Friday, September 12, 2014

Outline, 3 Act Structure, and Script #1

Outline
Dance-o-Matic
The story begins when an overly inquisitive man stops to examine a strange large box, that says “Dance-o-Matic” on the side, and simply has a note stuck to the top warning any passersby “Do not push this button”. The problem is that the man is too curious and he pushes the button. The next thing that happens is the machine slaps a mind control helmet on top of him, and the man is then forced to dance in the style of any music the machine plays. Then, after a while of dancing, another man walks by the box. The dancing man gets the second man’s attention, and hands the second man a note that simply says “Help! Can’t stop… it’s box!” Eventually the second man realizes that the dancing man needs help. He first tries to pull the helmet off the other man’s head, and then quickly realizes that it won’t come off and the box must be the answer. After that, the second man starts to beat the box with any objects he can find. The objects become ever more ludicrous, until he finally straps explosives to the box, and it all explodes around them. The problem is solved when the dust settles from the explosion, the box has stopped playing music, and the man who was dancing throws off the mind control helmet, walks over to the machine, replaces a new strongly worded note on the top of the box, and then gives the box a nice hard kick.

3 Act Structure Plotline
·      Act 1
o   Exposition
§  Main Character –
§  Dramatic Premise – A man finds a box that turns out to be a dance mind-control
o   Inciting Incident – When the man pushes the button, and the machine slaps the brain control helmet on him.
o   Plot Point #1 – The dancing man enlists the help of the second man in stopping the Dance-o-Matic from its rhythmic mind control.
·      Act 2
o   Obstacles – The second man must find a way to shut this metal contraption down by any means necessary, but the box seems indestructible.
o   First Culmination – After many attempts to fix this problem by hand the second man sighs and proceeds to up the stakes with his choices of materials with which to open/destroy this box.
o   Midpoint – The second man begins to grab bigger and more powerful solutions to hit the box.
·      Act 3
o   Climax – This would be when the second man starts to grab VERY poserful things to hit the box (Jackhammer and C4)
o   Denouement – The brief time period after the C4 has been ignited, and the dancing man walks over to the box, takes off his helmet, and kicks the Dance-o-Matic.





DANCE-O-MATIC
Written by
J’aime Davies
Created by
J’aime Davies


Character List
MAN #1
MAN #2
MAN #3

A metal box with a painted “Dance-o-Matic” logo on the side and top sits in the middle of a white expanse. There are no other distinguishing factors about the box other than a play button on the top face, and a note stuck above the button that reads “DO NOT press this button!”

MAN #1, texting on his phone, walks past the box. MAN #1 stops, puts his phone away, reads the note, and begins to examine the box.

After a few seconds of touching the box MAN #1 begins to tap his foot. MAN #1 stops touching the box and so too stops the tapping. This happens a couple more times as his head bobs, and his fingers start to snap. He puts together that the box is what causes the dancing. He is then tempted to push the button.

Hesitant at first, and slowly more persistent MAN #1 covers his eyes and presses the button. Mechanical arms come out of the box, and slam a mind control helmet on MAN #1’s head.

The side of the box lights up with a dance style, and MAN #1 breaks into whatever dance style is on the sides, and he cannot stop himself.

MAN #2 walks onto the scene, wearing headphones, and oblivious to the box. MAN #1 moonwalks past MAN #2, grabs MAN #2’s shirt and gets his attention. MAN #1 tosses a note to MAN #2. MAN #2 reads the note, which says, “Help! Can’t stop. It’s the box!”

MAN #2 runs after MAN #1 and tries to rip the helmet off. The helmet is too tightly strapped so

MAN #2 walks over to the box. MAN #2 presses the play button a few times, but nothing happens.

MAN #1 continues to dance in the foreground while we see MAN #2 in the background trying various pulling methods to open the box.

MAN #2 kicks the box and it changes the genre of dance to Salsa. MAN #1 assumes a ballroom dancing position and begins salsa dancing around the box. MAN #1 grabs MAN #2 and starts to Salsa with him. MAN #2 pulls away

MAN #2 grabs a sledgehammer, and jackhammer. He dents the box, and damages it, but MAN #! Keeps dancing.

MAN #2 straps C4 to the box and blows it up. This explosion is enough that it stops the Dance-o-Matic.

MAN #1 stops dancing takes off the helmet and throws it to the ground. MAN #1 walks back up to the box, grabs the original note from the top of the box, writes something on it, and slaps it back onto the top of the box.

The note now reads, “No, really! Trust me, DO NOT press this button!”

MAN #1 kicks the box in a fit of comical triumph.

Blackout

MAN #3 is standing in front of the box. The machine shutters back to life in a glitch-like fashion. The lights flicker back on, and just as MAN #3 is about to push the button MAN #1 runs into frame, and tackles him.

Blackout

Credits

MAN #1 dances and interacts with the credits as they roll by.

Fade to black


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