[Heather Esancy]

I learned a lot through the steps of this process and look forward to taking the 30 day class to finish this script. My outline was very easy and I am posting for feedback on the Lesson 12 thread. I look forward to reading others!

[Heather Esancy]

HI Everyone!

I am a bit behind, and will be ready to exchange this weekend. I would LOVE to offer feedback, so please feel free to email me at heather.esancy@gmail.com.

Thanks!

[Heather Esancy]

Heather Esancy’s Budget – 2 Locations

What I learned in this assignment, I had actualized in Lesson 8. My brainstorming had sent me a little “off the rails” and I ended up with additional characters and locations that I know are not essential to the story. I believe my script is best being very minimalistic but could be more of a psycho thriller with more effects that illustrate Clara’s nihilistic and psychotic delusions.

My fundamental locations are an apartment and outside at a lake.

LOW BUDGET – MAIN VARIABLES

Number of Locations: 2

Expensive locations: 0

Number of characters: 4

Special effects: FEW, to illustrate Clara’s paranoia.

Number of pages: unknown, 90-100

Crowd scenes: none

Stunts, Chase scenes, and Fight scenes: none

Special sets: possibly for flashback scenes

LOW BUDGET – SECONDARY VARIABLES

Rights to music, brands, books, etc.: Under the Tuscan Sun, Diane Lane voiceover

Explosions and Firearm: minimal, for 1 police scene

Kids: very brief interaction, could be eliminated

Animals: none

Weather: Indoor, with exception of lake scene, cold. New England March

Water: Landscape only

Night scenes: yes

Helicopters, aircraft, drone shots: yes

Green screen work: minimal

Extensive Make-up: some, 1 person

Archival Footage: News from March 2020

HIGH BUDGET OPTION

MAIN VARIABLES

Number of Locations: 3-4 could add grocery store and psych ward

Expensive locations: 1

Number of characters: 4

Special effects: Clara’s paranoia could be creatively done.

Number of pages: unknown, 90-100

Crowd scenes: at grocery store and onlookers at the lake

Stunts, Chase scenes, and Fight scenes: This could be intriguing to add a chase scene going after Clara.

Special sets: Psych ward

SECONDARY VARIABLES

Rights to music, brands, books, etc.: Under the Tuscan Sun, several clips, Diane Lane voiceover

Explosions and Firearm: I could add more for intensity, but not really an element in this story

Kids: 2

Animals: I could add that she is a cat hoarder! LOL

Weather: Raw, New England March. We could use Rain for Rent or snow making machines.

Water: Landscape only, but could add scenes with ice fishermen

Night scenes: yes

Helicopters, aircraft, drone shots: yes

Green screen work: I would have to think through

Extensive Make-up: If we had a young actress that needed to be aged that would increase budget.

Archival Footage: News from March 2020

[Heather Esancy]

Heather Esancy – Infinite Possibilities

In this assignment, I learned that in the last lesson, I deviated way too far away from the containment concept. I brainstormed TOO much! I have edited to drill down on 2 locations (apartment and car) to maintain the psychological aspect of the story.

Act 1:

FEAR/ANXIETY: Clara is a new widow facing quarantine alone. We hear the news headlines “China Virus” on TV in the background.

WARNING: We learn Clara’s neighbor in her apartment building is a young, Asian single mom who is an ER nurse. We see the apartment’s doors are very close together.

HOPE: The neighbor is gracious and dismisses Clara’s racist mumblings.

<font face=”inherit”>FEAR: Clara is spastic trying to </font>sanitize<font face=”inherit”> groceries she just carried inside.</font>

HOPE: We learn Clara is a talented artist who has a home full of landscape art.

Act 2:

Warning: Clara takes measures for her own safety inside her apartment. She struggles with basic household tasks. Autonomy is new to her.

FEAR: Clara realizes the crack in her wall and the air ducts might be a breach of her neighbors germs getting into her apartment.

Turning Point: Clara rations food and medicine and begins to decline.

HOPE/ New Plan: Michelle (Clara’s daughter) leaves voicemails that she is having groceries delivered and will be making the 6 hour drive to check on her very soon.

Act 3:

We understand that 2 weeks have passed.

Turning Point: Clara is ultra focused and almost manic, painting incredible, vivid scenes that look nothing at all like her previous works.

HOPE: She enjoys the painting and it takes her mind off the news and fear.

Warning: We see an erratically written NOTE on her refrigerator. It is a crinkly, spiral sheet. We can only read “MAN BLUE SHIRT”

As the day turns into night, Clara finally responds to Michelle in an exchange of concerning text messages.

Warning: She has had an emotional shift.

FEAR: The lights flicker in her apartment. Her computer and printer make noises as they reboot. She thinks “they” have hacked her computer and have all her bank access.

HOPE: Michelle and art teacher, Ruby are getting closer to Clara’s house.

Turning Point: Clara flees her home with a dry cleaner bag over her head for protection. She is intent on getting to the bank to withdraw all her money. She believes covid has infiltrated her apartment and she will die soon.

Act 4:

DANGER: Michelle and Ruby arrive. Clara’s apartment is empty. It is riddled with cleaning fluids, gloves and papers, a sterile hoarder’s mess. Many bizarre paintings are strewn about, some are still wet.

HOPE: Ruby marvels with shock and confusion at the abstract work Clara has done but excited to see such interesting work and wants it for her gallery. She deems the art a “graduation of emotion”.

Turning Point: Through scattered documents, we learn Clara received an inheritance.

FEAR: Michelle is frozen reading THE NOTE – we see Clara has written a description of a man in a blue shirt and a silver laptop who she thinks has been watching her make copies of her personal documents on the library copy machine.

Out of control: Clara drives absently, as if she is no longer in her body, taking no heed for red lights. Many near misses, and 911 calls to report her, yet she goes undetected like a bandit.

DANGER: We see Clara left her phone, purse and jacket behind.

DANGER: We see her car at a lakefront, a light shines and we do not see a head in the driver’s seat.

HOPE: Michelle and Ruby are at police station, making a missing person report.

HOPE: At dawn, an old truck with a man pulls up. He is going fishing. He sees Clara’s car is running. The windows are fogged, he suspects it is teenagers “sucking face”. Clara swipes the fog off the window as the fisherman walks away.

DANGER: Police reporting mix ups occur.

Final Plan: The fisherman returns the next day at dawn. In the distance, he sees Clara’s car in the same spot. The vehicle appears to be off. As he gets closer, he sees a ghastly face of a woman in the passenger side. She can barely hold her head up, but shows the fisherman a note with a phone number through the glass.

Blue and red lights approach the lakefront.

Resolution with Ambiguity: Clara is laying down in the back seat. We only see her arm and waist. <font face=”inherit”>CLOSE ON: a tiny bare arm with a dry cleaner bag for a blanket, </font>juxtaposition<font face=”inherit”> on a raw and rainy morning, March 26th, 2020.</font>

[Heather Esancy]

Heather Esancy’s 4 Act Structure

Wow, I learned a lot on the process of these brainstorming exercises. I have already evolved my story and improved upon a few areas. I am trying to keep an open mind and will see where the characters take me. I am just not clear yet on the ending. Side note: 90% of this is based on a true story!! Truth is stranger than fiction!

Here is what I have so far:

Concept:

A widow named Clara with untreated psychological issues fearfully navigates covid in quarantine alone.

Main Conflict:

She believes covid is seeping through the walls of her apartment.

Act 1:

Opening: Clara shops to prepare for the uncertain time ahead. We learn she is a talented artist and that she was married to a much older man.

Inciting Incident: Clara is panic stricken by “Chinese virus” and visibly and irrationally now fearful of Asian people.

Turning Point: We learn Clara’s neighbor in her apartment building is Asian and works at a hospital.

Act 2:

New plan: Clara takes measures for her own safety inside her apartment. She struggles with loneliness and autonomy as a recent widow.

Plan in action: Clara rations food and medicine and begins to decline.

Midpoint Turning Point: Clara’s daughter, Michelle, cannot reach her mother.

Act 3:

Rethink everything: Clara paints wildly bizarre images and her actions become more erratic. She thinks “they” have hacked her computer and have all her bank access.

New plan: We learn the truth about Clara’s family and medical history and mental illness by way of her talking to herself while painting and a photo album. Michelle and Clara exchange several text messages which grow concerning.

Turning Point: Clara flees her home to get to the bank to withdraw all her money. She believes covid has infiltrated her apartment and she will die soon. Clara rifles through papers, stuffs some in her pocket and writes something on a slip of paper. She leaves phone and purse behind.

Act 4:

Final plan: Clara’s daughter and a friend from art class come to check on her and discover Clara’s apartment empty. It is riddled with cleaning fluids, sterile mess. Many bizarre paintings are strewn about, some are still wet. Through scattered documents, we learn Clara received an inheritance.

Climax/Ultimate expression of the conflict: Clara drives absently, as if she is no longer in her body, taking no heed for red lights. Many near misses, and 911 calls to report her, yet she goes undetected and unfound like a bandit.

She is shown in a ditch with her car. She has no food, nor water and has soiled herself. It is the middle of winter and she left the house in short sleeves with no coat. She falls asleep whining for her dead husband. A chicken scratched withdrawal slip dated 3 days prior for $145,928.46 is on the passenger seat.

Resolution: She wakes up in an overwhelmed covid clinic surrounded by dying people and chaos. The antithesis of the “safety” she was seeking.

Clara is injected with something. All we see – a medical name tag reveals Jim Jr., the son of her late husband.

FADE TO BLACK.

[Heather Esancy]

Heather Esancy

What I learned about this assignment is that we need to examine the plot, location and characters for a multitude of angles. Deep layers create the necessary twists for a compelling plot and keep an audience on their toes.

REALITY: Old women with psych issues fearfully navigates covid quarantine alone.

Major scheme revealed: She is already in a psych facility and having nihilistic delusions. (not sure about this working well)

Mystery revealed: Deep family secrets begin to unfold.

Thought it was one thing, but it is another: This is not a typical story of mental illness.

Major shift in Meaning: A very twisted history is revealed, and a caretaker is not what they seem.

Hidden history: She married a much older non-blood relative (Jim) who stalked and conditioned her during her childhood.

Hidden plan: Clara’s husband wanted her in a weak submissive state and did not get her help for her mental illness after she was hospitalized.

2. Brainstorm potential character layers.

Secret identity: We discover that Clara was conditioned to be weak since she was a young girl.

Intrigue layers: it takes willpower for her to maintain a “normal” façade. Clara’s psychosis manifests, she paints bizarre abstract art.

Hidden relationships and conspiracies: Uncle Jim, 25 years her senior is her husband.

Hidden Character history: We learned that Clara’s widow is her Uncle Jim and that Clara had a complex history with Jim her whole life. Once she became “available” he sought her out for marriage.

3. Brainstorm potential location layers.

Hidden operation: Laundry room in her building could be some kind of secret gathering space – not sure here.

Deeper meaning: Clara’s imprisonment in her home during quarantine evolves, paradoxically she becomes a better artist in her psychosis.

Trap to draw prey: An apartment that houses only weak submissive/sick people for some nefarious reason?

Unique sub-world: I think this would be too far fetched for this story line.

4. Tell us about the layers you’ve chosen. Use this format with each of them:

Surface Layer: Old women (Clara) with psych issues fearfully navigates covid quarantine alone in her apartment.

Beneath That: Clara’s was subjected to years of mental tests from her Uncle/husband who has conditioned her since she was a young child.

How Revealed: Through her artwork.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by  Heather Esancy.

[Heather Esancy]

Heather’s Character Journey

What I learned from this assignment is that I should not omit a personal part of the story because it is necessary for depth, which means I need to add Clara’s biological daughter Michelle into the mix instead of trying to show family dynamic and history via the step-daughter – as a matter of my own self-protection as a writer.

For CLARA, retired widow and artist

Beginning: Clara braces herself for the uncertainty of the world shutting down due to covid. She oil paints nature scenes and still-life to keep herself busy.

Turning Point: Clara hears people coughing in the common areas of her building.

Midpoint: Clara’s paranoia is on full tilt, being manifested in an array of bizarre ways, including a remarkable change in her artwork.

Turning Point 2: Clara notices a crack in her wall that leads her to believe her safety from the virus could be breached. She tries to repair it.

Dilemma: Clara starts rationing her medication and food so she does not have to be in contact with the outside world.

3rd Act Climax: Clara’s paranoia escalates. She is frantic when she overhears a conversation in the hallway.

Ending: Clara drives off into the night and is now a missing person. She is recovered and brought to a psych facility.

For MICHELLE, Clara’s daughter

Beginning: Michelle tries to prepare her germaphobe mother for 2 weeks of national shutdown.

Turning Point: Michelle grows concerned based upon Clara’s nonsensical text messages.

Midpoint: Michelle digs deep within herself to try and to handle her mother’s illness on her own.

Turning Point 2: Michelle grows confused by her mother’s mixed messages that have shifted to address childhood traumas and decides to drive by her home.

Dilemma: Her car is gone. Michelle does not have a way to access her mother’s unit, and she is not responding by phone.

3rd Act Climax: Michelle finds that condition of her mother’s apartment a shocking disaster and her art has grown to be hauntingly abstract.

Ending: Michelle realizes her mom is missing and asks God to quickly determine a path for Clara’s destiny.

[Heather Esancy]

Heather’s Character Depth

What I learned is that I think my main character is protagonist and antagonist, in a duel role against herself. There are 3 other defined support characters and 2 OS characters that create tension without dialogue, just sounds.

Main Character: Clara is a retired widow who is riding out the first 2 weeks of COVID quarantine, alone.

Secret: she is a very talented artist

Wound: severe mental illness, undiagnosed her whole life

Motivation: to be loved

Hidden Agenda: Germaphobe. Nobody is as clean as she is.

Dilemma: the perception that covid is seeping through the walls of her apartment.

Conspiracy: Clara has a step-daughter 10 years her senior, who used to be her cousin.

Clara has a personality shift from protagonist to antagonist as her illness grows stronger during quarantine.

Support Character 1 – creates further tension in the way Clara perceives her – which creates Clara’s internal tailspin.

Support Character 2 – a friend to Clara who realizes 2 main truths about her, but does not have an agenda other than to see Clara succeed/heal/do well.

Support Character 3 – The step-daughter. Appears via Zoom only. We learn the twisted family dynamics though Zoom call. Hidden agenda & tension is present, but not an active catalyst to the story.

[Heather Esancy]

Heather’s Right Characters

What I learned is that even the supporting roles should be digging their heels into the high concept of my story. My main character is based on a real person and real events, so where I need to do this right is by adding supporting characters that are just as strong.

My hook is: Crazy is in the eye of the beholder.

[Heather Esancy]

Heather’s Great Hook

A. How did this process work for you?

This process was very helpful. Knowing the components of the high concept makes me feel like I have organization for my thoughts and pushes me to think through the story in a new meaningful light.

B. What did you learn doing this assignment?

I feel like of my 5 concepts, I have the least difficulty brainstorming with the one that hits closest to home. Truth is much stranger than fiction!

[Heather Esancy]

Heather Esancy

Assignment 1:

What I learned doing this assignment is that a small or solo cast of well developed, intriguing character(s) on a compelling journey is the hook to a successful contained story. A concept is more marketable confined to one location with a limited cast and low budget.

I realized that maybe 2 of my concepts may be more difficult to make sense of in confinement, based on these guidelines.

My #1 concept is based on the unfortunate true events from my mother’s experiences during the first two weeks of quarantine, March 2020. You can’t get more covid friendly than that.

Containment Concept 1: Psycovidia

A. Contained Environment: a modest garden level apartment

B. Contained Characters: female, mid-60’s.

C. Difficult Situation: a perception of covid seeping through the walls.

D. Reason for the Containment: psychosis

Assignment 2: Guidelines for The Green Book

TITLE: The Green Book

AS THEY DID IT:

A. People- Tony, Don, Dolores, band members and club owner, club goers

B. Stunts – fight scenes

C. Extras – many extras involved

D. Wardrobe – 60’s attire in various styles. Elegant dress wear

E. Hair and MakeUp – 60’s glam – minimal

F. Kids and Animals – Tony’s children

G. Quarantine – lots of crew and extras to be concerned with

COVID GUIDELINE VERSION:

A. People – Tony, Don, keep the cast as small as possible. Create a bubble for actors with regular testing protocol. Use phone conversations or split screen when applicable instead of 1:1 interactions.

B. Stunts – n/a

C. Extras – few. Perhaps rely on CGI and OS sound for crowd reactions. Maintain a small group of extras but change up wardrobe to act in other scenes.

D. Wardrobe – 60’s attire, without being too elevated

E. Hair and Make Up – Very little, These characters can elect to do their own hair and makeup or bring their own kits.

F. Kids and Animals – none needed

G. Quarantine – adhere to local regulations. The multiple locations can be shot with a very limited crew. Maintain as many scenes as possible outside. All concerts could be moved to patios and open air venues – potentially they could be shot to give the illusion that the club is indoor.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by  Heather Esancy.

[Heather Esancy]

I, Heather Esancy, agree to the terms in the confidentiality release form outlined below.

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.

HJE 2/14/21

[Heather Esancy]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Heather Esancy, I was born and raised in Massachusetts. I have lived my 45 years within the same forty mile radius. I have beautiful scars and shuddering stories to tell about it.

At age 39, I received my degree in Creative Writing/Screenwriting from SNHU. Why I started so late is another part to my story. Prior to taking ANY classes, I sent myself on a plane to Burbank, CA to attend the Great American Pitch Fest. I was fueled by divorce, armed with determination and carried a One Sheet that was a rookie disaster! I had no idea what I was doing, but it was AMAZING. I enrolled in the SNHU writing program shortly after that.

The only scripts I have written were mostly for class and I never felt they were complete. I did write a suspense short and a few treatments that I submitted to contests. Sadly, it has been years since I have sat back down with my scripts because of my career and family priorities. I pursued a life-changing job – which is a funny thing to say coming from a career Executive Assistant.

I hope this class will rejuvinate my writing juices and finally shake out all of the characters in my head. I am truly excited to be here and learn amongst all of you. What an exciting group!

Heather

[Heather Esancy]

Diana, I would really love to read yours! Such a fun concept. Let’s trade?!

heather.esancy@gmail.com