Blake Snyder, practical Beat Sheet test.

our assigned work this week was to mark a film using Blake Synder's beat sheet process.  to evaluate whether or not it is practical in majority of all films. for my example i chose to review "Wreck-It-Ralph", A disney animation released in 2012.... (if you haven't seen this film yet you need to go out and get it!... its Amazing)

SPOILERS!! the follow work is literally a play by play of what happens on screen. So if you don't want to ruin it for yourself don't read any further.

here is my working out for it.

STORY BEAT SHEET

1. Opening Image (1):scene opens on an arcade game. With old animations (pixels) and is then absorbed into the games reality.

2. Theme Stated (5): feels under appreciated, lonely. Wanting more from life.

3. Set-Up (1-10): in all aspects in arcade land. He is treated like the bad guy. “Just because you’re the “bad guy” it doesn’t make you a bad, guy”

4. Catalyst (12):story accelerates when an argument with the nice landers ensues. –ralph can win a medal if he wants too.

5. Debate (12-25): goes to pub. Drunken soldier tells him they win medals that literally say “hero”. Ralph game jumps to a new fast action game. (Hero’s Duty)

6. Act Two Plot Point (25) Ralph does get the medal but in the process wakes all of the virus Bugs. one is in his escape pod when he bounds round. Through game central station and into a candy race game called Sugar Rush.

7. B Story (30): Cue Vanellope. a cute, annoying little girl that happens to be a "glitch". She steals Ralph's medal to enter a race. Much to everyone’s distaste. Characters from the game destroy her homemade kart in efforts to quell her ambitions.

-plot note: in order to get Ralph's medal back she has to win the race.

8. Fun and Games (30-55): the break into the factory and bake there own Kart. Lots of fun follows as he teaches her to drive. More is found out about each others lives.

9. Midpoint (55): Due to Ralph's lack of appearance in his own game they have been closed down. Felix (the hero in “fix-it Felix’) has gone to look for him with the help of the strong female from Hero’s Duty. (Who is looking for the bug that Ralph's brought with him into Sugar rush.)

10. Bad Guys Close In (55-75): the bugs have been multiplying under ground. King Candy gives convincing opinion as to why Vanellope can’t race. In return he gives Ralph his Medal back.

11. All Is Lost (75): he destroys her kart. (very sad) and returns home. Only to find it set to be unplugged. Everyone has left. Felix has been captured in sugar rush looking for Him. His Medal has a very hollow victory.

12. Dark Night of the Soul (75-85):????

13. Act Three Plot Point (85): looking outside he can see a picture of Vanellope on the side of her game. (Which means she must be a lead character right? And not a rejected glitch, as she has been treated.) he goes back to sugar rush. Frees Felix, Gets him to fix the Kart and makes sure she gets in the race.

14. Finale (85-110): Bugs awaken halfway through the race, destroying everything. King candy turns out to be this super evil dude from another game. A bug eats him and they merger into a super evil king bug guy. Ralph sacrifices himself to save Vanellope and her world …. (but he doesn’t die.)

15. Final Image (110): New life order is restored. Ralph has friends and is treated well in his own game life. Vanellope resets her game and is no longer rejected and plagued by bullies. Yup… happily ever after.

upon reflection, (in specific regards to this film,) i found the Blake Snyder's Beat sheet to be fairly accurate. the only step that i feel i couldn't fill was step 12: Dark night of the soul. If i was to fill it in i would feel as though i am bending the story to fit the Snyder structure. which just isn't truthful to the film itself.

However majority of the Beat sheet fits smoothly with the sequence of the the film structure. perhaps length of certain beats may differentiate from the practical film. But that would be the only nit pick that i would have to comment on.

"Fear Photography"

Last week we were given the weekly assignment to photograph an image that empowered "FEAR".  One of the first actions i took towards this was to ask questions. What makes us scared?  After interrogating a few of my friends with the usual results, (spiders, death, kidnapped, creepy men and even clowns) I decided to make a more Internal approach.

I fear Helplessness. Forced into a situation in which you have no control of what is being done to you or any means of escaping.

rough draft of scene/setting

^^This is the first rough concept Idea. Using Chains and other rough materials the subject would be bound in a small dark enclosure. The idea being to allow the shadows of the image to play with the imagination of its audience. Free to interpretation. Torture tools displayed to increase the feelings of unease and gore. I had even planned for there to be dog bowls and dog collars to enhance the "Helplessness" and lack of control our subject has.

This is a NOT the final product merely showing off the set design and make up of our subject. Due to physical limitations we could not acquire the type of metal chains I had envisioned. However we made do with what we had and I believe it paid off.  An on set decision I had to "gruff up" the scene even more was to gather Dirt and literally throw it all over the set, and our subject. Almost instantly gave the scene a much darker turn. The tools menacingly placed in a view that can be easily spotted by the viewer.      >>

^^ This is the FINAL Image (no editing apart from taking the image in black and white) Just to clarify the original image is actually a lot darker than the uploaded version. Keeping that in mind, I'm very happy with the final product. ( i really wish this came out properly... so you'll just have to use your imagination to make it far more shadowed in the dungeon.)