[suzanne moran]

Lesson 2: Discovering the Essence
SUZANNE MORAN Puts Essence to Work

What I learned is I have been too flexible with characters as opposed to strictly emphasizing their core traits, clear black n white perspectives tell the story in the most effective, efficient and entertaining way. More powerful. It’s not enough to “know” their core, it needs to be demonstrated, they can play or conceal but it must be seen by the reader.

Script I choose: ANGUS
Scene 1 Location: ACT 3-ish

Logline: Cherry begs forgiveness at her dead son’s bedroom door. 


Essence I’ve discovered: Needing forgiveness comes from guilt.

Yikes. First of all there is a striking similarity to the overall essence of the film I chose for Day 1 even though they were written 10 years apart. Mine is more about life after death connection, but the main character (in this scene/monologue) I now realize is also living in purgatory, a deep dark transformation.


New Logline: Cherry realizes the door to her dead son’s bedroom is the doorway to her purgatory existence, where forgiveness is futile.

Scene 2 Location: MID POPINT

Logline: Ari and Stephen’s power struggle comes to a head, Ari’s impassioned goodness is weak compared to his brother’s calculated deceit.

Essence I’ve discovered: Darkness has the upper hand to pure loving goodness even/or especially in grief.

New Logline: Stephen’s deep seated resentment is exposed in dark satisfaction seeing his brother’s grief-ridden eyes.

Scene 3 Location: Opening scene

Logline: Cherry and Stephen’s passion never ceased, eventhough she chose to marry his brother.

Essence I’ve discovered: Deceit begets deceit.

New Logline: Cherry is destroying her life, while Stephen is destroying her family.

Scene 4 Location: AFTER MID POINT

Logline: Stephen torments Ari by challenging his fatherhood 

Essence I’ve discovered: Evil has no boundaries

New Logline: Having taken one son from his brother without consequence, Stephen torments Joshua, suggesting he will gladly do it again under the guise of generosity.

Scene 5 Location:3rd ACT

Logline: Joshua’s premonition of losing his father is coming true.

Essence I’ve discovered: Children sense the truth and knowing death makes that stronger

New Logline: The prediction of losing his father has empowered Joshua to take control, this time he won’t lose.

• This reply was modified 4 days, 14 hours ago by  suzanne moran.

[suzanne moran]

[1] Suzanne Moran Finds the Essence of In Bruges
What I learned is that there is more depth IF and when the essence is the core of each scene and in some way, each character. This film demonstrates beautifully how this is possible with so much variety while maintaining the core essence [like a roller coaster ride].

Script I choose: In Bruges
Scene 1 Location: page 19
Logline: Grotesque depictions of death and torture reflect the inner life of Ray, and the actual life of Ken. Essence: Ray literally is facing his demons, while Ken has not yet made that connection.

Scene 2 Location: page 60. 
Logline: Ray having his suicide interrupted, confesses his murderous sin to Ken.
Essence: Considering that the film’s setting has been established as ‘purgatory’ means Ray has no escape.

Scene 3 Location: page 84. Logline: Ken, having discovered a moral boundary, sacrifices himself to save Ray.
Essence: Eventually core moral values surpass duty or fear.

Scene 4 Location: page 66
. Logline: Harry’s outrage at having to clean up his own business
Essence: Absolutely nothing will stand in the way of this murderous man’s code of honor.

Scene 5 Location: page 90. Logline: Harry presumably has committed the same accidental sin as Ray, his extreme moral logic means extreme consequence, his own life.
 Essence: True moral conviction is set in stone, meaning possibly that this is all we can be certain of…?

My selection for most profound essence: @page 19
INT. GROENINGEMUSEUM – DAY
KEN and RAY wander the gallery, observing various paintings, including 'The Judgement of Cambyses' (depicting a flaying alive) and 'De gierigaard en de dood' (a skeletal Death coming to collect his due).
They stop in front of Bosch's 'The Last Judgement', taking in the freakish demons torturing various people in various freakish ways.
RAY
- I quite like this one. All the rest were rubbish by spastics, but this one's quite good. What's it all about, then?
KEN
- Well, it's the Last Judgement. Judgement Day. Y'know?
RAY
- Oh yeah? What's that then?
KEN
- Well, it's, y'know, the final day on Earth when mankind will be judged for all the crimes they have committed. And that.
RAY
- Oh. And see who gets into Heaven and who gets into Hell and all that?
KEN
- Yeah.
RAY
- And what's the other place?
KEN
- Purgatory.
RAY
- Purgatory. Purgatory's kind of like the inbetweeny one. You weren't really shit, but you weren't all that great, either. Like Tottenham.
KEN
- Do you believe in all that stuff, Ken?
KEN
- Tottenham?
RAY
- The Last Judgement and the afterlife and… guilt and… sins and… Hell and all that
KEN realizes that RAY is really looking for an answer.
KEN
- Um… Oh. Um…

My selection for most profound essence:
[Scene 1]
This scene is the least cinematic but it fully describes the entire essence and meaning of the story: Life/death/morality demonstrated through extremes of being able to take a life but also living by such a conviction of taking one’s own life purely out of moral code. Also shows the contrast of consequences; living with or dying from that guilt. This scene in particular shows us that there is no definitive answer regarding good/bad life/death. It’s all belief and ultimately unknown.

DEFINITION of Essence: The basic, real, or invariable nature of a thing. The true substance.

• This reply was modified 4 days, 19 hours ago by  suzanne moran.

[suzanne moran]

Hi everyone.
I’m Suzanne Moran (Schumann)
No idea how many scripts as I’ve been dabbling for many, many years, mostly incomplete. I started with ProSeries in 2017…no actually it was 2015!! My goodness, well rather than feeling a failure I’ll just say determination keeps me coming back!
I’m here to recharge my process, the creative ideas are there living in my head like invisible friends, it’s time to get them out into the world.
Since 2018 I’ve been a Regression Therapist which has given me a deeper perspective to character backstories and their relationships ie the deep truths we keep hidden even from ourselves.
Happy to be here. Thank you Cheryl and Hal!