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1. 52 of 81 Chapter 9 Act III Structure In This Chapter Act Ill the Martyr phase of the hero s journey consists of four plot points two yesses and two no s but their order is a little different from the reversals in Act Il and perfectly suited to help close out the action of your story Act III Plot Point Overview Developing Act III in Contour 53 of 81 Act lil Plot Point Overview The last four plot points in order are BIG YES NO BIG NO FINAL YES BIG YES The Hero has achieved a substantial victory George McFly defeats Biff in BACK TO THE FUTURE In JAWS Brody Quint and Hooper head back to the shallows to lure the shark who s traveling with three barrels Rose has finally made it onto a lifeboat and is being lowered towards the water in TITANIC And then NO The Hero suffers a setback it s not fatal but it s really really bad In TITANIC Rose jumps out of the lifeboat because she won t leave Jack behind In JAWS the boat blows its engine In BACK TO THE FUTURE Marty tries to give Emmett a note about the future that will save his life saving Emmett s life is one of Marty s goals however Emmett rips the note up BIG NO things go from really bad to much worse disaster failure The situation is hopeless The TITANIC is breaking apart and Jack and Rose are being chased by a murderous Cal Hockley They get away from him and now ride the Titanic down into the water
2. Luke destroys the Death Star and saves Leia STAR WARS 74 of 81 Chapter 12 The Idea Pane In This Chapter aoe screenplay play short story or book begin as the glimmer of an idea born in the imagination of the human mind There the big What if is asked Adding an Idea Modifying an What if an alien from outer space was stranded on earth odifying an Idea Removing an Idea What if a young boy could see dead people What if we could be a fly on the wall in a beauty shop and hear what women really think when as they get their manicures What if the member of a high school basketball team found out he was a member of a family of werewolves What if a cruise ship was struck by a monstrous tidal wave and flipped over Maybe an idea is inspired by a story in the newspaper or on the internet Maybe the idea comes from the lyrics of a song Regardless of the source your needs to find a home before it disappears with the ring of a telephone the sudden appearance of a iChat bubble or any one of a million other distractions Giving your idea a home is the first step in the Contour process What you do with that idea after that is up to you 75 of 81 Adding an Idea Ideas The Idea Pane is a place to store ideas Any idea that you add will appear no matter what screenplay you are currently working on There m lt os are several different idea types and you can add yo
3. no more and no less Remember that a plot point is a discreet unique and essential chunk of story information In the hierarchy of screenwriting it exists above beats and scenes and just below acts Now it s time to focus on Act I with our hero in their Orphan stage of Archetypal development 36 of 81 In This Chapter Developing Act Plot Points Plot Point Plot Point 2 Plot Point 3 Plot Point 4 Plot Point 5 Plot Point 6 Plot Point 7 Plot Point 8 Plot Point 9 Plot Point 10 Plot Point 11 Plot Point 12 Reiterating the Central Question Developing Act I Plot Points Nare Genre Sience of the Lambs Horror Sumdog Mibonare Drama Choose your Screenplay from the Title pane ee ay The Poseidon Adventure Adventure Untied Feel Good Mowe Oramecy Click on the slider and drag it over to the first Orphan tick Vale Arenaton Click in each plot point and develop it as it applies to your Story Click on the slider and drag it to the next tick in the Orphan section Enter the information for the next plot point QO Repeat steps 4 amp 5 until all of the plot points are complete pe aa o Se Se Se Se r r ActI jes Formula Orphan 37 of 81 Plot Point We meet either the Hero Victim Stakes Character or Antagonist In E T we meet the victim first E T and the aliens it s the same thing with JAWS though it s coupled with meet ing the antagonist at the same ti
4. or he has just flat out run out of time One way or another it s time to act it is time to become a Warrior In JAWS Brody goes out on the boat to fight and kill the shark while in TITANIC Jack and Rose fight to get away from Cal and off the boat before it sinks The Warrior gets bloodied and beaten but he always has a reserve to tap into until near the end of Act Il when he dies either literally or figuratively He goes to the place of his darkest nightmare very often it s a cave or enclosed space Here after his death he is reborn and understands how to resolve the Central Question once and for all E T is taken into a tented cave like room within the house dies and then is reborn as the spaceship gets close In JU RASSIC PARK Joseph Mazzelo s character Tim is electrocuted on the fence but Dr Grant resuscitates him The Protagonist must be willing to die and not be reborn in order to answer the Central Question He must be willing to be a Martyr Only by a willingness to lose it all can he win it all The secret of the martyr beat is that the protagonist is no longer motivated by the possibility of success He is motivated solely by the desire to do what is right or what is necessary regardless of the consequences Once he gives up the thought of winning once he embraces the transition from warrior to martyr fate or nature or God rewards him by giving him what he no longer dared hoped to get success Maybe if he
5. s lucky it s what he needed all along An interesting variation on the martyr beat is that sometimes it can belong to a character other than the protago nist with the protagonist learning and being motivated from this example of another 16 of 81 The Central Question Throughout the story the Protagonist moves closer and closer to answering the Central Question once the question is an swered the story is over Will Luke Skywalker save the Princess Will Rocky beat Apollo Creed and become champion Will Marty McFly go back to the future Will Erin Brockovich s actions make a difference Will Batman beat the Joker and Harvey Two Face and save Gotham City once more The Formula The Formula is helpful in distilling a story down to its basic logline and is an indispensable and necessary step in determining whether the glimmer of an idea is going to be worth the effort When a TYPE OF PERSON has does wants gets A he gets does tries learns B only to discover that C now happens and he must respond by doing D The A statement is the Orphan statement The B statement is the Wanderer statement The C statement is the Warrior statement The D statement is the Martyr statement Using E T as an example When a lonely boy finds a stranded space alien A statement ORPHAN state ment he decides to keep him as a pet B statement WANDERER statement only to discover that since the alien can
6. live on earth for too much longer he will try to get it home C statement WARRIOR state ment but in order to do so he will have to thwart the efforts of a team of scientists D statement MARTYR statement 17 of 81 Plot Points A plot point is a discreet unique and essential chunk of story information In the hierarchy of scriptwriting it falls out above beats and scenes and just below acts A linear breakdown is supplied below Screenplay gt Act gt Plot Point gt Scene gt Beat Forty four plot points are needed to tell the story it s up to the writer to figure out how many beats and scenes are necessary to flesh out those plot points Using more or less than forty four plot points will diminish the effec tiveness of the structure The forty four plot points are divided over the three act structure as follows e There are twelve plot points in Act the Orphan phase of the script followed by the Central Question which is the question that once it s answered definitively yes or no the story and the film is over e In the first half of Act II the Wanderer phase there are fourteen plot points e There are another fourteen plot points in the second half of Act II the Warrior phase e And finally there are four plot points in the Martyr phase Acct Ill These forty four plot points will be discussed at length later in the manual These are the basics of the Contour method an
7. In STAR WARS Luke is trying to destroy the Death Star and save the rebel base but the stakes charac ter is actually Princess Leia In this plot point we see what s wrong with the hero s life via the life of the stakes character The stakes charac ter usually has the qualities that the hero needs to complete his arc e In STAR WARS Luke is stuck on Uncle Owen s farm milking space cows and fixing fences when he really wants to go the academy shoot some Stormtroopers and have great adventures Leia is the stakes character she s doing everything Luke dreams of doing out in space blasting Stormtroopers Through her we see Luke s flaw he s stuck on the farm even though we have yet to meet him e In DIE HARD John McClane is a New York cop who gets no respect while his wife Holly is respected by everyone We learn John s flaw through her e In E T Elliot s family has been abandoned by Elliot s father however Elliots response has become in wardly focused He has no real connection to his brother and sister nor his mother as is shown by his insensitive comment to her about Dad having run off with another woman 39 of 81 Plot Point 3 Antagonist or someone or something symbolic of the Antagonist We finally meet our bad guy or at least his representative Sometimes it s a moment in the film that is represen tative of what the bad guy is trying to accomplish e In STAR WARS Leia is captured by the Stor
8. Or was it the blue pill THE MATRIX Luke s aunt and uncle are killed and now there s no reason for him to stay on Tatooine STAR WARS Will Turner joins with Jack Sparrow to pursue Elizabeth on the Black Pearl PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL KICK THE DOG Show that the bad guys are not just bad but really Really REALLY bad Give the protagonist and the reader the idea that answering the Central Question is going to be harder than the initially thought If you don t have a standard antagonist as in a love story show that the obstacles to the protagonist are overwhelmingly strong The Deathstar destroys a whole planet STAR WARS Butch and Sundance begin to be pursued by the super posse BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID Dr Neville tries a new serum on a mutant and fails spectacularly I AM LEGEND 71 of 81 WHICH WAY IS UP Give the protagonist a series of successes and failures as he or she wanders and starts to master the skills needed to ultimately answer the Central Question Dr Cole makes progress in getting Cole to tell him what his problem is THE SIXTH SENSE Kevin gets groceries orders pizza and starts defending his house HOME ALONE Jack starts conquering the class divide and begins his relationship with Rose TITANIC WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS Just when your protagonist thought he or she was making progress you pull the rug out from under Force your protagonist to sto
9. The third part of the formula the C statement is the Warrior statement where the Warrior springs into action either after learning all he needs to know in order to answer the Central Question or because that he s run out of time and has no choice but to act The Warrior Statement only to discover that C now happens The Home Alone Statement only to discover that his house has been targeted by bumbling burglars whom he thwarts several times before realizing that they know that he is alone and are coming back only to discover that his house has been targeted by bumbling burglars whom he thwarts several times before realizing that they know that he is alone and are coming back This is where the mid Act II archetype switchover from wanderer to warrior Only to discover are the vital three words It implies that something surprising happens things go off in a new direction Kevin knew that there were burglars around knew that they tried to break in but it is only in the middle of Act II that he realizes that they re coming back In ET Elliott becomes the Warrior when it becomes a race against time for Elliot to return ET home before he dies only to discover that government scientists are after them 32 of 81 Now construct your C or Warrior statement Give yourself a little room after your A and B statements to write your C statement Once When a vigil
10. in the form of a mentor character The villain will be established as being not just bad but really bad In the absence of a standard villain Such as in a romantic comedy the opposition to the hero s goal will be shown to be a very strong opposition The hero begins the learning process actively pursuing what he or she thinks is needed to resolve the Central Ques tion while getting an insight into what will really be needed to resolve the Central Question Generally the hero will ei ther be oblivious or deny the validity of this insight The hero will meet with low level opposition which he or she will struggle to barely overcome These can be consid ered training exercises or dry runs for the skills and or insights that the hero will really need The love story comedic runner or secondary story will begin in earnest Act Il 14 YES NOs 4 THROUGH 5 In these next two pairs of reversals of Act Il known as Which Way is Up in the Guide pane several landmarks occur The hero continues to wander learning with greater clarity what he or she needs to do to resolve the Central Question while testing the waters with his or nascent abilities The obstacles increase in intensity The opposition to the hero becomes aware of the hero s existence if the opposition wasn t already 61 of 81 Act Il 14 YES NOs 6 THROUGH 7 In these next 2 pairs of reversals of Act Il known as When Life Gives You Lemons
11. its most basic form is as follows l E l Constructing the C Warrior When a type of person has does wants gets A he gets does tries learns Statement B only to discover that C now happens and he must respond by doing D Constructing the D Martyr Statement The A statement is the ORPHAN STATEMENT The B statement is the WANDERER STATEMENT The C statement is the WARRIOR STATEMENT The D statement is the MARTYR STATEMENT As we break down the formula for HOME ALONE we ll stop and give you a chance to construct the statements for your own formula When an under appreciated boy is accidentally left behind by his family when they leave for a European vaca tion he must learn how to take care of himself and be the man of the house only to discover that his house has been targeted by bumbling burglars whom he thwarts several times before realizing that they know that he is alone and are coming back and he must now single handedly defend the house 28 of 81 Constructing the A Orphan Statement Remember that all journeys begin with the Orphan Archetype who is unique in some way shape or form either intentionally or unintentionally Let s compare the Contour A statement the Orphan Statement with the A statement for HOME ALONE The A Statement When a type of person has does wants gets A The HOME ALONE Statement When an under appreciated boy i
12. s friends E T THE EXTRA TERREST RIAL Peter Parker is a slight nerdy high school kid SPIDER MAN YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR TROUBLE IS Make the protagonist s problem or flaw clear both to the protagonist and the reader When in doubt you may use the overused line of dialog that goes You know what your problem is uttered by the protagonist s ally or best friend Luke wants to leave the farm early and join the academy but his uncle tells him no STAR WARS Elliot is told that he needs to think about how other people feel E T THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL Hooper arrives and determines that this was no boating accident JAWS CALLS amp BUSY SIGNALS Give the protagonist the famous call to adventure which is followed by the equally famous refusal of the call Jack sees Rose but doesn t dare go after her because of the difference in social status TITANIC Luke is told by Obi Wan that he must learn how to be Jedi but Luke says he can t he s got too much to do STAR WARS Fletcher wants to take his son to wrestling but the big case is dropped in his lap and he chooses to prepare for the trial LIAR LIAR Sam gets the letter from Annie but refuses to answer it SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE 70 of 81 THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS Force the protagonist out of the normal world and have him or her answer the call to adventure Sometimes the protagonist does this by choice sometimes by circumstance Neo chooses to take the red pill
13. slider and move it to the next tick in the Act HI Martyr mya a me a a aR a A E section unleashed Harvey Dent who has gone off the deep end Finish the last Big No and the final Big Yes where your Martyr becomes victorious Big No Batman finds the Gordons and Harvey shoots him Final Yes Batman saves Jim Gordon s boy and Harvey falls to his death To conceal Harvey s turn to the dark side Batman becomes a martyr and takes the irap for the people that Harvey killed He turns into the hunted instead of being the hunter 56 of 81 Chapter 10 Landmarks In This Chapter Now that we ve established the plot points for Acts I Il and Ill we can now turn our attention toward fleshing out our outline even more with the use of the Guide About Landmarks The guide is a window that helps you incorporate your plot points into a solid treatment Mnemonic sayings help you remember what goes where and why Belly of the Whale Make Lemonade and Kick the Dog will all soon make sense to you Read on for enlightenment 57 of 81 About Landmarks Landmarks in a story are like geographical landmarks they provide you with familiar features on your journey so you know where you are and if you re lucky where you re going In a story character plot theme landmarks make the audience willing traveling companions because these are the moments that all good stories
14. the Screenplays Pane Click the Add e button in the lower left corner Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as listed above 22 of 81 Screenplay Info x Name Untitled Feel Good Movie Author s Mariner Dude StartDate 03 02 2009 5 Genre Dramedy ed Source True Story T Notes l Feedback l Overview The story of Nick Vujivic No arms no legs all heart and an incredibe spirit X Cancel J OK Deleting a Screenplay A Screenplay outline in Contour can be removed in a few different ways Here s how Click on the title to be removed Choose File Choose Delete Screenplay A confirmation sheet appears Click Delete to confirm To delete a screenplay from the Screenplays Pane Click on the title to be removed Click on the delete minus button in the Screenplay pane 23 of 81 Q Are you sure you want to delete the selected screenplays Chapter 4 The Four Questions In This Chapter The first great mistake of every failed screenplay can often be traced to a weak central idea A seemingly good idea runs out of steam around page 55 or so the halfway point The key is to recognize a strong idea from an inherently weak one Questions Answering the Four Four basic questions must be asked when developing your story Who is your main character What is he trying to accomplish Who is trying to stop h
15. the top movies clearly answer 4 simple questions Who is your main character What is he trying to accomplish Who is trying to stop him What happens if he fails 5 of 81 In all of the top movies the main character moves through 4 distinct archetypes during the course of the movie In act one the main character is or becomes an orphan In the first half of act two the main character is a wanderer In the second half of act two the main character becomes a warrior In act three the main character becomes a martyr Act one ends and act two begins with the clear statement of something called the central question The central question is the question that once answered definitively yes or no the movie is over All of the top films can tell their full story using a very simple formula More than just a logline this formula totally lays out all three acts in 60 to 80 words Contour uses a liberating system of plot points which are discreet unique and essential chunks of story information These plot points work for absolutely every genre and are specific enough to guide you while general enough to ensure your stories are unique and special And incredibly that s all the theory you need to know to start using Contour 6 of 81 Installing amp Launching To install Contour Double click the Montage installer icon install Contour follow the prompts to install the software In Vista make sure to choo
16. these next two pairs of reversals of Act Il Known as Inside the Whale in the Guide Pane several landmarks occur Intense direct conflict between the hero and the opposing force villain Hero realizes that he or she still lacks the skills needed to succeed The hero enters his or her darkest internal space often physically expressed by a tight enclosed place The hero undergoes the Ultimate Test leading to a death moment Act Il 14 YES NOs 13 THROUGH 14 In these final TWO pairs of reversals of Act Il Known as Death and Rebirth in the Guide Pane several land marks occur The hero emerges from the death moment resurrection a new being more fully actualized with a new understanding but not quite ready for the final challenge yet Note Sometimes this happens in the next Landmark section Whatever answers the question What s the worst that can happen happens The villain gains the ultimate upper hand The boat breaks down and Brody is stranded on the water without even a radio JAWS Obi Wan is killed and the Death Star is led to the rebel base STAR WARS Woody is abandoned by his friends in the house of Sid the psycho toy mutilator TOY STORY The hero assumes the role of standard bearer for the positive expression of the thematic argument Obi Wan is killed leaving Luke the defender of the Force STAR WARS Max is going to be taken away and Fletcher embraces telling the truth LIAR LIAR Cole admits that ghos
17. 09 03 10 2009 03 03 2009 03 11 2009 Chapter 13 Now What In This Chapter We have been through quite a journey getting a handle on what our story is about creating the Central Question and taking our protagonist through their archetypal stages from Orphan to Wanderer to Warrior and finally to Martyr Printing a Structure Report You ve answered all of the questions along the way The progress Printing a Beat Sheet meter bar is now a bright green and your slider has gotten quite a workout and has made it to the far right hand side of the bar Now what Dive right into the screenplay and start writing Not so fast Any writer knows and if you don t you soon will that writing is rewriting and writing some more and tweaking what you ve got Now it s time to get to work refining your story Spend some time reviewing each step and evaluate your answer to each question Have you set up Act sufficiently and do your Yes No reversals escalate in intensity Is your protagonist s goal compelling enough to keep your audience interested for two hours in a dark theater Is your Deflector someone who can stand up to your Protagonist or are they someone who seems like they would turn tail and run LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD Once you answer the questions to your satisfaction it s time to move beyond Contour and start writing in the screenwriting software of your choice such as Montage So how do you get y
18. 1 ACT 2 pt 1 ACT 2 pt 2 ACT 3 Pages1 27 Pages28 54 Pages55 81 Pages 82 108 13 of 81 The Four Questions In ascertaining whether a story is worth telling any story idea is subjected to the Four Questions Who is your main character What is he trying to accomplish Who is trying to stop him What happens if he fails pe i Who is your What is he trying to accomplish Who is trying to What will happen if he fails n gt main character stop him Titanic Jack Dawson Save himself and Rose from the sinking Cal Hockley He and woman he loves will die Titanic Rose s fiancee Star Wars Luke Skywalker Rescue the princess and destroy the Grand Moff Tarkin Princess Leia dies and the Rebels Death Star are destroyed E T Elliot Save E T s life and get him back home Keys E T dies The Scientist Spider Man Peter Parker Defeat the Green Goblin and save Mary Norman Osborn Mary Jane and the victims of the Jane s life Green Gobllin die The Green Goblin Jurassic Park Dr Alan Grant Save everyone s life and get off the island The Dinosaurs Everyone Dies including the kids and the girl he loves Examples of the Four Questions as they are applied to some of the highest grossing films 14 of 81 The Four Archetypes There are six archetypes that real life people live by Innocent Orphan Magician Wanderer Martyr and Warrior The theory is that people make certain choices about how to live their lives and how to respond
19. CONTOUR Step By Step Screenplay Structure Software User Guide v1 0 Copyright 1998 2009 Mariner Software Inc All Rights Reserved No part of this documentation may be copied photocopied reproduced translated microfilmed or otherwise duplicated on any medium without written consent of Mariner Software Inc Use of Contour software programs and documentation is subject to the Mari ner Software license agreement enclosed in the Contour package All trade names referenced herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies 1 of 81 Chapter 1 Introduction Philosophy of Contour Installing amp Launching Registration Check For Updates System Requirements amp Troubleshooting Contour Notes Chapter 2 Process Overview Three Act Structure The Four Questions The Four Archetypes The Central Question The Formula Plot Points Chapter 3 Adding a Screenplay The User Interface Adding a Screenplay Deleting a Screenplay Chapter 4 The Four Questions Answering the Four Questions Chapter 5 The Archetypes Entering Archetype Information O N OO FS 10 17 12 13 13 14 15 17 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 26 27 Chapter 6 The Formula Constructing the A Orphan Statement Constructing the B Wanderer Statement Constructing the C Warrior Statement Constructing the D Martyr Statement Chapter 7 Act I Structure Developing Act I Plot Poi
20. II Batman 6ruce is a warrior in Act II when he is forced after Rachel s death to do battle for the people of Gotham City again Press the tab key to move to the second archetype question How is the main character a martyr in Act III Batman Bruce is a Martyr in Act III when he chooses to take the rap for the people that Harvey killed after the Joker poisoned his mind and becomes a willing man on the run Enter your answer to How is the Main Character a Wanderer in Act II O O Press the tab key to move to the third archetype question O Enter your answer to How is the main character a Warrior in Act II Press the tab key to move to the fourth archetype question Enter your answer to How is the main character a Martyr in Act III 27 of 81 Chapter 6 The Formula In This Chapter One of the concepts that we discussed in Chapter 2 was the concept of the formula which amplifies expands and clarifies the l te protagonist s his journey from Orphan to Wanderer to Warrior and Constructing the A Orphan finally to Martyr It serves as the logline for the script which is Statement necessary for pitching a script to an agent studio or production company It also serves as the creative mission statement for your screenplay and acts as a promise to the audience of what the film will Constructing the be about B Wanderer Statement The Formula broken down into
21. Marty finally makes it BACK TO THE FUTURE after much difficulty only to arrive a few moments too late to save Emmett The shark has seemingly killed Hooper has eaten Quint and has wrecked the boat which is sinking fast What will our heroes do 54 of 81 FINAL YES Pulling success from the jaws of failure the Hero achieves his main goal although sometimes the goal can be quite different from what the Hero first set out to achieve In these cases the Hero gets what he really needs rather than what he thought he wanted And sometimes the yes is bittersweet Brody grabs his rifle in JAWS climbs the mast of the sinking Orca and shoots the compressed air tank the shark is chomping on In TITANIC Jack succeeds in saving Rose s life but at the cost of his own 55 of 81 Developing Act III in Contour Keeping in mind the fact that your protagonist is now a Martyr and it seems that the Central Question is more elusive than ever let s develop Act III Click on the title in the screenplay Title pane Click on the slider and move it to the first tick in the Act III Martyr section Click inside the Big Yes field and enter your scene ideas buses Batman overpowers the Joker end leaves him donging upside down for and or beats for your first Big Yes Press tab to move to the next text box the first No field and enter your scene which will serve as the first No Click on the
22. able to get out on appeal The mayor warns Harvey that he s a hanging from the neck wit the Joker s calling card a Contour Guide abd Act I gt Don t Get No Respect Pgs 1 6 In Gotham City through a series of double crosses one of the banks is robbed by the Joker gt who wears a down mask and takes off in a bus He s not above putting himself in front of other thugs who unwittingly take a hit for him Batman takes care of the scum of Gotham city dispatching some thugs in a parking garage but not before getting banged up a bit and attacked by dogs The Scarecrow comes back for a brief moment and taken into custody Jim Gordon shows Batman the vault at the bank the money that Batman has marked has been left behind but more has been found Gordon shows him a picture Jof the Joker and Batman decides that it s best to take down the whole mob than go after just one person Alfred stiches Bruce up and they talk about citizens becoming de facto Batmans y You Know What Your Trouble Is Pgs 7 12 The deflector is Harvey Dent who flips a coin with Rachel to take first chair in the trial against Salvatore Maroni Harvey meets with Jim Gordon to take the mob down Jim and Harvey have jtrustissues Jim decides to give him the names of the banks Meeting at Wayne Enterprises about a joint Chinese venture Lucian Fox chairs the meeting An accountant meets with Fox Bruce and his ballerina date Natasha meet up w
23. and he will lose the love of his life O Enter your answer to What happens if he fails Hint If you need some extra coaching cursor over the field to bring up a dialogue box with further information about the question 25 of 81 Chapter 5 The Archetypes In This Chapter Now that the four questions are answered it s time to take a good hard look at the protagonist in your story to define his journey from Orphan to Wanderer to Warrior and finally to Martyr as discussed Entering Archetype in Chapter 2 Information Spend some time considering your protagonist s journey You ll be spending a lot of time with this individual so make sure that you know what makes them tick How they act and behave based on what they ve done in the past 26 of 81 Entering Archetype Information Taking the screenplay idea of your choice answer the fo ur q u esti Ons How is the main character an orphan in Act I m is an orphan in Act I because he is actually an orphan but also because he is treated as an outcast How is the main character a wanderer in Act II Click on the title in the screenplay Title pane Press the tab key to move to the first archetype question Batman Bruce is a wanderer in Act II as he tries to figure out the Joker s next move Enter your answer to How is the main character an Orphan in Act 1 How is the main character a warrior in Act
24. ante crime fighter tries to bring down the mob in Gotham City he brings out the worst in the Gotham City you re satisfied with your C statement connect the three statements together You re almost done mob including the Joker who goes on a nihilistic rampage he tries to bring down the Joker only to discover that the Joker has kidnapped the love of his life and the only person who can give him a normal life The Formula 33 of 81 Constructing the D Martyr Statement So far the protagonist has been an Orphan a Wanderer and a Warrior It s time for him to sacrifice it all and become the martyr who will finally answer the Central Question The Warrior Statement and he must respond by doing D The Home Alone Statement and he must now single handedly defend the house This is the true start of the Act III action as he acts on his early realization that he is truly the man of the house and takes steps to defend it himself He could run off and find some grown up to help him but he won t he can t He goes from warrior to martyr In ET Elliott must let go of all physical and psychic ties to ET for him to die and to be reborn In TITANIC Jack sacrifices his life freezing to death so that Rose and their love for each other can survive 34 of 81 It s time to write your D or Martyr statement Again it s as sumed you ve just written the previous statements and you re s
25. are in trial mode Note The trial period lasts 30 consecutive days from the first time you enter into the trial period After this trial period you will either need to purchase a license to continue using the software or discard it from your computer 8 of 81 Contour for Windows Version 1 0 Thank you for taking a test drive IF you wish to continue using all the features of Contour for Windows after the 30 day free tral period please come visit us at http www marinersoftware com x Not Yet Jf Enter Serial To register Contour continued Enter your name Enter your serial number Your serial number was either provided on the back of the disk sleeve on a sticker or in an email receipt Click OK when you are finished Note The serial number will be in the format of CNXXX XX XXX XXXXXX XXXXXXXX Hint Your serial number can be found in the General pane of Preferences Further help can be obtained on the Mariner Software website at 9 of 81 Check For Updates You can check for updates Here s how Click on the Help menu m Contour for Windows Select Check for Updates nm File Edit View Tools Hep S a Once selected Contour will check for any updates if one is available you will be taken to the software Contour User Guide downloads page to download the latest version of the Online F software TANE ee Check for updates Buy Now Register About 10
26. arns Bruce s respect with his passion and the force The Joker arrives at the meeting and chides them for Batman having them on the run and proposes to kill Batman The Joker wants half their money to kill Batman and takes off and Bruce talk about going to Hong Kong and Fox shows him a new bat suit which allows him more flexibility Alfred and Bruce talk about how to get to Hong Kong undetected Bruce goes to Hong Kong to get Lao The Joker recruits thugs from the black mob members Lucian Fox arrives in Hong Kong and meets with Lao He uses a cell phone as a tracking device and leaves it in Lao s office building Bruce apprehends Lao and brings Tips and Examples Tips explaining the concepts and examples of major films 20 of 81 EEE Plot Point 1 We Meet either the Hero Victim Stakes Character or Antagonist It s your call whom we meet first If we meet the hero first the hero appears in his ordinary world lf we meet the victim or victims first then we are usually meeting them either just as or just before the moment of their victimization Y ACT 12 Plot Points 1 3 In the first 3 plot points of Act One several landmarks occur The Thematic Argument of the film will have been stated either explicitly or implicitly either through action or a visual The hero is established in his or her ordinary world as the greatest or most extreme v
27. being legally abused Luke is the most or dinary farm boy in the universe The hero has limited awareness of which aspect of him her is broken This is often associated with a ghost from the hero s past a major and unresolved crisis that is coming to a head and can no longer be ignored Between these landmarks and the rest of Act I the audience should start becoming aware of the hero s three areas of con flict professional personal and private ACT 1 12 PLOT POINTS 4 THROUGH 5 In these next two plot points of Act kKnown in the Guide as You Know What Your Trouble Is several landmarks occur in cluding The inciting incident will occur This will lead to The hero has an increased awareness of his her needs The stakes are made clear This is what the hero stands to lose The proverbial call to adventure occurs or is alluded to The hero is summoned or made aware that he she may need to leave the ordinary world but either doesn t acknowledge or refuses to answer the call yet 59 of 81 ACT 1 12 PLOT POINTS 6 THROUGH 8 In these next three plot points of Act known as Calls and Busy Signals in the Guide several landmarks should occur The hero is hassled and or reminded about his her major point of brokenness Often it s in the form of a question from an ally Why don t you think about how someone else feels for a change The hero s orphan status is amplified The th
28. boiler HOME ALONE DEATH amp REBIRTH Another classic moment Have your main character seemingly die and then be reborn In many ways this is the ultimate moment in the arc of your protagonist the moment when he sheds the skin of his old life and emerges newly formed self actualized and ready to prove himself to the world The death and rebirth can massaged in a variety of ways and you can sometimes hand it to the character most closely associated with your protagonist s highest aspirations In romantic comedies write this section so that it charts the death of the hoped for relationship followed by the realization of what s needed to give it new hope Elliot is fading and E T disconnects himself from Elliot Elliot s vital signs improve and E T dies Once Elliot heartbreakingly admits how little he now feels E T is resurrected with the return of the spaceship to take him home E T THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL Annie believes that Sam is involved in a serious relationship and is giving him up only to be called to action by Jonah s letter asking her to meet at the Empire State Building SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE Bob jumps into the water and is presumed blown to bits THE INCREDIBLES 73 of 81 WHAT S THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN The title says it all Your protagonist s whole life your whole story has been built towards both avoiding this moment as well as confronting it Avoiding because it is his worst fear Confronting because t
29. brought into play as the device which is needed by the hero to triumph Brody knows that the compressed air tank can explode JAWS Nemo knows that the drain pipe leads to the bay FINDING NEMO The hero comes to terms with and resolves his or her Private Conflict which in turn empowers the hero to resolve his or her Personal Conflict which in turn enables the hero to resolve his or her Professional Conflict Note One can be a bit flexible about the order in which these three conflicts resolve That being said the closer together in the story these resolutions come the more satisfying the conclusion of the story And if you can answer all three at the same time so much the better A short denouement scene to wrap up the story which shows the hero now fully actualized returned to his Ordinary World and both having embraced and embodying the positive values of the thematic question 65 of 81 Chapter II The Guide In This Chapter Somelinics it s easier to think of your story in bigger moments and then work your way down into the nitty gritty Contour knows this and provides the Guide as an alternate way of looking at your story Using the Guide The Guide is a series of 12 sequential text boxes each with it s own memorable title These titles are actually defining statements that represent what the Accessing the Guide general tone of your script should be as your story unfolds Even though each text box is linked to a speci
30. d now it s time to put these concepts into practice 18 of 81 Chapter 3 Adding a Screenplay In This Chapter So you have an idea for a movie How do you know if it s worth writing The first step in finding out if your idea passes muster in the Contour method the idea must first be added as a new screenplay The User Interface Adding a Screenplay Deleting a Screenplay 19 of 81 The User Interface Contour is made up of several parts The overarching part is the concept the contour system of story development The user interface the documentation and more The following is a breakdown of the user interface Main Window Contour s main window contains several parts Progress Meter shows your progress in every section and allows you to navigate Screenplay List pane a list of the sample screenplay structures and ones you create Content Pane The content for Name Contour for Windows File Edit View Help Genre Silence of the Lambs Horror Slumdog Millionaire Drama The Dark Knight Action The Incredibles Comedy The Poseidon Adventure Adventure Wall E the step by step process appears here Animation N Batman takes care of the scum of Gotham city dispatching some thugs in a parking garage but not before getting banged up a bit The deflector is Harvey Dent who flips a coin with Rachel to take first chair in the trial against Salvatore Maroni Harv
31. eme is amplified The call to adventure is now clearly stated to the hero You must come with me to Alderaan if you are to be a Jedi like your father The refusal of the call is made I cant go to Alderaan I ve got to milk the space cows ACT 1 12 PLOT POINTS 9 THROUGH 12 In these last four plot points of Act known as Through the Looking Glass in the Guide several landmarks should occur The intensity of the threat to the hero and or the stakes character s is made clear The hero can no longer ponder what the proper course of action is and must take action This is the acceptance of the call to adventure The three areas of conflict professional personal and private are clearly brought into focus and stated The Central Question of the film is raised Ideally the Central Question should include the three areas of conflict Will Luke become a Jedi by trusting the Force PRIVATE save the Princess PERSONAL and destroy the Death Star PROFESSIONAL Will Fletcher learn how not to lie PRIVATE stop Max from going to Boston PROFESSIONAL and learn how to become a good father PERSONAL Will Lester Get Angela PROFESSIONAL reclaim his youth PERSONAL and passion for living PRIVATE 60 of 81 Act Il 14 YES NOs 1 THROUGH 3 In these first three pairs of reversals of Act Il Known as Kick the Dog in the Guide pane several landmarks occur The hero gets help from allies and aides often
32. ersion of something p Ideas Guide Progress Meter Questions rcketynes Formula chen The progress meter provides you the ability to see the progress of your idea ina timeline fashion Each tick along the timeline is equal to a step requiring thoughtful development Act IT Act IT Act III Wanderer Warrior Martyr ideas Button Pressing the Ideas button located at the lower right hand corner of the screen provides you with a floating pane in which to store ideas These ideas appear no Ideas matter what screenplay you are working on Go ahead and record that inspiration when it comes to you Guide Button Pressing the Guide button provides yet another pane in which you can outline your story The guide shows where major events fall out in your screenplay with Guide approximate page numbers and a Mnemonic guide to help you remember what occurs where Contour provides many different ways to help you create the most structurally sound story possible 21 of 81 Adding a Screenplay A Screenplay outline in Contour can be added in three different ways Using the menu or keyboard here s how Click on the File menu and choose New Screenplay You can also add a new screenplay by Choosing Ctrl Shift N The Info Pane appears Enter the title or working title of your screenplay Enter any relevant information into the screenplay information panel To add a screenplay from
33. ese or other basic Windows operations or terminology refer to the Windows Help documentation included with your computer Errors If you find any bugs or errors in the program please send detailed information to Ssupport marinersoftware com For a crash of the Application its usually helpful for us to know the version of Contour you are using the version of Windows you are running and lastly the kind of computer you have with which the problem occurs Thanks Thank you to those who have helped improve this product with suggestions information or bug reports 12 of 81 Chapter 2 Process Overview In This Chapter Ooanu is a multi step approach to producing a structurally sound outline from which to write screenplays guiding the writer from script idea to the final beat of Act III Three Act Structure a The Four ion The software is laid out in a step by step manner with a progress s Four cuestan meter to show the writer where they are in the process The Four Archetypes In order to understand the Contour process several key concepts are The Central Question defined below The Formula Three Act Structure Plot Points In structuring a screenplay there are three Acts the Beginning the Middle and the End Act and Act IIl are the same length with Act II being as long as both Acts and Ill combined In the Contour method Act II is divided in half for reasons which will be discussed later ACT
34. ey meets with The mob meeting starts with Lu telling them that all of their money has been moved to one undisclosed location frustrating Gordon Jim and Dent have an argument about the failure of the bank fiasco Batman is asked to go to Hong Kong to bring back Lao Fox Act II Wanderer Tastes hectetyies Formula Tien in Gotham City through a series of double crosses one of the banks is robbed by the Joker who wears a down mask and takes off inabus He s not above putting himself in front of other thugs who unwittingly take a hit for him and attacked by dogs The Scarecrow comes back for a brief moment and taken into custody Jim Gordon shows Batman the vault at the bank the money that Batman has marked has been left behind but more has been found Gordon shows him a picture of the Joker and Batman decides that it s best to take down the whole mob than go after just one person Alfred stiches Bruce up and they talk about citizens becoming de facto Batmans Alfred and Bruce discuss Harvey Dent who s the new District Attorney in town They watch him in a news report along with the stakes character which is Rachel Dawes Jim Gordon to take the mob down Jim and Harvey have trustissues Jim decides to give him the names of the banks Meeting at Wayne Enterprises about a joint Chinese venture Lucian Fox chairs the meeting An accountant meets with Fox Bruce and his ballerina date Natasha meet up with Rachel and Harvey who e
35. fic plot point in the main part of Contour each text box actually represents a range of pages 1 6 6 12 etc For example the very first text box in the Guide is titled Don t Get No Respect Between pages 1 6 of most screenplays the main character is almost never shown any respect The information you enter in this first text box will automatically link back to Plot Point 3 in Act because by the end of Plot Point 3 we should have seen that your main character is disrespected Mnemonic Sayings 66 of 81 Using the Guide Contour Guide MERE Act I J I Don t Get No Respect Pgs 1 6 The Guide works as either something you can fill In to In Gotham City through a series of double crosses one of the banks is robbed by the Joker broadstroke your stor y Or something you r efer to as you fill who wears a down mask and takes off in a bus He s not above putting himself in front of other i thugs who unwittingly take a hit for him in the Plot Points in Contour to make sure the tone of the ee i i i Batman takes care of the scum of Gotham city dispatching some thugs in a parking garage but Plot Points matches professional sto ry structure Of not before getting banged up a bit and attacked by dogs The Scarecrow comes back for a brief course you can flip back and forth between the Guide and moment and taken into custody Jim Gordon shows Batman the vault at the bank the money that i i Batman has marked has been left be
36. hat he must act to save the Stakes Character This is it the call to adventure can no longer be refused The Hero is forced out of complacency and must start looking to create a new equilibrium in his life His life cannot be the same from this point forward e In STAR WARS Luke returns to Obi Wan and tells him that he wants to go to Alderaan and learn the ways of the force like his father e InN AMERICAN BEAUTY Lester sees Angela performing at the half time show and is transfixed e In THE SIXTH SENSE Dr Crowe tells his wife of the similarities between Cole and the suicidal patient Vincent saying that if he can save Cole he can somehow make up for failing Vincent 45 of 81 The Central Question Now it s time to not only create the Central Question which we know once it s answered our story is over Examples of the Central Question from popular films include Will Sheriff Brody kill the shark get over his fear of water and gain the respect of the people of Amity island JAWS Will Tracy Turnblad overcome her weight problem end up with Link Larkin and win Miss Hairspray HAIRSPRAY In short your Hero now knows what he must accomplish who is trying to stop him and what waits for him or the stakes character if he fails It s important to note that a solid Central Question should include three components covering the protagonist s Professional Personal and Private areas of conflict To an
37. have in common Just as no journey to Washington D C or New York or London is complete without seeing certain landmarks the same is true in regards to a story s journey as well The trip for the audience just isn t complete unless they see certain things Unlike the 12 Plot Points of Act which are very specific landmarks happen in certain regions of all stories and not necessarily in a particular order Revisiting the Development Paradigm we will now make 12 distinct groupings of plot points ACT I ACT Il ACT Ill Plot Points 1 3 Yes No 1 3 Yes No 8 10 Big Yes No Plot Points 4 5 Yes No 4 5 Yes No 11 12 Big No Final Yes Plot Points 6 8 Yes No 6 7 Yes No 13 14 Plot Points 9 12 58 of 81 ACT 1 12 PLOT POINTS 1 THROUGH 3 In these first three plot points of Act known as I Don t Get No Respect in the Guide several landmarks occur including The theme of the film will have been stated either explicitly or implicitly either through action or a visual Think of the opening to GLADIATOR with Maximus running his hands over the tall grass This is a statement of the theme There s no place like home The hero is established in his her ordinary world as the greatest or most something It could even be a negative When we meet him Woody is the greatest friend a kid could ever have Harry Potter when we meet him he is the most disadvantaged foster child we ve ever met without crossing the line to
38. hind but more has been found Gordon shows him a picture the Plot Points The Guide is desig ned to be both another of the Joker and Batman decides that it s best to take down the whole mob than go after just tool to jar your story ideas loose and get them on paper as one person Alfred stiches Bruce up and they talk about citizens becoming de facto Batmans well as an easy way to shorthand the major moments of You Know What Your Trouble Is Pgs 7 12 your stor y a ss ESS EE eee The deflector is Harvey Dent who flips a coin with Rachel to take first chair in the trial against Salvatore Maroni Harvey meets with Jim Gordon to take the mob down Jim and Harvey have trustissues Jim decides to give him the names of the banks Meeting at Wayne Enterprises about If you have the fu Il Scope of the sto ry In mind we hig h ly a joint Chinese venture Lucian Fox chairs the meeting An accountant meets with Fox Bruce recommend using the Guide first By filling in the 12 text and his ballerina date Natasha meet up with Rachel and Harvey who earns Bruce s respect with his passion boxes of the Guide and then jumping back to the Plot The mob meeting starts with Lu telling them that all of their money has been moved to one Points of Contour you ll find that you ll have literally 25 of undisclosed location frustrating Gordon and the force The Joker arrives at the meeting and j ini chides them for Batman having them on the run and proposes t
39. his is what he needs to do in order to become the person he needs to be Luke is out gunned out numbered and the Death Star is closing in on destroying the Rebel Base and killing Leia STAR WARS Jonah runs away and Sam frantically has to go to New York to find him SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE The ship is breaking up and Jack and Rose are being pursued by the murderous Cal TITANIC And lest we forget the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man GHOSTBUSTERS GOOD GUY VS BAD GUY OVER STAKES The climax of every well told story is the protagonist in pitched battle against the antagonist over the stakes of the story I ve seen films where the final battle is handed to some subordinate or minor character and you can feel your brain rebel while watching In your story make sure it is your main character who has to get his hands dirty not someone else You main character might get some desperately needed help but choices and action belong to your main character In romantic comedies this can be a seemingly small moment right at the very end of the story because after all when boy gets girl it s all over Brody is on the sinking Orca and squares off against the shark to save Amity JAWS Jack fights Barbossa to save Will and Elizabeth PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL Sam finds Jonah at the top of the Empire State building almost misses Annie but finds her when they come back to retrieve Jonah s backpack SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE
40. im a What happens if he fails If there s any vagueness answering the questions do not continue with the idea until you can clearly answer the questions Here are some guidelines Your character should be a sympathetic person Give us someone we can root for Your character should have a compelling goal Compelling to the audience too Your main character needs an opponent who should be as committed to your main character s failure as your main character is committed to success The stakes are life and death Either literally or figuratively the hero s life is over if they fail 24 of 81 Answering the Four Questions Using the screenplay idea of your choice answer the four questions Choose your Screenplay in the Title pane Click into the first field in the Questions area Enter your answer to Who is the Main Character 3 Who is the main character 3ruce Wayne O Press the tab key to move to the second question Whatis he trying to accomplish Save Gotham City from the Joker and become a normal citizen Enter your answer to What is he trying to O accom p ish 2 Who is trying to stop him Press the tab key to move to the third question The Joker and later Harvey Two Face O Enter your answer to Who is trying to stop him T What happens if he fais Press the tab key to move to the fourth question Hundreds of people aboard a ferry will die
41. in the Guide Pane several landmarks occur The threat to the stakes character increases to the point of Life or Death literal or figurative The third act solution is shown though the significance of it is likely lost on the hero at this time The opposite value of the theme is clearly stated Hokey religions are no substitute for a good blaster kid The hero knows all of the rules or thinks he she does and wandering further will not help the hero to learn more The villain s plan is explained either to the hero by the hero or to others Time to fight to enter the villain s world or the world in which the villain will be encountered Act Il 14 YES NOs 8 THROUGH 10 In these next three pairs of reversals of second half of Act Il Known as make Lemonade in the Guide Pane several landmarks occur The hero will have shifted into action making decisions for better or worse in the now active and direct attempt to re solved the Central Question The hero will meet with some initial success The villain opposing force will tighten the screws on the hero s goal The thematic question will be raised and heightened often with one character expressing the pro argument of the theme while a different character expresses the opposing thematic argument The hero will bounce between both viewpoints Possibly unknowingly the hero will prepare for his or her big change 62 of 81 Act Il 14 YES NOs 11 THROUGH 12 In
42. ing blow up the Death Star Only Back and forth push and pull give and take for every action there is an opposite you get the idea 48 of 81 Developing the First Half of Act Il in Contour Keeping in mind the fact that your protagonist is now a Wanderer gaining knowledge making friends and allies and for every positive step he takes in moving closer to the Central Question he ll meet resistance let s develop the first half of Act II Click on the title in the Screenplay Title pane Click on the slider and move it to the first tick in the Act II Wanderer section Click inside the first Yes field and enter your scene ideas and or beats for your first Yes See next page 4 Click on the slider and move it to the second tick in the Act II Wanderer section Click inside the first No field and enter your scene which will serve to move your protagonist further away from answering the Central Question see next page Yes 1 Harvey is taken in handcuffs and goes in a police escort He kisses Rachel and leaves He is helping Batman flush out the Joker who will obviously come after him No 1 The Joker creates a diversion for the police escort to go underground Click on the slider and move it to the next tick in the Act Il Wanderer and the police cars are picked off one by one section see next page Yes 2 Batman comes to the rescue and stops the Joker form doi
43. ing tugged out of his ordinary world by an emotional connection to the adventure at hand If its not the Hero who gets emotionally involved it s the audience getting involved on the Hero s behalf e In STAR WARS Luke sees the hologram of the Princess inspiring him to ask C3PO Who is she e In LIAR LIAR unknown to Fletcher his ex wife has just been proposed to beginning the threat that he will lose contact with his son e In THE SIXTH SENSE Dr Crowe meets Cole and notices the scratches on Cole s wrists Plot Point 6 Hero s goal as it relates to the Stakes Character and or love interest The Hero s problem is made clear to audience This is often a clarifying beat that shows or foreshadows either the Hero s connection to or problem with the character with whom he has will have or wants to have the deepest personal connection e In TITANIC we meet Rose and begin to understand her reluctant engagement to Cal e In THE INCREDIBLES Bob is unfilled with his normal day job not a Super Hero and is not engaged with his family life This plot point often hovers a famous and overused line of dialog It usually comes from the best friend who looks the Hero in the eye and says Do you know what your problem is The best friend then lays out ex actly what the Hero is going to need to learn to complete his arc by the end of the film This plot point specifies in no uncertain terms the emotional journey your Hero must e
44. ith Rachel and Harvey who earns Bruce s respect with his passion The mob meeting starts with Lu telling them that all of their money has been moved to one jundisclosed location frustrating Gordon and the force The Joker arrives at the meeting and chides them for Batman having them on the run and proposes to kill Batman The Joker wants half their money to kill Batman and takes off al Calls amp Busy Signals Pgs 13 17 Bruce goes to Hong Kong to get Lao The Joker recruits thugs from the black mob members Lucian Fox arrives in Hong Kong and meets with Lao He uses a cell phone as a tracking device and Gordon arrests Salvatore and the mob members Harvey and Rachel attend the bail hearing for all in her paperwork but moves on Meeting with Harvey Jim and the Mayor They know that the marked man The body of a man dressed in a Batman suit slams against the window and is 68 of 81 Mnemonic Sayings What follows is a description of each mnemonic saying what it means and examples from films 69 of 81 DON T GET NO RESPECT Most screenplays are about one thing respect Your protagonist doesn t have it knows he doesn t have it and wants it In this first section make it clear to the reader that your main character is an orphan an outsider looking in at world that doesn t want him Shrek is being hunted by the townspeople who hate ogres SHREK Elliot is ignored and disrespected by his brother and his brother
45. mbark on to become whole 41 of 81 Plot Point 7 Ally either true or unintentional aids Hero by propelling him out of the status quo There are two things that drive your Hero his wants and his needs Sometimes it s the same thing Usually they re different but related in that the Hero often gets what he wants only by first getting what he needs e In LIAR LIAR Fletcher wants to be with his son Max but what he needs is to learn how to be a good fa ther specifically by not continuing to lie to Max and breaking his heart Only by being able to tell the truth without being controlled by the birthday wish that Max put on him that he can t lie for 24 hours is Fletcher able to grab the love of his son from the clutches of separation Plot Point 7 brings into the Hero s story an ally who is going to help move the hero along the path towards achieving either the specific goal of what the Hero wants or more often than not what the Hero needs by break ing the status quo of the Hero s world Sometimes these allies are true allies like Ron and Hermione in Harry Potter Sometimes they grow to become true allies such as R2D2 Sometimes they are anonymous characters who move into the story serve the ally function of the plot point and disappear e In STAR WARS R2D2 runs off to find Obi Wan and Luke is forced to track him down The end result of R2 s running off Because Luke left to find R2 he wasn t on the family farm when
46. me In FORREST GUMP we meet the hero first In STAR WARS we meet the antagonist first The hero is usually introduced in his native setting Forrest Gump is sitting on a bench waiting for life to happen around him In THE LION KING we meet Simba safe and revered by all the animals in his parents care In BEVERLY HILLS COP Axel Foley is in Detroit causing mischief lf you introduce the victim s first it s usually right before the moment of their victimization In STAR WARS Princess Leia s ship is as it s being fired on by the massive Star Destroyer e In ARMAGEDDON astronauts are on a space walk which lasts only a few moments before meteorites destroy them and their space shuttle before pounding New York In JAWS the story opens with the kids on the beach right before Chrissie goes for her ill fated swim Many films lump meeting the antagonist with meeting the victims for the obvious reason of victims need some one to make them victims and antagonists need someone to antagonize We meet the antagonist first in Jurassic Park which opens with a worker getting killed by a Raptor 38 of 81 Plot Point 2 We see the Hero s flaw in relation to the Stakes Character The stakes character is the face that represents all of the people that the bad guys are victimizing It s usually someone the hero feels very deeply about e In DIE HARD Bruce Willis is trying to save the hostages but the stakes character is his wife e
47. mtroopers who are representatives of the Emperor e InN AMERICAN BEAUTY Lester dumps the contents of his briefcase while his wife and daughter stare at him as if he s the biggest loser on the planet e In THE SIXTH SENSE Dr Crowe is shot by his deranged former patient Plot Point 4 The deflector slows the hero down Pulls him off the path The deflector is a character who deflects the Hero from the goal He s the character who might want the hero to do things his way rather than let the hero do it his way He might be an otherwise good guy only misguided He might be a bad guy There might be many assistant deflectors in a film Anyone who gets in your hero s face and tries to stop him is a deflector e In STAR WARS Darth Vader is the main deflector The Jawas the Sand People the Stormtroopers the goons in the bar these are assistant deflectors e In JAWS Quint is the main deflector while the Amity city officials are the assistant deflectors e In DIE HARD Hans Gruber is the antagonist and the long haired high kicking Karl is the main deflector Almost everyone else are assistant deflectors including the other terrorists the cops who want McClane to stop interfering the FBI agents and the smarmy Ellis Plot point 4 can be given to either the main deflector or any assistant deflector of your choosing 40 of 81 Plot Point 5 Inciting Event Hero now gets emotionally involved The hero starts gett
48. ng any more GD Continue adding Yes and No plot points until you reach the mid damage The Joker takes aim at the police vehide with the bazooka point of Act Il where the Wanderer will morph into the Warrior No 2 Batman puts the batmobile in front the bazooka missile and the batmobile is destroyed Yes 3 Batman emerges from the destroyed batmobile with the bat cyde and goes after the Joker The Joker comes at Batman with guns blazing No 3 Batman wants to run the joker down but can t bring himself to do it and sends the bat cyde out of control The Joker tries to attack Batman Jim Gordon who isn t dead captures the Joker Harvey gets the credit for the apprehension 49 of 81 That takes us to the end of the first half of Act Il It s simple and complex at the same time there are certain things that have to be kept in mind such as creating interesting situations creating intriguing characters and creating increasingly difficult obstacles However once you understand the simple mechanics of the yes no re versals of Act II you will have a leg up on the writing process Michael Hauge in his excellent book Writing Screenplays That Sellgives excellent insight when it comes to ue Your story must enable a sympathetic character to overcome a series of increasingly diffi cult seemingly insurmountable obstacles and achieve a compelling desire If you notice Mr Hauge didn t say enable a characte
49. nside the first Yes field and enter your scene ideas and or beats for your first Yes No 8 During the panic in the hospital the Joker comes face to face with Ei Harvey and messes with his mind as to who the good guys and the Press tab to move to the next text field l bad guys are in Gotham City Berg tries to make his move Bruce rams into the van to stop the attack The Joker blows up the hospital after setting Harvey free with a gun to raise a litte anarchy The Joker v Click inside the first No field and enter your scene which will NE O O o es9 Lucian finds Bruce in the research and development laboratories working serve to move your protagonist further away from answering on a spying device the Central Question see next page Press tab to move to the next text field and continue adding No 9 Lucian objects to illegal wiretaps saying that is an invasion of privacy Vas and No plot points until you reach the end of Act I Lucian tells him that he ll indulge Bruce just this once and then he s j 2 i resigning Harvey kills a crooked cop where the Warrior will experience his death Yes 10 Batman takes off after the Joker The evacuation of Gotham City has begun Harvey kills Salvatore No 10 The ferries take off one with innocent bystanders and the other with convicts linked to Harvey There are too many voices all over Gotham to monitor Batman can t locate the Joker
50. nts Plot Point 1 Plot Point 2 Plot Point 3 Plot Point 4 Plot Point 5 Plot Point 6 Plot Point 7 Plot Point 8 Plot Point 9 Plot Point 10 Plot Point 11 Plot Point 12 The Central Question Chapter 8 Act Il Structure 2 of 81 28 29 31 32 34 36 37 38 39 40 40 41 41 42 43 44 44 45 45 46 47 The First Half of Act I Developing the First Half of Act II in Contour The Second Half of Act II Developing the Second Half of Act II in Contour Chapter 9 Act Ill Structure Act III Plot Point Overview Developing Act III in Contour Chapter 10 Landmarks About Landmarks Chapter 11 The Guide Using the Guide Accessing the Guide Mnemonic Sayings Chapter 12 The Idea Pane Adding an Idea Modifying an Idea Removing an Idea Chapter 13 Now What Printing a Structure Report Printing a Beat Sheet 48 49 51 52 53 54 56 57 58 66 67 68 69 75 76 Ir 78 79 80 81 3 of 81 Chapter I Introduction In This Chapter Wreicome to the Contour story development system a system of getting your stories out of your head and down on paper in the shortest amount of time possible This step by step structure tool has Philosophy of Contour generated millions of dollars in script deals and assignments Installing amp Launching Contour enables writers to develop a movie concept from the idea stage Registration to a bulletproof outline Along the way Contour guides the writer through Check F
51. o kill Batman The Joker wants your Plot Points finished before you even get started EA O Calls amp Busy Signals Pgs 13 17 Bruce goes to Hong Kong to get Lao The Joker recruits thugs from the black mob members Lucian Fox arrives in Hong Kong and meets with Lao He uses a cell phone as a tracking device and leaves it in Lao s office building Bruce apprehends Lao and brings him back to Gotham City Gordon arrests Salvatore and the mob members Harvey and Rachel attend the bail hearing for all of the mob members arrested in the sweeps Judge Cirrillo during the hearing sees a Joker card in her paperwork but moves on Meeting with Harvey Jim and the Mayor They know that the higher level crime bosses will be able to get out on appeal The mayor warns Harvey that he s a marked man The body of a man dressed in a Batman suit slams against the window and is hanging from the neck wit the Joker s calling card 67 of 81 Accessing the Guide The Guide is a display of your plot points the page numbers they will approximately fall on and a saying that will point you towards what is going on in that area Choose your Screenplay from the Title pane Click on the Guide button The Guide Window Appears a leaves it in Lao s office building Bruce apprehends Lao and brings him back to Gotham City ij Jof the mob members arrested in the sweeps Judge Cirrillo during the hearing sees a Joker card T higher level crime bosses will be
52. of 81 System Requirements amp Troubleshooting Hardware and Software Requirements To use Contour you need at least 128 MB megabytes of available memory RAM at least 100 MB free hard disk space e Windows XP or Vista Troubleshooting If you have a question about using Contour try finding the answers you need in this document or in the Contour help Alternatively try the FAQ Frequently Asked Questions page on our web site View it at http marinersoftware com sitepage php page 24 You may also visit our online forum at http marinersoftware com forum If you still can t find the information you need contact Mariner Software by phone fax or email Email support marinersoftware com Phone 612 529 3770 Voice support 9 a m 6 p m Eastern Standard Time Fax 612 529 3775 Mail Mariner Software Inc 401 N 3rd Street 665 Minneapolis MN 55401 USA 11 of 81 For updates tips and tricks information about other Mariner products user group discount information and articles for user group newsletter publication visit our web site at http marinersoftware com Contour Notes Notes Before using Contour you should have a basic knowledge of Windows XP and or Vista You should understand pointing clicking double clicking dragging and how to choose menu commands You should also know how to operate dialog boxes re size windows and use the Clipboard If you aren t familiar with th
53. or Updates plot points of all three acts and explains the major storytelling secrets to crafting a highly marketable movie The main character s journey is ex System Requirements amp plained through archetypal themes that reverberate in the most finan Troubleshooting cially successful movies of all time Once the story passes through Con tour the writer can seamlessly transfer their work into Montage Mariner Software s screenwriting software to write and start marketing the script Notes Some of Contour s features include e Flesh out a main character and codify their motivations and behaviors e Quickly recognize archetypes which protagonists journey through in all the top movies e Go from concept to bulletproof outline in less time than ever before e Learn a flexible yet exact plot point and beat structure that works for all genres e Seamlessly transfer a concept into popular screenplay writing software such as Montage Develop a compelling logline 4 of 81 Philosophy of Contour Contour is a streamlined approach to creating a flawless professionally structured screenplay outline Unlike other systems you don t need to know a lot of tedious screenwriting theory in order to get started writing There are only 6 basic concepts you need to know in order to use Contour system Screenplays have 3 acts Act one is 27 pages long act two is twice as long at 54 pages long and act three is once again 27 pages long All of
54. our work out of Contour 79 of 81 Printing a Structure Report The Structure Report provides you with the 44 plot points that you have created for your story Choose File Choose Print Choose Structure Click the Printer icon Click the OK button m ry A peos A 1 ae r a S 7 gt y nys ive L y T i gt e a a wrw A BD Edit View Tools Help New Idea Ctrl N New Screenplay Ctrl Alt N Delete Screenplay Ctri Del Save Ctrl Save As Export Contour File Ctri Alt E Import Contour File Ctri Alt I Print gt Exit Ctrl X Beat Sheet Ctri Alt P 80 of 81 Printing a Beat Sheet The Beat Sheet provides you with the contents of the Guide Choose File Choose Print Choose Beat Sheet Click the Print Icon Click the OK button inn bas lj g a K Le X e O r Pee A s 7 i TTET brl f i a TEL ce Ea w 4 gt x r g vou at pl as ra ah J New Idea Ctri N New Screenplay Ctrl Alt N Delete Screenplay Ctrl Del Save Ctrl S Save As Export Contour File Ctri Alt E Import Contour File Ctri Alt I Structure Exit Ctri X Beat Sheet Ctri Alt P 3 81 of 81
55. p wandering and start fighting Batman realizes that trying to fight the Joker by the Joker s rules isn t going to work THE DARK KNIGHT Lester argues with Carolyn about their sex life AMERICAN BEAUTY Luke and company are pulled into the Deathstar and discover that the Leia is being held onboard STAR WARS MAKE LEMONADE Have your protagonist get into direct confrontation in a big way Tony Stark uses his suit to defend a village IRON MAN Luke starts gets Leia out of the the detention block and brings down the wrath of the Stormtroopers STAR WARS Brody s own son is almost attacked by the shark and he compells the Mayor to hire Quint JAWS 72 of 81 INSIDE THE WHALE In classic mythological storytelling this is the belly of the beast or the inside the darkest cave moment for the main character Often the scene takes place in a confined space representing that the forces at play against the protagonist are closing in tightening and the protagonist must dig deep and face his or her darkest fear Indiana Jones is abandoned inside the Well of Souls surrounded by snakes RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Luke goes into the cave and faces what he thinks is Darth Vader but is actually a representation of the dark side of the force that is within him THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Sam and gang are deep within Hoover Dam as Megatron is unfrozen TRANSFORMERS Kevin is forced to go into the basement and confront the very scary
56. r to overcome obstacles in order to achieve a desire he said that the character is a sympathetic character The obstacles are increasingly difficult seemingly insurmountable The desire is compelling 50 of 81 The Second Half of Act Il By mid point in Act Il your protagonist learns all that they need to learn or they simply run out of time and must act decisively It s at this point your Wanderer morphs into a Warrior We ve previously discussed what happens by the end of Act II and that s where the protagonist reaches the lowest of the lows having lost it all They ex perience death in some way shape or form only to be reborn 51 of 81 Developing the Second Half of Act Il in Contour Keeping in mind the fact that your protagonist is now a Warrior and that the severity of his opposition grows by leaps and bounds until all is lost as he struggles to move closer to the Central Question let s develop the first half of Act Il o Click on the slider and move it to the first tick in the Act II Warrior section Yes 8 a Jim Gordon goes to meet with Harvey who is bitter over his loss to Rachel and his face Gordon sees Salvatore outside the room and Salvatore tells him where he can find the Joker The Joker meet up ep the Italian boss in a freighter Lao is on top of a huge mountain of money and starts it on fire At Bruce s apartment they watch asa w Click i
57. s while the mind starts raising all sorts of very reasonable objec tions In the classic mythic structure this is the Call to Adventure Refusal of the Call e In TITANIC Jack sees Rose for the first time but doesn t dare go after her He s an itinerant artist traveling in steerage she s a rich girl in first class e In STAR WARS Luke is asked to by Obi Wan to join him in his quest to save the Princess and become a Jedi but Luke can t leave the farm with all the work that needs doing e In LIAR LIAR Fletcher wants to take his son to wrestling but the big case is dropped into his lap that can make him partner and he has to prepare for the trial 43 of 81 Plot Point 9 The Antagonist or Deflector conflict stops the Hero or threatens emotional stakes Whatever or whoever has been lurking in the background starts moving into the foreground of the Hero s world e In STAR WARS the Jawas are found dead and it s deduced to be the work of Stormtroopers e In THE SIXTH SENSE Tommy who has been acting the part of Cole s friend walks him to school and calls him a freak e In LIAR LIAR Fletcher wants to get back in time for Max s birthday but he is seduced by Miranda Plot Point 10 The depth of feeling between the Hero and the Stakes Character or the severity of the threat to the Victims is brought out In Act it s important to reinforce a few things and one of those are the stakes The reader should know
58. s accidentally left behind by his family when they leave for a European vacation Notice the first thing they have in common it s not When a person but rather When a type of person Therefore the first task is to choose an adjective or a phrase for the person s type that connotes the unde served misfortune or character trait your hero needs to overcome such as an under appreciated boy or a young woman trapped in an arranged marriage or a money loving German industrialist The adjective in dicates the arc the hero will travel the lonely boy won t be lonely anymore the young woman will no longer be trapped and the German industrialist will learn that money isn t everything The second task is to complete the statement which alludes to the Central Question and what is the Central Question Once more the Central Question is the question that once it is answered definitively the story is over 29 of 81 Let s construct the A statement as it pertains to your story Click in The Formula field Begin the sentence with When and then describe When a vigilante crime fighter tries to bring down the mob in Gotham City the protagonist with an adjective or a phrase which will indicate the arc he or she will travel Complete the rest of the A statement 30 of 81 Constructing the B Wanderer Statement The second part of the formula is the B sta
59. se Allow You will also asked if you wish to install a shortcut on your desktop It s up to you Once the installation is complete you re ready to start using Contour To launch Contour Click on your Start Menu Click on All Programs Select Mariner Software 4 Choose Contour for Windows If you ve created a shortcut on your desktop you can launch it from there 7 of 81 Default Programs Internet Explorer Windows Calendar Windows Contacts Ml Windows Defender Windows DVD Maker B Windows Live Messenger Download eg Windows Mail Windows Media Center Windows Media Player Windows Meeting Space fai Windows Movie Maker t Windows Photo Gallery E Windows Update d Accessories AIM d Extras and Upgrades do Games d Maintenance 7 Mariner Software _ Contour for Windows Contour for Windows __ Contour Users Guide E Uninstall Back N aS Contour for Windows c an na Documents Pictures Music Games Search Recent Items Computer Network Connect To Control Panel Default Programs Help and Support gt Registration To register Contour e When you first launch Contour you are prompted to register the software or operate it in Demo Mode e Click on the hyperlink to go to the Mariner eStore to purchase a license if you haven t done so already e Click the Enter Serial button to enter your serial number e Click Not Yet to continue to use the softw
60. swer the Central Question CKN Click on the slider and drag it over to the last tick in the Act Orphan area Act I Orphan Enter your Central Question Central Question Will Batman give up his life as a crime fighter and save the life of the woman he loves 46 of 81 Chapter 8 Act II Structure Now that Act is done your protagonist s journey really kicks into high gear but it s at this point where most writers don t know where to go and they freeze up As previously mentioned what comes after the Central Question are 28 plot points 14 in the first half of Act II to make up the Wanderer beats and 14 in the second half of Act II to make up the Warrior beats The nature of these 28 plot points is to Alternate bringing the hero closer and then farther away from answering the Central Question First yes and then no These are called yes no reversals Any situation that brings your main character closer to his goal is a yes Anything that threatens to take him further away is a no Road blocks go up and the protagonist finds a way over around under or through them An even larger one looms on the horizon and the protagonist dispatches that one as well Just remember In both halves of Act Il there are 14 Yes plot points and 14 No plot points each 47 of 81 In This Chapter The First Half of Act Il Developing the First Half of Ac
61. t Il in Contour The Second Half of Act II Developing the Second Half of Act Il in Contour The First Half of Act Il Act of STAR WARS ends with Luke joining Obi Wan on his quest to deliver the Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance save the Princess and become trained in the arts of the Jedi Knight Starting with our Central Question Will Luke become a Jedi save the Princess and destroy the Death Star lets look at the plot points in the first half of Act II Will Luke become a Jedi save the Princess and destroy the Death Star YES HE WILL He goes to Mos Eisley with Obi Wan and the droids He s on the way to becoming a Jedi He s going save the Princess He s going to blow up the Death Star Only NO HE WON T They are stopped by Stormtroopers They re going to get caught He s failed the Central Question It s over Only YES HE WILL Obi Wan uses the Force and they get past He s going to become a Jedi He s going to save the Princess He s gonna blow up the Death Star Only NO HE WON T They go to the bar and Luke is attacked He s failed again Only YES HE WILL Obi Wan Saves him they find Han Solo and make a deal to leave NO HE WON T Han is stopped by Greedo who wants to kill him Disaster Only YES HE WILL Han kills Greedo Luke sells his speeder and they have enough money for the moment He s going to become a Jedi He s going to save the Princess He s go
62. tement which is the Wanderer Statement Remember that the Wanderer s slings i When a vigilante crime fighter tries to bring down the mob in Gotham City he brings out the worst in the Gotham City Jou rney cente rs arou nd the protagonist gathering the mob including the Joker who goes on a nihilistic rampage knowledge and the support system he thinks he needs in order to answer the Central Question The Wanderer Statement _ he gets does tries learns B The Home Alone Statement he must learn how to take care of himself and be the man of the house This is where the orphan morphs into the wanderer in this case Kevin learns what it means to be the man of the house getting groceries ordering food in and taking care of the place which is all uncharted territory for him In ET Elliot be comes the Wanderer as he learns to care for the alien and enlists the assistance of his brother Tommy and his sister Gert to keep ET s existence a secret from his mother Let s take a moment to construct your B or Wanderer statement It s assumed that you are already in the Formula field and have just concluded writing your A statement Give yourself some room to write your B statement Once you re happy with your B statement connect the two statements together with a comma You re halfway there 31 of 81 Constructing the C Warrior Statement
63. the Stormtroopers arrived looking for the droids sparing him from the same death as his aunt and uncle R2 was on his own agenda wasn t trying to help Luke but in the end R2 has inadvertently saved Luke s life and started him on the path of becoming a Jedi saving the Princess and destroying the Death Star e InN AMERICAN BEAUTY Lester tries to talk with Jane who busts him for trying to become friends with her this late in the game This conversation is the beginning of Lester s resolve to get back in touch with his lost youth and love of life Jane is an unwitting ally as is e the Swede at the beginning of TITANIC who by losing his ticket to Jack Dawson in a game of cards starts Jack on a journey that will change his and Rose s lives 42 of 81 In all three of these cases are heroes who were living through their everyday existence and through the unsolicited help of an ally they are pushed out of their complacency and into the start of the extraordinary Plot Point 8 The Hero seems ready to move forward toward goal and or Stakes Character but can t Now that an ally has moved the Hero towards his goal the Hero must decide whether to remain bound by his ordinary life or go for something bigger Often the Hero is a Reluctant Hero and needs some prodding Nowhere is this more true than on the personal level To change the course of one s life is difficult Often when the opportunity is presented the heart says ye
64. till in The Formula field Give yourself a little room after your Orphan Wanderer and Warrior statements to write your Martyr statement Once you re satisfied with it connect the four statements Don t be afraid to spend some time writing and refining the Formula for your story if you are not clear about your story and what it s all about no one else will be either Applying the formula is an indispensable and necessary step in determin ing whether the idea is going to be worth the effort The Formula When a vigilante crime fighter tries to bring down the mob in Gotham City he brings out the worst in the Gotham City Imob including the Joker who goes on a nihilistic rampage he tries to bring down the Joker only to discover that the Joker has kidnapped the love of his life and the only person who can give him a normal life but ends up losing his future and the love of his life to conceal the fact that the Joker won although he is behind bars 35 of 81 Chapter 7 Act I Structure With the Central Question established and always in the forefront it s time to get specific about how we re going to answer it within the 108 115 pages of our screenplay We ve previously discussed a screenplay being divided into three acts and how if you divide the second act in half you ll have four sections of approximately the same length We also mentioned that a script is made up exactly 44 plot points
65. to various issues based on their defining archetype Contour utilizes four out of the six archetypes Orphan Wanderer Warrior and Martyr Understanding how the protagonist moves through them during the course of a story will bring the writer extremely close to a character driven script The four archetypes and where they fall within the three act structure are charted graphically be low ACT I ACT Il IST HALF ACT Il 2ND HALF ACT Ill ORPHAN WANDERER WARRIOR MARTYR 15 of 81 In Act I the Orphan is sometimes a real orphan sometimes a figurative one At times the cause of his orphan hood is outside of his control yet at other times it s by choice by distancing himself from family and love be cause of duty iconoclasm selfishness or emotional reserve In some way shape or form the Orphan is unique from the rest of the world around him Think Clark Kent in SUPERMAN or Cole the boy who sees dead people in THE SIXTH SENSE In the first half of Act Il the protagonist becomes a Wanderer in order to answer the Central Question He looks for clues meets helpers runs into opponents and overcomes obstacles along with acquiring the skills and tools he thinks he needs to answer the Central Question By the mid point of the film around page 55 the geographic center of Act II the protagonist has acquired most of the helpers as well as the skills and items necessary in order to resolve the Central Question to his satisfaction
66. ts want help THE SIXTH SENSE The hero is at his or her lowest moment which can be expressed through a character interlude 63 of 81 Act Ill BIG YES NO In this first pair of reversals of Act III also Known as What s the Worst that Can Happen in the Guide Pane several landmarks occur The hero having embraced the positive thematic argument makes a commitment to change This sets up the resolu tion to the Private Conflict Energized by this private and usually unstated commitment the hero understand the need to be willing to sacrifice himself or herself for the benefit of the stakes character This sets up the resolution to the Personal Conflict The hero acts out of courage and does the gutsiest thing possible This sets up the resolution to the Professional Con flict The hero meets with failure but instead of licking his or her wounds the hero presses on 64 of 81 Act Ill BIG NO FINAL YES In this last pair of reversals of Act IIl known as Good Guy vs Bad Guy over Stakes in the Guide Pane several landmarks occur The Central Question is on the brink of being answered to the negative The hero and indeed many of the hero s allies make a huge sacrifice Hooper goes into the shark cage Brody goes into the water to face the shark JAWS Luke switches off his targeting computer the Princess stays on the planet Han comes back STAR WARS lf a Third Act Solution was shown earlier it is
67. ur own To add an idea to the Idea Pane Click on the Ideas button The idea sheet appears JA Idea Tite Click on the Add plus button Idea Description Enter a title for your idea in the Idea Title menu Select the idea type from the Idea Type menu O Change the date if necessary Exca o Enter a description of your idea oe iea x Click on the OK button Idea Tite Idea Type 5 03 10 2009 i Idea Description x Cancel SK 76 of 81 Modifying an Idea To modify an idea previously added to the Idea Pane D Click on the Idea Title Click on the Information button Click in the text area below and modify the text 4 Click on the OK button 77 of 81 Beethoven s Last Symphony Concept Hump A Musical About Quasimodo Concept Really Bad Joke Joke Serial Killer with ADD Concept Serial Mom The Musical Concept 03 10 2009 03 10 2009 03 03 2009 03 11 2009 Removing an Idea To remove an idea from the Idea Pane Click on the idea you want to remove Click on the Remove or minus button Hint Launch Contour and keep the Idea Pane visible at all times You never know when your next great idea will come 78 of 81 Beethoven s Last Symphony Hump A Musical About Quasimodo Concept Really Bad Joke Joke Serial Killer with ADD Concept Serial Mom The Musical Concept 03 10 20
68. who the main character is who the antagonist is and who is at stake All that s missing is that final acceptance on the part of the Hero The purpose of Plot Point 10 is to make sure that the stakes are very clear e In STAR WARS Luke sees his aunt and uncle have been murdered severity of threat e In THE SIXTH SENSE Cole stands outside his school too afraid to go inside severity of threat e In LIAR LIAR although it s his birthday Max can t enjoy himself without Fletcher being there depth of feel ing 44 of 81 Plot Point II The Deflector or Antagonist threatens to take the Stakes Character from the Hero This is a beat which the Hero may or may not be aware of as it s happening e In STAR WARS this beat is the start of the interrogation scene where Darth Vader enters the Princess s cell with his nasty floating droid Luke is unaware that this is going on has no connection yet with the Princess outside of knowing her situation but the scene serves to make the audience anxious for Luke to start being heroic and go save her In a similar vein in LIAR LIAR Fletcher starts his descent into honesty hell in earnest being completely compelled to tell the truth in every situation The end result of this is a conversation with his ex wife where he tells the truth about why he didn t come to Max s party This admission is enough to make his ex wife talk to Max about moving away Plot Point 12 The Hero decides t

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