Storytelling

Common issue: Many new screen writer’s have issues taking a situation and creating a story from it

Situation vs. Story Situation: a single scene where nothing is happening Story: potential for drama

“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.” - Alfred Hitchcock

Example Situation: A man and a woman are sitting next to each other at the airport

Example Story A man sitting next to a woman at the airport quietly passes her a note which makes her start crying silently to herself.

Common Mistake It isn’t always good to “write what you know” Why?

You need DRAMA! Because you can fall into the habit of writing things exactly the way they happened

Where is the DRAMA? Drama attracts people to the story and keeps them engaged

Easy way to remember… Kenneth Thrope Rowe, writer of “Write That Play” published in 1939 gave the perfect definition: “Life is not transferred to fiction but transformed.”

Don’t hesitate to write what you have experienced, but make sure you take out the…. Emotional Essence

Emotional Essence? Take out the feeling of the situation rather than the full actual experience. If you only show the experience, it turns into a documentary rather than a storyline of a film.

Drama thrives on the exaggeration of things you have experienced

The “Recipe”

The Recipe Becoming a film maker is like becoming a chef at first you follow a recipe exactly but as you get more experienced you add your own twist.

The Recipe There are 12 Storytelling Musts

A good way to think of a story is as a 3 act play Act 1: exposition, introduction of protagonist, dramatic premise and most likely the dramatic situation

A good way to think of a story is as a 3 act play Act 2: drama increased by obstacle or introduction of problem, main character typically reaches lowest point during this act

A good way to think of a story is as a 3 act play Act 3: Climax of story, wrap up information, usually a sense of restoration reached during this act

12 ingredients of a good story 1. There must be a story

12 ingredients of a good story 2. Every story needs an instigating event -instigating event: something that happens that makes the rest of the movie happen Example: a murder, an affair, a kidnapping, a fight

12 ingredients of a good story 3. The instigating event leads to… Major dramatic question. examples: Will they find the murderer? Will they get a divorce?

12 ingredients of a good story 4. The instigating event and dramatic question lead to The WANT. The want is what motivates all of the character actions throughout the script until they get what they desire, this sometimes happens in the middle or end.

12 ingredients of a good story 5. Things can never be too easy for your main character, you need complications, obstacles and adversaries to give DRAMA to the story and make it interesting.

12 ingredients of a good story 6. There must be an ally (allies) to help the main character overcome the obstacles presented in the story

12 ingredients of a good story 7. The hero must FAIL before they succeed

12 ingredients of a good story 8. There must be a dramatic moment in between the middle of the movie to turn up the heat (usually during the end of Act 2 or beginning of Act 3)

12 ingredients of a good story 9. There needs to be a crucial piece of new information about 2/3 of the way into the story. This is known as the “turning point” or Peripety (greek term). Peripety: a sudden unexpected change of fortune

12 ingredients of a good story 10. No matter what genre, the last 1/3 of the story or Act 3 must be the most exciting and interesting part of the story

12 ingredients of a good story Act I and II = the ride up the roller coaster Act III = the ride down

12 ingredients of a good story 11. There must be a change in the main character’s personality that brings them to a different (usually better) personality or situation. In real life, people may not change, but in art, they typically do for the drama.

12 ingredients of a good story 12. The ending doesn’t necessarily have to be a happy or sad ending, but must be satisfying.