Are there choices, risks, or roads

you sometimes wish you had taken? If your life were a movie, what would your parallel self be doing at this moment and would that path ever intersect with your current reality?

Journal 9/16/13

Storytelling

The most common method of storytelling. Linear time is just like real life in that

characters start at Point A and move sequentially toward Point B.

Examples:

Linear Storytelling

Where we initially meet characters after the

main event has already occurred; the event itself is told in flashback, followed by a return to the same time period as was shown at the film’s start.

Examples:

Nonlinear: Bookend

A character’s momentum suddenly splits into

two simultaneous journeys which may or may not arrive at the same destination.

Examples:

Nonlinear: Parallel Universe

A device that uses multiple flashbacks and

points of view which all revolve – like a maypole – around a common event or theme.

Examples:

Nonlinear: Maypole

The layers of plot and character are revealed

in backwards, repetitive, or serpentine fashion.

Examples:

Nonlinear: Reverse Engineering

In music, a “beat” is a rhythmic accent that

defines the tempo of the piece being played. “Beat” is also a word used in screenplay structure and refers to accented scenes that move the story from start to finish. A clothesline is perfect for understanding the placement of beats

Story Beats

Story Beats

1. The set-up that introduces the main character2. The catalyst/inciting incident that will impact the

hero’s status quo3. The first major problem/complication4. The point of no return – the hero must see his/her

objective through5. The second major problem/complication6. A complication that threatens to cost the hero

everything7. The resolution of the conflict

Story Beats – The Wizard of Oz

Reverse engineer a timeline that starts with

your character taking a final exam and ends with what he or she was doing 24 hours previous. Note: With each incremental step backwards, your character has knowledge or insights gained from events the audience has not “linearly” witnessed.

Journal 9/17/13

Just as a catchy tune can be played in a

variety of different tempos with different instruments, a story could be written in many different ways based on each writer’s opinions and personal frame of reference.

The message that a writer wants to get across with his or her audience is the “theme” of the story. The theme is supported throughout the script by characters, dialogue, and events.

Theme

In each of the following films, identify the

underlying theme.

Shrek Twilight Titanic Jurassic Park

Journal 9/18/13

Hooks – at the beginning of the story – leaves

the audience asking “what happens next?!” Foreshadowing – hints and ideas that are

introduced early (and subtly) to tease our curiosity.

Uh-oh’s – just when the finish line looms in sight, there’s suddenly one final obstacle. The uh-oh circles back to a film’s initial hooks and foreshadowing.

Hooks, Foreshadowing, and Uh-Oh’s

Read an Aesop’s fable – what is the theme?

What are some other films or books with the same theme or message?

Homework

Identify three films you have seen which had

powerful hooks. What were they and why did they immediately grab your attention? What type of hook do you plan to use in your own film to immediately grab the audience’s attention.

Journal

Identify three films or TV programs which

contained foreshadowing. Did the information imparted seem like a clue at the time or was its placement not made clear to you until later on in the story? Do you plan to use foreshadowing in your own story? Explain how.

Journal

Identify three films in which something

unexpected happened just before the end (e.g., a character you thought was dead turned out not to be). Does your own script contain an uh-oh? Is this uh-oh plausible based on the sequence of events that led up to its occurrence?

Journal