characters- no two characters react the same!
10. each one would react differently even if wine is spilled at the table
11. polarize the cast
12. you can not create from what you don’t know
13. author means to originate-writer is the only original art form- others interrupt
14.  writers need a spine-“ I’m in the hands of an authority”
15. Gates of fire or Tides of war- good writing
16. two keys- empathy and authenticity(not actuality-not world outside)
17. ALIEN is a good example- the writer did his homework-
18. don’t write a single scene unless you are an authority on the subject

Inciting Incident: must be “in” the film-in performance-p.189
1. a dynamic fully developed event that alters the life of the protagonist
2. it radically upsets the balance of the protagonist’s life
3. character must react to it
4. crime committed/discovered is the combined Inciting Incident
5. Jaws- shark eats girl/ cop finds parts of her
6. why does Hollywood make bad movies? Because, they are human- they fall in love with moments but not structure
7. in your own life when an event comes along that messes up your live- what would you want? To restore the balance of life- then they go in pursuit of that desire
8. example: Carnal Knowledge: he plays the great romantic but his sub desire is to trash women
9. Mrs. Soffel is the ultimate romantic- her unconscious desire
10. spine of the story is the deep desire of the protagonist to put things back the way they were
11. James Bond can’t quit because he is the spine of the story
12. truth is: there is only one story(quest)

Quest: is what all story is about- object of desire is to put things back to normal again-

1. what does my character want? Desire? The key? One answer?
2. name it and name the opposite
3. One thing, one thing, one thing, one thing, one thing,

Only Accident or Decision starts a movie
1. the big hook
2. audience: put an image of a scene that they must see (obligatory scene)
3. ex. Officer Gooding must capture and bring to justice Wells, but not until they have come FACE TO FACE
4. SHARK AND SHERIFF ARE FACE TO FACE
5. GOODING AND WELLS FACE TO FACE
6. RUDE NOT TO SHOW  IT TO THEM
7. cobble together all the things that make life have meaning- Tender Mercies
8. should happen near the beginning of the movie-
9. Life is beautiful : happens 40 min.
10. how much does the audience need to know to have a full reaction
11. some movies the inciting incident must begin the film
12. Kramer vs. Kramer: the wife walks out on the family in the first two minutes
13. never delay the incident on purpose- no rule about it, just bring it in when it is right-
14. sub plot can open the story- but it has inciting incident
15. climax the great task but 2
16. not about the middle ground but taking things to the limit- it is seeded in the inciting incident
17. what is the worst thing that can happen, what is the best thing
18. Ordinary People: toast down the disposal
19. Quality is the key: story event may be just a gesture or a look in a certain way
20. does this event change the life of the protagonist-does it inspire an image of the obligatory scene

Progressive Complications

1. to make life difficult
2. nothing moves forward in a story except through conflict-
3. sound in music= take them through time unaware of the passage of time
4. conflict carries a movie like sound carries music
5. when conflict ends the audience is lost
6. when the eye leaves the screen it takes interest with it
7. film-80/20 visual- hold interest through conflict
8. metaphor of life- perpetual unending conflict-
9. forces of scarcity affect all-
10. false conflict does not work-kitchen sink or heavy handed doesn’t work
11. conflict is always a part of life
12. time to reflect is there because of time- not working 24 hours a day
13. great inner conflicts / others on this planet life short bad lives- 28 years for a man in Africa- death is like a freight train in the future coming your way-
14. to be alive is to be in honest perpetual conflict on several levels
15. progressions of a story build- they must become the kind of human being they never thought they could be- greater and greater risks- they stand to lose it all- points of no return by taking risks-
16. point of no return can not be small-it grows huge-points of no return grow
17. p.208- more progress- the magnitude must grow, then grow again, then grow again, then again, then again-
18. threading water is when the film slows down
19. 40 to 60 scenes that work from 400 to600 scenes- looking for the perfect choice
20. only a fool shows his mediocrity to the world
21. real artists throw away paintings that don’t work
22. complicate vs. complicity
23. James Bond has only one conflict-extra personal level- enormous society
24. Personal level: soap opera –suffering is not drama, it is a static state of being-it is boring- like happiness-it becomes boring
25. inner conflict: not films but novels
26. complexity means to bring the protagonist into conflict on all three levels of life
27. advice: relative simple, complex stories- Kramer vs. Kramer French toast scene takes him all levels of conflict-

Act Design/structure
1. beats-changing patterns of human behavior
2. create positive to negative changes-minor to start with
3 .talents needs structure- they told story in old days- tell story till the end of the line
4 .three major reversals is the minimum to take a story to its finish
1. artist must have a vision of power- take me to the end of the line-
2. two are never enough-must be three
3. second act is where the problem is
4. sub plots can carry the story along
5. mid act climax (turning point) major reversal
6. can be four acts- solves problems in the middle of a scene
7. major reversal every 15 minutes in raiders
8. inciting incident, first plot break, second plot break, climax with resolution
9. problem: live and death every 15 minutes is his day not major events-if everything is screaming to be major it becomes minor
10. false ending near the end of second act-
11. sudden impact they drawn dirty harry 
Fatal attractions now has two ending- rent it to see it
Movies are about the last twenty minutes
100 million dollars domestic- goes through the roof- women drug their husbands and boyfriends –ha
women in the audience have empathy with glen close- deeply disturbed overly loses
kills rabbit, loses empathy

How will this turn out? Neg/positive/neg/positive/neg/positive
Ironic page 226
Penultimate Climax predicts the ending
You cannot let the penultimate act repeat itself
Rocky (inciting incident) is 33 minutes into the movie
Pulp fiction has four sub-plots

Television Writing: biggest difference- moral dialogue
Close up – write move dialogue to save money- budget
Hook the commercial- brings the audience back
Down ending first act( get them into trouble)
Hour episode- Jag is four act-intermission is a PART  not an ACT
Cliff hanger- magnum hangs on the chopper-cut to commercial- come back
Law and Order –four acts-down, up, down, up
ER- multiple plots story design- controlling idea is also in the subplots
Pulp Fiction: redemption of all four character
Short cuts; soulless middleclass (something missing) don’t we all feel that deep down inside there is something missing (Robert is an atheist)

SET-UP SUB PLOT

1.LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
2.ROCKY ONE
3. BRING IN OTHER CHARACTER THROUGH A SUB-PLOT TO HELP THE STORY- FOUL PLAY-VERDICT-(SPY FROM OPPOSING LAW FIRM)
4. if it does not contradict, resonate, help, then don’t use it (First Deadly Sin)
5. First Deadly Sin works in the novel IN THE MIND, BUT NOT IN FILM
6. in film: bring the killer to the hospital
7. kiss of the spider woman: fantasy-reversal of subplot-inciting incident- when he’s asked to spy( one hour into the film)( no empathy if sooner)
8. only reason to push the limits of principal is to put something more important in its place

TURNING POINTS p.234

1. TURN EVERYTHING IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER-MINOR/MAJOR
2. OPEN UP THE GAP BETWEEN EXPECTATION TO RESULTS
3. beggar to broker in scene: Trading Places
4. Wall Street: Charlie Scene becomes a crook-
5. affects: SURPRISE
6. CUROSITY(WHY ARE THESE TWO OLD BUS. MEN STEPPING IN)
7. INSIGHT (DOLLAR BET BY TWO OLD GUYS)
8. NEW DIRECTION
9. Kramer vs. Kramer: insight( she was raising two children) (she walked)
10. eggs scene is where the back story comes clear
11. Empire Strikes Back: Luke I’m your father (scene turns)
12. two films make a rush of insight- now you know why yowda was sweating that Luke and his father meet
13. 2nd act climax: Chinatown; he thinks that the woman is mulrey’s lover-daughter-sister-“she’s my sister and my daughter”(turning point)
14. sent story in a whole new direction
15. surprise, rush of insight, new direction!
16. gap open-character thinks he knows what he’s happening- then a new twist
17. writing is the hardest system there is- no support system
18. if you’re already an actor, director, writer, then you will always work
19. green elf story-shared screen-play joke (are you out of your mind)
20. god is producing a movie-
21. monster inside of you has talent and it must be fed- that’s why you write
22. gaps is self expression in writing- how you turn scenes- how you open up the gap between – watch this- you think he’s not going to sing that song- watch this! You think she’s gonna fall for this and fall for Peter- watch this
23. without a single word of explanation
24. ART- WHEN YOU TURN SCENES IN THIS WAY
25. To deliver the goods: insight must have been set up

SET-UPS AND PAY-OFFS

1. Chinatown: Noah Cross says “My daughter” –set up
2. pay off: when he learns cross meant his daughter by daughter
3. he is a murderer-throws suspicion on his daughter
4. 1st time it goes by, it has one meaning, the 2nd time it has another meaning
5. if you set it up to hard, too heavy handed, doesn’t the audience get it before
6. American Beauty: study the set-up (comes out of garage)
7. set up for a younger audience use a heavier hand-
8. gap is closed by the pay-off
9. logic in writing is retroactive- go back and set it up- imagination- to allow every wicked and crazed idea come at you- butterflies in tummy
10. its work! When you’re sitting there doing that hard work, is when it happens

Emotional Experience: pleasure and pain

1. we render the precise experience necessary
2. values at risk- story takes the character through the transitions of the story
3. neg to positive-tell the story dynamically
4. law of diminishing returns- can’t have same charge back to back
5. exception: argue(-) kills wife(--) =argue now becomes the (t)
6. mood- will not substitute for emotion
7. feelings make emotions specific
8. mood is felt by the colors of the film, editing, sound track, casting, ect.
9. mood is there to help the turning point
1. which positive emotion? There are many-bright day-Jim Carrie-
2. at night- color out-moonlight- shot tight angles-thriller mood
3. go to movie for what you don’t get in life- to feel
4. exposition is boring in any light

CHOICES

IF IT’S A CHOICE BETWEEN GOOD OR EVIL THEN IT’S NOT A CHOICE!

1. THE CHARACTER WILL BE TRUE TO ITS NATURE
2. Attila the Hun thought that to kill and plunder was the right thing to do
3. Hitler thought he was on a mission from God
4. the worst of people think, from his point of view, that it’s the right thing to do
5. Only capable of acting only toward the good or bad of what they see
SO: IT MUST BE TWO CHOICES, WHERE HE CAN ONLY CHOOSE ONE
TRUE CHOICE IS DILEMMA