Emmanuel Sullivan
Forum Replies Created
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Emmanuel Sullivan
I agree to the terms of this 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.
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Emmanuel Sullivan
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.
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Emmanuel Sullivan
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.
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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.
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Emmanuel Sullivan
I agree to the terms of this release form.
GROUP RELEASE FORM
As a member of Writing Incredible Movies, 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, through social media, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, videos, 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.
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Emmanuel’s Query Letter Draft ONE
What I learned from this assignment is writing query letters is a craft itself and learning the process to get it right is crucial to long-term success as a screenwriter.
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Emmanuel’s Career Plan
What I learned from this lesson is marketing your screenwriting career is ultimately on you to accomplish and fill in the required players as needed, such as fans, champions, managers, agents, producers and then a sale. I understand it can be a long process, but if you have one marketable script, the battle is half won.
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Emmanuel Knows T.O.T.E.
What I learned from this assignment is testing your work is very important before delivering it to the client. Looping through feedback is a sign of a professional screenwriter vs an amateur.
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Emmanuel’s Query Letter
What I learned from this assignment is a query letter should be brief, but the main point is to start off with a hook, then synopsis, bio, request and contact information.
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Emmanuel has Lots of Hooks
What I learned from this assignment is hooks are key to hooking an agent, manager, producer or studio executive to pause and listen to more of your pitch.
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Emmanuel’s Logline and One-Sentence Phone Pitch
What I learned from this assignment is the logline and phone pitch are different. The logline goes into more detail than the phone pitch. The phone pitch is simply the hook for the movie and the logline details the protagonist’s problem, goal and obstacle.
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Emmanuel’s Marketable Components
What I learned doing this assignment is your script must have at least two marketable components in the business hook to attract a producer, studio or actor.
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Emmanuel is Expanding his Network
What I learned doing this assignment is social networks should be a CAREFUL part of your networking process.
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Emmanuel’s Network
What I learned doing this assignment is identifying your scriptwriting network and placing each contact in the correct category is essential to building your network of advocates. Great advice learned here is to not expect your friends to provide meaningful feedback, so it’s best not to give them access to your full project.
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Emmanuel’s Marketing Campaign
What I learned from this assignment is a marketing campaign can take on various forms depending on your genre, screenwriting experience, location and network. In all the campaign must be carefully planned.
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Emmanuel’s Target Market
What I learned doing this assignment is finding your target market is not that hard and finding the producers is easy using the IMDb method of leveraging connections that producers have to other projects.
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Emmanuel’s Project and Market
What I learned today is to attract the right script buyer, you must target the market, present a script they want and make it irresistible.
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Emmanuel has a Unique Voice
What I learned from this assignment is reviewing each character’s dialogue, line by line is an excellent way to analyze how true they are to the character profile created in the development process.
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Emmanuel’s Amazing Character Beat Sheet
What I learned from this assignment is placing the Actor Attractor answers within the script structure is a powerful way to see the lead character’s high-level points from beginning to the end. It’s a great way to contrast the characters and see their growth or transformation.
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Emmanuel’s Ad for A-List
What I learned from this assignment is creating an ad for an A-list actor should be done as soon as possible, the first 5 pages, if possible, since most producers and actors don’t read past page 10 if the script does not pull them in by then. So, the ad must show the character in an interesting situation, deliver insight into who they are throughout the script and the dialogue and action must fit the character in an intriguing manner.
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Emmanuel’s Scene is Actor Bait
What I learned from this assignment is creating a scene or more that is the most intriguing to an A-list actor is imperative. It may take several rewrites but it’s well worth it to guarantee a top actor to insist on playing the role.
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Emmanuel’s Translated Characters
What I learned from this assignment is finding the perfect trait for the main characters and fleshing out what they might do with that trait is an easy way to build their personality. It’s a good tool to keep around to review as the character continues the journey in the script, to ensure they stay within continuity.
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Emmanuel has tested my characters
What I learned from this assignment is comparing and testing the lead characters and placing them side by side is a great way to contrast the traits to visualize how opposite they are or if not, to make them more different than the same.
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Emmanuel’s Actor Attractor Characters
What I learned from this assignment is completing the 9 actor attractor questions for each lead character is a good way to see the character’s best traits or to enhance them in order to attract top talent to play the role.
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Emmanuel’s Character from Old Henry
What I learned from this assignment is watching a movie to analyze the lead character’s actor attractor traits is a great way to learn how screenwriters create roles that actors will demand to play. In Old Henry, the lead character Henry Mccarty has a calm demeanor but can be tough with his son when required, and when forced to protect his property and family, he can be violent on a dime, which comes from his early life as an outlaw.
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Emmanuel Has Special Characters
What I learned from this assignment is brainstorming various character traits and taking them to the extreme creates compelling and intriguing dialogue and action that when done with detail will attract an actor to play the role.
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Emmanuel’s Optional Components
What I learned from this assignment is adding more components to a character’s profile only enhances their draw for a potential actor to insist on playing the role.
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Emmanuel Lead Characters
What I learned from this assignment is creating great roles for lead characters is a must to attract actors who will help close a deal with a producer or studio.
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Hi, Emmanuel, I’ve written several TV pilots and one movie. I would like to learn more about making an antagonist and protagonist the most appealing to an actor and producer.
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Emmanuel Sullivan
I agree to the terms of this 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.
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Emmanuel’s Great First Page!
What I learned from this assignment is the very first page must be the most engaging to keep the reader interested in turning the page to read more and it’s a good habit to use the same method for the first 10 pages and then sprinkled throughout the script.
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Emmanuel’s Rough Draft
What I learned from this assignment is following the basic screenplay structure in the first 10 pages is ideal to creating the most engaging script opening.
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Emmanuel’s Opening Scene is Irresistible!
What I learned from this assignment is if you follow the rules and apply all six or at least half, you’ll end up with a great opening that pulls in the audience.
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Emmanuel’s Openings!
What I learned from this assignment is opening events, usually, the first 1-3 pages in a script must pull in the audience and give them an idea of what the movie will present to the end.
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Emmanuel Loves This Opening!
What I learned from this assignment is opening scenes are one of the most exciting elements in a movie because it usually sets the tone. We get to quickly sense the overall style the movie will explore going forward.
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Emmanuel’s Amazing Final Line
If possible, the final lines or scenes should be memorable. However, the final line and scene, in my view, require extra thought and attention to make it memorable. It’s not easy but to put forth an emotion that the audience feels when they leave the theater or finish the movies in their home is ideal.
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Emmanuel’s Final Page
The final page is often the most exciting part to write. There are so many ways to create an impactful ending. Just watched a movie that had a shock final page/ending.
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Emmanuel’s Rules
Most great scripts avoid on-the-nose dialogue. The 3<font size=”1″>rd</font> act and ending go so quickly, there is no time, but to cut to the most important elements. The common back and forth type of banter are not required in scripts. When characters speak, they should more times than not, leap forward in dialogue. There are times when common banter is required.
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Emmanuel’s Powerful Setups
Yes, setting up the third act is crucial. The best includes many twists and obstacles the hero must journey through in an effort to outshine any adversaries.
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Emmanuel’s Kick Ass Endings
Love endings that move me. The emotions I get from movie endings range from a happy resolution to sadness but satisfaction. Sometimes they make me think for days later. Some even make me laugh and wonder about the vast, variety that makes up human nature.
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Emmanuel’s Three Endings
Third act endings vary in style and by type of movie. However, the writer has creative control to make the last act the most engaging, which if done correctly, will make the movie shine in the minds of the audience.
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Emmanuel’s 3<font size=”1″>rd</font> Act Structure
The third act is often the most exciting because it brings the antagonist and protagonist closer together as they pursue their goals. It’s often the fastest and seems to be the shortest act in a script. If done well, the act should be a memorable moment.
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Emmanuel’s Great Ending
When I watch a movie, I’m always thinking and anticipating the ending. If I can’t figure out the ending, that means the writing, directing and acting were crafted with care. Endings that invoke an emotion are the best.
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Emmanuel’s Kick-Ass Dialogue
What I learned doing this assignment is dialogue is key to the screenwriting puzzle and there are various techniques to allow every character’s dialogue to shine.
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Emmanuel’s Colorful Dialogue
What I learned doing this assignment is colorful dialogue reminds me of poetry, where you think of the perfect set of words.
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Emmanuel’s Subtext Pointers
What I learned doing this assignment is identifying and using subtext pointers is a neat way to add drama, intrigue and suspense to dialogue in any scene.
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Emmanuel’s Cover-ups
What I learned doing this assignment is cover-ups are perfect tools to disperse in a script to engage the audience and ensure they stick around. It’s an effective technique to use that never fails if implemented correctly.
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Emmanuel’s Dialogue Structures
What I learned doing this assignment is dialogue structures always keep the reader engaged and the script a page-turner, especially circular dialogue and two different conversations at the same time.
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Emmanuel’s Anticipatory Dialogue
What I learned doing this assignment is anticipatory dialogue is often present in scripts that the screenwriter has not identified. The key is to identify the techniques and use as many as possible in scenes.
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Emmanuel’s Contrast Scene
What I learned doing this assignment is contrasting dialogue is a fantastic technique to keep readers engaged. It forces you to continue reading to understand why there are two conflicting types of dialogue.
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Emmanuel’s World View Scene
What I learned doing this assignment is creating a worldview for each main character is a great way to view their traits and how they think, which influences what they say and how they interact with other characters.
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Emmanuel’s Character Trait Live!
What I learned doing this assignment is screenwriters often play it safe when writing a character’s dialogue, instead of being bold, thinking outside the box. It is easier to go back and scale down dialogue if required.
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Emmanuel’s Great Dialogue Scene
What I learned doing this assignment is dialogue should not necessarily fill the script with back and forth, minor chatter, but move the scene and script forward with thoughtful words or phrases that gives a punch to the character’s trait.
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Emmanuel’s Meanings
What I learned doing this assignment is multiple meanings equals a captivating scene and engaging movie. I think every screenwriter should strive to include multiple meanings in at least one crucial scene.
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Emmanuel’s Directional FOS Patterns
What I learned doing this assignment is using figures of speech in subtext is a nice way to sprinkle intrigue into a script. If done right, the reader and audience will pick up on the subtle patterns.
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Emmanuel’s Dialogue Cover-ups
What I learned doing this assignment is subtext in dialogue can be tricky, but fun, if you chose the right word or phrase, it’s a powerful tool to use.
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Emmanuel’s Symbols
What I learned doing this assignment is symbols as subtext are great to catch when watching a movie. Oftentimes, the director will focus the camera on the object, which itself gives a clue that it means something.
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Emmanuel’s Subtext Scene
What I learned doing this assignment is a scene that is designed with subtext is powerful. Most scripts almost always include these three subtext scene designs: a plot against another person, dramatic irony and something is off. Combining character and symbol subtext makes the scene more powerful.
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Emmanuel’s Subtext Relationship
What I learned doing this assignment is creating subtext in several characters within a scene makes the script more intriguing. Characters should portray what happens in real life when people hide their true feelings, intentions and actions.
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Emmanuel’s Subtext Characters
What I learned doing this assignment is character subtext enriches the scene and elevates the script. Characters are more dimensional with subtext added.
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Emmanuel’s Great Subtext Scene
What I learned doing this assignment is subtext is a very powerful screenwriting tool. There are various ways to use subtext in scenes that deliver deeper meaning by word usage, action, body language and use of props.
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Emmanuel’s Page Turner
What I learned doing this assignment is writing a pager turner using all the skillsets in this section definitely improves the script quality. Utilizing the writing with boldness skill sheet is very helpful to build a pager turner script.
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Emmanuel’s Writing is Bold!
What I learned doing this assignment is to review each scene and determine if there can be more boldness in the action and dialogue. But also, be mindful of the other writing tools and tips.
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Emmanuel’s Extreme Emotion!
What I learned doing this assignment is delivering emotion in a script is not an easy task. You have to balance engaging visuals with swift, emotional dialogue.
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Emmanuel’s Visuals
What I learned doing this assignment is enhancing visuals in scene descriptions is a tool to master. Picking the right concrete noun and action verb, and adding metaphors, slight exaggeration and comparison is a skill set to master.
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Emmanuel’s Hope/Fear
What I learned doing this assignment is hope and fear is an excellent writing tool to keep readers on edge. If used well, it can turn the script into a page-turner.
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Emmanuel’s Uncertainty Scene
What I learned doing this assignment is uncertainty builds anxiety into the script and leaves the reader wondering if it will be resolved. A great tool to use, almost like a setup/payoff, but with uncertainty, there is back and forth.
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Emmanuel’s Hooks
What I learned doing this assignment is hooks are great to use in scripts because they leave the reader with a question. They can be subtle in dialogue and action. I like when hooks are revealed in visuals.
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Emmanuel’s Suspense
What I learned doing this assignment is suspense in scenes is an important tool to keep the reader engaged. Sometimes suspense is revealed right away and other times it’s dispersed over several scenes.
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Emmanuel’s Anticipatory Dialogue
What I learned doing this assignment is dialogue should not always be on the nose or matter of fact. Allow the reader to wonder and discern what the character might say or surprise the reader with dialogue that is not expected.
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Emmanuel’s Anticipation Scene
What I learned doing this assignment is page-turner scenes are crucial to a script. What I’ve found is scripts have lull points, but when you disperse anticipation throughout the script, it keeps the reader engaged and wanting to read more.
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Emmanuel’s being Dramatic!
What I learned doing this assignment is using dramatic devices to create enticing scenes is the best way to engage readers, producers, and actors into participating or gaining buy-in to develop a script.
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Emmanuel’s Creates a Future
What I learned doing this assignment is that creating future events that build anticipation or force the audience to ask a question always adds intrigue to any plot.
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Emmanuel’s Misleads/Reveals
What I learned doing this assignment is that misleads and reveals are great to include in a story, if done well, and I believe should be used sparingly, depending on genre, and should not confuse the audience.
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Emmanuel’s Crucible
What I learned doing this assignment is crucible scenes are crucial and I love them when done well in movies. To put the protagonist and antagonist in proximity and force them to confront each other is great entertainment.
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Emmanuel’s Amazing Setting
What I learned doing this assignment is scene settings often times tell the story without much action or dialogue. It’s important to analyze each scene’s slugline and action to capture the best setting.
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Emmanuel’s Setup/Payoffs
What I learned doing this assignment is setups are key to moving a story along, especially if they are designed to captivate the audience, and then the payoff is revealed later.
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Emmanuel’s Twist
What I learned doing this assignment is adding twists to the story, sprinkled throughout, will keep the audience wondering what will happen next. Sometimes twists can trick you into thinking one thing but in the end, something else happens.
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Emmanuel’s Dramatic Irony
What I learned doing this assignment is using dramatic irony is a great writing tool. Love watching a movie and knowing something a bit more than the character. You want to jump in and tell the character to watch out or do something different because she’s in danger or not making a wise decision.
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Emmanuel’s Conflict
What I learned doing this assignment is conflict always keeps the audience engaged. If you add conflict and tension throughout the story, it will always move the main characters forward, and allow natural dialogue to shape the story.
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Emmanuel’s Dramatic Choices
What I learned doing this assignment is dramatic moments keep the audience engaged. I watched OLD HENRY twice and doing so the second time, I intensely waited for the dramatic moments I remember from the first viewing.
1. The corrupt county deputy sheriff runs for his life, he’s shot and captured, and pleads for his life.
2. The fake county law enforcement drags the captured deputy sheriff by rope and then strangles him.
3. A wondering horse is noticed on the horizon by Henry and his son. Why is it alone with a saddle?
4. Henry finds an unconscious man near a creek and a satchel of money, along with a gun. This is trouble and Henry leaves but turns around to help the man.
5. The fake law enforcement team arrives at the Henry ranch looking for the missing man. Henry senses trouble.
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What I learned doing this assignment is attack/counterattack is the best method for creating dialogue, especially for main characters, but it should be used in every scene. Avoid on the nose, bland dialogue.
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What I learned doing this assignment is to analyze the main character’s actions in each scene and improve them based on their character profile.
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What I learned doing this assignment is to brainstorm how the main character might react to a situation based on their character profile. Similar to any occupation or our own lives when we are placed in a situation and there are 100s of different ways to react.
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What I learned doing this assignment is how a character’s bond with another is character chemistry. You’ll find like all relationships; people share common items of interest and disapproval. On the flip side, character chemistry can also be a negative relationship.
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What I learned doing this assignment is like a pilot or season arc in TV, a character also has an arc, something I never considered. The basic idea is the character is introduced with a fear, flaw or trait that has changed by the end of the story.
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What I learned doing this assignment is I didn’t know there were so many ways to introduce a character. I always thought it was in the physical character description. But now I know you can introduce characters through dialogue, environment and action.
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What I learned doing this assignment is competing agendas always allow for great dialogue. It’s natural for people to have several viewpoints and to see that play out in action and dialogue can be intriguing.
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What I learned doing this assignment is subtext is an insightful way to understand a main character’s motivations, drive and history. I never thought of a character logline, but it makes sense to have a simple sentence of their role.
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What I learned doing this assignment is creating a character profile, at least for the main characters helps in the future when introducing supporting characters, then you’ll know how the lead characters will respond in action and dialogue.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s Pass 9: Flag Scenes to Elevate
What I learned doing this assignment is elevating scenes should always be the goal in the outline process.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s Pass 10: Essence Only
What I learned doing this assignment is to write the essence of each scene and if possible, only write two sentences max. Rewriting each scene to ensure only the clearest description allows for an easier read and a quicker writing process.
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Emmanuel Sullivan
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.
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Hi, Emmanuel here, I’ve written 3 scripts, years ago, they’re horrible, but after taking several ScreenwritingU courses this year, I’m confident my new scripts will shine. The contained script format is very interesting, I’ve watched several movies the past two years, in and out of Covid that have two locations max. They were very good, one movie actually had one main location. It fascinates me how a writer is able to accomplish writing an engaging, contained script.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Phone Pitch
What I learned today is a phone pitch must follow a quick set of rules to engage the potential producer and also allows you to make more calls in a day.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Pitch Fest Pitch
What I learned today is the query letter is a pitch fest pitch that needs to be short and snappy but includes all the main ingredients.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Query Letter
What I learned today is the query letter is also a statement about your ability to tell a story and present a professional presentation.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Synopsis Hooks
What I learned doing this assignment is hooks are the key to building an engaging synopsis.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s Pass #8: Cliché Busting
What I learned doing this assignment is clichés should be avoided as much as possible. I think lead characters should not have clichés at all.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s Pass #7: Setup/Payoff Chains
What I learned doing this assignment is setup/payoffs work differently in each act. Act 1 has the most setups, which makes sense, then act 2 has a combination of setups/payoffs and act 3 has mostly payoffs. When looking at it that way, it’s a great way to understand setup and payoffs.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s Pass #6: Subplots with Meaning
What I learned doing this assignment is subplots add more engagement with the lead and minor characters. However, subplots should be constructed carefully and not dilute the main plot/story and should not just be filler or solution to handle a problem in the story structure.
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Emmanuel Sullivan Dialogue 7 – 8
What I learned doing this assignment is dialogue as action is a powerful way to write dialogue, especially if it’s a concise phrase and the audience can see the meaning immediately. Coverups and subtext are always a great way to add intrigue in scenes. It keeps the audience engaged and guessing.
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Emmanuel Sullivan Dialogue 3 – 5
What I learned doing this assignment is setup/payoff dialogue should be weaved into the script more often, anticipatory when needed and irony sprinkled in, which makes for a dynamic read when you are mindful of these skills.
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Emmanuel Sullivan Dialogue 1+2
What I learned doing this assignment is dialogue is tricky. There are so many elements you must think about. For one, the main characters must have dialogue that moves the story along but also dialogue that is written to their personality. The dialogue also must be natural, mostly brief, engaging, intriguing and bring out emotions.
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Emmanuel’s Chronological Edit
What I learned doing this assignment is the chronological edit is great to do before starting the second draft. Start from page 1 and review the description, action and dialogue, then set aside for a short while, and come back for rewrites.
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Emmanuel’s Solved Character Problems!
What I learned doing this assignment is the lead character must be in 90 percent of the scenes. Creating and maintaining 3-dimensional lead characters can be difficult in screenwriting. Another issue is making sure the characters don’t sound the same.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Synopsis Hooks
What I learned doing this assignment is hooks are the key to building an engaging synopsis.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s Pass #5: Action / Reaction
What I learned doing this assignment is action and reaction should move the story forward and not consist of exposition that adds nothing to the story. The action/reaction exercise is a great way to quickly jot down protagonist/antagonist events in a story. Thinking about the emotional moment the protagonist will grow through is also a must, you’re able to isolate the moment and make it as engaging as possible.
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Emmanuel Sullivan Completed P/S Grid #2
What I learned doing this assignment is the problem/solution grid for characters and scenes is very helpful with finding issues and helpful solutions. What I find is characters and scenes can get complicated with all the details and you tend to get stuck. The grid is the answer to quickly resolving issues.
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Emmanuel Sullivan Completed P/S Grid #1
What I learned doing this assignment is the grid helped identify holes in my outline and is a quick way to repair with the possible solutions.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s High Concept/Elevator Pitch
What I learned today is there is a difference between a high concept, logline and elevator pitch. The high concept or hook is one sentence, as the elevator pitch, but the elevator pitch expands just a little more and can include a hook (which delivers the story powerfully and ASAP). The logline is usually two sentences max and includes the protagonist, goal, opposition and twist.
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Emmanuel’s Level 3 Action Emotions
What I learned doing this assignment is that level 3 action emotions are heart-pounding, always, and they keep viewers on the edge. When written well, level 3 action emotions always deliver.
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Emmanuel’s Solved Scene Problems!
What I learned doing this assignment is reviewing and improving every scene after analyzing is the best way to enhance a script that readers will engage and continue reading. An example, I read the pilot for Six Feet Under and I couldn’t put it down. The scene descriptions were very brief but visual and the dialogue fit with moving the story forward.
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Emmanuel’s Solved Structural Problems
What I learned doing this assignment is the structure points must be present to have an engaging story. Identifying the structure questions exactly as they appear in the script is the best way.
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Emmanuel’s Filled In Missing Scenes!
What I learned doing this assignment is taking a break from the first draft and then reading it again, you always find scenes and dialogue that don’t work and need improvement or gaps to fill in.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s NQ 3 and 4
What I learned doing this assignment is digging into the necessary questions forces you to go deeper into the story and leading characters to figure out the emotional dilemma and overall theme.
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Emmanuel Sullivan Has Finished Act 4 + 5
What I learned doing this assignment is act 4 is exciting building in the character’s obstacles and intrigue and finally act 5 where we’ll see the resolution to the episode, insight into the season or a cliffhanger.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s 10 Most Interesting Things
What I learned doing this assignment is one way to start a pitch to a producer, manager or agent is with one of the most interesting moments in the script.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Producer/Manager
What I learned today is managers and producers are usually on two different business tracks that a writer must be mindful of when interacting and pitching.
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Emmanuel’s Act 4 Resolution
What I learned doing this assignment is the resolution usually shows the protagonist enjoying their hard-earned fight in the climax scenes before.
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Emmanuel’s Level 1 Action Emotions
What I learned doing this assignment is picturing the level 1 emotions in action movies I’ve watched, the writer used anxiety, fear and relief throughout the story. I think fear is used most often in level 1 and the minute the protagonist is out of danger you feel relief for him/her.
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Emmanuel’s Act 4 Climax
What I learned doing this assignment is the climax scenes are the most exciting because you get to finally see the protagonist fully transform and go against the antagonist.
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Emmanuel’s Favorite Twists!
What I learned doing this assignment is twists make stories exciting. Sometimes they are subtle, some you don’t notice and then there are huge twists. I never considered a twist in dialogue, only action, but it makes sense now.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Project and Market
What I learned today is the key to marketing success is to have a target market, present a producer, agent or manager with a product they want/need and make it attractive to them.
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Emmanuel’s Likability/Empathy/Justification
What I learned doing this assignment is the hero can also be likable even if he/she has to do horrible things. The audience can empathize with a hero that has to react to situations out of their control or dangerous plots the villain placed the hero in, which forces a fight or flight scenario.
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Emmanuel Sullivan
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.
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Hi, Emmanuel, from Texas, look forward to learning more about script marketing.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Finished Act 3
What I learned doing this assignment is if you get stuck in a scene, just complete the slugline and use a placeholder or write a minor comment about the scene and come back.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s Pass 2: Story Logic Web
What I learned doing this assignment is seeing the story logic on one page helps you notice any holes in the story and is a quick way to tighten up the plot/structure points, character arc, conflict and dilemma.
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Emmanuel’s Act 4 First Scenes
What I learned doing this assignment is act 4 is usually full of choices the protagonist must make quickly to stay ahead of the fast-moving antagonist.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Finished Act 1 First Draft
What I learned doing this assignment is to remember to embrace the high speed writing rules. Remember early drafts are lower quality. Any item that comes to mind for each scene is what I create. At this point, many of my scenes are lacking great dialogue, action and scene descriptions. To keep moving, I also use placeholders when I don’t know much of anything about the scene.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s High Speed Writing
What I learned doing this assignment is the high speed writing process works well when you remember to use the rules while writing. One key item to remember is to write in drafts and the first draft’s quality is only expected to be 20%.
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Emmanuel’s Act 3 Turning Point
What I learned doing this assignment is the 3<font size=”1″>rd</font> act turning point raises the stakes. The protagonist is now in serious trouble, and you must show that there is no mercy.
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Emmanuel’s Act 3 Reaction to Midpoint
What I learned doing this assignment is the midpoint forces the protagonist to regroup and think about a new way of doing things. His old plan just will not work. The villain has blocked all efforts for the hero to succeed at this point and thus forces a reaction.
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Emmanuel’s Act 3 Middle Scenes
What I learned doing this assignment is the stakes turn up in act 3. The protagonist must act quickly to the rising tension.
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Emmanuel’s Story Map
What I learned doing this assignment is the story map is a fantastic way to organize the story to see the hero, villain and action planned out in preparation for the outline or beat sheet.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s 1st Pass
What I learned doing this assignment is organizing the first pass from logline to the protagonist arc is a great start to the story puzzle. Seeing all the pieces come together is very helpful with developing ideas to weave into beats further down as the story develops.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s Favorite Movie Outline
What I learned doing this assignment is outline is the best way to move a story forward before writing action and dialogue. Outlining how other writers accomplished the process in your genre is also a good way to pick up tips.
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Emmanuel’s Action Structure
What I learned doing this assignment is creating a top-down view of the 3-act structure is an excellent way to see how the story starts, what happens in the middle, and ending resolution, which also helps with writing beats or an outline.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Outline with Intrigue
What I learned doing this assignment is building in intrigue is key for a reader or producer to advance the page and for an audience to be engaged to come back and watch more.
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Emmanuel’s Has Completed Act 2 Draft 1
What I learned doing this assignment is writing quickly, even if it’s outlining an act, or jotting down a scene that is not fully developed, just keep writing in early drafts, it’s the best way to move forward. You can spend a lot of time thinking about the right scene, description, dialogue and waste time. I’ve learned now to just write what comes to mind. Even if it’s very simple and doesn’t quite match.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s Basic Structure
What I learned doing this assignment is the basic story structure can be presented in 9 beats, which is an excellent way to set up a script in a high-level view for easier outlining.
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Emmanuel’s Action Track!
What I learned doing this assignment is there must be major plot/character action present and disbursed throughout the script to engage the audience and to show significant friction between the protagonist and villain.
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Emmanuel’s Act 2 TP – Midpoint
What I learned doing this assignment is the midpoint is a pivotal moment to show the protagonist has turned around but is still on the same journey.
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Emmanuel’s Act 2 Middle Scenes
What I learned doing this assignment is setting up the protagonist’s roadblocks is an engaging way to reveal intrigue as a story progresses. It’s similar to our own lives when we reach a block in what we’re attempting to accomplish and have to figure out a way to solve it.
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Emmanuel’s Villain Track!
What I learned doing this assignment is the villain must have a compelling storyline otherwise there is no conflict.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s Necessary Questions
What I learned doing this assignment is the four questions force you to dig deep to find the main essence of your concept. This was tough but I see it is necessary because I didn’t have the main conflict fully developed and my story would have fallen flat after the first act.
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Emmanuel’s Finished Act 2 Reactions to TP 1
What I learned doing this assignment is reactions to the first turning point is a great way to jumpstart intrigue in act 2.
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Emmanuel’s Finished Act 1
What I learned doing this assignment is following the high-speed writing rules allows you to move forward. Looking at act 1 in its current form, I have 10 scenes in the beat sheet. No dialogue or action yet, but just sluglines and description. At times I feel this is not good enough but it’s the writing process and I remind myself this is the first draft; the quality should only be 20% at this point.
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Emmanuel’s Hero’s Mission
What I learned doing this assignment is to create a high-level action plan for the hero. Starting with the hero’s motivation, hitting obstacles, reaching goals and then finally success.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s Dramatic Plots 2
What I learned doing this assignment is analyzing a concept through various plots is a great way to see your story in various formats. Some of the plots could be merged into one to elevate the story making it more engaging.
Out of the four plots, I’m going with the rivalry plot.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s Dramatic Plots 1
What I learned doing this assignment is if carefully selected, plots are key to making a great story. Selecting two plots is a good idea to aid in developing the concept and perhaps merged into one logline.
My dramatic plots are Rivalry and Underdog.
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[PS80] Emmanuel’s Character Structure
What I learned doing this assignment is the character structure is important to determine early in the writing process. I think it should be considered when creating the concept so that you’ll have an easier process of developing the main characters.
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Emmanuel’s Turning Point 1 Scenes
What I learned doing this assignment is the turning point for each act is a key component. For act 1 the turning point locks the protagonist in the main conflict. The hero can’t turn back and must move forward.
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Emmanuel’s Inciting Incident
What I learned doing this assignment is the inciting incident is the single item that sets the protagonist on a journey to confront a battle with the antagonist. It seems in some scripts and concepts; the inciting incident is created by the antagonist and in some, it’s the result of an incident and the antagonist reacts.
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Emmanuel’s Act 1 Opening Scenes
What I learned doing this assignment is act 1 has four key scenes that if followed allows the writing process to work out smoothly. The four key scenes are exciting opening, inciting incident, reaction to inciting incident and turning point.
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Emmanuel’s Hero and Villain
What I learned doing this assignment is exploring the hero and villain at a high level allows you to see who they are and what their goals might be in the concept.
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Emmanuel’s High Speed Beat Sheet
What I learned doing this assignment is the beat sheet helps with fleshing out the overall story. The quick writing process using the 7 rules is unique and nerve-wracking at the same time. I like the idea of using placeholders if you don’t have the scene fully realized yet. This keeps the writing process going. Overall, this process produces holes in the script but keeps you moving forward.
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Emmanuel’s Beat Sheet Draft 2
What I learned doing this assignment is the antagonist is also equally as important. Most writers know that but tend to focus on the protagonist. It’s a good idea to build the antagonist into the beat sheet so that you can sail quickly writing the first draft.
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Emmanuel’s Conventions
What I learned doing this assignment is conflict must drive an action movie forward. The hero and antagonist should have intense interaction that continuously escalates to keep the viewer engaged and the script reader turning the page.
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Hi, Emmanuel, years ago, I wrote a feature, two pilots, and a TV spec.
Look forward to learning more about creating high-concept action scripts.
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Emmanuel Sullivan
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.
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Emmanuel’s Transformational Events
What I learned doing this assignment is each act should have a transformational event. The hero must go through a series of events from the start to the end of the movie. Once the hero moves from the old way to the new way, there is no turning back. The hero’s consistent journey will become extreme as he becomes more competent.
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Emmanuel’s 4-Act Transformational Structure
What I learned doing this assignment is the transformational structure should just be a brief overview of the conflict in each act. I simply provided a one-sentence overview for each item listed in each act. This gave me a broad, high-level view of the opening act to the resolution.
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Emmanuel’s Character Interviews
What I learned doing this assignment is getting into the mind of your character and building their personality, dreams, wounds, and goals is very exciting. When I build characters, I think of people I know or have briefly encountered and fuse in various traits they have to create my protagonist and antagonist.
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Emmanuel’s Character Profiles Part 2
What I learned doing this assignment is creating a character’s bio and life is one of the joys of screenwriting. As a writer, you must care about your primary characters so that it shows in your writing, and if done correctly, the audience will care as well.
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Emmanuel’s Character Profiles Part 1
What I learned doing this assignment is after deciding the story title and concept or logline, the next part should be the start of the story puzzle, which includes the genre, the antagonist and protagonist role, and the primary character’s profile.
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Emmanuel’s Transformational Journey
What I learned doing this assignment is each character has an arc, but the antagonist and protagonist’s arc should be the focus and prominent. Both primary characters have a goal or want something, and they must go through a journey and transformation to get what they want.
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Hi, Emmanuel, I’ve completed one feature, two pilots and one TV spec.
Look forward to learning more about creating a story outline quickly and the best practices to writing a first draft script in 30 days. Anything under 6 months would be ideal.
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Emmanuel Sullivan
I’ll do the class privately.
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.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Thriller Map Version 1
What I learned is converting the tags into sluglines is easier now that the mystery, suspense, intrigue, twists, cover up, trust and distrust have been weaved into the story.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Misdirects…When Appropriate!
What I learned is misdirects should be used sparingly. I’ve noticed in thriller movies, at least my understanding, misdirects are used less than a handful of times. It’s a great technique to keep the audience engaged and thinking about the story puzzle.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Dramatic Reveals
What I learned is dropping reveals throughout each act keeps the viewer engaged and thinking forward about what’s to come. A reveal is a great addition to mystery, intrigue and suspense.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Trust Relationships
What I learned is relationships between the hero and villain are key to advancing the story, even if they both attempt at trusting and then distrusting each other. I think secondary character’s trust and distrust follow. This is a good exercise to plan out or add to story plots.
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TWIST 2:
Emmanuel Sullivan’s Plot Twist and Turns
What I learned is the more twists that are relevant to the story will keep the audience on the edge to watch more. The key is creating engaging twists, so it’s a brainstorming session. However, it’s easier when you have a list of plot twist themes to draw inspiration from.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Scene Requirements
What I learned doing this assignment is that each scene must be carefully crafted to move the story forward. The first and second pass sequence items help with writing the most engaging scenes.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Thriller Plot!
What I learned is plotting out the major points from beginning to end and adding MIS in between helps with writing future scenes and fleshing out the story.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Life Threatening Sequence
What I learned is creating threatening scenarios is an important key to keeping viewers engaged and on the edge. I can recall several scenes in thriller movies where I was shaken, nervous, and my heartbeat increased by the situations the hero was placed in by the villain.
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Hi, Emmanuel, I’ve completed one feature, two pilots and one TV workshop spec. They were written years ago and remain in the file cabinet. Horrible. I have new concepts that I want to bring to life.
Look forward to learning more about creating engaging or 3-dimensional characters. In other words, characters that don’t sound the same.
I’m slow at following a story line in film and TV and usually only watch a film once. Plot based rather than character films, for me, are easier to digest. So, anyway, it’s odd I want to write features and TV but I have so many ideas buzzing around.
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What I learned: The insight about feedback was powerful. I thought about it before, but not this deep, but giving feedback actually allows you to learn the craft as well. I didn’t know that 90% of screenwriters earn a living from 3 areas, basically, writing or rewriting someone else’s work. The scary part of this process or the writing process is the rewrite. Not being a perfectionist in the first draft is fine, but the thought of writing 5-10 drafts, in some cases, sounds daunting. Perhaps the rewrites are pieces of the script, certain scenes, dialogue, and sometimes pages, but in all, that’s what it takes.
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Emmanuel Sullivan
I agree to the terms of this release form.
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.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Mystery Sequence
What I learned is the writing strategy for creating a mystery sequence is reversed. The secret is created first and then developing the right cover up. The 5-step process is an excellent method for creating mystery. Never thought of a red herring mystery. Excellent!
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Villain Has a Great Plan!
What I learned is the villain has an equal role in moving the story forward and must battle with the hero to keep the story engaging.
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What I learned doing this assignment is lining up the ABC story keeps the plots tight and gives you the direction needed to develop each story, remembering that the A story is the largest and the B story has more than C, which is not very significant. I was also able to drill the concept and inciting incident down to one sentence. The beats are fun to do as it’s creating the world you’ve built, but it also makes you think about dialogue.
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What I learned doing this assignment is setting up future reveals without exposing too much detail is a great way to keep the audience engaged and interested in watching future episodes.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s BI Stacking Suspense
I learned so much more about how scenes are constructed and separating mystery, intrigue and suspense. Great exercise. You understand more movie structure this way.
Emmanuel Sullivan’s SOTL Stacking Suspense
Doing this assignment, I learned so much more than when I watched Silence of the Lambs move over 20 years ago. Now I’m confident to pace suspense, and sprinkle intrigue along with mystery throughout my scripts.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Adding Empathy/Distress!
What I learned doing this assignment is to build and maintain a viewer’s interest you must build empathy and distress as much as possible into your script. Looking back at some of the best shows, I’m now seeing how the writer added moments of empathy/distress that forced me to worry about a character or stay tuned to what will happen next.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s World and Characters!
What I learned doing this assignment is breaking down the main character’s MIS helps you see a basic outline from their point of view. It’s almost like a character logline for the hero and villain that is unique to them. Never thought of adding a red herring character, an interesting concept!
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Open Loops and Mysteries
What I learned doing this assignment is creating open loops and mysteries gives the story legs to run with for future episodes and also gives you concepts to add to the outline in preparation for writing the pilot.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Stacks Intrigue
What I learned doing this assignment is the list of stacked intrigue in my view should be consistent and have the same theme in each act. Perhaps I’m wrong but it doesn’t make sense to list various topics of intrigue that have no relation to the next. In other words, I’m thinking you should stack intrigue for A and B story.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Layers and Reveals
What I learned doing this assignment is layers and reveals can be successfully applied to each act and probably each scene in each act. This process makes you think, high level and broad, which is a great process to dig into more possible plots.
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HELD Thriller Conventions
What I learned doing this assignment is setting up the MIS is probably one of the first steps after an intriguing title and engaging logline.
• Unwitting but Resourceful Hero: A couple takes a weekend vacation to recharge their 9-year marriage. The wife arrives before her husband, enjoys the house, swims, drinks wine, gets in tune for an exciting weekend. The husband arrives later, slightly stiff, relaxes with his wife at the poolside, but she’s not in the mode and he retreats to the bedroom, just like at home. Once, trapped, the wife attempts an unsuccessful escape through a crawl space. She fakes sedation to find out who is holding them hostage. When she finds that her husband ordered the reconditioning, she further fakes sedation to escape. She successfully kills the villain, takes his frequency device, and fights her husband, until finally injecting him with the high frequency implant and turns up the frequency.
• Dangerous Villain: An Eden Group representative who directs the couple to obey commands through the audio system inside a locked house. He sedates the unsuspecting couple with spiked alcohol and enters the house when they are asleep. He tricks them into thinking there is an external intruder.
• High stakes: The guy the wife cheated with is sedated and held hostage, tied to a chair. The wife is ordered by the villain through the house speaker to kill him. Will she? The husband turns mental, angry that his wife cheated and wants his marriage back to normal and he’ll do anything to achieve that goal.
• Life and death situations: The couple must obey the commands, if not, they are subject to a piercing, high-frequency device implant behind their ear. The higher the frequency, the more painful, which can kill.
• This movie is thrilling because? We are under the impression that the couple is being trapped by an outside force, but the intruder is in a secret, locked room, and her husband is participating in the reconditioning scheme.
• Big Mystery: Why did the villain trap the couple in the house?
• Big Intrigue: Eden Group is offering a service to recondition couples to live a traditional, loving marriage typically seen 50 years ago.
• Big Suspense: Will the trapped couple find a way to get out of the locked house.
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Emmanuel
I agree to the terms of this release form.
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.
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Hi,
Emmanuel here.
I’ve written two original scripts and one spec for a TV animation show. That was years ago, they’re horrible, but hey, I guess most of us can say that.
Enjoy thriller movies and hope to learn the rules to creating an intriguing thriller script. I’m seeing more contained movies these days, and most are thrillers.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Character Story Lines
What I learned doing this assignment is the character’s storyline helps move the plot along but breaking it down to a storyline structure helps with future outlining.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Pilot Structure
What I learned doing this assignment is it was tough! This process will get tougher, but this is tough love. After going through this process, I learned a key point. Not sure how to explain, but there are so many layers in a story, even a scene you create. Originally, I thought I needed to reveal more for the pilot and once you do this exercise, you realize, you don’t. Just little kernels of plot and character are revealed to advance the story.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Visually Appealing Bible
What I learned doing this assignment is pictures and graphics bring a story to life. Text is key to telling the story, but the visuals allow you to see the world.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Edited TV Pitch Bible
What I learned doing this assignment is getting to the essence of the character, episode and season descriptions is key. Like technical writing, you must cut out the fluff. Looking at my character, episode and season descriptions in that manner allowed me to trim unnecessary filler words and sentences that do not elicit interest or intrigue. I also revised my concept, making it tighter, and revised the world, which is now one sentence.
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Emmanuel Sullivan Presents Non-Stop Intrigue
What I learned doing this assignment is episode and season titles can actually entice you to read more or watch the show. Sometimes they can tell a story too. It’s really important to create quick, snappy titles, in my view, and from what I see, they are usually less than 5 words.
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Emmanuel Sullivan Presents Non-Stop Intrigue
What I learned doing this assignment is character description can have intrigue and I never thought about it that way. I used to think a character’s description should only include their physical features and background.
I revised the pilot and changed a minor character having an affair to one of the main characters. In this episode, I also moved a shocking event to the main character.
I tightened up the concept, world, show summary, character descriptions, and a few episodes. Actually, replaced one of the episodes out of the eight because the overall theme is not as engaging as the previous episodes.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Intrigue Patterns
What I learned doing this assignment is digging deeper and thinking about an intriguing event longer allowed me to change the characters in the event, which made it even more intriguing, and with the pattern exercise, it changed the first episode.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s TV Pitch Bible Investigation
What I learned doing this assignment is the binge worthy framework is truly a living document and investigating deeper allows you to add layers to plot and characters.
First, I had to tighten up my binge worthy framework. I totally changed the concept, revised the world, added to the relationship hooks, and overhauled the empathy/distress section. The mystery section was the toughest, which I’m still working on. I also added and modified the potential layers section, which was the easiest, along with open loops. My pilot or episode one is completely new. I found that I had too many bouncing plots that did not deeply influence at least one of the main characters. Adding all the new elements into the TV Pitch Bible helped to improve the overall flow and theme of the show.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Show Summary
What I learned doing this assignment is the show summary must quickly get to the heart of the main character’s conflict or dilemma.
49:50
One Hour Drama
**Pilot as Inciting Incident**
The former 50th president, Mark Cason, a democrat, served one term in DC. Now back in California, his home state, he teams up with the former 49th president, Andrew Brice, a republican, to launch an innovative and bipartisan foundation – 49:50.
A festive party is in progress at the Cason home to celebrate the foundation’s 1st anniversary. The two former leaders of the free world are running late but finally arrive. Their excuses were never revealed. However, Andrew is racing down the highway with the secret service after enjoying a night of indulging in his vice in Reno, Nevada. Mark is upstairs with his wife bickering about their lackluster marriage.
Soon the ballroom wing is brimming with local and federal politicians, associates, press and family. The Cason and Brice offspring mingle, small talk turns to partisan jabs. It is generation alpha on full display. The matriarchs wrangle their young adult children to keep the celebration festive and to remember they are the face of the foundation’s management.
Leading up to his speech, Mark works his political charm with the revelers wearing donkey and elephant party hats. On stage, he announces forming an exploratory committee to review a possible bid for a second term in the White House. The crowd cheers. Andrew is surprised. His wife Sarah is not amused because she was kept in the dark and has no interest in trekking back to DC. She gulps more drinks than she can handle and swings into flirting with her husband’s former Vice President.
The former first lady and VP take the flirting to another level and head off to a bedroom to continue the on and off affair. While their intense action heats up, there is a party guest in the closet, he is scrolling his phone and puffing a blunt. Noticing the action, and who it is, he pulls out his phone to record.
Mark announces at a press conference that he is running for a second term. A reporter asks about the sex tape that just hit the press. The shocking news catches Mark off guard and he ends the presser early. He confronts Sarah and she admits to the long-term affair, but she is committed to the marriage and does not want a divorce.
Mark desperately wants a second term that he felt was sabotaged. To keep his bid for the White House steady, the pair devise a media spin to push out a message that they are committed to each other, but as a modern family, decided to pursue an open marriage.
Will the public accept the nontraditional marriage in a bid for the White House?
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Episode Descriptions
What I learned doing this assignment is each episode must be engaging to the reader so that they want to come back for more, so it is important to only include items that will pique interest. Although this assignment was an interesting journey, I had a tough time, it made me think and rethink my framework.
Episode 1:
Mark, a former democrat president, and Andrew, a former republican president, celebrate their foundation’s 1st anniversary in a bipartisan affair at Mark’s home. While the party is in a festive mode, an affair transpires in a spare bedroom. A guest at the event records the affair and blackmails the party involved. Mark enlists his son to squash the tape, but that deal comes with an unusual request, that ultimately must be fulfilled by the former democrat leader of the free world.
Episode 2:
Andrew makes a bold move to fund the foundation’s upcoming payroll. His vice is gambling, and that includes any type, from poker, sports, dogs and horses, to good ol’ slots when he has money to spare. However, he is a former president, and to get in the action, he must go undercover. The risk is huge, but he manages to pull off making the payroll deadline, however, senior management is not happy because now they are forced to fix financial reporting documents, which could lead to legal questions.
Episode 3:
A routine IRS audit turns serious, partly from incomplete financial documents and the other, a questionable interview with Justice, the inexperienced, offspring CFO. Andrew and Mark pull political favors to no avail. Andrew devises a plan to alter the records, but Mark is strongly opposed. The foundation is still under financial pressure and the development team uses unusual methods to raise funds.
Episode 4:
The media camp out at 49:50’s front door demanding answers to the recent leaked IRS audit and current FBI investigation. Andrew directs his son, the CTO, to placate the media coverage. His attempts to quiet the media fail and Andrew devises a plan to mitigate the concerns, but his clever plan backfires when a former employee surfaces with a discrimination lawsuit.
Episode 5:
The foundation’s board calls an emergency meeting with Mark and Andrew and announces they all have resigned. They then call in the foundation’s senior management, the pair’s offspring, to announce an interim CEO to manage the damage. Andrew Jr is selected as interim CEO, but he resigns due to his father’s unrelenting pressure.
Episode 6:
The construction on the foundation’s new facility is behind schedule and Andrew is anxious to speed up the process. Mark, suggest they hire more crew, at a lower rate to save funds, and instructions his son Justice to locate a sizable crew and alter documents. The press learns of the illegal aliens and informs US immigration, who conducts a raid. Justice is charged with tampering with federal documents.
Episode 7:
Molly Brice discovers that Sarah Cason is having an affair with Andrew’s former VP. She uses this information to leverage control over the foundation’s interior design project. Sarah fights back by making a public announcement that she has an open marriage.
Episode 8:
The foundation’s staff morale swings to a new low due to inexperienced senior management. The two former presidents, serving as co-chairman, and with the board’s recommendation, hire a consulting firm to guide their offspring to correct past mismanagement and recommend a future course of action. With the generation alpha’s careers in jeopardy, will they survive or be replaced with an entirely new management team?
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This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by Emmanuel Sullivan.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Five Episode List Rough Draft
What I learned doing this assignment is it provides a more detailed look at each episode so that you can quickly start an outline. Like lesson 3, I was able to think of more plots and conflicts.
Episode 1: A politician’s wife is having an affair with a campaign staffer.
· Mark is caught off guard by the revelation of a sex tape.
· Andrew’s son’s friend filmed the sex tape.
· The friend is now blackmailing the politician.
· Mark needs the politician to win so he can get back into the political game.
Episode 2: The foundation is under pressure to fund the new facility.
· Andrew goes behind the foundation’s board to authorize risky funding.
· The foundation comes up short paying bills, Andrew uses a vice to shore up finances.
· The foundation’s CEO quits amidst senior mismanagement.
Episode 3: The foundation is placed under IRS audit.
· The CFO hides the audit information, but it is discovered by the press.
· Mark uses his power and influence to squash the audit.
· Andrew asks the development team to increase funding and the method surprises him.
Episode 4: The foundation’s funding sources are questionable.
· Nearly all of the foundation’s senior management pitch in to find funding, most of it is sketchy.
· The press digs deeper after finding faults in the annual financial statements.
· The FBI starts an investigation into the foundation’s business partners and funding sources.
Episode 5: The entire foundation’s board resigns.
· Andrew and Mark face pressure from the board to come clean about the foundation’s finances.
· The pair’s offspring continue to fight for the CEO position that causes further division.
· Mark’s second family is demanding more of his time.
Episode 6: The foundation’s new facility is taking shape but it’s a slow process.
· Mark suggests hiring more construction crewmembers.
· Andrew hires a team that is not authorized to work.
· The new construction crew completes incorrect and hazardous work.
· The new crew is fired, the damage is corrected, but US immigration is now involved.
Episode 7: The former first lady’s squabble over the new facility design that further delays opening.
· Sarah Cason is having an affair with her husband’s former VP.
· Molly Brice discovers the affair and uses the revelation to blackmail Sarah.
· Sarah fires back making a public announcement that she has an open marriage.
Episode 8: The foundation’s management, the former president’s offspring, assert more dangerous control.
· Senior management, a group of 5 siblings from both families, begin to hire friends and associates with no experience.
· The foundation is sued for discrimination, sexual harassment, financial misconduct and wrongful termination.
Episode 9: Mark loses interest in the foundation as campaign season picks up.
· Mark’s campaign is picking up steam, but he is losing key staff members.
· The campaign is accused of violating federal campaign finance laws.
· Mark’s pick for a running mate pleads guilty to wire fraud and now he must scramble to find another.
Episode 10: Andrew is approached by an organization interested in secession motives.
· An alternate nationalist movement is shaping up and has targeted Andrew to come on board.
· The group is pro America and clashes with Mark’s globalist agenda as set forth within his ideology of the foundation’s mission.
Episode 11: The new foundation grand opening celebration turns sour when the secret service loses control of managing Mark’s second family.
· Both families celebrate a festive opening of the foundation’s new facility.
· During the festive occasion, Mark’s secret family shows up unexpectedly.
· Andrew accuses his family of being RINOs.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Five Seasons
What I learned doing this assignment is when you create a larger framework for seasons, it appears to be easier, but you have to be mindful of what happened in the previous season(s).
SEASON 1: BIPARTISAN INNOVATION
A. High Concept or major hook of the season: Two former presidents from opposing parties launch a presidential foundation managed by their gen Alpha offspring.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: The foundation is under financial stress and a sex tape surfaces.
C. Main Conflict: Two families that don’t trust the other’s politics derails the foundation.
D. Mystery/Open Loops: Will the foundation survive with constant scandals and mismanagement?
E. Cliffhanger: Did Mark know about the politician’s wife’s affair, and will Andrew continue his vices to fund the foundation?
SEASON 2: FAMILY TIES
A. High Concept or major hook of the season: Mark wants a second term as the US president.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: Mark’s second family surfaces that no one knows about but the secret service.
C. Main Conflict: Two families that don’t trust the other’s politics derails the foundation.
D. Mystery/Open Loops: Will the former presidents appoint an offspring to run the foundation or hire an outsider for the CEO spot?
E. Cliffhanger: Will Andrew move forward in the secession movement?
SEASON 3: DISSOLVE OR FIGHT
A. High Concept or major hook of the season: Sarah discovers Mark’s mistress and children.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: Sarah struggles with the revealing of Mark’s current and former affairs and they make the decision to spin an open marriage.
C. Main Conflict: Can Mark manage a campaign and his second family. Andrew digs deeper into various funding schemes.
D. Mystery/Open Loops: Will Andrew leave the foundation to work full-time on the agenda for the new nation?
E. Cliffhanger: The former first ladies are left with the task of managing the foundation.
SEASON 4: DAYS OF RECKONING
A. High Concept or major hook of the season: Mark and Andrew check out but still want the foundation to succeed.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: Mark goes into full campaign mode and Andrew enjoys more of his hobbies.
C. Main Conflict: The CEO quits and the foundation goes into chaos.
D. Mystery/Open Loops: Will the foundation survive without guidance from Mark and Andrew?
E. Cliffhanger: The foundation is on the verge of closing and the family makes one last-ditch effort to keep it afloat.
SEASON 5: WIN AT ALL COSTS
A. High Concept or major hook of the season: Mark and Andrew must face where their true interest belongs, with the foundation or not.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: Mark is not the DNC nominee but is selected as a running mate. Andrew enters a recovery center for counseling through his personal vices.
C. Main Conflict: How do two families with two disparate agendas successfully manage a bipartisan foundation?
D. Mystery/Open Loops: Will Andrew head to the new nation after counseling? Will Mark accept being a VP?
E. Cliffhanger: The foundation is dissolved and some of the offspring follow their fathers to serve in their new administration.
SEASON 1: BIPARTISAN INNOVATION
How do two former presidents from opposing parties launch an innovative presidential foundation with a partisan family?
Two former leaders of the free world are not where they want to be, but they are off to a successful start with their innovative foundation. Family ties are stronger than politics and the pair lose control of the foundation the family manages. Because of the negative family influence, they begin to move apart from their mutual business relationship into competing and separate agendas.
SEASON 2: FAMILY TIES
The foundation is running steady after hiring an outside professional as the new CEO. A person that can act as a buffer between the two former presidents and the foundation’s management, who happen to be offspring and respective wives, serving as advisors. Mark, the former democrat president decides after long consideration to run for president again, after all, he feels less than successful only serving one term. Andrew, the former republican president, takes interest in secession movements across the country.
SEASON 3: DISSOLVE OR FIGHT
Mark swings into full campaign mode in an attempt to win the White House. With his children managing the foundation he feels confident in its success while he’s away campaigning. His wife Sarah goes along for the ride but is not 100% supportive. His campaign hits a roadblock when his second, younger family is discovered by the press. Andrew fights to keep the foundation alive, with Mark campaigning, he has the financial burden of fundraising. However, the secession movement is stronger, and he wants to be a force in that endeavor.
SEASON 4: DAYS OF RECKONING
The Cason and Brice family of siblings are fighting more than ever. The CEO brought in quits under stress and mismanagement. The matriarchs also have different opinions about how the foundation should be managed and who should take the CEO position within the family. Mark has checked out; his focus has turned to managing the revelation of his second family. Andrew indulges in more of his vices but also takes control of leading a separate nation movement.
SEASON 5: WIN AT ALL COSTS
Mark’s track record on the campaign trail loses steam. He is not selected to be the nominee at the DNC but is selected as a running mate. He moves on with his second family back to Washington DC. Andrew finally decides to give up on the foundation and is elected president of the new nation within the US. The innovative, bipartisan, family foundation dissolves, but with Mark’s sights on being the president again and Andrew serving as the leader of a new republic, a foundation is bound to appear again.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Character Descriptions
What I learned doing this assignment is the characters created are so complex and constantly evolving as we all do but drilling down to the essence of who they are is difficult.
Character: Andrew Brice
Role in the show: The co-chairman of a presidential foundation, father of 3 adult children and married to Molly.
Noteworthy traits: Conservative. Driven. Can be harsh.
Intriguing history: Told he would never reach the highest office in the country.
Intrigue: Wants to destroy the Democrat party.
Mystery: How and when did he become a NASCAR driver?
Drive conflict: Ambition hurts the people he loves closest to him.
Irony: Invited to speak about drug, alcohol, sex and gaming addictions but can’t admit he has a gambling addiction.
Unpredictable: Acts on instinct that derails the foundation’s growth.
Intriguing relationship: Mark, Molly, his children and the press.
START: A former republican president anxious to mark his legacy with an innovative foundation that coexists with the opposite party.
MIDDLE: His desire to crush the Democrat party clashes with his need to portray a positive and useful foundation.
ENDING: He struggles to maintain a volatile family and partisan organization.
Edited Version
A former Republican president hell-bent on destroying the Democrat party struggles to maintain a bipartisan foundation that was formed to work across the political spectrum. He’s supportive of the foundation’s mission, but at every opportunity, the former president seizes the moment to damage the liberal agenda. He’ll use his children, wife, political associates and even levels of the federal government to reach his goal.
Character: Mark Cason
Role in the show: The co-chairman of a presidential foundation, father of 2 adult children and married to Sarah.
Noteworthy traits: Liberal. Progressive. Manipulator.
Intriguing history: The voting public did not select him for another 4 years.
Intrigue: Wants to run for US president again.
Mystery: Father to a younger family. When did this happen?
Drive conflict: Using others to achieve personal vices.
Irony: Enjoys fundraising for politicians on the campaign trail but hates raising funds for the foundation.
Unpredictable: Using others to achieve personal vices.
Intriguing relationship: Andrew, Sarah, younger family, politicians.
START: A former democrat president celebrates the idea of launching a bipartisan foundation.
MIDDLE: He’s not all in because his deeper desire is to campaign for his party and run as a presidential candidate.
ENDING: He struggles to maintain two families, a foundation fueled with family issues and politicians eager for his support.
Edited Version
A former Democrat president with his heart in two places, one as a dedicated family man and the other focused on winning the white house, struggles to maintain an even balance amidst self-inflicted chaos. Beating republicans in congressional seats is his goal but his second family demands more of his time, which derails his ambitious moves and may destroy his family, along with his political life.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Intriguing Concept and World
What I learned doing this assignment is the idea and rules for a high concept movie also apply to TV.
Show Concept
A. Two former presidents from opposing parties launch an innovative, bipartisan civic foundation…
B. …senior management (their offspring) and the press constantly derail the venture…
C. …the former leaders of the free world struggle to maintain control…
D. …and use unconventional methods to stay afloat and relevant in politics.
Show World
Unique Sub-World: The inner workings of a nonprofit foundation
Previously unexplored: Daily life for former presidents.
The unknown: How will millennial siblings manage a family foundation?
The unseen: How are foundations funded and who supports them.
Unheard of Dangers: Are the foundation funding sources clean, free of audits and fraud?
Reason to explore it: What is first family life like after leaving the White House.
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Emmanuel has completed the BW Framework!
What I learned doing this process is to always develop your main characters in a three-dimensional manner that mirrors real life. The world our characters live in and the things they do are quite similar to how we perform in life if our lives were broken down into layers.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Creating Irony!
What I learned doing this assignment is just as in real life, we all encounter irony, create it ourselves, so it’s only natural that the characters we create for television should include moments of irony to enable the character to be much more three dimensional.
Assignment #1
Show – The Americans
Philip had to peel off his secret identity in front of Martha to save his relationship, simply talking to her stopped working.
Stan is closer to the neighbor’s son than his biological child.
Paige confides in her pastor who she trusts but he tells his wife who gossips.
Elizabeth is opening up more to friendships and is actually enjoying the new bonds.
When Elizabeth became ill, and if she died, she insisted that Philip stay and raise the kids as Americans, when normally, she would not have agreed.
Assignment #2
Mark wants the world to know he should have had another 4-year term as the president but loses political friends in the party during the process.
Sarah had breast cancer but does not believe in supporting cancer survivor causes.
Andrew likes to gamble and thinks the foundation’s money is his personal bank account because he is the founder, then the board conducts an audit.
Madison portrays a conservative style of romance but at home, she is much more liberal.
Alice resents her liberal roots and occasionally supports the republican agenda to satisfy her past trauma.
Justice thinks that his MBA will give him an advantage applying for the CEO role only to learn they gave the position to someone without a degree.
Molly thinks the foundation and her husband spend too much but she no problem splurging on herself.
Andrew is invited to speak about drug, alcohol, sex and gaming addictions but can’t admit he has a gambling addiction.
Andrew hates when his adult children who run the foundation cannot keep up but loses control when they make mistakes going too fast.
Mark enjoys fundraising for politicians on the campaign trail but hates raising funds for the foundation.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Plot and Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is layers add more dimensions to a character’s life and helps develop larger plots to weave into a story. This process also helps with outlining a pilot before you start writing.
Assignment #1
Show – The Americans
Plot Surface: Two KGB agents move to America to live undercover, they are given new identities and tasked with spying on American military, politicians and technology businesses.
• Layer 1: Hidden History: Elizabeth grew up much different than her husband Philip. Her childhood was basic, meager, but she appreciated the life that made her into a strong woman.
• Layer 2: Major Shift: Nina, the KGB agent admits treason, wants to redeem herself, falls in love with her colleague but also keeps her love interest with the FBI agent to feed information to her superior.
• Layer 3: Hidden Agenda: The KGB started a second-generation program, one family enrolled that ended in a family murder, now they want Jennings’ daughter Paige.
• Layer 4: Betrayal: The Center betrayed Elizabeth and Philip by interrogating, beating and tricking them into believing they were captured by the FBI.
Character Surface: Stan Beeman is a seasoned FBI agent, family man, who falls in love with a KGB mole.
• Layer 1: Hidden Relationship: Stan loves Nina, the KGB agent, but also enjoys the comfort of family life.
• Layer 2: Hidden Agenda: Stan ignores orders and captures a Soviet diplomat, Vlad, he softly interrogates him, he opens up, then Stan murders him to score points for the KGB killing his friend and colleague.
• Layer 3: Wound: Stan attempts to relate to his son, but he has no interest in his father.
• Layer 4: Competition: The CIA and DoD often take the lead and possess information Stan needs to do his job.
Assignment #2
Plot Surface: Andrew and Mark, two politicians from opposite parties, launch an innovative foundation to further their political agenda and like-minded causes around the country. Political ideology and family disputes get in the way of their noble venture.
• Layer 1: Scheme: A friend of Andrew’s son blackmails a senator using a sex tape.
• Layer 2: Shift: Mark’s daughter changes political parties.
• Layer 3: Hidden Plan: Andrew uses unconventional means to raise funds for the foundation.
• Layer 4: Betrayal: Mark’s family finds out he had an affair. His wife sticks by him, but his children feel betrayed.
Character Surface: Mark Cason a former Democrat president who served one term feels his time in office was cut short by disloyal cabinet members, misguided DNC messaging and opposing party political messages.
• Layer 1: Hidden Relationship: Mark has an ongoing relationship with a former cabinet member.
• Layer 2: Intrigue: Mark uses his son’s financial skills to funnel money to support his other family.
• Layer 3: Hidden History: Mark has a teenage child from a former staffer.
• Layer 4: Wound: Mark is not supported by his party because he’s too moderate.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Big Picture Open Loops
What I learned doing this assignment is large open loops keep you tuned into and watching each episode. More so if the big question has not been answered in any given episode. Doing this well, you can build in big loops in each episode to keep viewers engaged. The smaller loops help and often are answered within an episode or two.
Assignment #1
Show – The Americans
Philip and Elizabeth continue to have relationship issues; however, they have an understanding about their past, their current job, which leads them to become closer. But the demands from the job lead them back to questioning the strength of their arranged marriage.
Big Picture Open Loops:
· Will Philip and Elizabeth separate?
· Will Martha get caught by the FBI for filtering information to Philip?
· Can the FBI agent Stan Beeman keep his affair with the KGB agent a secret?
· Will the Jennings children find out about their parent’s true identities?
· Can the KGB Center keep the illegal agents safe?
Assignment #2
Mark and Andrew are at odds over the design, funding and progress for the new foundation. They use their children, wives, and close associates to sabotage political issues to win points for their party. While the family is in the midst of two powerful political figures feuding, they also battle personal faults that stir further division.
Big Picture Open Loops:
· Will Mark and Andrew cancel the partnership?
· Will the foundation earn enough to meet the family’s extravagant lifestyle?
· The IRS issued an audit, will this affect the foundation’s future?
· Will Mark separate from his wife Sarah?
· Who will take over the vacant CEO position at the foundation?
· Will Sarah find out about Mark’s affair and child?
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Show Mysteries
What I learned doing this assignment is mysteries are placed throughout an episode, some are solved by the end and some the next episode. Then there are mysteries, usually one, that are revealed at the season finale.
A. Shocking Event: Two innocent agents, one FBI and KGB are murdered.
B. Secret: Stan Beeman, the senior FBI agent killed the KGB agent but is lying to his KGB mole.
C. Investigation: The FBI wants to know who killed their agent.
WHAT: Stan knows the routine of his colleague that was
killed and something is not right.WHEN: The FBI agent is noticed missing in less than 24
hours.WHY: The FBI agent was murdered because the KGB agent was threatened while leaving Martha’s house, a mutual love interest.
WHO: The illegal KGB agent that killed the FBI agent is
Philip Jennings.HOW: The KGB agent stabbed the FBI agent and took him to
a secret location.Missing:
WHERE: The FBI doesn’t know where the agent was stabbed
and where he died.Assignment #2
Mystery #1
A. Shocking Event: The senator’s wife is having an affair with his campaign manager.
B. Secret: The former president knows about the affair.
C. Investigation: How did the senator’s wife get filmed having an affair with the campaign manager.
WHAT: The incumbent senator and his wife attend the former
president’s nonprofit anniversary party.WHEN: The filmed incident happened at an evening party
celebrating the nonprofit’s second year.WHERE: The affair happened in a spare guest bedroom near
the ballroom.HOW: The campaign manager followed the senator’s wife as
she exited to use the restroom.Missing:
WHY: Why were the senator’s wife and campaign manager
tapped having sex.WHO: Who filmed the senator’s wife with the campaign manager?
Mystery #2
A. Cover up: The former president’s VP helps squash extramarital affair rumors from the press.
B. Secret: The former president and his chief of staff have a child.
C. Reveals: The VP’s wife learns that her husband is listed as a father of a child.
WHO: The president, his VP and now his wife are wrapped
in a possible scandal.WHAT: The press is closing in and asking questions.
WHEN: The affair happened 6 years ago.
WHY: The president asked his closest ally, his VP, to help him conceal the affair to save his presidency.
WHERE: The affair happened abroad during a flight on air force one.
Missing:
HOW: How did the press find out about the affair.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is broader empathy and distress situations can be carried over an entire season. It’s great to use this strategy because normally you focus writing on episode empathy or distress.
Assignment #1
Show – The Americans
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Philip and Elizabeth interrogated by the KGB.
B. External Character conflicts.
Philip and Elizabeth must engage with external love interests as part of their duties.
C. Plot intruding on life.
Having an FBI agent as a neighbor affects movement around the house.
D. Moral dilemmas.
Philip and Elizabeth must destroy innocent lives and murder people that get in the way of their secret mission.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Elizabeth would never betray the KGB. Philip would never leave his children.
Assignment #2
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Andrew is shot giving a speech at a bipartisan event. Mark is accused of rape by a staffer.
B. External Character conflicts.
Andrew consistently violates the nonprofit board’s orders which causes all to resign. Mark is followed by a private investigator that his wife ordered.
C. Plot intruding on life.
The press follows Mark and Andrew’s (former presidents) children around to publish gossip-style articles to ruin their reputation.
D. Moral dilemmas.
Mark orders his security detail to conceal the details about his second family. Andrew takes funds from the nonprofit to fund his auto racing team. Both manipulate their children to gain political favor for their party.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Mark will never reveal his affair. Andrew will never reveal how he is able to make national policy decisions out of office.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Relationship Maps
What I learned doing this assignment is character relationships move around from good to bad and back to good at any moment. Each character has a unique marker that they control to determine how the mutual relationship flows.
Assignment #1
Show – The Americans
Philip Jennings and Elizabeth Jennings
Surface: Married – Wife
Common Ground: KGB Agents
Conflict: No love in marriage
History: Both young when recruited for the KGB
Subtext: Distant
Relationship Arc: Cold to loving
Philip Jennings and Stan Beeman
Surface: Neighbor
Common Ground: Family Man
Conflict: FBI Agent
History: None
Subtext: Doubtful
Relationship Arc: Curious to Friendly
Philip Jennings and Martha
Surface: Colleague
Common Ground: Government Employee
Conflict: Wants more out of the relationship
History: Confiding in shop talk
Subtext: Loyal
Relationship Arc: Friendly to Lover
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Assignment #2
Andrew Brice and Mark Cason
Surface: Business Partners – Political Opponents
Common Ground: Accomplished Politicians
Conflict: Both want to damage the opposing political party
History: Both were young senators
Subtext: Political Competitor
Relationship Arc: Friendly business relationship to bitter
Andrew Brice and Molly Brice
Surface: Married – Wife
Common Ground: Marriage – Close Family
Conflict: Wants a high-profile lifestyle
History: Early marriage was unstable
Subtext: Supporter
Relationship Arc: Close marriage to open marriage
Andrew Brice and Sarah Cason
Surface: Associate to Business Partner
Common Ground: Work together to advance the Non-Profit
Conflict: Wants to control the non-profit’s direction
History: Supported some of his political ideas – rare to do so
Subtext: Manipulator
Relationship Arc: Even friendship to distrust
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Character Emotions
What I learned doing this assignment is characters are more than what they do in a profession. They also have internal feelings and thoughts that are revealed in certain situations.
Assignment #1
Show – The Americans
Elizabeth Jennings Profile
A. Situational: Hopes to succeed / Fears disappointment
B. Motivation: Wants love / Needs affection, bonding
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion is ruthless / Public Mask is super mom, wife
D. Weaknesses: Emotionally absent
E. Triggers: Losing control, feeling threatened
F. Coping Mechanism: Revenge, manipulate
Assignment #2
Andrew Brice Profile
A. Situational: Hopes for recognition / Fears rejection
B. Motivation: Wants power and money / Needs control
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion is aggressive / Public Mask is respected, accomplished, hardworking
D. Weaknesses: Ambition hurts people
E. Triggers: Criticism, pushed around
F. Coping Mechanism: Attack back, lash out, gambling
Mark Cason Profile
A. Situational: Hopes to maintain a political image / Fears negative exposure
B. Motivation: Wants acceptance / Needs constant approval
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion is worthless / Public Mask is diplomatic, gentleman
D. Weaknesses: Too trusting
E. Triggers: Disrespected, unimportant
F. Coping Mechanism: Sex, recreational drugs
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Intriguing Character Layers
What I learned doing this assignment is good characters, including the hero or protagonist can have traits normally associated with the antagonist.
Assignment #1
Show – The Americans
Character Name: Philip Jennings
Role: Father, Husband, KGB Agent
Hidden agendas: To secure American political intelligence to send back to Russia
Competition: FBI agent and neighbor
Deception: Acting a colleague from another agency, he interviews an FBI staff secretary and makes her believe they have a personal relationship.
Wound: Leaving behind the love of his life in Russia.
Secret Identity: Travel agent
Assignment #2
Character Name: Mark Cason
Role: Co-founder, co-chairman, former president
Hidden agendas: Wants to run for US president again
Competition: Andrew Brice, republican party
Conspiracies: Worked with the DNC though his staff to derail his opponent’s campaign
Secrets: Has a child in another town
Deception: Uses his adult children to further his political agenda
Wound: The voting public did not select him for another 4 years
Secret Identity: Father to a younger family
Character Name: Andrew Brice
Role: Co-founder, co-chairman, former president
Hidden agendas: Wants to destroy the democrat party
Competition: Mark Cason, democrat party
Conspiracies: Working with the press to expose the opposing party
Secrets: Has a gambling vice
Deception: Uses the secret police to manipulate opponents
Wound: Told he could never reach the highest office in the country
Secret Identity: NASCAR driver
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Engaging Main Characters
What I learned doing this assignment is characters, which we all can be for any show, have many facets to our lives. Some characters have secrets, regrets, perhaps painful experiences. Overall, characters should be three-dimensional.
Assignment #1
Show – The Americans
Journey: Married KGB agents move to America to spy on the US government and infiltrate political life.
Characters that sell this show: Philip and Elizabeth Jennings
A. Role in the show:
Philip Jennings: KGB agent, travel agent, father and married to Elizabeth.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
Philip Jennings: A foreign spy that blends into American life very well.
C. Intrigue: What is the secret beneath the surface?
Philip Jennings: A caring parent and husband but he can turn violent without notice. He left the love of his life back in Russia.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
Philip Jennings: Living a double life with his children. Involving innocent people that could be injured or murdered.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
Philip Jennings: The ability to create spy techniques to harm and manipulate. To what level will he injure an opponent to squash the threat?
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
Philip Jennings: He doesn’t receive the same type of attention from his wife as he gives her.
Assignment #2
Journey: Two former presidents from opposing political ideologies embark on building an innovative, bipartisan foundation.
Characters that sell this show: Mark Cason and Andrew Brice
A. Role in the show:
Mark Cason: Former democrat president, senator, father of two and married to Sarah Cason.
Andrew Brice: Former republican president, governor, father of three and married to Molly Brice.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
Mark Cason: Expert at networking and building political relationships.
Andrew Brice: Knows how to get things done even if he has to manipulate.
C. Intrigue: What is the secret beneath the surface?
Mark Cason: His alternative activities are unbecoming of a former president.
Andrew Brice: Winning is the name of the game and gambling feeds that desire.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
Mark Cason: Using others to achieve personal vices.
Andrew Brice: His family is fair game to satisfy his appetite to win at all costs.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
Mark Cason: Outside interests damage family relationships.
Andrew Brice: Acts on instinct that derails the foundation’s growth.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
Mark Cason: A one-term president that was betrayed by cabinet members.
Andrew Brice: Grew up poor and struggled in high school but excelled in college.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Three Circles of Characters
What I learned doing this assignment is that it is similar to looking at your own life, often with 3 levels, family, friends and associates. Associates in your life come and go, your family immediate family may grow, but overall remains the same, and some friends are there for a lifetime.
Assignment #1
Three Circles of Characters
Show – The Americans
A. Main Characters Circle: Elizabeth, Phillip, Henry and Paige Jennings
B. Connected Circle: Stan Beeman, KGB agents, Russian government officials
C. Environment Circle: School teachers, FBI agents, community neighbors
Assignment #2
<b style=”background-color: transparent; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Three Circle of Characters
A. Main Characters Circle: Mark Cason, Sarah Cason, Andrew Brice and Molly Brice
B. Connected Circle: AB Brice, Michael Brice, Madison Brice, Alice Cason and Justice Cason
C. Environment Circle: Foundation staff, local news reporters, politicians, old friends
Mark Cason is a former democrat president of the US and he is socially aloof but also an engaging political professional.
Sarah Cason is married to Mark, she is sometimes insecure, which brings out her nice-nasty personality.
Andrew Brice is a former republican president of the US; he is close to his family and always gets what he wants in the political and business world.
Molly Brice is married to Andrew, she is the family ringleader, even with her adult children; she loves buying quality, but always at a fair price.
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What I learned doing this assignment is that characters need conflict or inner struggles to maintain audience engagement. In the drama, The Americans, the two main characters, must turn on and off their role, often at a moment’s notice, from KGB agent to an American parent. They also fight inner struggles from the past, modern life issues that arise and difficult outside contacts.
Five Star Points
Show – The Americans
Big Picture Hook
Two KGB agents move to America and live a suburban life as undercover spies.
Intriguing Character
Elizabeth and Phillip appear to be normal Americans living a suburban life, but as KGB agents, they stealthy do their mission for the homeland.
Empathy / Distress
Elizabeth was brutally raped by her superior in Russia. In America, it’s difficult for her to show true love. Phillip likes American life and is conflicted about giving up his KGB credentials.
Layers / Open Loops
How have Elizabeth and Phillip been so lucky to evade authorities for several years? How do their kids not know? Will Phillip continue to have desires to leave the KGB?
Inviting Obsession
Will Elizabeth and Phillip get caught now that an FBI agent lives across the street?
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Hi all,
I’m Emmanuel from Houston.
I’ve written 3 scripts, two comedy/drama pilots and one feature. The pilots need a rewrite to make them binge-worthy.
Interesting background, I’ve lived all over the US, in 5 different cities in every region, except the midwest; it has been interesting learning the norms in each location.
Hope to apply what I learn to my new drama concept.
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Emmanuel Sullivan
I agree to the terms of this 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 Binge Worthy TV class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, teaching a class, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the Binge Worthy TV 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 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. The easiest solution if you have similar ideas is to either not look at each other’s work or to agree to take your shows in different directions.
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.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Amazing Inciting Incident
What I learned doing this assignment is the inciting incident must be compelling enough to keep the viewer interested to watch the first episode and came back for at least the second and future episodes, provided each one has an inciting incident.
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Emmanuel Sullivan’s Big Picture Components
What I learned doing this assignment is listing the main components in a series and in the pilot provides a high-level view of the project. Provided you write each item as succinctly as possible. It’s almost like a 1-sentence logline.