Lesson 4

[Hiram Taylor]

Hiram Taylor – MINDBENDER – outline

What I learned in this lesson #4 is to let my mind write out anything my imagination thinks of in the rough outline of possible ways to tell my concept, then go back and chose the best ideas and form a first draft version that makes sense even though it has holes and need development.

CONCEPT: How does a person fight an unseen monster’s voice when it gets into your mind and drives you crazy, forcing you to commit suicide?

ACT ONE: SET UP FOR HORROR

The atmosphere of Evil is established: In a silent monastery where the monks are sworn to not talk or make any sounds, a monk is awakened by a voice that whispers his past sins into his mind over and over relentlessly until driven mad and the monk kills himself in a gruesome way.
Connect with the characters: The other seven monks awake from the screams and rush to see which monk’s screams have broken their vow of silence. They find the dead man and react revealing their different characters.
The characters are warned: The cook says he has heard rumors that there is evil that visits here and that this has happened before. They are all in danger.
Denial of Horror: They all laugh at him and declare that the dead monk was crazy anyway. The head monk demands they quit talking and go back to their vows of silence He will take care of the dead monk’s body in the morning.
A lost stranger comes to the monastery to get out of a raging snowstorm that has now made it impossible for anyone to leave. The head monk tells the stranger the rules of their cloister and he agrees to be silent.
MONSTER: The Nature of the Beast: The voice wakes another monk during the night and relentlessly tortures him with his sins until the monk kills himself. The voice laughs. He is enjoying himself.

ACT TWO – THE POINT OF NO RETURN:
Isolated and trapped by the snowstorm.
The monks discover the 2nd dead monk.
MIDPOINT: They realize the monster is worse than they thought and they all become terrified. One tries to leave but the snow is too deep. They are not going anywhere.
Full Pursuit by the killer: The voice goes into all their heads and torments them. He even throws snowballs at them.
They realize it is a real threat to them all and they are terrified.
ACT THREE – FULL OUT HORROR
FIGHT TO THE DEATH: The voice continues and they cannot figure out a way to stop it. The voice tells them that it is the stranger who is causing him to do what he is doing. He came with the stranger, kill the stranger and he will vanish.
HYSTERIA: The monks try to kill the stranger.
THE THRILLING ESCAPE FROM DEATH: The voice keeps the monks, almost like zombies now in pursuit of the stranger. Who makes a thrilling escape and survives.
DEATH RETURNS TO TAKE MORE: The voice makes everyone turn on each other and kill one by one until the last man standing who is the headmaster realizes what he has done and kills himself.
RESOLUTION: When all is quiet the Stranger comes out from hiding and finds everyone dead and no more voice. He rushes out in the snow down the mountain until he gets to his truck. He has not seen that there are steps in the snow following him but the audience does. He starts his truck and the passenger side door opens and then closes. He becomes terrified realizing the voice is sitting next to him. Finally the voice tells him to drive. He drives but has no idea what to do. The voice sings. On a road in the middle of nowhere, they pass a Prison. The voice says “Stop here: The stranger pulls over, the door opens and closes. The Stranger steps on the gas and races away.

[Aaron Clow]

Aaron’s Horror Plot

What I learned doing this assignment is…? The structure flowed pretty easily using this strategy. I do seem to be classicly lost in the third act though. I will have to do some more on this, but I want to keep moving forward.

ACT 1 — SET UP FOR HORROR

Atmosphere of Evil established: Opening scene is at the atmospheric, imposing gate to the game preserve. A hunter accidentally shot his friend, shooting at a strange monster inside the preserve. He could be making it up, but he seems terrified.

Connect with the characters: Protagonist and assistant banter at work, it’s late and they’re eating take-out. Neither has a family – the office is their only family.

Characters are warned not to do it: They’re walking to their car and get a call – a hunter has died after being shot by a fellow hunter. They go to the police station to talk to the chief, who they know, and the chief’s dialog infers that he had history with these two, and that they had been warned.

Denial of Horror: The developer challenges the chief – maybe he’s been slack and someone is messing with them, setting them up so that they can’t develop this land. Maybe someone in town.

Safety taken away: The developer decides to stay in a cabin already on the land near the insecure entrance gate and be his own security until he can get the gate fixed.

Monster: The real estate developer witnesses the true horror of the monster – I don’t know what this is yet. I think the wall and gate have contained the monster and kept it from town. I have to figure out some kind of supernatural, maybe energy field that actually keeps the monster inside – the lines of the fence were determined LATER, after some ancient previous civilization had marked them. That’s why the monsters are kept inside, not because of the fence itself. Just writing out loud here.

ACT 2 – THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Isolated / Trapped / Abducted: The real estate developer and his assistant venture into the preserve in an attempt to figure out what’s going on.

One of us killed: Gregor is killed by the monster, who is being followed by an environmentalist from town. The real estate developer suspects the environmentalist might really have killed him – he’s still in denial.

MIDPOINT – The monster is worse than we thought!

Terrorized: The monsters threaten to break out of the zone – something has been disturbed in the development and must be put back or “fixed.” A set of twins from town died from the monster, and that had never happened before. They had always stayed within the barrier.

Full pursuit by the killer: The protagonist is arrested for threatening the environmentalist (for his own safety – or so he thinks – actually, the environmentalist knows already), and he knows what’s going on by now, but he has to convince the chief to let him go so he can deal with the monsters. He comes up with a plan, then gets wind that the environmentalist was seen at the preserve. He goes to the preserve

ACT 3 — FULL OUT HORROR

Fight to the death: The protagonist has to come up with a plan to fix the damage he has done, but there is no fixing it. The damage is permanent. He must now deal with the monsters. Worse, he is now lost inside the preserve. Going to think of some neat set pieces here inside the gates.

Hysteria: I really don’t know what to do here. I think there will be some scenes where the environmentalist, who was supposed to be the “expert” realizes the monsters have changed from the development damage, and the protagonist witnesses this.

The thrilling escape from death: The protagonist figures out how to neutralize the monsters.

Resolution: Protagonist makes a phone call. “Seal it up. For good.”

[Selma Ahmed]

What I learned…I found this very difficult. I sort of froze which is why I am late. The plot points are different to how I imagined the story to be – but I followed the instructions and it took the story in a different direction.

ACT 1
• Atmosphere of Evil established: the awakening of the witch – through a piece of wood from one of the hanging poles from the hanging of the Pendle witches in1612.
• Connect with the characters: 90th birthday party of the grandmother where the wood is presented to the grandmother and she recounts the story.
• Denial of Horror: No idea of the horror to come even though strange things appear to happen. Richard disappears. The group think it is a prank.
• Safety taken away: a power cut.
• The characters are warned not to do it: the witch makes it clear that she wants the nine-year-old daughter and will let the others live. The group don’t believe it.
• Monster – The nature of the beast: Richard is dead.
ACT 2
• Isolated / Trapped / Abducted: doors are locked. The house surrounded by invisible forces. They have to figure out a way to destroy the monster.
• One of us killed: grandmother is killed.
MIDPOINT
Full pursuit by the killer:
The witch kills everyone apart from mother and daughter.
Terrorized:
It’s about the mother trying to save herself and her daughter – and trying to figure out how she can destroy the witch.

ACT 3
• Full pursuit by the killer: The witch is after the child, tries to kill the mother.
• Fight to the death: They hide, looks like they will succeed – witch transports the child but the mother holds on and gets through too.
• The thrilling escape from death: they are alive in 1612.
• Hysteria: The two mothers fight it out.
• Death returns to take one or more: the mother gets her daughter back into the present.
• Resolution: mother seems to kill the witch but has to die in the process. In the end though, the witch has managed to survive…