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Post Your Lesson 6 Assignment here
Post Your Lesson 6 Assignment here
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7 Replies
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Margaret’s Action Structure!
What I learned doing this assignment:
Concept: A Roman soldier betrays his mission, squad, and family risking his life to save a band of
OPENING
Four-year-old Marcus is taught fighting skills by his uncle, Coroticus, a Roman Soldier. At 18, Marcus enters the Roman army and joins his uncle’s unit, where he has to prove his skills.
THE INCITING INCIDENT
The unit’s mission to kill/capture Irish Christians prompts a letter from St. Patrick. Marcus realizes killing Christians is wrong and confronts his uncle.
FIRST TURNING POINT AT THE END OF ACT 1
Marcus defies his uncle and takes off after the captured Christians to free them from the Picts.
MIDPOINT
Marcus defeats the Picts and agrees to take the Christians back to their land.
SECOND TURNING POINT AT THE END OF ACT 2
Coroticus and his unit overtake and capture Marcus and the Christians.
CRISIS
Marcus is confronted by Coroticus and is given the choice of rejoining the squad or death by stoning.
CLIMAX
Marcus and the band of Christians are stoned by the squad.
RESOLUTION
Coroticus realizes Marcus was right, but refuses to concede and leaves with his unit to continue the mission. Marcus stirs from the stone pile after they leave, alive to continue the fight.
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I learned to organize my basic action scene into the 3 act structure. Being sure that this is easy to understand is critical in making a story that is easy to follow and doable in a Hollywood studio.
Opening: Jun is in full battle armor combat. Turns out he is fighting his girlfriend who is a little better than him. He is just training for class.
Inciting Incident: Jun accepts a job breaking in and hacking a server for a friend because he is in need of some money for a “serious problem”.
First Turning Point at end of Act 1: Sen has trapped Jun in a building. Jun must fight to survive
Mid-Point: devices a plan to escape with friends help
Second Turning Point at end of Act 2: They are caught, kills friend.
Crisis: Jun is now being interrogated/tortured because he has the secret to unlock the drive he stole
Climax: When all hope is lost, there is a last min rescue from other friends. The final combat between Sen and Jun.
Resolution: The contents of the drive are revealed and it is more valuable than money, but a cure.
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What I learned doing this assignment is…. That the structure puts everything into “action” from beginning to end. You can see the villain’s plan and the hero reply.
Opening — Female villain (ex-wife) sends a drug dealer to small town. Cop Male Hero (ex-husband) kills drug dealer with his sniper rifle skill. Who is the dealer and why come to the small town?
Inciting Incident — The Hero’s one twin daughter is kidnapped.
First Turning Point at end of Act 1 — Female villain says she will return their daughter if Hero intercepts contra-band drop for her. He has 48 hours.
Mid-Point — Hero looks for contra-band drop and uses his rifle skills to take out drug dealers. He cannot find contra-band and discovers there is no drop. He faces more drug dealers as time runs out.
Second Turning Point at end of Act 2 — Villain uses her own rifle mastery to kill hero. He supposedly dies and will not get his daughter back.
Crisis — Villain left a message on Hero’s iPhone. She actually returned to kill him…, and to take back their daughter. The Hero lives and wants revenge on his ex-wife and to retrieve his daughter.
Climax — Hero finds ex-wife’s old dealer and sets up a fake contra-band drop. She returns to small town with an army of drug dealers. She discovers her ex-husband is still alive. They both use rifles against each other.
Resolution — Hero kills villain and gets back his daughter.
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This reply was modified 4 years, 1 month ago by Roscoe Pond.
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This reply was modified 4 years, 1 month ago by
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ASSIGNMENT 6: ACTION CLASS
Subject line: Alfred Dunham’s Action Structure!
What I learned from this assignment is:
I went back over what I’ve learned about Genre, Plot, Theme, and Character, over time, and to be specific, I learned what the expected Action Story form should be:
1. The Main Character should reflect a steadfast, as opposed to a change, character. His/her growth should be understood more in terms of understanding than actual change. If he/she retains his/her essential nature, he/she is said to be steadfast.
2. He/She should stop doing something that has been injurious to him/her. [I watched the Bourne Ultimatum and in that film, he “stopped” running. I see Ira, in this script, doing much the same.
3. His/Her approach to life should be as a Do-er, as opposed to being a Be-er
4. He/She should have a Linear approach to problem solving, though clearly, the Matrix is Holistic, which would appear to be saying, rules are made to be broken.
5. Etc.
1. Create the 3-ACT Structure for your story.
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TITLE: (Ira vs Nathan) NONE, YET
ACT I
OPENING (STATUS QUO)
· A lead character in an action scene.
· A challenging situation that creates conflict.
· Gives us an insight into the character.
· Opens a question that is key to the story.
· Question: What is the Matrix? What is reality?
· Question: Who am I?
HANGING TEN
The story opens with Main Character, Ira Johnson, doing some risky but skillfully executed moves at the end of a rope, over the face of a 3,000-feet granite rock in the Sierra Nevada.
ü Demonstrates part of his skill set in an action scene as a mountain climber.
ü Answers a part of the question of Who Am I?
TEACHING
The story continues in his classroom, teaching high school Biology. Students bombard him with questions as he deftly answers them with demonstrate
ü Continues to demonstrate another part of his skill set as a science teacher.
ü Answers a second part of the question of Who Am I?
IN THE LAB
Ira extracts DNA as he works on a project and discusses it with his wife, Nyla.
ü Adds yet another dimension to his skill set as a researcher.
ü He and his wife discuss old wounds and the man who cost him his doctoral degree,
ü Dr. Nathan Trammel
THE VISITATION; THE INVITATION; COERSION; AND THE BIG THREAT
University President-become-cult leader, Dr. Nathan Trammel, hears about Ira undermining his pronouncements science and race, so he visits Ira and seeks to silence him with “gifts.”
Ira refuses on the grounds that it is both immoral and unethical, as well as unscientific.
Nathan threatens, but Ira remains firm with a counter threat.
Nathan flips out and promises bodily harm to Ira AND Nyla if Ira doesn’t accept his conditions.
ü Nathan is lying about science in order to drive a pseudo-religious cult with delusions of world domination, but
ü He has a history that once involved Ira, and he knows that Ira can hurt him big time and must be stopped at all costs.
ü Ira openly confronts Nathan, reminds him of how he was cheated out of his doctorate.
ü Nathan, in a rage, lunges for Ira, but his Security Chief, Brad
ü And Ira believes he would not hesitate to kill him and his wife, if necessary
INCITING INCIDENT (STORY DRIVER)
“What incident is strong enough to send the Hero on the journey?”
PREPARING FOR THE COMING STORM
Ira and Nyla begin a mad race to move sensitive materials and items into safe places
ü We are led to understand just how seriously the Johnson’s understand Nathan’s threats to be.
FIRST TURNING POINT AT THE END OF ACT I (ACT I MAJOR TWIST) POINT OF NO RETURN
Nathan sends his goon-squad kidnap Ira and Nyla
ü Ira and Nyla escape through a back room, via a tunnel, to a shed behind the house.
ü Nathan’s goon-squad hear a motorcycle leaving, into the hills, and the chase is on.
ACT I set up of first adrenaline rush, threats and actions demanding return actions, Ira’s mission to take down Nathan with every justification to do so, and mere threats have already escalated into a high-stakes, high-speed, chase into the mountains.
ACT IIA
The Hero must confront the main conflict of this story.
ESCAPE INTO HIDING
HIDING OUT/SEARCHING OUT A PLAN
TOUCHING COUP
Ira makes a breathtaking — and dangerous – visit to Nathan on his own ground.
Nathan is both angered and terrified.
Nathan orders his hit men to follow Ira and stop him once and for all.
ESCAPING BACK INTO HIDING
Ira leads them on a merry chase, thoroughly confusing them before vanishing.
MIDPOINT (MIDPOINT TWIST)
Outside Nathan’s office, Ira pops in out of nowhere and pipe-darts is security team, one-by-one with a fast-acting tranquilizer.
Ira leaves a note on Nathan’s door, demanding he call of his “dogs” before someone get hurt.
ACT IIB
· Journey the same: Neo is still working with the team, fighting the Matrix.
· Meaning has changed: He no longer believes he is The One.
· Journey the same: Jason is still on the run.
· Meaning has changed: Marie has joined him as a partner.
BREAKTHROUGH
COUNTING COUP
SECOND TURNING POINT AT THE END OF ACT II (ACTIIB MAJOR TWIST)
ACT III
If you can build in an emotional dilemma where the Hero must make a very tough decision — often where he or she loses something either way — then readers and audiences will be deeply engaged in the character’s 3rd Act experience.
This is the toughest decision of their lives. They are being forced to make a huge choice — usually between their goal and their need.
Sometimes, the decision will complete the Hero’s character arc. In others, it will send them in the opposite direction, allowing them to discover who they really are in the Climax.
CHRISIS/DILEMMA
CLIMAX
The entire movie has been building to this final conflict. This is the biggest expression of the conflict of this movie. The Hero and Villain come face to face for the showdown. And there will be only one winner.
RESOLUTION (DENEUMENT)
After all of this conflict, we finally come to the end of the journey. The resolution gives us an answer to the question that the Inciting Incident asked. It tells us how this conflict has finally been resolved.
NEW STATUS QUO (EPILOGUE?)
Working time shortened from 4 days to 2 days. Unable to do as much as I would have liked to have done.
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Nancy’s Action Structure
Lesson #6
What I learned: Since my story is an action/drama, I needed to go back to my original draft and tease out more punch from the action already created, and more drama from the main characters.
Opening:
Reina, 23-year-old law student throws darts in a pub, landing a bulls eye one after the other, pull back and reveal that two other students stand, flanking the bulls eye inches away, in participation of a drunken bar bet. Reina collects her winnings, stumbles out of the bar where she’s chased down by a street gang. With quick moves, she avoids a wielded knife and easily outruns them to safety.
Question: Who is Reina and why does she have these special skills?
Inciting Incident:
Reina’s sister, Isa, convinces her to return to her family home to help her save their family’s wine vineyard from bankruptcy, a cover for the true business that is failing – an assassin business.
First Turning Point in Act 1:
A shootout erupts at the family home, as bullets fly Reina shockingly discovers that she’s the legacy to a family assassin business and now she must train to kill in order to save it, and her family.
Midpoint:
Reluctant and ill prepared, Reina goes undercover as an au pair for the daughter of her target, Noah, that she’s been tasked to kill… a mission set forth by the head of the French mafia. Completing the hit is the only way she can set the family free.
Second Turning Point at the end of Act 2:
After discovering the truth that her target is innocent, Reina and Noah have to fight for their lives when a bounty is placed on Noah’s head, and she changes her mission to save him and his daughter. Not only has she failed to save her family, she now has to save the man she loves.
Crisis:
Does Reina complete the kill to save her family, or turn her back on her sick sister and their legacy to protect the man she is supposed to kill? Not only does she decide to save him, she convinces her sister Isa to join her to track down the villain and call off the bounty.
Climax:
Reina and Isa work together to kill the head of the French mob, sending him on an escape that ultimately leads to an accident and his fiery death.
Resolution:
Noah is innocent and the villain has been eliminated, but his son is out for revenge… Isa will make one final kill to save her sister and Noah before she goes into hiding and gives Reina one last choice – be free and pursue your dreams of being “normal” or follow a new lead to seek revenge for the death of her parents.
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Bob DeCarli’s Action Structure
What I Learned: Made some new discoveries, and did so by allowing myself to fill in these blanks knowing that I would be able to elevate some or all of them in the future.
Opening: HERO in heated battle, killing bad guys left and right. He succeeds it catching his main target, but in doing so, causes the death of a Young Child.
Inciting Incident:
Hero is thrown back into the past after he kills Henchman #1 in self-defense.
Act 1 Turning Point:
Major terror attack. Thousands dead. Hero commits to traveling back to the past to prevent it.
Mid-Point: Mother of Young Boy killed in the terrorist attack approaches Hero, urges him to kill her so he can travel back in the past to save her son. Previously revealed she’s the Villain’s personal assistant, she explains how the device works: a death at the hands of the user necessary to travel back in time. She tricks Hero into killing her.
Act 2 Turning Point: Hero returns to an Altered Present where the Villain has achieved his goal of decimating humanity’s population.
Crisis: After obtaining the Device and confronting the Villain, the Hero declines the opportunity to live in the Altered Present, and kills himself in order to travel back in time to undo the Villain’s actions.
Climax: Bigger battle because in this reality, ALL of the Villain’s Henchmen who had previously died are here. Mother of killed Young Boy appears, acts like she’s going to help Hero, then SHE tries to kill him as well. But Hero succeeds in preventing the killing of the Villain’s co-founder, which was the change that enabled the Altered Present.
Resolution: Everything back to an Improved Normal. No Villain. Co-Founder went on to achieve everything the Villain did (think Steve Wozniak having led Apple instead of Steve Jobs). Even the child Hero accidentally killed at the begin alive in the Improved Normal. Ends with Hero destroying the Device.
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<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Madeleine’s Action Structure!
What I learned doing this assignment is filling in the blanks then coming back to it for tweaks works. Still don’t have all the blanks filled out, but it’s coming along. Yay!
The 3-Act structure for my story
Opening:
Inciting Incident:
FBI AGENT sits in the confessional about to confess her sins when she hears a disturbance outside among the penitents. She peeks out the door and sees uniformed, armed men herding the penitents, including her son, into a controllable location. Something is terribly wrong.
Question: Who are these soldiers? What do they want? Is my son in danger?
Using her mobile phone, the FBI Agent contacts the U. S. Embassy, where she is a legal attaché, advises them the Basilica has been taken over by armed men, and requests they notify the Italian Police and Vatican City of the situation.
First Turning Point at end of Act 1 and First Action:
The mercenaries see the FBI Agent and Priest moving in the Basilica via a drone camera.
The mercenary leader sends two of his soldiers to round them up.
The FBI Agent takes out the two mercenaries, one at a time.
The Priest collects their arms and backpacks. This is caught on camera by the drone. The lead mercenary calls back the drone and add a weapon to it.
The Priest and the FBI Agent discover three mercenaries working to free the Sacred Chalice, on loan from the Valencia Cathedral. This is not just a hostage situation. It’s also a heist.
The FBI Agent conveys this new knowledge to the U. S. Embassy, who conveys it to the Italian Police and Vatican City.
Mid-Point:
The Italian Police show up at the Basilica. The lead mercenary demands safe passage out of Italy in exchange for the Basilica and the hostages.
A second group of Italian Police attempt to access the Basilica through a secret tunnel, the same tunnel by which the mercenaries made entrance. The mercenaries fire on them and push them back.
The drone is searching for the FBI Agent and the Priest.
The press starts reporting on the hostage situation. This feed is available to both the mercenaries and the FBI Agent.
Second Turning Point at end of Act 2:
Just as the FBI Agent and the Priest realize they’re on their own fighting the bad guys, the weaponized drone finds the Priest and the FBI Agent and
fires on them. They’re like sitting ducks. The FBI Agent is hit in the left shoulder. The FBI Agent shoots down the drone.
The mercenaries working on the Sacred Chalice exhibit finaly free it. The lead mercenary comes running. Just as he arrives on the scene, the chalice descends down a deep shaft into a cement vault. A bullet proof metal cover closes over the shaft. The villain did not have this in his playbook. It’s a setback for the villain.
But then they find out from the outside media that one of the hostages is the daughter of a San Francisco billionaire. New game plan. All they have to do is find out which of their hostages is the billionaire’s daughter.
The mercenaries, armed with an old photo of the billionaire’s daughter, start examining
hostages to find the right woman. The priest identifies the billionaire’s daughter first because he knows who she is. She’s a regular at the Basilica.
Based on information from the priest and conveyed by the FBI Agent to the Italian Police over her cell phone, the Italian Police will enter the Basilica by another, little-used tunnel.
The FBI Agent substitutes herself for the Billionaire’s daughter. The priest spirits the real
billionaire’s daughter toward the hidden tunnel through which the Italian Police plan to enter.
Crisis:
The FBI Agent’s son sees his mother and calls out, “Mom.” The lead mercenary seizes
him and holds him hostage. He forces the kid to run up the stairs to the cupola. The FBI Agent gives chase.
Climax:
The Italian Police invade the Basilica. Led by the priest, they quickly take out the
remaining mercenaries. Only the leader is left. They head up the stairs after him.
At the top of the cupola, the mercenary leader pulls out his gun to shoot the FBI Agent, but his gun jams.
The FBI agent rushes toward him. They struggle. She frees her son from the mercenary’s grip.
The Italian Police arrive. They shoot him. The force of the attack throws him over the balcony.
Resolution:
Hostages are freed. FBI Agent and son leave together. The Priest watches them go.
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