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Lecture 3: Your Opening Hook

Lecture 3: Your Opening Hook. Professor Christopher Bradley. Alien (1979) Screenplay by Dan O’Bannon. Previous Lesson. Building your Treatment!. Frankenstein (1931) Screenplay by Edward Faragoh & Garret Fort. In this Lesson. The Opening Hook. K2 (1991) Screenplay by

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Lecture 3: Your Opening Hook

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  1. Lecture 3:Your Opening Hook Professor Christopher Bradley Alien (1979) Screenplay by Dan O’Bannon

  2. Previous Lesson Building your Treatment! Frankenstein (1931) Screenplay by Edward Faragoh & Garret Fort

  3. In this Lesson The Opening Hook K2 (1991) Screenplay by Patrick Meyers and Scott Roberts

  4. Your Opening Hook The Fountainhead (1949) Screenplay by Ayn Rand Lesson 3: Part I

  5. Function of Structure • Increasing pressures on the characters, asking more and more of them in terms of risk and difficulty of choice Harold and Maude (1972) Screenplay by Colin Higgins

  6. Starting the First Act • In Lessons 3 and 4, we will be creating the first half of your first act. • Today is about your Opening Hook and the next lesson will be about the Ordinary World and the first character risk, taking us to about page 15.

  7. The Opening Hook • Generally takes 1-3 pages • Grabs their attention! • With imagery • With ideas • By raising questions in their minds The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Screenplay by Ted Tally Based on the novel by Thomas Harris

  8. The Opening Hook (Cont.) • Sets up the main storyline • Sets up the main conflict The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Screenplay by Ted Tally Based on the novel by Thomas Harris

  9. Example 1: The Wizard of Oz The Wizard of Oz (1939) Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf

  10. Example 2: The Terminator • Please pause the lecture and watch the clip from The Terminator The Terminator (1984) Screenplay by James Cameron & Gale Ann Hurd

  11. Assignment Star Wars (1977) Screenplay by George Lucas Lesson 3: Part II

  12. Write Your Opening Hook • Remember, your opening hook should: • Introduce the main story and conflict • Introduce ideas relevant to the story • Be visually interesting • Raise questions in your audience’s minds! 12

  13. No Camera Directions! • Rather than saying, “Extreme close-up on Estelle’s eyes. Swish pan from her eyes to the tree to the open window,” say, “Estelle’s eyes dart left and right. She spots a nearby tree with a branch within jumping distance of an open window. She runs for it.” 13

  14. No Directing the Actors! • A good rule of thumb is to tell the actor what to do, but not how to do it. “Estelle cries,” not “Estelle collapses on the bed, shrieking with the pain of lost love.” 14

  15. No Directing the Actors! • It’s acceptable to have an action take the place of a line. “John nods his assent” can take the place of John saying, “I agree, Boss.” • Non-verbal communication is fine. For example, “John wipes the sweat from his brow.” 15

  16. E-Board Post • Provide supportive feedback for one of your fellow students on their logline and treatment. 16

  17. End of Lecture 3 Next Lecture: The “Ordinary World” and “Risk” The Wizard of Oz (1939) Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf

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