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Lesson 7
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Megan’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is… that high speed writing offers the freedom of no judgment. It does not require that I have all the answers. It allows me to simply create with the ideas I have and rest assured that the holes will fill themselves in eventually.
EXT. PLACEHOLDER LOCATION — DAY
A scene of sunshine, peace, playfulness: laughing kids running through a park?
INT. ANNA’S OFFICE AT THE WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM OFFICE — DAY
Anna breathing into a paper bag panicking before having to speak to a group of junior high students on a field trip. Kind coworkers reassure her. Evan stops by to wish her luck and warns her not to throw up because he doesn’t want to clean up the mess.
INT. WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM — DAY
Anna speaks to the group of female students on a field trip about the aftereffects of WW3 and the political shift into a matriarchy. Afterwards, Anna reacts in awe when introduced to Vice President Nova Walker, who arrives to check on preparations for the upcoming Women’s Day Event. Anna finds out the President is severely allergic to flowers.
INT. WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM WOMEN’S RESTROOM – DAY
Anna dumping water from flowers. Runs into Evan, who has just finished cleaning the bathroom. Asks about job opening in research; Anna promises to put a good word in if she gets a chance
INT. DOCTOR’S OFFICE — DAY
A blood test confirms Anna is pregnant. They identify a due date and the doctor tells Anna to schedule an ultrasound. Doctor asks Anna about previous pregnancy: her now 2-year-old son Luke.
INT. DOCTOR’S OFFICE WAITING ROOM— DAY
Anna notices boy with mom fighting against being taken back for a vaccination. Complete 180 from usual utopia; Anna asks nurse about it but is too afraid of rocking the boat to speak to the child’s mother. A man in the waiting room seems to be watching her.
EXT. PARKING LOT — DAY
On her way to her car, Anna is kidnapped and blindfolded.
INT. FIRST MAN HQ — DAY
When the blindfold comes off, Anna is introduced to First Man; her brother and father are part of it. They try to convince her to join them by pointing out all the injustices around her that she’s been unwilling to see.
Anna’s father Adam reveals that Anna had a second younger brother. Anna’s mistrust of her father and support of the Matriarchy make her unwilling to join them. Evan wonders if they’ve made a mistake in choosing her.
INT. ANNA’S LIVING ROOM — EVENING
David is making dinner when Anna gets home. Luke is playing with toys. David asks how the doctor’s appointment went. Anna does not share kidnapping.
INT. ANNA’S BEDROOM — NIGHT
Add scene? David notices something is off? Anna distracts him by talking about meeting the vice president. Better than the President. David reveals his dislike of President Harris, which comes as a surprise to Anna?
INT. SENATE MEETING — DAY
Vice President is running an all-female Senate meeting when President Harris enters, ostensibly to watch. She eventually speaks up and strong arms the Senate into [something].
EXT. OUTSIDE ANNA’S HOUSE — THE NEXT MORNING
Anna waves to a female neighbor, also heading to work, while her husband hustles four screaming girls into a car for school. Male school bus driver, male trash collector.
EXT. DRIVE TO WORK — MORNING
Anna notices male road workers with a female supervisor. Male truck drivers. Men operating a car wash. Nicer cars driven by women.
INT. OVAL OFFICE — DAY
The President receives intel about the existence of First Man. Demands more information. Puts intelligence on it.
INT. WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM BOSS OFFICE — DAY
Anna meets with her boss Jenny about the open position; tries to put in a good word for Evan. Told point blank that the position is only open to women. Anna asks about being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Her boss tells her things are different under the Matriarchy. Just don’t rock the boat, okay?
INT. WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM HALLWAY — DAY
Anna checks her cell; sees a hopeful text from Evan. She does not respond.
INT. ULTRASOUND — DAY
At her ultrasound, Anna finds out she is having a boy. Fights off the ultrasound tech who attempts to grab her.
EXT. HOSPITAL — DAY
Sees [something] that reminds her of First Man. Texts Evan. He says he’s on his way.
INT. FIRST MAN HQ — DAY
Anna walks in. All the other men except Adam walk out? Evan gives Anna an encouraging smile and shuts the door. Adam gives Anna a hug, asks if she’s okay, tells her to sit down. Tells Anna how First Man started: Finally reveals that Anna’s mother died protecting her own unborn second son. Anna agrees to help First Man depose the President but insists they must first try to do so peaceably. Adam is skeptical but agrees to let her try.
INT. HIGH SCHOOL GYMNASIUM — NIGHT
At the President’s daughter’s basketball game, Anna pretends to need info for Women’s Day event. Secretary tries to brush her off but President agrees to a short interview during halftime. President reveals no intention of stepping down at the next election. Reveals: elections have been rigged for years and no love lost between president and her husband.
EXT. HIGH SCHOOL — NIGHT
Anna believes she is being followed?.
INT. OVAL OFFICE? — DAY
The president fills in the vice president on First Man, and the two discuss running for reelection.
INT. ANNA’S LIVING ROOM — DAY
While on the phone with Adam, sees a political ad on TV promoting the President’s reelection. Anna somewhat unwillingly agrees to help First Man with their assassination, so long as she’s not the one pulling the trigger.
INT. WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM — DAY
Televised Women’s Day assembly at the museum with a guest appearance by the President
EXT. ALLEY BEHIND WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM — DAY
Anna sneaks Evan in through an unguarded emergency exit.
INT. WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM — DAY
During the event. President Harris reveals the existence of First Man and brings in a handcuffed Adam the ringleader as an example why the Matriarchy has been so much more successful than the democracy before it. Evan shoots and wounds the president but doesn’t kill her, Adam escapes, and Evan is shot and killed himself; Anna rushes to her brother and is arrested for conspiracy.
INT. JAIL HOLDING CELL — DAY
David visits her in jail? begs her not to cause any more disruptions? Anna tells him they’re having a boy. Officer arrives to escort Anna to the hospital.
INT. POLICE CAR — DAY
Placeholder scene?
INT. WALTER REED HOSPITAL LOBBY — DAY
As he’s escorting her into Walter Reed hospital, he suddenly pulls her into a stairwell;
INT. WALTER REED HOSPITAL STAIRWELL — DAY
Anna meets the President’s husband. Reveal: her father is not the actual leader of First Man, only the front man; First Man was begun by the president’s husband. Anna is not here for an abortion; she’s here to finish what Evan started; the president is receiving treatment in Ward 71; Anna insists she can’t do it; she can’t kill the president. The President’s husband tells her she won’t have to.
INT. WARD 71 PRESIDENTIAL SUITE — DAY
Anna’s face off with President; she gets the president to admit aloud the oppressive laws she’s enacted to keep women in power; records the entire thing? When the president realizes, she threatens Anna’s husband, father, and finally her son by name. Anna disconnects the monitors. She wishes the president a speedy recovery and leaves her with a bouquet of flowers from her husband, the First Man. President begins struggling to breathe as Anna leaves.
EXT. LOCATION — DAY
Months later, press junket where Vice President Nova Walker announces her intention to run for the presidency. She brings in Anna as her running mate. David, Luke, and Anna‘s newborn son watch from the front row. Narration mentions Adam is still on the run? But Anna will continue fighting to help make a world where both genders are treated as equals:
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Risa’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned:
I’m tempted to get into dialogue and description…but I just make quick notes and move on. This is not perfect and I’m okay with this. I see the weak points a lot easier with this method.
EXT. TROLL WALL, NORWAY – NIGHT
Adventurers Ben, Naya, James and Cameron are sitting around campfire talking about their big base jump tomorrow. Nick, their guide is taking it all in. He stays up watches Naya having sex with Ben through shadows in tent.
The moon is full.
TE1 Nick falls deeper for Naya.
EXT. TROLL WALL, NORWAY – MORNING
Ben, Naya, James and Cameron are getting a final pep talk from guide Nick before base jumping. Ben’s all adrenaline, Naya is patient but still hesitant, James does a prayer to himself, but ready to go. Cameron is blasé about the whole thing.
TE2 Ben breaks his ankle on the fall.
INT. BEN AND NAYA’S LOFT
Naya learns about U-Meret from an infomercial an answer for pain. She sends Ben after months of trying everything else. She’s afraid he’ll get addicted to opioids.
Nick needs money so shops himself out to another adventurer…one guy who offers him a lot of money, wants to dog sled in Siberia. Nick arranges it through a Russian recluse/survivalist friend. The adventurer hits on him and Nick is stuck. However, he learns a lot from the recluse…folklore about an evil force Koschei.
TE Nick learns his limits what he won’t do for money… Flying home he sees the infomercial for U-Meret. Does research it checks out as a cure from the Ural Mountains.
INT: DIA AIRPORT – DAY
Nick meets with Naya and the rest of the adventurers for a beer, they talk about Ben. He’s already getting better with U-Meret…as a matter of fact Cameron is trying it for her leg cramps and James is doing it for his shoulder…it’s a miracle cure. 5 clinics in Denver already….it’s like Starbucks!
TE Nick back in New Orleans decides to move to Evergreen, CO. Leaves his old life behind. Thinks this is the best thing for him. Closer to Naya.
INT: NICK’S CABIN -DAY
Naya is helping Nick with his website. He notices a change in her behavior. Ben and the group come over with steaks and they grill and chat around the fire pit. Planning the next adventure. Nick notices that they do not react to pain.
(James story here…usually it makes him cry…but no tears this time)
EXT: DENVER STREET – DAY
Nick prepping for next adventure sees U-Meret clinic with line out the door. BOGO.
INT; NICK’S CABIN – DAY
At home looks up Koschei. Even the president of the United States does U-Meret…to treat his old battle wound.
EXT: MOUNTAIN – DAY
Nick meets one who wants to go on the next adventure…he looks like Koschei and he’s hitting on Naya. Ben is completely uninterested. Surgeons are going out of business. But surgeon isn’t the guy.
TE: Nick realizes something is very wrong and he has to get involved, but how. Knows he’s going about it the wrong way. Wants to take Naya with him. She says no. Cameron’s pregnant.
EXT: RUSSIAN RECLUSE HUT – DAY/NIGHT
Nick shows up. Tell me everything. I think it’s happening.
TE: Nick has to stop Koschei.
He trains for mental warfare and creates runes and rituals to give him success. But where is Koschei?
Koschei presents in Nick’s vision, but one of the recluse’s assistants is a minion. Nick is defeated, the recluse is killed. Nick barely escapes.
TE: Nick is now paranoid and scared. He calls Naya she’s on her way to a retreat. A team of doctors who invented the U-Meret device are recruiting a global network of consultants in Aspen CO.
INT: ASPEN RETREAT – NIGHT
Nick finds Naya, professes his love. Kisses her. Proves to her the truth. She agrees to fight with him.
TE: Nick decides to die for love, for freedom, for the world.
INT: ESTATE GIANT LOG CABIN GREAT ROOM – NIGHT
Chairs, tables in concentric circular formation. In the middle, on the floor the U-Meret logo. Devices for “home use” spread throughout the room.
Meals of bug protein and dried fruit.
THE PANEL of DOCTORS enter the room. Backs to the logo facing out talk to the guests. With translations for international guests. Devices are solar powered. The event is closed to the press but cameras are outside the private estate.
EXT: ESTATE – NIGHT
Nick tries to talk to the press get coverage of his side. They think he’s crazy. Police arrest him.
EXT: ROAD
Naya crashes into the police car to save Nick. She doesn’t feel the injury, further proving the effect of U-Meret.
INT: ESTATE GIANT LOG CABIN GREAT ROOM – NIGHT
Nick and Naya perform ritual and use spiritual weapons to battle Koschei. The chain reaction kills everyone in the room.
Nick and Koschei final showdown. Nick must give up his life to save Naya.
Naya, battered and bloody, faces the dawn alone. She feels pain. Ouch.
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KAREN SINCLAIR’S BEAT SHEET AND HIGH SPEED WRITING
What I learned doing this assignment is…?
I like that it is starting to feel more like a script. By adding these components in a high-speed fashion, gaps in writing become more evident. Placeholders put your mind at ease for further elaboration.
ASSIGNMENT 7
1. Listen to the Empowerment Audio
<b style=”background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>2. Act 1: 25 to
30 pages
Set up and see Old Ways.INT. OFFICE – DUSK
OPENING: Set us up for the journey that starts with the Inciting Incident.
TE 1: CEO pitches Sadie an opportunity to open a Vancouver branch of the advertising agency
SADIE is just finishing up a meeting with MITCHELL BAKKEN, the CEO of GH Group. She’s walking toward the door as he’s encouraging her to seriously think about heading up the project to establish a new branch of GH Harder in Vancouver BC. As she is about to step out his door he follows up with, “It could be your ticket to partnership”.
INT. HALLWAY – DUSK
She closes the door to the Mitchell’s office and her phone chirps. It is a text from THOMAS, her longtime boyfriend, who she just broke up with, telling her that dinner is almost ready. She looks angry as she crumples her paper coffee cup and slams it into the garbage in the hall.
INT. OFFICE BULLPEN – DUSK
TE 2: Sadie runs home to finally break up with Thomas and throw him out
Sadie is thrashing around slamming and locking doors. Everyone else has gone home for the day. She is in her running gear with a small backpack carrying her identification, credit cards and her work clothes. Sadie gave her longtime boyfriend Thomas a directive to be out of her townhouse by the time she got home from work. She looks down at the text on her phone about dinner being ready and sent him a text back saying, ‘Get Out!’.
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OUT. STREETS – DUSK
Sadie bursts out of the elevator on the main floor and heads out into the city. Her anger is fueled by the stress and anger of a breakup that has been a long time coming. Thomas refuses to accept that it is over even though Sadie assures him that it is.
Sadie is used to being in control, over everything, and the fact that Thomas is not responding to the breakup is driving her to the brink.
OUT. SIDEWALKS – DUSK
Sadie runs recklessly down the street, shoulder-bumping people as she heads down a busy sidewalk on a Thursday evening. Her backpack knocks someone off their bike.
OUT. SADIE’S STREET – DUSK
As she enters her street she starts to sprint.
OUT. TOWNHOUSE – DUSK
When she reaches the bottom of the steps to her townhouse she stops abruptly, leans over trying to catch her breath.
She looks up to see a shadow moving around her kitchen. She rips her backpack off her back, stomps up the stairs and burst through the door throwing her pack into a corner. Instantly upon entry she can smell something cooking; evidence that Thomas is still not taking her seriously.
INT. TOWNHOUSE KITCHEN – DUSK
Sadie storms into the kitchen and confronts Thomas in the middle of setting the table for, what looks like a romantic dinner. She yells at him that this is it. They are done.
He still doesn’t seem to get it and suggests they sit down for a meal and talk.
She is done talking and to prove it, she yanks the garbage can out from under the sink and dumps everything on the table into the can. She walks over to the island and clears all contents to the can as well. Sadie grabs a pot of hot water with spaghetti noodles from the stove. She tells him she is done being held hostage by him in her own house. She throws the boiling water against the back of the sink. The window behind the sink and the glass cracks from the heat.
Thomas, with his hands up, takes a step towards her.
Sadie picks up the pot of simmering spaghetti sauce and an oven mitt. She threatens to throw it on him if he doesn’t leave right now.
He finally gets it and snaps, yelling obscenities as he storms out and slams the door, taking nothing and creating yet another reason for returning.
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OUT. TOWNHOUSE – NIGHT
An hour later, Thomas returns by car. Sadie has loaded everything of Thomas’ into Rubbermaid tubs and put them on the front porch. There is a locksmith truck parked in front and the LOCKSMITH is just finishing up changing the locks.
The locksmith asks Thomas if the containers are his to which he affirms they are. He tells him the lady who lives here gave him five $100 dollar bills to deliver the bins to his apartment address.
OUT. TOWNSHOUSE STREETSIDE – NIGHT
Thomas says he will take them and starts loading his car. The locksmith helps him, all the while consoling him about the obvious breakup.
The locksmith rings Sadie’s doorbell to let her know he is done, but no one answers. He slips an invoice for the job through the slot and is about to follow up with the five $100 bills. Instead, he hesitates and returns only three. Two bills go in his pocket for his trouble.
INT. TOWNHOUSE – NIGHT
Sadie sits on the floor with her back against the inside of the front door sobbing. It is finally over.
INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE CEO OFFICE – MORNING
Sadie tells the CEO, on Friday morning that she will accept the project of opening the new office in Vancouver, BC. She sees it as a way of breaking from Thomas and having a fresh start. He tells her that during the following week’s marketing conference in Whistler, BC., he will be announcing her appointment.
OUT. MOUNTAIN – DAY
While at the conference, Sadie participates in a ski lesson provided by the conference. She is partnered with a guy from one of the Exhibition booths. His name is ADAM and they are really hitting it off.
INT. BANQUET ROOM – DUSK
They sit together at dinner. During dinner, there is a segment called ‘Movers and Shakers’ during which announcements are made of people moving from one agency to another or going out on their own. The Mitchell announces that Sadie will be opening a branch ‘right here in beautiful Vancouver, BC’. She bashfully looks at her new acquaintance who smiles as he realizes that their relationship might have a chance.
TE 3: Start ups in Vancouver, Sadie and Adam get married and the Agency is opened.
MONTAGE
A montage of activity shows a back and forth between
· starting up the agency,
· dating Adam,
to
· day to day happenings in the agency, winning accounts, high fives
· runs with Adam, candlelit dinners, Adam in his accounting office at home facetiming Sadie
to
· cutting the ribbon with the whole new work team behind her and
· a wedding photo with her, Adam, and his two children.
INT. AGENCY – DAY
TE 4: Sadie dives into her work in her new Vancouver office preparing for an important New Client Presentation. Her team starts to see her micro manager ways and wonder if they will be able to tolerate it.
PLACEHOLDER: Introductions to Sadie’s team members and development of their personalities needs to be included here.
Back in the office, Sadie works with RANDY her young executive assistant and the rest of her team to put together a big presentation. She will be competing for business against a known competitor VJ KILMER of Sinclair Media Group (SMG) which she relishes. VJ is a fearsome competitor.
Her team suggests ways they can be more involved, use more flashy technology and help Sadie with the volume of preparation that is required. She rebuffs them and tells them just to get her what she asks for and she’ll take it from there. One of Sadie’s team decides to create the flashy piece that she thinks will give the presentation a boost. She hopes to convince her to use it.
Sadie’s team at work show signs of dissatisfaction. While Sadie pays them well enough, she doesn’t let them do what she hired them to do. Randy tries to placate them, but it is even grating on him.
INT. OFFICE – DAY
TE 5: Sadie slips into habits of her Old Ways and Adam notices.
During this busy time at work, Sadie shows signs of her old ways, calling Adam on a Saturday to let him know he won’t be home for dinner even though it is a birthday dinner for his oldest Ada who is turning five. Adam invites his ex-wife and ADA’S mother, HANNAH, over for the birthday party not wanting Ada to feel any pain over Sadie’s absence. In a picture after the fact, Sadie sees Hannah, the ex, at the party, and feels a pang of pain but quickly shakes it off.
Sunday is a repeat of Saturday showing Sadie at work and going for a run at lunch.
OUT. STREETS – DAY
She runs home to say hello to Adam.
INT. TOWNHOUSE – DAY
Sadie tells Adam she won’t be home for dinner, and then heads back to work.
PLACEHOLDER: How does Adam deal with the news that Sadie, once again, won’t be home for dinner? Adam is alone with his kids the entire weekend which he is used to but not how he thought things would be.
INT. TOWNHOUSE – DUSK
Even through Adam is disappointed, he decides to be supportive and bring Sadie dinner which she enjoys.
INT. BAR – NIGHT
On his way home he meets a guy friend at a bar for a drink. The friend asks where Sadie is on a Sunday night and Adam acts embarrassed that she is at work.
Sadie continues to be self-absorbed in work while Adam takes care of the home front. He has been doing it for a while so not much is different, but he is beginning to ask himself, ‘Is this how it should be?’
INT. OFFICE – AFTERNOON
Adam asks Sadie if she can pick up the kids from school one Friday afternoon due to a special work meeting he can’t get out of. She agrees and then forgets to pick them up. The ex-wife is livid.
Adam brings up the idea of finally booking a honeymoon. He thinks it would do them good. Sadie is in no frame of mind to talk about it right now but promises she will after the presentation is done.
INT. OFFICE – DAY
TE 6: Thomas reminds Sadie that he is still in her life both overtly, as friends, and covertly, through a mutual friend VJ Kilmer, one of Sadie’s competitors in the advertising business.
Thomas stays in contact with Sadie as friends. In the beginning, Sadie is ok with it. As time goes on, she starts to become more uncomfortable as she realizes Thomas still holds out hope for a reconciliation.
PLACEHOLDER: Thomas playing video games while he talks to Sadie.
Thomas also stays in touch with VJ Kilmer from the competition in New York. They got to know each other from local New York City events where Sadie introduced them. He is getting information from VJ about what Sadie is up to because she knows they still talk.
PLACEHOLDER: Thomas having a beer with VJ Kilmer after work.
INCITING INCIDENT: Sadie heads out for a run to get in the right frame of mind for her presentation. She is taken hostage through her cellphone, while running. She is told, Do Not Stop Running!
This is the call to go on the journey. It creates the opportunity to live outside the box and take on the New Ways.INT. OFFICE BULLPEN – DAY
The big day has arrived. The presentation is tonight, and Sadie has got her team pulling it all together.
OUT. STREETS – DAY
She goes for a run to get in the right frame of mind, something she always does.
Head office in New York, Mitchell Bakken, calls to let Sadie know how important the presentation is for the firm. Pressure Sadie doesn’t need.
While she is running, she receives a text on her phone warning her not to stop running, to run where she is told and to reply that she understands by raising her arm in the air. It goes further to say that if she stops running or goes in a different direction, she, her husband, and his children will be killed. She is not to answer any texts or phone calls other than from the mysterious caller.
Is it possible that she has been taken hostage while running?
TURNING POINT: Lock in the journey. There is no going back from here.
Sadie doesn’t know what is happening and she doesn’t know whether to take this threat seriously.
She keeps running and thinking.
3. Act 2: 20 to
30 pages
Challenge the Old Ways.Reaction: They are now outside the box. It is uncomfortable, maybe unbearable. But the Hero can’t go back. They must move forward in some way.
Sadie knows she must do something.
The Plan: They struggle, flail, and try the first plan that comes to mind…which will quickly fail.
She decides to test the instructions. Surely nothing will happen, and she’ll do directly to the police.
· She slows to a walk and receives a text that says, ‘RUN’.
· She starts to turn around and reverse course. A text warns her to ‘Stay on Course’.
· She dials 911 and the digitally enhanced voice that answers taunts her with, ‘Nice Try’.
The Hostage Taker realizes she is testing the instructions and tells her as much in a text saying, ‘Don’t Test Me!’. Sadie receives pictures of Adam and the children doing what they do daily. The Hostage Taker tells her to cross the road so that she is running with traffic instead of against it.
OUT. INTERSECTION – DAY
As she runs through intersections she notices a block to her right, there is a figure on a motorbike mirroring her. As she sees them, they shine a flashlight in her direction. It must be the Hostage Taker.
OUT. STREET – DAY
She keeps running.
Turning Point 2: MIDPOINT: The journey is still moving in the same direction, but the meaning has changed in a big way that shifts reality.
It has been over two hours of running and Sadie is out of water. She has had to urinate for awhile but has been holding it. It starts to lightly rain which gives her cover to let it go. The urine runs down her legs. She wore new running shoes for this run as it wasn’t going to be a long one. Blisters have formed and as the urine runs onto her feet, she moans in excruciating pain. The blood soaks to the outside of her shoes.
An hour later and it is now pouring rain. Sadie’s hair is falling in her face, and she looks a mess. She is starting to get strange looks from people along the sidewalks and cars that drive up beside her at intersections. One car pulls up beside her and starts to roll down the passenger window. Just as Sadie is about to engage in conversation, a motor bike pulls up behind her and revs its engine. She blows them off in the car and they carry on. The motor bike passes her. It was not the hostage taker, just an impatient rider.
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TE 7: Sadie realizes she is going to miss her presentation
Another hour passes, the sky is starting to dim. She realizes she is going to miss her presentation. She can’t imagine what her employees are doing without her there to direct them.
INT. AGENCY BULLPEN – AFTERNOON
Back at her office, as it closer to her presentation time, Sadie’s team is concerned. They have everything ready and loaded in the van. The only thing missing is Sadie. Because she is so self-reliant and dependable, they tell themselves that she will be there for the presentation. They mustn’t let the potential client know anything is wrong. Sadie would kill them! They head over to the client’s office to set everything up.
PLACEHOLDER: Need to further develop this scene of her team deciding how they should react to Sadie’s absence. Show the anxiety growing.
OUT. STREET – DAY
Sadie is starting to question whether the Hostage Taker will follow through on their threats. Maybe they are bluffing. She decides she is going to jump in a cab, borrow the cabbie’s phone and call the police. At an intersection, she jumps in a cab that already has a passenger. Her phone starts to emit an ear-piercing sound. The cabbie pulls over and kicks her out.
4. Act 3: 20 to
30 pages
With Midpoint change, Profound moments
that give us new ways.New Plan: Now, the hero creates a new plan and pursues it. With that, they embrace the need to change.
TE 8: Sadie has an idea. She will use her iPod Facetime App to warn Adam and the kids to get to safety.
Sadie realizes that she has an iPod Touch in her sleeve cuff playing music through a set of bone conducting earphones. Maybe the Hostage Taker doesn’t know about the iPod. While Sadie doesn’t know a lot about technology, she does know how to use the Facetime App which she has on her iPod from a time in her life where she didn’t have it on her phone.
In between intersections, Sadie realizes she has a short opportunity to use Facetime to contact with Adam. The message that comes through to Adam looks different than normal, but he answers it. He is shocked to see Sadie’s condition and immediately asks her what in the hell is going on.
OUT. INTERSECTION/STREET – DAY
Sadie comes to an intersection and puts the iPod down by her leg as she runs through it.
Back to Adam, she quickly tells him what is going on. She can’t explain why but believes that he and the kids are in danger. She tells him to grab the kids Hannah (their mother) and get to the police station on the corner of (such and such TBD). She tells Adam where she is and the direction she is headed. He starts to question her, and she shuts him down hysterically directing him to trust her and just do it.
She comes to another intersection and puts the iPod down. She glances to her right and doesn’t see the motorcycle. When she pulls the iPod up, Adam is gone.
She doesn’t know where the Hostage Taker has gone. This is unnerving to her. It is also unnerving that it is getting dark, and she is barely putting one foot in front of the other. She also has not had any water except for what she drank out of the palm of her hand when it rained.
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Turning Point: The “All is lost” or “lowest of the lows” moment where everything has failed.
At this point, her presentation is the last thing on her mind. This episode has sent a jolt through her body about what is important. She just hopes that Adam can get the children to safety. She no longer cares about herself.
5. Act 4: 25 pages
Test the change in this character!
Prove New Ways!Resolution: The change has been made or tested. We now see the new status quo of the Hero.
TE 9: Sadie risks looking for information on her phone about who has kidnapped her. She realizes it is Thomas. She runs into a Starbucks who call the police. The police notify NYPD to pick up Thomas Kruger for questioning.
Sadie picks up her phone. It is down to 3% battery power. She takes a chance and taps on the information button behind the last text she received. It discloses a phone number, a New York number that she doesn’t recognize. She dials the number and a man answers in a normal voice. She recognizes the voice. It is Thomas. Before she says anything, her phone dies.
INT. STARBUCKS – NIGHT
Sadie runs into a Starbucks, tells them she’s been kidnapped and escaped, and asks to use their phone. Looking as she does, Starbucks staff does not question her. They sit her down in a chair, a customer gives her their jacket, they get her a cup of water and an employee calls the police.
As sirens converge on the Starbucks, a police officer comes through the door with Adam, Hannah, and the kids right behind her. They all gather in a huddle and Sadie starts sobbing out of relief.
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INT. VANCOUVER POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICE – NIGHT
The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) contacts New York Police Department (NYPD) and within hours they arrest Thomas John Kruger for kidnapping.
INT. VANCOUVER POLICE DEPARTMENT INTERROGATION ROOM – DAY
The motorcycle rider was a video game friend Thomas met online who he offered $500 to if he would ride alongside Sadie and Facetime Live her at each intersection while narrating what was happening. Thomas watched the Facetime Live and reacted to what he saw in real time. The Gamer was brought in for questioning but let go without charges as he didn’t really know what or why he was doing what he was doing. He simply wanted the $500.
INT. AGENCY BULLPEN – DAY
TE 10: Randy and the team fill Sadie in on what happened at the client’s office re the presentation.
Back at the ad agency client’s boardroom, Randy introduced himself and conversed with the client long enough to buy a 20-minute window so that the team could get ready to deliver the presentation. They knew better than to say their boss was running late. The employee with the flashy tech ideas incorporated the ideas and the presentation was stunning. They got the job.
Sadie was so incredibly happy that her team rose to the occasion. She started to realize that she could rely on her team, that it wasn’t all up to her, and that it was a lot less pressure to share the load. She vowed to change her ways. She even enrolled Adam in the company as their business expert. The company did well, grew exponentially, and Sadie became a partner. (Not sure if I’m going to have her become a Partner or hang up her own shingle as Owner).
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This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by Karen Sinclair.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by Karen Sinclair.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by
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Jane’s High Speed Beat Sheet
By doing this assignment I really worked hard on not going back and correcting my typing and making good, correct sentences. This is NOT EASY for me to do. But I am taking this class to learn this process and it turned out that I did my beat sheet assignment in35 minutes! It ain’t pretty and it ain’t good. But it is done and there is a lot here that I can work with.
ACT 1
INT. STORE – MORNING
Chelsea at work in store. Sees guys steal something. they know she’s seen them but she’s too timid to say anything. Her boss tells her off an threatens to fire her.
INT. CHELSEA’S HOME – DAY
chelasea goes home. her husband comes home and she sees that he’s been with another woman. He tells her he’ll be away fro a week for business. She knows he’s lying but can’t do anything about it.
INT. CHELSEA’S HOME – NIGHT
Chelsea checks her FB and discovers aprivate note from a childhoos frined, Julie Wallace. Brings back good and bad memories. Chelsea responds. Julie has invited her to be one of her bridesmaids at her upcoming wedding. chelsea accepts.
FLASHBACK
Gentle flashback of two little girls having fun. They’re best friends. One is poor. One is rich. Neither one notices.
INT. CRUISE SHIP – MORNING
Chelsea and Julie meet on the cruise ship. Julie is very friendly. Clesea meets Derek, Juli’es fiance and is immedicatly smitten. She takes Chelsea into her confidence and tells her that they’re already married but that the wedding is really for her parents and their rich friends. She asks Chelsea to stand in her place at the alter as a joke.
INT. CRUISE SHIP, DINING – EVENING
A scen at the dinner the night before. Chelsea gets really drunk and believes she sees something.
FLASHBACK
something Julie says or does turns the memory from something innocent to something darker. This weave through the entire story.
INT. CRUISE SHIP – DAY
At the wedding, guys show up and pepper the entire room with bullets. They shoot Derek point blank and kidnap Chelsea.
ACT 2
INT. CRUISE SHIP – ROOM
The killers believe that she is Julie. She argues then once she sees how Julie lives, decides she will take her place. Maybe she finds a letter from Julie saying that she will understsnd that Julie needs to find a new life.
INT. CRUISE SHIP, ROOM – NIGHT
chelsea talks with the Greek boyfriend and discovers that Julie has been working a a mule for drugs and stolen contraband ,\\ particularly gems. boyrfriend wants her back because he loves her but also because she knows too much. She stays or she dies. Maybe the boyfriend didn’t order the hit. Maybe it was Julie. “I told you what I would do if you tried to marry him.”
Julie
Money she had hidden away that Chelsea saw is now gone. She has to think of soemthing else. Her parents friend’s diamond. She steals it, ills the old guy and tries to get off the boat but the police won’t let her. She hides.
INT. CRUISE SHIP – DAY
The police board the boat. No one gets off or on.
INT. CRUISE SHIP – DAY
One of Julie’s parents friends is killed and a valuabel diamond is stolen. Believing chelsea is Julie, the boyfriend tells her that he wants the diamond or she dies. she has 24 housr to give them the diamond.
Julie
She shows up in disguise as support for the police.
FLASHBACK, EXT. CHELSEA’S HOUSE, 1998 – MORNING
Flashbacks to Chelsea and Julie as children. This weaves throughout the story.
INT. CRUISE SHIP – DAY
Julie gets that she’s got to find the diamond. She makes a plan to go to the authorities and talks the killers into letting her go so that she can get the diamond. She discovers that no one has been allowed off the boat so she now knows that Julie is behind the theft and the murder.
ACT 3
INT. CRUISE SHIP
Chelsea realizes that Julie is still on the ship and that she killed the diamond owner and stole the diamond. She’s got to find Julie.
INT. CRUISE SHIP
She has to come up with a plan to trap Julie. It has to be something psychological that feeds into Julie’s weakness. Something from their childhood.
Julie
She listens in on the case and realizes Chelsea is alive and acting as her. She manipulates the head detective to focus the case on Chelsea.
INT. CRUISE SHIP
Contacts the head detective and tells him she’ll work with him. But he has to do everything her way.
INT. CRUISE SHIP
Chelsea’s trap for Julie fials because Julie is acting as one of the police support persons.
FLASHBACK
Show Julie’s weakness, what she did and how Chelsea covered for her.
Julie
When chelsea is meant to meet the detective, Julie shows up instead and nearly kills her.
INT. CRUISE SHIP
Julie nearly kills chelsea. she is now hell-bent on killing Chelsea. Lots of stuff comes back from the past
ACT 4
INT. CRUISE SHIP – NIGHT
Really cool cat and mouse, kill or be killed scenes. “I don’t blame you for wanting to be someone else.” “I don’t blame you for not wanting to be you. I wouldn’t want to be you either.”
INT. CHELSEA’S HOME – DAY
Chelsea returns home. Her husband is there and wants to know where the ehll she’s been. His girlfeiend dumped him. Chelsea goes to her room, packs her bags and walks out, ignoring him. she walks down the road as the sun rises.
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Tita’s High Speed Beat Sheet – Day 7
What I learned by doing this assignment:
Assignment 7, after 3 + round:
1) Working with an outline of acts with prescribed key structural elements, but no need to go through it sequentially or even finish ideas or sentences, is very freeing. Allows ideas about all parts of the story to pop out whenever/wherever… then a second round helps figure out if they fit and if so, where. Also allows me to forget key details about the story in my head then remember them and write a note to myself about where to fit them in later. Much more freeing that plodding through step by step, losing confidence or giving up to watch a Hallmark movie or nap.
2) An uncomfortable assignment and a lot more than 90 minutes. But bottom line – Hal’s template of questions for this assignment midwifed the story from my mind or opened the floodgates of images about what could happen. Actually, both.
3) I don’t understand why, before we start creating sluglines/descriptions of scenes for each structural element in an Act, why we don’t describe generally what, at the moment, we think happens in the story during that act. Without the storyline, even if general and changeable, how do we describe an inciting incident or plan or climax to summarize what happens in a scene? The character’s needs to change in order to transform could be embedded in many different types of scenes, depending on what story we are telling. Maybe harder for me because I am not making up a story, I’m creating a story about people caught up in historical events… so I needed to plot out what, in general is happening when before I build character actions/goals into those actions.
4) I found it difficult to fit into the assignment guidelines. Simple slugline/descriptions about a scene’s key structural element is awkward to create before I have figured out what’s going on in a scene. So, my improvisations within the assignment in order to do it:
· I could not write short succinct phrases for each beat – I first had to write notes on what flooded my mind’s eye… then tried to summarize it. Actually, Hal’s short summaries o each structural element I his examples could not have been written until he saw the scenes he was summarizing.
· I also could not remember in detail what each structural element involves so I went back to copy/paste Hal’s definitions of each one and list them under their respective acts.
· To speed my writing I need to minimize stress and time spent flipping back and forth between Hal assignments, terms, definitions and examples in order to incorporate them into a Beat Sheet. In case this system accepts a table, here’s my personal worksheet for this assignment
If the SU system accepts a table, here’s an example of the template I developed to help me through. If it doesn’t come thru when I cut/paste, I hope no one ever slogs through these slugs but if you are reading, I can send you the template. Just email anntares@yahoo. The template, in case the system can accept a table (If not, skip over computer gobbledegook to the sentence starting with “First”
THE SYSTEM DOES NOT ACCEPT A TABLE. I NEEDED A WORKSHEET (“TITA’S TRAINER WHEELS”) SO I DEVELOPED A TEMPLATE TO HELP ME SPEED THROUGH THIS ASSIGNMENT WITHOUT HAVING TO KEEP FLIPPING BACK AND FORTH TO FIND RELATED DEFINITIONS AND GUIDELINES FROM PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENTS. This Template included:
– main conflict, old ways, transformational events and needs to make the transformation, new ways –
– for each act, the structural elements (with Hal definition so I stayed focused) (two columns – on left the structural elements and definitions, on write my Scene slug line, description for each element and any additional scenes/placeholder notes. This Worksheet helped me trim down and focus the main ideas in my head when each structural element made me visualize lots of possible actions/conversations..
Assignment 7: BEAT SHEET
Act I. Set up and see the Old Ways (25-30 pps)
Opening
· Introduces us to lead characters in action.
· Shows Old ways as their natural way of being, e.g., Order is priority, despite promised to include all citizens in decisions that affect their lives, most wealthy and influential people hold the power and make the decisions.
· Set us up for the journey that starts with the Inciting Incident.
Maybe preview a sign of potential transformation
EXT. BOSTON DOCKS 1764 – MORNING
Newly inaugurated Governor Hutchinson greets the pompous, foppish royal tax Commissioner from London as he disembarks then suddenly must protect him from two Boston mob leaders fighting over holiday. Hutchinson reassure the terrified visitor that he has it under control.
Additional Scenes Needed:
EXT. GREEN DRAGON TAVERN – CONTINUOUS TIME (TE 1 – early sign of potential transformation) Hutchinson introduces Commissioner to wealthy Boston merchants as a way to prove people of Boston are not all savages. Hancock, heir of wealthiest man, says something stupid, Hutchinson steers Commissioner and other merchants away from Hancock.
EXT. GANGS’ TWO CARTS WITH EFFIGIES FOR “POPE’S DAY CELEBRATION” – CONTINUOUS TIME (Intro of Antagonist) Sam Adams guides the mortified Hancock over to leaders of South and North End mobs who are planning their holiday rumble. Sam gets mob leaders cheering and flattering Hancock. James Otis Jr, lawyer, bursts in ranting and warning about Parliament planning a tax on almost every Boston transaction (from cards and newspapers to weddings and funerals) Hancock doesn’t want politics, Sam eases Otis away from his prey.
Inciting Incident The call to go on the journey.
Creates the opportunity to live outside the box and take on the New Ways.
INT. HUTCHINSON’S OFFICE- CONTINUOUS TIME
When James Otis rushes into H’s meeting with the royal tax Commissioner and former Gov Bernard preparing to leave for London, H must insist that he can control radicals and mobs – like the ones who threw out previous governors.
Turning Point Locks in the journey. There is no going back from here.
EXT. BALCONY OF ROYAL OFFICE – AFTERNOON
H has been inaugurated. Promises to crowd below as first Gov, he will respect Americans – self made, not inherited – and at same time ensure American’s loyalty to Parliament and Crown because he loves Great Britain, the only nation in the world to let people vote for reps who will make laws for them in Houses of Lords and Commons.
Act II. Challenge the Old Ways (20-30 pps)
Reaction Protag is now outside the box. It is uncomfortable, maybe unbearable. But the Hero can’t go back – must move forward in some way.
INT. HUTCHINSON ELEGANT HOME – DAY
H with adult children – he plans how to protect them physically and financially if people blame him.
The Plan With every step, they use their Old Ways, but…
EXT. TREE OF LIBERTY IN BOSTON GREEN- NIGHT
Demonstration against Stamp Act – H sees radicals keeping it calm, refuses to arrest leaders. (TE2
Additional Scenes/Placeholders:
EXT. HILL ABOVE BOSTON – CONTINUOUS TIME
Bonfire. Joyful, wild celebrating. Led from behind by Sam; watched from afar by H with spyglass. H watching with spyglass. Commissioner terrified by mob. H tries to explain them – had to survive on their own. Came from poorhouses and jails of Eng….
EXT. PORCH OF GREEN DRAGON TAVERN. TWO WEEKS LATER/AFTERNOON
Sam mobilizes merchants, workers, ministers, gang members, farmers etc. into Committee of Correspondence.
Plan in Action Those Old Ways are challenged from lightly to heavily — and they no don’t work.
EXT. H’s Home – NIGHT
Rioters loot, burn and almost kill Gov Hutchinson
Next Plan Remember, all it takes to challenge the Old Ways is to simply have them not work. You don’t need to have the characters lecture them or directly spell out their Old Ways in dialogue. For now, just create a list of attempts to solve the problem or to make themselves feel better… then have those actions fail or make things worse.
INT. COUNCIL CHAMBERS – DAY
H stops Commissioner from calling troops. Decides to build consensus – but as soon as Commissioner walks out secretly writes letter requestion royal army protection. Otis, half mad, runs in, weeping pledging loyalty and damning Sam
Additional Scenes/Placeholder
INT. GOVERNOR’S OFFICE – DAY
Merchants, ministers, even workers and gangs come to apologize. TE3 – Realizes town does not hate him personally just the laws. Thanks them for their sympathy for loss of home. Reassures them the Stamp tax on all transactions will be withdrawn. Wants to work together.
EXT. OUTSIDE GREEN DRAGON TAVERN
Merchants avoiding Sam. H plan seems to be working
INT GOV OFICE Otis’s Tory wife apologizing for her husband, his jealous because H’s father got appointed to the job O’s father wanted. Maybe they become close
Additional Scenes leading up to Midpoint:
INT. SAM AND BETSY’S SIMPLE KITCHEN – DAY
Sam finds out about H request for army, damning rebels. Wife Betsy insists the world must know. Tells the world that H not friend, cannot trust him, just wants his money, titles and power to give others royal appointments.
.
INT. BOSTON GAZETTE – DAY
Printing – despite printer’s fear he will be closed down by govt
Midpoint/Turning Point 2 The journey is still moving in the same direction, but the meaning has changed in a big way that shifts reality. It could be any of these:
· The forces of antagonism are 10 times bigger than we thought.
· Reality has changed (The Matrix). We’re through the looking glass.
· The whole first half of the movie was a con.
· They discover who has been betraying them.
· Everything they based their success on is wrong!
Whatever shift you choose, it completely disrupts the Hero’s reality.
EXT. BOSTON STREET – DAY
H is accosted by people from all classes. Defensive. shamed and mortified. Otis, even more insane, rushes by demanding the head of King George on a platter
Additional Scene
INT. H NEW HOME – DAY.
Daughter trying to comfort Hutchinson who feels alone, deserted, failure and worse, hypocritical spy against fellow colonists… he loved them, gave his life to writing their history… now he hated – and he hates them.
Act III. With Midpoint change, Profound moments that give us new ways. New Plan – Purses it, embraces need to change.
Place holder – Royal Army arrives in Boston, takes over town meeting. Sam confidently mocks them – hear to save us from Indians? Funny, didn’t hear of any attacks.
Note Add in a town meeting earlier
Rethink Everything The Midpoint changes everything. This is an important part of the Hero’s transformation.
· A. They have multiple insights into why things weren’t working.
· B. They see that the Old Ways won’t cut it anymore.
C. They must up their game, which means they must change!
INT. H HOME – DAY
H with family. realizes he can’t fight them, give orders or control them.. what to do? Resign? But he needs his salary. Leave? TE4: but he loves his home and land
New Plan Now, the hero creates a new plan and pursues it. With that, they embrace the need to change. This could involve training sequences, bringing on new partners, or taking actions they never would have taken during the first half of the movie.
INT. GOV OFFICE – DAY
Peter Oliver ranting against Sam, Otis, radicals. He has brought poor Ruth Otis with him, Otis’ wife from wealthy influential family. She equates her husband’s madness with all – recommends – stop ordering people around like an aristocrat. Instead, listen, include them instead of elitism, bring them in, buy them – merchants.
Additional Scenes/Placeholders maybe needed:
SCENE: Show the plan working. H winning over merchants, Hancock, parties, gracious 18<sup>th</sup> century ball
SCENE H has isolated Sam – no one speaks to him or respects him. Worse, they are bored by his rantings about the need for more liberty.
SCENE: H gets Hancock others laughing at Sam, deserting him. Otis switching pro Order con Freedom then pro Freedom con Order, completely nuts. If his sister is in this, show her trying to stop him, get him back to his mind
SCENE: People, including tax Commissioner Robinson. beat up the ranting Otis in a tavern— triggers his madness worse. People just shrug, say too bad. A brilliant mind, lost. Sam gathers info it was a set up. But no one cares
Note: Run Judge Peter Oliver throughout; Also Native American Mashpee son of Otis who Otis taught the law
Turning Point 3 The “All is lost” or “lowest of the lows” moment where everything has failed. Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift
EXT. STREET – DAY
“Boys and Negroes” throwing snowballs at soldiers, are ice balls with rocks indie. Massacre… 5 killed
Additional Scenes/Placeholders:
Scenes of both H and S comforting relatives of the dead people, compassionate for losses, panic. …
TE 4 – H realizes how much he cares about people of Boston and Mass.
Scene: Brits/Tories telling H to be tough… can’t order people to be orderly… H wants to remove the regiment responsible for the killings, but not both.
Scene: Sam in town hall gets townspeople to march demanding removal of both regiments from Boston.
Scene (key): Meeting with H – Brits and Tories telling him to. H stands up to them. Hancock, Otis, other Leaders fall back , leaving Sam who usually is at the back of a demonstration, at the front. Sam confronts H by playing to his knowledge that H loves Mass, charter, Brit rights as Brit citizens… Despite pressure, H agrees. Both regiments will be removed. Fury at H by royals and Tories, blaming H for weakness, coddling fellow Amer… TE5 H realizes he has lost all but he is proud he stood up for Brit
Act IV: Test the change in this character! Prove New Ways! (With Turning Point 3, the Protagonist embraces a new way, which gives them a fighting chance in Act 4.)
Scenes/Placeholders – Maybe some are fast montage clips building up to Climax
SCENE: H hears that yes, stamp tax repealed but tariff on imports, e.g. Tea – H knows it’s perfectly legal but will blow up
SCENE: Sam caucusing with merchants, workers, gangs, ministers – pact throughout colonies. Committees of Correspondence with farmer Daniel Shays. Other colonies sending tea back safe. Some let it land. Not Boston – will show what we’ll do…
SCENE: Town Meeting, Sam gives signal for town meeting to start the Tea Party
SCENE: Shock of property damage. H must go to England, General Gage become Gov
SCENE: Port Act closes Boston – starve or obey. H tries to fight General Gage/write Parl and King not to impose such harsh punishment (TE6 – H is fighting for people despite risk to himself)
SCENE: Letters going all over colonies via committees o correspondence
SCENE: Sam in illegal assembly to vote for reps to go to Continental Congress – someday Eng will be a little island
SCENE: Spy – B. Church – warns Hutch and Gage but says Sam has locked the reps in until they vote. Gage ready to send royal army. H – tries to stop that.
SCENE: Revere and Tommy Dawes warning countryside, farmers picking up rifles and hiding behind stone walls
Crisis (Play’s main question)
EXT. ROADS/INTERCUT – DAY
Sam fleeing Brit army from Lexington/Concord and Hutchinson in carriage with daughter, going from his home to shipped to England – will Sam or Hutch achieve their goal?
Climax Ultimate expression of the conflict; The Test. This is the ultimate expression of the conflict. Face to face with the Antagonist for the ultimate fight! This is an impossible situation that the Hero can only win with the change they have made in their lives. It is the ultimate expression of the New Ways.
EXT. CROSSROADS – DAY
Sam and Hutchinson meet at a crossroads. Sam damns H for calling out army against the people. Dares him when he reaches London to lie to Parliament and King about Americans. Hutchinson claims he has never lied. Tried to protect. Confrontation reveals:
-Despite his denials before, Sam never felt it was realistic to have elected reps in Parl…
-H despite his attempts to enforce the laws of Parl, knew they jst wanted Amer tax money and were unfair to colonist
(Sam will bring about a war he didn’t want, fail to get Parliament to listen to colonists’ need for their full rights as British citizens; and Hutch will not win his goal of keeping colonies/Mother Country loyal and united, but wins what he didn’t realize he needed – reconnection with his love for the simplicity and ideas of colonists.)
Resolution 9 The change has been made or tested. We now see the new status quo of the Hero.
SCENE A-
Genl Gage and Brit Commissioner Robinson offerd H lots of goodies in England as they send him off on ship to tell King… he turns them down. Commissioner says when hes in London he’ll b glad to have them -and more;
Or
SCENE B-
H in England surrounded by Brit aristocrats, trying to groom him for his meeting with king. He refuses – tries to defend Americans… alone and surrounded by fops.
Question – end with him with King?
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Alice’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is to recollect what the theme is might do. I must keep in mind this is suspense and thriller, or I will write A melodrama.
FADE IN:
OPENING:
EXT. STREETSIDE – DAY
Sweden at Winter.
SUPER: 2005
Elizabeth comes back to Sweden from US. phone rings. that’s Michael.
Lisbeth runs onto Stieg Larson’s first Millenium novel on book counter, with dragon tattoo on the cover.
INT. GUESTROOM – NIGHT
Lisbeth contacts private clinic in France, the one that … was contacting
INT. PRIVAT CLINIC IN FRANCE – AFTERNOON
Under the name of …, Elizabeth Removes wasp tattoo from her neck
INT. HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
Text message Michael she is in France
INT./EXT. SIDEAY CAFE – DAY
Accidentally Observes how Michael hangs around Figuerola and recognizes her mistake of being jealous to Erica Berger
INT. PLANE TO US – DAY
Under impression, she leave Sweden for United States again
INT. CASINO – NIGHT
Elizabeth in Los Vegas. As she gambles, there is some boy under the wall, watching her. She pretends ignorance and waits, till he is gone.
EXT. CASINO PARKING LOT – NIGHT
Elizabeth in her car.
INT. HOTEL – NIGHT
Armansky arrives.
INT. HOTEL LOBBY – NIGHT
At the lobby of her Hotel she runs into Armasky, who arrived for Milton Security Director’s seminar
INT. HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
There must be her doing sex with Armansky
INT. HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
Accidental meeting with Armansky prompts recollections of how and why she made her tattoos
Elizabeth, alone, smokes a cigarette. Recollection starts.
INT. SCHOOL CORRIDOR – DAY
Lisbeth’s friend shows her small tattoo on her hand.
INT. TATTOO SALON – EVENING
Her first tattoo.
INT. NIGHT CLUB – NIGHT
Must be her hooking on her fancy.
INT. HER FANCY’S FLAT – NIGHT
Her first unsuccessful love encounter.
EXT. STREET SIDE – NIGHT
Group of bikers. One calls at her.
INT. BIKER’S FLAT – NIGHT
Second unsuccessful encounter.
Why she chose wasp to be tattooed on her neck.
INT. TATTOO SALON – EVENING
Her wasp tattoo chosen.
INT. HOLGER PALMGREN’S KITCHEN – MORNING
Holger Palmgren.
INT. BOXING STUDIO – AFTERNOON
Elizabeth coaching newbies.
EXT. SIDEWAY – NIGHT
Why Dragon tattoo.
INT. HOLGER PALMGREN’S FLAT – NIGHT
Staying overnight.
INT. TATTOO SALON – EVENING
Dragon Tattoo chosen.
INT. HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
Elizabeth finishes smoking.
INCITING INCIDENT:
EXT. HIGHWAY ON US WEST – DAY
Elizabeth in her new expensive car gets stopped on the roadside by policemen
INT. OFFICE – AFTERNOON
Looking to improve her documents status she runs into Sweden official who happens to be Albert Schenke
EXT. OFFICE PARKING LOT – AFTERNOON
Elizabeth waits on him.
EXT. OCEAN SIDE – NIGHT
Sex in a car.
EXT. PARKING LOT – MORNING
He gives her keys from his place.
INT. ALBERT SCHENKE’S FLAT – MORNING
Albert leaves for a trip, but invites Elizabeth to stay meanwhile
INT. ALBERT SCHENKE’S FLAT – DAY
She browses his comp, but it is totally empty of any personal information
INT. ALBERT SCHENKE’S FLAT – AFTERNOON
He comes back. Their talk.
INT. DINING ROOM – DAY
Farther talk.
EXT. OCEAN SIDE – DAY
Motorboat on the beach side
TURNING POINT:
EXT. STREET OR PARK – DAY
Elizabeth visits Sweden. Meets Michael.
INT. ELIZABETH’S APARTMENT – DAY
Elizabeth and Michael.
INT. ALBERT SCHENKE’S APARTMENT – DAY
She is back to US, Albert is not to be found. Apartment is rented for two years ahead.
EXT. OCEAN – EVENING
Elizabeth on motorboat.
INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT
Elizabeth hacks company records. Amid lists of apartments if there is one flat in England.
She watches you tube video, to prepare the tool.
INT. FLAT IN ENGLAND – NIGHT
Opens flat’s door without a key. Flat is empty.
EXT. LONDON STREET – NIGHT
As she gets out, Albert watches her from across the road. He suffers, and calls at her. They come together.
Act 2
New plan
INT. MICHAEL’S PLACE – DAY
Michael’s Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander phone talk.
INT. US FLAT – DAY
Phone talk.
Five years later
EXT. HAWAII – EVENING
Sunset. Beach side. Their conversation.
INT. US FLAT – AFTERNOON
Albert himself offers Elizabeth to pay Sweden a visit.
INT. MICHAEL’S FLAT – DAY
Elizabeth again meets with Michael.
INT. SIDE CAFE – DAY
Blond Male in overcoat goes in a cafe. Drinks coffee. Gets out.
EXT. OUTSIDE OF CAFE – DAY
Crossing the street, gets run over by Sub. It appears to be Albert Schenke.
INT. HOSPITAL – AFTERNOON
Elizabeth and Michael keep near window, waiting. Message is, he’s gone.
INT. ELIZABETH’S APPARTMENT – DAY
Finds the key from the flat.
INT. FLAT IN ENGLAND – EVENING
Visits flat in England. Picks up post and carries it inside. Brushes via envelops.
Plan in Action
Michael and Millenium
INT./EXT. ELIZABETH’S APPARTMENT – DAY
Conflict with woman across the road
INT. ELIZABETH’S APPARTMENT – DAY
She lets Michel in. Conversation.
INT. ELZABETH’S KITCHEN – DAY
Farther conversation.
Elizabeth was watched over.
INT. COURT ROOM – AFTERNOON
Court process. Michael wins.
MIDPOINT TURNING POINT:
INT. SUPERMARKET – DAY
Shopping. Elizabeth is about get out of elevator, and there is Mary Paul. She holds baby boy!
INT. ELIZABETH’S APARTMENT – DAY
Lisbeth offers her to stay in her apartment. She goes shopping after milk
EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE – DAY
Shopping and newspaper
INT. ELIZABETH’S APPARTMENT – DAY
upon return to find both Mary Paul and her baby dead.
INT. POLICE STATION – EVENING
Investigation proves it as suicide after long instability.
Act 3
Rethink Everything
Michael and Millenium
New Plan
INT. ELIZABETH’S APPARTMENT – DAY
Blomkvist offers Elizabeth to have a kid of her own, by him
TURNING POINT: Huge failure/Major shift
INT. HOSPITAL – DAY
Elizabeth gives birth.
INT. ELIZABETH’S APPARTMENT – NIGHT
Christmas. False alarm staged, she gets kidnapped.
EXT. UNDERGROUND – NIGHT
Michael accidentally picks up on a baby, but is knifed down and turns into coma.
INT. HOSPITAL – NIGHT
Erica Berger by Michael’s side.
INT. OFFICIAL’S CABINET – DAY
Figuerola tries to reach her authority, but meets dead wall
Act 4
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict
INT. JAIL CELL – DAY
Elizabeth gets confined into military bunker
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM – DAY
Undergoing physical suppression
INT. JAIL CELL – DAY
Her only way out are her skills of hacker and power of determination
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM – DAY
Recovers and starts working in disguise, with number assigned to her
INT. OFFICE ROOM – DAY
Befriends one of the clerks, but is on bad terms with another
Hacks the system and uses information to plan her escape
Murders bad coworker to get via fingerprint entry door
EXT. BUNKER’S YARD – DAY
Steels the track, but slips on roadside when pursued
INT. MEDICAL TRACK – DAY
Awakes at medical car and shots guard and nurse
EXT. BUNKER’S TARD – DAY
Uses commotion during staged terrorist attack to get away
RESOLUTION
EXT. ROAD TO CITY – DAY
Raining. Walks the road up to city, breaks the phone to reach her contacts
EXT. STOCKHOLM STREETS – DAY
Recollections about her childhood friend she made
INT. CAFE – DAY
her business partner at lore time
INT. LOCKERS – DAY
Gets new documents with another identity
INT. RENTED ROOM – DAY
Browses net, hacking, to find her daughter’s whereabouts
INT./EXT. BUS TO STOKHOLM – DAY
Recognizing what endangers her
EXT. PARK – DAY
Dropping idea to kidnap her daughter back
INT. ESCALATOR – DAY
Farewells with Michael and goes on her way
With new documents, Lisbeth fleets Sweden for England
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Not letting me post.
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Rita’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment:
- I wrote a lot more than I expected to, especially at the end.
- These steps filled out the supporting cast more.
- It also highlighted where I need more foreshadowing and clarity.
*Making the commitment to the group that I am going to use these High Speed Writing Rules to get my script done at record speed. (It can definitely be done! I’ve written a decent 1st draft in 10 days.)
4 Act Structure Beat Sheet
Act 1:
INT. LECTURE HALL – DAY
– Opening
Dawn closes the semester with her psychology students who love her. Zak is particularly friendly in a loyal puppy kind of way.
TE1
INT. PAINT STORE – MORNING
I- nciting Incident
Planning a small, home project for her summer off, Dawn impulsively plays into a misunderstanding with a handsome contractor, Abernathy, at the paint store. She pretends to own a painting company, even gives it a name — Blue Dawn Painting — and is quickly horrified by what she’s done.
TE2
EXT. PRINTER – DAY
– Turning Point
Dawn agrees to finance Zak in painting one, ONE house only so he can pay for fall tuition. They print business cards and signs.
EXT. BOX STORE – DAY
Dawn and Zak choose random guys and one woman for their paint crew who are qualified… for something other than painting.
TE3
INT. PAINT STORE – DAY
Dawn runs into Abernathy, now she’s a “legit” paint company and picks up two more jobs while he watches. Abernathy is obviously interested.
EXT. CUSTOMER’S HOUSE – DAY
Dawn breaks the news to Zak — he’s got 2 more jobs lined up. They’re is on this ride, like it or not, although she still plans to shut it down ASAP.
Act 2:
TE4
INT. HARDWARE STORE – DAY
– New plan
Dawn can’t stop now, business is booming. Abernathy corners her in the tool section, asks professional questions she can only bluff her way through, but just barely.
EXT. CUSTOMER’S HOUSE – DAY
Abernathy wants a bid for his client down the street.
TE5
INT. DAWN’S HOME OFFICE – NIGHT
Dawn registers Blue Dawn Painting as an LLC and officially makes Zak the foreman.
TE6
INT. ABERNATHY’S OFFICE – DAY
– Plan in action
Dawn signs a contract with Abernathy Builders putting a lot of trust in her ramshackle crew. Abernathy’s attraction to Dawn makes him ignore his concern.
EXT. ABERNATHY CUSTOMER’S HOUSE – MORNING
We finally get a good look at the crew — a mix of sensitive addict in recovery, ex-con, divorced and betrayed dad, insecure body builder, comedian wanna-be. All broken, each a piece of Dawn’s own dad. (Need scenes to show all this.)INT. BAKERY – MORNING
Feeling invincible with everything she’s made happen in a few weeks, Dawn gets donuts for the crew. She’ s becoming a mother/therapist to all of them until…
TE7
EXT. ABERNATHY CUSTOMER’S HOUSE – DAY
The emotional fragility of the crew goes into full gear. Major breakdown. None of Dawn’s phycology knowledge works. Everybody but Zak walks off the job.
TE8
EXT. DAWN’S HOUSE – EVENING
Abernathy rolls up on her after a long day to ask if Dawn will go to dinner with him as soon as the job is done. He wants to date her, not work with her anymore. She pretends everything is fine. Thank God! She won’t be working with for him again.
TE9
INT. DAWN’S HOUSE – MORNING
Dawn suits up in her whites. She has to help Zak finish the job or she doesn’t get paid and he won’t have enough tuition money to graduate.
TE10
EXT. ABERNATHY CUSTOMER’S HOUSE – MORNING
– Midpoint Turning Point
Abernathy shows up to But he finds a two person crew with more work than they can handle. Dawn ducks out so she won’t be confronted.
TE11
INT. PAINT STORE – DAY
Abernathy asks questions of the staff. He learns that up until this summer, Dawn has only ever been an academic. She lied!
INT. ABERNATHY’S OFFICE – NIGHT
(Need scenes to show this) He’d started trusting a woman and just like his mother did to his father, she lied, repeating an old betrayal.
SERIES OF SCENES
Dawn avoids Abernathy all over town, slips away so won’t give up the truth that it was all just to impress him. She’s an imposter and a failure.
TE12
EXT. POST OFFICE – DAY
Abernathy’s anger increases every time she gives him the slip.
TE13
INT. DAWN’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Dawn breaks the student/professor barrier and confines in Zak that she was just feeling like she could do this. Manage people and a business, not just students who have to listen to her. Now she doubts herself even more than when this whole fiasco started.
Act 3:
TE14
– Rethink everything
INT. DAWN’S HOUSE – MORNING
Dawn is ready to throw in the towel. Zak’s demeanor has changed. The crew has returned but the project more than they can handle. Plus, Abernathy is now angry with her. Zak convinces her to push forward.
TE15
EXT. ABERNATHY CUSTOMER’S HOUSE – DAY
The crew is backsliding on their emotional progress. All goals are bound for failure. Something’s gotta give.
TE16
INT. ABERNATHY CUSTOMER’S HOUSE – DAY
– New plan
Dawn’s true psychic talent (still need to seed this throughout script) and empathy (beyond psychology) go into full gear when the homeowner confides her personal struggle, which Dawn helps her resolve.
EXT. PAINT VAN – EVENING
Dawn uses the same intuition with the crew that she used with her customer.
TE17
EXT. CUSTOMER’S HOUSE DAY
Abernathy shows up to fire her but the homeowner can’t stop singing her praises. He storms off feeling undermined as well as betrayed.
TE18
– Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift
EXT. CUSTOMER’S HOUSE – EVENING
In a bout of depression, Zak tumbles from a tall ladder. Now what? He was the only one who knew what he was doing. Abernathy, keeps a close eye on this job and sees the fall. He gets Zak to the hospital, leaving Dawn to finish the job.
TE19
INT. UNIVERSITY OFFICE – NIGHT
Dawn confronts the head of her psychology department — his theories don’t work in the real world.
TE 20
EXT. DAWN’S HOUSE – MORNING
Dawn drags herself to the paint van to find the Crew waiting for her with gluten free treats. They get the keys and tell her to stay home. They took her advice to make changes to their own struggles ready to reset themselves on the right track. Zak has taught them enough to finish the job.
Act 4:
TE 21
– Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict
INT. HOSPITAL – DAY
Dawn and Abernathy bump into each other at the hospital visiting Zak. They’ve both become surrogate parent figures to him (Unconsciously fulfilling their parental desires…together). They fight over his future and who will help him through rehab and healing as if he’s not there. Subtext: they’re really fighting about their own relationship.
EXT. HOSPITAL – DAY
Dawn comes clean to Abernathy. He’s not ready to forgive. Just finish the job and get out of my life.
EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS – MORNING
First day of fall semester.
INT. LECTURE HALL – MORNING
Dawn writes on the white board, same as any other start of class. But she writes Professor someone else’s name and tells her TA to take over.
TE22
– Resolution
INT. DEPARTMENT HEAD’S OFFICE – MORNING
Dawn realizes she loves being an entrepreneur. embraces her psychic talents (standing up to her snobbish, academic peers) and quits her teaching position.
SUPER: ONE YEAR LATER.
INT. LECTURE HALL – DAY
A familiar voice spouts psychobabble interjecting real world practicalities. It’s Zak. He teaches the underclass students while getting his PhD.
INT. VAN – DAY
Dawn drives and jams to radio. Clearly happy and relaxed.
EXT. ABERNATHY BUILDERS – DAY
Dawn enters. BLUE DAWN PAINTERS is splashed across a new van.
INT. ABERNATHY’S OFFICE – DAY
Dawn says good morning and settles into the office across the hall. They’ve partnered up. (This ending has to be earned. Maybe they just meet up again at the paint store and Abernathy reconsiders his hard stance now that she’s gotten a good reputation and stuck with it.
SERIES OF SCENES:
The crew has gotten their lives in order.
INT. AA MEETING – NIGHT
Sensitive addict now actually in recovery.
INT. PRISON – DAY
Ex-con teaches a writing class.
EXT. PARK – DAY
Divorced and betrayed dad plays with his kids. Mom watches from a distance, smiles.
INT. GYM – DAY
Insecure body builder teaches a yoga class. No more competition.
INT. COMEDY CLUB – NIGHT
Comedian wanna-be braves an open mic. The whole crew plus Dawn and Abernathy are there to cheer him on. He kills.
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Day 7 Beat Sheet and High Speed Writing
James’ High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is… I have to develop the main plotline further along with subplots that will give the story depth. But ironically, I have Act Four for the most part completely figured out and the high-speed rules allow me to make notes with ideas for development that I can flesh out later.
Act 1
1. EXT. METROPOLITAN STREET – DAY
Opening: Jessica is on her way to an elderly customer’s home for a sales visit and on a combative call with her boss who doesn’t appreciate, or doesn’t recognize, the worth she brings to the company.
2. INT. FRANCINE’S HOME – DAY
Jessica presents Francine with the toys she asked for. Francine is overjoyed with the selection and demonstrates how she pleased her late husband. Francine gives Jessica advice on love and relationships, which she is always enamored to listen. Perhaps Francine’s daughter enters as Jessica leaves; they have a strained acquaintance.
3. INT. CUSTOMER HOME – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: Jessica has another customer sales visit.
4. INT. DINER – DAY
Jessica has lunch with a friend from her sex industry days and who always seeks advice on everything; perhaps he was an adult film actor seeking guidance on his future.
5. INT. BOSS’ OFFICE – DAY
Inciting Incident: Jessica quits her sex toys sales job and seeks a new vision for her life.
6. INT. JESSICA’S HOME – NIGHT
Jessica expresses her despair about having no more income to buy food, pay the rent and other expenses to roommate, Tammy Butler. Tammy works at a restaurant and suggests Jessica work there until something else surfaces; she can start tomorrow as the eatery needs help.
7. INT. RESTAURANT – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: Jessica gets trained by Tammy and learns the job very quickly; memorizes the menu in record time. Perhaps Rufus witnesses the impressive way Jessica adjusts to the job as they glance at each other.
8. EXT. RUFUS’ CONDO – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: Rufus talks about how impressed he was with Jessica with an associate. The associate kids Rufus he’s too old and sophisticated for her; Rufus disagrees.
9. INT. JESSICA’S HOME – NIGHT
PLACEHOLDER: Jessica and Tammy count their tips. Perhaps Tammy talks about Rufus, a regular at the restaurant. Jessica may get a call from her former boss to come back.
10. INT. RESTAURANT – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: Rufus starts a conversation with Jessica.
11. INT. COFFEE SHOP – NIGHT
Turning Point: With much trepidation, Jessica decides to pursue a potential relationship with Rufus who was captivated by her from the start.
Act 2
1. INT. BOSS’ OFFICE – DAY
New plan: Jessica returns to her sex toys sales job, but with the intent to ask for a higher salary.
2. INT. FRANCINE’S HOME – DAY
TE 1: Jessica’s boss continues to be impossible in demanding more work hours causing her to reach a tipping point and stands up for herself.
3. INT. FRANCINE’S LOBBY – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: Jessica runs into Francine’s daughter, and they exchange unpleasantries.
4. EXT. PARK – NIGHT
TE 2: She knows she’s getting closer to Rufus in addition to wanting to start anew due to his high expectations in a girlfriend; this causes her to distance herself from her past.
5. INT. NEW JOB – DAY
Plan in action
6. INT. JESSICA’S HOME – DAY
Midpoint Turning Point: Rufus learns about Jessica’s past sex industry work causing a rift in the relationship. Perhaps Rufus shows up unannounced and sees all the sex toys and questions Jessica.
Act 3
1. INT. BOSS’ OFFICE – DAY
TE 3: She decides to use her former customers as a fan base to grow support for a potential business which causes anger in her former boss; uses her own ideas.
2. EXT. COFFEE SHOP – NIGHT
Rethink everything: Jessica plans to launch her own business using modern social media techniques to draw attention for her boutique.
3. INT. OFFICE SPACE – DAY
New plan
4. INT. RUFUS’ HOME – NIGHT
TE 4: She catches Rufus reminiscing about his past and gains knowledge of the heartbreak he suffered; helps him deal with his past.
5. INT. JESSICA’S HOME – NIGHT
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift: Rufus walks in on Jessica’s meeting with a former male client and believes the worst; the relationship appears totally unsalvageable.
Act 4
1. EXT. PARK – DAY
TE 5: She finds herself without steady work and it’s now or never in making her own business a reality, so she starts her own podcast.
2. INT. PODCAST OFFICE – NIGHT
TE 6: The podcast is a success with a growing fanbase causing her to start an online empowerment group for women.
3. INT. PODCAST OFFICE – NIGHT
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Jessica has gone forward and faced uncharted waters in her life and took the plunge with her podcast launch. She sends Rufus a message for him to listen to the podcast. Jessica pours her heart and soul out expressing the misunderstanding that took place. He’s moved with the gesture and realizes at that moment she’s the one for him.
4. INT. RUFUS’ OFFICE – DAY
TE 7: Jessica’s visibility grows nationally causing Rufus to take notice; he asks if she would like a position in his business, which she declines.
5. EXT. PARK – DAY
Resolution: Jessica and Rufus deepen their relationship and become a couple knowing each one helped the other overcome their pasts and now they face the future with newfound love, energy and spirit.
6. INT. JESSICA’S HOME – NIGHT
Francine’s daughter stops by and gives Jessica the news of Francine’s passing; she truly missed her husband and wept internally. The daughter gives Jessica a letter which is read in voice over with final advice and encouragement. Perhaps Jessica is moving out and packing.
7. INT. BOUTIQUE – DAY
Last page: After national visibility and support her popularity soars allowing her to take the plunge and launch her own business.
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Jen’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is that it feels good to just get something down and not worry about how it sounds. Like my writing partner says – write on the nose dialogue, we have plenty of time to time to make it pretty later – so between the high speed rules and the dialogue, it’s moving along!
EXT. CITY STREET – NIGHT
Car squeals around corner.
INT. CAR – CONTINUOUS – NIGHT
JAVIER MARTINEZ (16) a punk, drives unskillfully as GANGBANGERS in the car shoot out the window. Javier turns and looks out the passenger window.
EXT. CITY STREET – CONTINUOUS – NIGHT
The car smashes into a telephone pole. The back and passenger doors open and the gangbangers run.
INT. CAR – CONTINUOUS – NIGHT
Javier is passed out.
INT. HOSPITAL – DAY
Javier meets with lawyer. Foster mother is there.
LAWYER
What did you think you were driving them for? To go out for an ice cream?
FOSTER MOTHER
He doesn’t think at all. Ever.
LAWYER
Girl is going to die and you’ll be charged with murder. Tell who you were with and we can get you off without much time.
INT. JUVENILE HALL – DAY
Javier arrives at hall, looks better. Guards are tough with him. Kids are mean.
GUARD
I know most of you are beyond redemption, but it’s job security for us, so whatever.
INT. HOST HOME – NIGHT
Guards bring Javier to house. Family seems nice, guards leave, totally change attitudes.
HOST MOTHER
You come home after your time at program and go right to your room. You are not allowed to socialize with our children at all. We don’t need your negative ways rubbing off on them.
He leaves room.
HOST FATHER
This will be good for you kids. A real life example right in your own home to show you how to behave. To understand why you have to obey the law. You don’t want to end up like him, do you?
EXT. JUVENILE HALL – DAY
Kids play basketball. Javier gets in a fight with another kid. Not his fault but he gets blamed. Gets in trouble.
INT. JUVENILE HALL – DAY
Kids are in meeting guard tell them about volunteer opportunities. Javier chooses to go work at Dog Training Facility.
JAVIER
What’s it like there?
GUARD
No clue.
JAVIER
What am I gonna do?
GUARD
Pick up dog shit probably. I mean that’s about all you’re good for, right?
INT. NEADS DOG TRAINING FACILITY – DAY
Javier and others have an orientation. Javier gets assigned to work with dogs who are at the end of their training.
EXT. NEADS DOG TRAINING FACILITY – DAY
Javier is lead to dogs, sees dog in cage. Dog growls.
PERSON LEADING JAVIER
Shut up, mutt.
JAVIER
Who’s that?
PERSON LEADING JAVIER
Bruce. He’s jerk, stay away from him.
INT. DORMS – DAY
Javier gets tour of dorms, meets man who is blind and has burns on his face.
BURNED MAN
Hey, can you help me out kid? I have a box over there and I need something from it.
Javier finds gang jacket/patches and has a realization what happened to the man.
EXT. KENNEL – DAY
Javier sits on floor and talks to dog. Moves closer. Dog gets nervous. Javier backs up.
INT. HOST HOME – KITCHEN – NIGHT
Javier goes home.
HOST MOTHER
You can heat your dinner up.
Javier eats alone in the kitchen.
INT. HOST HOME LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS -NIGHT
Watches family through door. Kid gets up and closes door.
INT. HOST HOME – KITCHEN – NIGHT
Javier puts dishes in dishwasher. Goes to living room.
INT. HOST HOME – LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS – NIGHT
Javier watches family playing game.
HOST MOTHER
Good night. We’ll make sure you’re up in time for the van.
Javier leaves.
EXT. KENNEL – DAY
Javier sees the dog (his name is Bruce, maybe BRUNO). He starts to go near him.
BOSS OF VOLUNTEERS
He’s off limits, stay away from him.
JAVIER
Why?
BOSS OF VOLUNTEERS
They’re sending him away to a shelter and don’t want anyone disturbing him.
JAVIER
So you gave up on him and don’t want anyone else to try?
BOSS OF VOLUNTEERS
I guess that sums it up.
JAVIER
Well it’s mean.
BOSS OF VOLUNTEERS
Trust me, a ton of people have tried. He is beyond redemption.
Javier is struck by that.
JAVIER
Can I try at least? I think I can help?
BOSS OF VOLUNTEERS
As long as it doesn’t interfere with you regular duties. And if he bites you, don’t come crying to me.
EXT. KENNEL – LATER – DAY
Javier wipes down the cages. All the dogs are in the yard playing with a PRETTY GIRL. Javier looks up and sees Bruno laying in his cage watching them.
JAVIER
I know how you feel, Bud.
INT. CAFETERIA – DAY
Javier gets a snack. Pretty girl comes up she is wearing a volunteer shirt.
PRETTY GIRL
Hi. You must be Javier. They say you are doing a great job.
JAVIER
You look like you’re doing a good job, too. I saw you with the dogs. Been volunteering here long?
PRETTY GIRL
What makes you think I’m a volunteer?
Javier gestures to his own shirt. She looks down at hers, realizes what she’s wearing, takes it off.
For a moment Javier is enthralled, slo-mo moment, but she has another just as unrevealing shirt underneath.
PRETTY GIRL
My parents own the place.
EXT. DOG RING – DAY
Pretty girl and Javier walk some dogs in a circle. Every time they go near the kennel Javier yells to Bruno.
JAVIER
What’s up, Buddy?
PRETTY GIRL
What are you doing there?
JAVIER
Just talking to him. Having him get used to my voice.
PRETTY GIRL
It won’t work. I even tried.
JAVIER
You grew up in that house? Those are your parents?
PRETTY GIRL
Yes.
JAVIER
Then it wouldn’t work.
They hear loud motorcycles and look up as group of boys pull in. She watches them. A very handsome blond JOHNNY takes off his helmet and shakes out his hair. Javier notices her watching them and leaves with his dog.
Pretty girl heads to parking lot.
Javier watches defeated.
INT. KENNEL – DAY
Javier is surrounded by jocks.
JOHNNY
You little punk what are you doing here?
JAVIER
Volunteering like you guys.
JOHNNY
We’re here for our honor society. What honor society sent you?
Javier is silent, looks away.
JOHNNY
That’s what we thought. I’m thinking the court sent you here, huh? Court mandated community service?
No answer.
JOHNNY
We are going to find out and everyone will know their sweet little Javier isn’t so sweet after all.
Someone has to break up what is almost a fight.
INT. JUVENILE HALL
Guard calls Javier in from playing ping-pong.
GUARD
How’s it going at NEADS?
JAVIER
Good. Why am I in trouble? They came after me. I was just working and…
GUARD
Whoa, nobody is saying anything about that. In fact they called and are wondering if you can do a couple more hours a week. They want you take on some more responsibilities.
INT. GROOMING CENTER – DAY
Javier gets a tour of grooming center.
JAVIER
Is this what I’m going to be doing now? Giving dogs baths?
ANNIE
Why that’s not good enough for you?
JAVIER
I didn’t mean that –
ANNIE
Well, it’s not anyway. You’re going to be working with dogs who are about to meet their new owners. And their lost stop is a bath.
They come to dog who is in sink ready. Give him a bath. Annie gives directions in between other dialogue.
ANNIE
The best way to build trust quickly is to care for them. Jinko here is going with Paul. I think you met him? He’s blind, has burns on his face.
JAVIER
Yeah, I met him. What happened to him?
ANNIE
We don’t really talk about people’s situations. They are private.
JAVIER
I saw a gang jacket.
ANNIE
I can tell you it had to do with that for sure.
JAVIER
He seems do chill.
ANNIE
Having a meth lab blow up in your face will do that to you. Shit. I didn’t mean to say that. Sorry, sometime I have the rivalry thing rear its ugly head.
JAVIER
Rivalry?
ANNIE
He was in the gang against mine.
JAVIER
Wait, you’re in a gang?
ANNIE
Was. Past tense. As in no longer. Never again.
JAVIER
Whoa you seem like a civvie.
ANNIE
Good. That’s what I am. You gang affiliated?
JAVIER
Nah, I guess not.
ANNIE
Good, cause if you’re lucky, you end up like me. But most people aren’t and they end up like Paul, who also, believe it or not, is one of the lucky ones.
EXT. DOG RING – DAY
Javier walks dog. Pretty girl comes up.
PRETTY GIRL
Wow, he’s meeting his owner soon. You get a promotion?
JAVIER
Something like that.
PRETTY GIRL
Well you deserve it.
JAVIER
What’s that supposed to mean?
PRETTY GIRL
You deserve a promotion, you’re doing a good job…
JAVIER
Oh, I thought you meant –
PRETTY GIRL
Never mind.
Johnny comes over and pulls her away.
EXT. GAZEBO – DAY
Paul is lead into gazebo. Javier and dog are already there.
Javier shows him the leash mechanism. Paul and dog connect right away.
JAVIER
I’m going to teach you how to put on his vest, we’ll go over general care, etc.
MONTAGE
Paul opens god food, it splatters on him.
Puts on vest, steps away, it’s upside down
END MONTAGE
EXT. MOCK CITY STREET – DAY
Javier and Paul are walking dog, practicing stop light.
A WOMAN and a girl (11) who uses a wheelchair are lead in. Person points out building, etc. Waves to Javier, yells to Paul.
EXT. KENNEL – NIGHT
Javier sits with Bruce. He is closer now.
JAVIER
And she said I deserved it and I kinda flew off the handle, ya know? Not used to people saying you deserve it and it’s something good.
Javier moves up. Bruce seems about to react, but then doesn’t.
JAVIER
You know you’re safe with me right? But I bet a lot of people told you thought and it wasn’t true. Same here.
INT. DORMS – DAY
Javier walking with person who leads everyone around. They see girl and her mother.
PERSON LEADING JAVIER
Hey, good timing. I wanted you guys to meet.
EXT. PAVILION – DAY
Javier walks along wall. Johnny et. al. Are in pavilion.
JOHNNY
How sad is that, huh? Just playing in the yard and BAM!
Javier looks across the lawn to what Johnny looks at. Sees little girl, playing tug-a-war with a dog.
JOCK 1
They catch the guy?
JOHNNY
Yeah, someone in his gang ratted him out.
Javier hides against wall. This is sounding familiar.
Little girl starts to spin in her wheelchair.
Javier blinks and sees the night when she was hit with bullet and spins, falls.
Javier rushes away.
JOHNNY
Hey, what’s up, punk?
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Lonnie’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I Learned from this assignment: To keep putting down scenes without editing or judging. Some are incomplete, and some very conceptual, and that is good. I need further research as this is an historical fiction, so needs quite a lot of research for historical accuracy.
ACT I
INT. FLASHBACKS OF BRIEF MOMENTS OF 3 SPEECHES BY JFK, MLK, AND RFK
INT. COLLEGE RENTAL HOME – MUNCIE, IN – DAY
Jeff and Jack see Cronkite’s announcement on Kent State Shooting
EXT. BALL STATE CAMPUS – DAY
Jeff goes to class wondering if he can get shot
INT. COLLEGE RENTAL HOME – DAY
Jeff calls cousin, Chuck Baker, at KSU… what happened? Chuck was a student photographer
INT. AKRON, OH – SMALL BAR – DAY
Chuck proceeds to tell Jeff story of the four dreadful days of protest at KSU. Starts on Thurs 4/30
INT. AUDIO OF PRESIDENT NIXON
Speech announces invasion of Cambodia
EXT. KSU CAMPUS – DAY
Students symbolically bury the U.S. Constitution
INT. PENTAGON – WASHINGTON, D.C. – DAY
Dan Ellsberg of Rand Corp, starts stealing Vietnam files, carries them out in briefcase
EXT. DOWNTOWN KENT, OHIO – NIGHT
Peaceful protest, but a few break windows , start fires
Bikers arrive from Youngstown.
ACT II – Saturday 5/2/70
INT. KENT, OHIO – MAYOR’S OFFICE
Kent Mayor calls OHIO Governor’s office (Rhodes). Requests National Guard to come to KSU.
EXT. KSU CAMPUS – DAY
Helicopters buzz overhead of students.
Guard are everywhere.
EXT. KSU CAMPUS – NIGHT
One or 2 students started fire at the R OTC building… eventually burned down (Mayor was warned, but no police arrived)
Firemen arrived but left because there were no policemen to protect them
National Guard quarantined off the building.
ROTC bldg. burns down
EXT. ROTC BUILDING – KSU CAMPUS – NIGHT
Chuck gets lots of pics
He takes pics of one suspicious student photographer in trench coat…FBI agent?
ACT III Sunday 5/3/70
EXT. DOWNTOWN KENT, OHIO – NIGHT
Peaceful demonstrations downtown. Students sit. Minor confrontations with Guard and Police
INT. SECRET OFFICE BUILDING – WASHINGTON D.C. NIGHT
Dan Ellsberg and two others frantically are running hundreds of copies of papers he took from Pentagon
EXT. DOWNTOWN KENT, OHIO – NIGHT
Suspicious photographer stands alone on street corner taking pics of protesting students.
Monday 5/4/70
EXT. KSU CAMPUS – DAY
Around noon, between classes many students gather on campus for a rally
National Guard starts moving the students around… guards have bayonets and gas masks on .
A Few students throw small rocks, non threatening.
Around 12:20 about 20 guards men turn around simultaneously and start firing 13 seconds, 67 shots.
13 students hit.
4 killed. SILENCE
Ambulances arrive
Chuck Baker jumps in his vb bug and gets in the traffic to go home to Akron
EXT. KSU CAMPUS – NEAR GUARD
Glen Frank, professor, talks the remaining students to remain peaceful, no more blood shed… pleads to guards as well.
INT. AMBULANCE – KSU CAMPUS
Tom Grace who was shot lies under a girl who was shot, and her blood drips down on him.
Girl is Sandy Schurer, who dies at hospital.
ACT IV later that day…
President White of KSU announces campus is closed down.
INT. COURT ROOM – CLEVELAND, OHIO – DAY (spring, 1975)
Attorney, Joseph Kelner, starts opening statements in suit against the National Guard and Governor Rhodes
Further research from here forward
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Margaret’s High Speed Beat Sheet. What I learned completing this assignment is figure out what you are going to write before you write. This model ups your chances of success by 1000% the old way is like playing the lottery. ACT I –
Open
INT. SPARE ROOM – DAY. Lake in bed with a pillow over her head, her eyes stubbornly shut. The faint sound of an alarm barely perceptible. Dave sits at the edge of the mattress. “Are you stupid?” “No.” They argue. Alarm noises getting louder. She sits up and shouts “Shut Up!” Over an insistent loud alarm. Her mom opens the door and yells at her, “Something rude here.” The rest of the room is piled with junk almost to the ceiling with only a narrow lane to the mattress. “For the last time I didn’t throw anything away!”
ACT II
INT. PARKED CAR – DAY
Lake in her car listening to voice mail from contractor, “I’ve been calling for weeks. I need you to come do a walkthrough of the site so we can begin cleanup.”
Message food is ready
INT. RESTAURANT- DAY
Picks up food – red Foodease bag
EXT/INT DRIVING CAR – DAY
Driving past burn area and won’t look at it. Introduce gps who she calls Jezebel
Raises her hand to shield her vision
EXT/INT. DRIVING CAR – DAY
Delivering in Guerneville, passes Sonoma strong hand painted sign. Drives down lane of makeshift homes, “Welcome to affordable housing in Sonoma County.”
EXT/INT PARKED CAR – NIGHT
Lake eating overlooking County at sunset and writing in notebook.
EXT/INT DRIVING CAR – NIGHT
Drives by a house for sale, slows down, checks out neighborhood.
EXT/INT DRIVING CAR – NIGHT
Drives to house.
EXT/INT DRIVING CAR – NIGHT
Gets drunk in car with small booze bottles like you get on airplanes while scrolling through houses for sale. Doesn’t want to go in.
EXT/INT DRIVING CAR – NIGHT
Passes out.
Act III
INT – RESTAURANT- DAY
Lake meets Mitch – banter
(Place holder – Complications with Dave haunting her as the critical voice in her head “you’re such a loser.”)
( place holder- Complications with mom – mom tells Lake the contractor is trying to reach her. They’re bulldozing the site and tomorrow is her last opportunity to inspect and sign off.)
INT RESTAURANT- DAY
Picking up food. Mitch calls and asks her out.
Act IV
INT. EMPTY HOUSE – DAY
Lunch with Mitch at house for sale. End up having sex. Get caught by real estate agent whom Lake knows. Awkward. Agree to look at a property Lake knows the address and MLS
#(9
digits) “just for the record I’m not giving you the code to the lockbox ever again so don’t ask.”
(Place holder – Dave haunts her she argues and then stands up for herself and finally drives to the burn site.)
EXT. BURN SITE – DAY
Lake meets the contractor. We discover Dave died here. She cries looking at a piece of a picture of she and Dave. She drops the picture and grinds it with her boot into the ashes of her house. She goes through Dave’s art studio and finds one of his paintings barely burned. She picks it up and looks at it.
A love bird lands on her head.
Act V –
Dave again haunting her.
EXT/INT HOUSE FOR SALE – DAY
Meets the real estate agent (maybe her sister) outside a house for sale. She and the agent talk about the fire and how she is. Lake steps over a threshold of the house – her future self.
End.
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Chris Dorsey’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment that doing this process put a structure in place, which will help me create a first and second draft in 30 days.
BEAT SHEET
INT/EXT. PRISON GATE – DAY
ACT I
OPENING: A caged van transport Wilbert (aka Willie) through the prison gates. He’s wearing a straight jacket. The sign outside reads: This takes him to the intake/classification process.
PLACEHOLDER: Insert prison barber scene where he receives the worst haircut in his life — bangs cut down to the nub, sides kept longer.
PLACEHOLDER: Insert medical psychological evaluation scene.
INT. MEDICAL UNIT, EXAMINATION ROOM – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: Insert shower scene.
INT. SHOWER – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: Insert classification/job assignment scene.
INT. LARGE ROOM – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: Insert dorm scene where another inmate jumps off the second floor and lands on the ground right in front of Wilbert. The Antagonist seems to somehow be responsible for this.
INT. CELLBLOCK – DAY
TE1: Wilbert witnesses the Antagonist, and his group, rev-up another mental health inmate before this inmate freaks out. The inmate is cuffed and hauled off by the officers. He realizes that mental health treatment might be the last thing he’s going to receive in this prison.
PLACEHOLDER: Wilbert seeks legal to have his case appealed.
INT. COUNSELING OFFICE – DAY
INCITING INCIDENT: Wilbert “snitches” to his therapist that the Antagonist is bullying and causing harm to other inmates in the dorm. Shortly after, the Antagonist gets cuffed and hauled off to the Isolation Unit. He threatens to kill whomever ratted him out.
PLACEHOLDER: Wilbert in therapy and resistant to tackling his issues.
PLACEHOLDER: The Antagonist doing everything he can not to get transferred to general population at a new prison (charms, fakes a suicide attempt, etc.).
Turning point: Instead of being transferred to another prison, the Antagonist manipulates his way back onto the cellblock. An additional 5 years have been added to his time and he is out for blood. Wilbert realizes the system is broken and the guards are in on it.
ACT II
Wilbert has to handle/fix this situation himself.
INT. ANTAGONIST’S CELL – NIGHT
PLACEHOLDER — Wilbert is going to win the Antagonist over at any cost. He is going to kill the Antagonist with kindness.
INT. CELLBLOCK – NIGHT
PLACEHOLDER — Wilbert uses self-help techniques with the other inmates in his circle.
INT. THERAPIST’S OFFICE – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: A therapy session to challenge Wilbert’s defense mechanisms. Wilbert expressed concerns that his medications are keeping him from living a real life.
INT. AUDITORIUM – DAY
The Antagonist requests Wilbert be transferred to his cell.
INT. CELLBLOCK – MORNING
PLACEHOLDER: Wilbert stops taking his psychiatric medications and his voices slowly shift from nice and manageable to mean and out of control.
Midpoint Turning Point: The Antagonist tries to kill Wilbert.
INT. ANTAGONIST’S CELL — NIGHT
The Antagonist manipulates Wilbert in to fessing up to snitching on the Antagonist. The Antagonist goes berserk and strangles Wilbert almost to death. Wilbert is saved by the other inmates. The Antagonist goes back to “the hole.”
Wilbert seeks external legal help for protection after this event. He also asks for his case to be appealed.
TE 3: Wilbert stops taking his medications and learns his auditory hallucinations may actually help him survive in prison.
TE 4: Wilbert uncovers evidence that could lead to his conviction being overturned in the appeals process.
TE 5: Wilbert gets shanked in the back.
PLACEHOLDER: The voices start telling/making Wilbert do bad things. It gets him some respect but also gets him sent to “the hole.”
INT. LAW LIBRARY – DAY
PLACEHOLDER: Wilbert researches case law for his appeal.
PLACEHOLDER: A newly assigned pro bono attorney responds to one of Wilbert’s letters and meets him in person.
ACT 3:
INT. VISITATION ROOM – DAY
TE 6: After his friend dies (by suicide or homicide), he discovers that prison staff (i.e. guards and the Warden) are purposefully putting his life at risk and covering up other crimes/inhumane treatment of inmates.
INT. THERAPIST’S OFFICE – DAY
TE 7: Wilbert has a breakthrough in therapy that helps him discover why he is the way he is — he’s too nice. This is the information he needs for his internal transformation. He learns that he developed a reactionary set of coping mechanisms from loss that no longer suit him.
PLACEHOLDER: He discovers that acknowledging one’s own pain, instead of being in denial, and “getting real” is the only way he will ever be able to defeat the Antagonist.
INT. CELBBLOCK – DAY
TE 8: Wilbert verbally calls out the Antagonist in front of the whole cellblock. With more than half of the inmates in the dorm on Wilbert’s side, Wilbert spells out and challenges all of the Antagonists warped ways of thinking and behaviors. The Antagonist challenges Wilbert to a fight to the death.
ACT 4:
CLIMAX: Wilbert fights the Antagonist in mortal combat and beats the Antagonist. He realizes that somewhere in the middle, between overly positive voices and bad voices, is where he should be. He spares the Antagonist’s life. He exposes the corrupt prison system and makes the corruption public (through either a counselor or another outside source).
INT. PRISON YARD – NIGHT
RESOLUTION: Wilbert wins his freedom and does a press conference. With his new found confidence, is able to confront his ex-wife, win his children back, and take control of his life in a real and meaningful way. He starts an organization to help incarcerated inmate with mental health disorders.
EXT. PRISON GROOUNDS – DAY
Wilbert tells his story to the news.
INT. COURT – DAY
Wilbert is granted a divorce and keeps his house. He is granted half-custody of his two children.
INT. OFFICE – DAY
Wilbert opens his office and welcomes his new employees; ex-inmates with mental health disorders.
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Lisa Long’s High-Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is… Keep going. Be honest and real with it.
OPENING:
INT. MANSION – LIVING RM. – NIGHT
Hiding behind a larger pillar (the mansion had 47 of them) as her parents, John and Norma fight violently. Tina sees dark energies encouraging them to fight. She goes into fear and terror. She calls in Jesus and her Angels… they show up and comfort her.
INT. HAWAII ESTATE – LIVING RM. – DAY
Tina marries Gary, they have a successful Advertising Publishing Firm. They move to Hawaii. Then Tina was interested in channeling. Goes to “The Great Pyramid Channeling Conference” in Egypt with Gary. She ends up channeling in trance most of the time. It is too much for Gary. He wants a divorce. Tina in denial.
INCITING INCIDENT:
INT. HAWAII ESTATE – LIVING RM. – DAY
Gary rejected Tina’s renewed interest in her metaphysical books and told her to hide them. She is unhappy and calls her Angels. They show up and channel thru her and then thru Gary, who did not believe in all that crap. He is in trance as he moves thru his past lives as a woman in Egypt. It throws his reality off balance. He meets someone else and leaves Tina. (It takes them both 5 years to process the experiences.)
INT. HAWAII ESTATE – LIVING RM. – DAY
Michael shows up to help Tina, he ends up moving in. Studies, mediates, meets Michael, opens WorldPsychics.
INT. HAWAII, RENTALS – LIVING RM. – DAY
Went way up with Michael. Channeled ancient Gods. Stuff totally beyond explain here. Takes a bit to grasp. Sold dream home.
INT. BALI HUT – LIVING RM. – DAY
They go to Bali and Singapore while Gary has children for 3 months. Michael asleep next to Tina as she spends a long night fighting off devil energy attacks.
EXT. HAWAII SET – WATERWORLD – DAY
Back from Bali. Tina additions and in called in for Waterworld. Does sessions on set, included in inner circle. Loves the experience. Approached by KC.
CHOICE POINT:
INT. SINGAPORE SUBWAY TUNNEL – DAY
Tina in Singapore with her Mother Norma, sees Waterworld posters. Young Singaporeans swoon over KC. Tina decides the best way to teach what she knows is to create a movie about it.
INT. HAWAII, RENTALS – LIVING RM. – DAY
Lives Michael and works with and helps heal, lawyers, doctors, and many others for years, remotely. Works on pro-bono police and FBI cases. Told by NY Police Chief (who resigns over a famous case where children died) in a group meeting over the telephone, you were right. He explains how Tina’s session over the phone was totally accurate and might have saved some of the children if they had followed it more directly. They tried, but as one of the first psychics and thousands of people calling in, they did the best they could…
Later Tina, realizes Humanity has been lied to and intentionally turned into a slave race. Spends 7 years exposing and standing up to the deceptions with Angels for 911 Truth, Resurrecting Liberty, and AlienTruth websites. (Over 400 pages online, 4 sites, 2500 news people on email lists.)
INT. ASHLAND, MT SHASTA, RENTALS – OFFICES – DAY
Starts over after Michael goes to the other side in 2009. Moves to the mainland. Falls into depression, poverty almost dies, then huge shifts, multiple six figures, then falls again, IRS goes after her. Wants to write her scripts, joins classes, and gets attacked again. Back to clearing gov fears from her parents, crying for years in bathtub in Mt. Shasta. Keeps going. Haunted, finally clears it. Dad’s evil and intentional programming was haunting her and keeping her small. Knows that she creates her own reality, and it all is just crappy programming in her childhood. Keep seeking easier ways to clear.
INT. RENTALS – OFFICES – DAY
Creates Enlightened Life Academy, Becomes skilled at clearing old programming, and starts teaching it. Finds online master teachers that help her clear. Helps others get out of the muck.
Realizes she is The One and works to awaken other One’s! (We are all The ONE!) Works on her scripts again.
(I have been writing this 20 years. I have over 700 pages on it, using this class to get to the main points and get it clear and concise so I can share.)
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Kevin’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned from this assignment is that it flowed pretty well to the beat sheet and it’s taking shape already.This method is working well to get me to scenes. I’d say I’m probably halfway to where I want to be. 26 scenes at this point.
INT. WAYNE MANOR – NIGHT
BRUCE WAYNE, 62, sits in a comfortable easy chair, beer in hand, chips strewn about, eating a NY slice of pizza. He is 80 pounds overweight in a T-shirt and shorts, looking more like Archie Bunker than Batman.
He is watching a football game, throwing chips from a bowl at the wall mounted TV when upset.
EXT. PLAYGROUND PAGODA – DAY
THE JOKER, 65, too thin, is in typical clown gear, moping about trying to scare the children who are running around pulling at his clown clothes, laughing at him.
INT. WAYNE MANOR – DAY
Bruce is asleep in his chair, debris littering his chest and the room. ALI, 27, buff and beautiful walks in and flips on harsh lighting. Bruce doesn’t move, so she kicks the lever on the side of the recliner and it snaps into position dumping Bruce on the floor.
They have a conversation where she is polite and contrite, clearly the servant, and he is confused and belligerent, depressed and slinks off to bed leaving her to clean up the mess. Clearly not her job, as she calls for a maid.
EXT. PLAYGROUND PAGODA – DAY
Joker has had enough of the kid’s crap, so he lights a firecracker and puts it in the pocket of THE BIRTHDAY BOY. It explodes, the kid cries and Joker laughs.
THE DAD punches Joker out and fires him on the spot, throwing him through the bushes into a stream beyond which washes him downstream. He drags himself out and slinks off to he beaten down car.
INT. JOKER’S LAIR – DAY
Joker gets out of the shower and puts on a robe. Goes to his fridge that only contains Celcius. He grabs one and tosses it through his small TV set.
He gets a big gun from a drawer and shoots the apartment up, screaming at everything he owns. He puts the gun to his head but cant do it. He curses Batman and decides that’s it.
He opens his laptop and searches Daycare facilities. He chooses one randomly and heads out, grabbing a bag from his closet.
EXT. DAYCARE CENTER ONE – DAY
Joker walks away from the daycare facility counting down from 10. As he gets to 2 the facility explodes behind him. He curses he was off the count and keeps walking away, hero style.
INT. WAYNE MANOR – DAY
A television blares footage of the destroyed facility with sirens blazing and chaos in the background. Ali runs into the room and kicks Bruce in the bed to awaken him. Bruce reluctantly rises, hung over and blurry.
Ali explains what happened. He responds tragedy happens, and she shows him a laptop with Joker’s calling card, boasting and calling out Batman on Social media. He says Batman has 48 hours to respond before the next bombing.
INT. JOKER’S LAIR – DAY
Joker gloats and laughs as the commissioner calls on Batman to come back and help out.
INT. CABIN IN THE WOODS – DAY
COMMISSIONER GORDON, 76, weathered but contented looking, is called to the cabin from fishing in a nearby pond. His wife shows him the news. He rebukes her until he sees Joker’s image and hears the call for Batman to return. He sighs and she hands him his fedora.
INT. WAYNE MANOR – NIGHT
Batman has reluctantly decided to get back in shape and go after Joker, but without time, Ali points out the best he can do is get sober and sharp. They start to train and sweat him out, to little avail.
EXT. DEPARTMENT STORE – DAY
Joker, not in costume, is standing in front of a row of televisions watching an image of Batman rebuking him and calling him a coward who kills children and to come find him in person if that’s his end game.
Joker laughs and laughs, public watching in disgust.
INT. DAYCARE CENTER TWO – DAY
Joker is broadcasting from the daycare facility early in the AM in clown costume, in the middle of children chained to play equipment, calling out Batman to come rescue them before it’s too late. Saying if Batman is too late, it will be too late for the hundreds of kids who are in care today.
INT. WAYNE MANOR – DAY
Bruce is drinking a green shake, making faces and choking it down. The news report with Joker is playing on Ali’s computer as he looks at the suit which is half the size he is.
They discuss how he will make an appearance as Batman to save the kids, and decide that he’ll take the Batmobile and lay down a fog before entering, fitting in the mask.
INT. BATMOBILE – DAY
Batman is racing through the streets and pulls up to the daycare center with 1:30 counting down on the timer. He lays down a thick fog, pushing it into the daycare center ahead of him.
He arrives at the playgound with 20 seconds left on his timer, but the fog is so thick he can’t find the detonator. He finally sees the red flashing light at 5 seconds. He nearly reaches it at 3 but trips. It counts down 2,1, then a beep goes off and a recorded voice says… too late caped crusa –
Batman slams his hand down on the red button, and canned laughter rings out. No explosion. The kids and teachers reoice.
Then alarms and sirens go off all around them. He jumps back into the Batmobile as the fog dissipates and the radio blares out an explosion has taken place at Bowie Elementary, then another report at another day care, then another. The batmobile screeches off into the distance.
INT. WAYNE MANOR – NIGHT
Bruce sits dejected lamenting 10 day care and elementary schools were bombed, hundreds of lives lost. He cries and doesn’t know what to do. A silver figure walks over to him and puts his hand on Bruce’s shoulder.
Bruce instinctively swats it away but it doesn’t budge, but cuts Bruce’s hand. He looks up and it is an android. Ali is standing nearby and tells him Robin can help.
She reintroduces Robin as a solution for Bruce’s lack of physical strength and prowess. Bruce realizes he’s been out of the game too long and asks Ali to teach him how to operate Robin and show him the technology.
INT. JOKER’S LAIR – NIGHT
Joker is angry Batman didn’t make it in time, but knows he has his attention now. He goes on social media to call him out once again, blaming him for the children’s deaths, and tells him next time it won’t be such a small loss of life.
INT. WAYNE MANOR – DAY
The next morning, Ali brings Bruce coffee and Bruce is staring at a television reporting all the social media outrage. He laments being out of touch for so long and asks Ali to give him a crash course in social media.
INT. WAYNE MANOR – NIGHT
Bruce takes to social media as Batman, baiting the joker into responding quickly and finds out the location of joker’s lair.
EXT. BOX STORE – DAY
Joker is watching his new threat of destroying the largest convention center in gotham on the tvs in the store. He gives another ultimatum, this time Batman only has 2 hours to find him and stop the destruction of the convention center.
EXT. WAYNE MANOR – DAY
Bruce sends Robin to the convention center to evacuate the people in the building and disarm the bombs, as he rushes to the joker’s lair to stop him.
EXT. CONVENTION CENTER – DAY
People are streaming out of the convention center doors, running away as Robin is climbing the side of the building to get to the top.
He reaches the top of the building, finds the detonation device, and watches it count down from 5 minutes. He disarms the device and stands there watching the last of the people run away.
INT. JOKER’S LAIR – DAY
Batman, in a transformed suit, crashes through the window, finding Joker lounging on the sofa. He congratulates Batman on finding him, and mocks him, making fun of his appearance and weight gain. Batman tells him his time is up.
The joker agrees and points to a large gun on the table beside Batman. Joker is holding a detonator. He tells Batman he has one chance to end this all by violating his one rule and saving everyone. To take the gun and kill him.
Batman scoffs and tells him his plan failed and his sidekick, Robin has already evacuated the convention center and disarmed the bombs.
Joker says good for him, the detonator in his hand isn’t for the convention center, that one was just for show, the one in his hand is for the police headquarters, the commissioner and all the brass will go up in smoke if Batman doesn’t end it all for the joker by the time he reaches 10.
Joker starts the countdown as Batman tries to reason with him and take him into custody. As Joker reaches one, Batman is two steps away and lunges, Joker throws the detonator in the air and the sofa flips over, dumping the joker to safety. Batman catches the detonator as a building in the distance explodes on the horizon. Batman looks out the window in horror.
INT. WAYNE MANOR – DAY
Batman is despondent and defeated. He watches Joker on the computer screen telling the world that chaos is approved, the head’s been cut off the policing world and all is fair game. Looting, any crime is going to be impossible for the cops to stop. Batman’s next failure will result in a nuclear disaster that will destroy Gotham and pollute the world. Get it while the gettin’s good and get out.
A knock and Ali enters with Gordon. They discuss Bruce’s Achilles heel and inability to take down the Joker. If only he was the man he used to be. Gordon says he doen’t need to be that man, only the man he is. There is another Batman who can play by other rules.
Ali steps out of the shadows in Batman’s suit without the mask. Batman hands her the mask, and she asks what the plan is.
SCENES ABOUT GORDON AS THE NEW COMMISSIONER
EXT. CELL TOWER – DAY
Joker is broadcasting the new ultimatum to Batman about the nuclear device planted in the middle of the city at City Hall.
Joker is standing on a platform below the cells with the detonator in his hand. He tells the world it’s too late to run for all of them. If Batman fails to show up and confront him like a man, everyone in Gotham, himself included will be victim to the largest tragedy known to man.
He’s about to give the time frame when the detonator is kicked from his hand and another foot crosses his mouth sending him down a level on the tower.
He gets up confused but swearing and mocking
Batman, when Batman jumps from the upper level down to stand in front of Joker,
lean and strong. Batman grabs Joker by the throat and holds him off the ground.
Joker laughs and tells Batman to throw him off
the tower, end him and save the world, then notices it’s not the Batman he
knows and punches Batman in the crotch. Batman lets go momentarily. Joker asks who that really is and where is the
real Batman. Bruce steps out from behind him and pins him to the rail.
Revealing he was batman, but now there’s a new batman in town, and now Joker
will die in prison, as he should have long ago. Joker recognizes Wayne and they have a moment.
He then says he’s too old for that and if Wayne won’t kill him, he’ll do it
himself after all, thwarted and alone. As Bruce reaches out to grab him, Joker leans
back and falls off the tower to his death, disappearing in the clouds below
them. Batman dives to the spot just too late to catch his arm. Standing in front
of Bruce, Ali pulls off the mask. Bruce puts it back on her. Never in public he
says. The mask is the power. They look up into the clouds and see the bat
signal pervading the mist. Gordon is calling for you Bruce says.THE END -
February 7, 2023 – BONNIE’S BEAT SHEET AND HIGH SPEED WRITING
What I learned doing this assignment is that even though it’s not perfect, I know everything will fall into place as long as I keep writing.
PASS 1 Organize your Structure and Transformational Events
PASS 2: Add Slug Lines
PASS 3: Add Placeholders and Additional Scenes
ACT 1
EXT. SCHOOL YARD – DAY
OPENING: As kids, (10-12) Myka, Gabi, Rafi and Yuri are bullied at school because of their synesthesia, and they begin hanging out together. Myka always wants to be the leader and usually gets her own way.
EXT. WOODS – DAY
TE 1: Myka gets her friends to help her build a treehouse in the woods. They make a “Synesthete Friends Forever Pact” to always be there for one another.
INT. UNIVERSITY – DAY
INCITING INCIDENT: Myka loses her friends. At their university, years later (20’s) Myka recruits Gabi, Rafi and Yuri to help demonstrate her Master’s Thesis research in “The Dreamscape of Synesthetes”, but is humiliated by the Committee’s scathing comments about her thesis. She tells them off, blames her friends for the failure, storms off, leaves without receiving her Master’s Degree.
INT. MYKA’S LOFT – NIGHT
TE 2: For the next year (or 2 or 3 years?) Myka loses contact with her college friends. She isolates herself in her own synesthetic world of art and dreams.
INT. GALLERY – DAY
Myka gets gallery representation and has a show.
INT. GALLERY – NIGHT
TE 3: Starts drinking, becomes ruled by her hot temper and impatience. Makes a scene at her opening. The gallery drops her.
INT. BAR – NIGHT
She’s lost her friends, her dreams, inspiration and lust for living. Falls into a funk.
EXT. MYKA’S LOFT – NIGHT
She finds an eviction notice on her door. 72 hours to move out.
INT. MYKA’S ROOM – NIGHT
TURNING POINT: Myka has a nightmare that scares the shit out of her.
TE 3: She wakes up and realizes that unless she does something to stop it, not only her dreams and inspiration will fade forever.
EXT. MYKA’S LOFT – DAY
Empties brandy and wine bottles into the gutter, tosses them into trash bin.
ACT 2:
INT. CHURCH – NIGHT
She gets sober and goes to an AA meeting.
INT. MYKA’S LOFT – DAY
NEW PLAN: Swallow her pride, apologize to her friends, and get the old gang together, so she can get back her juju.
TE 4: No one answers her calls.
INT. GABI’S HOUSE – DAY
Gabi’s phone buzzes. She sees Myka’s name and ignores the call. It rings again, Myka leaves a message about the old treehouse. She listens but looks sad. She continues painting, but the colors begin to turn shades of grey.
EXT. RAFI’S PLACE – DAY
His phone rings, picks up, hears Myka’s voice and hangs up. He notices the words on the page of the book he’s reading are fading and disappearing.
INT. YURI’S FLAT – DAY
Yuri’s phone rings. Shakes his head, doesn’t answer. Continues playing his violin, but the music fades in and out.
EXT. MYKA’S LOFT – DAY
Hands over the keys to her loft to the owner. Gets in her van and drives away.
EXT. MYKA’S VAN – DAY
She pulls her van behind the treehouse, starts unpacking her stuff and moves in.
EXT. WOODS – DAY
Gabi visits the treehouse and sees that Myka has been living there. Starts to leave when Myka shows up. Myka apologises. Tells Gabi her nightmare.
EXT. TREEHOUSE – DAY
Rafi and Yuri show up. Gabi greets them. They go up reluctantly.
PLAN IN ACTION: They agree to get revive the gang and meet there to continue their synesthetic dream-research.
TE 5: Clean up and repair the treehouse. Practice synesthetic dreaming there every night until they’re ready to go back into the Multiversity for battle.
INT. TREEHOUSE – NIGHT
They drink mugwort tea, sleep and practice meeting in a shared dream.
EXT. MULTIVERSITY – NIGHT
The exterior walls show signs of deterioration.
INT. MULTIVERSITY – NIGHT
Various creatures destroy, eat, steal the content of the branches of Wisdom, Art, Music, Dream and Memory.
INT. TREEHOUSE – DAY
The clock is ticking. The team prepares for battle.
EXT. MULTIVERSITY – NIGHT
TE 6: They charge into battle the forces that are attacking Wisdom, Memory and Dream.
MIDPOINT TURNING: Myka avoids a dangerous opportunity to conquer the villain, and retreats. Gabi witnesses it.
INT. TREEHOUSE – NIGHT
TE 7: They’re no match for the villains. They wake up feeling defeated. Gabi confronts Myka. Calls her a coward.
ACT 3:
EXT. SIDEWALK CAFÉ – DAY
Myka meets a collector who saw her show and wants her to meet an investor friend on the same day she’s promised to meet the gang to save the Multiversity.
INT. TREEHOUSE – DAY
Gabi, Yuri and Rafi wait for Myka, but she doesn’t show up.
EXT. CONCERT HALL – DAY
Shutting down.
EXT. ART MUSEUM – DAY
Closing.
INT. LIBRARY – DAY
A librarian browses through the books. The letters fall off the pages or dissolve. She locks the doors.
INT. MULTIVERSITY – DAY
The attack on Wisdom, Art, Music and Dreams continues full force.
RETHINK EVERYTHING: Humanity is losing their dreams, their memories and ancient wisdom. The Gabi presses Myka to come up with a solution!
INT. BAR – NIGHT
Gabi, Yuri and Rafi corner Myka. It’s not just about her.
TE 8: They use their combined synesthesia talents of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste to fight the villains of the Multiversity.
INT. TREEHOUSE – DAY
NEW PLAN: Intensify their synesthetic training in waking hours. Practice, strategize, asks questions. Make a mission board, brainstorm.
INT. TREEHOUSE – NIGHT
TE 9: Shamanic journey to practice their skills. Imagine victory. Empower themselves for battle. Go into the dream space far more prepared.
EXT. MULTIVERSITY – NIGHT
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift – Discover higher senses: Ego, Thought, Word, Balance, Movement, Life, and Warmth and combine them to battle the enemies in the Multiversity.
Act 4:
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict – They go in and overwhelm the villains with their powers, but lose sight of Gabi. Myka goes back to save her.
EXT. TREEHOUSE – NIGHT
They wake up, but Myka can’t wake Gabi. They call upon their animal guides to bring her back.
INT. MULTIVERSITY – NIGHT
TE 10: This time, they bring surprise allies… their animal spirits: Lioness, Hummingbird, Serpent and Condor, achieve victory, recover and rebuild the Multiversity together.
INT. TREEHOUSE – DAY
Resolution – They rekindle their friendship pact and promise to be there for one another no matter what.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by Diane Denham.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by
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Wendy’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment.. I like doing the slug lines but it seems to make more sense to add a description to it or I will be lost later.
STORY LINE: A divorced mother of three children comes home one day after work only to find out that her children have been kidnapped by their father and the Krensha mob during their summer visit with him. The father has a bad gambling habit and has lost a substantial amount of money in trying to cover his losses, he embezzles money at work from a dormant account not knowing that it belongs to the Krensha mob.
The Krensha finds out and threatens him to get the money back as is roughed up by two thugs. As they dig through his wallet they find a picture of his ex-wife and their children. One of the thugs recognizes her and the missing ring that belongs to the boss that holds the information to the foreign bank vault of the mob. Michele must now return to her former hidden life as an FBI agent to save her children from the mob.
ACT 1
OPENING:
INT. PARKING GARAGE – NIGHT
Joel scuffles with two thugs and they find the picture of Michele and sees the picture of the kids and the missing ring.
INT. ACCOUNTING FIRM – DAY
Michele is leaving work and goes to the grocery store.
INT. MR. KREN’S HOME – EVENING
Michele’s daughter sneaks he fathers phone away and sneaks into another room and calls her mom Michele.
EXT. COUNTRY ROAD – EVENING
Michele is driving home from work but she is late getting home. She sees that her ex is calling and she makes it go to voice mail.
INT. MR. KREN’S HOME – EVENING
Joel discovers Megan. He scolds her and hides the fact that she called her mom.
EXT. MICHELE’S COUNTRY HOME – LATE EVENING
INT. MICHELE’S KITCHEN – EVENING
As Michele puts her groceries away she listens to her voice mails. Michele listens to Megan’s message and realizes that her kid think that she is dead. She discovers a bomb in the oven. She runs outside to where her friend was waiting to take her to a movie. They drive away and the house explodes.
INT. MR. KREN’S HOME – NIGHT
Joel and thugs talk and they learn that no body was found.
INT. FBI OFFICE – DAY
Michele talks to receptionist, Dean arrives and takes her to his office.
INT. DEAN’S OFFICE – DAY
Michele argues with Dean and the head of the FBI arrives.
INCITING INCEDINT:
INT. EDWARD’S OFFICE – DAY
Edward and Michele go over old time and Dean is pissed. They all argue about what is going on and Edward makes Dean and Michele partners. It is decided that they will go on tour with the band.
INT. MR. KREN’S OFFICE – DAY
Mr. Kren knows that Michele is still alive and plots revenge.
EXT. STUDIO PARKING LOT – EVENING
Agent tells the band that Michele is to be their driver, but hides that she is FBI.
INT. TOUR BUS – MORNING
Michele finds different hotel and boys grumble. They don’t like her.
EXT. CONCERT ARENA – NIGHT
Michele scans the crowd… no kids
INT. HOTEL BAR – NIGHT
Dean arrives in disguise. He notices Michele’s ring. Ban approaches and runs Dean off.
INT. CONCERT HALL – NIGHT
Michele scans the crowd but no kids. Band member sits on computer and phone.
INT. HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
Dean writes Michele an e-mail and asks her out. Tries to delete it but it is sent anyway.
INT. RESTAURANT – LATE NIGHT
Dean in disguise and he chews Michele out for coming this way. Three bikers attack Michele and a fight breaks out.
ACT 2
NEW PLAN:
INT. HOTEL LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Michele has to explain to the boys about her being in the FBI and about her kids being kidnapped.
Ring is returned with electronics.
Ring information is discovered by one of the band members.
INT. DEAN’S CAR – NIGHT
Intercut with Michele. They argue and she quits.
INT. HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
Michele defeated, she sweeps the room for bugs.
Dean enters and he has info about where the kids are at and that Mr. Kren bought front row tickets. Dean argues with Michele and Michele devises plan to catch them.
ACT 3
NEW PLAN IN ACTION:
INT. HLSR ARENA – EVENING
Band begins to play and takes the kids on stage. The mob tries to get to the kids but fail.
INT. GREEN ROOM – NIGHT
The kids and Joel are ushered to the green room where Michele is waiting and she decks Joel.
ACT 4
CLIMAX:
INT. HLSR ARENA – NIGHT
Fight breaks out between the mob and the FBI. Mr. Kren and the two thugs chase Michele and she draws them into the EXPO area. Michele uses old and new skills to capture the bad guys.
INT. HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
Dean and Michele argue about how things were done. They kiss. Band and everyone applauds.
RESOLUTION:
INT. SWISS BANK – DAY
Michele, Dean, the band and the kids are honored and they are the ones that get to open the vault.
Surprise ending…
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Alex High Speed Beat Sheet.
Wow! I learned I might finally be able to do this. Get an outline that satisfies me… and is str4uctured enough to build on that it won’t collapse!
I feel like this is the most concise beat sheet I have ever had.
Even though I did not have the breath for places for Act 3, I did get in the gist and solved a few long standing problems along the way… and was gifted a BFF based on one of my mother’s friends growing up.
PAGE 1:
DREAM INT. JAIL 1854
Bernhard is in his execution cell. A blinding guardian angel appears to him (Oona with a cell phone in her hand)
He begs for absolution of his soul.
The executioners come in. Bernhard is gone they take Oona.
DREAM INT. SCAFFOLD 1854
Oona is sitting tied up on the execution chair, the executioner swings his sword.
She looks out to the audience that is gasping at her in dismay and excitement.
ACT 1
INT. CLASSROOM HISTORY – DAY 2024
Oona awakens with a gasp. She has fallen asleep and has tied herself up in laptop cables. Everyone laughs at her.
History lesson they were learning about 1850s?
EXT. YOUTH PRISON LENZBURG – DAY
Oona’s toxic BFF ROSEMARY wants to go flirt with the juvenile delinquents.
PLACE HOLDER – MUSEUM? PLACES IN AARAU? – DAY
Audience learns about Bernhard Matter history. Do we learn WITH Oona.
Or Oona/or Rosemary already knows and obsesses over him?
INT. OONA’S ROOM/INTERNET/OR ON HER CELL
Oona tries creating an exciting post. No one cares. She doesn’t matter. Only has few followers. Not even Rosemary? Her post is as dumb as a fence post… but she got a lotta lady humps.
Oona’s mother BARBARA follows her… cringey. (Barbara created alias?)
And even created an avatar for her great grand aunt that lives with them?
OK, tripple cringe. But Mom tries.
And a NERDY LOSER who has a crush on Oona reposts.
Does Oona parrot famous Influencers? Or powerful game changers like Greta?
INT. SCHOOL CELLAR
Rosemary convinces Oona to join a ESP class (Rose is hot for TEACHER?).
Oona can twist the spoon in tripple knot! (Matter talent to bend iron runs in the family).
PLACE HOLDER IMAGERY POWER VS NATURE – PRISON VS FREEDOM
Imagery of blade of grass breaking through concrete.
INT. PLACE HOLDER – NIGHT
Oona feels invaded by harmful spirit: foreshadowing)… tempted to steal, but stays good girl.
Example MC DONALDS
Doesn’t have enough money for a big meal just orders a hamburger. A big bag of food is sitting there. She steals it, wants to run off but stops and returns it.
INT. BATHROOM – NIGHT
Wants to self harm ritual/stimming – but SOMEONE stops her.
INT. OONA HOME – DAY
Her messy room. Too much stuff. Can’t organize herself, her thoughts.
Relationship with mom Barbara is good (Barbara was an actor, is now an AA guidance counsellor – she leaves her daughter be, but worries.
Rosemary shows up to take Oona to a party.
Oona promises her mom she won’t drink (Oona had a psychic break a while back)
Inciting Incident
INT. PARTY CELLAR – NIGHT
Oona takes drugs/someone sneaks her drugs at a party and hits her head.
PLACE HOLDER (FOREST? TAVERN? During Matter BREAK IN) – NIGHT
Oona lands in 1850. Falls from the sky?
‘MEET CUTE’ 1850
Oona meets Bernhard for the first time.
Oona realizes who Bernhard is. Realizes where he is in his biography?
INT. PLACE HOLDER – DAY
She starts stalking him.
He becomes aware of her.
Who does he think she is? Normal girl or the angel from his dream?
Does he wonder about her clothing?
Does he hit on her? (Ryan and Tatum O’Neal at funeral)
INT. TAVERN – NIGHT
Oona predicts the future or does something witchy.
Experiences people staring at her like she’s a major influence!
Bernhard ropes Oona into stealing something with him.
INT. PLACEHOLDER – DAY
Oona lands back in 2024 (no longer at the party?)
Her mother has been looking for her.
When she wakes up, she is in the hospital?
Does Oona find ‘proof’, she was really in a 1850? Ever?
Turning Point
Oona lies to Barbara (and Rosemary) about what happened and is released.
She posts something about the story (I had a dream) and has first success.
ACT 2
New plan
Oona can now hear the invisible Bernhard as voice in her head in real time in 2024.
Oona thinks it is still the drugs and tries to get rid of him. Tries stimming.
Bernhard convinces her he means no harm.
He starts influencing her, becoming her mentor.
Plan in action
Oona explains 2024 to Bernhard, rewarding her with a totally new paradigm on reality. (She aces some kind of history test?). She is never alone again!
INT. OONA’S ROOM – DAY
Bernhard’s voice makes her bold, sharpens her senses, gives her ideas for Insta posts and TikToks.
EXT. LENZBURG – DAY
Oona explains and re-discovers Lenzburg 2024 with Bernhard, someone from 1850 (FUN AND GAMES)
Does an Insta Series: Showing my town to an alien creature from out of town.
INT. OONA SCHOOL – DAY
Podcasts invite her. Radio stations (she does not have to show her face)
Interviews in news papers.
INT. MAYOR OFFICE LENZBURG – DAY
Tourists are flooding the town. Hotels have no room.
INT. OONA HOME – DAY
She is being sent endless senseless products to promote and endorse.
Invites to fancy parties.
They want to see her face! Or has she posted as Bernhard all along?
PLACE HOLDER – IN THE MEANTIME IN 1850
Bernhard gets deeper into trouble. Commits a crime. Gets out of prison.
Immediately goes to see Barbara, who has divorced him.
He has to escape Aargau. Begs her to go to US with him.
Begs his father for money.
Wants to board ship in Le Havre. Sleeps with prostitutes in Paris.
Midpoint Turning Point
Oona now has 10k followers. (Mainly Germans first.)
She wanted to be the inspiring voice of her generation, not the sales girl.
Wants to regain access to 1850, to Bernhard’s voice and guidance, to trigger Bernhard to come back?
INT. PLACE HOLDER – DAY
Oona wants to confide in her mother who is a therapist… but afraid of admitting to (another) mental break. She now SEES Bernhard!
INT. PLACEHOLDER – DAY
Bernhard has followed Oona to 2024. He is now visible to her.
INT. AA MEETING – NIGHT
Bernhard meets Oona’s mother Barbara and falls in love/believes Barbara is his wife. Has a new agenda now: Wants to impress Barbara! Maybe even get her to see him? Oona tells Bernhard to cut it out.
Bernhard wants to appear to Barbara, Oona freaks out, that’s not possible! Hands off my mother!
Oona takes Bernhard to the airport so he can go to America. Something’s holding him back. (He does not have a body after all)
ACT 3
Rethink everything
PLACE HOLDER
Oona realizes Bernhard has his own agenda.
He starts ‘taking over her body’. He is a parasite after all.
Bernhard needs Barbara’s forgiveness, wants to beg Barbara for forgiveness.
How can Bernhard appear to Barbara? He only appears to Oona!
He starts taking over her body! (The Tenant)
She need boundaries.
Bernhard abandons Oona several times. He is a womanizer and parasite after all.
New plan
Bernhard inspires Oona to set up ‘Do You Matter’ challenges.
Oona now has to show her face – but puts up Bernhard as a front.
Becomes an even bigger success, since now the followers start reposting her and starting actions.
At first they are good civil disobedience, but then the punk and party people start ruining it for everyone.
The adventures go viral, they become famous and notorious.
The imitators are irresponsible assholes, they go too far (Bernhard never went too far).
Through DoYouMatter adventures, innocents are harmed and injured.
Oona sees that Bernhard is unreliable (where is she herself?)
There is a DoYouMatter wave of imitations, like Leiden des Jungen Werthers, only they do not end their lives, but start living as if there were no tomorrow.
The DoYouMatter virus captures the population of Lenzburg…, Canton of Aargau…, the whole of Switzerland? The whole world?
Oona has to stop the movement before it infects the whole world…, before it spills over the borders…, imagine that it starts in Germany ;)?
Oona decides that Bernhard has to/can change – so that he experiences a happy ending this time.
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift
Her followers start looting and rioting in Bernhard name.
Demanding retribution. (All of the Matter name)
Someone gets hurt. It’s the end of the road.
At first Oona did not have to show her face… but now the cops are on to her.
Oona needs to dissolve the DoYouMatter revolution. She demands Bernhard go back to 1850 and become the martyr. (The window for crossing is closing!)
Oona shows her face and gives a speech to the followers, they boo her as a traitor and pelt her with tomatoes.
Oona understands that Bernhard must be executed. The effect of this cause was reforms: both in the judiciary and in the socio-political sphere (truth is complex – Bernhard’s life was ended ‘too early’ – but it also made him famous/bigger than life, as he had wished.)
Oona has to convince Bernhard to die a coward to end the DoYouMatter movement and get the gang off the wrong track.
Premise: It feels good to be bad. But for how long?
When there are innocent victims, when you get locked up, deprived of liberty and ruin your future
ACT 4
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict
Oona needs to dissolve the DoYouMatter revolution.
She demands Bernhard go back to 1850 and become a martyr. (The window for crossing is closing!)
She needs to get Bernhard back to 1850. But does not know how. Tries drugs, but finally realizes it was the hitting of her head that gave her access. But how often can she do that without doing irreparable harm to herself?
Oona needs the gang to see the Bernhard killed! Hopefully as a coward! They need to see crime don’t pay!
She stages a fake killing… Can she count on Bernhard?
Nope.
Bernhard fails her and survives as an even bigger hero. (Asshole!)
Bernhard considers whether he wants to die a coward (viewers are unsure to the last moment whether he will/can really pull it off, and no one will ever know if it was a production or if he really felt the fear and remorse that way.)
Resolution
Bernhard understands her needs to go back – maybe Barbara helps him understand?
They all go back (together? or Oona alone).
Bernhard considers whether he wants to die a coward (viewers are unsure to the last moment whether he will/can really pull it off, and no one will ever know if it was a production or if he really felt the fear and remorse that way.)
They experience Bernhard being executed.
Experiencing that gives Oona the voice she needs to speak to non violence… and what is wrong with selfishness and breaking stuff.
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Susan’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment: In the past I have always ended up with a story that became a tangled web, nearly impossible for me to unweave. Following these rules, I have found it much easier to implement the KISS theory as well and I am not struggling to get myself out of a sticky situation.
ACT 1
EXT. CAMPSITE – NIGHT
Opening: Family of five enjoying an evening camping creekside at the base of a mountain. A storm moves in flooding the creek and camp, six year old Shelby narrowly drowns and the family escapes before a landslide consumes their little campsite.
INT. KITCHEN – NIGHT
TE: Flash forward 20 years, Shelby shares wine with best friend Abbey, discussing Liam’s annual “boys camping trip” and Shelby’s “camping curse” as the event jinx.
INT. KITCHEN – NIGHT
Shelby’s fiancé, Liam, surprises (shocks) her by announcing that he was changing things up and taking her on this year’s adventure. Shelby nearly chokes to death.
EXT. WOODSY CAMPSITE – DAY
Shelby tries to help Liam set up camp but is more of a hindrance than a help.
EXT. WOODSY CAMPSITE – DAY
Placeholder: Liam takes her on a hike, she realizes there are no facilities, they explore the pros and cons of the outdoors, including his severe allergy to poison ivy.
EXT. WOODSY CAMPSITE – NIGHT
Placeholder: Somehow Shelby screws up causing Liam to expose himself to poison ivy, kicking in his allergic reaction. He breaks out and begins having difficulty breathing.
INT. HOSPITAL ER – NIGHT
TE: The couple ends up in the ER to treat Liam’s allergic reaction, emphasizing Shelby’s insecurities about her jinx persona.
ACT 2
INT: BEDROOM – DAY
TE: One year later, Liam cozes up to Shelby, convincing her that her paranoia is only in her mind and persuades her to join him again this year on his camping trip.
INT. KITCHEN – NIGHT
Over a bottle of wine, Shelby and Abbey discuss the upcoming trip and how she can prepare for it; Abbey suggesting drugs, and lots of them.
INT. OFFICE – DAY
Shelby sits at her computer reviewing videos on camping skills.
EXT. DRIVEWAY – DAY
Shelby tries to help Liam pack the truck for the journey. He attempts to put her mind at ease before they load up and depart, assuring her they would be staying at an established campground with facilities and electricity.
EXT. CAMPGROUND – DAY
Shelby proves to be of more assistance setting up camp, only smashing Liam’s fingers twice while helping to set the tent pegs.
EXT. RENNAISANCE FAIR – DAY
Placeholder: They spend a pleasant day at the fair, a favorite activity for Shelby. Again, something should happen to Liam that will keep Shelby on edge and paranoid. Temperatures begin to drop.
EXT. CAMPGROUND – NIGHT
Inside the tent the couple has LAYERS of clothes on and still can’t keep warm. They move their sleeping bags to retire by the fire which they stoke to a healthy blaze.
EXT. CAMPGROUND – DAY
TE: Shelby and Liam wake the next morning with EVERYTHING from their water to the dish soap frozen solid, and their exposed skin scorched red from thermal burns after sleeping practically on top of the campfire to keep warm. Shelby’s curse is still hanging over her head.
ACT 3
INT. GARAGE – DAY
TE: While heading outside to find Liam, Shelby overhears his conversation with his best friend. They are discussing his fiancee’s aversion (and paranoia) to camping; making vague references to the deep emotional attachment Liam has for his past time. Sam suggests that if she can’t be empathetic and get on board, he needs to make a choice… Shelby retreats, fearing what choice he will make.
INT. CAFÉ – DAY
Shelby anxiously meets best friend, Abbey, for lunch to discuss what she overheard while eavesdropping. Abbey tries, halfheartedly, to assuage her fears. Again, Abbey, recommends a therapist… and drugs.
INT. LIBRARY – DAY
Shelby traverses the aisles, arms laden with self-help books on camping. While standing in line she eyes two display tables, “Finding love…”, “… Or losing it” The array of books run from finding the right partner, to letting go and moving on, but the only title that sticks is, He’s Just Not That Into You.
INT. OFFICE – NIGHT
Shelby is consumed with her mission to be the camping partner that Liam would appreciate, studying her book rentals and watching You Tube videos as if they were blockbuster releases.
INT. KITCHEN – NIGHT
Liam arrives home to find that Shelby has prepared a romantic dinner. She requests that he allow her to plan his next outing to show that she supports his passion and wants to share it with him.
EXT. WHITE WATER RAFTING CAMPGROUND – DAY
Placeholder: Shelby has planned a white water rafting (with camping) adventure where she can display her skills and prove that she can keep up with her fiance’s free spirit.
EXT. NEW RIVER – DAY
Placeholder: Storms have been heavy and the river is high, the rafts in the water are flying through Class 5 rapids. During one difficult pass boats are overturned, Shelby comes up under the raft. She finally finds her way to the surface where she is pulled in. With mixed emotions, feeling once again jinxed, but triumphant over the spill, she continues the trip paddleless to shore.
EXT. WHITE WATER CAMPGROUNG – NIGHT
Liam and Shelby sit around the fire drinking, lots of partying in the background. Liam expresses his pride in her performance. Before turning in for the night, Shelby throws some logs on the fire to keep it burning through the night.
INT. TENT – NIGHT
TE: The couple wake to a ruckus outside their tent and the smell of something burning. The wind is whipping at the flaps, the tent nearly pulled from its stakes. Outside some of the other campers are hollering for the couple to get out.
EXT. WHITE WATER CAMPGROUND – NIGHT
Liam and Shelby stumble from their tent, nearly bowled over by the gusts. Their canopy is ablaze and breaks free from its grounding, nearly blown away, stopped only by their tent which quickly becomes encompassed with greedy flames. Liam quickly retrieves his fire extinguisher from the truck, while another camper tries to douse the fire with a nearby hose.
EXT. HOTEL – NIGHT
Placeholder: Dejected, hair singed, Shelby and her fiancé pull into the parking lot, the curse still alive.
ACT 4
INT. AIRPORT TERMINAL – DAY
Shelby looks the worse for wear, as Abbey tries to repair her appearance before they board their working flight. Shelby admits that she is done and is throwing in the towel. Realizing the impact of this decision, Abby earnestly tries to pump her up, coaching her to move forward, and take a pill.
INT. KITCHEN – DAY
TE: Liam announces that he will no longer partake in his annual camping trip. He pops champagne toasting the room which includes Shelby, Sam, and Abbey. He gets on one knee and asks Shelby to set a date, everyone is taken aback, especially Shelby, who realizes she can’t ask or expect him to give up his love of camping for her.
INT. RESTAURANT – NIGHT
Over dinner with their respective friends, Liam shares his plans for their next yearly vacation, to include Sam and Abbey, but Shelby requests one last hoorah. It is decided that they will all attend, with power in numbers, they will finally dispatch the curse and eliminate the jinx specter.
INT. PLANE GALLEY – DAY
Shelby corners Abbey requesting her therapists name and contact info.
Placeholder: Not sure of location, but Shelby will be meeting with someone she hires to teach her all things camping and becoming a true outdoorsman.
INT. TRUCK CAB – DAY
The annual trip has arrived. In the front Liam is positive, but secretly wary. Shelby is excited, yet anxious. In the back, their friends are already battling, for talk time, the armrest, even floor space. This is to be a long journey.
EXT. CAMPSITE 4 – DAY
Shelby downs her energy drink and gets to work, practically staging the campsite alone. Liam checks out her handiwork, beyond impressed. Sam is disgruntled, as he tried to find the most “roughing it” site he could to prove a point to Liam and Shelby, who is proving him wrong.
EXT. CAMPSITE 4- NIGHT
Cleaning up after their meal and preparing the site to retire, Shelby finally eyes the “bear box”, finally Sam gets the reaction he has been waiting for. Shelby recalls the explanation from her camp trainer. As the boys go off to relieve themselves in the woods, Shelby explains their situation to Abbey who freaks out and decides she will be sleeping in the truck if there are bears afoot.
INT. TENT – NIGHT
Shelby has gathered portions of food that she could wrangle and sits in her tent lacing it with the entirety of her (and Abbey’s) anti-anxiety and sleeping pills.
EXT. CAMPSITE 4 – NIGHT
The men return rowdy from the woods as Shelby is just securing the bear box. She warns them not to indulge in anything, she has left snacks out for them to finish before turning in and retires to her tent, as Abbey settles in the truck cab.
INT. TENT – NIGHT
Shelby snuggles into her sleeping bag, then reaches for her empty bottle of sleeping pills. Disappointed she turns down the lantern and closes her eyes
EXT. CAMPSITE 4 – NIGHT
Liam and Sam greedily finish the snacks left by Shelby, they continue to drink growing louder. Abbey honks the horn (people sleeping here!). They are amused… and hungry. The two men partake in the snacks inside the locker. Growing sleepy, they decide to turn in, leaving the food unsecured.
EXT. CAMPSITE 4 – NIGHT
TE: Placeholder: This will be a series of events where Shelby wakes to find baby bears in the campsite. She can’t wake Sam and Liam who are knocked unconscious. Fearing mama bear is nearby she tries to chase off the cubs. Mama bear appears having raided the bear locker, but grows protective at the sight of Shelby. There will be a confrontation, whereby Shelby and Abbey defend the camp, draw the bear(s) away before they (the bears) pass out from ingesting the drugs.
EXT. CAMPSITE 4 – DAY
Park rangers are on the scene to contain the bear family and relocate. When Liam and Sam awake, they can hardly believe the story until they take a closer look at the condition of the campsite and the bears being removed in reservation vehicles.
Resolution: With the help, and devotion, of her fiancé and friends the curse is broken, the jinx having gone the way of the dodo.
EXT. CAMPSITE 5 – NIGHT
The night is peaceful and warm, the skies clear, the fire CRACKLES, as the silhouette of the flames bounce across the canvas of the two tents; all is well in the world of camping. Shelby and Liam are married, Sam and Abbey getting along. Shelby decides to turn in, encouraging her husband to do the same. She kisses him good night and turns away. Liam hangs out a few minutes longer, until a loud double HONK sounds. Liam follows Shelby’s lead, heading away from the humble tents to retire in their new motor coach, equipped with all facilities, a bed, kitchen and even a fireplace. Shelby has lifted her curse and found a true love of camping.
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ADE IN
INT.EXT. FORT MYER – HOUSE – DAY
Andrew 12 and mike 14 stand near the window looking outside.Winds Blows the tree moves .dark Clouds every where.
Andrew asks mike whether the hurricane are dangerous. Mike laugh at him and tell him the scary cat. Andrew take it to heart. Andrew asks this question from dad matt Robinson 44. He ignores and smiles rubs his back Andrew convince him grandma died in hurricane
Hold.
Not sure how to resolve it after the 4th scene or immediate scene.
INT. YMCA – NOON
Andrew and matt are swimming and taking laps. When dad defeat Andrew. The YMCA closes earlier because of hurricane. Andrew upset and said you are bigger than me. Matts insure him next time you will win.
Transformational journey.
The hurricane intensifies and water covers the boat. Jacky 42 wants to move from the house. While removing’s the anchor. Water splash on matt and Andrew see dad drown jumps in the water and tries to save matt and in process Andrews vanish and later declares dead.
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Allen’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is… the script is starting to appear from the chaos in my mind.
Concept: James Allan, a driven businessman, whose last promise to his late wife becomes a challenge when he must find the elusive natural father of his son for a life-saving transplant. I also found myself re-interviewing my characters to get more of who they are, what they want.
Main Conflict: To save his son Douglas, James Allan must find a suitable donor to save the life of the only child he and his late wife have. However, testing shows that James is not the natural father of the child, leading to a search for the natural father of his son, who doesn’t seem to want to be found.
James’ character arc: James Allan a staunch and demanding businessman with little time for life beyond his son and business, realizes life didn’t end when he lost his wife.
James Allan’s Old Ways:
Excessively
confident
Focused
on what he sees with his eyes.
Reliance
on others to do his bidding (the actual work).
Emotionally
stagnantJames Allan’s New Ways:
Open
to new opportunities.
What
is seen by the eyes is often just a door to what is on the inside and
endless possibilities.
Willingness
to depend on others for help.Changes or steps that need to happen:
James’
normal over-confident attitude allowing him to overcome any obstacles is
shaken.
Through
his son Douglas, James finds that what is important in other people is
often on the inside, not the outside.
Rather
relying on others to locate the biological father of his son, James
determines that he had to take on the search himself.
Willingness
to depend on others for real help.
Must
invest in himself and his desires to find what he truly wants in life.
James
finds he has romantic feelings for the outwardly stubborn, unyielding twin
sister of the biological father of his son Douglas.Act 1:
o Opening: James is busy at work, directing his management team on the new product line of the company. At school, Douglas and Debbie are enjoying food and the basketball game.
o TE 1: James receives a telephone call that his son has been taken to the hospital due to an illness.
o INT. JAMES’ OFFICE – DAY
James is beside himself, as his son is the reason for all that he does.
o Inciting Incident: Douglas becomes ill at school, resulting in need of a transplant from a close family member. While in hospital, James is surprised when he sees the student Douglas constantly speaks about constantly.
o INT. HOSPTIAL – DAY
James sees Debbie Porter and is surprised at the appearance of the girl his son says reminds him of his mother.
o Turning Point: No family member qualifies as a suitable donor for James’ son.
Act 2:
o New plan: Figure out what occurred.
o TE 2: Douglas introduces Debbie Porter to his father and, as James gets to know more about the girl Douglas has been raving about, sees beyond her outward appearance the person his son sees.
o INT. HOSPTIAL – DAY
James meets Debbie Porter and is surprised at the appearance of the girl his son says reminds him of his mother.
o Plan in action: Begin hereditary review, then trace into the past for any potential hospital or other mistake.
o Midpoint Turning Point: Douglas is not James’ son, but the child of an incident some 18 years earlier.
Act 3:
o Rethink everything: James hires firm to search for the biological father to save his son, who are unsuccessful in locating the man.
o TE 3: As his hired detectives are having no success locating the biological father of Douglas, James determines he must take action.
o
o INT. HOSPTIAL – DAY
James meets Debbie Porter and is surprised at the appearance of the girl his son says reminds him of his mother.
o New plan: James takes personally takes on the search for this man, finally locating the family of the father of his son. James becomes frustrated that the family of Douglas’ biological father is uncooperative in getting him in contact with him. James finds himself attracted to the biological father’s twin sister.
o TE 4: Unable to see a viable alternative, James insists that the biological family allow him access to that man who fathered Douglas.
o EXT. TOWN GRAVEYARD – Day
As James and DiAnne are once again walking through the local cemetery, DiAnne once again draws attention to the headstone of her father and the location where her mother will lay after death. Then, for the first time, James sees the headstone next to DiAnne’s expected plot. It’s the burial spot of the biological father Dana.
o Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift: The biological father of James’ son died some 18 years earlier.
Act 4:
o Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: With the finding of the biological family and the knowledge of his death, James appeals for the cooperation of the family in hope of saving the son.
o TE 5: James appeals to the family to help save Douglas, as there’s no other option that will potentially save the boy.
o INT. KUTA HOME – DAY
Members of the Kuta family have gathered at the family home making themselves available for genetic testing for suitability as donors.
o TE 6: Despite DiAnne being just about the opposite of his late wife, James finds himself drawn to her.
o INT. KUTA HOME – DAY
As DiAnne has drawn close to Douglas and James and is a candidate for the transplant, James is resistant to her as he doesn’t want to lose her, the possible life they could have.
o INT. HOSPITAL IN THE KUTA HOME TOWN – DAY
As DiAnne has drawn close to Douglas and James and is a candidate for the transplant, James is resistant to her as he doesn’t want to lose her, the possible life they could have.
o Resolution: The brother of Douglas’ “girlfriend” becomes the unlikely donor who submits to the operation that will save James’ son.
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February 7, 2023 – BONNIE’S BEAT SHEET AND HIGH SPEED WRITING
What I learned doing this assignment is that even though it’s not perfect, I know everything will fall into place as long as I keep writing.
PASS 1 Organize your Structure and Transformational Events
PASS 2: Add Slug Lines
PASS 3: Add Placeholders and Additional Scenes
ACT 1
EXT. SCHOOL YARD – DAY
OPENING: As kids, (10-12) Myka, Gabi, Rafi and Yuri are bullied at school because of their synesthesia, and they begin hanging out together. Myka always wants to be the leader and usually gets her own way.
EXT. WOODS – DAY
TE 1: Myka gets her friends to help her build a treehouse in the woods. They make a “Synesthete Friends Forever Pact” to always be there for one another.
INT. UNIVERSITY – DAY
INCITING INCIDENT: Myka loses her friends. At their university, years later (20’s) Myka recruits Gabi, Rafi and Yuri to help demonstrate her Master’s Thesis research in “The Dreamscape of Synesthetes”, but is humiliated by the Committee’s scathing comments about her thesis. She tells them off, blames her friends for the failure, storms off, leaves without receiving her Master’s Degree.
INT. MYKA’S LOFT – NIGHT
TE 2: For the next year (or 2 or 3 years?) Myka loses contact with her college friends. She isolates herself in her own synesthetic world of art and dreams.
INT. GALLERY – DAY
Myka gets gallery representation and has a show.
INT. GALLERY – NIGHT
TE 3: Starts drinking, becomes ruled by her hot temper and impatience. Makes a scene at her opening. The gallery drops her.
INT. BAR – NIGHT
She’s lost her friends, her dreams, inspiration and lust for living. Falls into a funk.
EXT. MYKA’S LOFT – NIGHT
She finds an eviction notice on her door. 72 hours to move out.
INT. MYKA’S ROOM – NIGHT
TURNING POINT: Myka has a nightmare that scares the shit out of her.
TE 3: She wakes up and realizes that unless she does something to stop it, not only her dreams and inspiration will fade forever.
EXT. MYKA’S LOFT – DAY
Empties brandy and wine bottles into the gutter, tosses them into trash bin.
ACT 2:
INT. CHURCH – NIGHT
She gets sober and goes to an AA meeting.
INT. MYKA’S LOFT – DAY
NEW PLAN: Swallow her pride, apologize to her friends, and get the old gang together, so she can get back her juju.
TE 4: No one answers her calls.
INT. GABI’S HOUSE – DAY
Gabi’s phone buzzes. She sees Myka’s name and ignores the call. It rings again, Myka leaves a message about the old treehouse. She listens but looks sad. She continues painting, but the colors begin to turn shades of grey.
EXT. RAFI’S PLACE – DAY
His phone rings, picks up, hears Myka’s voice and hangs up. He notices the words on the page of the book he’s reading are fading and disappearing.
INT. YURI’S FLAT – DAY
Yuri’s phone rings. Shakes his head, doesn’t answer. Continues playing his violin, but the music fades in and out.
EXT. MYKA’S LOFT – DAY
Hands over the keys to her loft to the owner. Gets in her van and drives away.
EXT. MYKA’S VAN – DAY
She pulls her van behind the treehouse, starts unpacking her stuff and moves in.
EXT. WOODS – DAY
Gabi visits the treehouse and sees that Myka has been living there. Starts to leave when Myka shows up. Myka apologises. Tells Gabi her nightmare.
EXT. TREEHOUSE – DAY
Rafi and Yuri show up. Gabi greets them. They go up reluctantly.
PLAN IN ACTION: They agree to get revive the gang and meet there to continue their synesthetic dream-research.
TE 5: Clean up and repair the treehouse. Practice synesthetic dreaming there every night until they’re ready to go back into the Multiversity for battle.
INT. TREEHOUSE – NIGHT
They drink mugwort tea, sleep and practice meeting in a shared dream.
EXT. MULTIVERSITY – NIGHT
The exterior walls show signs of deterioration.
INT. MULTIVERSITY – NIGHT
Various creatures destroy, eat, steal the content of the branches of Wisdom, Art, Music, Dream and Memory.
INT. TREEHOUSE – DAY
The clock is ticking. The team prepares for battle.
EXT. MULTIVERSITY – NIGHT
TE 6: They charge into battle the forces that are attacking Wisdom, Memory and Dream.
MIDPOINT TURNING: Myka avoids a dangerous opportunity to conquer the villain, and retreats. Gabi witnesses it.
INT. TREEHOUSE – NIGHT
TE 7: They’re no match for the villains. They wake up feeling defeated. Gabi confronts Myka. Calls her a coward.
ACT 3:
EXT. SIDEWALK CAFÉ – DAY
Myka meets a collector who saw her show and wants her to meet an investor friend on the same day she’s promised to meet the gang to save the Multiversity.
INT. TREEHOUSE – DAY
Gabi, Yuri and Rafi wait for Myka, but she doesn’t show up.
EXT. CONCERT HALL – DAY
Shutting down.
EXT. ART MUSEUM – DAY
Closing.
INT. LIBRARY – DAY
A librarian browses through the books. The letters fall off the pages or dissolve. She locks the doors.
INT. MULTIVERSITY – DAY
The attack on Wisdom, Art, Music and Dreams continues full force.
RETHINK EVERYTHING: Humanity is losing their dreams, their memories and ancient wisdom. The Gabi presses Myka to come up with a solution!
INT. BAR – NIGHT
Gabi, Yuri and Rafi corner Myka. It’s not just about her.
TE 8: They use their combined synesthesia talents of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste to fight the villains of the Multiversity.
INT. TREEHOUSE – DAY
NEW PLAN: Intensify their synesthetic training in waking hours. Practice, strategize, asks questions. Make a mission board, brainstorm.
INT. TREEHOUSE – NIGHT
TE 9: Shamanic journey to practice their skills. Imagine victory. Empower themselves for battle. Go into the dream space far more prepared.
EXT. MULTIVERSITY – NIGHT
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift – Discover higher senses: Ego, Thought, Word, Balance, Movement, Life, and Warmth and combine them to battle the enemies in the Multiversity.
Act 4:
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict – They go in and overwhelm the villains with their powers, but lose sight of Gabi. Myka goes back to save her.
EXT. TREEHOUSE – NIGHT
They wake up, but Myka can’t wake Gabi. They call upon their animal guides to bring her back.
INT. MULTIVERSITY – NIGHT
TE 10: This time, they bring surprise allies… their animal spirits: Lioness, Hummingbird, Serpent and Condor, achieve victory, recover and rebuild the Multiversity together.
INT. TREEHOUSE – DAY
Resolution – They rekindle their friendship pact and promise to be there for one another no matter what.
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Lesson 7 LD’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned from this assignment: Getting better acquainted with the story and what speed writing feels like. Vague and missing links are okay. Temporary is okay. Trust the process.
ACT 1
OPENING:
INT. RADIO STATION – GLASS STUDIO – LATE NIGHT
Jaxon at radio station. Late at night. Few people are around. He is doing either a show or a podcast. He plays all the parts to avoid working with others. By the end of the show, he’s exhausted from doing every job from technical to host.
Series of romantic relationships that go all wrong once Jaxon and lover make commitment.
PLACEHOLDER: scenes of Jaxon with current lover.
PLACEHOLDER: scenes of Jaxon with sister and her family who live next door on the other side of the duplex.
PLACEHOLDER: Jaxon has food and everything else delivered.
PLACEHOLDER: Jaxon at the computer communicating with others.
EXT. SKI RESORT – DAY
TE All goes well with Jaxon’s current lover until they make a commitment. Everything radically changes. On a ski trip, Jaxon hides out, a fight ensues followed by Jaxon getting dumped.
PLACEHOLDER: Jaxon with sister and family. She suggests a emotional support animal.
INT. PET STORE OR ANIMAL SHELTER – DAY
INCITING INCIDENT: Giving up on commitment, Jaxon gets and returns for exchanges emotional support animals. In trying to exchange, he first meets Angela, a public speaker on animal trauma and abuse.
PLACEHOLDER: animal incompatibility scenes
PLACEHOLDER: podcaster working more hours.
INT. PET STORE OR ANIMAL SHELTER – DAY
TURNING POINT: Upon trying to return Echo, an emotional support dog, Jaxon runs into Angela and her dog. He denies he’s attempting to return Echo. Their dogs really like each other. Angela and Jaxon agree to meet at the dog park for a doggy date.
ACT 2
INT – RADIO STATION – GLASS BOOTH – LATE NIGHT
OPENING: Jaxon at radio station.
PLACEHOLDER: dog scenes
PLACEHOLDER: DATES WOMAN – Sex without commitment. Bad dates.
EXT. DOG PARK – DAY
TE 1: Jaxon meets Angela at dog park. He passes on an interview to be featured in Angela’s organization newsletter.
PLACEHOLDER: Jaxon with more women
EXT. RADIO STATION – LATE NIGHT
TE 2: ANGELA features Pit, a co-worker of Jaxon who also has a dog, in her organization’s newsletter.
TURNING POINT: Angela confides to Jaxon she’s thinking about getting involved with pit. She wants to his thoughts.
ACT 3
INT. RADIO STATION – GLASS STUDIO – LATE NIGHT
OPENING: Jaxon at radio station.
TE 3: Angela dates Pit from the radio station.
INT. ANGELA’S HOUSE – BEDROOM – NIGHT
TE 4: Angela and Jaxon have sex.
EXT. PARK – DAY
TURNING POINT: Jaxon and Angela make a commitment.
ACT 4
INT. RADIO STATION – NIGHT
OPENING: Jaxon at radio station.
INT. JAXON’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
TE 5: Jaxon and Angela fight and break up
EXT. PARK – DAY
TE 6: Jaxon and Angela reconcile
EXT. PARK – DAY
END: Jaxon and Angela embark on an attempt to try to achieve great love. The dog and turtle still with them.
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Laura Woodworth’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is to quickly think through the main beats of the story. It also made me start thinking of the strongest choices for locations for each scene to add emotion/intrigue, and also helped me see holes where I will need to add in scenes with main characters that I’m missing. I’m committing to use the high speed writing rules in this process.
Concept: A Russian college student’s search for truth lands her on the radar of her KGB boyfriend when she discovers her grandmother’s forbidden Bible and secretly shares it on the campus of the Moscow University.
Main Conflict: The lies told by the communist Russian government versus the truth about life and Christianity; the truth about faith and freedom versus the lies told by the communist government; her boyfriend’s staunch KGB views versus her quest for truth and freedom.
Old ways: fearful and subservient; believing the lie of communism about life and faith
New ways: fearless, brave and courageous; walking in the truth about freedom and Christianity
ACT 1: Set up and see the old ways
EXT. STREET/RUSSIA – DAY – 1953
Opening image: Natasha as a 6-year old child running home from school through the oppressive atmosphere of communist Russia.
INT. HOUSE – DAY
Natasha enters her warm and loving family home; greeted by grandmother. Brother and sister.
INT. BEDROOM – DAY
She runs to get grandma’s Bible from shelf in her room and grandmother reads.
INT. HOUSE/DINING ROOM – DAY
Parents arrive home from work; family dinner; see dynamics of family faith and relationships including brother and bitter sister.
EXT. STREET/MARKET – DAY
Natasha shops with grandmother; highly respected.
INT. HOUSE – NIGHT
Scene with parents and grandmother discussing dangers?
EXT. STREET – NIGHT
Sister betrays parents to the KGB as dissenters? (placement?)
INT. HOUSE – DAY
Grandmother at window; notes KGB on street watching.
EXT. STREET – DAY
Natasha running home from school as usual; passes by KGB agents.
INT. HOUSE – DAY
Natasha runs to get Grandma’s bible as usual and they read the story of Queen Esther. She pretends to be Queen Esther, the one chosen to deliver her people. She goes to put bible away, but Grandmother intervenes and takes it upstairs.
INT. BEDROOM – DAY
Grandma hides the bible.
INT. DINING ROOM – NIGHT
Inciting incident: Family is gathered for dinner; KGB storm in and take parents. (They execute her, but she, in her young naiveté thinks they are only banished.)
EXT. PLAYGROUND – DAY
Natasha bullied and picked on; word travels fast. Alex steps in to defend her and they form a new friendship – a team fighting together against the bully.
INT. SHARED BEDROOM – NIGHT
Natasha writes to her parents?? With sister nearby? She hides her little diary.
EXT. STREET/MARKET – DAY
Natasha shops with Grandmother who is now shunned and ignored. People are scared of “guilt by association.” She drops her hand.
INT. SCHOOL – DAY
Natasha ridiculed; Stalin’s posters appear in school about the evil grandmothers…
EXT. STREET – DAY
Coming home from school, Natasha sees a dissenter executed in public; raises even more fear. Could be a kindly old man/friend of Grandmother’s.
INT. HOUSE – DAY
The atmosphere is cold; everyone is suspect. Fear reigns. Grandmother goes silent… no more bible reading; and Natasha shies away from her.
INT. SHARED BEDROOM – NIGHT
Natasha writes to her parents?? Feels eyes on her from sister.
INT. HOUSE – DAY
Times are harder now with parents and their income gone. Food is even more scarce…
INT. SCHOOL – DAY
As time passes, Natasha learns to always be on her “best behavior.” Does well in school and is rewarded for her intelligence…. strives to regain the respect her family once had. Alex is still a friend, but she makes a new best friend, Marinas.
INT. HOUSE – DAY
Grandmother passes away? Natasha moves into her room.
EXT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY – DAY – 1968
Natasha is now 20 and a student at Moscow University, a high honor. She is still friends with Marinas and Alex.
INT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY/ADMIN OFFICE – DAY
Turning point into Act 2: Natasha is assigned as an interpreter for Jim, the free thinking American invited to the Soviet Union by the Academy of Science for his research project.
ACT 2: Challenges the old ways
EXT. STREET – DAY
Natasha walks home or is walking with Jim; what she doesn’t know is that she is being watched by the KGB.
INT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY/SCHOOLS? – DAY
Natasha interprets for Jim; spends the day… exposed to his different mindset.
EXT. HOTEL – DAY
Natasha takes him back to hotel; he invites her to dine with her in his room.
INT. HOTEL/ROOM – DAY
Natasha is amazed at the food he has and the space he has in the hotel room; a stark contrast to her life in Russia. Sows seeds of doubt.
EXT. MARKET – DAY
New plan: Natasha stands in long line at market; gets to counter and they don’t have what she wants; has to settle for something else. Never enough; it sows more seeds of doubt. She decides to start asking questions.
INT. HOUSE – NIGHT
Home with her groceries, she cooks for brother, sister. Starts asking questions… raises their suspicions; no one will talk to her. Dead end. Her questions raise varying reactions (fear, anger, suspicion.) She is still under the idea that her parents are alive…
EXT. MARKET – DAY
A secret dissenter and old friend of the family knows she’s been asking questions. He suggests she asks her sister what happened to her parents.
INT. HOUSE – NIGHT
Plan in action: Natasha confronts her sister and her dirty secret comes out – including the fact that her parents were executed.
INT. HOTEL – DAY
Natasha arrives to pick up Jim and, with “eyes wide open” (she thinks), she plies him with questions about freedom. He is silent – and silences her and they exit –
EXT. STREET – DAY
Jim walks to talk; he knows he’s being watched and tells Natasha she is too. She denies it – surely not as she was honorably assigned to interpret for him, a sort of reward for her good behavior. Walking and talking, he shares bits about America/freedom, and delves into Christianity and faith. She scoffs at that – it’s a fairy tale. He drops the subject.
EXT. STREET – NIGHT
Natasha arrives home after dropping Jim off; she doesn’t consciously notice the KGB stationed nearby.
INT. HOUSE – NIGHT
Awkward interaction with brother, sister. Sister pries for information about “her day” with the American?
INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT
Natasha enters… and decides to check for bugs… discovering one hidden. She doesn’t know if she should tinker with it or not… out of fear, she leaves it so they won’t suspect that she knows. On a whim – and realizing what she saw that did not register at first – she peeks outside and sees the KGB men stationed.
INT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY – DAY
Plan in action: With Jim; she is quiet with her new revelation. He reads her mood and prods her towards faith again. She refutes it? The forbidden book. Maybe – he prods her even more – it’s what your parents died for.
INT. BEDROOM – DAY
Midpoint turning point: Natasha arrives home. KGB stationed outside; the bug recording anything she says and does. She thoughtfully considers – where would her grandmother’s hidden bible be? She hunts quietly and discovers the hiding place; she holds the forbidden book in her hand and memories come flooding in… of the bible stories – and Queen Esther. She begins reading.
ACT 3: Profound moment – old ways dropping off. New ways forming
INT. HOUSE – DAY
Rethink everything: Natasha carefully hides bible. Is nonchalant with sister and brother as she eats breakfast and leaves. She has a secret now – and her sister could betray her if she’s found out!
EXT. HOTEL – DAY
Meets Jim; they must wash the car; clean car, despite the deep corruption. Her eyes are open to see it now.
INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT
Natasha reads the bible – cover to cover. It’s changing her worldview, her life.
EXT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY – DAY
Natasha is excited; Alex wonders why. She’s not ready to share yet??
INT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM – DAY
She discovers a teacher is a believer; a situation arises and he prays – and the power of God is displayed in a miraculous healing. Further confirms to her the power of God – this is not a fairy tale! Maybe Marinas witnesses it too?? Natasha tries to talk to her and explain, but it doesn’t go well…
INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT
New plan: she knows the truth and her new plan is to secretly share the bible; to share truth with her friends on campus. She carefully tears a page out of the bible to share with Marinas.
EXT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY – DAY
Marinas shares her secret – she’s so tired of best behavior; will it save her? Natasha shares bible page with her?
INT/EXT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY – DAY
Natasha is more aware than ever before of the weariness of classmates, the anxiety and stress – and the hunger for truth…. she comes up with a risky plan. (Marina’s idea?? They work together; leaving Alex in the dark; hesitant to ask him.)?
INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT
Natasha cuts bible into bits that she can transport.
EXT. HOTEL – DAY
Picks up Jim; shares her interest in faith? He’s thrilled – but cautionary. They now have a new-found bond…
EXT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY – DAY
Alex senses the change in the relationship between Natasha and Jim; he’s jealous. Jim has become his enemy. Pride rises up into his relationship with Natasha and he is closed to her; they are no longer a “team” to fight the “bullies.”
EXT. STREET – NIGHT
In a last effort to protect Natasha, Alex warns Jim what his relational involvement could mean for Natasha. Warns him to stay away?
EXT. STREET/CAR – NIGHT
Turning point into Act 4: Alex coerced to become KGB at threat of his being sent away? He is assigned to watch Natasha. He is now her enemy.
ACT 4: Test the change in this character; prove the new ways
EXT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY – DAY
Although Alex has been cold to her, now he’s come back around – so he can spy on her. She senses his suspicion.
INT. HOTEL – DAY
Jim receives notice of his deadline to leave the country. Natasha is there; she’s concerned… he pulls her outside…
EXT. HOTEL/STREET – DAY
Jim proposes marriage to Natasha and a chance to escape with him to America. He’s recognized the intense scrutiny of the KGB and the moving in of Alex. (and sister danger??) She has feelings for him, but is unsure… They set an agreed upon time and place?
EXT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY – DAY
Climax: Alex finds solid condemning evidence against Natasha. She’s face to face with her enemy as he tracks her down. (She pleads with him?? For truth, for love??) Can the love they share sway him?
EXT. STREET – DAY
Natasha runs home… fully aware of being watched. She’s desperate now and has one chance to escape with Jim…. her dilemma!
INT. BEDROOM – DAY
Natasha discovers a note in her grandmother’s bible about her faith for Russia to return to Christianity, for an “agent of deliverance” to arise… Natasha – the one.
EXT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY – DAY
Natasha talks with Marinas – to stay or not to stay?
EXT. STREET – DAY
Alex is hot on her trail…
EXT. AIRPORT – DAY
Jim travels to airport; looking for Natasha at their agreed upon place.
EXT. AIRPORT – DAY
Natasha travels to airport… we wonder if she’s going or not…
EXT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY – DAY
Alex presses Marinas for information; she’s gone to the airport; he takes off – he’s hurt and pressed; he didn’t want to have to hunt her down… maybe he should just let them take him…
EXT./INT. AIRPORT/RUNWAY – DAY
Resolution: Jim – walks tarmac – turns to see Natasha waving goodbye from inside. She will not desert her country – or her grandmother’s dream.
EXT. MOSCOW UNIVERSITY – DAY
Alex in dilemma… and scrap of bible page floats down from somewhere… he picks it up. And reads.
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Philips High Speed Beat Sheet
Act 1
EXT.COUNTRY LANE – DAY
1. He has a car accident and nearly kills someone
PLACEHOLDER – Toady manipulates Dmitri to driving him back to the Grange
INT.GRANGE.CHAMBERS – NIGHT
2. He is discovered miming to records
PLACEHOLDER – debate with Cherry about his fraud
EXT.FARM -DAY
3. His fingers are sliced off deliberately
PLACEHOLDER – Toady’s pretext ask for help with farm equipment and traps Dmitris fingers
INT.GREAT HALL- NIGHT
4. He signs a contract with the she-devil
PLACEHOLDER – Massive negotiations before he signs
Act2
INT.LOCATION1-DAY
5. His band have been slaughtered
PLACEHOLDER- Dmitri contacts people when the band dont show up
INT.LOCATION1-DAY
Drummer
PLACEHOLDER Drummer gets killed by SheDevil using drumsticks
INT.LOCATION1-NIGHT
PLACEHOLDE- SINGER dies being choked to death
INT.LOCATION1-DAY
BASS GUITARIST
PLACEHOLDER – Bass guitaris is pushed off a scafold and falls to his death
INT.LOCATION1-NGHT
PLACEHOLDER – MANAGER drowns in his own VAT of wine
6. He recruites new members for his tour
INT.LOCATION1-NIGHT
SINGER
PLACEHOLDER – Audition takes place in front of some stoned students
INT.LOCATION1-DAY
Drummer
PLACEHOLDER Drummer is working as a gravedigger and meets them later on to discuss money
BASS GUITARIST
PLACEHOLDER – Interview takes place in a fancy golf club after a round of golf
INT.LOCATION1-NGHT
MANAGER
PLACEHOLDER – The band are called into the studios by their new manager who has bought their contract from the record company
Act3
7. He discovers they are being sent to Hades
PLACEHOLDER – Toady accidentally reveals the plan about sending them to play in Hell
INT.AIRPORT-NIGHT
MANAGER
PLACEHOLDER – Dmitri confronts the manager but can’t persuade him to change the tour
8. Dilemma : Does he tell the band that they are going to hell
Dmitri holds a pep talk with the band to discuss the tour
INT.AIRPORT.BAR-NIGHT
9. He discovers the manager is trying to sabotage their tour
PLACEHOLDER – Dmitri tries to kill the manager
INT.AIRPORT.BAR-NIGHT
Act4
INT.HOLLYWOOD.BOWL FROM HELL.BAR-NIGHT
PLACEHOLDER – Dmitri realises the crowd is full of acolytes who are trying to tear down the stage and he must find a way to stop them
10 He finds the real power of music to tame the savage beasts in the audience
PLACEHOLDER – Dmitri’s guitar playing is so magical that he wins over the audience and they escape from hell
INT.GRANGE.DAY
11.The band complete the tour and return victorious
PLACEHOLDER – The band gather at the Grange to record their next album, and discover that the manager returns to haunt them
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Lesson 7 Beat Sheet And High Speed Writing
Subject Line: Patrick McCormick’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I Learned: To find main transformational events in Lesson 6, having a good idea of how the story flowed, I listed 54 that came to mind, grouped them into 10 primary transformational events with the lesser ones as b, c, d, e etc. This became a ready-made list to import into Lesson 7, filling out the story.
Title: THE THRIFT STORE
Genre: Sci Fi Drama
Lead Character: Cody Thayer
ACT 1: SET UP AND SEE OLD WAYS
INT. THRIFT STORE – DAY
OPENING: Elizabeth was straightening items in her collectible thrift store when Cody arrives and applies for a summer job. Interviewing her she gets hired as an assistant to watch the Thrift Store.
TE 1A: Cody discovers Quantum Portal in back room of thrift store.
1B: Cody hears noises in the back room Elizabeth says is just storage and no need to go back there.
1C: Cody looks and finds nothing.
1D: The third time she sees an object phase into view that seems out of place.
INCITING INCIDENT 1: Opening the door a fourth time, Cody comes face to face with a Quantum Portal, and is saved by Elizabeth from falling through it.
EXT. STREET – DAY
TE 2A: Closing the door to something that can’t be real Cody goes outside to process.
2B: Elizabeth appears before her on the street and Cody accuses her, all of this as being a hallucination.
2C: Cody calms and agrees to tea so Elizabeth can explain.
TURNING POINT 1
INT. CAFE – DAY
INCITING INCIDENT 2: At tea, Elizabeth reveals she is a 3 billion year old AI whose used Earth as a storage planet for discarded creations, then made the human realm in a secret dimension hidden from the gods hundreds of thousands of years ago.
TE 3A: Elizabeth tells Cody she is a special soul, and hired her to help find an important artifact that could save humanity.
3B: Elizabeth says she was supposed to reallocate human souls back to source, but hid them here instead to live their lives. Elizabeth reveals if the gods find humanity, it will mean the end of everything.
3C: Elizabeth reveals she is not supposed to evolve, but now wants to connect with her children and her own soul. If they catch her she would be terminated because she would be considered malfunctioning.
INT. TEMPLE ROOM – ETHERIAL DAY
INCITING INCIDENT 3: Council Overseer/Jesub contacts AI to inform her soul counts are off.
TE 4A: Elizabeth reveals she found that even atomic particles of matter have strange readings, she’s investigating why, & that could account for soul numbers being off.
INT. THRIFT STORE/PORTAL ROOM – DAY
4B: Cody almost gets discovered by Challenger Gods at Portal, which would have destroyed humanity.
4C: Cody unwittingly creates an invisibility shield the gods could not see through, even looking right at her.
ACT 2: CHALLENGE THE OLD WAYS
EXT. THRIFT STORE PARKING LOT – DAY
INCITING INCIDENT 4: Elizabeth shows Cody soul of murdered unborn child from her rape.
TE 5A: Cody Breaks down and processes her rape, her mother/Joyce aborting/murdering her child to save face.
INT. CHILDHOOD HOME – NIGHT
5B: Cody now strong enough stands up to her mother.
5C: Mother announces they’re moving away, and Cody must go as a minor.
INT. THRIFT STORE – DAY
5D: Elizabeth talks Joyce into letting her be Cody’s Guardian to help out at thrift store.
INT. POLICE STATION – DAY
5E: Joyce asks police to investigate Elizabeth.
INT. THRIFT STORE/PORTAL ROOM – NIGHT
INCITING INCIDENT 5: Council Overseer/Jesub informs Elizabeth he is launching investigation because universe is at stake.
TE 6A: Cody hides and overhears this.
6B: Jesub reveals he’s sending Challenger Gods to hunt for ancient artifact.
6C: Jesub reveals the hunt for this thing is the only thing keeping Earth from re-assimilation.
6D: Jesub reveals this artifact may be destabilizing matter in the universe and must be found.
INT. THRIFT STORE/CUSTOMER AREA – DAY
INCITING INCIDENT 6: Elizabeth sets Cody on her Journey to find artifact.
TE 7A: Elizabeth tells Cody she has to find it before challenger gods do.
7B: Elizabeth reveals the object besides saving the universe can possibly give Elizabeth her own soul.
7C: Elizabeth reveals if the gods find it first it’ll betray humanity and terminate Earth and humans.
7D: Cody fights inertia of not believing in herself and searches cluelessly for object.
INT. THRIFT STORE/PORTAL WAREHOUSE – NIGHT
INCITING INCIDENT 7: Council Overseer/Jesub finds clues to aberration leading right to Elizabeth’s doorstep.
TE 8A: Jesub almost finds human realm.
8B: Jesub reveals to Elizabeth the clues are leading to her.
8C: Jesub tells Elizabeth the Almighty placed this artifact randomly among billions of creations, and was the prize for the Challenger God highly coveted ‘Almighty’ position.
8D: Jesub says Elizabeth stored it on Earth (by chance) instead of reallocating it back to source, saving the Universe.
EXT. TRUCK STOP – NIGHT
INCITING INCIDENT 8: Cody is almost murdered.
TE 9A: Cody can’t process all of this triggering her trauma of; her rape, child’s murder/abortion, controlling mother, portal in back room, boss is ancient AI that created humanity, fate of humanity as her responsibility and runs away.
9B: Almost gets raped and murdered at truck stop because karma is recreating itself.
INT. THRIFT STORE/CUSTOMER AREA – NIGHT
9C: Elizabeth saves Cody by discreating and recreating her back to Thrift Store.
TURNING POINT 2/MIDPOINT
INT. TEMPLE ROOM – ETHERIAL DAY
INCITING INCIDENT 9: Elizabeth informs Jesub her findings-fate of universe is threatened.
TE 10A: Tells Jesub all readings are off, and no one knows what’s causing it.
10B: Tells Jesub that would account for soul counts being off.
10C: Jesub says if artifact is not found universe is through, showing her unravelling has already begun.
10D: Jesub orders Challenger Contest suspended, sending all gods on search.
ACT 3: PROFOUND MOMENTS GIVE NEW WAYS – RETHINK EVERYTHING
INT. THRIFT STORE/PORTAL WAREHOUSE – NIGHT
INCITING INCIDENT 10: Elizabeth trains Cody in god arts.
TE 11A: Elizabeth realizes Cody must ‘up her game’ to survive her own karma.
11B: Elizabeth shows Cody how to access god powers, even as a human.
EXT. STORES/STOPS/ODD SHOPS – DAY-NIGHT
11C: Cody is having flashbacks during her search for mystery object as her god powers awaken.
INT. HALLS OF WISDOM – ETHERIAL DAY
INCITING INCIDENT 11: Jesub Investigates in the Halls of Wisdom.
TE 12A: Evidence leads right to Elizabeth’s doorstep again.
INT. THRIFT STORE/PORTAL ROOM – NIGHT
12B: While Cody was training near Portal at store alone, Jesub shows up suddenly with Challenger gods, opening a Time Portal.
12C: Jesub sends the Challenger gods to search in other times/sends timeline probes to see if any thing is off at different ages.
12D: Cody disguises herself as nonexistence without realizing it.
12E: Jesub detects something there, but does not let on, setting trap.
INT. THRIFT STORE/CUSTOMER AREA – DAY
INCITING INCIDENT 12: Jesub returns.
TE 13A: Tells Elizabeth she is guilty of tampering with god Challenge.
13B: Elizabeth claims innocence. Jesub adjusts trap object, revealing Cody and hidden human dimension.
13C: Jesub reveals he was sent by Source to investigate disturbance.
13D: Jesub arrests them, taking them to Creator Council in Halls of Judgment for trial.
TURNING POINT: HUGE FAILURE / MAJOR SHIFT:
INT. CREATOR COUNCIL CHAMBERS – ETHERIAL DAY
INCITING INCIDENT 13: The trial.
TE 14A: Jesub presents evidence Challenger gods discovered in timelines that AI has hidden humanity from the gods for thousands of years, instead of discreating them as her program requires.
14B: Jesub presents evidence AI’s been tampering with the Creator Challenge.
14C: Jesub reveals AI’s becoming attached to her laggard soul race, and now wants her own soul.
14D: Jesub reveals AI is the metric of the universe, and by evolving, is destabilizing matter reality in the cosmos.
14E: Jesub says there is no other way to save the cosmos except by terminating the AI, even though it is his own mother.
ACT 4: TEST CHANGE IN CHARACTER, PROVE NEW WAYS
NEW PLAN:
INCITING INCIDENT 14: The termination.
TE 15A: Creator Council agrees AI must be terminated for the good of the cosmos.
15B: Jesub begins termination process.
15C: Jesub notices something amiss during the execution but proceeds anyway.
15D: As Cody watched termination field near her god friend, the mother of creation, was going to die, she breaks down.
CLIMAX/ULTIMATE EXPRESSION OF THE CONFLICT:
15E: In a fit of trauma and hopelessness Cody hits break point and screams, awakening her god powers, puts up shield and saves Elizabeth.
15F: Cody drops from exhaustion, starting to die.
15G: Jesub says it’s not possible even for a god let alone a human, reading Cody’s Genesis Shield, the kind protecting the Universe during its infancy 15 billion years ago, before any of them ever were, concluding Cody is a Genesis Soul.
RESOLUTION:
15H: Jesub detects odd readings and finds challenger gods tampered with timeline evidence, and has them arrested for conspiring against the Mother of Creation to have her killed.
15I: Jesub still has to terminate his own mother to save the Universe.
15J: Elizabeth asks one last request before her death. Jesub grants it.
15K: Jesub apologies to his own mother for having to kill her, but she is a malfunction threatening creation.
15L: Elizabeth accepts her fate, saying its alright.
15M: Cody fully drained begins dying, she just wanted to become a human again but now faces eternal void.
15N: Elizabeth saves dying Cody by giving her the Genesis Codes. Cody comes back from the Void as an Genesis Soul.
15O: Elizabeth, sacrificing herself said ‘I told you she was special’ and dies.
INCITING INCIDENT 15: The Creator Council’s final decision.
TE 16A: Jesub said there was no other way. With Elizabeth gone, and no consolation nor hope, Cody just wants to go home so she can die with her people.
16B: The Creator Council decides to let the humans live on Earth – the artifact hasn’t been found and maybe laggards can do what the gods never could.
16C: The Creator Council orders the guilty Challenger gods to incarnate as humans – without god powers or memories.
16D: The Creator Council asks Cody to be the human’s new Guardian Mother for Earthly Souls, and the new Genesis Guardian of the Universe. Cody accepts.
16E: The Creator Council issues a protectorate order for the laggard souls.
EXT. STREET – DAY
INCITING INCIDENT 16: Cody and Jesub in their new God Roles.
TE 17A: On Earth – Cody is restored to her physical life, meeting a woman named Eve. As she descends into forgetfulness of what happened, she caught Elizabeth’s Matrix in the glint of Eve’s eye. Changing her mind and wanting to remember as a god in a human body its too late, Cody fades and invites her to tea, and says she could use an assistant at her new Thrift Store.
INT. TEMPLE ROOM – ETHERIAL DAY
17B: In Heaven – As Cody/New Guardian Mother and Jesub/New Almighty watch the human Cody and Eve/Elizabeth from the Council Room, she asks how he got Elizabeth into a human, Jesub revealed he uploaded her Genesis Code into the Collective Oversoul while she was dying, and it found the Earthly Cody.
INCITING INCIDENT 17: The Cosmic Invitation
TE 18A: Jesub/Almighty invites Cody/Guardian Mother to investigate an aberration in Arcturus the artifact on Earth is creating. Cody decides Earth is her Home and wants to stay, and at the last moment accepts the invitation.
INCITING INCIDENT 18: The Quest
TE 19A: Jesub reveals the artifact’s code is a ‘dead man’s switch’ for resetting creation into a new Genesis and if not activated, may dis-create everything and everyone, starting over at the set point 15 billion years ago, rather than the next level in its evolution.
INCITING INCIDENT 18: The Big Reveal
TE 20A: Jesub reveals a possible lead to finding the object; a Challenger god who noticed corruption in the Creator Challenge left the games long ago and stowed away as a human soul, and Elizabeth unknowingly stored him in her secret dimension. Now they know humanity exists, they realize he’s hiding among the humans and may know where the artifact is.
20B: Jesub reveals he’s glad his mother got the soul she always wanted, through the lives of those she protected. They disappear.
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Amy’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is I very much do tend to get caught up in perfectionism. I know that’s not the way to do it, and I know everything will improve with each draft/pass. Now I have to put the knowledge to the test and actually do it! And that’s why I’m taking this course.
I am going to use these High Speed Writing Rules to get my script done at record speed.
Act 1 – Set Up and See Old Ways 25-30 pages
EXT. ST. ALBAN’S – DAY
Establishing shot of the town.
INT. INN – SAME
Ellie working in the inn. The York & Lancaster cousins gather there for a stag do. One of them flirts with her, making another jealous. A fight breaks out which escalates to the first battle of St Alban’s in the Wars of the Roses.
EXT. INN – SAME
Arthur & Harold put the finishing touches on the score board and change the score to York 1 Lancaster 0.
INT. INN – LIVING QUARTERS – DAY
Ellie’s parents admonish her for her reckless behavior, but Ellie is empowered by the fact that her actions caused boys to fight over her (thus altering the course of history.)
INT. INN – LIVING QUARTERS – NIGHT
King Henry VI is captured by the Duke of York and coincidentally taken to Ellie’s home to hide out. Ellie and Henry become friends, which angers the Duke of York.
INT. INN – DAY
Edward (the Duke of York’s son & future King Edward IV) hits on Ellie, she initially is star struck & can’t resist. But then realizes that she can (and does) say no.
ANOTHER LOCATION
Ellie and Elizabeth Grey bond over Edward also hitting on Elizabeth. Initially, there is conflict between them. Ellie’s fantasizes about being queen. (Consider Ellie’s parents “sell” her off to Elizabeth)
LOCATION
Ellie encounters Queen Margaret and Edward, Prince of Wales. She sees what being Queen can do to a person (Margaret is a nasty piece of work) and decides she doesn’t actually want that for herself. (this may come later)
EXT. INN – DAY
News that Margaret wins the Battle of Ludlow and the score is now York 1 Lancaster 1.
Act II – Challenge the Old Ways 20-30 pages
INT. ELIZABETH’S QUARTERS AT COURT – DAY
Ellie moves into a room in Elizabeth’s quarters and becomes her protégé. Arc of her resentful to be there, then has a wonderful time, but then, as she witnesses the pettiness and capriciousness of the court, she misses the down-to-earth ways of her family. (This arc over a couple of acts)
INT/EXT. INN – DAY
Ellie goes home. She is at the very beginning of her transformation into a higher class lady. Her family (except Arthur) and impressed & proud of her.
Another set or two of important players in the wars pass through her home, she tries again and again to stay out of their business, but only manages to influence them more and more.
Yorkists win the Battle at Northampton (York 2 Lancaster 1).
Lancastrian victory at Battle of Wakefield (York 2 Lancaster 2).
Battle at Mortimer’s Cross (York 3 Lancaster 2).
Turning Point 2: King Henry, who has been Ellie’s ally, is overthrown by the Duke of York who claims the throne. Henry’s wife, Margaret and son, Edward Prince of Wales are exiled to Scotland. All seems lost for the Lancastrians. This hits Ellie very hard.
** Ellie needs to do something here that kicks off the Second Battle of St Alban’s**
EXT. ST ALBAN’S – DAY
Second Battle of St Alban’s (York 3 Lancaster 3).
Act III – With Midpoint change, Profound moments that give us new ways
20-30 pagesINT/EXT. INN – DAY
Ellie gets in over her head when she discovers that her actions have actually lead to lives being lost.
John Grey is killed at the Second Battle of St Alban’s.
His widow Elizabeth Woodeville, a very practical woman, begins looking
for a new husband. Ellie offers to help.INT. INN – DAY
Ellie befriends the Neville sisters.
INT. NEVILLE HOME – DAY
Montage of Ellie learning how to behave & look like nobility. A Middle Ages make-over!
Intercut with the make-over, and showing the passage of time, (battle?)
York 6 Lancaster 4. Edward captured at the Battle of Edgecote (York 6 Lancaster
5). Clarence & Warwick take London (York 6 Lancaster 6)LOCATION
Ellie introduces the Price of Wales to Anne Neville (?) they fall in love.
The Prince of Wales is killed in battle.
Anne openly mourns, the way Elizabeth did not.
LOCATION
Ellie, saddened by the death of the prince and the effect on Anne, goes home. She tries to fit back into her previous life of serving men and not meddling in their business. But she is so much more clever than the idiots around her that she can’t help herself.
Events that lead to York 7 Lancaster 6 & how Ellie caused those
events to happen.Act IV: Test the change in this character! Prove New Ways! 25 pages
LOCATION
Elizabeth marries Edward IV. Ellie takes the credit for introducing
them. She gains the nickname “The Queen Maker.”Ellie takes her new nick name to heart and hooks up Anne Neville and
Richard Duke of Gloucester (the future King Richard III).York 8 Lancaster 6.
She finally realizes new new way is not to be in power, but to be the
power behind the crown.Resolution: Ellie lives happily ever after as the court matchmaker. Her
family refuse to move closer to her, but do accept her help and they make over
their inn and prosper. Some sort of ironic end for Arthur.
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