-
Lesson 1 Assignment
Reply to post your assignment.
-
7 Replies
-
Paul’s Character Structure.
5. Vision of success from this program: I want to write scripts that become movies that change people’s lives.
6. What I learned from this assignment is that it helped me to work on my story structure and see if it works in macro terms. Still some points for fine-tuning.
3. Protagonist:
Beginning: Hard-working single mum in Culiacán, Mexico, Lilia, striving to ensure a better future for her daughter.
Inciting incident: Death of her daughter in the US college where she is a scholarship student.
Turning point 1: Abduction of US college student who caused her daughter’s death.
Act 2: Getting slow revenge against daughter’s killer, exposing him to the truth of drug supply.
Turning point 2 / Midpoint: College student’s father (Antagonist) is a senator and a hawk in the drugs war, but also a former DEA agent. Arrives back in Culiacán to look for his son.
Act 3: Lilia becomes an Influencer in the war against the drugs war.
Turning point 3: Comes face to face with Senator again. We discover that they were lovers when he was with DEA in Culiacán and before he left Culiacán to escape the Cartel and changed his identity and underwent plastic surgery to cover his tracks.
Act 4 Climax: Lilia is murdered in a plot hatched by the DEA/Sinaloa Carte/ UNODC (UN Office on Drugs & Crime).
Resolution: Posthumous heroine and symbol.
4. Antagonist:
Beginning: (Before movie begins) DEA Agent in Culiacán. Having affair with Protagonist (Lilia). Forced to leave Mexico and undergo plastic surgery and name change to avoid being killed by Sinaloa Cartel.
Inciting incident: Death of Mexican girl (Lilia’s daughter, but also his daughter!) at son’s party in family home. Goes on TV accusing Mexicans of bringing in drugs.
Turning point 1: “Disappears” to Mexico to search for his son.
Act 2: In Culiacán, re-discovering his old stamping ground. Meets Lilia again.
Turning point 2 / Midpoint: Undergoes gradual change in views concerning the drugs war.
Act 3: Together with Lilia explores the real world of drug supply. Realizes supply is driven by demand, not the reverse.
Turning point 3: Finds his son.
Act 4 Climax: Considers taking Lilia back with him to the US, but Lilia murdered by the DEA and Sinaloa Cartel working together.
Resolution: Returns to the US with his son. Now a high-profile advocate of de-criminalizing drugs. Son totally turned off taking any more drugs.
END
-
KZ’s CHARACTER STRUCTURE
Vision: To write quotable, memorable screenplays and see them made into successful films.
What I learned doing this assignment is: this point of the outline feels awkward because there are still so many questions to answer.
PROTAGONIST: WENDY
Beginning: Wendy is a cutthroat negotiator who feels like she hasn’t won unless the other guy loses.
Inciting incident: What propels them on their journey?
After negotiating, she sleeps with Darwin, but she ultimately feels that he got the better of her. Then she discovers that Darwin will be her opponent in a high-stakes negotiation.Turning Point 1: Wendy and Darwin, along with Myra, ace meditation to the point that they wind up in Nirvana. (Myra, on purpose, Wendy and Darwin by accident)
Act 2: The character has a normal response to this change in their lives.
Wendy thinks she’ll get info from Darwin to win the negotiation, and double cross him to get back to reality.
Turning point – Midpoint: A twist that causes everything to change but keeps the character on the same journey
Wendy takes the info she got from Darwin and leaves him where he is, returning to the negotiation table to face his replacement; only to find out it’s an illusion. She’s back on the Nirvana train.
Act 3
Wendy realizes she’s going to have to cultivate the qualities she lacks (honesty, trust) or else she’ll never get back to reality.
Turning point 3 – Another major twist that takes them to the biggest conflict
Wendy and Darwin work together to convince the conductor of the Nirvana train to let them leave. An act of selflessness allows them to return.
(Myra as good witch? You had the power all along?)
___________________________
4<sup>th</sup> Act Climax – the ultimate experience/expression of this conflict
Wendy and Darwin face each other at the negotiation table, but go for the win/win solution.
ANTAGONIST: DARWIN
Beginning: Darwin is a cutthroat negotiator who uses his looks and intuition to gain an advantage in negotiations, but he can’t win against his mother, who is determined to arrange his marriage to a girl from India
Inciting incident: What propels them on their journey?
Darwin reveals the secret of deep meditation to Wendy in order to sleep with her. Then he discovers that Wendy will be his opponent in a high-stakes negotiation.Turning Point 1: Wendy and Darwin, along with Myra, ace meditation to the point that they wind up in Nirvana. (Myra, on purpose, Wendy and Darwin by accident)
Act 2: The character has a normal response to this change in their lives.
Darwin also double crosses Wendy to get back to reality.
Turning point – Midpoint: A twist that causes everything to change but keeps the character on the same journey
Darwin fails at the double-cross and is back on the Nirvana train.
Act 3
Darwin realizes he’s going to have to cultivate the qualities he lacks (honesty, trust) or else he’ll never get back to reality.
Turning point 3 – Another major twist that takes them to the biggest conflict
Darwin and Wendy work together to negotiate their release.
___________________________
4<sup>th</sup> Act Climax – the ultimate experience/expression of this conflict
Darwin and Wendy make it back to the negotiation table, but horrify their bosses by going for the win/win solution.
-
Madeleine’s Character Journey Structure
Vision: I am going to do whatever it takes for me to be a writer of amazing stories with meaning who can move the audience and change the world resulting in financial, critical and audience success.
What I learned from doing this assignment is: What I learned is to work with a new lightness that just feels like playing around.
Alex
Beginning: Alex teaches and loses it with Mirai who asks a critical question.
Inciting Incident: Mirai crashes Alex’s birthday party to get an apology.
Turning Point 1: Luke finds out that he is menopausal and should take it easier.
Act 2: Alex self medicates.
Turning Point 2 / Midpoint: After Luke passes away, Flavia becomes interim dean because Alex has to stay home after his break down.
Act 3: Alex contacts Mirai to get her support.
Turning Point 3: Corrie and Eva leave, because Alex lives his self-limiting life.
Act 4 Climax: Mirai is amazed and promises the students’ support, Corrie wants a divorce if he applies.
Resolution: Corrie starts her career, Alex teaches a new form of economy and they live a new family life.
Corrie
Beginning: Corrie is bored and does not have a satisfying life on her own.
Inciting Incident: For Alex’s birthday, Corrie offers him a new gardenhouse, so he can spend more time at home.
Turning Point 1: Corrie finds out that Alex wants to apply.
Act 2: Corrie looks for a new professional challenge.
Turning Point 2 / Midpoint: Corrie finds Alex medication and thinks he has an affair.
Act 3: Corrie is frustrated and starts an affair.
Turning Point 3: Corrie moves out because she hates Alex’s new self-limiting lifestyle.
Act 4 Climax: Corrie comes to discuss divorce and pilot comes to pick her up.
Resolution: Corrie starts her career and they live a new family life.
-
Vision: To write family films that teach and entertain.
What I learned doing this assignment is analyzing the break-down of the below:
Protagonist:
Beginning: Tina is told by her boyfriend that he’ll be
getting promoted on his job
Inciting Incident: Tina discovers that her boyfriend
never had a job to begin with and has been mooching off of her and another
womanTurning Point 1: Tina kicks her boyfriend out of her
home, her kids wonder who their next “daddy” will beAct 2: Tina meets Barry, a seemingly good man with
valuesTurning Point 2 / Midpoint: Barry bonds with Tina’s
children and takes a liking to her daughter, he moves into Tina’s homeAct 3: Barry secretly puts cameras in Tina’s daughter’s
bedroom and wants to spend more time with herTurning Point 3: Tina discovers the cameras and
confronts Barry. Barry mysteriously moves outAct 4 Climax: Tina’s daughter is angry that Barry left
and goes after him because she sees him as her dadResolution: Tina must face and forgive trauma from her past
in order to get her daughter back from Barry and she doesAntagonist:
Beginning: Barry is an assistant pastor at a church that
is highly admired
Inciting Incident: A parent of a ten-year-old girl
discovers inappropriate text messages between Barry and her daughterTurning Point 1: Barry is told to resign his title as assistant
pastor and leave the churchAct 2: Barry goes to Tina’s church and scopes out the
girls in the Sunday School. He catches Tina’s eye and isn’t interested until
he meets her eight-year-old daughterTurning Point 2 / Midpoint: Barry bonds with Tina’s
children and takes a special liking to her daughter, he moves into Tina’s
homeAct 3: Barry cunningly puts hidden cameras in Tina’s daughter’s
bedroom and spends a lot of time with herTurning Point 3: Tina discovers the cameras and
confronts Barry. Barry blames the cameras on a good friend of Tina’s and
moves out. He tells Tina’s daughter that Tina no longer loves him and he
can’t be her “daddy” anymoreAct 4 Climax: Barry lures Tina’s daughter to him by
making her feel sorry for him and have resentment towards her momResolution: Barry is captured by authorities due to
child abuse charges of another minor -
Raquel’s Character Structure
Raquel’s Character Profiles, Part 2
Vision: I want to go deeper into my writing to create screenplays where characters of depth are placed in compelling journeys with a fresh voice that Hollywood producers as well as independent film companies know they must make!
What I learned from doing this assignment is that character structure needs separate acts and turning points to increase the tension in the story resulting in the final climax and resolution. My current assignment will probably have changes over time.
Outline-Miri- Protagonist
Beginning: It is right before Germany invades Poland. Miri is playing blues violin with her band in Warsaw clubs. A young man takes her home for a date and asks her to be more serious. She laughs this off.
Inciting Incident: During a gig, 2 Jew-haters barge into the club and start to beat up a young man they believe is Jewish. The other patrons stop them and throw them out.
Turning point 1: Miri is forced to live in the Jewish section of the Warsaw Ghetto.
Act 2: Miri is teaching music to classes of children. One boy (Jacob) asks for violin lessons as he already knows how to play some. She finally agrees.
Turning point 2:Midpoint: Miri practices classical music to tryout for the ghetto orchestra. Officer Heinrich hears her and starts a conversation all about the great german composers.He forces a kiss which she rebuffs. He tells her she will be his mistress or he will send Jacob to Treblinka. Miri starts to play at a Nazi Officers club outside the ghetto.
Act 3: Miri uses her time at her “rehearsals” to sneak over to the Aryan side of the ghetto to pass as a non-Jew and meet with resistance to smuggle weapons into the ghetto.
Turning pt. 3: Heinrich becomes suspicious of her absences and also hears she has a Jewish lover (Avi). She is worried for Jacob and helps hide him to escape from the ghetto. Her lover is killed aiding this escape.
Act 4: Climax Drunk Heinrich catches Miri with a potato sack filled with weapons. He is enraged and lifts his weapon. She shoots him first.
Resolution: The war is over. Miri hears that Jacob is alive. She searches for him and finds him at a Jewish orphanage. They are reunited but she has to say goodbye. he is being sent to relatives in Palestine.
Outline Heinrich- Antagonist
Beginning Heinrich grows up without his father a hero of World War I- killed in action.
Inciting Incident: Heinrich promoted into the S.S. He wants to emulate his father.
Turning Point 1. He is given a leadership position in the Warsaw Ghetto.
Act 2: He orders Jews in the ghetto at various work functions. He encourages violence. He witnesses Miri teaching children and sees her with Jacob.
Turning Point 2: He hears Miri playing classical. He talks to her at great length of wonderful German composers Bach and Wagner. He blackmails Miri into being his mistress with Jacob’s life.
Act 3: Heinrich grows suspicious of Miri’s disappearances from the Officer’s club.
Turning point 3: He catches Miri with weapons.
Act 4: Climax He is killed by Miri.
-
Brandyn Cross’ Character Structure
My vision for success in this program is to develop and hone my skills to the extent that my screenplays will be produced and widely viewed.
What I learned from this assignment is that the characters have their own 4-act structure apart from that of the overall film.
Protagonist: Alex (I’ve been struggling on just who is really the protagonist, who is the antagonist, and who is the triangle. At the moment, I’m proceeding under the assumption Alex is the protagonist, Sandy is the antagonist- even through Alex is the more disagreeable character, while Sandy is a good person trying to help Alex- and that the dark entity is not the antagonist but, rather, the triangle character. This is because, even though Sandy is working for Alex’s own good, he must make Alex do things he does not want to do.)
Beginning: A formerly successful writer and family man, Alex’s career has taken a turn for the worse, and he has lost his family. This has left him bitter and alone, caring only for revitalizing his career. He is completely self-absorbed.
Inciting Incident: Alex is visited by Sandy, a child ghost, who tells him he has the power to help other grieving parents, and help their departed children cross over to eternity.
Turning Point 1: Alex initially wants to connect with his own departed son, the details about whom he has very little recollection, but discovers his psychic abilities only allow him to connect with the ghosts of other departed children.
Act 2: Alex still has no interest in using his powers to assist others rather than himself, and tries to ignore these powers.
Turning Point 2 / Midpoint: Unable to suppress his psychic powers, Alex writes Rorie’s story, but the family isn’t responsive to him. Alex discovers that, in writing Rorie’s story, he has gained a greater recollection of his own son. But, with the family’s rejection of him, he begins losing that newfound recollection and realizes that, for his own sake, he must succeed in bringing the family and their departed child together.
Act 3: Alex now realizes he must succeed in getting these other families to believe in his ability to connect them with their departed children. He is now unwilling to accept failure, and becomes absorbed in helping these other families to move beyond their paralyzing grief.
Turning Point 3: Beth’s mother commits suicide, unable to continue in life without her child even with the assurance of gaining closure. Devastated and now believing his is doing more harm than good in connecting these departed kids with their families, Alex tells Sandy he wants nothing more to do with these kids, and will no longer use his connection to these kids to do so.
Act 4 Climax: Sandy shows Alex that Rose’s suicide was unavoidable but, without Alex’s intervention in connecting her with her departed child, her suicide would have been an act of despair rather than a misguided act of hope, and would have taken the rest of her family with her.
Resolution: As Alex accomplishes the task, his recollections of his son and suicide attempt improve, and he realizes that Sandy is, in fact, his son, and that Alex himself had died, and has been dead throughout the story. This whole journey has, in reality, been about his own reclamation and redemption, which he must undergo before being allowed to join Sandy in the eternities. He also discovers that the children he has connected with are kids who died as an indirect result of his own suicide. Several cars had stopped to assist in the crash, and a truck had accidentally plowed through a few of the cars, killing 3 kids left in the cars as their parents tried to save Alex. His redemption complete, he is allowed to cross over and join Sandy in the afterlife.
Antagonist: Sandy
Beginning: Sandy died and has been waiting to be reunited with his father when his time comes.
Inciting Incident: He learns that his father has never gotten over Sandy’s death, and his life has spiraled downhill, culminating in his suicide. Because of all this baggage he still carries, he is not able to join Sandy in heaven.
Turning Point 1: Sandy is told that his father can join him if he is able to be redeemed by helping some other ghosts who are in turmoil, and in need of closure. Not unrelated is that these ghosts are some kids whose forgiveness Alex needs to bring about his own redemption.
Act 2: Sandy contacts Alex to convince him to do what he needs to do so he and Sandy can be reunited, but Alex refuses. Sandy is not allowed to reveal his true identity to Alex.
Turning Point 2 / Midpoint: After a lot of effort, Sandy convinces Alex to write books for the ghost children Sandy has introduced him to.
Act 3: Sandy helps Alex writes Rorie’s story. They are initially unreceptive, but Sandy helps Alex convince them. It ultimately works out, and Sandy is optimistic that this is going to work, and he will be able to be reunited with his father properly in heaven.
Turning Point 3: Sandy’s hopes are dashed when Rose, the mother of Beth, the second ghost child, commits suicide after Alex delivers Beth’s book to the family. Alex refuses to continue working on any other books, and tells Sandy to leave him alone.
Act 4 Climax: Sandy and Beth’s dad, Tony, help Alex realize that Rose’s suicide was inevitable and that, without his help, things would have turned out much worse. This convinces him to continue his work, and he writes Kody’s book.
Resolution: Alex discovers that Kody’s book was necessary to help Kody come to terms with his death so he could cross over and be reunited with his mother, Angel, who had died earlier and had been waiting for her reunion with Kody. With his redemption completed, Alex recalls and comes to terms with his suicide, and is able to recognize Sandy for who he is, at which point they are reunited in heaven.
-
Mhmd’s Character Structure
My Vision: I will keep creating constantly and effectively; in order to be the most demanded and influential glorified writer within the industry and with the audience.
What I learned from doing this assignment is..
– this is all totally new for me and demands more work on lead characters.
—-
Protagonist: 84
Beginning: He performs his duties as a worker inside the colony.
Inciting Incident: He receives an order to join the sect, but he refuses.
Turning Point 1: He finds a direct threat: you join or you die, so he resists, survives and flees.
Act 2: Begins to indiscriminately target cult members and some complicit observers.
Turning Point 2 / Midpoint: He entraps Spider and uncovers (3)’s grand scheme.
Act 3: He develops a strategy quickly, recruit and qualify more.
Turning Point 3: 84 discovers that he is still part of Plan 3. He decides that the colony must be taken over.
Act 4 Climax: Decisive Showdown between 84 and 3.
Resolution: 84 absorbs No. 3 into his revolutionary plan, and now he is in control of the colony.
—-
Antagonist: 3
Beginning: 3 continues to prepare his scheme to escape from the colony and conquer the world.
Inciting Incident: His arrangements with some of the guards fail.
Turning Point 1: He resorts to an alternative route by recruiting 84 to help him escape. And it ends with the fall of his cult members.
Act 2: Decides to take control of the colony to ensure an exit from it.
Turning Point 2 / Midpoint:
Act 3:
Turning Point 3:
Act 4 Climax: Decisive Showdown with 84.
Resolution: He is defeated and finds himself part of Scheme 84.
—-
Triangle: Spider
Beginning: A successful agent experiences professional failure and emotional loss.
Inciting Incident: He is offered a chance to recoup his losses with a covert operation to extract a former agent from the colony.
Turning Point 1: He agrees and performs preparatory surgery. And in the colony he discovers the former client and the secret cult.
Act 2: Engages in the sect, and the colony realm to solve the mission completion.
Turning Point 2 / Midpoint: He discovers 3’s scheme and decides to flee alone to warn the Outsiders. But 84 prevents him .
Act 3: He will have to face the scheme alone from within the colony.
Turning point 3: decides to ally with 84.
Act 4 Climax: Decisive Showdown between 84 and 3.
Resolution: The colony is under control until now.
Log in to reply.