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Day 8 Assignment
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What I learned doing this assignment is there are a couple of tangents (smaller stories) left dangling but perhaps they need to be unresolved -that is, in limbo and not contrived to be a happy ending.
What is your profound truth and how will it be delivered powerfully in your ending?
My profound truth is as Alex Haley in “Roots” wrote:
‘In all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage, to know who we are, and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning, no matter what our attainments in life, there is a vacuum, an emptiness, and a most disquieting loneliness.’
My profound truth is delivered when an adopted son and his natural mother are reunited nearly thirty years after his adoption.
How do your lead characters (Change Agent and Transformable Characters) come to an end in a way that represents the completed change?
The means to this happening is the altering of the law (NZ 1985 ) that allowed adopted children access to their birth records, and parents the right to search, with both sides having the right to ten years of veto — renewable if wished every ten years. Ros, the mother had decided she didn’t feel she had the right to search, but neither would she place a veto and block her son’s searching for her if he wanted. Matt has wanted to find his mother since he was a child as his relationship with his adoptive parents deteriorated over the years. He drives eight hours to (hopefully) meet with, and (hopefully) to be accepted by, his mother.
What are the setup/payoffs that complete in the end of this movie, giving it deep meaning?
Ros loses her baby.
Ros doesn’t have another child.
Her husband ends their childless marriage after ten years.
Ros discovers Matt’s story -his expulsion from his home when his 16 year old girlfriend is pregnant, her supportive family and the life of the young couple that has progressed happily. Ros learns she is a grandmother.
Matt’s brothers keep in touch -unbeknown to their parents.
One brother is gay and has to hide his life from his parents who are still waiting for him to bring home the ‘right’ girl.
The righteous husband has a second childless marriage. The problem is his.
Husband (David) opens a letter. It is from his full sister born before his parents married. Her adoption was a happy one. He realizes his treatment of Ros was cruel.
The adoptive parents refuse contact – wedding invitation, annual Christmas cards returned unopened. Moral and righteous, they are yet to discover (in the 1980s) that their oldest son is gay and has a gay partner.
How are you designing it to have us see an inevitable ending and then making it surprising when it happens?
We watch Matt try to navigate a way to find his mother before the law change – and told it can never happen.
We can see the potential risks in this reunion. Matt takes a chance driving to his mother’s current address and knocking on the door without contacting her first. She may have other children or a partner who don’t know about him. She may reject him — have just not got around to lodging a veto.
What is the Parting Image/Line that leaves us with the Profound Truth in our minds? The final image is Ros traveling for a few days to meet Matt’s wife and children and the extended family. The final image is a family gathering with Ros and Louise’s mother (the two grandmothers) bonding and Ros expressing her intense happiness.
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I learned so much from lesson 8. I stood on my desk and had a whole new outlook on the possibilities of my ending.
1 What is your Profound Truth and how will it be delivered powerfully in your ending?
Love works and the message will be delivered by every character at the end by revealing what they created.
2 How do your lead characters (Change Agent and Transformable Characters) come to an end in a way that represents the completed change?
They all overcome so much and in their own way triumphed over life’s difficulties.
3 What are the setup/payoffs that complete in the end of this movie, giving it deep meaning?
The dream big whiteboard is a setup for the end. The bigger and better game is a setup for the end. The island adventure is a setup for the end. Every character puts in the effort to make the ending so rewarding. Like winning the Super Bowl of life for characters and audience.
4 How are you designing it to have us see an inevitable ending and then making it surprising when it happens?
There are clues along the way but also characters challenges popping up gives you doubts.
5 What is the Parting Image/Line that leaves us with the Profound Truth in our minds?
There is a ball that’s in every seen of the movie that’s tossed to you the audience- get in the game it’s your turn – let’s play
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Lori’s Profound Ending
What I learned from this assignment is to start with the ending in mind so that I can write in the setups as I go.
Profound Truth – It’s okay to go on after someone close to you has died.<div>
</div><div>Lead character’s change- Pastor Thomas delivers his Christmas sermon about hope. Thomas celebrates Christmas with his friends and congregation.</div><div>
</div><div>Setups – Thomas struggles to write his sermon, and has tried to avoid traditional Christmas celebrations.</div><div>
</div><div>Surprising yet inevitable ending – Thomas spirals downward to a dark place before he desires change, which makes his change a surprise. He delivers profound truth in his sermon.</div><div>
</div><div>Last image – Christmas Day arrives and there is peace and joy in the small town. </div>-
This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by Lori Lance.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by
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Amanda’s Profound Ending
What I learned doing this assignment is having a twist in the ending is a great way to add a surprise and it’s also a great place to add comedy in the situation.
Design your ending to have a profound impact.
What is your Profound Truth and how will it be delivered powerfully in your ending?
Profound Truth Everyone should be able to make their own decisions (make their own destiny) and not let others make the decisions for them.
In the end, Allison makes her decision on whether she wants to be married to Brandon or not. During her transformational journey she has made up her mind but she gets distracted and changes her mind when one of her friends talks her out of it. After seeing Brandon talking to his mother about a misunderstanding, she realizes she cannot marry him and tells him she cannot marry him. There is a funny twist in the story at this point after which we are left with Allison leaving the room with her bridesmaids.
How do your lead characters (Change Agent and Transformable Characters) come to an end in a way that represents the completed change?
Allison did as she was expected and didn’t have a voice. She gets her voice and makes her first big, life altering decision by not marrying the guy she was supposed to marry.
What are the setup/payoffs that complete in the end of this movie, giving it deep meaning?
The ring is found, Allison didn’t lose it after all. She was responsible and can take care of herself. The losing the ring represents that she is not.
How are you designing it to have us see an inevitable ending and then making it surprising when it happens?
I have written the ending of the story and rewriting it according to the profound truth I set during this course.
What is the Parting Image/Line that leaves us with the Profound Truth in our minds?
Allison has gained her voice and she leaves her astonished groom and mother (and Brandon’s mother) and takes off from a full packed wedding venue.
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Valerie’s Profound truth ending
What I learned doing this assignment is that there are lots of ways to end a story and still keep It profound.
My profound truth is:
In life things aren’t always how they appear. Those who love you can go to extreme means to protect you from a horrible truth. Loss of someone close feels unbearable.
The profound truth will be delivered powerfully in my ending by Esme’s one statement and by her breaking the telephone in her attempt to protect Mary Bells, not from knowing a horrible truth but to stop her from sharing it with others outside the family. Esme’s goal is to keep the family’s good name intact and not bring shame on the family, which demonstrates the profound truth that in life things are not always as they appear.
The change is completed as Mary Belinda now understands how her sister died, and she also understands that she must protect the family name by keeping the family secret of how her sister really died, as well as all the other family secrets she discovered in her attempts to learn the truth of how her sister died. She has a total understanding that in life things aren’t always as they appear, and sometimes that is for the best. Bessie in her unique way is going to extreme measures to protect the family’s horrible truths. Mary Belinda is still very sad about losing her twin sister. Yet, she has understanding about all the misconstrued whispered conversations she heard and how her sister died. This in turn is helping her to go on in life, even though she lost her sister and this is unbearable to her.
The set ups for the ending are the whispered conversations that implied that Mary Belinda’s parents, Esme, and Al were all part of murdering Liddy Katherine, or at the very least responsible for covering up what happened. The pay off for this is when Mary Belinda runs to the beach when she remembers how her sister died. There, she learns the truth of what truly happened from Esme and her father.
Another set up is when Mary Belinda goes to the barn and finds her dead sister’s body under the floorboards, which makes her think she did not drown but was murdered. The payoff is finding out the truth.
Another set up is her father putting locks on all the gates, so Mary Belinda can’t leave the property. On the beach he tells her they are being blackmailed. The locks were to keep the blackmailer out and to protect her. Another set up is the blackmail letter she received addressed to her dead sister. The blackmail letter she received came from the blackmailer.
I am designing it to have the audience see an inevitable ending by showing Esme oscillating between being kind and cruel to Mary Belinda throughout the screenplay. The ending is surprising because Esme ups her cruelness right before she breaks the phone when Mary Belinda gets a call from her best friend. When Mary Belinda gets to the phone, Esme says the last line.
The parting image is of a shattered and broken telephone, as well as Esme’s icy-cold eyes, as she says, “I didn’t know the telephone broke. It’s the only telephone we have.” She puts a finger to her lips and says, “Sh! Family secrets!”
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Karen Tolliver Profound Ending
What I learned doing this assignment is the ending doesn’t start at the ending. I need to plant setups and profound moments along the way in order to make the ending payoff.
A. Profound Truth? “Know your value and self-worth”. After being taken advantage of in the worse possible way by her husband. Sharon realizes she must put herself first in order to survive. In her showdown with her husband, Sharon takes back her power he attempts to kill her by shooting her, but she wears her bullet proof vest and survives.
B. The Change? Sharon has shown a vast improvement. From a naive, shy, not believing her husband can do no wrong person, to a “I can handle my own business” woman with authority and conviction.
C. Payoffs? Does Sharon start to believe her husband is capable of hurting her? Does Sharon know Steven is sending money to Aruba? Does Sharon know he embezzled all the Accounting firms funds? Does Sharon know Steven’s secretary is apart of the Aruba plan and they’ve been cheating on her for a long time? Does Sharon know that the FBI agent is crooked? Does Sharon know there are better men out there like James? Does Sharon know her name will be cleared? D. Surprising? The final scene is surprising, Sharon, Diane, Carol, and Andrea are waiting for Steven and Agent Riggs to show up at the house. When they arrive lots of booby traps have been set for them which they fall into. James shows up and rings the doorbell, Steven invites him in and Agent Riggs ties him up. In an attempt to get Sharon out of hiding, she does for James sake. Diane, Carol and Andrea intercede and spoil their plans, but Steven manages to shoot Sharon in the chest. Thanks to her Bullet Proof Vest she was wearing she’s alive.
E. Parting Image/Line? The Girls, Sharon’s mother, and James are all in the court room. Sharon is on trial with Carol as her lawyer. Carol ask the Judge to dismiss the charges against Sharon based on the second set of books Steven made. The Judge grants the request and Sharon is set free. The Girls walk onto the courthouse steps and Sharon says, “There’s nothing she can’t do as long as she has her Girls”. She puts her fist in the air and the Girls raise their fist too. All at the same time they say, “Amen”.
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Lauren’s Profound Ending
What I learned doing this assignment:
The process of designing a profound ending. The ending starts with the profound truth and then the four other keys express this in a powerful way: Lead character ending, setups which become powerful payoffs, the surprising yet inevitable and the final image or saying that sticks with the audience.
1. What is your Profound Truth?
Every human being has divine value and a purpose only they can fulfill.
How will it be delivered powerfully in your ending?
The woman understands she is the only one who can save the children/destroy the organization. She sacrifices herself for the children knowing she alone can accomplish this. She aids in rescuing the children within the compound, delivering them to her brother, Asher, and his group. The woman gives Asher a keepsake she’s been holding onto since she was a little girl. Asher understands when she gives it back to him, she’s not coming back and will die in the compound.
2. How do your lead characters (Change Agent and Transformable Characters) come to an end in a way that represents the completed change?
(The Change: No matter how awful someone’s beginnings are, people have the ability to transform into their best selves.)
The woman (Transformable Character):
From: having no self worth and being taught to feel little if anything for the children she’s been collecting most of her life To: dying to save them.
Asher Young, the woman’s brother (Change Agent):
From: searching his entire life for his sister To: having enough strength to let her sacrifice herself knowing this is what she must do to heal herself.
3. What are the setup/payoffs that complete in the end of this movie, giving it deep meaning?
Setup: The organization has taken everything from the woman.
Payoff: They must suffer and must do so at the hands of the one they took everything from.Setup: Asher tells her she has self worth and doesn’t have to live this life of crime anymore. She still has goodness inside her and can change.
Payoff: She finally believes him and realizes she can die knowing she did something good for the first time in her life.Setup: Will the woman and Asher live in peace and be able to reconnect after so many years apart, on the opposite ends of child trafficking?
Payoff: They won’t however, they understand each other and why she must die.Setup: Can the woman and Asher get along enough to save her and the children?
Payoff: The woman dies in the final act of saving the children and delivering them into the safety of Asher and his group.Setup: Will the organization get away with their crimes?
Payoff: No, they’re destroyed.4. How are you designing it to have us see an inevitable ending and then making it surprising when it happens?
Asher wants her to escape with the children. He and his group plan how they’re going to go inside the compound and detonate the explosives. The woman convinces him that as she knows the compound and where the members are at all times. She must be the one who sets the detonators. She says she will be able to get out in time but decides that the only way to destroy the organization is to remain and die with the members.
5. What is the Parting Image/Line that leaves us with the Profound Truth in our minds?
Profound Truth: Every human being has divine value and a purpose only they can fulfill.
What final image or final line can express that powerfully?
The woman hands Asher a note, grabs the detonator and runs into the compound. She turns back, waves to him. Asher reads the childlike handwritten note from his sister: Thank you for showing me my worth. I finally know why I’m alive.
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Dale’s Profound Ending
What I learned from this assignment is to look at my structure in terms of how it dramatically and stepwise leads to a profound ending. Not sure I’ve found that structure yet, but this is making me ask good questions.
1. What is your Profound Truth and how will it be delivered powerfully in your ending?
Looking again at the Profound Truth of Pickering’s Harem, I feel I’m still exploring possibilities. Here are some: The Truth Will Out. Stick to your Guns and It Will Pay Off. Important Discoveries Will Find Recognition. Trusting and believing in yourself can lead to great discoveries.
Possible endings:
• With 77 year old Antonia finishing up her acceptance speech, and in the audience we see about ¼ of the attendees are women.
• With the information on cards of the ways that Antonia contributed after the events of this story.
• Question: Is the return to 1943 more like an epilogue than and ending, and as such the ending should take place at the end of the main storyline?? In which case, what is my climax (will it change from what I’ve already listed) and how will Antonia emerge triumphant even if her system has not yet been adopted. Will she be triumphant because the New Ways are now reigning supreme? And how to show that in the ending??
• Might she say to the journalist at the end, the following: “We were called ‘Pickering’s Harem’ and of course, we weren’t, but in some ways were were. “He was the sun around which our planets tightly orbited. God forbid one of us escaping that orbit. One of us daring to create a gravitational pull of our own!” When he asks her if she is glad she persisted, she answers: ““Oh, absolutely. It may have taken over two decades – but my discoveries have proven invaluable to astronomy. I have, in the end, been vindicated. And allow a “mere” woman to say, that indeed it makes me glad!”
2. How do your lead characters (Change Agent and Transformable Characters) come to an end in a way that represents the completed change?
In Pickering’s Harem, the transformable character, Antonia, represents the change by learning to trust in her instincts and persist against odds to construct her classification system
3. What are the setup/payoffs that complete in the end of this movie, giving it deep meaning?
In Pickering’s Harem, there are setups in the beginning where the classmates tell Antonia how hard it will be out there (and it is.) There are the setups of various observations she makes that lead to distinct discoveries. There is the setup of her aunt telling her she must still “act like a lady” and her assertion in the end that a lady acts in many different ways. There are the setup situations with Pickering where she is looking to please him, but in the end realizes she must please herself instead. Questions that get setup and eventually answered are: Will Antonia overcome her insecurities and shyness to stand up to both Pickering and her aunt. Will she trust enough in her scientific instincts to know that her discoveries are valuable even if not immediately recognized
4. How are you designing it to have us see an inevitable ending and then making it surprising when it happens?
What is the ending that seems like it will never happen in Pickering’s Harem? When she returns to HCO under the leadership of Shapley and throws herself into studying binary stars (in 1918), it seems her classification system will never get the due it deserves. But in 1922, it does and she is vindicated.
5. What is the Parting Image/Line that leaves us with the Profound Truth in our minds?
After Antonia says the line to the journalist about creating her own gravitational pull, we return to the receiving of the Annie Jump Cannon award and to the end of Antonia’s speech. She might say something like: “I speak to all you young astronomers out there, and particularly to the women. Do not let anyone divert you from making a discovery that you were uniquely born to do. Always stay true to the scientist within.”
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