2/25-27 Wrap up first outline

Tuesday, 2/25/14

HW3.3: Write a 3 paragraph pitch of your story for Thursday

Aim: Assisting  our peers with Plot Outlines

Daily Spark: What is one place (outside of your home) that you went over vacation?  (They can be as simple as the grocery store or if you went away, somewhere specific you were) Describe the environment there as well as one person you encountered there that you found interesting or memorable in some way.

Hold onto that description.

Announcements:

1. SAI extended Deadline:

EXTENDED DEADLINE for ONLINE application for High School Instrumental Music (Band), Orchestra (Strings), Film and Vocal Music Students
for
The 2014 Summer Arts Institute!

The 2014 Summer Arts Institute (SAI), a FREE summer arts program for middle and high school students, will take place at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens from July 7 through August 1, 2014.
Admission is by application and audition.

We are extending the application deadline for students entering grades 10, 11 and 12 for Instrumental Music (Band), Orchestra (Strings), Film and Vocal Music.

SAI is designed for students at an intermediate or advanced level of study in their discipline. In order to apply for SAI, students must be currently enrolled in a New York City Department of Education public school or planning to enroll in a New York City Department of Education public school for the 2014-15 school year. Public school enrollment will be verified to determine eligibility.

Application Deadline: Applications must be submitted via online application only by Wednesday, March 5 at 6:00 p.m.

Auditions will be held on Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23, 2013 at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts.

SAI program information and the student application is attached to this message.  Click here<http://www.cvent.com/d/14qq03> for the online application.

2:

extended the submissions deadline for Our City, My Story, until Friday, February 28, 2014! Please encourage and support your students and colleagues under 19 in applying to this incredible opportunity!

Submission Deadline: February 28, 2014

Our City, My Story is an annual celebration of excellence in New York City produced films by young adults, under the age of 19 during the Tribeca Film Festival. Our City, My Story aims to highlight and bring attention to the tremendous work that our city’s young filmmakers are producing.

How to Enter:

 

·         Complete the Online Submissions Application.

 

·         Submit a signed “Agreement & Release” via email to ocmsapply@tribecafilminstitute.org. – Download PDF

 

Eligibility:

·         Entrants must fully comply with these Rules and Regulations, including deadlines and entry material requirements and selected film requirements.

·         Non-English language works must have English subtitles at the time of submission.

·         Films must be less than 15 minutes in length.

·         Filmmakers must be younger than 19 years of age and residing within the five boroughs of New York City.

·         Films awarded one of the three monetary prizes in the narrative, documentary and experimental category must show written proof that the film has been done in conjunction or under the auspices of a host program organization, and submitted along with this application.

·         Youth filmmakers must play the major creative role on the production of the submitted works— as directors, writers, and/or editors. Preference will be given to films that are overwhelmingly youth made, and any works reflecting more than 15% of creative control by filmmakers over the age of 19 will be ineligible for submission.

·         Organizations submitting youth produced works may be requested by Tribeca Film Institute staff to undergo an interview at the site of their operations.

 

Today, you will rotate your 7 turning point outline with a neighbor. You are to give feedback. You will write your feedback down and share out afterwards.

As you read:

1. Who is the main character? What is his/her goal? What is his/her obstacle?
2. What is the theme, as far as you can tell? How do you know this?
3. Do each of the main turning points seem to change the direction of the plot or invest the character/audience deeper into the plot? If yes, how so, if no, what needs to change?
4. Is this a film you’d be interested in seeing? Why or why not?

After you read and answer the questions thoroughly above, get back with your partner and discuss your input. If there is time, we will do an additional switch

Thursday, 2/27/14

HW3.4 : Start a random character file in the idea-logue you are keeping for this class. When you encounter interesting people, write down some things about them. This way, you always have characters to draw on.  By next weeek, you should have 5-7 written.

Aim: Understanding characters and their surroundings

Daily Spark: As Monday, think of another location and person (from your vacation or since)

Describe the environment there as well as one person you encountered there that you found interesting or memorable in some way.

Now, take these two characters. One is your protagonist, one is your antagonist. Put them in a situation where they might encounter one another (Subway, train, department store, grocery store, beach…) and an obstacle (or one of them will be the obstacle).  Write the scene, in screenplay format that unfolds from this chance meeting.

2/10-14/13 – Herman’s House and Theme outline

Monday, 2/10/14

HW: outline of screenplay based on news story

Aim: Understanding the context of Herman’s House

Daily Spark: What comes to mind when you think of the concept of “home”? What does home mean to you?

What is solitary confinement?

Pace out 6 x 9

What elements from your original idea of home would you be able to hold onto in this size space?

Do you think it’s ethical to keep a person in these conditions?

INDIVIDUALS: people impacted by incarceration

INSTITUTIONS: organizations and other entities that are connected to prisons

IDEAS: concepts that are associated with individuals and institutions impacted by incarceration

How many ppl do you think are in prison today?

200,000

2.3 million

4.9 million

6.9 million

1/4 vs 5%

Wednesday, 2/12/14

Aim: Discussing Herman’s House

Friday, 2/14/14

Aim: creating outlines for short stories

Daily Spark: What would you say is the theme of Herman’s House? Why do you say this?

Review 7 Turning points

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.

Write 7 turning points

Done? Swap with a neighbor and get feedback – are they strong tps? Do they all connect to theme?

Done? Create pitch

2/4-6/14 – Writing with Theme In Mind

Tuesday, Feb 4th, 2014

HW3.1 – Read a newspaper and find an article about someone/something that is interesting and connects to your theme. (Bring in the article – even better if there is a photo with the article)

Aim: Understanding how to tell a strong story through focus on theme and imagery

Daily Spark:  What is a film with the theme “United we stand, divided we fall”? How do you know that this is the theme (explain why this is the theme)

NOW:

Look at the following photo:

 

Select one of these 4 characters  and describe him/her: Name, age, personality, what he/she does for a living (or if he/she is in school, what his/her favorite subject is and why), what his/her living situation is etc

Share out

Now: Choose one (or layer more) of these “What If” situations and write a short story based on your believed outcome (knowing your character)

1. What if it’s 6 pm and they’ve been playing for days?
2. What if the ball is hit and falls down the sewer drain?
3. What if someone else comes, takes the ball (or the bat) and runs away?
4. What if every pitch (or hit) causes the earth to shake?
5. Write your own what if here…

Share out

Based on what you have written, what might the theme be of your story?

Everyone will share out their loglines and themes.

Now, based on your theme, think of an opening image for your story.

If you start with an image of a person, who is it and what is he or she doing?

If you start with a place, where is it and how does an audience discover it? (ex – many movies that take place in a city have a birds eye flyover shot of the city before dollying in/cutting to somewhere concrete)

If you start with an image of something, what is it and what does it suggest? (ex – an image of a smoking gun laying on the sidewalk pulls an audience in and suggests a conflict we have yet to discover)

If your story centers around a few major events (plot), beginning the movie in the middle of one of them might be a good idea (called In medias res – in the middle of things) -The more active, the better with this technique. Throwing your audience into an action sequence is a great way to grab their attention (ex – the film Rookie starts with a baseball game in a rundown field decades before. That field later becomes an important baseball diamond for the entire town)

Write your opening image.

 

Thursday, 2/6/14

HW 3.2: Create the outline for your screenplay (7 turning points)

Aim: Developing stories based on a theme

Daily Spark: Summarize the article you found and explain how it connects to the theme of your fairy tale.

Using your fairy tale logline, or, if you are struggling with a logline based on your fairy tale, create a logline from your news article, remembering THEME, answer the following questions:

What exactly do I know about the account? Record as many details as you have including where it takes place and during what period of time. How did it start and end? Who was directly involved and/or affected? What is your sense of the story- is it tragic, finny, foreboding, awe-inspiring, intimate or epic?

How reliable is my source? If you are writing from an article, is there a point of view? If so, who’s is it? If it is a fairy tale, who’s point of view is the story told through? If there is only one side to your story, imagine another…

What don’t I know? Even with research, your story may have holes. What can you dream up fill those gaps? Unanswered questions can be the heart of drama. They create mystery and they demand the writer invent some answers

What interests me most/least? What interests you most will keep you writing. Often the most interesting pieces of the story are those you know least about or those that elicit strong emotion – fear, confusion, anger, awe etc/ THIS is your ANGLE – it is what will make your story unique

What interests you least will help you edit your script. Taking on an entire event is difficult and doing so often weakens the effect of any one storyline.  For example, a screenplay written about a famous person will not include every thing from their birth to death, but will instead focus on one time period, one relationship or one major event in the person’s life (think of The King’s Speech  – we do not watch from birth to death, only the build up to giving the speech)

 

Answer all of these questions and write the outline for your script for Monday.