Monday, 10/28/13
Aim: Understanding story arc
HW – Bring in Wednesday a Short Story you are interested in converting to a screenplay. Should be short. No more than 5-10 pages. You must READ this and bring it in Wednesday. Look for a short story with lots of description and not too much “inner mind” thoughts
HW 1.2 Write a monologue (1 page) that accurately portrays your character. What is he/she feeling at that moment? What is his/her hopes? His/her fears? What does he/she love? Hate?
Remember: The character is speaking to him/herself.
Hints: Use the character’s speech patterns and vocabulary – their voice.
OR
Objective: Use exposition to learn a character’s past experiences.
Exercise: Write a speech (1 page) in which your character describes, explains, tells, or preaches about a specific event, experience, or idea. Here are some suggestions:
– Explain his/her FIRST LOVE.
– Recall his/her experience of DISCOVERING A DEAD BODY.
– Describe the BIRTH OF HIS/HER FIRST CHILD.
– Lecture on a situation of CONFLICT between friends.
– Preach about the PRACTICAL VALUE OF ATHEISM.
– Anything else
Remember: The character is speaking to someone or even to a group of people. Decide who your character is addressing. The specifics of your character’s audience will affect word choice and presentation.
Hints: Use the character’s speech patterns and vocabulary – their voice.
Daily Spark: What did you learn from reading the article about Callie Khouri?
1. Return to your individual ideas: share out loglines from these
2.Look at writing on your characters – answer the following questions to help
First, let’s try to answer some of these about T and L
- What are my character’s values? Political position? Religion?
- What does my character do when (s)he is alone?
- What is the most traumatic thing that ever happened to my character?
- What is his/her biggest secret?
- What is his/her most poignant moment?
- What are his/her hobbies?
- What special abilities does (s)he have?
- What is her/his deepest fear?
- Which end of the toothpaste bottle does (s)he squeeze from?
- What kind (if any) of car does (s)he drive?
- What is the WORST thing that could happen to this character?
- What is the BEST thing that could happen?
- What is my character doing tonight?
- How does my character react to stress situations? Defensively? Aggressively? Evasively?
- What does my character think of his/her father? Mother? Sibling(s)? What does (s)he hate and love about each? What influence – literal or imagined – did each have?
- Did (s)he like school? Teachers? Schoolmates?
Was (s)he involved at school? Sports? Clubs? Debate? Or was (s)he unconnected?
Did (s)he graduate? High-School? College? Does (s)he have a PHD? A GED?
- Check here for more: Character Survey
Share out
Wednesday 10/30/13
Aim: Understanding story structure through short story study
HW 1.2 – Create the outline for one of your ideas
Daily Spark: What story did you choose? Why?
1. Talk about Plot Points:
The Two Main Plot Points
Although there may be dozens of turning points in a movie, there are two mainturning points on which the movie turns. I call the first major turning point the Big Event because it is a “big event” that dramatically affects the central character’s life. In fact, it’s often the point when the central character (or protagonist) loses control of his or her life.
Often, the Big Event transports or forces our character into a new world.
The second major turning point moves us into Act 3. This is the Crisis. Of all the crises in your story, this is the big one that forces the central character to take the last final action, or series of actions, that will resolve the conflict. It’s often the low point of the movie where all seems lost.
…But the Crisis is not always a low point or the darkest moment. It is often an event that forces the protagonist to make the key decision that leads to the resolution of the story.
I know you’ve seen movies that were so bad that you’ve thought, “I can write something better than that.” Hold that thought, and let’s look at what you would need to accomplish in terms of basic structure.
The Magnificent 7 Plot Points
There are five additional plot points you’ll need to apply, making seven in all. Since there will be many plot points in a movie, I call these The Magnificent 7 Plot Points. They are: the Back Story, the Catalyst, the Big Event (we’ve mentioned that one), the Midpoint, the Crisis, the Climax, and the Realization.
Let’s start with the Back Story. The Back Story is an event that generally takes place before the movie begins. The Back Story is some past trauma that affects the character’s attitude and behavior throughout the movie.
Sometimes, moviemakers show the Back Story as the first scene in the movie and then cut to “years later” where the present-day movie begins. Other times, they show us a flashback of the Back Story at some point in the movie. Usually, the back story is revealed through dialogue. “My Dad beat me as a kid and that’s why I’m a jerk.” That sort of thing.
When a movie begins, life is in balance. Yes, the protagonist may have a problem, but it’s a problem she’s always had—it’s her status quo. Thensomething kicks things out of balance and gives her a new problem or desire. That something is the Catalyst. The Catalyst usually happens within the first ten minutes of the movie.
And there’s usually a clear relationship between the Catalyst and Big Event, which comes at about 25 minutes or so into the movie.
You may be familiar with the term Inciting Incident. In Hollywood, some refer to the Catalyst as the Inciting Incident while most mean the Big Event. To avoid confusion, I use the more descriptive terms Catalyst and Big Event.
The Big Event ushers us into Act 2 – the middle – where the central character reacts to the big change created by the Big Event. Usually, that first reaction fails, forcing new actions that precipitate a rising conflict.
About half way through, another major event occurs. This is the Midpoint, the fourth plot point of our Magnificent 7. At this point, the central character often becomes fully committed or reaches some kind of point-of-no-return. Sometimes the Midpoint is simply a major event close to the middle of the movie.
From the Midpoint on, the central character takes stronger actions, the conflict intensifies, and the pace quickens until the worst thing that could happen happens. This is the Crisis, the point when all seems lost, and/or the point when the central character faces a crucial decision.
As you know, the Climax or Showdown follows the Crisis. This Showdown is the big battle at the end.
Although many movies end with car chases and explosions, it’s not mandatory. But there will always be a final confrontation of some kind between the central character and the opposition. The Showdown is the biggest scene or sequence of scenes in the movie. It’s when everything comes together.
During or just after a screenplay’s climactic scene or sequence of scenes, the central character realizes something new about herself, or we see evidence of her growth or change. This is the movie’s moment of Realization – our seventh and final major plot point.
In summary, the Magnificent 7 Plot Points are:
Number One. The Back Story haunts the central character.
Number Two. The Catalyst gets the character moving. It’s part of the story’s setup.
Number Three. The Big Event changes the character’s life.
Number Four. The Midpoint is the point of no return or a moment of deep motivation.
Number Five. The Crisis is the low point, or an event that forces the key decision that leads to your story’s end.
Number Six. The Climax or Showdown is the final face-off between your central character and the opposition.
Number Seven. The Realization occurs when your character and/or the audience sees that the character has changed or has realized something.
Use your short story and outline the seven plot points.
Screen writing 2013-2014 