Module 2 -Lesson 4: What’s Beneath the Surface?

[Michael Fitzer]

Mod 2 Lesson 4
Michael Fitzer’s Subtext Plot
My Vision: I am a great writer who is respected by my peers, writes scripts that sell and teaches future filmmakers how to succeed.

What I learned from this assignment is: Through creating believable subtext, characters I may have considered minor in my first exploration of them can grow and reveal themselves as essential to the overall plot / theme. This gives the script extra weight and worth.

CONCEPT: A modern-day vampire gets himself purposely sentenced to an underground maximum-security prison so he can feed on the endless supply of fellow inmates, forcing rival gangs, and a small band of prison guards to work together to defeat him.

I know the assignment was for two subplots, but I have three right now.

SUBTEXT PLOT 1: Scheme and Investigation:
– Damon, the vampire, is scheming to feed (maybe create a new army of vampires… but I’m not sure if that is a good direction to take this).
– Mendoza (prison guard) is investigating her suspicions that Damon is a Vampire.
– Rival Gangs are scheming against one another but must ultimately fight for one another against the greater threat.
– Asst. Warden Hemenez schemed to get Damon into the underground facility. He is Damon’s “Familiar.”

SUBTEXT PLOT 2: Someone Hides Who They Are:
– Damon Hides that he is a vampire (for a while at least)
– A.W. Hemenez hides that he is a “Familiar”

SUBTEXT PLOT 3: A Major Cover-Up:
– A.W. Hemenez’s plan to expand the hotly debated underground prison is really a cover-up just to provide his master with an endless supply of food.
– Still exploring if another cover-up could be to create an army of vampires but I’m not sure about this direction just yet.

• This reply was modified 1 year ago by  Michael Fitzer.

[Carole Avila]

Carole Avila – Subtext Plot
My vision for this program is to learn how to create a high-concept screen play and see it through to its success.
What I learned from doing this assignment is how to breakdown my story into subtext plots.

My concept and my choice of three Subtext Plots:
1. Someone Hides Who They Are – Mandy is from the future and can’t tell anyone the truth.
2. The Fish Out of Water – Mandy assumes the body of Carmena. Mandy is irresponsible and immature, but Carmena is a hardworking, hyper-responsible ranch owner.
3. A Major Cover Up – Mandy, as Carmena, has no idea her ranch employees are stealing guns from the U. S. Army.

This is how my Subtext Plot will play out inside this story:
Carlos, the ranch manager, suspects that Carmena is different, but she won’t admit that she’s really Mandy from the future. He keeps an extra good eye on her and confronts her when anything seems off kilter. Mandy, as Carmena, learns to put the ranch and its employees first. When she learns that her ranch employees are stealing weapons from the U. S. Army, she plans an investment strategy with her lawyer based on her knowledge of the future. Her time travel device is stolen by a renegade Mexican dictator, and the only way to get it back is to give him guns, but doing so might change the course of American history.

[Susan]

My Vision: I am an amazing writer who has fun every day, is recognized by the industry for my ability to take audiences who love me through surprising experiences, and who has multiple successful movies produced while being highly paid.

“What I learned from doing this assignment is…?”

This assignment not only helped me with subtext, but also getting clearer about conflicts in the story.

Start this assignment by empowering yourself using our State-To-Activity empowerment process.

• State: I absolutely love…

• Activity: …creating the story beneath the surface!

DONE!

Tell us your concept and your choice of one or two of these Subtext Plots.

Give us a few sentences on how your Subtext Plot will play out inside this story.

Someone Hides Who They Are:

Many characters begin by hiding who they are: BRENDI, her Trapeze partner Filipp, Chaz, and Hadeon, the Monstr (who is hiding until the end).

Superior Position:

Hadeon, the Monstr knows what is happening and to differing degrees the other characters and even the audience (up until a point) doesn’t know what he is up to.

Competitive Agendas:

BRENDI has an opposing agenda to Filipp who wants to destroy Russia out of vengeance, she also has an opposing agenda to Chaz who is run by the Americans (who want to help Ukraine), to her superiors who don’t want her to keep Filipp alive, and to Hadeon who wants to destroy Russia completely.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by  Susan McClaryu. Reason: formatting