-
Lesson 1
Reply to post your assignment.
-
18 Replies
-
I take the lack of assignment posts here to mean that the Day 1 lesson materials weren’t working for anyone else yesterday, as well, right?
-
-
@Ed did Support end up helping you? They had to help @Jane and me!
-
Elizabeth, (Liz?)
I haven’t heard back yet. Did they send you a link to the class? Can you forward what they sent you?Or, did they fix your landing page links?
Thank you!
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by Ed Nemeth.
-
Nope, just Elisabeth!
They went in and checked the blank Lesson as “completed” (I think it’s a tech glitch on their end) and then that meant I could read Lesson 1, and then I had to mark that “completed” in order to see the video. You can try that, or hopefully they can do it for you. I just emailed them begging them to help you and Stephen. Would love for us all to be on this journey together!
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by
-
-
Cheryl, I still do not have access to the lessons or video(s).
Can you check on this, please?
Thank you!
-
-
-
Elizabeth: I too wasn’t able to access the the Day 1 Lesson yesterday. I received support help through a ticket, and the lesson is available to me today.
-
@Jane that’s what I had to do, as well, so unfortunately I am behind on the Day 1 lesson.
-
-
Assignment Post Prior to Looking at Casablanca Handout:
Jane Alcala’s Lead Characters
Lead Character 1 name: Dara Phan
Role in the Story: Protagonist, former “erotic massage” sex worker turned stand-up comedian desperate to make it in show business
Age Range: 28-34
Core Traits: Aggrieved, determined, impulsive, badass
Subtext: manipulates by “massaging truth” and coming up with schemes
Motivation: Want: to make it in show business for fame and money
Need: to learn to have authentic relationships that grow out of resolving conflict, being able to forgive and accepting fault
Flaw: inability to accept fault for her own shortcomings
Special about character: quick witted
Character Logline: Dara Phan, a sex-worker turned comedian, must save her failing stand-up career by manipulating her probation officer to face off against her in a TV roast battle.
<div><div>
Lead Character 2 name: Pat McCarthy
Role in the story: Antagonist, down-on-her-luck, isolated and suspended probation officer who dabbles in stand-up while awaiting ruling on fate of her job.
Age Range: 35-40
Core traits: socially awkward, rigid, anxious, competent
Subtext: uses sarcasm and wisecracks
Motivation: Wants to get her job back and avoid change
Need: to learn to truly care for people
Flaw: inability to deeply care about people
Special about character: can be reached through humor
Character Logline: When Pat McCarthy, an isolated, down-on-her-luck probation officer agrees to face-off against her nemesis–and ex-parolee–in a TV roast battle, she ironically learns what caring for others is truly about. </div><div>
Copyright Hal Croasmun, 2002 – 2022, all rights reserved
http://www.ScreenwritingU.comFor support questions, please email us at support@screenwritingu.com
0
</div></div>
-
I am able to open the pdf on Example from Casablanca, but still unable to open the video for Monday assignment. The error message on video reads: “You must complete previous assignment.”
I’ll see if that changes later today, so I can complete the After Portion of Monday assignment.
On another matter: I am traveling Wednesday-Friday, so may have to turn in our next assignment late.
-
It’s frustrating, you just have to mark the lesson as “completed” (even if you haven’t done the homework yet) in order to move on to the video.
-
-
A note on Lesson One: the further explanation on the goals for this class and the first assignment are exciting to me. I want to improve the emotional depth of my two main characters and script overall; and this course appears to be exactly what I need right now. Watching “Casablanca” with Hal’s questions in mind has been very helpful too. The excellent contradictions of both the main characters–including that their contradictory natures make them such a great romantic match–has been a pleasure to study.
-
Assignment AFTER Looking at Casablanca Handout:
I added some ideas after reading Casablanca example about Rick.
WHAT I LEARNED DOING THIS ASSIGNMENT:
In particular, this assignment helped me refine the wants and needs of my characters in ways I hadn’t thought of before.
It also helped me to focus more on both of the characters’ inherent contradictions.
Based on the handout, I added a paradox and a dilemma for each character
Jane Alcala’s Lead Characters UPDATED:
Lead Character 1 name: Dara Phan
Role in the Story: Protagonist, former “erotic massage” sex worker turned stand-up comedian desperate to make it in show business
Age Range: 28-34
Core Traits: Aggrieved, determined, impulsive, badass, loyal to friends, romantic and caring at heart
Subtext: Dara deals with childhood wounds by feeling entitled to manipulate
Motivation: Want: to make it in show business for fame and money
Need: to learn to have authentic relationships that grow out of resolving conflict, being able to forgive and accepting fault
Flaw: inability to accept fault for her own shortcomings
Special about character: quick witted. Self sufficient, but craves close, caring relationships.
Paradox: A kind-hearted woman with a gruff exterior
Dilemma: Between joining forces with her arch enemy, Pat, or losing out on another career break
Character Logline: Dara Phan, a sex-worker turned comedian, must save her failing stand-up career by manipulating her probation officer to face off against her in a TV roast battle.
<div><div>
Lead Character 2 name: Pat McCarthy
Role in the story: Antagonist, down-on-her-luck, isolated and suspended probation officer who dabbles in stand-up while awaiting ruling on fate of her job.
Age Range: 35-40
Core traits: socially awkward, rigid, anxious, competent
Subtext: uses sarcasm and wisecracks; due to childhood wounds, Pat trusts and cares for animals over people. She’s overly sentimental about animals. She craves connection and belonging with people.
Motivation: Wants to get her job back and avoid change
Need: to learn to truly care for people
Flaw: inability to deeply care about people
Paradox: Pat appears to shun people in general, but tried stand-up comedy in order to connect with people through humor.
Dilemma: Between doing something (a roast battle) she finds offensive versus making it up to Dara for causing Dara to miss out on a prior career break
Special about character: can be reached through humor
Character Logline: When Pat McCarthy, an isolated, down-on-her-luck probation officer agrees to face-off against her nemesis–and ex-parolee–in a TV roast battle, she ironically learns what caring for others is truly about. </div><div>
Copyright Hal Croasmun, 2002 – 2022, all rights reserved
http://www.ScreenwritingU.comFor support questions, please email us at support@screenwritingu.com
0
</div></div>
0
-
Hey @Jane, a question: is her Need “to learn to truly care for people”, or is her Need “connection and belonging with people” (which is currently written under Subtext)? Moving that there, could make her Need different than her Flaw!
-
-
Adding to What I Learned after Watching Video:
That what makes a character special is not simply a special character trait, but a major contradiction in how they relate to the world of the script.
In my script, Dara claims to hate Pat, but she’s determined to work with Pat on roast battle, meaning that she must inevitably get closer to Pat
Pat appears to shun people, but, in agreeing to the roast battle, puts herself in a situation where she’s forced to confront her feelings about Dara and their past together
-
I cannot access any of the lessons for this class.
The other courses work fine for me.
Thank you.
-
Hi Stephen — what Support had to do for me, was go in and check as “completed” an empty Lesson, so that the first lesson would pop up. Then I had to mark that “completed” in order to be able to view the video. Maybe try doing that, and see if it works?
I’ve also emailed Support to ask them to help you and Ed. Would love for us to all be able to be on this journey together!
-
-
What I learned doing this assignment is: the protagonist of my short film nicely lent herself to this way of thinking about things, and it helped me better understand her. The supporting characters, however, are another matter… (if I get extra time, I’ll come back and do some of them).
Melisa:
Role in the Story:
Protagonist — a theater critic who hasn’t been to the theater since prior
to the pandemic, maintaining her pandemic isolation.
Age range and Description:
a mid-to-late 30s, wide-eyed redhead
Core Traits:
an awe-filled sponge, quiet/reserved, good-humored, intellectual,
self-critical
Character Subtext:
Melisa covers her guilt, grieving, and self-criticism, with a quiet positivity.
Motivation; Want/Need:
Want: to be out in the world seeing theater
Need: the security of isolation, ensuring she never accidentally infects anyone
Flaw: Melisa
is fearful of leaving her house because she accidentally killed her mentor
with the COVID she didn’t know she was carrying.
What’s special about this
character? Famous play and musical characters
she’s seen herself in over the years (when watching them come alive onstage)
have taken up residence in her mind and house, acting as friends and advisors.
Character Logline:
Melisa is a theater critic who, three years into the pandemic, must
overcome a dark secret in order to leave the safety of her house and the
imaginary seminal theater characters who have taken up residence there.
Log in to reply.