1. Lecture 6: The Spring Releases!
Poltergeist (1982) Screenplay by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais & Mark Victor Based on a story by Steven Spielberg
Professor Christopher Bradley

2. Previous Lesson
The Mini-Crisis. This crisis takes your story directly into the climax of the act.
Poltergeist (1982) Screenplay by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais & Mark Victor Based on a story by Steven Spielberg 2

3. In this Lesson The climactic moment of your first act
Moving into the second act
Poltergeist (1982) Screenplay by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais & Mark Victor Based on a story by Steven Spielberg 3

4. Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf
Your First Act Climax
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf
Lesson 4: Part I

5. Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf
Remember!
Every scene should up the stakes, increase the pressure and ask more and more of your characters!
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf

6. Your First Act Climax
A screenplay, an act in a screenplay and every scene in a screenplay has a climactic moment and a moment of resolution.
The climax of your first act should introduce a level of pressure on your protagonist such that he or she MUST come up with a plan, they MUST act.

7. First Act Climaxes: Example
Star Wars (1977)
Screenplay by George Lucas

8. First Act Climaxes: Example
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf

9. First Act Climaxes: Example
Please pause the lecture and watch the clip from Poltergeist.

10. First Act Climaxes: Example
American Beauty (1999)
Screenplay by Alan Ball
Please pause the lecture and watch the clip from American Beauty.

11. The First Act Resolution
The events of Act 1 force the character to take action in the climactic moment.
After the climax, there is a moment of resolution.
Then your characters move literally or figuratively into a NEW WORLD.
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf

12. Screenplay by Alan Ball
Assignments
American Beauty (1999)
Screenplay by Alan Ball
Lesson 6: Part II

13. E-Board Post
Post the next 15 pages of your First Act, including the Mini-Crisis, the Climax of the act and a short resolution.
You should also be re-writing your earlier pages based on the feedback you received and realizations you’ve had as you to write! 13 13

14. End of Lecture 6 Next Lecture: The Plan and the Teams
American Beauty (1999)
Screenplay by Alan Ball
Next Lecture: The Plan and the Teams