Day 6 Assignments

[Michele Le Blanc]

M.M.’s Delivering Multiple Layers!

What I learned in this assignment is the structure to create layers and the foundation to be able to build them into the story. Interweaving the plot, character and location layers showed me the holes, overlaps and changes needed to make the overall story more complex and fascinating.

PLOT LAYERS:

Surface Layer: A judge is murdered.

Beneath That: He was estranged from his daughter

Beneath That: He abused her years earlier

How Revealed: Climax scene at cemetery

CHARACTER LAYERS:

Protagonist:

Surface Layer: Protagonist is an FBI investigator of unsolved murders

Beneath That: Protagonist unofficially investigates her father’s murder

How Revealed: Recording

Antagonist:

Surface Layer: Antagonist is bureau chief and Protagonists’ superior

Beneath That: Antagonist refuses to let Protagonist investigate

Beneath That: Antagonist is hiding his participation in the murder

How revealed: Cemetery

LOCATION LAYERS

Surface Layer: FBI unsolved crimes investigation office

Beneath That: Noises are heard in the basement day and night

Beneath That: Victims reaching out to solve their murders

How Revealed: Captured on equipment

[Andre]

Andre’s Delivering Multiple Layers!

What I learned doing this assignment is

Surface: The obvious meaning that is presented as reality from the beginning.

Beneath that: A different layer of meaning that sheds light on something hidden.

Reveal: A DRAMATIC and often surprising moment that shows us the real meaning.

Surface Layer Contained Movie #1: Apartment Building.

Beneath That: Apt 28

Beneath That: Military Cyber-Operations.

Beneath That: Hillary Clinton Campaign.

Beneath That: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Beneath That: US Presidential election.

Beneath That: WADA- World Anti-Doping Agency.

Beneath That: US Anti-Doping Agency.

Beneath That: A Nuclear facility.

Beneath That: OPCW- Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Beneath That: Spiez Swiss Chemical Lab

How Revealed: A student research assignment.

Surface Layer Contained Movie #2: Space.

Space is QUIET and “Peaceful”, yet unforgiving, relatively compared to Earth.

Beneath That: Earth.

Beneath That: From POV 240,000 miles up, in space, People of Earth were (and still are unfortunately) fighting wars; committing murder and other crimes; lying, cheating, and struggling for power and status; abusing the environment by polluting the water and air, wasting natural resources, and ravaging the land, acting out of lust and greed; and hurting others through intolerance, bigotry, prejudice, and all the things that add up to man’s inhumanity to man.

Beneath That: The Moon, An unforgiving proving ground.

Beneath That: Antares Space Module-Apollo 14.

Beneath That: Landing glitches, computer override.

Beneath That: Science Experiments; Orbital experiments. Lunar experiments.

Beneath That: Space Suits, personalized spaceships. Astronauts inside of personal space ship which is the spacesuit, that is inside of space ship Antares.

Beneath That: Edgar Mitchell and another in space.

· Pragmatic a Test Pilot, Engineer, and Scientist.

· Noetics experiment on consciousness is conducted. is the discipline that is arising from this confluence of outer- and inner-space research. It is the ultimate frontier in man’s attempt to understand himself and the nature of the universe

· Because of the experiences on THIS mission, he gained a new perspective of life on our planet—a perspective that eventually led him to engage in his present efforts to explore the potential of the “inner space” of the human consciousness, and to thereby find better ways to increase mankind’s sense of personal fulfillment and global unity.

· “During the voyage I made a test in extrasensory perception (ESP), attempting to send information telepathically to four receivers on earth.”

· “In the study of consciousness, the techniques and technology of science are being combined with the higher insights of mind from both East and West to provide a new methodology for scholarly inquiry.

· Meditation research. Meditation produces qualitative and beneficial shifts in psychophysiological condition.

· Two physiological correlates found for psychological stages of meditation, along with changes in breathing, heartbeat rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and various other metabolic correlates.

o Alpha brain wave

o Theta brain wave

· Result in mediator include release of stress and tension, increased intellectual capacity, greater self-control and self-direction, a feeling of deep rest and relaxation, improved social relations, a decrease in use of prescribed and nonprescribed drugs, and other significant changes

o Beneath That: Experiments are conducted.

Exobiology-the study of the possibility of extraterrestrial life. The evidence of exobiology leads some scientists to wonder:

· If life has existed elsewhere in the universe for periods significantly longer than has Homo sapiens, how much more evolved in consciousness might such life form be?

Scientific principles and the reliability of the technology built upon those principles.

How Revealed: A Mitchell file in the VHP Veterans History Project, located in a Film Preservation Archive Room.

Surface Layer Contained Movie #3: A <i style=”background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>familiar looking inner-city building.

Beneath That: Is this the White House?

Beneath That: Inside of a room, set up for exams.

Beneath That: The room is an Abortion Clinic.

Beneath That: The building is built on an active magnetic lei-line.

Beneath That: Visitor logs.

Beneath That: Are pregnant females counted as 1 or 2,3? If they are only counted as 1?!

How Revealed: Large statue out front, depicting a being with a tale.

Beneath That: A small cemetery with 22 plots.

Surface Layer Contained Movie #4: Fire House/Truck

Beneath That: Team

Beneath That: Family.

Beneath That: Beirut

Beneath That: Sea Port

Beneath That: A mushroom cloud Bomb is about to EXPLODE!

How Revealed: still working on it

Note: 5th Contained movie of interest to develop is 9/11.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by  Andre Howard. Reason: Reason for edit is : How Revealed: A Mitchell file in the VHP Veterans History Project, located in a film archive

[Dalisia Coppersmith]

Subject line: Dalisia’s Delivering Multiple Layers!

What I learned from this assignment was that layering is absolutely essential to avoiding the midpoint sag in the script. Rather than having a couple of basic layers and a reveal or two, we can be far more creative and keep the audience engaged as we are further developing our plot. The big catalyst at the beginning and the all-is-lost moment cannot be the only intriguing, exciting parts of the story. Layers create the rest. One thought I had as I completed this assignment was that I am great at brainstorming, so I have to watch out for over-complicating a script with too many layers, turns, and plot twists. I’ve been frustrated in movies that over-layer like that. It’s gimmicky. So I will make sure that every layer I build in serves the storyline and actually adds to the payoff at the end.

1. Plot layers.

Major
scheme revealed: Mom trying to sabotage the wedding to save the family (?)

Surface:
Typical mother-in-law distrust of fiancé, protecting “little girl”

Beneath
that: Mom believes fiance was hired by her nemesis to track her (mom)
down

How
Revealed: When she goes too far, daughter tells her not to come to
wedding, then the identity of the bad guy comes out, then the dad’s role
in mom’s retirement comes out

Major shift
in Meaning: Mom’s “control” is actually more about her loss of purpose

Surface:
Mom doesn’t trust the fiance (and she is paranoid about her nemesis)

Beneath
that: Mom still needs to dig for secrets; she doesn’t know how else to be

How
Revealed: She apologizes to daughter, reveals she never knew how to be a
mom

Hidden
history: Parents were spies, daughter is a spy, dad hired fiancé, bro
writing book

Surface:
Just a normal family – normal mother-in-law dynamic (skeptical about fiancé)

Beneath
that: Mom was a spy and can’t accept her new identity

How
Revealed: Dad discovers her spying on fiancé and their career history
comes out

Hidden plan:
Bad guy is listening to all this craziness and plans to kill family at wedding

Surface:
Mom is paranoid about fiance and his possible connection to bad guy

Beneath
that: Fiance has nothing to do with that, but the bad guy is tracking the
family

How
Revealed: At the wedding, daughter sees a rifle in a window—but she
thinks he’s there to get her and mom thinks he’s there to get her and
dad. So a hilarious mother/daughter competition begins for who the mark actually
is!

2. Character layers.

Secret
identity: Spy family

Surface:
Normal family

Beneath
that: Mom, dad, daughter are spies

How
Revealed: Dad reveals is as he tries to stop mom from sabotaging wedding;
daughter reveals her true job as she’s confiding in her brother

Intrigue
layers: Dad hired fiancé (why?), dad caused mom’s retirement, bro writing novel

Surface:
Fiance is just a stranger who daughter is bringing home

Beneath
that: Fiance was hired by dad to watch over daughter

How
Revealed: When fiance meets the family, Dad’s reaction shows that they
know each other, then they talk about it off to the side later (But…there
will be a hint of this when fiance looks at family photo and says, “Your
dad is going to kill me.” She says, “Oh, he’ll love you!” But fiance
repeats, “No. He’s gonna kill me
alright.”

Hidden
relationships and conspiracies: Dad/fiancé, bro is everyone’s confidant,
dad caused mom’s retirement, daughter’s boss used to work for mom/dad

Surface:
Brother is just a “flaky writer” who isn’t as cool as Dad

Beneath
that: Bro is the only one who knows everything—and therefore holds the
most power in the family. He also has studied spycraft so much for his
novels that he’ll be able to save the day at the end with the help of the
fiance.

How
Revealed: As the story unfolds, we see everyone talking to brother at one
point or another…and we see him writing. So when all is done, the family
is saved, and mom has accepted grandmother status (end of movie), bro’s
new novel is revealed to family.

Hidden Character
history: spy history, mom didn’t have a mom, daughter & bro both felt “less
than” with parents (mother/daughter conflict, father/son dynamic)

Surface:
Mom is just a mom whose daughter felt controlled and criticized growing up

Beneath
that: Mom grew up without a mom, so she never knew how to properly “mother”

How
Revealed: When the secrets come spilling out, mom confesses her
shortcomings as a mother and begs daughter’s forgiveness.

[Behee Batjargal]

Delivering Multiple Layers

Plot Layer.

Surface Layer: A group of friends trapped in the house. If they get out, they die.

Beneath That: It was all orchestrated by one of them.

How revealed: When kills one of them

Character Layer:

Surface: Daniel is most helpful and nice guy

Beneath that: Mentally ill man

How Revealed: He kills one of the guys whose boyfriend of a girl he was rejected by

Location Layer:

Surface layer: It’s just an abandoned house

Beneath that: It was where he grew up

How revealed: Memory montage

What I learned doing this assignment is that it was one of the most enjoyable exercise yet.

[Larry Maenpaa]

What I learned doing this assignment is that I could add some more depth to the characters. I also see the importance of how to reveal the layers.

Location Layers

Surface Layer: appears as an ordinary limousine<div>

Beneath That: protagonist has rigged it as a trap by which to kidnap the antagonist.

Beneath that: The car becomes a courtroom as the protagonist will “try” the antagonist for “crimes against the environment.”

How Revealed: Trap is revealed when the chauffer (protagonist) locks the doors, windows and puts up a partition screen separating front form back seats.

The courtroom is revealed when the protagonist tells his passenger that he is on trial and he will be communicating through a monitor and microphone.

Character Layers:

Henry Magros – protagonist

Surface Layer: Magros is initially presented as a chauffer

Beneath that: He is a geeky, brilliant guy who has degrees in robotic and automotive engineering and was working in a company developing the next-gen electric cars he founded until it was liquidated by the antagonist and Magros lost most of his personal investment

Beneath that: he was brought up by a single mom who happened to have been the antagonist’s first love but eventually committed suicide after the antagonist trashed her career. Magros only recently discovers this.

Beneath that: Henry had gone into building electric cars because he was passionate about saving the environment. After the company is liquidated, Henry become obsessed with saving the planet. He sees those that produce oil as enemies of the environment and believes that if they are held personally accountable things will change. He decides to become “The Green Avenger” and directly go after those he thinks are responsible for damaging the environment.

Bentley Monroe II – antagonist

Surface layer – Monroe is a billionaire oil baron, having built on his father’s early oil company and turning it into a conglomerate.

Beneath that: Monroe is driven as he is constantly trying to live up to his father’s unattainable expectations in order to meet his father’s approval. Success is only measured by continual growth. Family motto: “Too much is barely enough.”

Beneath that: He sees any advancements in green technology as threats to his empire, preferring the world remain dependent on fossil fuels. He will do anything to repress any development in things that would lessen that dependence.

Beneath that: Monroe has a shady past. He has covered up, with the help of the government, oil spills that have ruined local environments and cost tourism industry millions by claiming “natural disasters,” not negligence or below standard operations and equipment that were used, caused the spills.

Beneath that: He was jilted by Henry’s mother, his first and only true love, so he trashed her career which led her to suicide. He became cold-hearted as a result of that wound, but had regrets he buried within himself.

Plot Layers:

Surface layer: A billionaire is being driven for a business meeting, starting in San Francisco and ending in L. A.

Beneath that: Monroe finds he is being held captive

Beneath that: Monroe finds he is on “trial,” being accused of directly and personally damaging the environment

How Revealed: He is told by the Green Avenger alias Magros.

Secret Identity: The Green Avenger is actually Magros

Intrigue Layers:

– initially what are the reasons for the abduction?

– will Monroe ever escape?

– how will the trial proceed?

– what evidence will be presented

– what will be Monroe’s defence?

– what will be the verdict?

– what will be the sentence if found guilty

– how will the revelation that Magros’ mother was Monroe’s first love and that Monroe is Henry’s father play out?

Hidden Character Layers:

-Magros is the bastard child of Monroe

– Magros has become the “Green Avenger”

</div>

[Mary Spiers]

Mary’s Delivering Multiple Layers!

In this assignment, the brainstorming is helping me to see what is behind each character that makes each one more fully developed. Besides brainstorming on a general level this also forced me to think about where the best reveals might be. The timing of the reveals will likely change, but this is very helpful.

1. Brainstorm potential plot layers.

Major scheme revealed- Rachel’s lying low/ fraud scheme is revealed when Ashley discovers she is planning to steal her secrets. Mystery revealed- who is Rachel always texting and talking with on the phone?Ashley becomes suspicious as little by little, things don’t “add up” with Rachel. She secretly sees Rachel’s texts about faking it.Hidden plan- Rachel plans to steal Ashley’s scent blending/perfume secrets – this is revealed to the audience before Ashley finds out – we discover who she is texting with on the phone.

2. Potential character layers.

Rachel

Secret identity: She’s pretending she’s got skills she does not. This is revealed when we see her smell something and get it wrong. She said she is a “nose” and had covid…but neither are true.<div>

Intrigue layers: She acts as if she trusts people, but does not, in fact she manipulates people. As the story progresses we discover Rachel operates from a façade and is trying to cover for this.

Hidden relationships and conspiracies- Rachel has conspired with someone (co-worker?, someone from another company? To sell trade secrets. This is revealed throught her texts- they become more obvious.

Hidden Character history: Rachel doesn’t trust women. She grew up with a grandmother who was very harsh. This is revealed when Ashley confronts her.

Ashley

Intrigue layers. Ashley seems to just be interested in essential oils and holistic healing for its own sake and to make money in the business. Then it’s revealed that she turned to this after traditional medicine failed her family. Beneath that is her desire to heal her family member (sister?)Hidden relationships and conspiracies- Ashley doesn’t tell Rachel about her partnership with xxx (mother, friend, weird business partner)Hidden <div>

Character history- Ashley wanted to be a medical doctor, but when traditional medicine failed and her sister died, she turned to holistic medicine. This is revealed closer to the end.Hidden Character history – Ashley was rejected by the popular crowd and wants to fit in and be recognized.

3. Brainstorm potential location layers.

Hidden operation- Ashley has a secret store of one of the most essential and sought after essential oils for the perfume business. This is revealed in the 2^nd act.

Unique sub-world: Ashley operates in the world of preppers and survivalists. This is revealed when some show up to barter.

</div></div>

[Andre]

Andre delivering multiple layers:

ScreenWriterU

Contained Screenplay: “Pencils”.

Intriguing Contained Setting: An Apartment Building, located within the Inner City.

Unique Device: Somehow crime is non-existent in this inner- city apartment building. Black people are not killing black people. Something odd is going on.

Unique Monster/ Villain

Mystery: How is it that an inner- city building, housing minorities do not see high crime? What’s going on?

Impossible goal / Unsolvable problem: How is it that an inner-city apartment building housing minorities experiences zero crime, has high education and employment ratios? How?

Unique layers: Unique layer is a crime-free inner city.

High Concept question.

Having to do with Crime, Inner City, Minorities, what haven’t we seen before?

-Andre

[Erin Ziccarelli]

Lesson 6: Erin Ziccarelli’s Delivering Multiple Layers

What I learned from doing this assignment is: The importance of layers – the three types of layers, and the way they have been worked into other contained movies.

<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>1. Brainstorm potential plot layers.

Major scheme revealed
Mystery revealed
Thought it was one thing, but it is
another: we think it’s a story about Claire guiding a ship through a
storm. It’s actually a story about Claire letting her husband go.
Major shift in Meaning: the
lighthouse goes from her least favorite to favorite thing
Hidden history:

Claire’s role in
the shipwreck

Hidden plan

Gabe: help Claire
work through her grief

2. Brainstorm potential character layers.

Secret identity

Gabe: spirit of
Claire’s husband

Intrigue layers
Hidden relationships and conspiracies
Hidden Character history: Claire’s
past

3. Brainstorm potential location layers.

Hidden operation
Deeper meaning
Trap to draw prey

Living area
(bottom of the lighthouse): hell
Radio area
(halfway up the stairs): purgatory
Lamp area (top of
the lighthouse): heaven

Unique sub-world

4. Tell us about the layers you’ve chosen. Use this format with each of them:

Surface Layer: Claire trying to guide
a ship through the storm
Beneath That: Claire struggling to
move on from her husband’s death

How Revealed: Gabe’s presence and their
conversations and interactions. Personified through gold