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Lesson 4
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Lynn Solved Scene Problems!
VISION: I am determined to become a great screenwriter capable of getting my screenplays in various genres produced into movies that inspire vast audiences to mitigate climate change.
THE PITCH: WEATHERING IT (Rom-Com) is about two college students who try to overcome family fights about global warming and get married during the worst ever Texas freeze.
I LEARNED that even the toughest scene problems can be elevated.
One of my improvements: Scene 2 with 10 bored students in 30-seat classroom for a Business and Environment course was a boring setting, even tho the dialogue was fine. When I focused on its main purpose — to show Ellie as a failure at getting students interested in environmental issues (among other purposes), but not a weak unrelatable wimp — the solution came to me. Now the setting is a 100-student auditorium classroom, dark gallery with the 10 bored students scattered around, bright stage with lights blinding Ellie, a screen behind and above her reaching to the high ceiling with the huge letters “E S G,” a really intimidating situation, especially when the students start tearing into her and she can hardly see them. It’s like the room itself is against her! To create humor RomComs are supposed to put their protags in excruciating and embarrassing situations and I think this does it. It’s sort of like Thurber’s cartoon of a man coming home to his 2-storey house that looks like his huge wife about to devour him.
Most of my scenes seem fine, re 1 through 8 on the Scenes Grid. I’ve left notes on seven scenes that have some problems and am working on those.
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That sounds exciting, Lynn! Really amped up the pressure on Ellie in that scene!
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MODULE SIX LESSON FOUR
FRAN’S SOLVED SCENE PROBLEMS
WHAT I LEARNED:
As I go along, I’m learning how to connect and tie stories together. Learning how to put more conflict in the pages. Learning how to make my characters stronger and more likeable or relatable. I still have a long way to go on this one. But it’s starting to take better shape. I’m still not quite happy with all of it, but I see how it is getting better. Just need to keep working at it until I can get it right.
MY VISION: I want to write great movies. Movies that are magical, movies that move people and tell the truth. I want to write movies that stars will want to be in.
HOOK:
1718: St. Petersburg, Russia, Public Square
Russia’s crowned Prince Alexei is tied up in before a crowd of onlookers. His father, Peter the Great, interrogates him. Alexei is accused of trying to overthrow his father’s government. He’s tortured to wrench a confession out of him and forced to step down, accept his little son Peter Alexeyevich as the new successor. Alexei does not succumb. He “confesses” with these words:
“I shall bring back the old people and choose myself new ones to my will. When I become sovereign, I shall live in Moscow and leave Saint Petersburg simply as any other town. I won’t launch any ships, I shall maintain troops only for defense, and I won’t make war on anyone. I shall be content with the old domains. In winter I shall live in Moscow and in summer in Loroslavl.”
DUNGEON CELL
Alexei is taken back to his dungeon cell, thrown in, half dead from the beatings. Peter watches as the jailors lock up his son and leave.
Peter tells his son he does this for the future of the Romanov dynasty and for Russia.
He then weeps bitter tears, a broken man.
That night Alexei dies from the beatings.
WE HEAR “CUT!”
We are transported into the present day
Film Studio.
Jerome Kearns, director of the movie. Calls it a wrap for the day. Meredith, his wife and screenwriter, watches as Jerome fawns over his young star who plays Catherine, Peter’s wife in the movie. She silently knows something is going on between them. They make a huge display of it. Meredith treats it like she hasn’t noticed, but she’s had it with her husband’s affairs.
Jerome calls it a day. Meredith reminds Jerome, it’s their daughter Alexandra’s birthday. It’s also close to Christmas. She heard of a novelty shoppe in Moscow she’d like to go to to see if they can find something appropriate there for her to send home.
Meredith remembers the marital problems they’ve been, that it’s been going on for a long time now.
Moscow city square, night. Snow’s coming down.
NOVELTY SHOPPE
WE HEAR A SHOPPE’S BELL. Shopkeeper greets them. They are immediately shown to the display of antique jewelry. Meredith decides to look around. She finds a display of old books. She begins to peruse. Camera is on an exquisite, priceless St. George’s necklace. Jerome’s shown a necklace once owned by the Grand Duchess Olga Romanov. Very expensive. As Meredith peruses shelves of old books also located in the shoppe, she finds one, takes it down, opens it. It’s in Russian. She’s able to read some of it.
She learns it’s the story of Olga Romanov, written many years ago by a friend, Valentina.
Jerome insists on buying the necklace. He plays the big man on campus. The big Hollywood producer. He throws his money around like it doesn’t matter.
Meredith remembers how much Jerome always loved to buy expensive things. She remembers the necklace he bought her. Very expensive. Trying to lure her away from Kyron’s memory.
Jerome buys the necklace. He leaves not waiting for Meredith, telling her he’s got an important business meeting he’s got to go to. He can’t be late.
Jerome’s not as compassionate or loving towards her as when they first got together.
Meredith, lagging behind, buys the book then follows out the door behind Jerome.
APARTMENT in Moscow, evening
At their apartment, Meredith settles down to read her book. She learns the diary was written by a friend and confidante of Olga’s when she was a prisoner at the Military Hospital, Tsarskoe Selo, a nurse at the hospital, Valentina.
We hear the words she wrote:
There is a prophecy written about Olga. How a young princess will only live to see her twenty third birthday and no longer. But there is nothing about how she will die.
Jerome is on the phone pretending it’s business. It’s a call from the starlet. He hangs up, tells Meredith he’s leaving. He gets another call. This time it’s a call from a person he owes a lot of money to. He muffles a yell, “I’ll get you the money.”
Jerome prepares to leave. He tells Meredith, “Don’t wait up for me.” Meredith remarks after he leaves, “I hadn’t planned on it.”
Once Jerome is gone, Meredith calls her agent. She asks her to find her a divorce lawyer. She’s had it with his affairs with his starlets. And she’s had it with the money men who keep calling for him to pay up his debts.
FILM STUDIO, ON SET NEXT DAY
The starlet is throwing a fit. She’s having a huge problem playing the scene as written. She wants her lines—her part—fixed to her liking.
Meredith and Jerome get into a heated discussion over the scene and its integrity. The starlet wants her part bigger and written her way. Meredith’s heard it before. She pretends to slough it off. But this time, the starlet insists. Meredith is told to write it as the starlet wants it or he will find someone who will. Stunned, Meredith goes home to try to do write the scene as the starlet wants it.
APARTMENT
Meredith tries to work on the scene. But it’s not meshing. She doesn’t want to do it. She takes a break. Returns to her book for some solace.
She learns about the necklace they bought in the shoppe—and who owned it.
ROMANOV PALACE
Olga, still a young girl, on the verge of becoming a woman, her father Czar Nicholas presents Olga with a present. A St. George’s medallion. She loves the gift from her father.
The story intrigues her. One of the young Romanov children who was murdered by the Bolsheviks during the war and revolution, owned the necklace. Given to her by her father Czar Nicholas II of Russia. She reads further.
And then the stor about Olga’s first love, Pavel, a young officer in her father’s service on the royal yacht.
ROMANOV FAMILY YACHT
Meredith also learns about a family outing on their yacht, Olga has fallen in love for the first time with Pavel, a young officer in her father’s service. She confides it to her sister Tatiana. She is told it can never be. He is beneath her station. They can never marry.
APARTMENT
The story reminds Meredith of the time she was a young girl in college. She was in love with another man, Kyron. She can’t stop thinking about Kyron, how much they were in love when they first met at college.
They couldn’t be together either, family, social protocols. Mother didn’t approve. They broke up. He moved away, half way around the world. She hadn’t heard from him in a long time. The only other thing she remembered. She started dating Jerome when Kyron left and they had broken up And left for parts unknown.
Jerome was also one of his rivals in college—in the film school they attended. Jerome hated her once upon a time boyfriend, too.
STARLET’S APARTMENT
Jerome and the starlet meet for their rendezvous. It is a torrid affair. One That Meredith has known about for awhile now.
In his zeal to be with the starlet, his money men contact him and warn him how much he owes them and wants their money yesterday.
APARTMENT
Meredith tries to call her agent. No answer. She waits. Reads a bit more of her book.
ROMANOV PALACE
The next thing we learn, Pavel, Olga’s love, is asking Czar Nicholas for the hand of one of the ladies in waiting at court.
Olga, overhearing the proposal, is brokenhearted—and feeling very betrayed because she thought he loved her, too.
She remembers the hour she saw in the trades Kyron had become engaged to a beautiful starlet. They looked so happy. That’s when she decided to accept Jerome’s proposal, even though she didn’t love him like she did Kyron. She thoght she could be happy with him. It broke her heart.
Meredith gets an anonymous call. Tells her where Jerome is and what he’s doing. She informs the person on the phone with her she already knows and hangs up on them.
Meredith begins to remember a time long ago when their daughter, Alexandra, was still a little girl. She was playing one day and fell out of a tree, breaking her leg. Jerome, in his zeal to helpher, accuses Meredith of indulging her too much, allowing her to put their daughter in danger like this.
Meredith remembers it all and how Jerome always made her feel about her being a mother—like she was incompetent. She thinks on the passage she read about Alexei.
ROMANOV PALACE, GRAND BALLROOM SOME TIME LATER
Olga’s debutante ball. She is now a young woman. She still wears her father’s necklace underneath her strands of pearls.
She is introduced to her distant cousin Dmitri—a possible suitor for the young princess. She falls in love with him almost immediately.
Alexei, her little brother fall, hurts himself. He falls very ill. He is a hemophiliac.
Mother Alexandra is also a zealot in blaming.
FILM STUDIO NEXT DAY
The starlet is having another fit. The new scene is still not to her liking. She goes to Jerome, complains. Meredith is then introduced to her (new working partner on the script), rather unexpectedly and instead of working with him she is forced to go home.
Jerome tells her he already knows she’s thinking about leaving the project. Maybe it’s a good thing if she does.
APARTMENT
When she returns, there’s a message waiting for her from her agent. When can you come home?
THE PALACE GROUNDS
The young couple spend time together, and seal their love for one another. They tell Olga’s parents. The parents are happy enough for their daughter. A wedding is in the works.
Olga never wants to leave Russia, she tells Dmitri. Russia is her home. Dmitri promises her she will never have to.
APARTMENT
Meredith tries to settle down. Jerome knows. Maybe it is better she leave the project. Leave him. He was never the kind of husband she dreamed of anyway. She returns to her book to read the part about Alexei’s illness.
ALEXEI’S ROOM
Her son gravely ill, Alexandra prays for his recovery. But nothing can be done. They believe this time he’s going to die. Alexandra vows she will do anything, give anything for her son to live.
Enter the monk Rasputin, who tells the czarina, he can save her son. He is a very bad man in the eyes of everyone around the czarina. But she listens to him. She is desperate. Rasputin tells her he can save her son–for a price. Everyone on the czar’s household, by the reputation Rasputin has in the city, knows what price Rasputin asks of the czarina. She pays it.
In front of Olga and Tatiana and little Anastasia. Alexandra leaves with Rasputin. Olga has some idea what the price might be that her mother must pay for Rasputin’s help. She holds nothing but hatred for the monk. But her grief for her little brother is more.
Olga vows that if Alexei dies, she will become czar and take care of Russia for him. Olga is told outright she can never be czar because of the laws. Women do not become czars or leaders of their country. They only become wives of the men who serve as Russia’s czars.
Olga is more than upset with the answer. More than angry. Why can’t she be czar? She vows she will not be kept from helping her brother, from becoming ruler of Russia—just like Cahterine the Great was in her time
Meredith learns in that day and age, boys, men were more important (all important) than women. She feels like Olga, wanting to do more, be more and she is held back, told no, not to rock the boat. She thinks of Kyron again and how their relationship was ended. It was not done in polite society. Marrying someone not of your own kind. We stick to our own kind. You will not see him again. Meredith cannot accept it now, wishes she hadn’t then like Olga.
APARTMENT
Meredith puts her book down. She feels for the young princess. She knows how it is for some people in this life. And she knows how the young princess died, fulfilling the prophecy written about her. Meredith tries to call her agent again. She needs to talk to someone about Jerome. She calls her agent, tells her of the book she found, the story inside it. She wants to write a screenplay about it. She also wants out of this project with Jerome. She feels he’s going to fire her anyway. She believes he’s carrying on another affair, this time with the young starlet. She wants out of everything. The agent loves the story and she tells her not to worry she’ll look around to see if anyone’s looking for a story like that. In the meantime, write a treatment for her to look at. And she’ll see about getting an appointment with the lawyer she found for her.
Meredith feels new strength in her resolve. She will be like Olga and fight for what she wants. She will tell Jerome tomorrow her decision. She is going to leave the project and go home to start her own, new project, without him without anyone telling her what to do and how to do it.
NEW DAY
FILM STUDIO
More of the same. Jerome is shooting, having a bad day. He gets another call from his “money man”. He is on the verge of losing everything. The starlet’s also giving him another hard time about the scene rewrite. She doesn’t like that one either. Jerome orders Meredith to write the scene the way the starlet wants it. Meredith says but it’s not the way the history was lived. Jerome introduces fires her and calls for her replacement on set.
Meredith retorts. Tells Jeromes she is not fired. She quits in her own way. And she is going home.
APARTMENT
Home again, Meredith gets a call from her agent. She thinks she’s found someone who wants to film the script. Also, she has an appointment with her lawyer as soon as she gets home.
Meredith hops on a plane and heads home for the United States. Meredithh feels relief and tells her agent, it’s the best news she’s gotten all day.
HOME AGAIN, RESTAURANT
Meredith meets with her daughter to tell her she’s going to divorce her father. She gives Alex the gift and then tells her it’s not working out with her father and her anymore. Alex sides with her mother. Tells her she’s known about the affairs, the arguments. The money. She’s okay with it. She wants her mother to be happy. Asks, when is she going to see her lawyer.
They are interrupted by Meredith’s agent and a man who’s with her. The man who wants to film the script. It’s Meredith’s old flame, Kyron, of many years ago–AND Jerome’s old rival.
Meredith is floored. She hasn’t seen this man in years. She hasn’t spoken to him. Kyron tells her he’s been divorced for a long time. It wasn’t right. It didn’t work out. He never forgot Meredith. Old feelings start to gush up insider all over again. Does she still love him after all this time, after all these years?
OFFICE
Meredith and her old flame talk about the new project they want to undertake. What intrigued him the most is the story of Rasputin and the conspiracy to assassinate him. A story as old as time. An intrigue that often happens in court settings.
Olga, he tells her, must have been heart broken when she learned Dmitri was part of the plot. And he was banished from Russia and from her seeing Olga again. Meredith adds.
They talk about their past relationship. And they talk about Jerome. Why it didn’t work out for them.
She remembers how her parents fought her on the idea of marrying such a man. It just wasn’t done in the polite society. Meredith says she’s sorry it happened. But her old flame realizes and tells her it wasn’t her fault. Maybe we can be–friends, he adds. She says yes. She would like that.
Kyron reminds her that was long ago, then, this is now. We no longer have to hide from the whims of polite society. They can work together. No one will blink. No one will accuse him of being the wrong cast. The wrong helper. He puts Meredith at ease.
ROMANOV PALACE
Dmitri and others of the royal palace gather together to plot against Rasputin. Rasputin has embarrassed the family. Defamed Alexandra and he must be dealt with accordingly. Dmitri is not sure it’s the right thing to do. Olga, the family. They depend on his helping Alexei. His cohorts talk him into it. They try to poison him with pastries, but that doesn’t work. Finally, in a desperate move they bludgeon him and throw him into the river to drown him. Rasputin miraculously escapes the river, but dies anyway.
Alexandra learns of the plot and how Rasputin died. She banishes Dmitri from the court, from Russia and bars him from ever seeing Olga again, breaking Olga’s heart.
HOME
Meredith is home again. She begins work on a part of her screenplay.
WAR IN EUROPE
World War I begins in Europe. Russia is affected, devastated by the war. The rise of the Bolsheviks take place. There is a plot to overthrow the czar and take over.
Nicholas is remorseful. He sees the dire straits Russia is in. He hands the reigns of government over to his brother Michael.
HOME
Jerome is home again. The film is complete. He wants to see Alex. Meredith tells him she’s not here. She’s away. He missed Christmas, her birthday. But Jerome doesn’t want to hear any of it. He only wants to know why he was served with papers to dissolve their partnership—AND their marriage. Meredith forces him to listen. For many reasons, but mostly his affairs and treating her like dirt. She already packed this things. They are at his club waiting for him there.
There is a huge argument between them. Jerome brings up the fact that he’s heard Kyron’s back in town. He accuses Meredith of wanting a divorce because Kyron happens to be back into her life. He accuses her of being unfaithful, other things. She returns the jab about how many starlets has it taken for me to wake up to your little affairs. And yes. She also knows about the money situation. She’s not going to be a part of paying back gangsters.
Jerome leaves—very unhappy. He warns her it is not going to be an easy settlement or divorce. Be prepared to go to court.
ROMANOV PALACE
Olga and Alexandra have it out. Olga is angry Dmitri had been sent away. And she’s angry with her mother to have let Rasputin ruin her reputation like he did. Their argument is interrupted by the Bolsheviks taking the family captive. They are taken to
TSARKSKOE SELO
A military hospital. There the family works to take care of the wounded soldiers. This is where she meets her Valentina. They become friends.
OLD FLAME’S OFFICE
Meredith and her old flame discuss part of the script she’s working on. The old flame urges her to use the story of Olga to cleanse herself from Jerome. Some of Olga’s woes sound very much like Meredith’s. She has a hard time acclimating herself to the work at the hospital. It’s not her. She gets into arguments with the staff, her supervisor. The war, and the war with her mother still raging, isn’t helping.
Meredith and her old flame go out on the town. Wine, dine, dance, discuss their past relationship. They start to rekindle the feelings they have for one another. They make love together. Like old times. The argument she had with her family against her loving her old flame disappears.
HOME
Meredith takes her old flame’s advice and uses her scripts to cleanse herself of her troubles with Jerome.
Olga has a hard time of it, trying to be a nurse. She loses it in the OR and she is given a desk job to do. Until there is a major battle and many soldiers come in wounded. She is forced to take care of some of the soldiers. She is assigned to a Dmitri. She nurses him, and a few others in the room with him, back to health. Seemingly they fall in love.
COURTROOM
The divorce and the dissolution of the partnership is a battle royale.
Jerome brings up her “affair: with Kyron. And countersues for a great deal of money.
It drains Meredith of her emotions. Everything comes out, including the affairs Jerome had over the years. And much of the abuse Meredith had to suffer because of Jerome’s actions, unfaithfulness.
And her time with Kyron when they were in college.
TSARSKOE SELO MILITARY HOSPITAL
Olga writes another love letter to Dmitri. He is well now. Able to go back to the front. She remembers the vows they shared between them. The intimacy—vows of unspoken love.
Dmitri, fully recovered, leave the hospital with a few of his friends. But not before he gets Olga’s last letter. They go out to celebrate.
TAVERN
Dmitri and his friends get drunk. He shares the letters Olga wrote to him while he recuperated. They make fun of her and the letters.—and of her station, now just a poor nurse taking care of the wounded in a military hospital. Quite a fall from grace.
TSARSKOE SELO
Olga learns of the betrayal. She tells her father. He is understanding. He tells her one day the war will be over and they can get back to their lives. The Bolsheviks will be punished in time. And Dmitri will be punished for his insolence.
But, sadly, it is not to be. By this time, the Bolsheviks enter the hospital and take the family away to another, hidden location.
Valentina is devastated. She has a horrid feeling she will never see her friend again.
COURTROOM
Meredith gladly settles so she can win her divorce and get the partnership with Jerome dissolved. She and her old flame go out to celebrate.
THE FILMS ARE FINALLY WINDING UP. Meredith and Old flame watch the final scenes together in the editing room.
THE LAST CELL FOR THE ROMANOVS
The Romanovs are held hostage only for a short while. Away from everyone. No one knows where they are. They do not know their fate, what will happen to them. Until, one day, the Bolsheviks return into the cell and murder them.
The Bolshevik soldiers rob them of their possessions. One young soldier stands over Olga’s body. He sees the St. George medal, rips it from her neck, pockets it before leaving.
We are transported back to
OLD FLAME’S FILM STUDIO
Meredith and the old flame are ecstatic. The scene is perfect. The edit’s perfect. The movie’s finally finished.
They go out to celebrate.
MONTHS PASS
Jerome’s film and Meredith’s film are out. They are being viewed in a major film festival
FILM FESTIVAL
Meredith gets rave reviews. Many talk Golden Globe, OSCAR.
Jerome’s film is not well received.
Jealous of Meredith’s work. He tries to downplay it then outright sabotage it and her good good.
He bad mouths it, calls in a few favors to try to get her film to fail in the nominations. BUT …
OSCARS
Meredith is up for an Oscar–best screenplay. Even though Jerome tried, she wins.
Drunk, Jerome gets up, when Meredith wins and tries to accept her award, he makes a spectacle of himself in front of the whole audience. Meredith bows out gracefully despite the horrid upstaging. She leaves Jerome to wallow in his pity party.
Her old flame is happy, too, as producer. The film is almost a clean sweep. He tells her he wants to work with her again on a new project.
Meredith gets another surprise. The actor who played Nicholas comes to her and tells her how much he enjoyed her script and her being a major factor in his winning his award and getting much praise for his work. Old Flame knows about this and will be heading up the new project. The actor asks Meredith out to dinner, perhaps to discuss their possibly working together. Meredith is ecstatic. Her career is finally taking off and becoming a major factor in her life. Along with rekindling her romance with her old flame.
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Subject: Monica Solved Scene Problems!
Vision: I will continue to learn everything I can through all different media to apply what I learn to become the best screenwriter I can be. To be successful in getting my movies made and to win awards in the process.
What I learned from doing this assignment is how to make the script better with this grid. It helps you challenge every scene.
I re-wrote the opening scene. Removed another scene that wasn’t really doing the script any favours and re-wrote any scene that referred to the one I removed. Re-wrote my cliché scene using a format I’ve never used before!
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Joe solved scene problems
My vision is to persevere and stay the course of building steady daily routine, and disciplines that produce consistent writing of exceptional quality. Ultimately, the fruit of those habits and disciplines will be a track record of great marketable scripts that will make other successful talented pros seek me out.
Lots of tough decisions, but also I can tell some more things have to change. This time around…
– Strengthened initial scene to make sure everyone sees that main character is making a crazy leap of faith by opening her studio without her sister/partner, and also helps us to understand why she’d do something as stupid as signing a lease without even reading it.
– Strengthened the 1st act tension by introducing the problem of vermin in the building and how Lorenzo has a unique way of handling them (because the Landlord wont) but that totally makes Emily think he’s just as much of a jerk as the landlord says he is.
– cut out some exemporaneous dialogue throughout so that we get to the point of the scene quicker and allows me to cut about 5 pages from the total script.
– Shuffled a few scenes around in the 2nd act so that the attraction/resistance and boundary testing tensions between Emily and Lorenzo flows better
– Strengthened Lorenzo’s italian family dynamics to make them less cliche, and have a more subsstantial role in Lorenzo and Emily’s fate.
– Used two of the supporting characters to help “break” the landlord so he does a complete reversal deep in the 3rd act, and gives up the building.
Slow and steady wins the race!!! right Hal?
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Amy’s Solved Scene Problems!
Vision: I want to become known as an expert in the family-friendly genre and make a full-time living as a screenwriter.
What I learned from doing this assignment is that each of these lessons in this module kind of build on each other. If you missed something in one assignment, you can address it in the next one.
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Andrew Boyd’s Solved Scene Problems
Vision: For Hitler’s Choirboys to be such a compelling screenplay that Steven Spielberg and Mel Gibson will battle it out to produce their most powerful WW2 drama since Hacksaw Ridge or Schindler’s List. (I know – but think big.)
What I learned from doing this assignment:
This has still been largely a case of hacking down an overlong script based on a novel without losing its essence. That means ditching characters and plotlines, combining scenes and elements and making those that remain work even harder. Slashing exposition has been another challenge. As has paring down dialogue. But I’m getting there!
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Dave solved scene problems
My vision: I would like to be a successful writer in Hollywood, with a number of successful movies to my credit that put forward a core belief about environmental, political, or personal values.
What I learned from this assignment is that, once a problem with a scene is identified, a solution can often be discovered and implemented pretty quickly.
I had a scene with too much exposition that also didn’t move the story forward. I was able to remove some of the exposition and to add something that moved the story forward. One of the characters recounts his experience in the Air Force and tells them how he learned to fly low to stay under radar. He tells them the state they’re heading to will have such radar, and thus gives them an important strategy to avoid it.
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Marcus Solved Scene Problems
My Vision: Get a script made into a movie.
This assignment was supposed to help identify and fix certain types of scene problems. I did my best to find and correct these, but the link to the grid only led me to an error page. I’m an experienced script writer, so hopefully, I got the job done here anyway.
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Joyce’s lesson #4 structure.
vision: To create memorable movie scripts that actors want to perform.
WIL: This list will have to be ongoing for me.
There is so much depth in this assignment even if I complete it fast, I will want to review it later.I have early scenes that require setups for more dynamic reveals later.
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Module 6, Lesson 04 – Solving Scene Problems
Subject: Rob Ingalls Solved Scene Problems!
MY VISION:
To be a Talented writer that delivers quality fast, with the film industry seeking me out.
WIL: This is a lot harder than I thought
I went thru scene after scene many times, looking for problems and solutions. That’s hard to do if you’re trying to ensure each scene covers the solutions. Then I just searched for problems and went back to the chart for possible solutions. That seemed to work better but this lesson is still one to review again and again.
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Joel Stern WIM Module 6 Lesson 4
My vision: To write eight blockbuster screenplays and to have a speaking line in at least one of them.
What I learned from this assignment: To solve various issues with each scene.
I am still in the process of doing this. For me it’s a matter of going through a 102 page script and checking the grid provided for a series of problems.
The grid is excellent. I found several scenes that I enhanced through this process.
I’ll be on the air this weekend so I’ll finish this draft Monday.
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Module 6 – Lesson 4 Solving Scene Problems
Lisa’s Solved Scene Problems!
My Vision: I will do whatever it takes to be comfortable saying that I am a writer by creating impactful stories with amazing characters in order to sell my scripts.
What I learned from this assignment is to locate the scenes that don’t belong or change them so that they do belong. Identify the problems and brainstorm to correct them.
I went through what I have written, but my problem is that my script now has only the bare necessity. I need to expand it and add scenes because it is too short. I agree with Joyce. This will be an on-going assignment for me too.
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WIM2 – Dana Solved Scene Problems
My Vision: I intend to perfect my skills to become a successful screenwriter, scripting acclaimed and profitable films, recognized by my peers, and living an adventurous life.
What I learned during this assignment:
I learned to identify problem scenes based on the grid and speed through my script to make corrections.
1. Basic scene design
a. Contained script in an abandoned steel mill.
2. Situations don’t challenge characters
a. I increased the tension between the protagonist’s duplicitous husband and the antagonist. The husband tries to cheat the antagonist by renegotiating their deal.
b. Protagonist literally climbs out of her dilemma, but I expanded her difficulty ten fold.
3. Uninteresting Scenes
a. Added more tension between the protagonist/antagonist during kidnapping scene.
4. Scenes that don’t advance the story
a. I added scenes to enhance and expand the story.
5. Scene accomplishes only one purpose
a. Expanded ransom scene to include private communication between husband and antagonist, revealing husband’s involvement earlier.
6. Exposition filled scenes
a. News report explains the antagonist’s serial kidnapping plot. Made if more interesting by having the antagonist watch the report.
7. When do I reveal what?
a. I reveal the husband’s involvement in his wife’s kidnapping after ransom demand rather than before midpoint.
b. Then reveal their deal to protagonist just before midpoint.
c. Added tools protagonist uses to escape by suggesting an alternate use for them earlier.
8. Cliché scenes and action
a. None that I see.
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Erin Ziccarelli Solved Scene Problems!
Vision: I am creating profound scripts that leave audiences remembering my movies and leave me excited to keep writing and moving up in the industry.
What I learned from doing this assignment is: the process of going through each scene and looking for ways to up the challenge in the scene, add interest techniques, combine scenes, and replace exposition with action/reveals.
I noticed quite a few “talking heads” scenes and replaced them with the character taking action based on their profile. I set an intention of having at least two interest techniques per scene, which makes each scene more engaging and gives the audience that “emotional roller coaster ride.”
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