Context

- Introduction to Storytelling -

What Stories are made of!

Each story follows the three act structure. You start with Equilibrium, this is when everything is right with the world and we are meeting our hero and other characters. Then a Conflict happens which turns the world of our hero on it's head. At the Resolution the world replaces itself back to a norm of some sort.

Andrew Santon: The clues to a Great Story

Andrew Stanton, animator, storyboard artist, film director, screenwriter, producer and voice actor for Pixar, opens his TEDtalk with a joke about a builder who has had sex with a goat and that is how he is now known as by the village (he tells it better).

He tells this joke as a segway to tell the audience that story telling is joke telling. That every moment from the first line to the last leads up to a goal, confirming a truth that helps us understand who we are as human beings. Stanton goes on to talk about how the children's television host Mr Rogers carried around a piece of paper in his wallet with a quote from a social worker that read 'there is not a single person you couldn't learn to love once you heard their story' which adds onto a grander commandment of storytelling which is quite simply 'make me care.'

We all know what it's like not to care. You could flip a hundred channels on the tv, comb through nextflix for hours and not find a single thing that grips you until something does. And what's interesting is sometimes you don't even know what that something is and that is by design. People watch what they can relate to which makes heartwarming films like Wall-E so popular

Now of course most people aren't trashcompacting robots but they want to be loved, and so does Wall-E. And that is where the element of care comes in. WallE makes you care about the characters, the story, the history of it and that is what separates films that's stand the test of time and those which don't.

Pixar's rules of storytelling

  • Put it on paper, fix it later. As long as the general idea is written down aand can be worked on later then you're in the clear.

  • Discount the first thing that comes to mind and the 2nd, third, fourth and fifth. Get the obvious out the way. Surprise yourself.

  • Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likeable to you as you write but it's poison to the audience.

  • Why must you tell this story? whats the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That's the heart of it.

  • If you were your character in this situation how would you feel? Honestly lends to credibilty to unbelievable situations

  • What are the stakes? Give us a reason to root for the character. What happens if they don't succeed? Stack the odds against them

  • No work is ever wasted. If it's not working let go and move on - it'll come back around later to be useful later

  • What's the essence of your story? What's the most economical way of telling it? If you know that, you can build from it.

Script deconstruction

Character name: shows the name of the character.

Dialogue: This is what the character is saying.

Scene heading: this shows if the scene is inside or outside, the location and the time of day.

Continueds: This is used when dialogue from one character continues after action or a break.

Page number: indicate the page number of the script.

Action: This is what is happening in the scene. This can include things like flashbacks, movement and more...

Parenthetical: these are actions that are happening during dialogue or a specific way the dialogue should be said (use VERY sparingly).

Back to the future - script to film

There are quite often differences from script to film for many reasons. Whether budget or logistic reasons or it might just simply not work. So lines need to be changed or actions might be a little different. For example in this scene from Back to the Future, when George punches Bill we see him spin multiple times before dropping to the ground however in the script Bill is only meant to drop to the ground out cold. This may have been done for comedic purposes or so the audience can ingest the punch before the fall so everything doesn't happen too quickly. It looks a little clunky but it makes sense.

aCTION SCRIPTS

There are FIVE rules to writing action in scripts.

Brevity - you must be concise, give brief description of the scene. Script economy.

Clarity - you must paint the clearest possible image

Creativity - using metaphors and phrases can add colour to a script. makes it more emotional and gripping.

Paragraph breaks - Inserting line breaks creates more wide space. new thing = New paragraph. It can also add pacing, rhythm etc. more whitespace the better

capitalisation - capitalise to emphasise key elements, but use it sparingly.

- mise en scene -

What is mise en scene and why is it important?

Mise en scene (french for 'staging') is the way something, or someone, is arranged on a screen and when the mise en scene binds together perfectly these still shots have the power to move you. Mise en scene can be arranged in an aesthetic way like in the case of Wes Anderson (who frames his films in an aesthetic way by using symmetry, colour palettes and dollhouse-like locations) or people such as Sam Esmail (who uses mise en scene to tell us, as the audience, a story about the character)

This is a screen grab from Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox. Deconstructing the mise en scene you can see the obvious elements of Anderson's style. the very monochrome colour palette, the symmetry but most of all the artwork/painting style of the shot. It looks like a work of art more than a freeze frame from a film.

- Stories -

Where do stories come from?

Stories can come from anywhere. Some of the manuscripts i've written or stories that i've planned have been based on absolutely anything. From a moment in a song or a based on a few seconds of real life or by just simply asking "what if...?".

The sTORY WRITING PROCESS:

  1. Establish a routine

Establishing a routine is a key way of keeping consistent with not only how much you write but the quality of what you write as well

2. Write what you know

Writing what you know is the occam's razor when it comes to being a writer, especially when starting off and you lack the teams of researchers to help.

3. Watch other films

'is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others?' - Voltaire. It seems so obvious but the best way to learn about making films is to watch other films. See how other directors' styles effect their final production. Not only that but study them away from the scene. Read books, see theatre plays, absorb all sorts of media that will help the creative juices flow.

4. Keep a notebook

Nothing beats good ol' pen and paper (no, your phone doesn't count). Writing down any idea you might have will already turn push to shove and begin the story building process.

5. Research, research, research...

Once writing what you know gets boring then start to dabble in new areas of interest. Always thought what it would be like in Soviet Russia during the cold war? Research it. Ever wondered what it would be like if Hitler won the war? Read Man in the high Castle by Phillip K. Dick. Want to know how Oasis fans felt during the summer of 1994 during the Knebworth performance? Watch Knebworth 1994. My point is that research doesn't have to be combing through pages on Wikipedia. It could be anything from listening to a podcast about operation Dynamo to visiting Dunkirk yourself.

6. List your resources

Know your hand before playing. It's that simple. You've got to start at the beginning and the beginning is typically what you've got to hand.

7. Keep it simple

Don't make things more complicated for yourself. Can it be done quicker? Does this scene have to be ten pages? Does there have to be a fancy light display? If the answer is ever no then scrap it.

8. Live a little!

How can you write something worth reading if you've got no experience in real life? Live a little.

The nine Story plots

Overcoming the Monster:

In which the hero must venture to the lair of a monster that is threatening the community, destroy it, and escape.

Rags to Riches:

In which someone from a lower-class background with potential suddenly finds themselves in a position of riches and wealth

The Quest:

In which the hero embarks on a journey to obtain a great prize that is located far away.

Voyage and Return:

in which the hero journeys to a strange world that at first is enchanting and then so threatening the hero finds he must escape and return home to safety.

Comedy:

in which a community divided by frustration, selfishness, bitterness, confusion, lack of self-knowledge, lies, etc. must be reunited in love and harmony (often symbolized by marriage).

Tragedy:

in which a character falls from prosperity to destruction because of a fatal mistake.

Rebirth:

in which a dark power or villain traps the hero in a living death until he/she is freed by another character's loving act.

Rebellion Against 'The One':

in which the hero rebels against the all-powerful entity that controls the world until he is forced to surrender to that power.

Mystery:

In which an outsider to some horrendous event (such as a murder) tries to discover the truth of what happened.

How do my scripts suit the nine story plots?

Coffee Shop Script

The coffee shop script follows the 'rebirth' story plot as it tells the story of Spencer trying to battle his past as it haunts him constantly with his best friend Clara trying to rescue him from this hole.

The Hanging Tree

The Hanging tree follows the 'Rebellion against the one' story plot. It tells the story of a broken down leader try one final time to overthrow his oppressor but to no avail.

LOGLINES

Loglines, not too dissimilar to a 'treatment' is a short paragraph explaining what the production is about. Now these aren't meant to be pages long or tell everything about everything. They are simply a teaser to get any potential funders interested in the project. It's important to cover four main points in a log line:

Situation: What is happening?

Setting: Where is it happening?

Protagonist: Who is it happening to?

Antagonist: Who is causing it?

Coffee Shop Script

An isolated technophile and their high energy longtime best friend, battle against their hardships and tribulations while still trying to make enough money to pay rent.

The Hanging Tree

An overthrown leader's luck finally runs out when his worst nightmare comes to reclaim what has been taken from him in this new world of no laws.