Lesson 4

[Andre]

Subject Line: Andre’s BASIC INSTINCT Stacking Suspense.
Assignment 1 – Watch the movie BASIC INSTINCT.

Pause movie at conclusion of each scene. Look at SS chart to see which skills were used in that scene. Notice these:
• Thriller Conventions.
• Character M.I.S.
• The M.I.S. of every scene.

Make a list of everything I learn in the process that can help me write stronger thriller.
• Steps for creating great mystery
o Start with secret.
o Brainstorm how that could be covered up.
o Write the cover up, as the reality.

• A THRILLER creates the “thrilling” experience for the audience, by pitting an unknown/unwitting, but resourceful Hero against a dangerous Villain who is committed to destroy anyone who gets in their way.

• My job is to stack as much suspense, Mystery, Intrigue, Betrayal, Tension, and Twists as possible to keep increasing that thrilled state.

• Purpose of a Thriller is to thrill audience with high stakes, plot twists, and suspense that never lets up, until the adrenaline packed climax.

• Purpose of Lesson 4
o The purpose of lesson 4, is to make me an expert at creating non-stop Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense as I write.

• The Value in what I am learning
o To gain a deep understanding of the quality of a Thriller.
o Discover many ways to use M.I.S. as I write.
o Elevate my understanding to pro level.
o Prepare my creative mind to be an amazing writer.

• Life and Death Situations They face danger at every step, either physically, emotionally, or mentally. The Protagonist is either in danger or there is the implications of future danger.

• Mystery- There is a mystery that must be solved in order to survive.
o Anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or unknown that is important to the story.
o While it is a mystery to us, it is a secret for the Villain.
o What are the secrets the villain is trying to cover up? These become the mysteries.
o The villain is protecting their secret, by covering it up. Those coverups become the mysteries of the story.
o The Hero must solve the mysteries.
Just find a compelling reason for the Hero to solve the mystery.
This means, this first mystery must connect with the Hero’s life in some way.
A SECRET that is being covered up.
• Rule- The cover up is presented as a reality up front.
• Present the coverup first, as the reality. Then the reveal is surprise.
• We will experience coverup as reality until reveal.
• Because we experience the coverup as “reality”, the script seems to be brilliantly written when the secret is exposed.
o Rule for creating mystery
Coverup is presented as reality up front.
The audience experience is the cover up, then the secret.
The writing strategy is, the secret then the cover up.
o Again,
Mystery is a secret that is being covered up.
Rule, the cover up is presented as a reality up front.
o How to create mystery
The audience experiences cover up then secret.
The writing strategy is, secret then cover up.

• Main Emotions The tensions, anticipation, uncertainty, surprise and M.I.S.
o Mystery A question that the audience feels a need to solve.
o Intrigue Something underhanded, devious, covert, clandestine, crafty, sly, concealed, etc.
o Suspense The change, worry, that something bad will happen.
o Character the M.I.S of that Character. If multiple characters are on screen, focus on the character that stands out.
o Stakes What is at stake in this scene? Life? Money Reputation? What?
o Action The essence of what happens in the scene.

• Hero/Villain-
o Unknowing, unwitting, but resourceful Hero up against a Villain committed to destroy anyone who gets in their way.
o When was the Villains plan created.
o Villain starts movie, many steps ahead of the Hero. Their plan is in effect from before the movie begins. They have spent much effort, crafting this plan. Think atleast 10 years prior.
o Villain is devious! Underhanded. Sneaky. Dishonest. Covert. Clandestine. IN BIG WAYS!!!!!!!!
o Important- The plan was created before page 1 of my screenplay, but it is not told in flashbacks nor discussed as backstory. The plan is devious and it is the source of the Intrigue.
o Intrigue comes from Villains plan and covertness in which it is carried out. There is something hidden that is underhanded, dangerous, and closing in on us.

• Criteria for Villains Plan…
o Goal The plan accomplishes some goal that is incredible valuable to the villain.
o Intrigue Plan is hidden, dangerous, sneaky, underhanded, dishonest, etc. This is their nature!
o Covers Secrets The plan covers one or more secrets that the Villain has. And of course, the plan destroys the Hero’s life.

• How to create the Villain Plan
o The easiest way to create the villains plan, is to start at the end, and then brainstorm the other parts of the plan.
Create the end goal of the villain. What are they trying to accomplish or stop that is so valuable that they will go to any means to achieve the goal?
Look for how Villain might execute the plan. Brainstorm devious, dangerous, covert, and even disturbing ways Villain could make all of this happen.
How can that plan and the actions be covered up or hidden?
Sequence them to make it as intriguing as possible-starting with a first event that is dangerous.

• This movie is Thrilling because…
o What is it about, the journey that keeps us on the edge of our seats.
• The reason we are watching Basic Instinct first are it will give me a model for Assignment 2, which is Silence of the Lambs. By following Basic Instinct with the chart, I will see how Hal filled in the blanks when I do the analysis of Lambs. Second, it is the primary example we will use for the next three lessons as we build M.I.S. into my script.

• Silence of the Lambs is referenced as Assignment 2, but so too is Bourne Identity.

5. Give forums the list of things I learned about Thrillers as I did this assignment.

End Andre’s BASIC INSTINCT Stacking Suspense.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 4 weeks ago by  Andre Howard.

[Naz Pankey]

Basic Instinct
Assignment 1
What I learned to help me write stronger thrillers –
Every scene should have Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense. Not just the plot but the characters as well. Every scene of Basic Instinct left me wondering. Nick, the hero, was capable and unwitting. He had so many flaws and a mysterious background regarding killing tourists. Was he high on cocaine? Was it necessary? There were a lot of unanswered questions — Is Catherine a killer? Why is an ice pick under her bed? What's the deal with Catherine and Hazel? Did Beth and Roxy have a relationship? I wonder because Beth was into girls. There were a lot unanswered questions and I guess that's acceptable in a thriller so long as the mystery is solved. The mystery of who killed the Rock Star was solved, but there are so many unanswered questions. Most of the characters had MIS and were suspects as well. Also the stakes were high– life or death.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 4 weeks ago by  Naz Pankey.

[Chris Wood]

DAMN, this class is [thankfully] intense! [starts Basic Instinct]

[Chris Wood]

I did learn quite a bit in this assignment. I’ve been a fan of BI for a long time and very familiar with the movie, but by examining the stacking suspense model I really began to understand WHY it was so gripping, thrilling, and so satisfying to watch. I really began to understand how each scene is stacked with the MIS model, both for individual characters, and also for the movement of action and the plot. Really enjoyed this exercise and plan to revisit when I have some ample time to dedicate to REALLY studying how BI excels at the thriller model. Felt a little rushed and overwhelmed to do this and the SOTL assignments. I wish I was a bit more prepared ahead of time to be able to commit the hours necessary to make these a priority.

[Andre]

Assignment 2 – Silence of the Lambs
Andre’s SotL Stacking Suspense Assignment #2
Things I learned in about Thrillers as I did this assignment
• SOTL bothered me. The sadistic nature of humanity is troublesome.
• There is not enough room for every scene. I stopped when I ran out of room, paper. I kept it short, for simplicity.
• BI, Catherine Trammell and Dr. Beth Garner are AND hot, sexy. YES PLEASE!! Minus the jealous murders.
• The name Catherine is in both SOTL and BI.
• Scary! In my world, 'the coveted world of a rich black prodigy'. I created that before watching SOTL. And in Lambs, Lecter informs Starling about covetness. First principles, simplicity, What does Bill do? He covets. How do we first start to covet? We covet what we see, everyday. This is an odd coincidence. I may keep it, I may change it, but I worked out my world before learning this and watching Lambs for this program. Once again, Lambs bothered me, disturbed me. Both bothered and disturbed because there is a very fine and blurry line between those we as society see as good (law enforcement, medical, etc) and those we are trained to see as non-good (Lecter and Bill). Illusion power and authority are what keeps the line(s) blurry.

Action 1.
FBI Academy-Quantico Virginia. A woman (Agent Starling) runs obstacle course.

2.
Starling walks through gun/weapon room while other agents clean weapons. 3.
Starling enters elevator after being summoned. 4.
Starling walks through hallways with other agents until she stops at open door with two agents. 5.
She steps a few feet across hallway to Crawfords office.
She steps in and looks around. 6.
We meet Crawford.
For the first time, we hear her first name of Clarice.
He stands in the doorway of his office, as she studies the pictures. 7.
Baltimore State Forensic Hospital.
Dr. Frederick Chilton office.
Mystery Her run is interrupted when she is told Crawford wants to see her in his office.

Why is she alone? Everyone else is in group or buddy system. Why is she the only person in sweats, alone, and the only female entering the elevator? Looking for Crawford? He should be back in a couple of minutes. Posted on the wall are pictures. Some with dead corpses. An Inquisitor tabloid/newspaper article “BILL SKINS FIFTH”. Crawford: A job’s come up, and I thought about you.

The most difficult subject they want her to interview is psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter. Never forget what he is.
What is that?

Intrigue Signs posted on obstacle course: AGONY, PAIN, LOVE-IT.

Only she is in sweat gear. The writing on the green/black board with arrows pointed at SKINS, signature, .38 special/.357 Why is she allowed to wait in an office with these pictures?
Who is Bill?

Article heading “FBI links skinning murders but finds no pattern”. She is noted for being top of her class.

He recalls her from seminar at UVA, her grilling him pretty hard, on the Bureau’s civil rights record in Hoover years. The psychopathic doctor who deviantly smiles while bragging that “Lecter is our most prized asset”.

Suspense Who wants to see her?

Who wants to see her and why? She exits elevator, alone, and heads in direction of Behavioral Science Services. She is suggested to wait in his office.
Why don’t you wait in his office? A fifth killing, not just killing, but skinning. This is why Behavioral Science. Who is sick enough to do this?
He sits with his back to the board, offers she sit down facing the board.
Why the urgency? Is Dr. Frederick Chilton a patient? Something is off with this one.
Character
MIS Why does she exercise alone when the others train in group?

Two agents in suits converse in office with chalk filled green/black board. Who are these dead people (all female)?
Why kill them? Why skin them? Why certain parts of their body?
She is top of her class. Double major psych and criminology. Graduated magna
Summer internships at Reitzinger clinic. Dr. Chilton: Well, he is a monster.
A pure psychopath.
Spoken by the psychopathic director, who superficially smiles cunningly with dead pan eyes.
Stakes Agony and pain-love it.

Serial killer that is socio-path. A job working for Crawford in Behavioral Science.

They are interviewing all the serial killers now in custody for psycho-behavioral profile; “could be real help in unsolved cases”.

Do not deviate from procedures, you do not want Hannibal Lecter inside your head. Knowing who the patients are versus the doctors.

Not allowing psychopaths with doctorate degrees be your guide.

Action 8.
Walk through hospital, down many flights of stairs, leading to underground.

9.
Bars. Bottom level. 10.
Red painted gates/bars. 11.
Starling continues without Crawford into dungeon to meet Lecter. 12.
TV monitors.
1 with Lecter laying on cot.
2 with Crawford running upstairs.
3 with rows of brick lined cells. 13.
The brick lined dungeon of cells.
Starling walks down innate row.
To meet Lecter. 14.
Introductions.
Lecter speaks first.
Mystery

Are the bars painted red to indicate threat level? Since Lecter views Crawford as nemesis, Starling suggests he stay away and let her go alone. Brick lined cells remove date and identity. Outside world is gone. Lecter’s cell. Paintings. Drawings. Bed is made.
Intrigue
Chilton: Crawford is clever by sending a pretty young woman to turn on Hannibal.

Dr. Hannibal Lecter, IS a doctor. Why should we trust doctors??? Lighting scheme-Red. Lighting scheme no longer red, but normal. She is reminded of the rules.

The metal gates close with soundness. And locks. She is locked inside. Lecter awaits her, standing at near attention with similar glossy-eyed as Dr, Chilton. They are two doctors. Lecter: “ You’re one of Jack Crawford’s, aren’t you?

She is a trainee.
Lecter: “Jack Crawford sent a trainee to me?”
Suspense “I don’t believe Lecter’s even seen a woman in eight years”.

The Rules. “Do not touch the glass. Do not approach the glass. Pass him nothing but soft paper. No pencils or pens. No staples or paper clips his paper. Use the sliding food carrier, no exceptions.” Chilton: “I’m going to show you why we insist on such precautions.” Heavy metal doors, with slit windows.
Controlled access.
TV monitors with cells made of brick. Barney reminds Starling do not get near the glass.

Barney: “Lecter is past the others, the last cell”.
Barney: “You keep to the right”. Barney warns her to stay to the right.

A chair awaits her in front of Lecter’s plexi-glassed cell. When Lecter requests to see Starlings credentials, he says “closer please, closer”.
Then they both walk from shadow to key light. They/We lock eyes.
Character
MIS Chilton: He thinks I’m his nemesis.

Stick to the rules when dealing with Lecter. Crawford: On afternoon of July 8, 1981, he complained of chest pains and was taken to dispensary. Crawford is extremely egotistical, borderline narcissist and sociopath. Lecter is watched and controlled 24/7.

We meet Barney. Why did she wear lipstick? And why the color red?

Only Lecter has plexi-glass with holes for ventilation, the other innates have bars. Lecter’s deadpan eyes, his placid smile-very similar to Dr. Chilton.
Quickly scanning her id, “that expires in one week. You’re not really FBI are you?”
Stakes

“If he attempts to pass you anything, do not accept it.” Starling’s life if she deviates from the rules when dealing with Lecter. If Lecter sees Crawford with Starling, his disdain for Crawford could have chilling effect on her mission. Armory reminds us this is a prison, maximum security. First contact with Lecter. First impressions are lasting impressions. Not letting Lecter into her head.

Action 15.
Commanding Clarice.

16.
Leaving the dungeon. Miggs throws his sticky goo at her. 17.
Exiting the hospital.
A set of men in white overalls with arms behind their backs are being led by set of perps in uniform. The illusion of law and order. 18.
Outside shooting range. Agent Clarice Starling shooting gun at camera. 19.
Inside mock hostage situation. Starling, with gun in hand, and partner (for the first time, she has a partner) enters a room. 20.
Running along path with female agent. 21.
Starling studies Lecter on microfilm.
Mystery Is Agent Starling out of her league?
Lecter, knowing about Buffalo Bill,” Do you know why he’s called Buffalo Bill?”

She was leaving without the paperwork. Doctor patient, police criminal. Who is who? Remember, Lecter is a doctor whose advice they are seeking. Why trust a sociopathic killer????? Who is she aiming at? Why is this the first time she has a partner?
Did she check her danger area?
Why is she dead? Microfilm- “Baltimore Psychiatrist Receives Highest Honor”

Intrigue He tells Starling to sit. She does.
Then he asks her, What did Miggs, say to you? Multiple Miggs in the next cell.

Lecter details her polite professional cordiality.
As Starling walks away, defeated, and without her paperwork, Miggs gets her attention and throws his sticky goo at her. Others, in white walk freely behind her as she walks towards her pinto. Training on entering a room with hostages.
Another microfilm article- “Renowned Psychiatrist Charged in Murder”.

Suspense Based on her answer, Lecter sniffs the air through the air port holes, in attempt to smell her cunt.
Lecter: “You use Evyan skin cream”.
“Sometime you wear L’Air du Temps. But not today.”
Lecter calls her back. “I would not have had that happen to you”.
She return, she is close to his plexiglass.

As she walks to her car, she has memory of her sheriff dad, getting out of his sheriff car, she a little girl. As Starling drops her gun, and approaches suspect to arrest, a gun enters from off-screen, pointed at her head, they did not clear the room. Trigger pulled.
Voice: You’re dead Starling.
Microfilm- research on Lecter. “New Horrors in Cannibal Trial: The doctor of death cooked his victims for gourmet meals then served them to his friends, Michael Ronboz of City Council among those at dinner table.

She receives call from Chilton that Miggs is dead.
Character
MIS He commands her to sit. Then questions her.

Lecter: Why do you think he removes their skins, Agent Starling? (Knowing she is a trainee, not full-fledged agent. He is promoting her, working her ego.)

Starling: Most serial killers keep some sort of trophies from their victims.

Lecter: “I didn’t.”
He admits to being a serial killer.

Lecter: Discourtesy is unspeakably ugly to me.

Starling: Then do this test for me.

Lecter: No, but I will make you happy. I will give you a chance for what you love most.

Lecter knows he has leverage, power, over her career. Past-Clarice’s dad is a sheriff.

Present- She cries near her car outside the hospital. Lecter got to her! Inside her head! She shoots.
Running for physical health, going over the rules with partner for mental health as well to save her life. Studying alone, wearing red lipstick with pen in her mouth-phallic symbology.

Not only is Lecter a doctor, he is politically aligned.

Dr. Hannibal Lecter AND Jack Crawford, images on microfilm as she researches Lecter.

Orderlies heard Lecter whispering to Miggs, the next morning, they found him dead, he swallowed his own tongue.
Stakes She works her best to redirect focus from her, to his drawings.

Lecter wants her to enthrall him with her acumen. He is studying her thought process.

Once she offers the paperwork, he licks his finger while flipping the pages. Then quickly, knowing she is anticipatory of his answer/response, he scolds her, body, mind, and soul.
She is open and receptive, then like the killer he is, he attacks her when she was vulnerable. All while not blinking and keeping his dead pan eyes locked on his prey,
Advancement, of course. Her life. She forgot to check her danger area, which is the corner as she entered the room. Going over the rules.

Action 22.
Your Self Storage.
Starling, following a potential lead from Lecter reference for her to search yourself-as too hokey, searching the phone book, she locates self-storage.
23.
Inside of the storage unit, she searches…alone. 24.
Night. Rainy. Clarice exits pinto.
Barney waits for her. They run inside. 25.
Clarice speaks to Lecter.
We never see Lecter. 26.
A female drives her vehicle at night.
A man wearing night vision goggles, watches the female pull into parking stall. 27.
Boxing classes.
Agent holds a punching bag. 28.
Car chase through mock city.
Mystery Why is she searching a storage facility alone? Makes no sense. That would NOT be agency protocol.

Why is she searching a storage unit, at night-alone?

Who’s severed head is in a jar? Where is Lecter.
We finally see Lecter, in shadow with tv behind Clarice.

Silent now, while she is there, but when she leaves, Dr. Chilton enjoys his petty torments. Who is the man with night vision goggles?

Punching halted, whistle blows, Starling is singled out by name, to go outside.
Intrigue Storage manager: “Unit 31 was leased for 10 years, prepaid in full.

A rather large storage unit, large enough to place a Hearse and furnish an entire home-prepaid for ten years. Miss The Rest of Me, meaning that you rented that garage?
She says this, on her knees, close to Lecter, we never see Lecter.
Barney turns the light back on in Lecter’s cell, we see his drawings are gone. A punishment for Miggs. A man fakes an injury moving a chair into a windowless van.
Being a punching bag. “Saddle up. Pack your field gear. You’re moving out. Starling is going with Crawford.

Suspense

Rain outside. Dark of night. Alone. On the whim of a serial killer. Make it make sense. The sliding meal tray rushes open.
She looks inside, but where is Lecter?
A towel. He offers her a towel, because she is soaked from the rain outside. He manipulates her getting into the van.

He sought her out by her size-14.
Punching bag is symbolism of her being a punching bag, eerily similar to the young female victim that was punched by the van. Someone fleeing vehicle after chase is held at gunpoint.
“FBI! Hold it! Hold it right there!
Character
MIS She likes to work alone.

She is not too smart. She decides to search inside of a hearse, alone. Barney waits for her they enter the hospital. Clarice: Hester Mofet. It’s an anagram isn’t it, doctor?
Hester Mofet, “The rest of me”.
He wears a cast on one arm, and a wedding ring on another. Also has tattoo with word “love” on hand.
All tools to disarm and work on kindness of person.

Her kindness works against her.
Another Buffalo Bill type situation.
Stakes She searches a storage facility alone, on a lead from a serial killer. She’s not too bright.

He asks about Buffalo Bill, if he can get the file.

Lecter wants out of his cage, away from Dr. Chilton.

A view, where he can see a tree or water. Lecter offers psychological profile based on the case evidence. Feigning victim and disability.

Being a punching bag. They found a girl’s body down in West Virginia.

Action 29.
Clay County, W VA, Starling flies over swamp land. Looking down, surveying the land.
30.
Plane they fly in lands.
State police and someone in trench coat awaits them. 31.
Drive along river bend. 32.
Funeral home.
Starling is isolated from the conversation about the crime because she is a female.
Being isolated from the all white, less than friendly local police, she sees in the viewing room, a casket with grieving family of the decease. 33.
Starling clears the room of local police prior to autopsy.
34.
Ride back in car. 35.
Back in DC. Clarice Starling walks through dinosaur exhibit.
Mystery In her lap is a DOJ FBI field office criminal investigative and administrative files 252B-37423.

Who is the person in trench coat and derby hat? The person in trench coat drives the car, he is fed. As she approaches the casket, we see a young Clarice who psychologically sees her father in the casket. Why would someone do this, to another person?

Why is there a bug cocoon lodged in her throat? Happenstance from being submerged? All male local police force succumbing to follow orders from outside female FBI agent who charges them to disburse from the body found in their local. “Ligature marks found around the wrists, not around the ankles.”
Intrigue “He keeps them alive for three days, but we don’t know why”.

No evidence of rape or physical abuse prior to death.
She reads /examines case file.
“Look at him Starling. Tell me what you see.” The sheriff mentions Lamar the musician specially, “tell Lamar to come when he’s finished playing his music”. Why didn’t Lamar wear gloves when unzipping the bag? And why no resin underneath his nose?
Sexism. Gender bias. Territorial dispositional posturing.

Regaining trust after exclusion.
Walk through dinosaur exhibit is intrigue to dealing with monsters.
Suspense Photos within file reveal all mutilation is postmortem.

Starling breaks down Buffalo Bill.
Bill was the actual agenda for sending Starling to meet with Lecter.
Crawford places resin beneath his nostrils, prior to opening bag of deceased, foreshadows pungent smell of decayed body to come.
Starling: I understand. Cops look at you to see how to act. It matters. Dinosaurs are larger than her, she could be consumed within the belly. A reminder of the threat at large, albeit human monster.
Character
MIS Methodology of assailant holds them for three day, “then he shoots them, skins them, and dumps them”.
Each body in a different river.
Starling: “Well, he’s a white male. Serial killers tend to hunt within their own ethnic groups.
Starling learns she is being used by agency to gain assistance from Lecter for help on Bill case. Clarice has deep psychological wounds regarding her father who was a local policeman. Lamar is pianist at mortuary and body examiner pathologist?
Crawford asks if it offended “burned” Starling when he told sheriff they shouldn’t talk in front of a woman.
Claims if was smoke, to get rid of him.
Stakes The water leaves them no trace evidence of any kind.
He’s never impulsive. He’ll never stop. Searching for clues from another victim of Buffalo Bill. Regaining trust after isolating her as the only woman in a group of all male cops. Reminder she is dealing with a monster who kills.

Action 36.
Still at the museum, nerds use living bugs as chess pieces.

37. 48.52
Winged insects buzz and fly around inside room.
A woman screams from inside a water well.
A small dog runs to the sound of the woman.
38. 49.45
TV in FBI lobby, playing newscast of lady victim from van as missing person. Happens to be daughter of senator. 39.
51.36
Dr. Chilton is not happy with being removed from the loop with consideration that an investigation is going on, without his approval “He is my patient, I have rights”
40.
Quid pro quo with Dr. Lecter. 41.
57:47
Bill watches Catherine from above the indoor water well. She is trapped beneath. 42.
59:34
Hannibal, similar to Catherine, is caged. But Hannibal is caged by Dr Chilton, while Catherine is caged by Bill.
Mystery Who are these nerds that use beetles as game pieces.
Is this Buffalo Bill? Does Bill fell love and compassion? The senator views serial killer Hannibal Lecter no-par with American veterans.
Significance of moth is change. Bill wants to change. Bill refers to Catherine as “it”. Is Dr Chilton any different than Bill?
The pen that Hannibal focuses on.

Intrigue Smart move to bring in insect-tologists to exam the beetle removed from throat of victim. FBI has all kinds of resources.
Room adorned with costumes and mannequins, like the storage unit.
This Bill cares more about insects and dog than people. A mother’s plea for her daughter.

Senator Martin concedes to his strength and power in the situation, implores him to show the world how compassionate he can be. Starling denies investigation, but reaffirms “just a routine follow-up on the Raspail case”.
Clarice to Lecter: If your profile helps us catch Buffalo Bill, in time to save Catherine Martin, the senator promises a transfer to a V.A. Hospital. It rubs the lotion on its skin, or it gets the hose again. Dissociative identification with victim. Does not see her as human. Chilton enjoys the power and sadistic manipulation, just like Bill.
Lecter will tell the rest to the Senator herself, and he has a few conditions of his own.
Suspense The beetle, Beetle is a sphingid ceratomia, maybe. Specially raised from imported from Asia.
Dark and creepy atmosphere.
Cry for help ignored by person, but not dog. The mother of the young girl pleads to Bill on tv news. Territorial dispute, Dr Chilton sees the mental hospital as his. If Catherine dies, he gets nothing.
Dr Chilton listens via ease dropping.
Purpose of the lotion. (To keep skin healthy before skinning her). Chilton says Clarice lied, Senator Martin never heard of him. But if Lecter tells him who Bill is, then Chilton will transfer him to another hospital.
Character
MIS One of them likes Clarice, Dr. Pilcher.

A naked man sits in nearby room ignoring her pleads for help.
Senator Martin pleads to Bill, even states: You have the power. You are in charge.”
Refers to her daughter by name so that he sees her (Catherine) as a person not just an object. Dr. Chiton feels chided by Agent Starling. Conducting interview in “his” hospital. Lecter offered books, view of the woods, and opportunity to leave hospital and go to plum island, an animal disease research center, with walks on the beach, swim in ocean.
Lecter is not impressed.

Bill thinks he is a transsexual, due to severe childhood disturbances associated with violence.
Bill was not born a criminal; he was made one through years of systematic abuse.
Catherine cries “I want to see my mommy! Please”
Bill, completely disassociated reverberates and mimics her cries Chilton is just a sociopathic as Buffalo Bill, and Lecter.
Stakes Clue from real murder case.
The lady from the van. A woman’s life. Dr Chilton does not want to be seen as “just some turnkey”. Quid pro quo for Clarice to share her worst memory of childhood. Getting into her head.
And a non-negotiable and final offer Put the lotion in the basket. Lecters freedom from Chilton.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 4 weeks ago by  Andre Howard. Reason: The coincidence of Covetedness

[Naz Pankey]

Assignment 2
SOTL Stacking Suspense

What I learned from this assignment.
I have a much better understanding of Mystery, Intrigue, and Suspense and how to incorporate it in every scene of my story. Silence of the Lamb kept me at the edge of my seat. The main characters had MIS. Does Doctor Crawford have a thing for Clarice? I think so, but the writer doesn't make it clear… it's still a mystery. Will Clarice catch Buffalo Bill? Will Hannibal escape and how? Will Clarice save Catherine? What happened to Clarice's dad? Why is she so tormented by it? Every scene had MIS in the characters and in the action. I also see where the villain has a secret and the audience has to find out what it is. I see where it's a mystery for the audience and a secret for the villain. One scene led to the other and continually built MIS throughout. The one main central question was Who is Buffalo Bill and where is he? That drove the movie to the end.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 4 weeks ago by  Naz Pankey.

[David Harper]

David’s SOTL Stacking Suspense

What I learned from this exercise:
1. There is a lot going on beneath the surface of a scene than the audience realizes consciously. But the writer must be very conscious of all the MIS elements for each scene, even in the outlining process.
2. MIS can come from anywhere. Dialogue, a prop, a setting, even a character in the background. Pretty much anything can be used to create MIS.
3. B and C stories also carry their own MIS, as well as contributng to the MIS of the main story. All MS must eventually be resolved for a satisfying film.
4. When outlining a thriller screenplay, it would be a good idea for each scene card to have a section for Action, Mystery, Intrigue, Suspense, Character MIS, and Stakes.