Craig Giles
Forum Replies Created
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Subject line: Gilesberg’s 4 Act Transformational Structure
“What I learned doing this assignment is that using a big picture plan is a better way of planning a story than trying to launch into writing a script. It’s also a simple way to get my story on track.”
Concept – Australians are in a POW Camp in Changi, they have to survive and make it home
Main Conflict – The angry guard hates Australians and wants to make them suffer, the leader of the Australian’s hates the Japanese and taunts them, until his daughter arrives
Old Ways – anger, resentment and bitterness
New Ways – forgiveness, kindness and working together
2. Fill in each of these with the answers you have right now.
Act 1:
Opening – Kazi steals his father’s watch and plants it in Ces’s possessions
Inciting Incident – Ces is tortured and is near death
Turning Point – Ces’s daughter attempts top save him but is captured
Act 2:
New plan – Ces attempts to get on with the Japanese, he is determined to make sure everyone survives the camp, they all make it home
Plan in action – they study the camp and try find a way out
Midpoint Turning Point – Ces’s daughter Karen falls in love with the Reij. Reij is placed in the Aussie prison barracks so it becomes hard to communicate a plan
Act 3:
Rethink everything – they can’t plan a prison escape with Reij in the camp
New plan – they lay low for now, plan to take out Kazi, Bert steals a gun and Reij tells the guards. Kazi kills him and calls Reij a coward. They overhear the radio that the war is coming to an end so they don’t need to escape
Turning Point: Huge failure / Major shift – they are moved from the camp across the jungle
Act 4:
Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict – as they travel across the jungle a python drops and takes a guard into a tree. The guards leave and the Australians are stranded. Ces suggests they turn back but everyone turns against him because of Karen’s relationship with Reij. Reij and Karen sneak away at night. A tiger stalks the Aussies and attacks one of the young boys who Ces rescues
Resolution – Ces goes looking for Karen who is being watched by Kazi. Ces finds them and saves them. He fights with Kazi and they fight by the river, Ces tries to help Kazi and save him from drowning. He refuses his help and drowns
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Subject line: Gilesberg’s Character Profile Part 2
“What I learned doing this assignment is that when I focus on character profiles more diligently at the planning stage, the story will be stronger and easier to write”
What draws us to this character?
Ces – protagonist
Traits: compassionate, very smart
Subtext: he always appears like he is trying to help everyone, but he has an agenda, he is racist and he is a pacifist
Flaw: angry that he is at war, angry at injustice
Values: integrity, truth and compassion
Irony: he has no grace or compassion for Kazi or the Japanese
What makes this the right character for this role? He needs to change
Kazi – antagonist
Traits: he is a lit timebomb, he is hurt and is gonna make his enemy hurt
Subtext: the Australian’s hurt and maimed his family and he is going to make them pay
Flaw: full of anger, aching for revenge
Values: Japan as the superior race, he will do his job excellently, he is proud of his race and his rule of excellence
Irony: His anger and resentment towards Australian’s draws his son towards them who falls in love with an Aussie girl
What makes this the right character for this role? The drama is intense
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Subject line: Gilesberg’s Character Profiles Part 1
What I learned doing this assignment is that when we have clear steps to complete, we can even work and create progress when we are busy. i.e. we don’t need perfect conditions.
Pick the type of role your Protagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role.
Ces is a victim and a dreamer, he is often under the attack from Kazi the prison guard, he dreams of escaping the POW Camp and taking all the Australian soldiers with him alive
3. Pick the type of role your Antagonist will play and give us a few sentences on how they will fulfill that role.
Kazi is a Predator – he teases and tortures the Australians in the camp daily. His hatred is deep and he looks at how he can cause the greatest pain to his enemy. He perceives Ces as the leader of the Aussies so he inflicts pain on him to tease them
4. What other characters might be necessary?
Supporting characters: Karen is Ces’ daughter who came to save him. She is captured and placed in the prison camp. Karen falls in love with Reijirou her father’s arch enemies son. Minor roles: Bert – is Ces’ right-hand manBackground characters: other prisoners
5. Pick your genre.
Drama/period
6. Fill in whatever answers come to you about your lead character profiles.
Role in the story: Ces is the protagonist who leads the Australian men. He is an inspiration as he motivates everyone to hang on in these difficult timesAge range and Description: CECIL (aka CES) (50) is a male doctor, in the wrong place at the wrong time, a pacifist amid a war.Internal Journey: he is angry and frustrated, he never wanted to be at war and he is forced to use his smarts to beat the enemyExternal Journey: he was recklessly taunting the opposition, but now he needs to stay alive – Kazi wants to bring him near to death but not dieMotivation: he was motivated by revenge and survival, but when his daughter arrived, he decided he had to be less reckless and protect herWound: he feels angry at his government for forcing him to go to warMission/Agenda: to get everyone home alive and unmaimedSecret: he is a pacifistWhat makes them special? He leads an army of men as a closet pacifist
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Subject line: Gilesberg’s Transformational Journey
I learnt that my previous thoughts around my hero were not strong enough, I need him to go on a journey and repair his brokenness rather than have his act together from the start
1. Who is your Hero and what is their Character Arc that represents a transformation?
Ces is the hero, and his character arc is
Internal Journey: – Ces is bitter and twisted towards the Japanese, he is angry and bitter for his imprisonment, he needs to resolve this to survive the POW Camp and to be freeExternal Journey – Ces needs to escape the POW camp – his goal is to take as many of his men with him home alive
4. What are the Old Ways and New Ways?
a. His old ways are to resent every request from the guards that is made of the soldiers – everyone sees he is broken, but he doesn’t.
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