Tony Barea
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Tony puts ESSENCE to work.
What I learned is… Essence in itself is nuanced. It will always come back to the core concept in some way, shape or form, but it is important to explore those nuances and experiment with them in every scene. With patience and determination, you can discover the connecting tissue between all the elements of your story.
Script I choose: The Cardinal’s Sister
Scene 1 Location: SC 1 Opening Scene Cathedral exterior.
Logline: An intoxicated Paul watches on, amused as firefighters work to extinguish a burning Cathedral.
Essence I’ve discovered: A troubled young man who despises the church and wants to see it burn.
New Logline: A heavily intoxicated man Paul, hinders firefighters’ efforts to put out a fire, celebrating the inferno in the process.Scene 2 Location: SC 2 Bus stop bench
Logline: A young Paul waits for the school bus as his friend rides around in circles.
Essence I’ve discovered: There is danger everywhere, even waiting for the bus.
New Logline: A young Paul waits for the school bus watching his friend on his bicycle almost get hit by a truck.Scene 3 Location: SC 3 School playground
Logline: Paul is frozen as a nun comes out into the playground and heads towards him
Essence I’ve discovered: Danger lurks in the safest environment
New Logline: Paul is snatched by a young school friend as the nun approaches him.Scene 4 Location: SC 4 Back to opening scene Cathedral on fire
Logline: Paul stands in front of the blaze when approached by two officers who take him into custody.
Essence I’ve discovered: Being faced with one danger to be taken by another.
New Logline: Paul plays cat and mouse with the officers running around the blaze before being apprehended and taken into custody.Scene 5 Location: S5 Andy Canosa’s apartment
Logline: Andy is preparing to leave for work when he receives a call from his boss.
Essence I’ve discovered: The past will always make a return.
New Logline: Paul receives a call from his boss telling him that the son of a convicted murderer and old school friend of his is being held in custody of over a deadly arson attack. -
What I’ve learned is a re-enforcement of the notion that, quite often, the essence of any particular scene is or should be in alignment with the essence of the story as a whole and that the scripts that follow this path tend to be the ones that are most engaging and of a higher quality. It also reminded me of the various perspectives and ways different characters and circumstances can express an essence.
DANCES WITH WOLVES
Scene 1: Location: Beginning of Act 1- Army field hospital American Civil War
Logline: Lieutenant Dunbar pulls a boot onto his mangled foot before the surgeons return to amputate it.Essence: Dunbar refuses to accept his fate – he will go out on his terms even if it means enduring harrowing pain.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Scene 22: Location: Fort Hayes Headquarters Major Fambrough’s office. Frontier
Logline: Lieutenant Dunbar reports to the commanding officer for passage to his new frontier posting Fort Sedgwick, to find the Major is not well and losing his mind.
Essence: Dunbar is living life by his terms now, making sure he sees the frontier before it’s gone.Scene 73: Location: Sioux camp – Ten Bear’s Lodge
Logline: The men of the tribe discuss their plight. Their decreasing food stocks and the increasing presence of white men on their land, in particular Lieutenant Dunbar.
Essence: Times are changing for the tribe they must look at alternatives to survive. Dunbar alone in their country represents an opportunity to learn about the white man.Scene 104: Location: Fort Sedgwick
Logline: A small posie of Indians led by Kicking Bird and Wind In His Hair have travelled to the fort to ask Dunbar if he has seen any buffalo. He hasn’t and offers them food which they refuse.
Essence: Desperate times call for desperate measures, even if it means reaching out for help to Dunbar, the assumed enemy.Scene 243: Location : On the prairie
Logline: Dunbar attacks his captors as they take potshots at his wolf friend, Two Socks, as an Indian war party lies in wait to rescue their friend.
Essence: Dunbar again refuses to accept his fate. He continues to fight for what he believes in even whilst hindered by shackles.Most profound scene. Scene 1
INT. FIELD HOSPITAL TENT - DAY A black screen. The sound of a knife cutting through boot leather. Fade in on the waists of two men (THE SURGEONS) hovering around a crude operating table. In the extreme background, TWO STRETCHER BEARERS are just leaving. SURGEON 1 (O.S.) Is this the last one? One of the bearers stops and looks back. His face is numb. And he nods hollowly. We cannot see the patient stretched out on the table. But we do see that the first surgeon has succeeded in getting the man's boot off. SURGEON 2 (O.S.) God, what a mess... at least there's no gangrene. SURGEON 1 (O.S.) There will be if it doesn't come off. SURGEON 2 (O.S.) Well I can't saw if I can't keep my eyes open. Let's coffee up... he can wait a few more minutes. As the TWO SURGEONS duck through a tent flap in the background we see a mangled foot, torn by shrapnel, it oozes blood from a cut clear to the bone. LIEUTENANT JOHN J. DUNBAR'S eyes are now open. He's a young man, his features sharp and handsome. With effort, he lifts his head and searches the room. His eyes come to rest on the form of a legless man lying in bloodsoaked sheets. He's whimpering like a child. Dunbar comes to a sitting position on the operating table. As his eyes move around the room they come to rest on a crate filled with the boots of men who have lost their legs. A cane travels through space and deftly hooks one of the boots. Lieutenant Dunbar brings the boot onto the operating table. He tries to pull it on his mangled foot, but the pain makes him cry out. Deliberately he breaks the cane and sticks a piece of it between his teeth. Tears of pain are rolling down his face. A sweat has broken out on his forehead and with great determination he pulls the boot on.Scene 1: Location: Beginning of Act 1- Army field hospital American Civil War
Logline: Lieutenant Dunbar pulls a boot onto his mangled foot before the surgeons return to amputate it.Essence: Dunbar refuses to accept his fate – he will go out on his terms even if it means enduring harrowing pain.
I believe that this is the most profound scene as it sets the stage for the whole story. I can’t help but get a sense that the essence of this scene, the “never say die” mentality that Dunbar is able to draw from, is the same that he encounters with the Indians that he befriends. Throughout the story, we see characters that are faced with extreme adversity, and some aren’t able to cope with it, whilst others, like Dunbar and the Sioux Indians, are able to draw upon something deeper. In this case, Dunbar is effectively trying to kill himself, he has effectively given up, however, it is the choice that he has made to go out on his terms to endure the harrowing pain of putting on his boot and not be a slave to his circumstance that ultimately allows him to survive. This is reflected throughout the entire script.
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Tony barea
“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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Hello everyone, I’m Tony Barea from Wollongong, Australia(just south of Sydney)
I’ve written three feature scripts, one of which has been optioned. I am here to tighten up my other two features and have them in a stronger place by the end of this course.
I work from a place of transformation. I have a lived experience with mental illness I am nine years sober this month. I am also a public speaker. I do community outreach Lived Experience presentations on breaking down depression and mental illness for a large non-profit organisation.
Prior to dedicating myself to acting and writing, I worked as a Service Station(Gas Station) operator for ten years.
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Thank you Leah
I look forward to sharing this experience with you.