[Sean Benson]

Sean’s Character Depth!

I learned more about my character which also created new scenes and situations.

Internal Character Depth

Motivation: Want = to help others. Need = to redeem herself for a misinterpretation that led to a death.Secret: She doesn’t want others to know that she misinterpreted a 911 call that caused someone to die.Wound: Seeing someone killed again triggers her to relive the guilt.Subtext: She’s hiding her failure for causing someone to die.Layers: We find out while she mentors another caller how to interpret the same call she failed at. Only her and her supervisor knows.

Character to character

Conflict: The killer tries to guilt her, blames her for the death he caused, but she finally forgives herself and doesn’t blame herself anymore. Hold the killer responsible.Hidden Agenda: The killer knows the police aren’t coming to find him. He’s not worried and is just biding his time for the local police to find the operator.Conspiracy: Dirty cops and the killer (the killer is a sex trafficker and the police let him do business for kick backs)Intrigue: Police are slow to respond to her help.

Character Situation

Dilemma: She must stay on the call with the killer or he’ll kill someone else, how does she get help?Secret Identity: She’s a mother, her 6 year old daughter walks in office during the call, now the killer threatens to find them both.

[Sean Benson]

Sean’s Right Characters

What I learned was to think more about how the characters and the story are tied together.What I learned was to think more about how the characters and the story are tied together.

Hook: An ASL interpreter witnesses a murder 3,000 miles away during a video call, can the police really find the killer before the killer finds her?

Protagonist believes that she is a dial tone as an ASL interpreter in a call and should not get emotional involved. She has a trainee that is struggling to not get too emotionally involved with callers and their situations. Now the protagonist is stuck with on a call with a killer. Her character is set up this way to show that she really needs to stay neutral for herself and because her profession demands it.

The killer and the ASL interpreter are connected through their association in the Deaf community, the killer is using his contacts to track the interpreter. He ends up killing the trainee in the process of trying to find the main protagonist.

[Sean Benson]

Sean’s Great Hook

A. How did this process work for you?

It helped me to think more about what needs to be included in the story. I have 5 of the 6 techniques figured out.

B. What did you learn doing this assignment?

I learned more about how my original idea is evolving when thinking about your techniques.

Thanks!

• This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by  Sean Benson.

[Sean Benson]

Assignment Part 1: Select Your Project

Late Night Calls

A. Contained Environment: Home office.

B. Contained Characters: Sign Language interpreter/operator on one end of a video call, killers on the other.

C. Difficult Situation: She witnesses a murder on the video call, and the murderers are looking for her location.

D. Reason for Containment: The murderers threaten to kill others if she hangs up. She hopes the police can locate them before the killers locate her.

Assignment Part 2: Adjust a Produced Movie to Covid Guidelines.

Title: The Guilty

As they did it:

People:

Jake Gyllenhaal as the main lead, a 911 dispatch operator, few other operators, random bathroom scene.

Stunts: None.

Extras: Office employees.

Wardrobe: One outfit.

Hair and Make up: One look as it takes place during a work shift.

Kids and Animals: Kid voices heard over the phone

Quarantine: The movie takes place in an open office environment, they have multiple employees in the background.

Covid guideline version: (I think they did follow Covid guidelines for this movie but I’ll make it even more dense)

People: Just one person on screen, Jake Gyllenhaal, cut out all people in the office, make his character stuck in a claustrophobic cubicle.

Stunts: None.

Extras: Only voices from the calls.

Wardrobe: Same.

Hair and Make up: Same.

Kids and Animals: Same.

Quarantine: As mentioned before, turn from an open office environment to a single cube.

[Sean Benson]

Hey, everyone!

I’m Sean.

Q: How many scripts you’ve written?

A: I’ve written 4 scripts, pre-2015, I’m looking forward to writing again.

Q: What you hope to get out of the class?

A: Mostly guidance and confidence that I’m heading in the right direction with the next screenplay I write, then actually get it produced.

Q: Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you?

A: Fluent in ASL and would like to sprinkle that in the next story. Unusual… When I can’t make a decision, I use my favorite color, purple as the deciding factor.

I wish everyone success!!

• This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by  Sean Benson.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by  Sean Benson.

[Sean Benson]

I, Sean Benson, 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.