Lecture 3: Your Opening Hook

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Lecture 3Your Opening Hook
Alien (1979) Screenplay by Dan OBannon

• Professor Christopher Bradley

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Previous Lesson

• Building your Treatment!

Frankenstein (1931) Screenplay by Edward Faragoh
Garret Fort
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In this Lesson

• The Opening Hook

K2 (1991) Screenplay by Patrick Meyers and Scott
Roberts
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Your Opening Hook
The Fountainhead (1949) Screenplay by Ayn Rand
Lesson 3 Part I
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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
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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.

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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
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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
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Example 1 The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939) Screenplay by Noel
Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan
Woolf
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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
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Assignment
Star Wars (1977) Screenplay by George Lucas
Lesson 3 Part II
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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 audiences minds!

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No Camera Directions!

• Rather than saying, Extreme close-up on
  Estelles eyes. Swish pan from her eyes to the
  tree to the open window, say, Estelles eyes
  dart left and right. She spots a nearby tree
  with a branch within jumping distance of an open
  window. She runs for it.

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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.

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No Directing the Actors!

• Its 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.

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E-Board Post

• Provide supportive feedback for one of your
  fellow students on their logline and treatment.

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End of Lecture 3
The Wizard of Oz (1939) Screenplay by Noel
Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan
Woolf

• Next Lecture The Ordinary World and Risk