Lesson 7

[Tom Freyer]

Tom’s 4 Act Structure

What I learned: These prompts are helping me flesh out my outline, and is helping me see where the holes lie

• Concept: When a spoiled, self-centered white rapper’s private plane crashes and dangles precariously on a remote mountain precipice, the rap artist, his Black manager and female publicist must try to escape the wreckage, reckon with their differences while avoiding sudden death.

• Main Conflict: Between the Rap Artist and his Manager over credit and blame

2. Fill in each of these Acts with the answers you have right now.

Act 1:
• Opening: At a small airport, A RAPPER, his MANAGER and PUBLICIST are mobbed on their way to their private plane following a concert. Publicist checks something hidden in her hat. The PILOT warns of approaching snowstorm. Manager agrees with Pilot. Rapper demands they take off anyway. FANBOY fills the fuel tank with wrong fuel.
• Inciting Incident: The wrong fuel causes the plane to crash high in the mountains. Radio broken. Pilot tells Rapper about transponder. Rapper able to extricate himself.
• Turning Point: Pilot dies. Wreckage starts to slide off precipice with Manager and Publicist inside. Rapper and passengers try cell phones. No coverage.
• Tension builds between Rapper and Manager. Wreckage slips.

Act 2:
• Rapper makes a HELP sign out of rocks, continues to try phone
• Rapper tries to climb into wreckage — too risky
• Manager tries to climb out: Wreckage slips_ bulkhead in the way!
• Manager reminds Rapper this was his doing
• Turning Point: Rapper reminds Manager he’d be in prison but for the Rapper’s help.
• Manager reveals it’s actually his life and lyrics that made this disgusting poser — the Rapper — a huge success

Act 3:
• Rapper pries electrical cord loose, tries and fails to pull publicist out
• Publicist fears she’s going to die, so she comes clean: admits affair with Manager.
• Rapper decides to abnadon them and climb down mountain, slips and nearly falls.
• Turning Point: Starts to snow and blow hard.
• Rapper decides he has to kill Manager.
• Reveal: Publicist warns him she has been filming everything via hidden camera

Act 4:
• Manager manages to bemd bulhead and climbs out of plane. He and Junior fight
• Junior tumbles over cliff, plummets to his death
• Rescue chopper arrives, pulls D’Andre and Publicist to safety

• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by  Tom Freyer.
• This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by  Tom Freyer.

[Mark Wakely]

Mark Wakely’s 4 Act Structure

What I learned doing this assignment is to keep the twists and turns coming to maintain audience interest.

Note: I took my inspiration for this screenplay from the novel Lord of the Flies, which- even though it takes place on an island- is also a contained story.

Concept: A tornado destroys a restaurant, trapping three employees and the restaurant owner in the basement.

Main Conflict: They need to find a way out before they die from starvation, the heat and/or lack of fresh air.

Act 1:
Opening: Three employees and the restaurant owner gather in the closed restaurant to start an inventory of supplies. Tornado sirens are sounding.

Inciting Incident: They start the inventory in the basement where the supplies are stored and there’s an employee washroom, knowing they’ll be safe there from the storm.

Turning Point: The tornado destroys the restaurant, trapping them in the basement.

Act 2:

New plan: They decide they need to attract the attention of any rescuers outside. Their cellphones don’t work.

Plan in action: The three employees take turns knocking on the debris covering the basement staircase.

Midpoint Turning Point: The restaurant owner reveals that he left his medication upstairs. Without it, he could die. They also realize the rescuers might think the building was unoccupied and not search for them.

Act 3:

Rethink everything: Hungry, hot, tired and paranoid, they begin finding fault with one another, particularly the restaurant owner.

New plan: The restaurant chef decides it’s hopeless to keep trying to attract rescuers and refuses to help. The remaining two employees resent it.

Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift: The chef discovers that the waitress he’s attracted to and the waiter trapped with them were once in a relationship, enraging him. He also discovers the owner’s construction plans for the building, which show that the washroom was meant to be a staircase for emergency egress.

Act 4:

Final plan: Convinced that they’re doomed, they drop all pretense of civility and begin to openly fight.

Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: A floor joist falls, injuring the waiter and waitress. The three employees confront the restaurant owner, blaming him for their predicament. They each stab him in a fit of rage. He dies.

Resolution: Rescuers arrive. The tornado was an E-5. They’re the first survivors to be found because the restaurant was so well built. As the first responders clap and cheer, the three employees ignore them and somberly walk away.

[Paul McGregor]

Paul’s 4-Act Structure

4. What I learned from this assignment is that this approach really helped me get my ideas together about the script. Working to this 4-act structure made me think about the story development, helping me to fill gaps. Gaps still remain, but this is a good start that I can build upon.

1. Concept: She just came to check out a House for Sale, but the Real-Estate Agent isn’t selling just a house, but a whole new universe.
Main Conflict: Between Real Estate Agent and Jill. The Real Estate Agent doesn’t just want Jill to buy the house, she wants her to change her life and start anew. Jill is not buying it.

2.
Act 1:
• Opening: Protagonist Jill turns up to visit a house for sale. Meets the Real Estate Agent.
• Inciting Incident: Despite Jill’s hesitancy, when hearing the price, the Real Estate Agent insists on her staying around to visit the house. Won’t take a No!
• Turning Point: Jack, another potential buyer, turns up to look at the same house. He and Jill recognize each other. He supplies her drugs.

Act 2:
• New plan: Jack convinces Jill to stay around for the house visit.
• Plan in action: As the house visit continues, Jill feels more and more ill-at-ease. Real-Estate Agent too inquisitive about her private life. Asking embarrassing questions. Jill feels uneasy in the house, particularly in the bedroom. Wants to leave.
• Midpoint Turning Point: Jill and Jack get an alarm call on their phones. The only road leading up to this house in the mountains has been closed for traffic due to a major accident. They can’t return to town. The three are stuck in the house together.

Act 3:
• Rethink everything: Jill very unhappy. Jack accepts the changed circumstances. Real-Estate Agent seems to have been prepared. Serves up food and drink. They chat. We learn more about Jill and Jack.
• New plan: As they chat we discover Jill’s sad life. Jack used to live in the house next door. Talks of tragedy when neighbor’s wife died giving birth in that very house. But the child survived.
• Turning Point: Female and Male Client discover they are falling love.

Act 4:
• Final plan: Real-Estate Agent steps up her campaign to get Jill to change her life and drop the drugs. Does the same to Jack.
• Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Jill shouts in anger at Real-Estate Agent for meddling in her affairs and wanting to change, but Agent says it’s normal – any mother would do the same. Jill is thunderstruck.
• Resolution: Jack decides he will buy the house. Wants to settle down with Jill. Real Estate Agent disappears.

END

• This reply was modified 3 months, 1 week ago by  Paul McGregor.