Project Blue Book

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  • Project Blue Book

    just read the pilot. i like it a lot. even more after watching the trailer. i'm hooked.

    been watching Shonda Rhimes (TV writing) and Ron Howard's (Directing) Masterclasses, both really insightful, worth every penny to get the Master Access Pass.
    "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

  • #2
    Re: Project Blue Book

    Will, if this is in the wrong location, please move it to where it belongs.

    Okay, so i'm going to try this again. i'd love to start a conversation about TV writing with anyone willing to join, as i am reading and analyzing pilots.

    I'm working through Shonda Rhimes Masterclass and am really enjoying learning from her process. I hadn't really looked at TV's structure and how the set up, character development, problem escalation, climax, resolution and set up for the next episode worked to form a well executed self-enclosed episode. Since starting her Masterclass i am very interested in learning more.

    I may end up having this conversation with myself... hahah.

    5 act structure: A1 (15pg) A2 (14pg) A3 (11pg) A4 (8pg) A5 (8pg)

    What i wasn't expecting is the descending page counts for each act. Shona explains her Scandal pilot/episodes basically have around 10ish pages per act for an hour long episode.

    The reductive nature of Project Blue Books act structure was an interesting surprise as it results in a "speeding up" of the narrative as the acts became shorter and shorter. The final 2 acts were almost 1/2 the length of the first.

    The challenge, of course, is ensuring you have sufficient "time" to investigate and resolve the episode's mystery without it feeling contrived. It does feel a little to "convenient" that Hynek can pull obscure information out of his head with a simple "I was sick as a child and read Encyclopedia Brittanica-- twice."

    FORMAT: procedural
    An unidentified, terrifying, event opens the episode, then it develops character and situational relationships over two acts, then the investigation begins--

    By the end of act 3 it escalates very well, with two mid-point surprises that renew your interest. Act 4 is the debugging and explanation of the episode's unidentified event.

    Act 4 also solidifies the mystery that will travel the entire series. By the act 5 episode resolution we are introduced to a new twist that sets up the mystery of both season and presumably series.

    Structure breakdown:

    Act 1 - opens with alien event, and introduces the origin of Project Blue Book, intros main characters and top 3 story lines (A - Ruppelt and Hynek, B - Alien event, C - Mimi, Hynek's wife)

    Act 2 - character development, dude with a problem (Hynek) gets a new opportunity, most focus on storyline C with Mimi which sets up the pilot ending twist and reveals the season's subplot, her story line seems to have as many scenes as the A storyline. only one scene for the aliens B storyline.

    Act 3 - focuses on the investigation into the alien event and bisects A & B storylines - mystery develops and ends with a nice turn that peaked my interest, so the story is doing what it's supposed to--

    Act 4 - this is where things start getting tighter as Hynek & Ruppelt figure out and "debunk" mystery, but then a new series storyline D solidifies and creates a lot of intrigue.

    Act 5 - seemingly wraps up the mystery and develops the D storyline while ending with a big punch where we discover a new mystery that affects Mimi as well as the entire group


    I like the characters. The conflict between Ruppelt and Hynek feels natural. They act consistent with their characters.

    They did a great job on setting up the series mystery because I was like, ohh, this is gonna be good. Each episode will have an unidentified event that will have to be debunked is a great way to allow an access point for new viewers who may pickup on the series mid-season.

    And who doesn't just love the "based on true events?" Using declassified files is cool factor.

    The procedural structure is similar to Scandal where something to be "fixed" each week, and the Fitz/Olivia relationship/secrets develop over the course of the season/series.

    One challenge the pilot faced, as i suppose all pilots do, is that there is a lot of front end set up with characters, world building and conflict that the "unexplained event" part of the story has to move through the investigation very quickly and a solution must be discovered in short order.

    The unfortunate result (in this episode) was Hynek "discovers" the explanation rather quickly. I don't see how this could have been avoided with so much necessary information needed at the front end.

    They don't have google, right? Hynek is a brilliant scientist and even though he said he read through Encyclopedia Brittanica two times when he was younger, it maybe stretches plausibility a little. I actually don't know any "brainiacs" so I don't know for sure. haha.

    This challenge should be less obvious in future episodes as the ground work for the main characters, overarching series and season plots have already been established.

    I think anyone who's watched X-files might enjoy this period piece series. I definitely would enjoy reading more.

    With that said i have not yet "watched" the pilot. possibly this week. I heard it is a little different than the written pilot.

    Has anyone else seen or read the pilot? i was pleasantly surprised, that this was a History Channel project. i'm not sure why it surprised me, but i thought-- well done.

    Moving on... Origin and Nightflyers up next.
    "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

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    • #3
      Re: Project Blue Book

      Thank for the analysis. I did watch the pilot. It does follow a similar structure of the X-Files paranormal detective structure.

      I just saw the pilot of I Am The Night on TNT. Different genre. It has much simpler structure of crosscutting between A and B stories and very easy to wrap your head around it. I highly recommend it.

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