Film 33 Final
How do you reveal character?
BY THE CHOICES THEY MAKE Perception by others Through actions and dialogue How the character feels about how they are perceived What they do and don't do How they speak How they dress and how they carry themselves Conflict and how they react to confict
Integrated elements in School of Rock
Battle of the Rent song, crowd surfing
10 minutes in Mean Girls
Cady gets to have lunch with the Plastics
5-10 minutes in Mean Girls
Cady heron is a girl that is going to high school for the first time after being home-schooled her entire life
90 minutes in Mean Girls
Cady is hated by everyone
60 minutes in Mean Girls
Cady loses Aaron and is confronted by Janis. She realizes that she is a mean girl
45 minutes in Mean Girls
Cady wins back Aaron Samuels
60 minutes in Up
Carl chooses the future (Russell, Doug, Kevin) over the past (Muntz and Ellie)
75 minutes in Up
Carl drags the house to the falls "if it kills him" even though Russell has given up on him
5-10 minutes in Up
Carl is in love with Ellie and they both love to travel, but they never got to go to Paradise Falls
17-20 minutes
Central question (engine plot) is presented
17 minutes in Up
Central question: Will Carl and Russell get the house to Paradise Falls?
17 minutes in the Lego Movie
Central question: Will Emmett become a master builder to stop Master Business?
17 minutes in School of Rock
Central question: can Dewey put together a band to win Battle of the Bands and pay the rent?
What makes movies different?
Character and voice
You should write through ____ and not to _____
Character; plot
Time lock
Characters have only a certain amount of time to do something Creates stakes and tension
Who is the bad guy in UP and what does he want?
Charles Muntz and he wants Kevin to prove he's not a fraud
Purpose of subplots
Complicate the main plot, are obstacles, get in the way, Carry the theme and emotion
10 minutes in School of Rock
Dewey is kicked out of the band
5-10 minutes of School of Rock
Dewey is obnoxious, lazy, loud
60 minutes in School of Rock
Dewey learns he needs to be more responsible and selfless by getting that kid out of the van
90 minutes in School of Rock
Dewey loses, the kids, the band, everything
45 minutes in School of Rock
Dewey wants to teach the children the Battle of the Rent Song because he is selfish
Screenwriting's one unbreakable rule
Don't be boring
10 minutes in Up
Ellie dies
75 minutes in the Lego Movie
Emmett falls down the hole and Lucy has to take control
45 minutes in the Lego Movie
Emmett gives the Master Builder speech in Cloud Cuckoo land
5-10 minutes in the Lego Movie
Emmett is an ordinary guy Our antagonist is President Business
10 minutes in the Lego Movie
Emmett sees Wildstyle and falls into a hole
60 minutes in the Lego Movie
Emmett takes charges and brings everyone together as a team Emmett starts to create his own rules
30 minutes
End of Act I Crossing a threshold All characters commit to a goal
Seven naughty words
Entertainment, commercial, voyeurism, contrivance, exploitation, Hollywood, audience
30 minutes in School of Rock
Everyone pledges to the band
75 minutes
False ending We think we've answered the central question Answers plot, not theme
Difference between the good guy and the bad guy
Good guy does the right thing, bad guy does the wrong thing or takes the right thing too far We have to understand why the bad guy did things
5-10 minutes
Hook Set up charcter, situation, problem The beginning of the movie is the promise of the end
Fundamental screenwriting trinity
Idea, story, theme
What do movies treat at their core?
Identity Characters are strangers, but we learn more about ourselves through them
Minute points
Important things that happen on a page
What are three words for the beginning, middle, and end?
Act I: Desire Act II: Deception (what is getting in their way) Act III: Discovery (answer to character's problem)
Integrated elements in Up
Adventure book, the house, balloons, tennis balls, the Ellie badge, helmet, painting of the house, garden hose, hearing aid
What is the name of a screenwriter that doesn't want his name in the credits?
Alan Smithy
90 minutes in Up
All of the characters have separated, Russell took off with the leaf blower Carl's goal changes to save Russell and Kevin
10 minutes
Inciting incident that upsets the norm and changes the way that the protagonist is thinking First plot point
60 minutes in Raiders
Indiana Jones is locked in a pit with his two biggest fears: snakes and women
90 minute in Raiders
Indie and Marion are caught and the ark is in the hands of the Nazis
75 minutes in Raiders
Indie and Marion have the ark
5-10 minutes in Raiders
Indie is the best explorer in the world, not afraid of danger, but afraid of snakes
30 minutes into Raiders
Indie joins with Marion with the medallion
45 minutes in Raiders
Indie realizes that the Nazis are digging in the wrong place
90 minutes in the Lego Movie
Lucy is running the show and she becomes the special All the stuff happens with the live action
30-45 minutes
Meet your next obstacle
60 minutes
Midpoint When protagonist goes from passive to active in relation to their internal dilemma Always related to theme, always emotional Where the character arcs Where the character becomes something
Character spine
Motivation (pushes them over the ledge) Action Goals (pulls them further into the story) Stakes
Every scene does what two things?
Move the plot forward, reveals character Sets up something else for later
Real vs reel
Movies don't have to be realistic, they can be larger than life Characters should always care about something bigger than themselves
Three rules to creating audience-worthy movie characters
No stereotypes Render everybody somewhat sympathetic Require your characters throughout the table to evolve
Characters should come to each scene with ______
Objectives/goals
Want vs need
Plot (tangible) is what the character wants Theme is what the character needs In the end, the character sees that the thing that they wanted is less important that the thing they needed
Difference between plot and theme
Plot is what the characters want, theme is what the characters need
30 minutes in Mean Girls
Regina George steals Aaron Samuels from Cady and she writes how to take her down on the chalkboard
75 minutes in Mean Girls
Regina gets hit by a bus
45 minutes in Up
Russell reveals that his parents are divorced Carl agrees to let Kevin tag along
Specifics of a scene
Self-contained bit of action Advances story and develops character Each scene should have conflict Each scene should have a connection to other scenes Three beat structure Immediate purpose and long-term purpose Who/What/Why/Do
What do we do in the first act?
Set up character Establish plot and story Establish theme Establish all story lines Establish external and internal conflict
Integrated elements in Raiders
Snakes, the whip, making sure he has his hat
Integrated elements
Something that is set up early on and pays off later
Characteristics of a classic movie
Strong story, relatable themes, specatcle, timely/timeless, cause/effect structure, effectively implemented emotions, integrated elements, engaging dialogue, conflict/obstacles, memorable ending, good casting, unique story, nothing wasted, clear through line, a character obsessed with a goal, universal
Most important skill a screenwriter should poseses
The ability to be creatively promiscuous
Integrated elements in Mean Girls
The burn book, the jungle scenes, the school bus, foot cream, you cant sit with us, choosing where to sit,
Integrated elements in the Lego Movie
The double-decker couch The prophecy The Man Upstairs Spaceships The "Everything is Awesome" song
10 minutes into Raiders
The government comes and tells Indie that they have a project for him
30 minutes in Up
The house lands in the wrong spot, so Carl and Russell have to walk the house by foot
How is the world of the movie used to create conflict in School of Rock?
The kids are in school and are not allowed to go on a field trip
90 minutes
The low point They think all is lost, they are furthest from answering their central question
How is the world of the movie used to create conflict in Mean Girls?
The lunchroom shows how the different cliques do/don't interact with each other They are all teenagers, so they all like to gossip about each other and form a social hierarchy
Integrated elements in Iron Man
The reactor in his heart, his helper arm thing, the freezing issue of the suit
Ultimately the plot goal becomes ______
The theme Because of the pursuit of a goal they want, they realize what they need
No audience wants to see a movie about ___________
The village and the happy nice people
What should a screenwriter write before their first screenplay?
Their own personal story
30 minutes in the Lego Movie
They all go through the porter into the Old West and Vetruvius tells Emmett it is time to start his training
What do the top AFI best films have in common?
They all have characters that are obsessed with a goal
75 minutes in School of Rock
They are going to Battle of the Bands and are playing Zack's song instead of Deweys
What makes a character good?
They don't just achieve their own goal, but they change everyone around them in pursuit of their goal
5-10 minutes in Iron Man
Tony Stark is sexy, shallow, arrogant, rich, genius, charismatic, and he deals arms
30 minutes in Iron Man
Tony builds the first Iron Man suit and escapes the cave
45 minutes in Iron Man
Tony holds a press conference and decides to get rid of all weapons
10 minutes in Iron Man
Tony is trapped in a cave
60 minutes in Iron Man
Tony puts on his new suit and becomes Iron Man
75 minutes in Iron Man
Tony saves the town and becomes a superhero
Unity of opposites
Two characters have the same goal, but different ways of reaching it They are polar opposites that have to join together
90 minutes in Iron Man
We think Tony is going to lose the battle against Obediah
The So-What test?
What is the purpose in the theme? The characters should always relate to us through theme There should only be one theme
What are the four questions you should ask yourself before writing a scene?
Who is in the scene? What do they want? Why do they want it? What will they do to get it?
17-20 minutes in Mean Girls
Will Cady learn all the secrets about Regina George and take her down?
17-20 minutes into Raiders
Will Indie get to the ark before the Nazis?
17 minutes in Iron Man
Will Tony become Iron Man?
What do Carl and Russell both learn at the end?
You have to let go and start a new adventure
The movie screen is not a window, but...
a mirror
