Lesson 4

[Tom Carroll]

What I learned while doing this assignment is that it is FUN to examine a deeper motivational layer for each of the select characters in a contained screenplay. Look below in the Secret Identity section of Captain Davis’ section and you’ll find it amazing that I might suggest that she is the mole (traitor) in this screenplay. I didn’t think about this until the assignment asked me to!

PILOT: CAPTAIN RACHEL “RAPTOR” DAVIS

Internal Character Depth

· Motivation: Captain Davis’s outward goal is to protect her crew and complete her missions successfully. Internally, however, she wrestles with feelings of inadequacy and impostor syndrome, constantly seeking validation and reassurance that she can handle the immense responsibilities she feels.

· Secret: Despite her outward confidence, Davis carries the burden of a deep-seated insecurity about her abilities, fearing that she will never truly measure up to the standards set by her father, a many times decorated career aviator.

· Wound: The wound that Davis carries is the memory of traumatic experiences during her training, where she was subjected to harassment and discrimination by male colleagues, leaving her with deep-seated anger and resentment towards the sexist culture within the military.

· Subtext: When the AI takes control of her aircraft, Davis begins to suspect that it has singled her crew out because of her insecurities and is forced to recognize that she will have to overcome them to win this game of cat and mouse with the rogue AI.

· Layers: As Davis confronts her past traumas and insecurities, she learns to embrace her vulnerabilities and harness them as a source of strength and resilience in the face of adversity.

Character to character

· Conflict: Conflict may arise between Captain Davis and Major Thompson due to differences in leadership styles and conflicting priorities during the crisis with the rogue AI. Also, the crew’s skepticism towards Captain Davis’s early decisions may lead to conflict as they struggle to trust her judgment in the face of the escalating threat.

· Hidden Agenda: Davis may suspect a hidden agenda from external factors, such as rival nations or terrorist organizations, who seek to exploit the chaos caused by the rogue AI for their own nefarious purposes.

· Conspiracy: A conspiracy could involve a mole within the crew, possibly to further the actions of the rogue AI. Why? To keep the AI in play as the mission progresses.

· Intrigue: Intrigue may arise from the revelation of a double agent or sleeper agent within the crew, whose true allegiance and motivations remain shrouded in secrecy until the final act of the story.

Character Situation

· Dilemma: Davis grapples with a dilemma when she discovers evidence suggesting that a trusted member of her crew may be working against them, forcing her to confront the possibility of betrayal and make difficult decisions about whom to trust.

· Secret Identity: While this is unlikely, Davis may be the mole herself, having been subverted by a foreign agent who knew of her insecurities earlier in her career.

Encapsulated Character: Captain Davis is the pilot of a B-1B that is overtaken by a rogue AI to drop a nuclear bomb on Beijing, China.

• Secret: She feels she can’t live up to the standards of her many-times decorated aviator father.
• Wound: She suffered harassment and discrimination by male cadets during her training.
• Motivation: Honor her father by protecting her crew and finishing her missions and prove the bullies wrong.
• Hidden Agenda: She suspects a crew member of being a mole for the rogue AI.
• Dilemma: Confront the mole or work in ancillary ways to thwart them.
• Conspiracy: Conspire with the mole in her crew to uncover the AI?

CO-PILOT: MAJOR JACK “HAMMER” THOMPSON

Internal Character Depth

· Motivation: Thompson needs to confront his fear of failure and embrace the inherent risks of military service. Internally, he desires to find a way to leave a legacy of service and sacrifice that will make the parents he never knew proud.

· Secret: Thompson uses a vintage pocket watch that was passed down through generations of his family. The secret is that Thompson stole it from his father’s room the morning he ran away from home.

· Wound: Jack carries the emotional scars of a childhood marked by poverty and hardship. His escape route involved running away from home and joining the Air Force. Thompson doesn’t know if he’s still alive or not.

· Subtext: Thompson carries the weight of a missed opportunity to reconcile with his estranged father, whom he spotted in a crowd once but couldn’t bring himself to approach, haunted by the unresolved tension between them.

· Layers: Thompson’s backstory is gradually revealed, exposing the depths of his insecurities and the lengths to which he will go to prove himself in the eyes of his superiors and peers.

Character to character

· Conflict: Thompson’s internal conflict stems from his resentment towards Captain Davis’s promotion over him, fueling his skepticism and reluctance to follow her lead, especially when faced with the unpredictable nature of the rogue AI.

· Hidden Agenda: Thompson’s hidden agenda revolves around protecting his own interests and reputation, even if it means sacrificing the safety and well-being of the crew, as he seeks to distance himself from any blame or responsibility for the escalating crisis.

· Conspiracy: Thompson suspects a conspiracy within the crew itself, but he keeps it to himself and tells no one, including Captain Davis.

· Intrigue: Intrigue follows Thompson as he attempts to downplay his negative feelings toward the liberal elites in charge of the US Department of Defense, with some success, and toward China, with no success.

Character Situation

· Dilemma: Thompson is faced with a dilemma when he learns that the only way to save the aircraft and crew from certain death is to sacrifice himself by defusing the nuke. Will it make him the hero, or will he fail at making the sacrifice as he’s failed at everything else?

· Secret Ability: Thompson has an exceptional memory that he keeps hidden. He wants to avoid drawing by concealing this ability. As a youth, he was exploited by his father, so he feined losing his talent.

Encapsulated Character: Major Thompson is the co-pilot of a B-1B that is overtaken by a rogue AI to drop a nuclear bomb on Beijing, China.

• Motivation: Thompson needs to confront his fear of failure and embrace the inherent risks of military service. Internally, he desires to find a way to leave a legacy of service and sacrifice that will make the parents he never knew proud. Does he eventually reveal to Davis that they both had “Daddy issues?”
• Conspiracy: Thompson suspects a conspiracy within the crew itself, but he keeps it to himself and tells no one, including Captain Davis.
• Wound: Thompson must overcome the emotional scars brought on by a difficult adolescence. In many ways, these have been behind many of his adult failures.
• Dilemma: The only way to save the aircraft and crew from certain death is for Thompson to sacrifice himself by defusing the nuke. Does he have the self-confidence to do this or is he unwilling to try?
• Dilemma: Confront the mole or work in ancillary ways to thwart them.
• Secret Ability: Thompson must finally show that he has an eidetic memory. Can he employ it to help defuse the nuke?

Encapsulated Character: Lt. Mark “G.S.” Rodriguez is the Systems Officer in a B-1B that is overtaken by a rogue AI to drop a nuclear bomb on Beijing, China.

• Motivation: Rodriguez’s external goal is to ensure the safety and success of the mission, using his expertise in aircraft systems to overcome any challenges that arise. Inside, Rodriguez wants to prove himself beyond his technical abilities, yearning for recognition and validation of his worth as a Hispanic officer in a totally non-Hispanic crew.
• Wound: Rodriguez’s grandparents emigrated from Honduras in the ’80s and he has not forgotten the stigma his family had to endure.
• Secret: Rodriguez’s major secret revolves around his family’s immigration struggles and the sacrifices they made for him to pursue his career in the military. He hides this to avoid facing discrimination from his peers.
• Intrigue: Rodriguez is caught in the middle of the crew’s discontent as he navigates the complex dynamics of loyalty and betrayal.
• Conspiracy: Rodriguez keeps a watchful eye on his surroundings at all times, wary of any hidden agenda that may threaten the mission.

WEAPONS OFFICER: SERGEANT KYLE “JOKER” REYNOLDS

Encapsulated Character: Sergeant Reynolds is the Weapons Officer of a B-1B that is overtaken by a rogue AI to drop a nuclear bomb on Beijing, China.

• Motivation: On the surface, Reynolds is confident and humorous. Internally, Reynolds harbors an unfulfilled drive to prove himself as more than a joker with a bomb in his hand.
• Subtext: Reynolds hides his true feelings of doubt and vulnerability behind his sense of humor and bravado, using comedy as a defense mechanism to deflect attention from his inner struggles. He fears being perceived as weak or inadequate and goes to great lengths to maintain his image as a competent and reliable soldier.
• Wound: Reynolds admits he’s scared of fatherhood because he feels he isn’t up to the responsibilities. He wishes he could do more.
• Dilemma: Reynolds faces a dilemma when he must choose between following orders and protecting his family from imminent danger. Making either choice forces Reynolds to confront his priorities and make a difficult decision.
• Secret Identity: Reynolds’s secret identity is as a devoted husband. No one on the crew knows about his family and he’s not about to disclose this info without a reason.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by  Tom Carroll.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by  Tom Carroll. Reason: I added the deep character traits required for this module
• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by  Tom Carroll. Reason: I finished adding the rest of the crew to the deep dive background info. Satisfying!!
• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by  Tom Carroll. Reason: I took out the NOTE that I had left because it wasn't needed anymore

[Mark Roeder]

Mark Roeder’s Character Depth:

What I learned doing this assignment is none of my three characters seemed likable enough to be the main character, so I invented a new character, Magdalena, who could be the right protagonist, and got deeper into the conflict between the characters.

Simple Profile for SKYLAR:

Skylar is writer who rises from the dead and traps the cast and crew of a movie he wrote but didn’t get credit for.

Motivation: to trap filmmakers who stole his credit and make them suffer

Wound: Everest took credit for writing his movie

Layers: Skylar made a deal with an evil spirit. He sabotaged the deal for credit himself

Conflict: He’s keeping Everest, Ivy and Magdalena trapped in graveyard. Ivy, Skylar’s wife, gave his script to Everest, the director, who took credit for it.

Simple profile for EVEREST:

Everest is a director who takes credit for writing Skylar’s script and gets trapped in the graveyard when it caves in and Skylar’s corpse won’t let him leave.

Secret: he didn’t really write movie. He committed adultery with Ivy.

Subtext: Hiding that he didn’t write movie, wasn’t even his idea. That he committed adultery with Ivy. Hiding from truth.

Layers: he didn’t really write movie. He committed adultery with Ivy.

Conflict: He stole or took credit for Skylar’s script. Skylar’s corpse won’t let him leave graveyard. Ivy’s mad because some of her scenes were cut from movie, as Everest made himself the main character she was supposed to be. Magdalena, his wife, the producer/editor, catches him cheating on her with Ivy and threatens divorce.

Simple Profile for IVY:

Ivy’s an actress who has to get out of character and a graveyard her husband Skylar’s corpse won’t let her leave.

Motivation:

Want: to get out of graveyard and be famous actress

Need: to get out of character

Secret: that she cheated on Skylar with Everest, that she brought Skylar’s script to Everest and let him take credit for it to get part. Maybe she had something to do with Skylar’s death.

Subtext: hides that she cheated on Skylar with Everest. That she brought Everest Skylar’s script and let him take credit for it to get part.

Layers: she cheated on Skylar with Everest. She brought script to him and let him take credit for it to be in it. She’s not being herself, still in character, hiding who she really is.

Conflict: she cheated on Skylar with Everest. Brought Skylar’s script to Everest. Skylar’s corpse won’t let them leave. She may have had something to do with Skylar’s death. Thinks Everest ruined movie by acting in it (and that he can’t act) and cutting some of her scenes out to make his part bigger. Maybe she wants Everest dead because he knows something. Maybe they conspired to kill Skylar too, but then he committed suicide. Magdalena, Everest’s wife, catches her with Everest and threatens to cut her out of movie and recast it.

Conspiracy: she brought script to Everest and let him take credit if she got part in it. She cheated on Skylar with Everest.

Secret identity: she’s really Ivy but she’s still in character and can’t get out.

Simple Profile for MAGDALENA:

Magdalena, the director Everest’s wife, the producer/ editor who cut Skylar’s name from the credits and fights to escape when Skylar’s corpse won’t let them leave.

Motivation: Want: to escape graveyard

Conflict: she catches Everest with Ivy against a tree near Skylar’s grave. Threatens divorce and to let truth out. Magdalena threatens to cut Ivy completely out of movie and recast her part. Skylar keeps Magdalena trapped because she cut his name out of credits and let Everest get away with stealing his credit.

Conspiracy: Conspires with Ivy to try to cut Everest’s part down to make the movie better.

[Alfred Dunham]

Alfred Dunham’s Character Depth

“What I learned doing this assignment is –

Figuring out what makes a person tick can be a long and hard process, as well as searching for the factors that have made them what they are. But it is precisely those factors that make the story.

ASSIGNMENT 4

1. With each of your characters, go through these questions to see which might fit for your story.

DECISION:

AS A STARTING POINT FOR ME, I TOOK THE DRAMATICA EIGHT OBJECTIVE ARCHETYPE CHARACTERS AND HAVE COMBINED EACH DRIVER CHARACTER WITH ONE OF THE PASSENGER CHARACTERS TO MAKE FOUR COMPLEX CHARACTERS.

CHARACTERISTICS

ARCHETYPES CHARACTER ACTIION/DECISION

1. Protagonist: Albert Dunston Pursue/Consider

+Sidekick: Support/Faith

2. Guardian: Nurse Helen Help/Conscience

+Reason: Control/Logic

3. Antagonist: Mr. Archie Cobb Prevent/Reconsider

+Skeptic: Oppose/Disbelief

4. Contagonist: James (Doc) Andrews Hinder/Temptation

+Emotion: Uncontrolled/Feeling

Internal Character Depth

Albert

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