Lesson 7

[Paul Penley]

Paul P’s Connection with Audience.

What I learned… The audience must feel a connection and must have similar experiences with your Change Agent and your Transformational Character in order to experience the journey.

Both the TC and the CA will be used to create a connection with my audience.

Billy – Transformational Character – The youngest of the two Roper brothers.

A. Relatability – He is the youngest of two and feels the pressure to perform in front of his older brother and his father. In our opening scene he is trying to learn from his older brother and can’t quite grasp the lesson We feel for him. He also tries to help his older brother and gets pushed away. Billy is frightened but want’s to help when they find themselves surrounded by Apache. He is told to hide in the rocks. He takes his father’s rifle but is to frightened to shoot. When he finally tries the chamber is empty. Billy watches as his father and brother are thrown against the rocks and defeated by a fallen Angel.

B. Intrigue. At the end of the first scene Billy has watched his father and brother from a hiding place. He has felt useless and afraid to move. Guilt, fear, and hate build as he is called out of his hiding place. He sees his dead father and unconcious brother and is told to leave. 8 year old Billy rides away from the canyon into Apache indian country by himself. What will happen to him?

C. Empathy: Billy is a pleaser. He tries his best with his brother and fails. He is pushed aside when they are attacked and told to hide. Billy grabs his father’s rifle and pulls the trigger ( there isn’t a bullet in the chamber and he gives away his hiding place) trying to save his brother and father. Billy rides away from the scene leaving the only protection he had. He is now vulnerable and alone in a dangerous place with spiritual creatures unknown to him.

D. Likability: Younger Billy tries to help. He tries to protect his brother from his father’s scolding. He vows revenge upon the Angel who killed his father and brother.

Older Billy- The next scene we find Billy late to a bank robbery. He gives a townsperson a warning look instead of shooting him and waves the man away from his fellow outlaws. He helps a gut shot outlaw on to his horse instead of leaving him to die. Billy has grown up and survived. But how?

Johnny – Change Agent – Oldest of the two Roper brothers.

A. Relatability: Johnny is the older brother who is responsible for taking care of his younger brother. He tries to teach him what he knows even if he hasn’t quite got the hang of it himself. He makes mistakes and takes the brunt of his father’s scorn. He will do anything to please his father and repeats his father’s words to make sure he gets the message. He stands side by side with his father when they are surrounded by Apache and shoots to kill an unstoppable foe as his father dies next to him.

B. Intrigue: Johnny is afraid but he takes action and tries to kill the attacking Angel. He vows to protect his little brother. He has honor and courage.

C. Empathy: Johnny is the older brother who is expected to be a man yet must take care of his younger brother. He shouldn’t be in the situation his father has placed him. He does his best to protect Billy and fails.

D. Likability: Younger Johnny makes mistakes and stumbles through things like all young children trying to walk in their father’s footsteps. He does his best to protect Billy before he is knocked out. Billy has been saved from the immediate danger.

Older Johnny still tries to protect his Billy. He gives him clues to survive the Mission and how to escape. He is fearless and determined to save Billy and revenge his father at all costs.

[Lonnie Nichols]

Lonnie’s Connection with Audience
What I learned doing this assignment: How to “pull” the audience in to the main characters quickly. This lesson really helped me define my characters better and with more depth.

Lesson:

Tell us which characters you are going to INTENTIONALLY create a connection with the audience.

Show the following for each: Relatability B. Intrigue C. Empathy D. Likability

Ruby – Main character, Protagonist:
Relatability – teenage girl, typical issues, friendly, good friends;
Intrigue – excellent athlete who somehow manages to compete at the highest level;
Empathy – depressed when father dies, loves and supports her younger, handicapped brother;
Likability – gives teammates lots of credit, humble, everyone likes her in the beginning.

Jack – Ruby’s brother: .
Empathy and Relatabilty – He’s handicapped, requires wheelchair;
Likability – loves Ruby, supports her journey, would sacrifice anything for her.

Benjamin (Benny, the Mayor) – Antagonist.
Relatability – everyone knows a governmental figure who has a dark side, or even a criminal;
Intrigue – how does he manage to cover-up/hide the fact he is the local drug lord?
Likability – not him! We learn to dislike his antics and how he is able to “feed” the teens drugs to make himself money.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 1 week ago by  Lonnie Nichols.

[margo meck]

Margo’s Connection with Audience

What I learned doing this assignment is…? That the writer can intentionally suck an audience into the story using specific types of human connections.

The four ways of connecting Brandi with the audience in the first 30 minutes:

Relatability
A young woman is excited about and preparing for her wedding day.
She is innocent, naïve, with small-town aspirations.

Intrigue
What are the results of the DNA test?
Is her mother really guilty of incest?
Who is Brandi’s absent uncle/father?

Empathy
Fiancé cancels the wedding.
Townspeople, friends, and neighbors shun her.
The rug just got pulled out from under her; her whole future has been destroyed.

Likability
She has the courage to confront her mother about who her father is.
She makes a decision to go her own way and rise above her treatment by the townspeople.
She is vulnerable.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 1 week ago by  margo meck.

[Mark Roeder]

Mark Roeder’s Connection With Audience

What I learned doing this assignment is to find relatable situations Rosemary could be in as she deals with the difficult pandas, so we can feel empathy.

1. Rosemary, the transformable character

RELATABILITY:

Rosemary has to clean up after the pandas, and they are disgusting creatures she feels.

Her job and insurance refuse to pay her for the time she was in the coma after being bitten by a panda with rabies even though it happened at work.

Her boss tells her Blaze is hurting the panda community and she’s suspicious of her boss.

B. INTRIGUE:

She believes the pandas have a hidden agenda against her.

Has a weird nightmare where she’s kidnapped by pandas.

Finds herself munching on bamboo.

Gives birth to a panda.

Incisor, a giant scarred panda, always seems to be watching her, growling at her, and when she tries to kill her baby panda, it pounces on her, and all the other pandas do too.

She’s rescued/kidnapped by Blaze.

C. EMPATHY:

Has to artificially inseminate pandas she’s repulsed by.

Pandas scream when she tries to artificially inseminate them.

Pandas crap on her. From above tree.

Pandas refuse to do anything she tries to get them to do, like mate.

A baby panda dies under her watch, and she’s blamed for it.

Flashbacks of getting bit by a panda and coma. And maybe of getting abducted by pandas and experimented on.

Hurt that insurance won’t cover bills for time in coma.

Has to live there at the zoo like an animal because her house went into foreclosure since they didn’t pay her for time in coma.

Wakes up in panda cage once and doesn’t know how she got there.

Scared of getting attacked in sleep and not ever having real home again.

Scared by nightmares, flashbacks of getting bitten. Nightmares of pandas kidnapping her, experimenting on her.

Scared to get close to a panda, or human

Scared of their panda’s hidden agenda.

Horrified that she gave birth to a panda.

Afraid to get bitten again. Was hurt.

Pounced on by Incisor and his panda community.

Kidnapped by Blaze.

D. LIKABILITY:

Takes care of a panda, fixes up a panda’s wound even though she’s disgusted by pandas.

Panda tries to claw or bite a little girl and she protects the little girl. Save a little girl trapped by pandas.

When she gives birth, some people call her the miracle mother. Compare her to mother Mary maybe. Dub her Mother Mary or Mother Rosemary.

Many around the world come to see her and the baby panda.

Her baby panda Kyo likes her.

Can’t go through with killing her panda son, Kyo.

Blaze saw she didn’t kill her baby.

Someone on Blaze’s team could practically worship her, for being the mother of the promised panda.

Maybe she even takes care of her own panda, protects it a little even though thinks it’s abomination.

When they are kidnapped she protects it a little.

[Margaret]

Margaret’s Connection with Audience

What I learned: To plan ways to connect with the audience before you write the script.

Characters I will INTENTIONALLY create a connection with the audience:

TA – Margot Dufour
Relatability: During the opening scene, Margot struggles to meet a deadline. She also refuses to accept a task that is imposed on her because it is risky adventure.
Intrigue: We wonder at the opening why there is such a rush to make a rag doll. We see her place the rag doll in the arms of deceased girl, making us wonder what happened and what the connection is.
Empathy: Margot grieves for the deceased girl. She has lost family to the Nazi’s which makes us feel sorry for her.
Likability: Margo is a master seamstress and everyone is impressed by the rag dolls she makes.

CA – Helene Schmidt
Relatability: Helene eavesdrops on a conversation her son is having. She loathes the life choice made by her son.
Intrigue: Why is she listening in on her son’s conversation? Why does she write down what he says?
Empathy: She is conflicted with a Nazi son who she cares for but loathes his allegiance to the Nazi’s.
Likability: She is capable, efficient at planning.

Support Character – Marie-Claude Benoit
Relatability: She fears the intrusion into her workplace. She pretends not to understand to protect herself.
Intrigue: How can she develop a code that could be transmitted by a doll?
Empathy: She is being forced to retire because of her age.
Likability: She is a grandmother-type character and her dementia-type actions remind us grandmothers we know with dementia.

[Jennifer Quintenz-Berry]

Jenn’s Connection with Audience

What I learned doing this assignment is:
I had a major breakthrough: I’m going to have Carrie assigned as Taylor’s new roommate (and at first we don’t know that Carrie was asked to be here by Dr. Strove) – harder to escape your roommate if you have a fight, and you can use the room as a metaphor for living life where you are (decorating the room to make the space your own, etc…). It’s also helping me reframe their relationship – rather than meeting up in the game room, they’re living together now… and it makes more sense that Taylor would seek her out as a roommate at the end.

Tell us which characters you are going to INTENTIONALLY create a connection with the audience.
Taylor (Transformational Character) and Carrie (Change Agent)

With each character, tell us how you’ll use each of the four ways of connecting with the audience in the first 30 minutes of the movie.

TAYLOR

A. Relatability
She’s introverted but must give a speech in front of a large group at her sister’s wedding.
She loves her sister but hates her sister’s new husband – must play nice even though he’s a dick.
In hospital, doesn’t like being pushed around by the system but must deal with it.
Gets moved into a “roomie” situation but is in no mood to be social.

B. Intrigue
What is Taylor’s mysterious disorder?

C. Empathy
We learn that Taylor’s sister – who was also her best friend – has died.
Taylor’s been patient hoping for answers, then learns she may never get out of the hospital.
In a moment of despair, Taylor tries to kill herself.
Taylor has a fear of needles but needs regular tests.

D. Likability
Even though she’s scared of public speaking, Taylor does a great job and the crowd loves it.
Sydney loves her deeply; their connection is real and powerful.
Taylor is funny, has a dark sense of humor she can’t turn off.
Taylor starts to bond with Carrie, becoming a genuine friend.

CARRIE

A. Relatability
Carrie is appalled at the institutional blandness of the hospital room.
Carrie is impatient with Taylor’s sullenness.

B. Intrigue
What’s going on with Carrie?
Why is she here? Doesn’t suffer seizures like the other patients… she’s very private, won’t say.
What’s her relationship with Dr. Strove?

C. Empathy
We learn Carrie couldn’t have kids of her own, and her husband died quite young.
She’s lived a fascinating life, and made many friends along the way, but doesn’t want them seeing her like this.

D. Likability
The staff seem to love Carrie.
Carrie teaches Taylor gin rummy.
Carrie is endearing by being unfiltered, perceptive, funny, compassionate.
Carrie starts decorating their room, bringing personality into the space – and gets Taylor involved (life happens wherever you are).

~ end

[Terrie Cooper Lee]

Terrie’s Connection with the Audience
What I learned doing this assignment is to plan out how to create a connection with characters and also to plan out when to introduce characters. Interesting question – can you have some character show up a bit late?
1. Which characters are you going to INTENTIONALLY create a connection with the audience?
Valerie: the transformable character, Doc: the betraying character, Constable Bill: haven’t said much about him but he gets killed pretty early on and further motivates Valerie to pursue the case. It would be good to create a connection with Colton the change agent – so my question is if we don’t meet him early can that work?
2. With each character, tell us how you’ll use each of the four ways of connecting with the audience in the first 30 minutes of the movie.
Valerie
A. Relatability – drive into Marfa, terrible roads, uncomfortable
B. Intrigue – gets attacked driving back to home base
C. Empathy – told to kill the investigation, argues, takes heat from Doc about killing the investigation.
D. Likability – kind to Constable Bill who is obviously cognitively challenged
Doc
A. Relatability –
B. Intrigue –
C. Empathy – frustration with the system that won’t let Valerie investigate a murder
D. Likability – argues that the victim’s murder needs to be investigated regardless of Valerie’s orders
Colton
A. Relatability – angry at the government
B. Intrigue – living off the grid hiding from the government
C. Empathy – war injuries
D. Likability – he might not be likeable, he’s cranky and sarcastic and angry

• This reply was modified 6 months ago by  Terrie Cooper Lee.