Day 7 Assignments

[Andre]

Andre’s 4 Act Structure

(Are we to post our current outline?)

What I learned from this assignment is…

There is ONE main conflict. Once it has shown up, it will be present in nearly every moment of this story, until it is resolved.

Definition of Main Conflict: A fight, battle, or struggle, especially a prolonged struggle; discord of action, feeling, or effect; antagonism or opposition.

Act: A section of your story that has a dramatic purpose and ends with a Turning Point.

Escalating Conflict: The rising stakes, tension, and main conflict as the story goes from Act to Act.

Turning Points: Major twists in the PLOT at the end of each Act – from which there is No Going Back.

Note: Assuming 90-page script, see below, if longer script, the page numbers will differ. I.e., 115-page script adds 5 pages to first Act and 10 pages to Act 2 and Act 3.

<br clear=”all”>

Act 1: 25-30 pages – Introduce Characters and Set up the first Turning Point /Conflict.

Main Conflict:

Opening: Introduce us to the lead characters in action. Show us what their life is like at the beginning and lure us into the story. (Who, what, where, why)

Inciting Incident: This is the call to go on the journey. It creates the opportunity to live outside the box and change their life.

Turning Point: A major twist. The characters are locked in the journey. There is no going back from here.

Act 2: 20-30 pages – Shift. Conflict in Full Swing. Challenge the Character’s Reality.

Main Conflict:

Reaction: They are now outside the box. It is uncomfortable, maybe unbearable. But the Hero can’t go back. They must move forward in some way.

The Plan: They try the first plan that comes to mind… which will quickly fail.

Turning Point 2: MIDPOINT: A twist that shifts our reality in this story. The journey is still moving in the same direction, but the meaning has changed in a big way.

Whatever shift I choose, it completely disrupts the Hero’s reality.

Act 3: 20-30 pages – The conflict escalates, but the Midpoint changes the meaning.

This is important part of Hero’s transformation.

Main Conflict:

New Plan: Now, the hero creates a new plan and pursues it. With that, they embrace the need to change.

This could involve training sequences, bringing on new partners, or taking actions they never would have taken during the first half of the movie.

Turning Point: The “All is lost” or “lowest of the lows” moments where everything has failed.

Act 4: 25 pages – The ultimate expression of the Conflict and Resolution! Test the Change in This Character!

Main Conflict:

Climax: The ultimate expression of the conflict. Face to face with Antagonist for the ultimate fight. This is an impossible situation that the Hero can only win with the change they have made in their lives.

Resolution: The change has been made
or tested. We now see the new status quo of the Hero.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by  Andre Howard.

[Dalisia Coppersmith]

Subject: Dalisia’s 4 Act Structure

What I learned from this assignment is that starting with a SIMPLE four act structure before building all the detail in can really strengthen the spine of the script. I think I’ve overcomplicated my outlines from the very beginning in the past and that makes it harder to see how weak the story really is!!

[Connie Hood]

What I learned from this assignment is that I really need to focus all the obstacles and problems into a single understandable adversary. The circumstances don’t tell it all.

Act One: A young family finds an abandoned house, an architectural classic. After research and advice, they make a decision to borrow funds from a family member and move the house.

Hope – there will be a lovely home for extended family – mom, dad, child, and aging grandfather who put up his entire equity.

Fail – husband has been having affair with a co-worker; defaults on debt to his father

Fear – Wife in spite of obstacles, will undertake the move so that she can assemble a saleable home and repay her father in law.

Act Two: The new foundation fails, contractor in default; child gets sick; couple files for divorce

Hope – How can the mom preserve some stability and security for the child?

Fear- Bankruptcy looms and she will even lose her existing house

Act Three: A low budget film company rents the ruined home for a location shoot

Hope – she can get enough cash to take a couple months on her decision to file bankruptcy

Chet Hood shows up with the film crew – decides he loves her, kid, house –

Fear – She’s terrified of her involvement with Chet

Act Four: Connie, Chet, child, and teams of workers rehabilitate the old house

Hope – This house can survive and she can then plan her next steps forward.

Fear – Chet will leave; Chet will stay – Counselor and six year old tell her to lose the fear. Day laborers tell him he needs to marry her and raise the little boy.

Wedding

[Mary Spiers]

Mary’s 4 Act Structure

I learned that working with the main conflict is very helpful. I didn’t have a strong main conflict between my 2 main characters before this lesson. Using the 4-act (over less defined 3-act) structure is also very helpful. Thanks for the permission to put things down quickly as a first draft. I’m seeing how things are changing as I go along and I’m not struggling as much with perfectionism.

Concept: A high-profile perfumer loses her superpowered smell ability and fakes her disappearance, taking refuge with a prepper in the country while she tries to regain her sense of smell.

Main Conflict: Rachel (perfumer) wants to hide her true self/identity while Ashley (prepper) is intent on finding the truth behind Rachel’s super smell ability.

Act 1:

Opening: When Rachel’s car breaks down after getting away from pursuers, Ashley is the only one around to help

Inciting Incident: Rachel discovers Ashley blends natural scents and is intrigued. Ashley recognizes her hero Rachel from TV.

Turning Point: Rachel is desperate for a place to stay and tells Ashley she’s lost her sense of smell through Covid. She hints she needs a place to stay until she recovers. Ashley is happy to oblige.

Act 2:

Reaction: High society Rachel is a fish out of water in an off-the-grid lifestyle

First plans in action: Rachel tries to steal some of Ashley’s secrets using what she knows of science/ her nose abilities – by trying to manipulate Ashley – fails- Ashley sees through

Midpoint Turning Point: stealing perfumery secrets through the methods she has used in the past is not working

Act 3:

Rethink everything-after stealing by her usual means doesn’t work, Rachel decides to work with Ashley to learn her methods.

New plan: Rachel learns natural blending methods as her sense of smell recovers.

Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift: Ashley discovers Rachel is a fraud as a “nose” and as a business partner. Rachel was all about stealing her secrets.

Act 4:

Final plan: Rachel has no way out except to admit the truth about herself

Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Rachel starts to tell the truth but now Ashley doesn’t believe her. Rachel has to prove she is genuine

Resolution: Rachel decides to leave her high profile job and start a new more authentic life for herself.

[Michele Le Blanc]

The concept is communicating with the ghost of a murdered victim to find out who killed him.

Main conflict is daughter and the killer, her supervisor fiancé.

What i learned doing this assignment is a quick way to see all four Acts on the page and to move major scenes where they should be and fill in the holes.

Act 1: I have following the Opening, Inciting Incident and Turning Point.

Act 2: Jill makes a new plan, she puts her Plan in Action and we see the Midpoint Turning Point where we find that her fiancé may be a suspect though he is leading the investigation team.

Act 3: Jill must rethink everything. She makes a new Plan when she investigates her fiancé’s home and office. At the Turning Point, she uses a third party to accuse her fiancé but his boss dismisses the proof

Act 4: Finally the fiancé reveals he was the killer. In the Climax he is arrested and asks to visit the grave. The Resolution is that he tries to escape and is killed. The true meaning of what happened is then revealed.

[Erin Ziccarelli]

Lesson 7: Structure for Containment

What I learned from doing this assignment is: the structure for each act and the need for the overall conflict to penetrate every moment of the script. Conflict does not have to be unique, it just has to be strong.

1. Tell us the following:

High concept: How do you guide a
ship through a storm, trapped in a lighthouse with a dangerous stranger?
Conflict: The perpetual storm,
everlasting grief, and endless threats Claire endures, threatening to
destroy her livelihood.
Reason for containment: The storm
leaves Claire stranded and Captain Marris in an uncertain place, forcing
her to help him and face her wounds.
Concept: A grieving young widow’s outlook on her
monotonous life shifts after a mysterious stranger enters her life for one
fateful night.

2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.

Act 1:

Opening: Depressed Claire,
Captain Marris’ V.O. about the ship en route to the lighthouse zone,
Claire is about to lose her lighthouse because of financial problems.

Beginning: Claire is
scared, alone, and depressed. Hiding from her grief rather than facing
it.

o Beginning: Gabe arrives with a bullet in his back.

o Beginning: Capt. is calm, in control. Doesn’t think much of the storm.

Inciting Incident: the lighthouse
loses power. Claire must now stay by the oil lamp. She goes to sleep.
Turning Point: Gabe’s arrival.
He’s wounded and will have to spend the night with her. Captain Marris is
in distress and will need her help. She can’t get a hold of anyone. She is
alone, with a (probably) dangerous stranger, and completely terrified.

o Turning Point: Gabe’s arrival. They question each other.

o Turning Point: Gabe wakes up, questions her about her life, she evades him.

o Turning Point: Storm gets worse, he starts to worry. Asks Claire to get him help.

Act 2:

New plan: Claire tolerates
Gabe. Evades his questions about her husband. Finds out about the bank robbery.

o Claire’s Dilemma: Claire finds out about Gabe – she can either turn him in or let him help her

Plan in action: Claire questions
Gabe. Tries to pry his secret out of him to get him to leave.

Tries to destroy
the radio. Starts to cut the cord, but doesn’t finish the job.

Midpoint Turning Point: Claire is the
only one to be able to help Captain Marris. She must let Gabe help her.

o Midpoint: Claire is forced to guide Captain Marris’ ship through the storm while afraid of Gabe.

o Midpoint: Gabe offers to help Claire during the night.

o Midpoint: Claire hasn’t been able to secure help. He demands it of her.

Act 3:

Rethink everything: Gabe knows that
she knows about the bank robbery. It’s now very tense and very awkward
between them. Gabe questions her again.

o Gabe’s Dilemma: To leave or not – that will cause her distress but will ensure he gets away.

Turning
Point 2: Gabe knows she knows about the bank robbery. He starts to chip
away at her façade. Claire cooperates.

o Turning Point 2: Gabe finds out that Claire knows about the bank robbery.

New plan: Captain Marris
demands more of her. She’s going to have to accept Gabe’s help and let him
in.

o Turning Point 2: He questions her competence. Demands more of her.

Turning Point: Huge failure /
Major shift – Captain Marris is going to have to abandon ship. Claire is
emotionally torn apart. Gabe is pushing her farther and farther into the
past, into her grief. She’s petrified.

o 3rd Act Climax: Gabe pushes Claire into working through her grief. It’s painful for them.

o Captain Marris’ Dilemma: The ship is damaged. To abandon ship or not? He decides not to.

o 3rd Act Climax: Claire’s radio sparks and dies, believes that she can no longer help Captain Marris and the ship will go down. Claire reveals in her distress the truth behind her husband’s death.

o 3rd Act Climax: He’s struggling to recover. He’s almost out of her zone. Her battery dies.

Act 4:

Final plan: Claire’s last and
risky suggestion to the Captain to save him and his ship, just as the
radio goes down. She doesn’t know if he made it.
Climax/Ultimate expression of the
conflict:
Claire reveals how her husband died. She’s wrecked.
Resolution: Gabe stands over
her as he tells her that she was enough for her husband.

o Ending: She did help the ship, and it was able to pass through her zone. She’s been able to “pass through” her grief.

o Ending: Claire admits it. He tells her not to worry. Then, he disappears.

3. Once you have created the 4-Act Structure for your Protagonist, go back over it to see if there are any big picture points you need to add to represent your Antagonist.