirius deceives Celt because ‘serving the emperor’ really means entering into slavery. But Sirius justifies it because he genuinely believes in the worth of imperial service.
How could this be about something totally
different?There are different attitudes towards Rome. Some feel the only way to survive is by collaborating. Others feel the only way to survive is by resisting. And that includes the children.
Teaser:
Essence:
(Oversoul) Frustrated wanna-be angel keeps reincarnating as human but
wants to stop
Turning Point:
Oversoul learns it must purge regrets of 5 past lives, starting with young
1<sup>st</sup> century Celt boy who becomes gladiator.Act 1:
Essence (Celt
opening): Happy Celt and best friend Coran discover Romans near their
village, are alarmed.
Turning Point:
Celt and friend tell the village revealing they were out at night
illicitly. Village prepares – some villagers hide, some stay.Layers: Romans are learning Celt language – from a fellow Celt.
Spied-on Romans reveal they’re coming for boys…
Reveal:…but one Roman grabs crotch suggestively and wants to know Celtic name for girls. This tells Celt/Coran funny business going on.
Villagers disagree on how to interpret this information, so react cautiously.
Some want to resist.
Act 2:
Essence: Romans
arrive, say they want young boys to serve the emperor.
Turning
Point/Midpoint: Celt volunteers to go to protect village and to honor
bargain with Taranis, along with twin Piran and Tyran.
Sirius’ essence:
win over village with grand vision of Rome
Sirius turning
point: Celt agrees to go with Romans.Layers-Sirius unveils map of world, finds ways to lull villager suspicions.
Reveal-Roman commander gets impatient, reveals he doesn’t believe in ‘soft power’.
Taranis offers to protect Celt’s village in return for Celt accepting him as primary influence – without revealing what that means.
Roman commander makes suggestive advances to Celt’s mother.
Celt metaphorically throws thunderbolt, volunteering to be one of the boys for Rome.
Act 3:
Essence: Celt’s
best friend Coran follows Romans, invites Celt to escape.Celt’s dilemma – can’t leave without Piran
Turning Point:
Celt returns to camp to help Piran escape, too.Piran’s essence: Twin has been killed
Piran’s turning point: Piran thinks Celt may have abandoned him
Piran’s turning point: Piran cries out for absent Celt, Roman soldier Cletus cuts out Piran’s tongue. Celt cauterizes Piran’s tongue.
Layers
Roman brutality exposed through murder of Tyran.
Tit-for-tat (munerium indictio-payment for murder) exposed as one of Rome’s laws.
Act 4:
Tiran Essence: Traumatized
Piran won’t leave with Celt and Coran.
Celt essence:
Prioritizes promises and others’ safety over his own freedom.
Celt Turning
Point: Celt won’t leave Piran.
Piran Turning
Point: Piran avoids being with Celt.
Sirius’ essence:
Sirius has to justify brutality within Rome’s policies.
Sirius’s Turning
Point: Sirius has to acknowledge things not going as plannedLayers:
Piran paralyzed by fear in way that Celt is not.
Reveals- Village realizes it made mistake in letting boys go, but only Coran brave enough to act on it.
Sirius not entirely comfortable with what he has to do.
Act 5:
· Essence: Celt discovers translating and teaching Latin is considered enemy collaboration by peers.
· Celt turning point: Celt tries to cut out his own tongue.
· Piran turning point: Piran forgives Celt, prevents Celt from cutting out his tongue.
· Sirius’ essence: Sirius ready to champion Celt, but Celt’s behavior appalls him.
· Sirius and Act Turning Point: Sirius believes Celt is of no more use as translator.
· Celt Turning Point: Celt is abandoned to the low value slaves. Celt leaves Britannicus on a ship.
Layers/reveals – depth of Celt’s naivete/blindness revealed.
Rudhek’s different reaction to Roman behavior revealed.
Piran’s tenderness revealed.
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5. Answer the question, “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” and put it at the top of your work.
I use layers not just for drama, but also to integrate them into my humor, sometimes with irony or callbacks. Like the joke about not getting a ring for changing her name (like she would for a marriage) will be referenced in later jokes in episode 1 of season 2.0
1. Assuming that you can build in one or more of these into each act, make a list of the Layers and Reveals that could fit into each act of the pilot.
While Renquist is beating down James, Maria is watching from the surveillance cameras in his office. We see her making copies and putting those into packages.
Maria mails off two packages and winks at the executive assistant, Thelma Livingston, which implies she’s aware of what the packages are. I reveal more in a later episode.
Maria reveals to Renquist that she has the tapes. Renquist threatens to kill her.
When Renquist steals the company from James, he wants Maria to run it. It looks like Maria is betraying him. What actually happened is she lulled him into complacency and then kicked his ass.
Maria goes to let James know he didn’t betray him. He makes her almost beg for forgiveness.
At the bar, James reveals he figured out she didn’t betray him because she was wearing lipstick which happens when she kicks people’s asses but pretended he didn’t know to make her work for it.
James bluffs to scare some punks by warning about all the things dihydrogen monoxide can do. He acts like it’s a dangerous chemical. It turns out it’s a reference to water. Turns out it wasn’t water but vodka, so he could have accidentally created a Molotov cocktail, so ironically it was dangerous.
James gets drunk and Maria tucks him into her bed. When he wakes up he thinks they had drunk sex and is corrected in embarrassment. He had also broken a table but thinks MJ did it in anger.
None of James’ friends call him back, so he uses Maria’s phone to call his friend. It reveals that Renquist is trying to not only destroy James but anyone who shares his common Chinese name.
James’ apartment was ransacked. They were looking for something. That forces Maria to confess about the surveillance tapes. James realizes that the car was also repossessed to look in it. They rush to Maria’s apartment to find intruders.
Maria stabs one of the intruders. The intruders escape and cops instead arrest Maria. It becomes obvious that Renquist has cops on the payroll too.
One of the intruders is Zelda Remington, who will murder her way into James’ love life later in the season, holding a personal grudge against Maria for her partner’s death. More layers of this will be revealed in episode 1 of season 1.5.
In the police station, Trench Coat Man wants James to help him frame Maria for murder. James doesn’t help and he gives up on that plan but threatens James. He is thought to be a henchman of Renquist, but he’s a Russian oligarch that has as much to lose if the tapes get out. That reveal happens at the end of season 1.0.
The police were told Maria hurt James and he says she didn’t but when he takes off his shirt, he’s covered with bruises. He then half-remembers that he fell down. It’s only after he finds his embarrassing video that Maria is vindicated. This is how it’s revealed that his video went viral.
They went viral wrong. Everyone is talking about None of the Above and More Jobs, but not James and Maria. The video was so popular that a political group endorsed those names. So James and Maria have to change their names to None of the Above and More Jobs to match what was popular about their video.
2. Look through your current outline and find opportunities for Layers and Reveals, either in the plot, situation, or characters.
3. Add those Layers and Reveals to the current version of your Pilot Outline.
(N) = James/None of the Above(None), (M) = Maria Cortez/More Jobs(MJ), (R) = Alvin Renquist
Teaser:
Essence: Maria is president and nuclear war happens on her watch.
Turning Point: A strange creature rises from the mushroom clouds of a nuked city.
(N Beginning) (M Beginning) (R Beginning)
Act 1:
Essence: (N TP1) (M TP1) (R TP1) Maria and James started a billion-dollar software company, but Renquist steals control of it with a shady contract. Renquist will kill Maria once he has found all copies of the surveillance tapes. (R midpoint) Renquist attacks James in every way, even petty things like blocking his unemployment. Lawyers and friends won’t return his calls because everyone is afraid of Renquist.
While Renquist is beating down James, Maria is watching from the surveillance cameras in his office. We see her making copies and putting those into packages.
Maria mails off two packages and winks at the executive assistant, Thelma Livingston, which implies she’s aware of what the packages are. More is revealed in a later episode.
Maria reveals to Renquist that she has the tapes. Renquist threatens to kill her.
When Renquist steals the company from James, he wants Maria to run it. It looks like Maria is betraying him. What actually happened is she lulled him into complacency and then kicked his ass.
Maria goes to let James know he didn’t betray him. He makes her almost beg for forgiveness.
At the bar, James reveals he figured out she didn’t betray him because she was wearing lipstick which happens when she kicks people’s asses but pretended he didn’t know to make her work for it.
Turning Point: (N-midpoint)James decides to run for president, as a power-up to defend against Renquist’s power and influence.
Act 2:
James bluffs to scare some punks by warning about all the things dihydrogen monoxide can do. He acts like its a dangerous chemical. It turns out it’s a reference to water. Turns out it wasn’t water but vodka, so he could have accidentally created a Molotov cocktail, so ironically it was dangerous.
Essence: James wants MJ to be his VP, but he has to prove he can bluff. He bluffs some punks with steam in a steampunk bar. After the bar, they do a practice campaign video with James drunk that goes off the rails.
Turning Point/Midpoint: (M midpoint) In spite, Maria uploads the embarrassing video unedited.
Act 3:
Essence: (N TP2)(M TP2) James wakes up in Maria’s bed thinking they had drunk sex, but he’s still fully clothed. James goes home and finds his apartment in shambles. Maria confesses about the surveillance tapes. They rush to MJ’s place where there are intruders.
James gets drunk and Maria tucks him into her bed. When he wakes up he thinks they had drunk sex and is corrected in embarrassment. He had also broken a table but thinks MJ did it in anger.
None of James’ friends call him back, so he uses Maria’s phone to call his friend. It reveals that Renquist is trying to not only destroy James but anyone who shares his common Chinese name.
James’ apartment was ransacked. They were looking for something. That forces Maria to confess about the surveillance tapes. James realizes that the car was also repossessed to look in it. They rush to Maria’s apartment to find intruders.
Turning Point: (M major conflict) (R TP2) Maria attacks and chases the intruders, but instead of catching them, she gets taken away by police.
Maria stabs one of the intruders. The intruders escape and cops instead arrest Maria. It becomes obvious that Renquist has cops on the payroll too.
One of the intruders is Zelda Remington, who will murder her way into James’ love life later in the season, holding a personal grudge against Maria for her partner’s death. More layers of this will be revealed in episode 1 of season 1.5.
Act 4:
Essence: (N major conflict) (R major conflict) Renquist has crooked cops on his payroll. One of Renquist’s people interrogates None in the police station. They offer him a deal if he’ll turn on Maria, but he doesn’t. The embarrassing video where he talked about being like None of the Above went viral but no one is talking about James Wong. (R ending)
In the police station, Trench Coat Man wants James to help him frame Maria for murder. James doesn’t help and he gives up on that plan but threatens James. He is thought to be a henchman of Renquist, but he’s a Russian oligarch that has as much to lose if the tapes get out. That reveal happens at the end of season 1.0.
The police were told Maria hurt James and he says she didn’t but when he takes off his shirt, he’s covered with bruises. He then half-remembers that he fell down. It’s only after he finds his embarrassing video that Maria is vindicated. This is how it’s revealed that his video went viral.
Turning Point: James changes his name to None of the Above and gets Maria to change her name to More Jobs to match their viral video.
They went viral wrong. Everyone is talking about None of the Above and More Jobs, but not James and Maria. The video was so popular that a political group endorsed those names. So James and Maria have to change their names to None of the Above and More Jobs to match what was popular about their video.
Act 5:
Essence: The name changes are successful. James blamed his brother Shen for losing the company as his lawyer. Out of options, None of the Above(None) makes peace with his brother and asks him to be the campaign manager. Shen goes over the remaining options in the contract, but no options are useful. Out of options on using the contract, they are committed to president idea.
Lock In: (N-ending) (M ending) They have to get on the ballot before Take Back America realizes they’re a real campaign.
4. Tell us which Layers, Cover Ups, and Reveals you’ve added to the outline.
All of them were in the original book, with many more things to be revealed in later episodes.
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Avi Kapurala’s Layers and Reveals
What I learned Doing this Assignment is: It’s a learning curve to stack layers and figure out how to reveal them. It is also hard to shake the habit of wanting to ‘get it right’ in the first pass.
TEASER:
A masked man carries out a secret mission in a deserted warehouse. Someone is watching him.
· Surface: Someone is breaking into a deserted warehouse and someone is watching him do it.
• Layer beneath: the intruder is disposing of a body that was in the warehouse.
• How Revealed: The watcher is looking at a live video.
ACT 1:
Viktor-boxing, Jacob and Maya – awards gala.
Viktor wound: mother’s past and her sadistic employer. Question: How did Viktor get his tattoo?
· Surface: Viktor has a tattoo
• Layer beneath: the tattoo has something to do with his mother.
• How Revealed: Viktor’s opponent taunts him about his mother and Viktor almost kills him.
What is Viktor’s past? He was bullied as a child and is a benefactor.
· Surface: Viktor buys coffee from the same deli every day.
• Layer beneath: Viktor knows the deli guy from childhood.
• How Revealed: The deli guy tells Andrew about how Viktor saved him from a gang.
Strained marriage
· Surface: Viktor is unable to attend the VC of the Year awards gala due to a prior commitment.
• Layer beneath: Maya and he are having issues with their marriage.
• How Revealed: He is at an underground boxing match and they have a fight later.
Maya: Sexually exploited by friend’s father, revenge against him.
· Surface: Maya runs into her friend Nancy after years.
• Layer beneath: Nancy’s father sexually exploited Maya for years in high school.
• How Revealed: Nancy’s family’s company’s expansion is sabotaged by Maya and Viktor
ACT 2:
Maya wound: Poor childhood, Estrangement from family, father’s accident
· Surface: Maya’s father is in the hospital after an accident. She visits him.
• Layer beneath: she actually hated her father.
• How Revealed: Losing their home when she was a child.
+Who is Claire logan?
· Surface: Claire is seeking investment in her startup and Viktor meets her for dinner. (They are photographed by someone unseen)
Conspiracy: Jacob causes a mega-IPO to collapse, muddying the company’s name.
· Surface: DriveNXT’s safety features are unreliable.
• Layer beneath: Jacob planted the rumors as revenge for the collapse of the Richardson deal, engineered by Viktor and Maya.
• How Revealed: The source of the leak is killed By Jacob’s henchman Eddie.
ACT 3:
Conspiracy: the mole in Viktor’s office.
· Surface: The rumor was planted by Jacob.
• Layer beneath: The information on which the rumor was planted was given to Jacob by an insider.
• How Revealed: The mole is contacted by Eddie, Jacob’s right-hand man and is threatened with exposure if he doesn’t keep supplying information.
Conspiracy: federal authorities announce an investigation into the insider trading on the DriveNXT IPO.
· Surface: The DriveNXT IPO revelations trigger a federal probe into irregularities.
• Layer beneath: Jacob worked his sources inside the SEC and the US Attorney’s office into launching the investigation.
• How Revealed: Viktor contacts his friend Senator Goodwin who finds out the truth.
Betrayal: investors seek to pull their money from the company.
· Surface: investors were spooked by the failure of the IPO and rumors of insider trading.
• Layer beneath: several investors were approached by Jacob to pull their money from Viktor’s company.
• How Revealed: One of the clients reluctantly tells Viktor the truth.
*Conspiracy: Viktor and Jason conspire
· Surface: Jason and Viktor meet to discuss how Jacob got his information.
• Layer beneath: They are preparing a counterplot.
+Mystery: Who is Claire logan?
1. Disruption in Reality: She goes missing and is reported in the news.
Character History: Viktor jealous of Jacob and Maya’s past
• Surface: Fight about losses from the failed IPO.
• Layer beneath: Viktor believes that Maya is conspiring with Jacob.
• How Revealed: He shows her photographs of her drinking with Viktor after the awards gala.
ACT 4:
Viktor wound: mother’s past.
· Surface: Viktor likes bondage.
• Layer beneath: There’s a trauma in his past that makes him go to a dominatrix.
• How Revealed: Jacob goes to see his dominatrix.
Viktor wound: Cannot stand being second.
· Surface: Maya doesn’t invite Viktor to her father’s funeral.
• Layer beneath: He hates being second to Jacob.
• How Revealed: Viktor goes uninvited and gets into a fight with Maya and Jacob. Hits Maya. Gets photographed by the media.
Twist: the police question Viktor about his meeting with Claire before she went missing.
ACT 5:
Jacob and Maya were lovers
· Surface: Jacob and Viktor are business rivals.
• Layer beneath: Jacob and Maya were lovers and she chose Viktor, leaving Jacob.
• How Revealed: Jacob goes to see Viktor in the gym/boxing ring after Maya’s father’s funeral.
LOCK IN:
+Who is Claire logan?
· Surface: Claire and Viktor were having dinner to discuss her investment proposal.
• Layer beneath: She drove off with Viktor. They went to a building in Brooklyn and she never came out.
• How Revealed: Jacob had Viktor followed and recorded. He shows Maya the video.
*Conspiracy: Viktor, Jason and Maya conspire
• How Revealed: Viktor gets a text from an unknown source– ‘He doesn’t know everything. Yet.’
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