Monday, October 1, 2012

Step Outline for ________


Insert Title Here:


ACT ONE
Boy is seen in the middle of a girl’s room with a letter in his hand, beginning to worry. Doorknob begins to turn and boy frantically looks around the room.
Establishes our main character.
Conflict is currently unknown.

Current goal is that he needs to hide. Fast.
A girl enters the room and the boy is nowhere to be seen. A shift in angle reveals that he is hiding under the bed.Boy is in quite a pickle. The obstacle is that he must escape the girl’s room, yet right now it seems impossible.
He holds the letter in his hand and flashes back to when he wrote the letter in his room. Time is manipulated through flashback
Begins to reveal backstory behind the character’s current situation
Letter turns out to be a love letter meant for a girl. Boy shoves letter in folder, tossing it away saying “Ugh, it’s hopeless.”Backstory is further established, revealing he’s in the room because of the love letter. Also characterizes the boy as unconfident and possibly shy.
Flash forward into the middle of history class.
Boy glances at the girl a couple rows away, but gets scared as she hair-flips, thinking she might see him watching her. He awkwardly continues scribbling in his notes
More characterization on the boy. It has become clear that this girl is the love-interest.
Character is definitely shy, as he quickly looks away as she flips her hair. Also shows that he is awkward.
After class she asks the boy for his notes, for she was absent last week. Boy is shocked that she spoke to him. He stutters a response and clumsily reaches into his bag, grabbing the letter on accident as well. Girl laughs and thanks him.Highlights the boy’s “love from afar” relationship with this girl. Further characterization on the boy’s awkward and shy nature. The girl’s laugh suggests they’re not distant strangers, but more so distant friends.
The boy is back home, and his room is a mess. He can’t find the letter, and is caught thinking hard until he realizes he accidentally handed it to the girl. Boy falls on his bed. “I’m so screwed.”Shows how afraid and nervous the boy is about the letter he wrote. Doesn’t want the girl to read it, but also wants to let her know how she feels. Boy is too embarrassed to let her read it.
ACT TWO
Boy asks her if she looked at his notes, and the girl replies that she hasn’t looked at them yet and she left them at home. The boy is relieved. When asked “why?” the boy denies everything.
Boy is temporarily relieved, but knows that he must think of something to stop her from reading it.

The boy is approaching a house with no cars parked in front (which we assume to be the girl’s house) and hops the fence to get in through the window. Amusing that the boy goes to extremes (which is not like his character) to retrieve this letter. The lack of vehicles propose that nobody’s home.
The boy ends up in the girl’s room, and the same beginning sequence is repeated.The manipulation of time finally answers the questions that the audience had from the beginning of the film. The audience discovers that the beginning of the film is this current scene, but with more backstory, the scene is clear. The boy’s goal is to retrieve the letter, and the current setting is the girl’s home.
The boy is hiding under the bed and we see a t-shirt/bra drop to the floor. Boy has a shocked, widened expression.Boy is put in a situation where he doesn’t know what to do. He’s pushed near his limits of nervousness and an uncomfortable mood is established.
It turns out that the girl is just surfing through her drawers to find the notes that the boy had took. She then leaves the room to keep searching.This scene consists of dramatic irony that it’s almost amusing to the audience. The boy believes that the girl’s changing, yet the audience knows it’s not that serious. The girl leaving provides a chance for the boy to escape.
The girl continues looking in the kitchen/living-room for the notes. The boy is seen sneaking around corners, trying to escapeYet another obstacle in the boy’s path. His current and final goal is to get out safely and unnoticed.
The boy turns a corner and she is blocking the door. He notices she’s looking for the notes, and as a last-resort, he crumples up the history notes and tosses them across the room, hoping she would notice.Establishes the boy’s one shot at success. If he can pull this off and leave, then he is home free.
ACT THREE
She walks over to pick it up. The girl is definitely confused and turns around to survey the surroundings. The boy isn’t seen, and we see him running down the street.
The boy has escaped safely and his goal was achieved.
The next day, the girl returns the notes, apologizing for the crumpled mess. The boy accepts it awkwardly, like always. The two then part ways as school ends.The boy knows he’s safe and she didn’t see the letter. However, the boy is a bit discontent that he’ll never get to show her his feelings. The audience feels sympathy for the boy.


7 comments:

  1. I really like the start of the film and how it first reveals the middle of the plot.This creates suspense and the audiences really questions whats going on.The dynamic between the boy and girl in the flashback is very entertaining, and how he is awkwardly nervous around her around her. The plot is overall suspenseful as well, wondering what will become of the letter and what will result will occur if the letter is read by the girl.When the boy is in the girls house, maybe try having the boy have some really close calls with the girl catching him, like maybe her putting her hand under the bed, while the boy is hiding, and her almost touching his face to really keep the audience on the edge of their seat. Overall really good outline!

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  2. While ready your step outline I enjoyed how you opened the story and how you considered all the factors to a great plot. Within your story line you did a nice job of incorporating the 10 elements of story telling and putting all your scenes into great detail, making it easier for the viewer to depict the plot in their mind. The way you correlated the use of comedy and suspense was a good way to bring your audience to attention and keep them interested by predicting what might happen next. The dramatic intent of your story was also very detailed so the viewers can truly feel and understand what the protagonist is going through physically and emotionally. Over, great job.

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  3. Your concept and its translation are excellent--I could envision every scene and understand the dramatic intent. Your protagonist is relatable and likable, yet at the same time gives the audience a just-right sense of superiority over him. The plot is amusing, and while it is not highly gripping and would not keep the audience on the edge of their seat, I highly doubt that that was your intention. The use of flashback is suitable, unlike many flashbacks I've seen in this class (my own films not excluded). If executed well, I think this concept could blossom rather nicely. Good job.

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  4. I would like to see a sort of parallel to the awkwardness of dating when you are young. This movie i hope does not become intangible to young romance films. Take a note from the movie Annie Hall. Through influences you can develop recognizable sort of traditions through film and start to develop parallels that the audience can identify with through their own lives. being 100% original is not out of the question but you can bring a new concept to the widely known feeling of awkwardness.

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  5. Honestly I see nothing wrong with this outline. I love the idea and the awkwardness. But at the same time I love how in a way there is still a bit of emotion in there with the boy being sad because his crush doesn't know about his feelings. All around, good job Gino.

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  6. Great job. Your story conveys different moods. We feel what the kid feel's when he realizes that he has handed the girl the love letters because we've all done something along the lines of that. There really isn't anything wrong with your story. It is well developed and has a sort of funny and at the same time awkwardness to it. This story isn't at all hard to see coming to life and I wish it would. I think you really should turn this concept into your first short film. I would love to see the take on it. All in all great job.

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  7. I feel like this step outline thoroughly conveys the boy's emotions throughout it. Protagonist is a relatable character and conveys a good misfit archetype. I like the love letters part, giving it that touch of "Oh I'm so in love." I like the wrap up at the end too. Good job Gino!

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