[Elisabeth Ness]

@ Jane I’m finally getting around to working on Day 2, and of course, your answers that I know you’d posted are gone due to the technical glitch that happened. I’m so sorry, I was looking forward to reading and responding to your Day 2 and 3 work. Please feel free to repost if you get a chance (hope you still have a copy of them)!

[Elisabeth Ness]

What I learned doing this assignment is: the protagonist of my short film nicely lent herself to this way of thinking about things, and it helped me better understand her. The supporting characters, however, are another matter… (if I get extra time, I’ll come back and do some of them).

Melisa:

Role in the Story:
Protagonist — a theater critic who hasn’t been to the theater since prior
to the pandemic, maintaining her pandemic isolation.
Age range and Description:
a mid-to-late 30s, wide-eyed redhead
Core Traits:
an awe-filled sponge, quiet/reserved, good-humored, intellectual,
self-critical
Character Subtext:
Melisa covers her guilt, grieving, and self-criticism, with a quiet positivity.
Motivation; Want/Need:
Want: to be out in the world seeing theater
Need: the security of isolation, ensuring she never accidentally infects anyone
Flaw: Melisa
is fearful of leaving her house because she accidentally killed her mentor
with the COVID she didn’t know she was carrying.
What’s special about this
character? Famous play and musical characters
she’s seen herself in over the years (when watching them come alive onstage)
have taken up residence in her mind and house, acting as friends and advisors.
Character Logline:
Melisa is a theater critic who, three years into the pandemic, must
overcome a dark secret in order to leave the safety of her house and the
imaginary seminal theater characters who have taken up residence there.

[Elisabeth Ness]

I take the lack of assignment posts here to mean that the Day 1 lesson materials weren’t working for anyone else yesterday, as well, right?

[Elisabeth Ness]

1. Elisabeth

2. Wrote a web series that won awards at festivals you’ve probably never heard of, and wrote some short films you’ve definitely never seen. (Thankfully, for you.)

3. I have ideas for two short films that I would like to make and star in this year, and hope that this class will kick my butt in gear with them, and write them to the best of my ability.

4. I have attended the world’s largest redhead convention, in the Netherlands.

[Elisabeth Ness]

1. Elisabeth Ness

2. “I agree to the terms of this release form.”

3. Please leave the entire text below to confirm what you agree to.

GROUP RELEASE FORM

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.

[Elisabeth Ness]

It’s frustrating, you just have to mark the lesson as “completed” (even if you haven’t done the homework yet) in order to move on to the video.

[Elisabeth Ness]

Nope, just Elisabeth!
They went in and checked the blank Lesson as “completed” (I think it’s a tech glitch on their end) and then that meant I could read Lesson 1, and then I had to mark that “completed” in order to see the video. You can try that, or hopefully they can do it for you. I just emailed them begging them to help you and Stephen. Would love for us all to be on this journey together!

[Elisabeth Ness]

Hi Stephen — what Support had to do for me, was go in and check as “completed” an empty Lesson, so that the first lesson would pop up. Then I had to mark that “completed” in order to be able to view the video. Maybe try doing that, and see if it works?
I’ve also emailed Support to ask them to help you and Ed. Would love for us to all be able to be on this journey together!

[Elisabeth Ness]

Hey @Marta and @ Stephen, did you get it to work? The Support team had to close the blank Lesson for me so I could see Lesson One, and then I had to mark that completed (when it’s obviously not) in order to see the accompanying video.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by  Elisabeth Ness. Reason: wrong Stephen tag

[Elisabeth Ness]

Hey @Jane, a question: is her Need “to learn to truly care for people”, or is her Need “connection and belonging with people” (which is currently written under Subtext)? Moving that there, could make her Need different than her Flaw!

[Elisabeth Ness]

@Jane that’s what I had to do, as well, so unfortunately I am behind on the Day 1 lesson.

[Elisabeth Ness]

@Ed did Support end up helping you? They had to help @Jane and me!