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Day 9 Assignments
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8 Replies
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Sunil Pappu’s Favorite Twists!
“What I learned doing this assignment is that my outline already has many of the twists built-in to it, but by knowing these new ways to brainstorm, I was able to add and tweak them more consciously to create suspense/mystery or surprise into the scenes”
FIVE favourite twists:
1. Unexpected support
Setup: An Israeli fighter roots for Svetlana, the underdog, and gets laughed at for throwing his money away
Twist: She beats her opponent using martial arts Krav Maga and leaves him close to death.
2. Protected
Setup: The Israeli fighter takes all the winnings to her in the form of prison supplies, and she picks up an American peanut butter jar and eats a handful.
Twist: He warns her to watch what she eats before practice the next day.
3. Trap/Trick– Escape
Setup: Prison guards who bet against her are not very happy with her and chain her up to be interrogated.
Twist: She escapes her restraints using her wit and cleverly tricks them. They are left chained up instead.
4. Identity Hidden– Exposed
Setup: CCTV camera captures her face.
Twist: KGB agent alerts Commander Mikhail of a possible facial recognition match to a defected dead agent
Twist: Israeli fighter gives her a postcard that has just arrived and tells her: “Time to go?” The postcard is an image of her in KGB training which is code for activation. She is a CIA sleeper agent.
5. Protected
Setup: She gets knocked out by a KGB agent
Twist: but she gets some help from the sniper to neutralize him.
Twist: She falls through the cracks into the icy lake but is rescued by the ex-military sniper Igor and his rescue dog.
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Danielle LEGRAND’s Favourite Twists !
What I learned doing this assignement is to surprise the audience and add a bit of spice to the situations which become more exciting this way.
1. The following scenes could need a twist or two :
a) When the HERO looks completely trapped but finds a way to escape.
b) When he is running away and gets an unexpected support from a child.
c) When the HERO is forced to transfer the funds but a surprising alliance makes the plan fail.
d) When he thinks he is going to die and the scientist has finally find a way to get an unexpected antidote.
e) When he is threatened of death and his wife saves him.
2 & 3. Ways to use the Twists :
a) Trap / Trick……………………………. Escape
b) New threat……………………………. Unexpected support
c) Betrayal………………………………. Surprising alliance
d) It just got worse……………………. It just Got Better
e) Unexpected weapon………………. Surprising Response
4&5. Building my favorite twists into the scenes:
a) The hero manages to land in a laundry basket after being poisoned.
b) A child sells him a tombola ticket and without meaning it hides him from his pursuer’s eyes.
c) A VILLAIN’s «punching bag» colleague re-transfers the money on the right account thinking he will avoid being accused of « a new mistake ».
d) As he could not get the right chemicals the scientist has the idea to make it from some plants in his garden.
e) When the VILLAIN thinks he will beat and kill the hero but becomes the target of a super karate champion, the FIRST LADY herself.
5.My FIVE favorite twists would be :
– Lost resources………………………………New resources
– Reversal…………………………………………Reverse the reversal
– It just got worse……………………………It just get better
– Deceived………………………………………. Surprising Truth
– Identity or Plan exposed……………. Identity hidden
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Laura Woodworth’s Favorite Twists!
What I learned doing this assignment is that there were other opportunities for unexpected twists than what I had already built in. Also, I like the concept of “if possible, we want to create twists that are unexpected yet in hindsight, make sense.”
1. Choose any scene that needs a twist or two.
2. Brainstorm ways to use one or more of these twists:
Danger – safety
New threat – unexpected support
Plan fails – plan succeeds
Identity or plan exposed – identity hidden
Deceived – surprising truth
Attacked – protected
Lost resources – new resources
It just got worse – it just got better
Unexpected weapon – surprising response
Trap/trick – escape
Reversal – reverse the reversal
3. Select the twists you’ll use and build them into your scene.
4. Do #1 to # 3 with as many scenes in your outline as you can.
5. Tell us your FIVE favorites twists listed as setup/twist.
1. Scene in bank: Unexpected Support: Amber helps Rachel, despite her Muslim background.
2. Scene after the reveal of the bridge collapse: It just got better: Her breakdown opens a door for her and Evan to have an honest conversation about their lost child.
3. Scene with Evan in FBI briefing: Make twist stronger: Surprising truth: Rachel knew the situation before the FBI put two and two together.
4. Scene with Rachel encountering Evan after she just make an incognito phone call: Make this twist stronger: Escape: Rachel thought she’d be trapped but she “escapes” his detection more easily than she thought! Emboldens her.
5. Scene with “Bird”: create stronger twist here: Identity hidden: we don’t get the clue to who he is as he orchestrates the White House narrative till later.
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I enjoyed this lesson the twist examples helped me to break down plot and scenes and playback setup and twists allowing me to ask are they strong enough, interesting enough, predictable?
Pass 1
Danger Safety then Danger Hidden Weapon then Safety.
SETUP: Rachel and Edwards break into Volkova’s apartment to retrieve Ivanov’s cellphone and memory stick. A fight ensues and Rachel manages to tie Volkova to a chair but Lev her minder emerges from the bathroom and takes out Edwards then Volkova takes out Rachel.
TWIST: But Rachel manages to shoot her way out using a hidden weapon and Lev and Volkova are killed in a kill or be killed situation. Rachel and Edwards escape down the fire escape before Volkova’s colleagues in a neighbouring apartment can catch them.
Trap/Trick Escape
SETUP: Rachel is swimming towards Nick’s yacht when she’s shot at by Nick and his bodyguard. Rachel goes underwater and they think she’s dead. There’s blood in the water.
TWIST: Rachel has been bitten by a fresh water shark. She manages to find her way into the engine room through a trap door and it’s only then that we see that she’s still alive. But Nick and his bodyguards don’t know she’s now on board his yacht.
Protected Attacked Protected
SETUP: Ivanov is being protected by Rachel during his intelligence meeting with Edwards but then Rachel is attacked and then Ivanov is attacked.
TWIST: Rachel manages to shoot and kill her attackers and protect Ivanov for a little longer.
It Just got Worse It Just Got Better It Just Got Worse
SETUP: Mark has kidnapped Rachel and Dr. Steel and is flying them to Nick’s yacht when Rachel decides to wrestle control of the helicopter from Mark and push it into a dive causing Mark to lose consciousness. Rachel has less than one hour to live and is desperate to take one of the anti viral pills that Mark has in his possession.
TWIST: Mark wakes up and stops her from taking the pill then pushes her out of the helicopter into a cold choppy lake below.
Surprising Alliance Betrayal
SETUP: Ivanov wants a deal for himself and his informant that will protect him from Chinese and Russian agencies. After Edwards has helped him lose the agents following them he gets a call from Veteran CIA Agent Steven Gilroy, Rachel’s father, promising him immediate protection if he agrees to bring his flash drive and meet Steven at a local bakery. Ivanov agrees.
TWIST: But Steven calls Ivanov’s boss, Volkova, and tells her where Ivanov is going. She then kills Ivanov.
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Nick’s Favorite Twists!
What I learned: There’s lots of ways to make interesting. twists as I found out analyzing the whole script scene by scene.
TWISTS IN “SPOOKY HOLLER”
SC1: Unexpected Support—Juan is ambushed and wounded and is about to be killed by a Taliban. A sniper kills the Taliban. Juan scrambles to safety under cover fire.
SC1: It Just Got Worse—He picks up a crying baby sitting by its dead mother in the street as he runs by. It’s boobytrapped. Juan gets blown up.
SC6: Surprising Truth—We don’t know Juan had lost his legs until he gets undressed for bed, then reveals his insecurities to his wife.
SC18: Unexpected weapon—Juan clobbers Mankill in the face with a round kick of his leg protheses.
SC18: Unexpected Support—Juan is about to be executed when the Sheriff steps in and saves him.
SC18: Surprising Response—Emilio drops kicks a fat skinhead.
SC25: Danger—The Sheriff doesn’t chase them into Spooky Holler.
SC26: New Threat—Two men with guns follow them.
SC30: Surprising Alliance—Deputy Henry is in cahoots with the skinheads.
SC38: New Threat/Danger—Mankill and his skinheads suddenly arrive at farmhouse; block escape with their Harleys.
SC42: It Just Got Worse—The skinheads are cannibals.
SC44: Identity Exposed—Undertakers Zed and Zak deliver a corpse to eat.
SC46: Plan fails/It Just Got Worse—Gloria and Coral are beaten and kidnapped from the campsite.
SC46: Unexpected Weapon—Gloria uses her fingers to pluck Donny’s eye out.
SC46: Unexpected Action—Donny, blindly swinging his Bowie knife at Gloria, slices Walt’s hand off instead.
SC49: Unexpected Weapon—Gloria awakens and kills two skinheads with the skinhead’s own knife.
SC55: Plan Fails—Juan and Emilio are discovered hiding.
SC55: It Just Got Worse/Lost Resource—Mankill destroys Juan’s prostheses. He is now legless and defenseless.
SC56: It Just Got Worse Yet—Juan and Emilio are sodomized in a pig wallow.
SC60: Plan Succeeds—Juan and Emilio get away in the SUV under a hail of gunfire.
SC62: Plan Fails—They run out of gas in the Holler.
SC63: It Just Got Worse—Emilio is caught and dragged away.
SC67: Danger/Escape—An alligator attacks Juan.
SC72: Surprising Truth—In this Flashback, in a continuance of the Opening Scene, we learn Emilio saved Juan’s life in Afghanistan.
SC72: New Resource—Juan gets an idea to make new legs out of spring-toothed cultivator tines.
SC72: Surprising Alliance—Juan befriends a three-legged dog.
SC84: Unexpected Weapon/Reversal—Juan drives his leg blade through Moose’s chest but it won’t come out and Juan is stuck to him as other skinheads approach.
SC97: Plan Succeeds—Juan and Emilio escape on a Harley under a hail of bullets, one of which hits the gas line.
SC98: Plan Fails—They run out of gas in the Holler, but evade the skinheads looking for them, and make new plan.
SC101: Attacked/Protected—Just as a skinhead is about to blow Juan’s head off, the three-legged dog leaps at his throat and kills him.
SC101: New Resources—Emilio shows off his talent for voice mimicry and saves them from exposure.
SC102: It Just Got Better—Gloria and Coral are alive, but tied up and held captive by the distraught Sheriff’s Deputy who wasn’t successful in raping them.
SC102: Surprising Truth—The girls learn that the hamburgers they like so much at the cafe, earlier, was human meat.
SC102: It Just Got Worse—Emilio, then Juan, pull the triggers on their shotguns but nothing happens. They are exposed.
SC104: Unexpected Weapon—A skinhead hammers a nail with a washer into Gloria’s ear against a barn stanchion.
SC105: Unexpected Weapon—Emilio, an established master Frisbee thrower, flings circular saw blades into skinheads’ jugulars.
SC109: Plan Succeeds/New Resources—Juan frees Gloria and Coral as Emilio draws the skinheads out with Woody Woodpecker sounds.
SC109: Unusual Weapon—A circular sawblade lands between Dora Hitchcock’s eyes.
SC109: Unexpected Weapon—A charging skinhead impales himself on Gloria’s foot-anchored pitchfork and rises and lands nose to nose, eye to eye with a moose trophy on the wall.
SC109: Unexpected Weapon—A skinhead is halved by a guillotine, one of the skinheads torture machines.
SC113: New Threat—Mankill returns with more skinheads and rages with vengeance as he scans the dead skinheads on the barn floor.
SC121: Unexpected weapon—As they flee in the SUV a skinhead rides up beside them pointing a gun at the driver Emilio’s head. Emilio swerves into him, The skinhead’s own gun shoots off the skinhead’s nose.
SC124: Surprising Alliance/Safety—Juan saves the three-legged dog.
SC124: Unexpected Weapon—Mankill and his skinheads riding afire from gasoline bomb Juan tossed at them during chase.
SC127: Escape/Reversal—Finally out of the hell of Spooky Holler, they run out of gas yet again and are suddenly approached by a group of Harley riders who we think are more skinheads, but turn out to be Veterans for Disabled Soldiers, who give them gas.
SC132: New Threat—The last image we see is Mankill sitting-up from out of the dripping swamp water burned and really, really pissed.
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FAVORITE SETUP/TWIST
SC1: It Just Got Worse—He picks up a crying baby sitting by its dead mother in the street as he runs by. It’s boobytrapped. Juan gets blown up.
SC18: Unexpected weapon—Juan clobbers Mankill in the face with a round kick of his leg protheses.
SC38: New Threat/Danger—Mankill and his skinheads suddenly arrive at farmhouse; block escape with their Harleys.
SC46: Unexpected Weapon—Gloria uses her fingers to pluck Donny’s eye out.
SC132: New Threat—The last image we see is Mankill sitting-up from out of the dripping swamp water burned and really, really pissed.
xxx
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Jan’s twists
WIL? : to sort and think constantly out of the box, consider what could happen next that would be unexpected by the educated audience and yet fit into the characters logical arcs.
my favorites :
– Kitty wants to go to the tattoo parlor, Paul refuses, they have to visit the next apartment first
– Paul shows Kitty the apt, it has the strongest IT backbone cause it’s near a university building but it is out of town
+ Kitty likes is, seduces Paul to have sex with her right there
– the sex has no emotional meaning, she just needed sex+ Kitty asks Paul to help her to buy some office stuff and a computer office chair , she s preparing for long hours;
They leave IKEA when Kitty is attacked by two DARK security goons;
+ Kitty uses some of the props from her cart to fight them off. During the fist fight she destroys their body cams. Paul is stunned.
+ Kitty finds the tattoo parlor – closed but Bar Petrus is open;
– In the bar Kitty grabs the woman who drugged her, Petrus replies she was waiting for her to show up.
– Petrus explains that Kitty was tattoed cause they needed two honest people with good vibes to save the old Artists most powerful tattoos.
+ Kitty is now the bearer of the Maltese lizard.
– But she must find and re unite with the other two within xy days after that the tattoo will start to dissolve and finally kill her;
+ Kitty codes a new algorithm to find the tattooed #3 ;
– Dark calls, invites Kitty to watch how the tattoo will be transplanted from tattooed #2 to his chest.
+ Kitty hangs up on him.
– Dark calls again, and Kitty should look out of the window, she is next. Kitty sees eight goons approaching Kitty’s apartment from all sides.
+ Kitty uses the kitchen appliances and the microwave to produce a dirty food bomb taking the majority out, then finishes the other four mano a mano.
+She switches the camera back on and shows DARK the havoc of men around her, hangs up again.
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WAYNE HAZLE – TWISTS THAT ENGAGE US
What I learned doing this lesson is how important it is to make action that CONNECTS not just fill things with explosions
FIVE FAVORITE TWISTS!!!
NEW THREAT
While Janine interviews one of the militia members. They a get a phone call from one of the leaders. They tell the men to hold her until they get there.
IT JUST GOT WORSE
The men lock Janine in their compound She sees she will not be released.
TRAP – ESCAPE
Another woman who was attacked slips Janine a weapon. They use it to escape.
LOST RESOURCES – NEW RESOURCES
Janine loses her press pass. But she finds a satellite phone.
NEW THREAT – UNEXPECTED SUPPORT
One of the local people provides Janine and the girls an escape path
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THE FOUNDLINGS
· THREAT – Elzee is attacked by Asa and his Bounty Hunters-
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· UNEXPECTED REVERSAL – Elzee successfully defends and injures Asa by cutting off his arm – forcing he and his Bounty Hunters to retreat –
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· UNEXPECTED SUPPORT – Jessup finds and brings Elzee home to help patch her up –
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· PROTECTED – Jessup brings Elzee home and Camille brings the Foundlings home –
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· DANGER – Asa tracks Elzee to Jessup’s ranch and attacks –
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· REVERSAL – Jessup and Camille are retired smugglers who have not lost their skills to defend themselves and escape – They are not trapped inside the house – they
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· IT JUST GOT WORSE – Camille and 3 of the Foundlings help Elzee and her Basinets down into the tunnel to get to their ship- as-
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· IT JUST GOT WORSE – HK-51 blasts the front door in on Jessup and Din – Did they make it?
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· UNEXPECTED SUPPORT – Jessup pulls a Sentry Droid out and
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· DANGER The Smuggler Ship, the Bright Lighter’s hatch won’t close and seal-
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· IT JUST GOT WORSE – they can’t go into space and hyperspace until the HATCH is fixed as they are being pursued by Asa and the Bounty Hunters in the airspace –
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· IT JUST GOT WORSE – Asa plants a tracking tag on the Bright Lighter –
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