Untitled - Index of - Free

What mood will it evoke?
What 1s your Main Cast domg?
c) Where are they com1ng from. and where are
they gomg to?
Look for v1sual 1mpressions that will make the Scene
work Oescnbe your opening shots to your Troupe as a
film camera would to 1ts aud1ence If the focus of your
opening Scene shouldn't mclude your Mam Cast, then
use a Cut Scene This IS a good chance to st1ck the Actors
into alternate roles temporarily as discussed under 'Cin­
ematography' Feel free to play w1th your style of
storytelling and try new thmgs You m1ght try creating an
entire Episode in Flashback sometime, ending the Epi­
sode with a reenactment of 1ts opening Scene Now,
there's a strong hnk between ending and beginning
After your opening Scene, you should complete
your mtroduct1on by weav1ng 1n the Ma1n Cast tf they·re
not already involved Follow the focus of your story by
1ntroduc1ng all the Important Supporting Cast members
It isn't necessary that the characters have actually met
them all, but the Actors should know who they all are by
the close of Act I That means that anyone important the
Ma1n Cast hasn't met in person, the Actors should have,
through the use of Cut Scenes. Finally, conclude the
introduction by defin1ng the problem You may have
already revealed the problem to the Actors 1n a Cut
Scene, but you want to end Act I by bnng1ng that problem
d1rectly to the Ma1n Cast Ootng this sets up the story for
a strong and dramatic confrontation in Act II
Secrets
The Actors should 'view' everythtng that a mov1e
audience, watching your story unfold in a theatre, would
see Plan these Cut Scenes in advance The only sur­
poses should be the ones that would be sprung on a
theatre audience Th1s may destroy some of the story's
mystery but 1t will tncrease the amount of suspense, while
also reductng many of the frustrations as well You will
have transformed moments of frustrat1on 1nto moments
of tens1on 1nstead. Tens1on between the ignorance and
power of the Ma1n Cast, and the knowledge and helpless·
ness of the 'audience (your Actors) These are the
tensions that, in tum, create drama
Involvement and Motivation
How are all of your Actors going to get together and
get involved? At this point you may realtze that one or
more of your Actors has no business being in this plot It's
important to plan ahead, or you may find yourself wtth a
frustrated Actor saying, 'Why is my character here any­
way?' So the begtnntng of the plot has to be able to bnng
128 1 hcah tx - The Core Rules
the Actors together and involve them all Look at each of
your Main Cast characters Find at least one mot1vat1on,
for each role, that w11l dnve her to become embroiled in
your ptothne If you can't find a way to weave everybody
into the plot, then you need to alter your story enough to
make that possible.
Arrange for your plots to reveal themselves early 1n
each Episode. This means that the Actors have to recog·
n1ze what they're 1n front of. Not how to solve these plots,
nor how they'll end, but rather, that the situation at hand
is somethtng they should be interested in Introducing
your plots and Support1ng Cast early 1s essential The
Actors must know who the other characters are, and what
their connection is, in order to be motiVated and react
Example of the Introduction
Using our contmUJng example of a OEA drug bust,
we'll now suggest a possible introductron Our Troupe Will
compose a single team of OEA oftrcers Our opening
Scene w1ll start w1th the visuals of a conv1ct be1ng
released from jail Th1s part1cular conv1ct IS an 'old friend'
of the Matn Cast. This Troupe of OEA officers were the
ones that busted th1s guy in the ftrst place (good place to
use an old villain who's known to the Troupe). Inter­
spersed wtth pieces from this Cut Scene we're going to
flash to each of the Mam Cast, 1n tum The Director w1ll
use these flashes to explam that the characters have just
come back from the1r vacations. asking each Actor how
their persona's t1me was spent, what unpacking wa ltke,
what they brought back w1th them. and how return1ng to
work feels? Layered after each tnterv1ew 1s another piece
of the convict's Cut Scene. That Cut Sce11e ends w1th a
long segment showtng the conv1ct leavmg the Jail go1ng
back to hiS old fnends, accepting an Illegal heist (a
department store Is to be hit) and perform1ng the robbery
The 01rector describes the conv1ct ruthlessly killing sev­
eral guards dunng the cnme, shovtng Jewelry and en­
sive goods tnto bags w1th his buddies and ftnally toad1ng
all the goods onto a truck, along with a stuffed animal from
the toy section, and then leav1ng The visuals of the
stuffed animal should be espec1ally jarring, and w111 act as
a Foreshadowmg of thmgs to come
The next Scene m1ght mvolve the Main Cast being
called in on the 1nvesbgat1on The cnme 1s the theft
detailed in the Cut Scene above It looks to be a simple
robbery, except for a slight trace of coca1ne wh1ch mar1