Brendan Williams
Forum Replies Created
-
Brendan Willliams’s Talent
In this assignment, I learned to figure out what makes a good character for people to tune into. Also, started looking into who I would want to host or be a panel judge on the show. I like the idea of a comedian hosting the show and moving things along with humor and then popular cooks from youtube being the judges. That would appeal to a younger fan base.
Assignment #1
MARIE KONDO in Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.
Diversity: 5.
Technical Ability: 4.
Watchability: 5.
Relatability: 3.
Likability: 5.
JOSH GATES in Expedition Unknown.
Diversity: 1.
Technical Ability: 3.
Watchability: 4.
Relatability: 5.
Likability: 4.
The Cast of Vanderpump Rules.
Diversity: 2.
Technical Ability: 2.
Watchability: 2.
Relatability: 2.
Likability: 1.
Assignment #2
Talent #1: Tatyana Nesteruk. (Youtube influencer, cookbook author, and blogger).
Diversity: 4.
Technical Ability: 5.
Watchability: 4.
Relatability: 5.
Likeability: 5.
Talent #2: Hazel Calderon (Stand up comedian/ Actress).
Diversity: 5.
Technical Ability: 3.
Watchability: 5.
Relatability: 3.
Likability: 5.
-
Brendan’s Budget Considerations –
In this assignment, I learned how to start thinking in terms of cost if I ever meet with a producer and they’re trying to figure out how much the stuff will cost. I’m thinking of this show being a Medium Cost Reality Show.
Assignment #1 –
High Cost Reality Show: The Pack.
List of considerations affecting the budget are: Talent, catering, music, cameras, location feeds, shoot days, casting of both people and animals, lodging, shooting permits, ground transportation. And lodging.
Medium Cost Reality Show: Haute Dog.
List of considerations affecting the budget are: Shoot days, producers, catering, talent, music, cameras, graphics, Covid19 testing, and the casting of people, judges, and the animals.
Low Cost Reality Show: House Hunters.
List of considerations affecting the budget are: Shoot days, cameras, air transportation, lodging, catering, producers, graphics, music, and casting of the people looking for houses.
Assignment #2
Show: World Cuisine Cook Off.
Prep Days: The prep days consist of finding restaurants or going through the submitted applications and trying to pair up the best restaurants to compete against each other. Also, reaching out to the charities they’re playing for and getting a taped segment of the charities talking about what they could do with the prize money. Also, packing up the kitchen set with ingredients that would make it possible for each team to make a variety of dishes.
Shoot Days: Each episode is filmed in a single day. Each challenge is about an hour, but we only see a small tiny portion of them cooking in each episode.
Location Fees: The entire show is filmed in a sound stage with a fake kitchen and dinning area. The only off location shoots would be visiting the charities and perhaps getting shots of the restaurants that the contestants work at.
Cameras: The show uses multiple cameras to shoot at different angels. Some cameras are on tripods and others are handheld that the cameramen will use to shoot down at the contestants cooking.
Air Transportation: The show will be willing to pay for contestants to fly out to the soundstage and participate in the competition. Each team has four members.
Lodging: The contestants are put in hotels.
Talent: The talent are the cooks, however they need to be able to have a personality, confidence, and fun to watch on television. They could be super funny or have some kind of story that makes people emotional, but these cooks need to make the audience feel something. The casting director will be part of finding the right talent and chefs to take part in the game.
Catering: There will be breakfast and lunch and dinner probably made for the cast and crew during the shooting days.
Producers: The producers will be producing the show and there are multiple producers overseeing different aspects of the show.
Graphics: There will be a title card with the name of the show. Also, during the episode, we see names of the cooks and what restaurant and city they work at.
Music: The music will be typical competition background music. No specific songs will be played just suspenseful cooking music will be played during the challenge.
Casting: The casting director will be in charged of finding the talent to participate in the show.
Covid19 Testing: If we are still in a pandemic when this show is being made, the cooks, judges, and crew will be tested. Also, the kitchen will be built to allow social distancing.
Ground Transportation: The transportation will be escorting the contestants to the hotel and back.
Shooting Permits: The only shooting permit is to shoot at a soundstage.
-
Brendan’s Sizzle Reel Assignment
In this assignment, I learned that I can’t handle looking at disgusting feet’s. No joke!! Anyway I learned to start developing a kind of language for the show by writing a rough draft of the sizzle reel script. Focusing on how food brings us together and the show focuses on raising money for charity.
Brendan Williams Crafting A Sizzle Reel
Basic Questions –
Who is the host and what is the name of the show? The host would be a stand up comedian with a knowledge in food criticism. They understand the process of cooking and are able to talk in food language with the contestants. The name of the show is World Cuisine Cook Off.
What’s the tone; what makes it special? The tone of the show is that it’s a fast paced cooking competition show. It moves along quickly as each episode is a half-hour. What makes this special is that the show is thrilling and suspenseful as the viewers are on the edge of their seat rooting for the cooks to finish their dishes on time. We see the mistakes they make under pressie such as burning the food, not having certain ingredients, and we see how they try to overcome those obstacles.
Is this a reboot, an original series, or based off a book? This is an original series.
Why now? People love cooking shows and with Covid19, more people are learning to cook at home, so this show will inspire them to come up with fusion cuisine dishes on their own. Also, the show raises money for important charities that deal with everyday issues in this current time.
What’s the subject of the show or what kinds of stories does it tell? The subject of the show is “Cooking” and it focuses on various kinds of restaurants pairing up against each other to win money for charity and try to be creative under pressure.
How does it lend itself to a long-running series? Cooking competition shows can always run for many seasons because food related shows are extremely popular and also there’s never a shortage of cooks and restaurants that can be possible contestants.
In conclusion, why now and what’s it called? In today’s world, World Cuisine Cook Cook Off would be a perfect time to be on the air because it celebrates diversity and dives into cooking styles from other countries. With so much divide in the world, it’s always been food that brought us together with a common ground. This show celebrates diversity, immigrants, and how they present themselves to the world through their food and cooking.
ROUGH SIZZLE REEL SCRIPT –
Voice-Over: In a world with so much divide between different countries, it’s always been food that brought us together and show us we can still have common grounds.
(Show pictures of various dishes from different cuisines).
Voice-Over: Two very different restaurants will compete to raise money for charity.
(Show the cooks from two different restaurants).
Voice-Over: In a high pressure cooking competition, these two restaurants will have to cook the three signature dishes from the other team while putting adding own unique style of cooking on it. This will be Fusion Cuisine at it’s best.
(Show cooks cooking under high pressure).
Voice-Over: These cooks aren’t just cooking for the best flavored dish, but to raise $10,000 for a charity of their choice. A single plate of food can change someone’s life forever.
(Cooks are asked what charity their playing for and why).
Voice-Over: It’s time for the World Cuisine Cook Off. With cooking styles from Russia all the way to Southern Africa. A plate of food is what brings us together.
-
Brendan’s Pitch Deck
In this assignment I learned how to use PowerPoint. And on my phone. Looks nice and proud of the first couple slides and glad I learned an new tech savvy skill. I’m not sure how to upload it as a pdf here but anyway it’s done. So here my pitch deck outline:
Slide #1: Title page.
Slide #2: The premise.
Slide #3: Ideas for cuisines that could be a good match up on the show.
Slide #4: Fun facts about the show.
Slide #5: What kind of person would host the show?
-
Brendan Williams Builds A Clock
In this assignment, I learned that I will have to structure my episode to both a half hour and an hour and just see which one fits best. I have posted the half hour version. Also, I learned how to carefully break down each segment and how much information you can pack in a 5 minute block. Unlike movies, where you have more time, you have to get to information a lot quicker than you normally would in a scripted movie or show.
Assignment 1 – Analyzing “House in A Hurry”
Segment 1:
Element: A teaser of what’s to come in this episode. We learn about the couple and what their goal and motivation is and that is to buy a house in two days.
Element: We get a personal insight into the couple that will be searching for a new home. The husband is a war veteran and they have several children and their parents also live with them, which is the main reason they need to buy a bigger house.
Element: We meet the Real Estate agent who will be the ally on their journey and help them find a new home.
Element : The couple get a tour of the first home.
Segment 2:
Element: The couple are in the car talking about the house they just visited and where they’re heading to now. In the car, they talk about the pros and cons of getting the specific house they just visited.
Element: The couple does a video journal before going to bed about how they feel about visiting houses on Day 1.
Segment 3:
Element: The Real Estate agent tells us it’s Day 2. The couple are on their way to check out more houses.
Element: The couple visits the 4th house and we learn they really don’t want to rent ever again.
Element: The Real Estate agent tells the couple they are so great on communication. Then they head off to visit the next house.
Segment 4:
Element: The couple visit the 5<sup>th</sup> house.
Element: The Real Estate agent starts crying because of how happy the couple are. We see a human side to the Real Estate agent.
Element: The couple get insight from the Real Estate agent about how the closing process works.
Element: The looks back at the couple down the line during the Christmas season and we get an update on how much they love the new house.
When in the show do viewers meet the couple who are looking for a home, and what do we learn about them and the problems they need to solve? In segment #1, we learn their backstory and in the teaser, we just learn their names and where they currently live.
When do we learn what the couple is looking for in a home? Segment #1.
When do we learn of conflict in the couple relative to their search? Segment #1.
How many houses are toured in each segment and how much time do we spend in each house? 5 houses are toured and we spend about three minutes in each house.
When do we learn of the couple’s final decision? In the final segment.
When do we see the couple in the home they chose and for how many minutes? We see them tour the home for about 3 minutes however we see a small one minute update of the family living in the home at the end.
How often and in which segment(s) do we hear an interview with one or both house shoppers describing their house shopping journey and emotional experience? At the end of each house tour, we see them discussing the tour in the car while driving to the next house.
How often and in which segment(s) do we hear an interview with the real estate agent describing the house shoppers? In the last segment, we see her break down over the couple’s joyfulness.
In what segment do we hear the first sign of conflict between the house shoppers? In Segment 1, we see their may be some disagreements between the couple over what they want in a house.
In which segment do we learn the most biographical information about the house shoppers? In the first segment, we learn that they live in Hawaii and the guy is a veteran and the wife has her parents living with then.
Assignment #2
What is the working title of the show? World Cuisine Cook-Off.
What is the rough logline of the show you’re working on? Two restaurants that specializes in different style of cuisines must compete by cooking each other’s menus and adding their own style of cooking to the dishes in order to raise money for a charity of their choice.
A Subject: Restaurants competing against each other.
A Verb: Cooking.
A Task or Goal: To recreate the opponent team’s menu by adding your own style and ethnicity of cooking.
The Stakes: Raising money for an important charity or cause.
An Outcome: One of the restaurant will raise a lot of money for charity and will have created original and unique dishes that combine two styles of cuisines.
Is your show idea a half hour or a full hour? The show is a half hour.
What is the 4 segments of any given episode?
Segment #1 (7 Minutes)
Cold Opening/ Teaser: We see a small teaser of the episode that gives audiences a small glimpse into what to expect during the episode. What two restaurants are competing? What kind of cuisine do they specialize in? What charity are they playing for?
Title Sequence: Have the opening title sequence.
Introduce the host: The host come out and meet the two teams. The host ask the teams questions about their restaurant, the kind of food they make, how they ended up running a restaurant, and other personal related questions.
Insight into the charities they’re playing for: Two video segments from each team shows the charity they’re playing for and why that charity is important to them.
Meet the judges: Three judges comes out and talk about what they want from each team.
Challenge #1 (Making Appetizers): The first challenge begins when the team must make an appetizer.
Segment #2
Completing the Appetizers: The team has completed the appetizers.
Judging the Appetizers: The judges try each appetizer and give their feedback.
Second Challenge: The team starts to make the entree.
Segment #3 (5 Minutes)
Completing the Entree: The team has completed the entree.
Judging the Entree: The judges try each entree and give their feedback.
Third Challenge: The team starts to make the final course, dessert.
Segment #4 (5 Minutes)
Completing the Dessert: The team has completed the dessert course.
Judging the Dessert: The judges try each dessert and give their feedback.
Final winner is revealed: The host adds the points from the three courses and talks to the judges about who should get the final grand prize and then the host reveals the winning team as we see a “Thank you” video from the charity that they were raising money for.
-
In this assignment I learned how to get the audience to connect emotionally to a show and how they do that on even hGTV shows and how it can be applied to my show.
Brendan Williams Lesson #3 – Connecting to the Viewer
Assignment #1 – (Analyzing Fixer Upper “Pilot Episode”
What is the emotional connection to the show? We see the character ARC of the young couple buying a rundown home and really being scared if they made the right choice and if Chip and Jonna will succeed
How are the characters relatable or non-relatable? Chip and Jonna are two ordinary people that are married and have a family of their own. Many viewers live life trying to balance both work and raising kids and the subplot of the show is actually watching Chip and Joanna be parents while also trying to remodel a home. We get an insight into both their professional and personal life. The client that they work for is an all-American young couple searching for a home to buy on a tight budget and we see them try to get their dream home while struggling to not go over budget, a financial concern we all go through in one way or another.
Is there expert advice or skill depicted that is compelling to watch or learn? During the show, Chip and Joanna both give viewers advice on what to look for when searching for our own homes or doing a fixer upper. They give out the information so simply that anyone can understand it. They don’t use that construction lingo that no one is going to understand. Joanna and Chip show off their designing and construction skills as they help a couple redo their newly purchased home.
Is there an authentic setting that is uniquely compelling? The show is set in an old rundown house that needs remodeling. When we first see the house, it’s like an old 1930’s home covered in vines and dead rats and chipmunks on the roof, so as an audience member, we try to see how Chip and Joanna will take on the challenge by transforming that home into a modern elegant place.
Do the situations portrayed in Fixer Upper lend themselves to comedy or drama? Are they fun or funny to watch? The show has small funny moments regarding the funny obstacles they may face when redoing a house, but the end can get emotional as we watch this young couple be surprised by the transformation of their new home. We get excited for them and how they’re life was just made better because of this experience.
Assignment #2
What is the emotional connection to the show? The emotional connection to the show is the small businesses (various restaurants that specializes in ethnicity food) compete to raise money for charity. Also, we see how emotionally invested the competitors are in their cooking.
How are the characters relatable or non-relatable? The various cooks that come on the show are relatable because they’re everyday cooks working for a restaurant and when we see the segment about the charities that the cooks are playing for, we can sometimes relate to the struggles and hardship that the charity is going through.
Is there expert advice or skill depicted that is compelling to watch or learn? The expert advice and the skill being giving is in regard to “Fusion Cuisine”. How do you combine various kinds of flavors from different ethnic cuisines to create one compelling and unforgettable dish? Viewers will get insight into how to create dishes that combines maybe Mexican and Chinese or Italian and Russian and that they can then do at home. The expert advice will inspire viewers to cook at home.
Is there an authentic setting that is uniquely compelling? The show is set in a soundstage with a built in kitchen. There are two kitchens with a wall in between, so each team can’t see what the other is doing. The kitchen looks like a typical Food Network set and then there’s the dinning room area where the judges sit and try the various dishes. The kitchen has a elegant home feel to it. Also, because there’s a diverse group of cooks (even from different countries sometime), we see their own style and unique way of cooking that we maybe haven’t seen before.
Do the situations portrayed in your show idea lend themselves to comedy or drama? Are they fun or funny to watch? The show is a competition show, so while raising money for charity is the dramatic part, there are many funny moments regarding the interaction between the head chef and the cooks. Also, the host of the show is a stand up comedian that adds a lot of comedic relief to the show. The viewer wants to see the team work under pressure to create an original dish that combines the style of the two teams and win money for their charity. We see how creative they are on the spot and how they communicate with each other during the challenges.
-
Brendan Williams Lesson #2 The Marketplace
In this assignment, I learned how to categorize various TV channels or streaming services and start thinking who I think would be best to air or produce my show idea. Also, start knowing who my audience is so I can figure out what they would like to see on screen.
Assignment Part 1:
What is HGTV’s brand? House make-overs, home buying, helping ordinary people by extraordinary homes, revealing the professional lives of real estate agents, transforming old homes to either sell or to help enrich the lives of the current occupants.
What is Bravo’s brand? Revealing the glamorous life of various professions, catfights between wealthy wives with botox, showing the lives of wealthy people on yachts, showing people that are really into causing drama, make-overs, flamboyant people.
What is ID’s brand? True crime, helping families get closure on losing a love one, following the lives of detectives as they try to solve a murder, shows about crime seen from both the criminal and victims perspectives.
Assignment Part 2:
What is at stake (the loss or gain) emotionally, physically, or materially for the characters in my show?
Money for charity.
Cooks trying to not break under pressure.
Relationship – The relationship between the head chef and his employees.
The reputation of their restaurant.
What kind of viewer might enjoy the show?
Cooks looking for ideas for fusion cuisine ideas.
Home cooks.
Food critics.
People who love food art.
Students studying culinary arts.
People wanting to be inspired by food.
People who want to learn about food from other countries.
What elements are the most compelling to watch in my show?
The backstory of the restaurants and how they came to be.
The dishes that the cooks present to the judges.
The heartwarming stories on the various charities.
The comedy element that the host (a stand up comedian) will bring to the show.
What does a viewer learn (or take home) after watching the show? A viewer will learn a couple things about the kind of cuisine in a different country, also they will get ideas for their own fusion cuisine ideas. They will learn how you can combine Mexican and Chinese dishes to create an unforgettable experience for the diner. Also, the viewer learns about an important charity and the hard work they do and why the restaurant is fighting for the specific charity.
What other show on cable or streaming most closely resembles my show idea?Chopped, Master Chef, Sugar Rush, and The Great British Bake-Off.
On what platform, cable or streaming, could my show idea fit? Streaming most likely.
On what cable channels could my show fit?
Netflix.
Food Network.
Bravo.
NBC.
HBO.
Hulu.
CBS.
Youtube Originals.
-
Brendan Williams Day 1 Assignment
I learned the different kinds of reality shows out there and how to combine formats to create a unique idea for a show. Also, I learned the basic questions to ask myself when having an idea for a possible reality TV show.
Lesson #1Assignment Part. 1
GROUP 1: Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. Format: Make-Over (regarding a make over of their mental health), Docu-Soap, and Structured Relationships.
GROUP 2: Dino Hunters. Format: Adventure/ Exploration and Occupation Soap.
GROUP 3: Dating Around: Structured Relationships of new blind date couples, Docu-series on dating, and Adventure/Exploration around the dating scene.
GROUP 4: Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted. Adventure/ Exploration, Occupation Soap.
GROUP 5: Who Wants to be A Millionaire?. Competition Reality, Game Show, and a tiny bit of Topical regarding the host using humor to tell stories, communicate with contestants, and use his talk show persona on the show.
Assignment Part. 2
Show Idea: World Cuisine Cook-Off.
What is the rough premise of the show? A team of cooks from a restaurant that specializes in a certain global cuisine (such as a Japanese, Italian, Mexican, or Etc) competes against another restaurant with a completely different cuisine and they must cook each other’s menus while adding their own stamp on the dishes. An example would be an Italian restaurant from Little Italy vs. a Japanese restaurant from San Francisco. How would a Japanese cook create Italian dishes using influences from his own cooking and style?
What is the format or hybrid format you’ve chosen? The main format is the “Cooking/Baking Competition Reality” format, but there’s also an element of the “Game Show” format and the “Occupation-Soap” as we see head chefs of these restaurants interact with their sous chefs on how they will tackle a menu that’s far different than their own. We see that relationship between the head chef and their employees.
Who are the real life characters? The real life characters are the kitchen employees of a popular who are determined to win each challenge. When the show begins, we get backstories on the chefs and how they opened their restaurant and created their menus. Also, because the prize money goes to charity, we get an insight into what charity the cooks are playing and what’s their emotional connection to the charity.
What are the situations that these characters find themselves in? Each culinary team must prepare a menu that’s not a direct copycat but is influenced by the menu of the competitive team. They have a certain time to complete each challenge. There are five challenges each cover the traditional “Five Course Meal”.
What is the setting? The setting is a restaurant style kitchen built in a soundstage. It’s suppose to look like a restaurant with posters of famous restaurants around the world. There’s a dinning room table for the judges that will try the food and judge it while awarding points.
What is the viewers experience? The viewer watches a competitive game between two restaurants that specializes in a different kind of cuisine, however at the same time, they are getting ideas for their own home cooking and learning about a restaurant they can visit when they’re in that area. Also, because the restaurants are playing for charity, they are learning about an important charity. We also have a segment where we learn about the country and their cuisine, so this is also an educational show.
How do you envision it being a series that can run for multiple seasons over many years? Like other cooking competition shows, Master Chef, The Great British Bake Off, and many others, this show can run for many seasons because there’s no shortage of restaurants that specializes in various cuisines and restaurants will hopefully want to play the game to win money for a charity of their choice.
-
Brendan Williams
I, Brendan Williams, agree to the confidentiality agreement below.
As a member of this group, I agree to the following:
1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.
2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.
I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.
3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.
4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.
5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.
6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.
This completes the Group Release Form for the class.
-
Hello, My name is Brendan Williams and I’m super excited to take this Alternative Reality TV Writing Class. Only recently I’ve started watching reality shows (Shark Tank, Catfish, and a few others) because I was on lock down so why not??? I’ve written 5 scripts (that are actually polished and all came out of a ScreenwritingU class). I hope to really learn a lot about creating GOOD reality TV and also how to market my ideas and get my foot in the door, but also what makes viewers rush to the TV sets to watch alternative TV shows. Something special about me would be I do stand up comedy outside of writing. I usually perform around the state of Maine and has been at this for five years already!!!!
-
Brendan’s Beat Sheet Draft 2
In this assignment, I learned to figure out what the heart of the film is and how I want the audience to leave the theater. Also, I learned to make a quick list of the antagonist journey in the film and where she starts and ends up.
<title></title><style type=”text/css”>
</style>Basic Questions
What
is this story really about? The
story is about the aftermath of a suicide from the perspective of
the victim’s mother and his younger sister and their journey through
the grieving process.What
is the real issue I want to explore? The
two themes that I want to explore is that we can still have a
relationship with a deceased loved one even after they pass on and
that sometimes we will never understand why exactly someone
committed suicide, but it’s important we focus more on the time that
they lived than when they died.What
is the meaning of all this? The
central thematic message of the story is “Sometimes we don’t have
all the answers we’re looking for and that’s okay”.How
is the theme introduced lightly near the beginning? We
introduce Christina, 17, who is confused with questions regarding
her brother’s suicide and not understanding why he committed
suicide. She’s gone into a deep depression and often cuts her wrist
to bury her emotional pain.How
is it explored through the story? While
we see Valerie being in denial and acting as if her son is still
alive, we see Christina struggling to understand what motivated her
brother to commit suicide.How
does it evolves into the message that is delivered at the end? By
helping her mother overcome the denial of her son’s death, Christina
learns to not focus on why Sam jumped off the bridge, but rather
focus on the time that he lived.The Antagonist’s
JourneyHow
does the antagonist operate? Valerie,
the antagonist, has an ongoing back and forth with Anita, the
protagonist. She refuses to accept her son is dead and begins to
become delusional about it while her daughter, Anita is trying to
help her, Valerie tends to push back.Valerie
is introduced at a bookstore buying birthday presents for her son,
who died a year ago.Valerie
asks her son, Sam to pack his room up.Valerie
refuses to listen to her daughter when she brings up the fact that
Sam is gone.Valerie
decides to ignore her daughter’s suffering.Valerie
throws a birthday party for Sam.Valerie
discovers a letter from Trinity College and learns that Anita is
going away soon.Valerie
is upset that Anita is leaving her behind.Valerie
has a nightmare and while Anita tries to wake her up, she pushes her
to the ground.Valerie
finally enters Sam’s room and breaks down crying.Valerie
wants Anita to stay behind so they can start to repair their
relationship. -
Brendan Williams High Speed Beat Sheet
In this assignment, I learned I need to have more scenes. I only have like 20 actual scenes and a few place holder moments. Also, seeing the outline laid out, I’m seeing there’s a couple parts of the story that doesn’t work that well when I look at the bigger picture. Also, I need to research more on the psychology of both my characters and that could help develop some more and fresh ideas.
<title></title><style type=”text/css”>
</style>Rough Draft Beat
SheetThe
Transformational StructureACT 1 (20 Pages)
Opening: Anita is introduced
hanging out along the beach and taking opioids/ Valerie is at a local
bookstore hopping for a birthday present for her son, Sam. The
bookkeeper allows her to keep the books for free and that she doesn’t
have to pay for them.EXT: BEACH – DAY: Anita
stands along the beach watching the fog rest among the horizon. We
hear a small voice over about her brother’s death than she reaches
into her pocket and pulls out a handful of pills.INT. BOOKSTORE – DAY: Valerie
is shopping for various books at the bookstore and tells the
bookkeeper that they’re for Sam’s birthday. The bookkeeper tells her
they’re on the house.INT. FARMHOUSE – DINNING ROOM – SUNSET: Valerie
is packing up the dinning room and looks out the window. She sees Sam
playing basketball in the courtyard and then his image fades away.
She finds a bunch of old military items in a drawer and decides to
throw it out. Anita enters and ask if she packed up Sam’s room yet
and she says no.TE #1: Anita returns home
and asks her mother if she packed up Sam’s bedroom, but Valerie
says she can’t bare to go inside. We see Anita can’t go in the
room either.INT. FARMHOUSE – HALLWAY – SUNSET: Anita
is about to enter Sam’s room, but then realizes she also can’t bare
to open the door.TE #2: Valerie is playing
the piano and Anita joins her, but when Valerie sees the razor scars
along her arms, she walks away. She doesn’t want to talk to Anita
about anything.INT. FARMHOUSE – MUSIC ROOM – NIGHT: Valerie
decides to play a traditional Irish song on the piano. Anita
overhears her and joins. The two share a slightly mother-daughter
moment, until Valerie notices razor scars along Anita’s arms and
walks off.Inciting Incident: Valerie
gets denied a bank loan for a small house she wants to buy. Anita
suggest she uses Sam’s college fund, but she refuses to touch any of
the money in that account.EXT/INT. FARMHOUSE – FRONT PORCH – NIGHT: Valerie
gets a call from the bank about her home loan being denied. She
appears frustrated. Anita comes out and tells her that there’s money
inside Sam’s college account she can use as a down payment, but
Valerie doesn’t want to touch that money.PLACEHOLDER SCENE: Valerie
talks with her son, Sam. We see that she’s so in denial that she
still has a relationship with him.INT. FARMHOUSE – ANITA’S BEDROOM – NIGHT: Anita
tries to take more pills, but her secret stash of opioids is empty.
She calls her friend and co-worker, Hannah. She’s unable to meet up
with her later so she can buy some pills.Turning Point: Anita finds
out her friend, Hannah is unable to swing by the house and drop off
some opioids for her. She starts to have a withdrawal. She tries to
find a way to deal with her withdrawal.ACT 2 (20 Pages)
TE #3: Anita tries to call
her friend, Hannah about dropping off some pills, but she’s unable
to do it. Anita loses it in her room and tries to find a way to deal
with her withdrawal.New Plan: Valerie decides to
celebrate Sam’s 18<sup>th</sup>
birthday by throwing him a birthday present and acting as if he’s
still alive.INT. FARMHOUSE – KITCHEN – NIGHT: Valerie
starts preparing dinner and is making Sam’s favorite meal. Anita
enters and notices the bag of party balloons and stuff. Valerie
explains she’s throwing a party for Sam.TE #4: Valerie decides to
throw a birthday party for Sam and buys a cake and makes what used to
be Sam’s favorite dinner, but Anita tells her she needs to get over
it and accept the fact that Sam is gone and she can’t go on any
longer seeing her mother in denial.Plan in Action: Anita
confronts Valerie about why she’s ignoring her daughter and is
suddenly trying to be the mother of the year to her son, who’s now
dead.INT. FARMHOUSE – ANITA’S BEDROOM – NIGHT: Anita
goes into her room and opens her laptop and decides to calm herself
down by watching a few Youtube videos of her and her brother doing
Youtube challenges. We get a glimpse into who Sam was.EXT. FARMHOUSE – BACKYARD – DAY: Sam
and Anita are doing a Youtube challenge where they answer questions
about each other. We learn that Sam had a dream to move to Dublin,
Ireland when he finished high school and hopefully attend Trinity
College.Midpoint Turning Point: Anita
receives an acceptance letter from Trinity College that her short
story, “The Boy Who Died” has been accepted and the admissions
committee would like to interview her.EXT. FARMHOUSE – DRIVEWAY – NIGHT: Anita
walks down the driveway to the mailbox and finds a letter addressed
from Trinity College in Dublin. She opens it up and reads it. Her
short story has moved her up the admissions process.TE #5: Anita receives an
acceptance letter from Trinity College that her short story, “The
Boy Who Died” has moved her up in the admissions process. Anita
must decide if she should continue with the process or decide she
should stay behind in Maine and take care of her mother.INT. FARMHOUSE – ANITA’S ROOM – NIGHT: Anita
is reading over the letter and she hears Valerie approaching, so she
hides the letter but Valerie catches her. She ask what she’s reading.
She explains to Valerie she’s considering college and Valerie walks
off ignored.ACT 3 (20 Pages)
Rethink Everything: Anita
must choose between leaving her mother behind alone and move to
Dublin, Ireland for college or stay behind and take care of her
mother.INT. FARMHOUSE – DINNING ROOM – NIGHT: Anita
decides to help her mother set up the party. Valerie explains that
she brought a bunch of books for Sam since he’s interested in
writing.New Plan: Anita realizes
Valerie has been stealing her opioid pills and starts to become
concerned for her mother’s well-being. She decides to flush them down
the toilet.INT. FARMHOUSE – VALERIE’S BEDROOM – NIGHT: Valerie
enters her room and goes into her drawer and pulls out some pills.
She takes them with a glass of water. We learn that she’s stealing
pills from Anita for herself. She lays down on her bed and then falls
asleep.PLACEHOLDER SCENE: Before
Valerie falls asleep, we see Sam taking care of her and the two are
talking and then she falls asleep.TE #6: Valerie is the one
stealing the pills from Anita, however she’s not dumping them, but
she’s rather taking them for herself.Turning Point (Huge Failure/ Major Shift): Anita
hears her mother screaming as she’s having a nightmare and realizes
she’s having a flashback to when she was raped in a motel room 18
years ago. Anita realizes her biological father is a trucker who
raped Valerie many years ago.INT. FARMHOUSE – KITCHEN – NIGHT: Anita
starts setting up for the party and hears screaming. She rushes
upstairs.INT. FARMHOUSE – VALERIE’S BEDROOM – NIGHT: Valerie
is in the middle of a nightmare and Anita tries to wake her up. She
pushes her away and screams a guy’s name. Valerie tells Anita that
she was conceived during a rape.EXT. ROAD – NIGHT: Anita
walks down the road in anger and then starts sobbing.EXT. BRIDGE – NIGHT: Anita
decides to visit the bridge that Sam jumped off of and she places her
hands on the railing.TE
#7: Anita must deal with the
fact that her biological father isn’t whom she thought it was and
that it’s actually a complete stranger, whom Valerie met at a bar and
he raped her in a motel room.ACT 4 (20 Pages)
TE #8: Valerie knocks on
Sam’s door and tells him to wake up for the party but when he
doesn’t answer, she opens the door and loses it. Anita rushes into
the room and comforts her mother. She tells Valerie that she’ll be
by her side every step of the way in the grieving process.INT. FARMHOUSE – HALLWAY – NIGHT: Valerie
walks down the hallway and knocks on Sam’s door. She opens it and
finally enters her room.Climax/ Ultimate Expression of the Conflict: Valerie
finally enters Sam’s bedroom and loses it when she finally accepts
that her son is gone. Anita calms her down and tells her that Sam
didn’t kill himself, but slipped off the bridge.INT. FARMHOUSE – SAM’S BEDROOM – NIGHT: Valerie
is losing her temper and sobbing as she sits on Sam’s bed. Anita
rushes in and tries to calm her down. She explains that Sam probably
slipped off the bridge and didn’t intent to commit suicide, but
Valerie still believes he jumped.TE #9: Anita must decide between
telling Valerie the truth about Sam’s suicide letter or just keep
the secret private. She decides to burn the letter in the fireplace.INT. FARMHOUSE – ANITA’S ROOM –
NIGHT: Anita enters her room
and finds Sam’s suicide letter that she hid away. She reads it over
as we hear Sam’s voice writing it.INT. FARMHOUSE – HALLWAY –
NIGHT: Anita plans on walking
back to Sam’s room to finally show her mother the letter, but then
walks in the opposite direction.INT. FARMHOUSE – LIVING ROOM –
NIGHT: Anita tosses the letter
into the fireplace. She decides not to let her mother know that Sam
choose to end his life.Resolution: Anita takes
Sam’s suicide letter and tosses it into the fire place as she
remembers one of the last times that she hanged out with Sam along
the beach. He’s writing a short story in his journal titled, “The
Boy Who Died”.EXT. BEACH – DAY: On a
bright summer day, Anita and Sam are hanging out at the beach. Sam
sits along the sand writing in his journal and tells Anita that he’s
writing a short story titled, “The Boy Who Died”. -
Brendan Williams Transformational Events
In this assignment, I learned what situations will I place my two characters in. I’m planning on making my script 80 pages (I know that’s short, but I want this to be a low low low budget and small art house picture), so I decided there are 8 transformational events (each ten minutes each). Figured that was a good way to structure my story.
<title></title><style type=”text/css”>
</style>Concept:
On the night of her deceased
brother’s birthday, a teenage girl suffering from depression tries to
help her mother overcome the denial of her son’s suicide and must
find a way for her to accept it.The Transformational
EventsBeginning:
Anita, 17, is suffering from
depression and is completely shut off from the rest of the world. She
spends her time taking opioids and cutting her wrist as a way for the
physical pain to bury her emotional pain.Ending:
Anita helps her mother overcome
the denial of her son’s death and finally accept it by convincing her
it was an accident. She decides to be the one to take care of her
mother and hold their relationship together.In
Between: Anita encounters a
series of dilemmas that will test her love for her mother and decide
if choosing to leave the country for college is really the best
decision for both of them.Transformational
Event #1: Anita returns home
and asks her mother if she packed up Sam’s bedroom, but Valerie says
she can’t bare to go inside. We see Anita can’t go in the room
either.Transformational
Event #2: Valerie is playing
the piano and Anita joins her, but when Valerie sees the razor scars
along her arms, she walks away. She doesn’t want to talk to Anita
about anything.Transformational
#3: Anita tries to call her
friend, Hannah about dropping off some pills, but she’s unable to do
it. Anita loses it in her room and tries to find a way to deal with
her withdrawal.Transformational
Event #4: Anita receives an
acceptance letter from Trinity College that her short story, “The
Boy Who Died” has moved her up in the admissions process. Anita
must decide if she should continue with the process or decide she
should stay behind in Maine and take care of her mother.Transformational
Event #5: Valerie is the one
stealing the pills from Anita, however she’s not dumping them, but
she’s rather taking them for herself.Transformational
Event #6: Valerie decides to
throw a birthday party for Sam and buys a cake and makes what used to
be Sam’s favorite dinner, but Anita tells her she needs to get over
it and accept the fact that Sam is gone and she can’t go on any
longer seeing her mother in denial.Transformational
Event #7: Valerie knocks on
Sam’s door and tells him to wake up for school, but when he doesn’t
answer, she opens the door and loses it. Anita rushes into the room
and comforts her mother. She tells Valerie that she’ll be by her side
every step of the way in the grieving process.Transformational
Event #8: Anita must decide
between telling Valerie the truth about Sam’s suicide letter or just
keep the secret private. She decides to burn the letter in the
fireplace. -
Brendan Williams 4 Act Transformational Structure
In this assignment, I learned to come up with a very rough draft of the structure spine. I do have a lot of work to do since my movie is set in one location and only has two characters interacting.
<title></title><style type=”text/css”>
</style>Concept: On the night of her
deceased brother’s birthday, a teenage girl suffering from depression
tries to help her mother overcome the denial of her son’s suicide and
must find a way for her to accept it.Main Conflict: Anita wants
her mother to accept her son’s death and understand that she has a
daughter in a mental health crisis and could use a mother in her
life.The Protagonist’s Old Ways:
Old Identity: A lonely and quiet teenager suffering from
depression.Suffering from depression.
Addicted to opioids.
Lonely and quiet.
Scared for her mother’s well-being.
The Protagonist’s New Ways:
New Identity: Becomes the parent figure to her mother and the one
who holds their relationship together.Finally accepts her brother’s death and understands what he was
going through.Is able to open up and express her true feelings to her mother.
Is willing to let go of the past and move on.
Decided to lay off the opioids and seek counseling.
The Antagonist’s Old Ways:
Old Identity: A mother dealing with the loss of a child and refuses
to acknowledge her daughter because she’s a constant reminder of
when she was raped 18 years ago.Is in denial about her son’s death.
Refuses to accept her son’s suicide and believes he betrayed her.
Doesn’t want to have a meaningful relationship with her daughter.
Doesn’t want to take accountability for her own actions.
The Antagonist’s New Ways:
New Identity: Is willing to go
through the grieving process with her daughter’s guidance.Moves on from the denial stage of
the grieving process to the anger stage.Finally learns to express her
anger over the death of her son.Is willing to be more open to her
daughter and not be completely shut off.The
Transformational StructureACT 1 (20 Pages)
Opening: Anita is introduced
hanging out along the beach and taking opioids/ Valerie is at a local
bookstore hopping for a birthday present for her son, Sam. The
bookkeeper allows her to keep the books for free and that she doesn’t
have to pay for them.Inciting Incident: Valerie
gets denied a bank loan for a small house she wants to buy. Anita
suggest she uses Sam’s college fund, but she refuses to touch any of
the money in that account.Turning Point: Anita finds
out her friend, Hannah is unable to swing by the house and drop off
some opioids for her. She starts to have a withdrawal.
ACT 2 (20 Pages)New Plan: Valerie decides to
celebrate Sam’s 18<sup>th</sup>
birthday by throwing him a birthday present and acting as if he’s
still alive.Plan in Action: Anita
confronts Valerie about why she’s ignoring her daughter and is
suddenly trying to be the mother of the year to her son, who’s now
dead.Midpoint Turning Point: Anita
receives an acceptance letter from Trinity College that her short
story, “The Boy Who Died” has been accepted and the admissions
committee would like to interview her.ACT 3 (20 Pages)
Rethink Everything: Anita
must choose between leaving her mother behind alone and move to
Dublin, Ireland for college or stay behind and take care of her
mother.New Plan: Anita realizes
Valerie has been stealing her opioid pills and starts to become
concerned for her mother’s well-being. She decides to flush them down
the toilet.Turning Point (Huge Failure/ Major Shift): Anita
hears her mother screaming as she’s having a nightmare and realizes
she’s having a flashback to when she was raped in a motel room 18
years ago. Anita realizes her biological father is a trucker who
raped Valerie many years ago.ACT 4 (20 Pages)
Climax/ Ultimate Expression of the Conflict: Valerie
finally enters Sam’s bedroom and loses it when she finally accepts
that her son is gone. Anita calms her down and tells her that Sam
didn’t kill himself, but slipped off the bridge.Resolution: Anita takes
Sam’s suicide letter and tosses it into the fire place as she
remembers one of the last times that she hanged out with Sam along
the beach. He’s writing a short story in his journal titled, “The
Boy Who Died”. -
Brendan Williams Character Interviews
In this assignment, I learned why they are who they are. Also, I started discovering their voice and how they sound which will end up being helpful when writing dialogue. I felt like a news reporter asking questions and if the characters thought the questions were silly, I made sure it was answered in a way they would actually answer that question. Great exercise to help discover how your character’s sound.
Protagonist:
Anita Pearson.Tell
me about yourself. My name is
Anita and I’m 17-years-old. I live in Orland, Maine and was born and
raised in the same house for the past twenty years. I have a job as
a waitress at a small diner where we get a lot of truckers traveling
up and down from Canada. My hobbies are listening to old records and
writing. My goal in life is to be a best selling novelist.Why
do you think you were called to this journey? Why you? I
have no idea why me. I’ve never ask to be in this situation. A
situation where I lost my dad to cancer, my brother to suicide, and
my mother to schizophrenia. I feel like I’m all alone and this is
exactly why I want to leave the country and move to Ireland. I just
want to press a restart button on my life.You
are up against your own mother. What is it about them that makes
this journey even more difficult for you? The
biggest obstacle I face is my mother. I love her dearly, however
she’s been in denial about my brother’s death for the past year. She
refuses to accept that he’s gone and acts as if he’s still alive and
living in the house.In
order to survive or accomplish this, you are going to have to step
way outside of the box. What changes do you expect to make and which
of them will be the most difficult? Survive
what? Dealing with my mother? Why do I have to change? I didn’t do
anything wrong. If anyone needs to change, it’s my mother. She needs
to accept the fact that her son is gone and move on. She doesn’t
seem to understand that I’m grieving as well and that she shouldn’t
be acting like she’s the only person affected by his death.What
habits or ways of thinking do you think will be the most difficult
to let go? The habit of having
Sam around. The habit of hearing his corny jokes, his laughter, just
his presence of being around the house. He was the one that put life
in that house and now it’s all gone. It’s just my mom and I and we
barley ever say a word to each other. I say when I also lost my
brother, I also lost my mom. We should’ve gotten through his death
together and instead I have to deal with it on my own. The habit of
going to Sam whenever I need something, even if it’s to laugh or a
shoulder to cry on, he was there.What
fears, insecurities and wounds have you held back? I
have a co-worker at Ruby’s Diner, the place where I work, who gives
me opioids because it helps with my depression. When Sam also
started to develop mental problems, he asked me to share my pills
with him and I did. However, I believe it only made him worse and
not better. I feel so guilty. I may have caused my brother’s
suicide.What
skills, background, or expertise makes you well-suited to face this
conflict? Throughout my life,
because Sam was older than me, I felt like he was the father-figure
in my life since my dad died just right after I was born. Sam was
not only my brother, but my best friend and mentor figure. He was
the one who protected me and was really the one who raised me
because god knows my mother didn’t. Now, with him gone and no one to
take care of my mother, I believe that job lands on me. I hope she
will appreciate that and not continue to push me away.What
are you hiding from your mother? My
mother doesn’t know that Sam left a suicide note behind. His body
was never found and a witness did see him jump off the bridge, but
wasn’t sure if he slipped or intentionally jumped, so I would like
my mom to believe that Sam fell off that bridge and didn’t plan to
end his life. I’ve actually kept the suicide note because it’s the
last piece I have of him, but I’ve decided to not show my mother.What
do you think of your mother? I
love her. I adore her. However, I have no idea why she doesn’t
return that love back. I’m her daughter. I’m her only daughter and
yet she doesn’t treat me as such. She treats me as a complete
stranger and I can never understand why.What
is your side of the story? Sam
committed suicide on a rainy night while getting off from school.
Instead of coming home, he rode his bike to the Penobscot Bridge and
jumped off. It appeared to look like an accident at first, until I
went into my room and found a suicide note where he explains he
decided to end his life because he was scared what his mental
illness would do and that he believed that it would lead him to harm
the people he loved. It’s funny, some people think Sam committed
suicide to hurt us, but he did it to protect us or at least he
thought he was.What
does it mean to you if you succeed? If
I succeed in trying to help my mother overcome her grief and denial,
than it could mean that we have a good chance of us having a
meaningful mother-daughter relationship and to me that would
complete my world.Antagonist:
Valerie Pearson.Tell
me about yourself. I’m a woman
in her early-50’s who is the mother of two children. Sam and Anita.
I live in Orland, Maine and I currently work as a piano player for a
small local church in the area. I’m also a farmer and I grow all my
own vegetables in the backyard and then on weekends, I sell them at
the Farmer’s Market.Having
to do with this journey, what are your strengths and weaknesses? My
strength is I know to always depend on God when I need something. I
believe he’s always watching us and he will never give us any
situation that we can’t handle. If I’m ever scared or worried, I
always pray to him knowing he’ll answer. My weakness is that I have
schizophrenia and I often can’t control it. I was diagnosed with
schizophrenia in the last couple years, but I’m glad I have my son
by my side.Why
are you committed to making your daughter to fail? Excuse
me. I don’t want to fail. Fail at what? Look, she’s a strong woman.
She doesn’t need me. She knows what she’s doing. She’s doing well in
school, has a part time job, and knows what she wants to do with her
life. What can a schizophrenic woman add to her life that will help
her? She’s all set. She doesn’t need her mother butting in her life.What
do you get out of winning this fight? What
fight? I’m not fighting with my daughter. We barley ever talk. Of
course, as much as I love her, she just has to make every situation
about her, but that’s what teenage girls do.What
drives you towards your mission? My
mission is to somehow find a way to deal with my son’s death and the
best way for me to deal with it is deny it ever happened. I can’t
even bury my son because his body fell into the bottom of a river
and it was never found. Most parents who lose a child, have a
gravestone they can visit. I don’t. I refuse to enter his room,
because I don’t want to be reminded that he’s gone. I want to keep
my life going as if he’s still alive.What
secrets must you keep out of fear? Anita
doesn’t know that she’s actually Sam’s half-sister. They have
different fathers. Her biological father is some trucker who I got
drunk with one night and slept with. Obviously we didn’t use
protection, but I was dealing with my husband being on his death bed
and having cancer. I just needed a night to myself and feel loved
and find some way to let it all out and then nine months later,
Anita arrives.Compared
to other people like you, what makes you so special? I’m
far from special. Yes, I’m a war veteran and people often thank me
for my service, but the biggest battle I fought wasn’t the war in
the Middle East, but back home. My battle with my husband having
cancer, my battle with my daughter when we would fight, and my
battle with schizophrenia. That’s the battle that I’m suffering
through and no one wants to talk about that? If I felt special,
people would care when I told them what I’ve been through.What
do you think of your daughter, Anita? I
love her. She’s my only daughter and she’s an amazing human being,
but she’s a constant reminder of the mistake I made years ago. No
fault of her own, but I never asked for a second child. The family
was supposed to Sam, my husband, and I and I feel like Anita
arriving is like me trying to replace my husband. I may not be an
affectionate person and express my love for her out loud, but I do
love her.Tell
me your side of this whole conflict. Sam
may have committed suicide or fell off the bridge by accident, but
either way, I’m not responsible. Anita may blame me, but what mother
would lead their kid to commit suicide? I really don’t think he
jumped off the bridge on purpose. Maybe he was going there to take
pictures or on his way to a friend’s house, who knows, but we need
to stop talking about my son as if he jumped on purpose and maybe
talk about the fact that it was an accident and no one should be
blaming me for this.<title></title><style type=”text/css”>
</style> -
Brendan Williams Character Profile Part 2
In this assignment, I learned how to come up with the emotional and subtext parts of the character. What will make the audience deeply care about my character and their journey. Also, I’ve developed characters that will work well when in conflict with each other.
<title></title><style type=”text/css”>
</style>Character
#1: Anita Pearson.What
draws us to this character? Anita
is a lonely 20-year-old, who currently works as a waitress at a local
roadside diner. She has ambitions of leaving Maine and moving to
Ireland to start a new life. She’s still dealing with the death of
her brother’s suicide even a year later.Traits:
Suffers from depression,
athletic, hungry for love, and a creative person.Subtext:
Is secretive in making sure
Valerie doesn’t know the truth about her son’s suicide and leads her
to believe he only slipped off a bridge. She’s unethical by
submitting Sam’s short story as a writing sample and passing it off
as her own.Flaw:
Suffers from depression and has
an opioid addiction. She doesn’t know how to love.Values:
Believes it’s okay to steal her
brother’s short story for her writing sample when she applies to
Trinity College because she believes she’s helping her brother get
his writing out in the world.Irony:
A typical young woman in her
twenties must step up and be the parent figure in the relationship
with her mother. She must be the one that can hold Valerie together
and makes sure she doesn’t commit suicide herself.What
makes this character right for the role? Anita
is torn between her dilemma of either heading off to college in a
different country or staying behind and taking care of her mother,
while continuing to work at a roadside diner. Anita must decide
between leaving her family or not, however leaving her family could
destroy any chances of her making peace with her mother.Character
#2: Valerie Pearson.What
draws us to this character? Valerie
is a single mother dealing with the death of her favorite child, Sam.
She has been in denial about her son’s death and continues to act as
if he’s still alive forcing people in the community and at her local
church to play along. The only person who wants to help Valerie move
on is her daughter, Anita, whom she doesn’t get along with.Traits:
In denial, a private person,
modest, and concerned what others will think of her.Subtext:
Valerie is withholding the
truth about her past in the military and doesn’t want Anita to know
the truth about she was conceived.Flaw:
Valerie refuses to move on to
the next step of the grieving process and won’t acknowledge Anita as
her daughter. She doesn’t know how to love her daughter the way a
mother should love their daughter.Values:
Believes suicide is a sin and
therefore Sam betrayed her and God, which leads her to deny the fact
that he’s gone.Irony:
A religious woman who believes
suicide in a sin and refused to seek help for her son now feels
responsible for Sam’s death but continues to deny the fact that he’s
gone, because she’s scared to face the truth.What
makes this character right for the role? Valerie
is a mother who finds out the consequences of using religion to help
people in a mental health crisis. Sam pleaded for help from his
mother, but she used the bible to help him which led him to take
drugs and then commit suicide. Valerie must come to the realization
that she bares some responsibility for Sam’s death. -
Brendan Williams Character Profiles 1
In this assignment, I learned to work more from the inside and then out. Sometimes people start with what the characters look like, but instead I got to start with their wound and backstory and how that affects their current life in the story.
Protagonist:
Anita Pearson. (Dreamer).Antagonist:
Valerie Pearson. (Villain).Genre:
Drama.Character
Profile #1: Anita Pearson.Role
in the Story: Dreamer.Age
Range and Description: 20-years-old.
Wears vintage clothes and likes being creative about her fashion
sense. Very physically fit since she’s athletic.Internal
Journey: Anita starts out as
someone suffering from depression to moving on to the final stage of
the grieving process which is acceptance.External
Journey: Anita goes from being
a young woman who needs love and affection from her mother to
becoming the parent figure in the relationship and decides to help
her mother instead of abandoning her.Motivation:
Wants to be unconditionally
loved by her mother.Wound:
Anita has a guilty conscience
by the death of her brother and feels somewhat responsible.Mission/Agenda:
To understand why exactly her
mother refuses to acknowledge her. Also, she’s trying to get into the
writing program at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.Secret:
She was giving Sam opioids and
that could’ve led to his suicide. Also, she’s the only one who knows
Sam committed suicide since she hid the suicide note form her mother.What
makes them special? Anita is a
damaged young person who’s unable to develop new relationships in
life because she fears that she’ll be abandoned or betrayed by them.
She tries to build a better future for herself by applying to a
college in Dublin, Ireland.Character
Profile #2: Valerie Pearson.Role
in the Story: Villain.Age
Range and Description: Late-forties.
Looks like a typically New England farmer. Often wears a cross
necklace around her neck since she’s religious.Internal
Journey: Valerie goes from
being in denial about her son’s suicide to moving onto the next stage
of the grieving process which is anger.External
Journey: Valerie refuses to
enter Sam’s room and won’t even pack it up before the moving men
arrives, however at the end she finally builds the courage to enter
the room.Motivation:
Valerie wants to prove to
herself that she’s a good and caring mother.Wound:
A year ago, Valerie lost her
17-year-old son to suicide and even after a year, she’s still in
denial about it and refuses to accept that he’s gone.Mission/Agenda:
Valerie decides to throw Sam a
successful birthday party before finishing packing up the house.Secret:
Anita was conceived during a
rape and the rapist was never caught. She never wanted a second child
and therefore she would take her anger out on Anita. Meanwhile, she’s
also doing opioids behind Anita’s back.What
makes them special? A small
town farmer and the piano player at her local church. Valerie is a
war veteran still dealing with PTS and other complications that arise
from her son’s suicide. She refuses to accept her son committed
suicide, because she feels deep down that he betrayed her.<title></title><style type=”text/css”>
</style> -
Brendan Williams Transformational Journey
Who
is the Hero? The hero of the
story is 20-year-old Anita Pearson.
What
is the Hero’s Character ARC that represents the transformation? Anita
starts out in the story as a young woman suffering from depression
and feeling cut off from her mother despite living in the same house
as her. Her ARC is that she goes from being depressed about her
brother’s death to finally accepting it and understanding that Sam
didn’t betray her, but committed suicide to protect her and her
mother.What
is their Internal Journey? Anita
starts out as someone suffering from depression due to a sudden death
in the family to finally moving on to the final stage of the grieving
process and accepting her brother’s death and understanding why Sam
decided to take his own life.What
is their External Journey? Anita
goes from a young woman who needs love and affection from her mother
to becoming the parent figure in the relationship and deciding to
help her mother instead of abandoning her. She comes to understand
why her mother refused to acknowledge her as she was growing up.What
is the Hero’s Old Ways?Suffers from depression and has an opioid addiction.
Is a loner and very quiet. She keeps to herself.
Scared about her mother’s well-being.
What
is the Hero’s New Ways?Finally accepts her brother’s death.
Is able to express to her true feelings to her mother.
Is willing to let go of the past and move on.
-
1. Name? Brendan Williams
2. How many scripts you’ve written? 5, I believe.
3. What you hope to get out of the class? Trying to be able to write first drafts in less time and learn how to break down my writing process over a month and basically not a year.
4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you? I do stand up comedy in the state of Maine.