Jason Lauer
Forum Replies Created
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I am still working on my pilot, but I am more than happy to read anyone’s pilot, should they want feedback.
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(Jason’s) Five Seasons (putting here because lesson 3 doesn’t work for me.)
What I learned doing this assignment is I preferred my ideas to elevate the seasons more than that of AI. AI got too focused on specific details of the character profiles, and even after telling it to ignore those components it had the seasons remain the same, but just removed the words. I might start a new chat window for the assignments going forward.
5 Seasons:
Season 1: Red Herring
Major Hook: Will James pull off a successful robbery and keep his life of crime hidden from David?
Big Picture Arc: James goes from a worker bee to the owner of the Private Security Company and run his own crew.
Main Conflict:James has to keep his criminal activity a secret from David, Mia, and his Boss.
Mystery/Open Loops: James hiding his criminal activity from David. Will Mikey betray James to stay with his family. Can James trust Mia?
Cliffhanger: David is being investigated by the DEA because of the robbery James pulled off.
Season 2: The Out of Towner’s
Major Hook: The money James stole belonged to a Drug Cartel. The cartel comes to town to interrogate David about the money.
Big Picture Arc:James struggles to run the Private Security company. He struggles with leading a company and protecting David from the cartel.
Main Conflict: James has to protect David from the cartel while planning a robbery to keep his company running.
Mystery/Open Loops: Will David discover James’ criminal activities? How will Mikey manage his relationship with his wife now that the cartel is in town looking for James?
Cliffhanger: James lands a big contract that sets him up for the future. Running security for one of the Cartel’s legitimate businesses.
Season 3: The In-Laws
Major Hook: James has to pull off a massive robbery to save Mia’s life.
Big Picture Arc: James has to become a criminal again to save Mia’s life. Mikey struggles with the return of James’ old life.
Main Conflict: James and his crew have to come out of retirement to pull off a robbery in their own town, bringing unwanted attention from David and the Police.
Mystery/Open Loops: Will David discover James’ criminal life? How will James react when his new life crumbles? Will Mia’s criminal connections catch up to her?
Cliffhanger: James is recorded killing a mob boss and his associates. When the Police surveillance team try to intervene James kills them too.
Season 4: Road Trip
Major Hook: James and David are on a collision course. James is hiding the murders of the mob associates from Mia and the murders of the cops from Mikey.
Big Picture Arc: James’ world is starting to unravel, he is hiding things from Mikey and Mia. David is getting closer to finding out who James really is.
Main Conflict: James is preparing to run. David is closing in on James. Mia is getting closer to figuring out James killed the mob boss.
Mystery/Open Loops: Mikey has to determine if the evidence he is holding for James should be turned in. When will David discover James’ criminal life?
Cliffhanger: James’ crew get into a shootout with David’s team. James’ crew are decimated and David watches James flee.
Season 5: Clearing House
Major Hook: James’ secret is out. David is hunting James and the season will end with one of them dead.
Big Picture Arc: James ‘ world has crashed. He is alone and has to turn to a former adversary to try to escape. David is pissed about the betrayal.
Main Conflict: James and David will collide with one of them ending dead.
Mystery/Open Loops: Can James escape? Will Mia stay with James? Will Mikey turn James in to try and save his life? Will David let his friend escape?
Cliffhanger: James is wounded by David, but is killed by Mikey to avoid jail.
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Putting Assignment 1 here because I can’t post in the other thread
CONCEPT / WORLD
What I learned doing this assignment is that building the world is very important in creating a a pitch deck.
Concept:
A cunning criminal sins the military to avoid arrest, acquiring deadly skills to use in his criminal enterprises. Unbeknownst to him, his best military friend becomes a relentless cop, sparking a high-stakes cat and mouse game.
The World: A cat and mouse game between a criminal and his police officer best friend.
Sub-World: Criminal underworld, Political dealings, corruption, journalistic integrity.
Previously Unexplored: A private security company with access to an elite client list, primed to be robbed.
The Unknown: James’ previous crime that forced him to enlist in the army to hide.
The Unseen: A group of criminals that follow the some MO as James and his crew which could endanger him.
Unheard of Dangers: The danger that the Private security world causes to James’ criminal ambitions.
Reason to Explore it: James is desperate to keep himself out of jail and live a life of luxury using his robbery earnings.
Assignment 2
What I learned doing this assignment is that my characters are more developed than I originally thought they were. Having the traits listed on the Framework is a good start, but after doing this the characters came to life.
JAMES COOPER
In the gritty criminal underworld, James Cooper stands as a unique figure—a former Military Police officer turned cunning criminal, masterminding high-stakes heists with military precision. Unbeknownst to his loyal partner Mikey and relentless cop friend David, James conceals a dark past in military covert ops, fueling his clandestine activities and weaving a web of secrets. As James navigates the dangerous balance between his criminal endeavors and military connections, his mysterious money transfers, emotional struggles, and unpredictable actions set the stage for an intense cat and mouse game, creating a character whose dilemmas, hidden layers, and moral quandaries drive the compelling narrative of crime, action, and drama.
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Jason has completed the BW Frame Work.
What. I learned doing this assignment is that I had a lot more material to fill in the framework than the space provided. I did each lesson individually as well as group for each of my characters. This really helped expand the different ideas for each of the characters and has helped direct the characters in new and exciting directions.
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(Jason Lauer’s) Creating Irony Assignment 1
Prison Break
Character Irony
Lincoln is a man with a shady past, who is an innocent man on death row for a crime he didn’t commit.
Michael is a calm man who hates violence, but commits a violent crime to get put in jail.
Belick is the head guard but is just as crooked as the criminals he guards
Michael is saving his innocent brother’s life, but damaging countless others who end up in the crosshairs of the conspiracy.
LJ shows his love by being mad at his father and Uncle.
Situational Irony
Michael has to get thrown in Prison just so he could break out.
Sucre is looking to finish his short amount of time and get home, but needs to break out once his Fiancee is being pursued by another man.
Michael is focused on getting his innocent brother out, but keeps having to add violent criminals to his plans to help them escape.
Michael smuggles the plans for the prison on his body in plan sight.
The Secret Service, which is a protection detail, is putting many lives in danger trying to cover up their actions.
Jason Lauer’s Creating Irony Assignment 2
What I learned doing this assignment is that I may change one of the characters to be a reformed character that is dragged backed into the criminal underworld because he helps his friend.
Character Irony
- James refuses to commit crimes where he lives.
- Laura is willing to become a criminal to catch James.
- James is calm when he is panicking inside about going to jail.
- Mia is a good person with connections to the Underworld.
- David is observant for everything but those closet to him.
- Mikey’s lives a good family life, but is secretly a fence.
Situational Irony
- Joins the military to become a better criminal
- Studies investigative methods to learn what evidence is left behind
- Works for a private security company to gain access to weapons and rich targets.
- Divorces cheating wife and becomes a cop by his friend who is a criminal.
- Works for a private security company that commits robberies to fund the company and their lifestyle.
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(Jason Lauer’s) Plot and Character Layers Assignment 1
Prison Break
Plot Surface:
- Layer 1: Breaking out of Prison with his brother
- Layer 2: Involving John in order to get closer to his brother and construction work
- Layer 3: Testing his cellmate to confirm that he can trust him.
- Layer 4: Veronica chasing down the conspiracy angle for Lincoln
- Layer 5: The government trying to cover up the conspiracy
- Layer 6: T-Bag forces his way into the breakout.
- Layer 7: SJ, Veronica, and Nick are all threatened by the government and nearly killed.
- Layer 8: Michael helps start a riot to get what he needs.
- Layer 9: John can’t deliver a witness and is taken off of the construction crew.
- Layer 10: Michael and John set up a mobster and get back on the construction crew.
- Layer 11: Another convict starts working on the escape plan
Character Surface:
- Layer 1: Michael goes to jail for armed robbery
- Layer 2: Michael is an engineer who helped update the prison
- Layer 3: Michael has the blue prints for the prison tattooed on his body
- Layer 4: Michael has to corrupt his morals to get what he needs to break out of prison.
- Layer 5: Michael holds an innocent man’s life in his hands and has to decide if he lives or dies.
- Layer 6: Michael has to weigh the decision to let criminals break out of prison with him in order to get what he wants.
Jason Lauer’s Plot and Character Layers Assignment 2
What I learned doing this assignment is that this assignment is very good to help organize my thoughts on how I think the story should progress. I’m not held to anything listed below it feels like the start of an outline.
Plot Surface:
- Layer 1: James accidentally kills a teen during a joyride after he commits a robbery.
- Layer 2: James join the military to avoid the investigation of the death of the teen.
- Layer 3: Becomes friends with David Miller while they both serve as military police officers.
- Layer 4: James uses his training he learned in the military to plan more successful robberies.
- Layer 5: James works for a Private Security Company.
- Layer 6: The owner of the company has James commit robberies to help fund the company.
- David Miller, freshly out of the Military moves to the city to be closer to his friend.
- James meets him at a BBQ, only to discover his friend is a cop.
- James recruits many of the cops to join the Private Security company so they can gather intel.
- Detective Laura Reynolds refuses to let go of the accidental murder and keeps the cold case open.
- James’ best friend Mikey Rodriguez still has evidence tying them both to the accidental death.
- Detective Reynolds strong-arms Confidential Informants to get leads towards the killer.
Character Surface: James Cooper
- Layer 1: A criminal
- Layer 2: Joins the Military to avoid jail
- Layer 3: Is a more efficient criminal due to military training
- Layer 4: Loyal friend to a criminal and former Military Police partner
- Layer 5: Avoids killing civilians at all costs
- Layer 6: Plans the jobs avoid civilians and police.
- Layer 7: Convinces Police Officers to join the Private security team he is a part of to gather intel on their cases.
- Layer 8: The closer he keeps the Police the more likely it will be discovered that he’s a criminal.
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(Jason Lauer’s) Big Picture Open Loops Assignment 1
Prison Break
GOALS:
Break out of Prison
Find out who set up Lincoln?
Save LJ from the Government.
CONSEQUENCES:
How many people are they going to have to involve to break out?
What kind of scumbag will they break out with?
LJ’s mom and step-father are also killed.
Veronica’s life is put in danger when she helps Lincoln.
SOLVING PROBLEMS:
How can Michael break them out of prison when he only has criminals to work with?
When the weekly problem arises, how will Michael solve it?
How can they help LJ while they are in Prison and he is free?
How does John deal with the politics of the Mafia while in prison?
RELATIONSHIPS:
Michael and Sara’s relationship. Can they work outside the prison, because they both care for one another.
Who can Michael save from T-Bag?
How will Lincoln and LJ’s relationship be repaired?
DANGER / SURVIVAL / RISKS:
Can Michael survive Prison?
Will Lincoln be executed?
Will LJ and Lincoln reunite?
Will Veronica survive?
Who is hunting Veronica and LJ?
Jason Lauer’s Big Picture Open Loops Assignment 2
What I learned doing this assignment is that creating open loops can help with unlocking parts of the characters that had not been considered.
GOALS:
Will James plan a robbery that will set him for the future?
Will David capture the deadly robbery crew running through the city?
Will Detective Reynolds find the evidence needed to tie James to the accidental murder?
Will Mikey be able to keep his family and work life separate?
Will Mia turn on James once she finds out he’s a criminal?
Will Mia be able to walk the line between criminal and citizen?
Will David figure out that James is a criminal?
Will James be able to trust Mikey, knowing that he still has evidence from the accident?CONSEQUENCES:
What will happen in James is caught? Will he go down shooting instead of going to jail?
How will his colleagues look at David once they realize his friend is a criminal?
What will happen to Mia if her sources are found out?SOLVING PROBLEMS:
Can James hide his plans from David?
Can Laura tie evidence to James?
Will Mia be implicated by her criminal sources?
How will David stop this dangerous crew?RELATIONSHIPS:
Will David find out about James’ criminal career?
Can James hide his criminal career from David?
Will James and Mia get together?
Will James and Mia stay together when James’ criminal career is revealed?
Will Mikey and James remain friends?
Will Laura discover Mikey’s involvement in the accident?DANGER / SURVIVAL / RISKS:
Can James survive the crimes he commits?
Will the Dangerous crew kill civilians?
Can David stop this crew?
Will James go to jail or the grave?
Will Laura go to any means necessary to get evidence on James?
Is Mia’s life in danger from her criminal connections?
Is Mia’s life in danger from James’ criminal career?
Is James’ life in danger due to Mia’s criminal connections? -
(Jason Lauer’s) Show Mysteries Assignment 1
Prison Break
This show is full of mysteries and secrets.
The overall arching mystery of how will Michael break them out of the prison plays out during each episode. This is done by having Michael keep blue prints of the prison on his body, but hidden under a tattoo.
Each episode, another piece of the tattoo is revealed that shows part of his plan. There is also always a shocking moment in each episode that changes the trajectory for at least one character. An attempted murder, or someone finds out what they are up to and the inmates need to involve them, causing friction among the group.
Another part of the overall mystery is who framed Michael’s brother Lincoln for murder.
Michael has to assemble a crew of inmates to work on his escape plan, sometimes allying with unsavory characters. The addition of these characters add another layer of mystery to the show, by making the circle of people who know the plan, means there is more chance for a screw up that will land them all in solitary.
Michael constantly withholds information from every character in the show. Only he has a full understanding of the plan. He is hiding information from John, that John desperately needs to keep his family safe and get him released from prison.
Jason Lauer’s Mysteries Assignment 2
What I learned doing this assignment I had forgotten a good portion of this when I did this originally. I found a lot of success by breaking up the 1st Prompt, by focusing on only 1 character at a time. I found that it gave me some minor mysteries that could be used for a single episode. I found great success by asking ChatGPT to “Please provide an Over arching mystery that would include all the characters for season 1”. The results I got were amazing.
Shocking Event Mystery 1
- A. Shocking Event: James accidentally kills a Teenager while joyriding in a stolen vehicle, with Mikey.
- B. Secret: Mikey recorded the whole joyride
- C. Investigation: Detective Laura Reynolds haș been searching for the driver/killer of the stolen car for years.
- WWWWW and How:
Who: James, Mikey, and Detective Reynolds
What: James and Mikey were joyriding in a stolen car
Where: The streets of Philadelphia
Why: They were stupid kids who didn’t think of the consequences
How: Head on collision - Part Withheld: Mikey never destroyed the evidence.
Over Time Mystery
- A. Cover up: James is hiding the robbery he is planning from David, Mia, and the criminal underworld. Will David discover who James really is?
- B. Secret: Mia is spying on James for the local criminal underworld. James is keeping the location a secret.
- C. Reveals: James books a flight to “LOCATION TBD”
- Part Withheld: James knows that Mia has connections to the criminal underworld.
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Jason Lauer’s Show Empathy / Distress Assignment 1
Prison Break
Michael
A. Undeserved misfortune.
He is in jail to try and break his brother out of jail.
B. External Character conflicts.
Prison life, T-Bag, John, the time table for Lincoln’s execution.
C. Plot intruding on life.
Michael is trying to break out of jail before his brother is executed. Can Michael deal with all of the different prisoners wanting a piece of him?
D. Moral dilemmas.
Who will Michael have to sacrifice in order to make his plan work.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Michael has to fight against prisoners and lie to innocent people to make his plan work.
Lincoln
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Lincoln is in jail for a crime he didn’t commit.
B. External Character conflicts.
Lincoln is stressed from his impending execution. Micheal being in jail. His son SJ getting in trouble at school and their fractured relationship.
C. Plot intruding on life.
Lincoln has to protect his brother while they are both in jail. Lincoln is also trying to figure out who set him up and who is trying to kill his friends.
D. Moral dilemmas.
Who is Lincoln going to put in danger while they investigate who framed him.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Will Lincoln have to kill people to save his brother?
Assignment 2
What I learned doing this assignment is that I had some difficulty coming up with ideas to make the character relatable. He is a criminal and I don’t want use an idea that was already used.
James Cooper
Distress:
- A. Undeserved misfortune. – He accidentally killed someone and fled into the military to avoid being found.
- B. External Character conflicts. – He inconstantly lying to David about what he really does. Is at odds with Detective Laura Reynolds because she is hunting him for the death of the individual. He is having a hard time opening up to Mia, he is afraid that she will leave him once she finds out he’s a criminal.
- C. Plot intruding on life. – James is trying to plan an out of state heist, but the local criminals find out about it and want a portion of the score. What can James do to appease them?
- D. Moral dilemmas. – ??
- E. Forced decisions they’d never make. – Can James make the tough decision about his best friend Mikey, who has information about the death at the beginning.
Empathy:
- A. Put the character in distress. – James hiding his true self from David, Mia, and Laura. James is in danger from the local criminals.
- B. Make them relatable. James is afraid of going to jail. Betraying his best friends and losing his girlfriend.
- C. Universal experiences that are emotional.
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Jason Lauer’s Relationship Map Assignment 1 (Prison Break)
Micheal
Surface:
Lincoln: Brother
Veronica: Lawyer and friend
LJ: Nephew
Common Ground:
Sucre: Cell mate and escapee
John: prisoner and escapee
Lincoln: Prisoner, brother, and escapee
Conflict:
T-Bag: Michael shunned him and now has an enemy
John: Micheal has information that John needs, but Michael will not give it until he gets what he wants
Bellick: Corrupt Correction Officer who doesn’t trust anyone, particularly Michel.
History:
Lincoln: Brother, they fought through life together after their mother died.
Veronica: Represented Michael and date Lincoln. Micheal and she remained friends.
LJ: Michael is a stable person in his life, so when his Uncle goes to jail and his father is getting close to his execution date, he snaps.
Subtext:
Lincoln: Michael loves his brother and will do whatever is needed for him.
Sarah:Michael cares for her but doesn’t know how to express it while he’s in prison.
T-Bag: T-Bag wants to possess Michael, but Michael finds him repulsive.
Relationship Arc:
Lincoln: They are still brothers and care very much for one another. I’m assuming that they get out.
Sucre: They start to trust each other more and more. Michael starts taking some advice from Sucre.
Sarah: Their feelings will come to the surface and admit how they feel about one another.
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Jason Lauer’s Relationship Map Assignment 2
What I learned doing this assignment
Concept: A cunning criminal joins the military to avoid arrest, acquiring deadly skills to use in his criminal enterprises. Unbeknownst to him, his bed military friend becomes a relentless cop, sparking a high-stakes cat and mouse game.
JAMES COOPER
Surface:
DAVID MILLER – They have a brotherly bond from their time in the military. David doesn’t know that James is a criminal.
MIKEY RODRIGUEZ – James’ best friend growing up. There is nothing that these two won’t do for each other.
<font face=”inherit”>DET. LAURA REYNOLDS – They are adversaries, but neither knows about the other. She has clues that lead towards James, but does not have </font>enough evidence.
MIA FOSTER – She is a love interest for James. She cares for James, and is his entree into a higher echelon of criminal.
Common Ground:
DAVID MILLER – Military brothers and partners when they were both Military Police.
MIKEY RODRIGUEZ -They are trying to keep each other out of jail and off the police’s radar.
DET. LAURA REYNOLDS – ????
MIA FOSTER – Their fascination with the criminal underworld.
Conflict:
DAVID MILLER – David is a Police Officer and is hunting criminals in the city.
MIKEY RODRIGUEZ – Mikey has evidence linking James to the original crime that caused him to flee to the military.
DET. LAURA REYNOLDS – She wants to arrest him for the death of the individual before James fled to the military.
MIA FOSTER – Feels like James is pushing her away from her criminal contacts.
History:
DAVID MILLER – Were in the military together.
MIKEY RODRIGUEZ – Best Friends since they were 5.
DET. LAURA REYNOLDS – Is Hunting James for the death of the individual.
MIA FOSTER – They were introduced by a common friend.
Subtext:
DAVID MILLER – James is hiding his career as a criminal from David.
MIKEY RODRIGUEZ – Trust each other, but James does not realize that Mikey can bury him with the evidence.
DET. LAURA REYNOLDS – Has a blind hatred for James without knowing who he is.
MIA FOSTER – Romantic.
Relationship Arc:
DAVID MILLER – They are on a collision course that will end with one of them dead by the end of the show.
MIKEY RODRIGUEZ – Either Mikey or James will be forced to betray their friend by the end of the show.
DET. LAURA REYNOLDS – They will cross each other’s paths by the end of the first season.
MIA FOSTER – Can they trust each other enough to have a meaningful relationship? Will Mia be willing to leave everything if James has to run?
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Jason Lauer’s Character Emotions Assignment 1
Prison Break
Michael
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
Michael is hoping that he will be able to save his brother and escape prison
Micheal is afraid that he will fail and his brother will be executed
B. Motivation: Want / Need
Michael wants to break out of prison with his brother
Michael needs to save his brother’s life
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public Mask
Base Negative Emotion scared
Public Mask calm and collected
D. Weaknesses
Michael can be short sighted when it comes to predicting how people will react.
E. Triggers
Michael freezes or tenses up when blood of others is involved.
F. Coping Mechanism
Michael goes back to planning and trying to figure out the best way to move forward with each step of his plan.
ASSIGNMENT 2
What I learned doing this assignment is that I still have issues with the Base Negative Emotion / Public Mask skill. I’m curious to see what the AI comes up with.
James Cooper
A. Situational: Hope / Fear – Hope: To get rich from stealing / Fear: That he will be caught and spend the rest of his life in jail.
B. Motivation: Want / Need- Want: To get rich and stay out of jail. / Need: To get a familial feeling with his crew.
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public Mask – BNE: Lonely / Public Mask: Charismatic
D. Weaknesses – Th idea of jail, Claustrophobic?
E. Triggers – Responsibility
F. Coping Mechanism – Focusing on small details, Detailing his car, gleaning his boots, rock gardens.
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What I learned doing this assignment is that I did this assignment quickly and at a very high level. I am curious to see what the AI comes up and how I will tweak it to make the character more intriguing.
Character Name: Lincoln Burrows
Role: Lincoln is a mentor to his son as well as Michael. He tries to teach Michael how to navigate through prison life.
Hidden Agendas: Lincoln knows that Michael is breaking them out of prison. He also knows that he is being set to die for a crime he didn’t commit.
Competition: Lincoln is competition with the guards, They are the only ones who have access to him and he wants to sty a step ahead of them.Conspiracies: Lincoln is trapped in a conspiracy regarding the Vice-President’s brother. He also trying to help Michael break out of prison.
Secrets: Lincoln knows that he is innocent, and that there is a plan to break out of prison.
Deception: Lincoln only deceives himself that he is not afraid to die alone. He wants his son to attend the execution.
Wound: His son. The threats against his family are what kept Lincoln in line and not making any waves.
Secret Identity: Lincoln was an assassin and father.
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Character Name: James Cooper
Role: Main Character
Hidden agendas: Steal as much money as possible.
Competition: David Miller and Detective Laura Reynolds.
<font face=”inherit”>Conspiracies: He is befriending David Miller’s comrades to </font>gather<font face=”inherit”> information on potential jobs.</font>
Secrets: Is responsible for the death of a person prior to fleeing to join the military.
Deception: He is lying to his best friend from the Military David Miller, who is now a cop.
Wound: Something from his youth, Military?
Secret Identity: Is a criminal who is masquerading as an upstanding citizen who runs a Private Security firm.
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Jason Lauer’s Engaging Character for PRISON BREAK
Michael Scofield
A. Role in the show: A former Mechanical Engineer who helped update the prison that he is about to break out of with his brother. <div>B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: Expertise: Helped design the update for the prison, so he has the plans for the prison tattooed on his body.Purpose: To break his brother out of prison, who he believes was set up in a government conspiracy. </div><div>C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface?: Michael is playing everyone against each other and towards a goal that only he knows about. Each character is a pawn in the big game that he is playing. </div><div>D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?: Michael was a hard working man, who planned and robbed a bank in order to start his plan to free his brother. Michael is not comfortable with lying to people, but he is comfortable manipulating them to do what he wants. </div><div>E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?: Micheal is very good at planning for the unexpected curves that prison throws at him. He thinks quickly on his feet and plans for various different outcomes. He was not expecting for prison to be as taxing on his as it turns out to be. </div><div> F. Empathetic: Why do we care?: Michael is doing this all for the love of his brother and will go to the ends of the earth to help him out.
</div>Assignment 2:
What I learned doing this assignment is that I use a bastardized version of this, that I learned in BWTV4. I use it for all of my character creation. I am excited to see what things AI can come up with.
James Cooper (Criminal):
A. Role in the show:
James is one of two main Characters. He is a criminal.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
James is a career criminal who enlists in the military to get avoid being charged for a murder. While in the military, he is trained to be more dangerous and becomes a Military Police Officer to learn how to investigate crimes.
C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface?
James is a criminal who plans and executes high end jobs that bring in a lot of money.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
James is a criminal, who is not afraid to kill.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
James plans for every contingency, but is able to adapt and overcome from his time in the military.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
James is charismatic, people like him and he didn’t mean to kill that person in the car crash. (I’m curious to see what AI is going to come up with for this one.)
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Jason Lauer’s Assignment 1
A. Main Characters Circle:
Michael
Lincoln
Sucre
Veronica
B. Connected Circle:
T-Bag
John Abruzzi
Charles Westmoreland
Brad Bellick
LJ Burrows
Sara Tancredi
C-Note
C. Environment Circle:
Warden
Guards
Inmates
Judges
Lawyers
ASSIGNMENT 2
MAIN CHARACTERS ( I do not have names for these characters yet)
Criminal
Cop
Cop investigating an old crime, committed by the criminal
CONNECTED CHARACTERS
Criminal Military Friend
Cop’s partner
Criminal’s Crew
Police Officers
Love Interest for Criminal and Cop
ENVIRONMENT CHARACTERS
Fence
Confidential Informants
Mob
Politicians
Citizens
Store Workers
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Jason Lauer’s (Prison Break) 5 Star Model
What I learned doing this assignment is that I never realized how many hooks were built into this show. Before every commercial break we are fed a new piece of information that will keep us intrigued throughout the whole story. And all of these hooks are hinted at in the beginning when Michael is breaking down his apartment and getting rid of evidence.
I wanted to watch the second episode immediately after finishing the first. I stopped myself.
Big Picture Hooks
Ask this: What is the big hook of this show?
– The big picture hook of this show is how will a man break out of prison with his brother, who he believes has been set up for a crime he didn’t commit.
Amazing and Intriguing Character
Ask this: What makes these main characters intriguing and interesting?
– Michael is a brother who will go through anything for his brother who he loves, including having detailed plans tattooed onto his body so they can plan their escape from prison.
Empathy / Distress
Ask this: What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for this character?
– EMPATHY: We come to understand how much Michael cares for his brother and what he is willing to go through for him.
– DISTRESS: This is shown very early on in the story when Michael witnesses an inmate being stabbed. At this moment Michael realizes that he may not survive this ordeal.
Layers / Open Loops
Ask this: What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season?
– The big one is how will Michael escape with his brother? Other smaller questions are who set up his brother and who will Michael need to make deals with to get out?
Inviting Obsession
Ask this: How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode?
– The episode ended with the reveal of Michael’s tattoo, showing the plans for the prison to his brother. With all the other factors involved, it was really tough to not watch the second episode immediately.
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1. Name – Jason Lauer
2. How many scripts you’ve written – 5
3. What you hope to get out of the class – A better understanding of how to use AI for creating a TV show.
4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you – I have played high school basketball against 3 NBA Players and I was training to be on American Ninja Warrior.
5. What ProSeries, Writing Incredible Movies, or Binge Worthy TV class you were in.
MSC 8 & 16 and Bingeworthy 4
We look forward to working with you all!
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Jason Lauer , 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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Sure, send it over to J_Lauer42@yahoo.com