Week 2 Day 1: Character Intros That Sell Actors — LOST intro of Jack.

[Anna Burroughs-Merrill]

Basic scene components —

Scene arc: Jack moves from being wounded and confused, to administering aid, to taking charge.

Situation: their plane has crashed and there are survivors.

Conflict: confused, wounded people are milling about a plane wreck that could explode at any moment.

Moving the story forward: when seconds count, help is hours away.

Entertainment value: who doesn’t love a good disaster flick?

Setups/payoffs: lots of setups, not just for Jack’s character, but also other characters that we will get to know later by their reactions. We see he knows how to administer first aid (later we learn he’s a surgeon).

What makes this scene great? We are as confused as Jack is, and we see him shine.

How is this lead character introduced, and who they are introduced to us as? Its readily obvious that Jack wants to help people, and is a natural leader.

What makes him special or unique? He’s a natural leader who is able to organize other people to help.

Interesting dialogue. Exchanges are quick and terse as would be expected to save lives in a disaster situation.

How are their actions different than everyone else? While everybody else is milling about, Jack quickly organizes the other passengers to help one another in a meaningful way.

Rethink your own character’s introductions: the first scene introduces the villain, the ticking clock, and the villain’s plan through the eyes of a minor character who will be the “witness” to ultimate evil. This introduction to Lost, the chaos, and the main scene-POV character not really understanding what is going on, but revealing the characters of not just herself, but the villain and the various minions that the central hero will be battling, is really helpful to just throw her INTO the chaos and not feel a need to explain it.

[Vincent Ovalle]

Reply to Week 2 Day 1: Character Intros That Sell Actors — LOST intro of Jack.

We first see the lead on the scene hurt and confused without a idea what happened, but he continued to move with purpose. As the the view expanded we started to get the picture it was a plane crash. Some dead and many injured the lead ignored their screams for help along with warnings to don’t proceed any further. The lead without any concern for his well being moved closer to ground zero of the crash to help a man pinned down by one of the plane’s wheel. A frantic yell for help was heard in the background he immediately rushed to the woman’s side to learn she was in contractions .He showed medical training and leadership skills by delegating Her situation to someone else, and command a course of action in case the contraction were more than three minutes apart.Focused on the man trapped under the wheel .As he arrived he noticed one of the plane engine was running at full blast. As he was about to make a decision another man was pulled in by the powerful wind tunnel of the engine to produce a spectacular explosion.As everyone ducked for cover from the falling balls of fire the lead was asked what’s your name? Then we learned his name is Jack.

This scene was great because it introduced the lucky lead character in the mist of crisis. That characterized the lead under pressure so we get a sense of who he is.While hurt he ignored his condition for the greater good to help the others. It showed him as a cool character able to take command of others in time of crisis. He demonstrate his first aid training and leadership by delagating and recruiting others in the rescues. To end with a memorable line of dialogue when asked what’s his name in middle of a explosion .We learn it’s Jack.

[Renee Miller]

The nonstop action from the opening moment of the scene immediately draws the audience into the story. Right off the bat, we see Jack with cuts and wounds and hear the others screaming off-camera.

You don’t immediately know Jack is a doctor, but you do know that he is a man of action. He jumps into the fray without a second thought and without fear to help the other passengers. Through his actions, we see he has some medical knowledge (using his tie as a tourniquet) and is a leader.

In this brief moment in the story, he is the only one accessing the situation from a doctor’s perspective. We know that through the rest of the show, Jack will think of others before himself, will become a leader, and is a man of action, regardless of his own injuries and any threat to his own life.

[Anis Taylor]

Jack enters the scene in shock. He absorbs his entire environment, and then jumps into action. As someone who has never watched, Lost, I can tell you that from Jacks intro he is a leader, must have medical experience, and is determined to save lives. In a dire situation like a plane crash there will be watchers and doers, and many who will die. Jack is one that will do what he can to help.

Watching this scene gave me good insight in how I can introduce my character by showing not telling.

[Rice Rice]

LOST demonstrates that depicting how the protagonist reacts when thrust in the midst of chaos, destruction and death is a great way to introduce him.

With limited dialogue, the focus is on his actions that reveal his leadership ability, occupation and compassion.

Contrasted sharply are the opposite characteristics of the other passengers. Their weakness and indecision, as the extent of the tragedy unfolds, amplify his value to the survivors as a doctor who remains calm and decisive, qualities that save lives.

While re-thinking my Character Intro scene, I saw that I needed to cut out the boring scene descriptions and thrust my protagonist into a situation where she had to fight the antagonist to save her life and that of her team members, page one.

[Susan Willard]

Objective: Create Character Introductions that attract actors and engage audiences in the character.

Insights into the – LOST – Intro Jack Character Scene

Basic scene components:

• The scene arc start slow, just as the character is moving slowly, trying to figure out what is going on. The scene arc moves to a more active scene as Jack moves to see things more clearly. We see the scene as if in the mental situation of:

 Beginning with a point of view of shock – action moving slowly.

 Gaining understanding – action and sound coming into focus.

 Realizing what he can do to help people – Action focuses longer on severely hurt people who need the most help, while the camera, and Jack’s attention, moves swiftly by stabilized people or don’t need help.

 Being in control of his ability to help others – Camera action moves, as Jack moves toward the people most severely hurt. The camera sees exactly what Jack sees – Jack’s POV – until he gets to the person he can help.

 Helping others to the best of his ability, as he also helps others help the hurt, real-time communication with people, and they know his name so they can recognize him for more help – Clear, real-time action, reactions, and sound.

• The audience is immediately in the same situation as a passenger, Jack, involved in a plane wreck on the beach. The scene tracks the actions of the main character, Jack.

• The audience see the conflict viewed from Jack’s point of view of the plane wreck, what people are doing and what he should be doing. Life or Death.

• The action and dialogue move forward as Jack moves forward. He is the driving force for the scene.

• The entertainment value starts immediately because everyone wonders what is going on, what will happen in the terribly dangerous situation, the people and especially with Jack. We will watch to see what happens next.

• Setup: Jack starts out wandering around on the beach, we know nothing about him or the situation.

 Payoff: At the end of the scene, we know Jack has been involved in a passenger plane wreck on a shoreline. It has just happened, and Jack is a medical doctor who helps hurt people at the wreck site.

• Setup: A man trapped under the wheels of a huge plane engine that’s running – soon to fall on the man.

 Payoff: Jack gets assistance, pulls the man to safety, stops the leg from bleeding and gets assistance to move the man to safety.

• Setup: A lady is in birth pains, near the running plane engine, and asking for help.

 Payoff: Jack evaluates her situation, tells her to breathe slowly, she will be fine, and finds someone to assist her away from danger, until she is ready to have her baby, then he will come to deliver the baby.

• Setup: A man wandering closely to the running engine.

 Payoff: Another man wanders to close to the running engine; the engine pulls him inside and explodes.

Character Enhancements:

• Challenging situation: A just-happened plane wreck on a beach shoreline.

• Unique actions:

 Passenger plane engine scene background, at a beach shore wreck site with all types of survivors helping others, yelling, running, dazed and more.

 Jack saving a man trapped under the running engine, stopping the bleeding stopped, and having the patient moved to safety.

 A pregnant surviving plane wreck passenger going into labor: Jack evaluated, calmed, ensured her safety, and will be there if the baby is ready for birth.

• Interesting dialogue:

 “Help, somebody help me!” yelled by the man under the landing gear.

 “Help, somebody help me!” yelled by the woman in labor.

 “Hey, what’s your name?” yelled by the man attending to the pregnant woman.

• Deliver character: The characteristic attributes as the background situation forcing him to act and talk in true to his character. The audience see that he is an educated medical man, who is decisive in a time of crisis, caring, thoughtful, dependable, clear, and precise in dialogue, quick to act, and continues to work to help others if he as needed.

Additional Scene Insights:

• The specific and detailed crisis, main character, character dialogue, and action working together make this scene a great character introduction scene.

• The lead character is the main subject from the first moment of the scene to the last.

• The act of going from a plane crash victim to an active triage doctor on scene is what makes him a special, unique character in this scene.

• Jack’s dialogue is interesting because he takes over the situation of giving the crash victims triage help immediately, without introduction, commanding, precise and with follow-up to secure the safety of the person as well.

• Jack’s actions are different from other wreck victims because he is evaluating everyone, prioritizing the critical ones, working quickly, and continuing to work if he sees people that need his type of help.

[Courtney Hill]

What I think makes this great and is how much we “see” of Jack versus who we are “told” Jack is. You see Jack dive right into action in this scene. We don’t hear other characters talking about him or even hear him talking about himself. He jumps right into helping people, leading people, and finding solutions.

[Randy Hines]

Other than the overused name of “Jack” for a character, I can see any actor being attracted to the elements of the scene. It’s a hero thing. a deeply harrowing situation of literally life and death and our hero makes the most of literally saving people’s lives in the process. Tension is off the charts with the live engine still whirring, the payoff being someone sucked into it later and the engine exploding, a pregnant woman thrown into labor by the crash, the teamwork of pulling the pinned man from under the wreckage, Jack has medical trauma skills. We’re introduced to major characters though we don’t know them but we know their immediate drama and immediately care about their predicament and how Jack guides them through it.It’s very easy to have resonance with the scene, placing ourselves there and almost feeling what it would be like. All dialogue is specific to the moment with no extraneous and yet little bits of character are revealed as we go from person to person…certainly in the case of Jack.

[jay miracle]

he shorthand of in intense life-or-death situation, where the lead character can emerge from injury and confusion and take control. It’s a great intro with spare dialogue but tons of action. I’ve reviewed my opening and am minimizing some of the dialogue to strengthen my lead character and promote his vulnerability to the audience. It will help create further empathy with the audience.

[Zev Ledman]

The scene opens up with Jack, dazed and confused, trying to access what’s going on amid a crazy, noisy environment. He comes out from behind the bushes to investigate and is overwhelmed by the sight of the crashed plane and numerous passengers who have been injured and are in shock. He gets hold of himself to access the situation and begins directing people to assist him in helping the injured. It’s apparent he has medical training and has been in some type of leadership position in that he takes total control of the situation. The character is all the more interesting as he just seems like a normal person. Then, we see him become the hero. The scene uses several interest techniques to elevate the scene. We see a totally destroyed plane, but an engine is still operating. Later, we see an individual get sucked into that engine, causing it to explode.

[Mary Emmick]

The scene opens on a beach shore after a plane has crashed. We see and hear the plane wreckage, injured people dazed and moaning for help, and chaos. A man in a suit and tie hears someone yelling for help. The man is pinned underneath the wheels of the plane. We see the man in the suit enlist help for him and they pull him out to safety. Meanwhile, a man wandering close to the plane is pulled into the running engine and it explodes. A woman yells and the man in the suit discovers she is in labor. He gets another survivor to watch the woman and call for him when her contractions are three minutes apart. This survivor asks what his name is? He replies “Jack.” We assume now that Jack must have medical knowledge and may be a doctor. The opening scene creates dramatic tension, and we want to continue watching the film to find out who he is and what happens next.

In my opening scene of my mystery/thriller I will throw the character into chaos right from the start revealing the danger she is in and how she shows her character in the midst of a dangerous attempt on her life. Show, don’t tell in my opening scene. There needs to be more of her character revealed in my opening scene… as it is now, there is an attempt on her life, but she drives away unscathed…I think too passive an opening scene.